Why Your Best Marketing Is Just Being Really Good At Your Job
There's a particular moment when someone joins the bootcamp where they realise something important.
It usually happens around week two. Someone says: "Wait... I don't have to be a marketer? I just have to actually be good at what I do?"
And there's this visible relief.
Because that's the thing most people get wrong about marketing. They think it's complicated. They think it requires them to be slick and salesy and pretend to have it all figured out.
It doesn't. Your best marketing is just being really good at your job and telling people about it honestly.
What Marketing Actually Is (And What It Isn't)
Marketing isn't:
Being slick or salesy
Convincing people they need something they don't
Overpromising
Being dishonest about what you can deliver
Pretending to be someone you're not
Using jargon or corporate language
Constantly selling
Marketing actually is:
Doing your job brilliantly
Letting people know what you've done
Being honest about what you offer
Showing real examples of your work
Being findable when people search for what you do
Responding when people reach out
Delivering on what you promise
ng a good self-employed person.
The Before-And-After Photo Is Actually Marketing
When a hairdresser shows a real before-and-after from an actual client, that's marketing.
Not in a dodgy way. In a "look at what I can do" way.
It's showing people the reality of your work. No hype. No filters (well, maybe filters for the photo quality, but not dodgy ones). Just: here's what's possible when you work with me.
That's powerful. More powerful than any sales copy or fancy ad.
People trust real examples more than anything else.
The Cleaner Who Takes a Photo of a Genuinely Clean House
That's marketing too.
She doesn't need to hire a photographer or stage the shot or make it look like something it's not.
She just needs to show a real example of what she does.
Because most people asking "is this cleaner good?" don't need to see fancy marketing. They need to see: would my house look like that after they've cleaned it?
Real photos answer that question immediately.
The Coach Who Talks About What Actually Happens
A coach talking honestly about the work is marketing.
"Here's what I help people with. Here's what a typical coaching process looks like. Here are real outcomes people have seen (with permission, obviously)."
That's not sales. That's just information.
But it's incredibly powerful information because it's honest.
People trust coaches who are honest about what coaching can and can't do way more than coaches who promise the world.
The Photographer Who Shows Real Work, Not Stock Photos
A photographer's best marketing is their actual portfolio.
Real work. Real clients. Real projects. Real outcomes.
Not stock photos. Not the "perfect" shots. The actual range of work they do.
Because potential clients want to know: does this photographer's style match what I'm looking for? Can they deliver the kind of photos I want?
The real portfolio answers that. Everything else is just noise.
Why This Matters
When you focus on just being good at your job and showing that work honestly, something shifts.
You stop competing on marketing. You stop competing on who's got the slickest website or the most followers or the best sales pitch.
You compete on the actual quality of your work.
And that's a much better place to compete from.
Because you control that. You can't always control who sees your marketing. But you can control the quality of your work.
So get really good at that. Then let people see it.
The Fear of "Putting Yourself Out There"
Most self-employed people feel weird about showing their work.
They think: "Is it OK to post that? Isn't that bragging?"
Or: "Who cares about seeing my work?"
Or: "What if someone judges it?"
But here's the thing: potential customers care. They actually want to see your work. They want to judge it. They want to know if you're good.
When you show your work honestly, you're not bragging. You're giving people the information they need to decide if they want to work with you.
That's a service, actually.
The Type of Customer You Attract
When your marketing is just "being good and showing it," you attract a specific type of customer.
You attract people who actually like your work. Who appreciate your style. Who want what you specifically offer, not what they think they should want.
You don't attract people you have to convince or push or oversell to.
You attract people who see your work and go "yes, I want that."
That's a completely different (and much better) customer relationship than attracting someone through pushy marketing and then having to deliver more than you promised.
What This Looks Like In Practice
For a hairdresser: Post real before-and-afters. Tell people how to book. Do brilliant work. Let it speak for itself.
For a cleaner: Show photos of clean spaces. Be reliable. Do good work. Customers refer you.
For a coach: Post honestly about what you do. Show real results (with permission). Be genuine. People trust you and book you.
For a photographer: Show your actual portfolio. Let your work speak. Be professional. Customers choose you because they like your work.
For any service provider: Do good work. Be findable. Be honest. Respond when people reach out. Deliver on what you promise.
That's it. That's marketing.
The Guilt About Visibility
Some people feel guilty about making themselves visible. Like they're being boastful or pushy.
But consider the alternative: you do brilliant work and nobody knows about it. Your customers stay small. You struggle to fill your schedule.
Is that actually humble? Or is it just... not serving yourself or your potential customers?
Your potential customers want to know you exist. They want to see your work. They want the option to work with you.
By being visible and showing your work, you're actually serving them.
By staying hidden, you're not being humble. You're just making it harder for the people who'd be perfect for you to find you.
Why Self-Employed People Make This Harder Than It Is
We often make marketing into this big complicated thing because it's easier than actually doing the work.
If marketing is complicated and mysterious, then we have an excuse for why we're not doing it.
But if marketing is just "be good and show it"? Then there's nowhere to hide.
If you're not getting customers, it means either:
Your work isn't as good as you think it is, or
You're not showing it to anyone
Both of those are fixable. But they require honesty.
The work is actually doing the work and making it visible. It's not fancy marketing or complicated strategies.
What Actually Converts
Do you know what converts people to customers more than anything else?
Seeing your actual work. Understanding what it's like to work with you. Knowing what to expect. Trusting that you'll deliver.
All of that comes from being honest and visible.
Not from clever marketing or convincing copy or fancy funnels.
Just: here's what I do, here's what it looks like, here's how to work with me.
Start Here
Stop thinking about marketing.
Think about:
How do I make my work visible?
How do I show real examples?
How do I make it easy for people to find me and work with me?
How do I follow through on what I promise?
That's it. That's everything.
Your best marketing is just being really good at your job and letting people see that.
You don't need to be a marketer. You need to be good at what you do and willing to show it.
Everything else is just noise.
Do the work. Show the work. Let people find you.
That's marketing.