Quiet Marketing – Discoverability vs. Being Visible Online

You might be ready for your own version of “quiet marketing” if any of the following questions have popped up for you recently…

Have you started to feel disconnected from your business? Do you feel like have to always be “on” when it comes to showing up online?

These two questions were exactly what I found myself asking as I did my second 90-day review process in early June 2021.

If I'm being honest, the first half of 2021 has been a little rocky. I've felt disillusioned—like I wasn't doing things that excited me.

At one point, I even felt like completely throwing the towel in and starting fresh.

This is why I started to ask questions. To probe deeper. And what I discovered made so much sense.

You're about to learn why I'm pulling back from social media. And why I'm more focused on discoverability instead of being visible online.

✅ It's why I closed my free Facebook group last week (June 30, 2021).

✅ It's why I've not run any live programs since January 2021.

I'm choosing to focus more on what lights me up. Being true to my Human Design strategy and type.

But let's back up a bit and start with a few key concepts so that we're all on the same page.

The Move To Quiet Marketing Explained…

What Does Being Visible Online Mean?

I'm sick of people saying that you've got to be visible online. That you've gotta show up for your audience, provide value, give, give, give… to have a profitable online business.

I call BS on that way of thinking.

I've talked about how I discovered Human Design in March 2020. How much it's helped me get clear on what I want to do. Not only that but it's provided a framework for me to make decisions with.

Part of it is also understanding myself more and being ok with doing things differently.

If you're interested, I'm a manifesting generator with sacral authority. I'm also a 2/4 profile.

This might not mean anything to you if you've not experienced your own Human Design chart, but it explains a lot to me!

As a manifesting generator, I'm here to do things differently. To find the quickest way through anything. I take rules and rework them. It explains why I can do the things I do and why others might not be able to keep up.

And that's ok!

We are all unique.

But part of being a manifesting generator is that I'm also here to inspire. To show others that things can be done differently too.

And with sacral authority, I can make decisions quickly. I move fast.

More on Human Design…

The part of Human Design that most people don't know much about is the profile piece.

As a 2/4 (Hermit/Opportunistic) I am a classic omnivert. At times, I can be introverted (the 2 – Hermit aspect) and at others, I can be extroverted (the 4 – Opportunistic aspect).

It goes a little deeper than that though.

As a 2/4, I need time to myself, and I'm learning that I need a lot more time than I thought. When I'm in creative flow, I love being left to my own devices.

But where the struggle for me can be is in knowing what my unique gifts are. I often don't see them because they are so innate. That's why I need a close circle of people around me, people who I trust who can pull those gifts and talents out of me.

I know that's a lot of information to digest, but it's important as it sets the stage for this change.

So back to the whole meaning of being visible online…

For me, this has looked like running a private (free) Facebook group.

Showing up inside that group daily with inspiring thoughts, musings, and positive words. I started the group to help empower creative entrepreneurs to create an online business that was easy and fun… for them.

I'd go live at least once a week, more if I had a live program to sell.

I was also running at least 2 live programs a quarter, with most of these being 4-6 weeks long. I'd teach live workshops each week as part of these programs.

And while initially, this was a ton of fun, when we started 2021, I noticed resistance to this plan. But I forged ahead anyway.

Because I'm all about planning!

Being visible online also means sharing regular content everywhere. Like blog posts or YouTube videos. Writing emails for my email list etc.

By the time I got to June 2021, I started to feel burnt out.

I was also seeing little to no engagement inside my Facebook group. With big changes happening in the social media world and privacy settings—not to mention the political landscape—I found myself not gelling with Facebook at all.

I knew it certainly wasn't a place I wanted to be spending a lot of time on, and with almost zero people seeing my posts inside my Facebook group, I starting thinking… what's the point?

Around the same time, I worked with a coach who is focused on simplifying things in her business. She is also focused on ‘quiet marketing'.

This term intrigued me and when Dani explained more about it, I LOVED the concept.

Basically, quiet marketing focuses on discoverability vs. being visible all the time.

The Discoverability Concept & Quiet Marketing

Discoverability is about people finding you vs. you always having to show up or be “on” all the time online.

I don't class myself as an introvert. But I like the concept of quiet marketing and discoverability for this season in my life and business.

Another way to understand discoverability is that it's founded in search engine optimization principles… but the biggest difference here is that you're optimizing your content based on your messaging and what you want to be found for.

The people who resonate with your messaging find you because you're optimizing for the content they want to learn more about. Instead of going after a keyword because it's got the highest search volume, cost per click, or is a long-tail keyword.

This simple shift is key.

Dani also discusses, in her quiet marketing post, that it's not about using scare tactics or other traditional marketing tactics to get people to take action.

This is something I've felt out of alignment with for a while, particularly as I'm moving most of my offers to be available all the time. This means that I no longer need to tell people to “hurry up and buy now” because they're going to miss out.

Instead, people can buy when they are ready, not because of some arbitrary time that might make someone feel like they are missing out if they don't take action… only to have that program or course sit on their virtual shelf never opened, because they weren't ready for it.

I want people to buy when they are ready (and able) to take action and not before.

The other key to understanding discoverability is that it's also about the message rather than the offer.

I love this so much.

This means I can focus on sharing messaging and key concepts vs. talking about why someone should buy my stuff.

Creating Your Own Quiet Marketing Plan

If any of this is resonating with you, then I want to provide you with a framework for figuring out what this might look like for you and your business.

Step One: Discover your Human Design type, strategy, and authority

Honestly, nothing else matters if you're not living in alignment. Human Design has helped me get clear on doing what feels good for me.

As a manifesting generator, I'm designed to respond to life. To follow the things that the Universe puts in front of me that light me up. That I'm excited about.

And while it might excite me today, tomorrow might be different and I have the option to change my mind. Nothing is ever set in stone for a manifesting generator.

I find it easy to simply allow the Universe to guide me. I don't have to try and figure anything out.

I just need to be aware of what is happening externally and follow what lights me up. So simple.

On top of this, I use my authority—the way I make a decision. I have sacral authority. This means that I listen to my gut. And it's always either a yes or no. There is NEVER a maybe.

It's very easy for me to make decisions because I know if something feels good and if my gut is on board.

This has been a game-changer for me.

If you want to get started in Human Design, I recommend checking out www.mybodygraph.com (it's free) to get your own chart.

I'd then recommend reading this book: Human Design – Discover the person you were born to be by Chetan Parkyn.

If you want help understanding your Human Design and how it applies to you and your business, you can learn more here.

Step Two: Figure out your own messaging

Messaging centres around how you help people. I create messaging for each offer I have.

I use a framework where I describe Island A, Island B, and the Tangible Transformation that my offer provides to my ideal target customer. This is the basis for my messaging.

I talk about this entire process in this video:

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Go ahead and watch that for all the details.

Step Three: Choose your main platform

Once you've got clarity on the two steps above, choose the platform(s) where you'll be sharing your messaging content.

Here's the deal. You get to choose this. If you LOVE running a Facebook group, then do that.

If you love to blog, do that.

The key to understanding discoverability and quiet marketing is that it's your choice. All of it.

For me, I'm choosing to focus on blogging and my YouTube channel. They both link to each other. One week I might do a video then another week it might be a blog post.

It's up to me. I love writing, but I also love video and creating a video is much faster for me than a blog post is.

I follow what lights me up, what feels good.

And that's the crux of running an online business that's easy, fun, and profitable.

Doing what feels aligned, what feels good for YOU.

Even if you choose to skip over the Human Design element—choose to do things that feel good to you. You really can't go wrong if you do that.

Let me know what your thoughts are about quiet marketing and discoverability in the comments below.

Do you plan to make any changes yourself? I'd love to know!