No revenue? Look at how you talk about your work

If your service business isn't getting work, I'd first check whether people can understand what you do, when they should call, and why they'd choose you. Then check whether that message is reaching people who need the work you want to do. Those are different problems, and spending more before you separate them can waste money.

By Eric Yim, Protocol Text, a marketing services business based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

No revenue is the symptom. Find where the work stops.

I think the symptom is no revenue, right? You're not getting work. And the issue is you're not talking about it. You're not finding the people that care about you.

That's the marketing problem I want owners to look at first. It isn't a diagnosis of every business with an empty schedule. If you have a very unique skill and people are dying to have it, your situation may be different from someone competing against plenty of similar providers.

Start with what's actually happening. If nobody is asking about your services, look at your message and where people encounter it. If inquiries come in but they're for work you don't want, look at what you're telling people you do.

If suitable prospects contact you but don't book, review what happens afterward: your response, the conversation, availability and the estimate. More attention alone won't explain why an interested person stops there.

Make it clear when someone should call you

In industries where customers see services as interchangeable, saying you do good work doesn't give them much to choose from. Explain the work specifically enough that someone can recognize their situation.

As an exercise, write down the service you want more of, the person who needs it, and what matters to that person when choosing a provider. Use those answers to write a plain description. Leave out any claim you can't support.

Here's an illustrative example, not a client result. Imagine a cleaning business that wants recurring office work. “Quality cleaning you can trust” gives a reader little direction. “We clean small offices after closing so staff don't have to work around the cleaning crew” identifies a service, a customer and a practical reason to care.

That description only belongs in the business's marketing if it's true. The exercise is to find the useful detail in your actual work, not invent a difference because it sounds good.

Read your current website opening and a recent post. Could someone unfamiliar with your business explain when to call you? If they can only say “they seem professional,” the message may need more detail.

Find people who care about that work

A clear message still needs to reach someone who can use it. Start by asking where people looking for that particular service are likely to look, who they might ask, and what they need to know before contacting you.

For the hypothetical office cleaner, that could mean making the office-cleaning service easy to find on the website and sharing a useful explanation where local business owners already pay attention. A post attracting people who want house cleaning wouldn't necessarily help fill an office-cleaning schedule.

Word of mouth belongs here, too. If you do good work and people like it, they're probably going to recommend it. My view is: yes, and amplify it. Give people something clear they can share, so the recommendation travels beyond a conversation.

The goal is to help people who resonate with your work, your ideology and your values find you. Chasing virality can pull you away from that. A popular post doesn't tell you whether the right person understood your service.

Run a small check before changing everything

Choose one service you want more inquiries about. Review the path someone would take from hearing about it to contacting you. Can they find the service details? Is the service area clear? Can they tell what to do next?

Then make one focused change. You might replace a vague introduction, explain a common customer situation, or give an existing referral contact a useful service-page link. Keep a simple record of what you changed and when.

When inquiries arrive, note what people wanted and how they found you. If they keep asking for a service you don't offer, that's a reason to review the message or placement. If they understand the offer but can't book, investigate that next step instead.

Don't expect an immediate result from every change, and don't use waiting as a substitute for checking. Set a review date that fits how often people typically inquire. With very few inquiries, you may need conversations and direct feedback before you have enough evidence to judge a pattern.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to post everywhere to get work?

I want your message to reach the people who can resonate with it. As a practical starting point, choose places you can maintain and where relevant customers have a reason to pay attention. Expand when you can keep the service details consistent and respond to inquiries. Being present everywhere won't fix an unclear offer.

What should I post if I don't have a new project to show?

Explain a real question someone asks before hiring you: what a service includes, what information you need for an estimate, or which situations fit your work. Use your actual process. You can also write an illustrative example, but label it clearly rather than presenting it as a completed job.

Should I pay for marketing if I've tried it before and felt let down?

A disappointing experience deserves scrutiny. Before committing again, ask what the proposed work will change, what you'll need to contribute, and how you'll review relevant inquiries rather than attention alone. Technology has made amplifying a message more accessible, but that doesn't make every offer a good fit. Resolve those questions before spending.