Stop Making Marketing Resolutions. Build a Practice.

A lot of solopreneurs start January with a marketing resolution that sounds responsible and still fails by mid-February: post three times a week, finally start a newsletter, go viral on TikTok, launch a podcast. The problem isn’t ambition. It’s the structure.

A resolution is a promise you make to yourself in private. A practice is a promise you keep in public, supported by people and reinforced by repetition. Seth Godin captured this neatly in a short New Year message: a practice keeps a promise, and community makes it more likely you’ll find your way forward.

For the SMB Content Marketing United States series, this matters because most small business content marketing doesn’t fail due to bad ideas—it fails because the system around the work is missing. You don’t need more willpower. You need a repeatable practice and a small circle that helps you show up.

Why marketing resolutions fail (and it’s not your discipline)

Marketing resolutions fail for one main reason: they’re outcome-focused, not system-focused.

When you set an outcome like “get 1,000 new followers,” you’re betting your motivation on a number you can’t fully control. Algorithms shift. Clients get busy. Life happens. And when the number doesn’t move fast enough, you interpret that as personal failure instead of normal lag.

A practice flips the logic:

• You commit to behaviors you control (publish, email, follow up, pitch, ask).
• You track inputs before outputs (drafts created, conversations started, offers made).
• You build identity (“I’m someone who publishes weekly”) instead of chasing a burst of motivation.

This is also why New Year’s marketing goals tend to be brittle. January is crowded. Everyone’s posting “new year, new offers.” CPMs often rise in competitive categories. Your attention is split between planning and execution. If your plan relies on perfect conditions, it won’t survive a normal week.

A better stance: choose consistency over intensity

Here’s my opinion: intensity is overrated for solopreneurs.

If you’re a one-person business, your marketing has to fit your actual life. The goal isn’t a heroic month of content. The goal is a year where your audience sees you often enough to trust you.

A simple rule that holds up: pick the smallest cadence you can keep for 6 months, then protect it.

The practice model: what to do weekly (even when you’re busy)

A marketing practice is a small set of repeating actions that creates compounding visibility. It’s boring in the best way.

If you want sustainable content marketing on a budget, the highest-ROI practice is:

1. One “anchor” piece per week (600–1,200 words, a video, or a workshop replay)
2. Two to five “spokes” pulled from it (LinkedIn post, short email, Instagram carousel, a client story)
3. One relationship action (reply to DMs, comment thoughtfully, ask for an intro, invite someone to coffee)

That’s it. Not 17 platforms. Not daily posting. Not pretending you’re a media company.

What the numbers say about consistency

The business case for a practice is strong. For example:

• Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI channels; Litmus has reported email ROI in the range of $36 per $1 in recent years (commonly cited across the industry; methodology varies by survey year and sample).
• Content marketing compounds: an article written today can drive qualified traffic for months—sometimes years—especially for service businesses with clear niches.

Even if you ignore ROI stats, the practical truth is obvious: a stable cadence creates trust. Trust is what turns “a reader” into “a lead.”

A simple weekly scoreboard (the only one you need)

Track inputs you can control. For example:

• Published: 1 anchor piece (Y/N)
• Repurposed: 3 short posts (number)
• Outreach: 5 genuine comments or messages (number)
• Pipeline: 1 offer made (Y/N)

If you hit those inputs for 12 weeks, you’ll have produced:

• 12 anchor assets
• ~36 short posts
• 60+ relationship touches
• 12 weeks of signal to your market that you’re still here

That’s how solopreneur marketing wins in the US: steady presence, clear positioning, and repeated proof.

Community is a force multiplier (especially when you’re solo)

A practice is easier to keep when someone else expects to see the work.

Seth’s post recommends joining a private discussion group (his is purple.space) or building your own circle. I agree with the principle, and I’ll take it a step further:

If you’re marketing alone, you’re missing the cheapest growth tool available: accountability and feedback.

Community works because it supplies what solopreneurs lack:

• Accountability: you’ll publish because you said you would.
• Feedback loops: you’ll improve faster because someone’s reading.
• Emotional insulation: one “meh” post won’t derail you.
• Idea flow: you’ll stop staring at a blank doc.

What a “marketing cohort” should look like

Skip big noisy groups where everyone is promoting. You want something small and practical.

A good cohort:

• 3–7 people (enough diversity, not enough chaos)
• Similar stage, or one step ahead/behind
• Clear rule: no selling inside the group
• A weekly meeting (30–45 minutes)

Agenda that works:

1. Each person shares: what shipped + what results (5 minutes)
2. One obstacle + one ask (5 minutes)
3. Quick feedback round (2 minutes each)
4. Commitments for next week (1 minute)

This kind of circle creates the “practice keeps a promise” effect without turning your week into meetings.

Don’t have a cohort? Build one in 30 minutes

If you have an audience—any audience—you can build support.

• Invite 5 peers you respect to a monthly Zoom.
• Make the invite specific: “I want a small accountability group for weekly publishing.”
• Set one rule: show your work.

The reality? Most people are relieved someone else asked first.

Four mindset shifts that make content marketing sustainable

Here are the shifts I’ve seen matter most for solopreneurs.

1) From “more content” to “clearer point of view”

More content isn’t the goal. Clarity is.

A clear point of view means people can repeat your idea in one sentence. Example:

• Not clear: “I help businesses grow online.”
• Clear: “I help local service businesses turn one weekly article into leads through email and Google.”

When you’re clear, your content gets easier to write and easier to buy from.

2) From “going viral” to “being easy to refer”

Virality is unreliable. Referrals are not.

Create content that helps a reader say, “This is exactly what my friend needs.” That looks like:

• specific problems
• plain-language explanations
• real examples
• a simple next step

3) From “I need motivation” to “I need friction removed”

Motivation is a mood. Systems are infrastructure.

Remove friction with small moves:

• Write in the same place at the same time.
• Keep a running idea list.
• Use a reusable outline.
• Batch your repurposing (30 minutes after publishing).

If publishing requires a perfect day, you won’t publish.

4) From “content as performance” to “content as service”

Most companies get this wrong: they treat content like a stage.

Treat it like customer support instead.

Your next blog post should answer one of these:

• “What should I do first?”
• “Why didn’t this work for me?”
• “How do I choose between A and B?”
• “What does this cost in time/money?”

Helpful content is lead generation because it reduces uncertainty.

A 30-day “practice plan” you can start this week

If you want a plan that fits January realities, use this.

Week 1: Pick your practice and your promise

• Choose one channel to own: blog + email is the most durable for SMB content marketing in the United States.
• Write your promise: “Every Tuesday, I publish one helpful piece for [audience] about [problem].”

Week 2: Build a tiny content engine

• Create a simple template:
  • Problem
  • Why it happens
  • What to do instead (steps)
  • Example
  • CTA
• Write 10 headlines in one sitting.

Week 3: Add community accountability

• Start a cohort or join one.
• Set one weekly check-in: “Did you ship?”

Week 4: Turn content into leads (politely)

Solopreneurs often skip this and then wonder why content “doesn’t work.”

Add one clear call-to-action to every anchor piece:

• “Reply with the word ‘PLAN’ and I’ll send my outline.”
• “If you want help implementing this, book a consult.”
• “Want my weekly playbook? Subscribe.”

If your content doesn’t point somewhere, attention evaporates.

People also ask: practical questions solopreneurs have

How long does content marketing take to generate leads?

For most service businesses, expect 4–12 weeks to see consistent inbound signals if you publish weekly and promote lightly. SEO often takes longer (3–6+ months), but email and referrals can convert sooner.

Do I need social media if I have a blog?

You don’t need every platform. Social is useful as a distribution layer. A solid approach is one primary platform (often LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram for local lifestyle brands) that points back to your email list.

What if I can’t write weekly?

Then don’t. Publish every other week and keep the practice. Consistency beats frequency.

The real New Year move: stop promising, start practicing

A marketing resolution is fragile because it lives in your head. A practice survives because it lives on your calendar—and ideally, in a small community that expects you to show up.

For this SMB Content Marketing United States series, this is the thread that runs through every tactic we cover: content that drives leads isn’t about hacks. It’s about doing the basics for long enough that your market trusts you.

If you’re mapping your next 90 days, here’s the question I’d use: What marketing practice can I keep even during my busiest week? Build that, protect it, and find a few people who will notice when you ship.