Welcome to the first episode of season 2 of The Ali Rae Haney Show.

We left off last season with an episode of how my plastic surgeon’s office continued to be oversubscribed based off of the principles in Daniel Priestley’s book. We are going to kick this season off with another concept he explores in his book: the 7-11-4 rule. 

This concept dives into how to gain trust and credibility from a potential client. It also gave me a clear idea of why exactly we, as small business owners, often feel like content creators instead of business owners. The marketing landscape is far different today than it was even 10 years ago. Consumers have a shorter attention span and there is a lot of skepticism because anyone can create an account and say they’re an overnight expert in any given topics.

So today, more than ever before, there’s a lot that goes into getting a client to trust us! As we will discover today, someone will need to spend literal hours with you in order to trust you. But that’s the beauty of digital marketing—you can easily be “with” someone you’ve never actually met. Now please don’t hear me wrong in that you should be disingenuous in order to get someone to do business with you! You do need to know your stuff and be “positively remarkable” as Daniel Priestley says. The concept we are diving into today is only going to allow you to be trusted more quickly because you can concentrate your efforts when setting up your brand ecosystem.

So let’s dive into the topic for the episode…

The 7-11-4 Rule

These three numbers represent different interactions with potential clients that all work to gain trust from them.

First, consumers want to spend seven hours with you.
Second, you have to have 11 touch points with said consumer.
Third, the 7 hours and 11 touch points have to take place across 4 different locations.

Let all that sink in for a second. 7 hours. 11 touch points. 4 locations. Initially, that all sounds daunting. I would have agreed with you at first, but the more I began to think of it, the more a strategy started to develop in my mind where we, as small business owners and especially those solopreneurs out there, could work smarter, not harder to be able to achieve this 7-11-4 rule without being solely a content creator.

Brand Ecosystem

Okay, let’s get to it. Your brand ecosystem, as it currently stands, will either support or not support this 7-11-4 structure. When I say brand ecosystem, I mean alllllll of those client touch points that people can encounter your brand. Take a step back and look at your business as a whole, from the bird’s eye view. Whenever I think about this in my own business, it makes me think of that meme with the guy from Horrible Bosses or Always Sunny in Philadelphia with the wall full of documents and strings connecting everything.

THAT is what your business ecosystem should look like. We always want there to be a next step for a potential client to take. Bonus points if that next step is EASY to take.

But this brand ecosystem doesn’t happen by accident. You have to carefully set it up so that anywhere a potential client enters, they have a very clear path to take. If you’re reading between the lines, I am implying that your content needs to be very easily bingeable; there needs to be a bunch of easy “yesses”; we want to retain them on one of our platforms as long as possible.

For example, if they first encounter you on your Instagram profile, you want them to know they can listen to your podcast. Boom, string connected. If they enter through your podcast, you want to funnel them to a service offering or lead magnet. Boom string connected. If they enter through your website, funnel them to your contact page or an email pop-up opt-in. Always give them an easy way to binge what you have to offer—education, services, entertainment, whatever. Another term for this is a “call to action.” We want them to present wherever you have an “ending” or potential exit in your brand ecosystem. Side note: this is why so many educators preach the power of email lists. As a consumer, it is the most passive way to stay connected to a brand. It doesn’t require the consumer to actively seek out a brand or business because they automatically pop into their inbox without searching the name or being subjected to a social media algorithm. 

Alright, now that we have the understanding of the brand ecosystem established, let’s just into some specifics about the 7-11-4 rule.

The “4”

Even though it’s called the 7-11-4 rule, I am going to start with the “4” first. This rule states that a potential client has to encounter your brand in four DIFFERENT locations before trusting you with their money, before saying yes to a paid service, and even sometimes a free service, with you. Let’s think through where these four different locations could or should be. I am going to list some locations where consumers could encounter your brand:

1. Instagram
2. Facebook
3. Podcast
4. Book
5. TikTok
6. Email list
7. Website
8. In-person at a craft show or market
9. Blog
10. Networking event
11. Magazine
12. Pinterest
13. YouTube
14. Third-party sites (i.e. Wedding Wire/The Knot)
15. Brick & mortar store
16. Referral from someone else

As I was reading that list, did any of those stand out as “easy” or “fun” for you? Maybe you prefer in-person networking events to spread the word about your business. Maybe you prefer to be alone in a recording studio for podcast or YouTube. Maybe you love social media…or video content… Everyone has preferences, but I encourage you to find locations that seem easy or enjoyable to you first before you branch out past those initial four because that is where you’re going to be able to stay most consistent, which as we all know, is key!

However, I do want you to also think about the 7 and 11 numbers when you’re determining which four locations you’re going to start with.

The “7”

The rule also states that you should have a minimum of 7 hours of content for a potential client to binge on! SEVEN HOURS. That’s a lot of hours, like almost a full workday! So, in-person networking events, for example, can’t be “binged” at any time as compared to a podcast or blog. It is also more difficult to accrue the 11 touch points needed to establish trust. Think of how much time it would take to see someone in person 11 times!

This is where the power of digital marketing comes into play. It gives you the ability to be present even while you’re working or sleeping or playing with your kids! This was a crucial part of my decision when starting a podcast. Podcasts are easily bingable. If you have 14 30-minute episodes, suddenly you have 7 hours of content that people can sit with and listen to. A podcast also allows people to hear your voice, which humanizes you. Finally, a podcast allows you to show your expertise in a long-form way that not many other platforms allow. Social media is largely “short form” where there is pressure to grab attention quickly or have your efforts be for nothing. That is not my strong suit—I would rather go deep with the detail of the content than have a ton of little snippets. Ultimately, that is what led me to start this podcast!

Additionally, I pair each episode with a blog post that corresponds with the podcast episode. This is how I accommodate both audio AND visual learners, so either can binge for seven hours. It also increases my SEO or search engine optimization. I can include keywords that my ideal client is searching for within my episodes, my show notes, and the corresponding blog posts that live on my website. SEO is an incredibly powerful tool; however, I am not an expert on SEO and that may be an episode for another day!

The “11”

We’ve chatted about choosing the four locations where your potential clients can find you; how to most easily create seven hours of content. Now let’s focus on the 11 touch points. Initially, it seems overwhelming…talking to a customer 11 TIMES before being able to establish trust or sell a product or service. But the way that you set up your brand ecosystem, helps potential clients achieve these 11 touch points on their own. These touch points don’t need to be overthought. They can be in their email inbox; they can be through a podcast; through social media; through YouTube; through your website. I want to be clear that you’re not physically sitting down to speak with each person 11 times. That would be physically impossible!

7-11-4 “Starter Pack” Strategy

So if the 7-11-4 rule is still sounding overwhelming to you, let me give you a “starter pack” strategy to achieve a brand ecosystem that establishes trust. This could be used if you are either a new business owner or possibly an established, but overwhelmed with marketing business owner.

Long-Form Content for Your 7 Hours

First, I would figure out which long-form content type you’re most comfortable with. This is where we are going to most easily be able to achieve the 7 hours with potential customers. The top three that come to mind are: blogging, podcasting, and YouTube-ing. Is that a verb?

My personal opinion is that the long-form content strategy with the lowest barrier to entry is blogging. Anyone can sit down and type out a 400- to 700-word blog post on topics that interest their ideal client. And if you tell me you can’t, please stop with the excuses. A little tough love coming at you—you can do it, you have so many resources at your fingertips, including ChatGPT, which is a great starting place not only to do research on your ideal client, but also brainstorming topics and developing outlines.

Adding a Location & Touchpoints

Once I have my long-form content sorted, I would include a call-to-action at the bottom of each blog post or the end of every podcast/YouTube episode that encourages them to either sign up for a newsletter or download a lead magnet. Lowest barrier to entry is to have them sign up for a newsletter because you then wouldn’t have to develop a lead magnet to grow your email list. If you’re really confident with your content you can say something along the lines of, “If you found this blog post helpful, sign up for our email list so you never miss another blog post again!” Email service providers are typically a paid software, so keep this in mind when beginning your email list. I use Flodesk as my email service provider. If you’d like to take advantage of Flodesk, use this link to get 50% off of your first year of paid service!

Now you’ve added a second location (email) where they can interact with you and you will begin to accrue those 11 touch points.

Finalize Touchpoints

After that, I would then take advantage of social media because it is a free marketing strategy. Instagram is where I hang out the most, but I encourage you to meet your ideal client where they are online and make that your focus.

If you choose to use Instagram, I have a favorite set up. It involves pinning content at the top of your profile that guides new users through the process of your brand. 

The first spot belongs to a “Start Here” graphic where you can guide their experience. Maybe it’s an introduction to your brand values or your services. It could be an introduction to you.  Whatever most accurately represents your brand garners that first spot on your feed.

The second pinned post is where I would encourage you to introduce YOURSELF to your audience. Make it a picture or reel of you, your family, whatever most accurately represents the essence of YOU. Then introduce yourself in the caption. When you write this caption, I want you to keep your ideal client in mind—think of parts of yourself that would appeal to them. If you have already introduced yourself in the first post, then consider making this one a feature you’ve had on another platform. Maybe there was an article written about your business or your work was showcased in a local magazine. That would give them their fourth and final location to establish trust!

That last pinned post can be an opt-in to your freebie or lead magnet, allowing them to opt-in to your email list and, thus, giving them a next step. You won’t be able to link directly in the caption, but you can tell them about the freebie and leave a link in your bio to sign up. 

These three posts are now three additional touch points to get you to your 11 total. They also guide them through the experience you want them to have when they first encounter your brand and give them multiple options to say “yes” to the next step in interacting with your brand.

If I were starting from scratch, that would be the beginning of my brand ecosystem to most efficiently achieve the 7-11-4 rule, so that I could establish trust with potential clients. While there’s nothing passive about being a business owner, there are systems and items that we can set up once and allow them to continue to do work for us. This is my acknowledgement that the “set up” phase is incredibly tiring and challenging, but when done well it can serve you for months or even years to come!

That’s all I got for today, so signing off until next week, but until then, keep dreaming, keep creating, and remember: your brand is your story. Let’s tell it together.