It has to be simple or you won’t do it. Ask me how I know. 

You’re busy, you don’t have a lot of help, or a lot of time. You can outsource some things, but, let’s face it, a lot of this thing we call marketing and practice development falls squarely on your over-burdened shoulders. 

That’s okay. You don’t have to do everything. You can get all the business you can handle doing mostly what you already do and maybe only a little bit more.

Here’s what I suggest:

1. Make referrals your cornerstone. It always has been and always will be the number one marketing method for professionals, and especially for sole practitioners. You already get referrals, right? With a little bit of attention, you can get more. Treat people right, tell them what to do to tell others about you (directly or on social), and thank them when they do.
2. A simple website. You need a place to send people to find out what you do and why someone should hire you. A few pages about you, your capabilities, and your services. You can do more but you probably don’t have to. Just make sure what you have doesn’t look dated, hype-y, or lacking something important.
3. Networking. If you like it and are good at it, have lunch or coffee once a week with a fellow professional, business contact, or prospective client. Find out what they need or want and help them get it. Introduce them to people, share ideas, build a relationship. If you don’t like doing this, or aren’t good at it, don’t do it. Life is too short; find something else you like and are good at and do that. 
4. Build an email list. People you know and want to stay in touch with, and people you want to know. Don’t rely on anyone remembering your name if they never hear from you. Email is easy, inexpensive, and ubiquitous. Create a lead magnet (report, seminar transcript, ebook, etc.) and offer it as an incentive to sign-up for your list and then stay in touch with that list. (See below). 
5. Content. Write something, record audio or video, or get yourself onto podcasts, and talk about your area of expertise, ideas, trends, news, and stories your market will appreciate. Use this content to keep your name in front of your target market and educate them about things they need to know and can share with with their contacts. You know your field. You know your clients and prospects. A 300 to 700 word article or blog post once a week is not overly demanding to produce and should provide you with sufficient leads and inquiries, visits to your website, and more sign-ups for your list. 

You can certainly do more but you probably won’t have to. You don’t have to spend hours every week attending formal events, posting several times a day on social media, promoting seminars, or laying out six-figures for advertising. In fact, as a sole practitioner, you probably shouldn’t advertise at all. You don’t need billboards or bus benches. Advertising gets expensive, fast, and in many fields and markets, there is too much competition. 

Not everyone only wants to hire a firm that has a billion dollars in settlements to their credit. 

Stick to your knitting. Do what you like and are good at and is working. And keep doing it. 

Unless you want to do more. 

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