Content Marketing for independent entrepreneurs done differently. Here's your first tip: You don't need to grow your following.
I'm not very good at this. - Fyreside Newsletter - 8/11/25
Hey Reader,This week, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I may not be very good at this. I consider myself to be good at a lot of things, but I don’t think running a business is one of them. If You Build It, They Will Come Did you know that’s not actually the line from Field of Dreams? It’s actually “If you build it, he will come.” It’s like how Darth Vader never actually says, “Luke I am your father.” But I digress… “If you build it, they will come” is the core ethos of my marketing mentality. It’s what I believe about social media profiles, newsletters, events, etc. It’s also why I named this business Bahnfyre PR, because if you build a bonfire big enough, people will come check it out. Unfortunately, I’m coming to the realization that “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to generating business. I’ve mentioned this in past newsletters, but I actually started this business after ~10ish former clients told me they’d prefer to work with me as an independent contractor than through my former employer. Well, I built it, and not a single one of them came. The Doors Are Still Open Despite the lack of crowd, my corn field baseball stadium is still open for business! Quite frankly, I still think it’s the best damn baseball stadium anyone has ever built in a cornfield. And, low attendance or not, I intend to keep improving it. What I am decidedly not good at is strong-arming attendees into visiting my ball park. Perhaps it’s because I am too enthralled with the building process, or maybe it’s because I won’t lie to people. See, I built a ball park in a corn field, so when someone says, “I want to watch hockey! Do you have that?” I tell them no. Actually, the more common sentiment is “I can go watch kids play T-ball for free at the local park, why should I buy a ticket to see a game in your stadium?” Because it’s the best damn ball park that’s ever been built in a cornfield and, quite frankly, you get what you pay for. What I Am Good At Putting aside my movie metaphor, I’ll tell you what I’m really, really good at: marketing. It is my Ken job. It is my god-forsaken talent. It is the curse I carry with me everyday. If you have literally anything you need to market, I can tell you exactly how you should do it. And if you’re already marketing something, I can tell you exactly what’s working and exactly what needs to change. But, going back to the metaphor, being good at marketing is like being good at baseball. Neither Babe Ruth nor Derek Jeter ever built a baseball stadium, they were just really good at baseball. My newsletter has an average open rate of 74.61%, that’s the equivalent of a .873 batting average. Sorry if you’re not a baseball person, but trust me that would be really good. My point is, I’ve built the best corn field baseball stadium the marketing world has ever seen, and I’m really good at baseball, but that hasn’t been enough to get butts in seats. No matter how good I am at baseball (marketing) or stadium design (service offerings), I’m still not great at raising attendance (getting clients). That’s a tough pill to swallow and last week it was really bringing me down. But I swallowed that pill and this is a new week. And you can ask my high school track team, my freshman microeconomics professor, or anyone who’s been at a karaoke bar with me in the last 5 years: not being very good at something has never stopped me before. -MCp.s.
--- Let's celebrate your wins next. Ask me how!
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Bahnfyre
Content Marketing for independent entrepreneurs done differently. Here's your first tip: You don't need to grow your following.
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