In an extroverts’ world, it can often feel like you’ll never fully succeed as an introvert. Business, television and social media are full of “look-at-me” content. Having “fun” must mean partying the night away. We are told that to be successful in business, we must be outgoing, combative, go-go-go, all the time. I think of the Apprentice candidates wheeling their little cases around London, getting up at 4am to be ready in 20 minutes to head to an unknown destination, and having to sell some half-baked shite to global business leaders who don’t even try to sound impressed. It feels like the only way to succeed is to hustle.
As an introvert, I don’t exactly fit the mould of the stereotypical business owner. Large networking events, speaking engagements and marketing material featuring my face are all clear no-nos, bar the odd social media post or my own website. Still, it’s taken me over four years in business to get to that point. I prefer email over phone calls, my social battery is microscopic and I live very much inside my own head. And if I do get five spare minutes to myself, the last thing I want to do is initiate a conversation.
Oh and being a BBC Apprentice candidate is my idea of an actual living hell. I’ve nothing against the show or the candidates, it’s just not what I’m about.
So how do I do it? How do I market my business in such a way that avoids cheesy TikTok dances, hustling and generally being the centre of attention? It’s a question I asked myself when I first started out four years ago. The answer - in a large part - is SEO.
As an introverted business owner, I have a number of strengths. My ability to focus intensively on one thing at a time means I can be super productive on tasks that require deep thought, such as writing long-form content or carrying out technical SEO tasks. Perceptiveness and creativity are perfect for generating new ideas and creating insightful content. The need to feel prepared means I’m great at planning and researching for content, learning new skills and supporting my clients in 1:1 meetings and my small group SEO programmes.
If you can relate to any of the above, then read on. This article is all about how you can use your natural traits as an introvert to market your business and build your brand online, without having to burn yourself out time and time again to do so. Specifically, I will uncover how search engine optimisation (SEO) is an introvert’s weapon of choice when it comes to digital marketing, and how you can take advantage, even as a complete SEO beginner.
Understanding Yourself as an Introverted Entrepreneur
Firstly, what is introversion? Whilst many people associate introversion with shyness - and the two can go together - this is a misunderstanding and a generalisation. Being introverted or extroverted is to do with where you get your energy from. Broadly speaking, extroverts thrive off being around lots of people and having lots to do, and they tend to get bored with tasks that require quiet contemplation and deep thought. Conversely, introverts take their energy from within. Busy surroundings and lots of surface-level social interaction (such as polite smalltalk) can be very draining, but they can immerse themselves in a book or a deep, meaningful conversation with one or two people for hours.
Being introverted means we thrive on having the space to focus, think, plan, and process the world. We prefer deep, meaningful relationships over large groups of acquaintances. Small talk feels forced and pointless, whilst preceptive, in-depth conversations where we can fully explore different ideas are our vibe. You can probably understand how, in the modern, instant world we live in, our introverted traits can often cause us to feel rushed, overwhelmed and burned out, whilst others may see us as slow, overly sensitive, and boring. However, many introverts will turn out to be incredibly interesting, engaging, funny people who just need more time and space to express themselves and perform at their best.
Common Challenges for Introverted Business Owners
As introverted business owners, some aspects of this lifestyle present challenges. In my experience, they can be put into three main categories:
Outreach & Networking: Our strong preference for perceptive, in-depth conversations and meaningful relationships does not lend itself well to speed networking. I have never understood the point of speed networking myself. As someone who wants to really understand the people I meet, I don’t have much to go on from a two-minute conversation in a noisy room. That means I don’t build enough rapport to have a meaningful business relationship with them. Whilst introverts don’t crave lots of company, lacking a network can mean we miss out on opportunities to grow our businesses.
Self-Promotion & Visibility: Many introverts - myself included - value privacy. I see absolutely no need and have no desire to be recognised in the street. In fact, I’d rather people didn’t recognise me, so I can avoid the aforementioned pointless small talk. So, self-promotion and visibility do not come naturally to most introverts. This presents a very obvious challenge, in that we need our brands to be visible in order to generate sales.
Overwhelm & Burnout: Introverts are prone to overwhelm and burnout. Having huge to-do lists, lots of people to speak to, many places to go and loads of competing priorities can quickly drain our batteries. Once the battery is drained, it’s time to hibernate. Sadly, this isn’t very practical when our businesses need us to be conscious and vertical. So, managing our energy efficiently and understanding what fuels and drains us is crucial.
Strengths of Introverted Business Owners
So, being introverted in business does present its challenges. However, there is a wonderful upside. If you are an introverted business owner, then congratulations! You likely have a number of superpowers that many extroverts can only dream of having:
Analytical Thinking: Introverts tend to think about everything in-depth. We process information internally, over and over again, and this means we tend to be highly perceptive. This ability to analyse means introverts tend to naturally excel at research, planning and strategy, all of which are essential to a successful SEO campaign.
Deep Focus: SEO involves highly technical work and long-form content creation. Both require deep focus, and fortunately for us it’s another thing we excel at! Furthermore, for an SEO campaign to be successful and give you a fantastic return on investment, it must be sustained for several months - often with little sign of it working for the first six months or so. Many people are incredibly impatient these days, and extroverts can find it particularly difficult to keep investing energy into something that doesn’t offer instant gratification. For an introvert, however, time can fly by and patience isn’t a problem.
Written Communication: I hate picking up the phone. If I want to communicate with someone, I’d prefer to email (and I’d rather they do the same). This relates to the earlier points about analytical thinking and deep focus. Introverts like to plan ahead and think before saying something, because they want to be sure that they’re giving you accurate information. They’re also not great at multitasking or re-focusing once their flow has been interrupted. Written communication, on the other hand, requires research, focus, and analysis - core introvert traits. Fortunately, SEO requires a lot of writing and not much talking, so you’re well-placed to succeed if this sounds like you.
Marketing for Introverts: Why SEO is Our Bag
I’ve already highlighted how being introverted can lend itself to SEO. In this section, I’ll go into more detail on how SEO allows you to utilise your introversion and drive organic visibility, traffic and sales via your website without crushing your boundaries or blowing up your social battery.
Research and Strategy: SEO requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Keyword research, content creation, analysing and strategising are all central to making SEO work for you. There is also plenty of room for you to go back and tweak things later, which allows you to gradually transform your website content into an asset.
Long Form Content Creation: Quality over quantity is an SEO fundamental. You don’t need to blast out stacks of content on the daily - nor should you. Instead, you can pick a website page or blog topic, drill down into what you really want to say, and focus on creating high quality content a couple of times a month.
Build Authority Quietly: Visibility and authority building are part of SEO. To benefit from SEO, you need people to find your website, so you need to be visible in search engines. You also want people to link back to your website from their websites (this is called backlinking) to help you build authority. However, unlike social media, PR or paid ads, SEO allows you to do this on the down-low. There’s no comments section on a blog post (unless you want to have one), which allows you to maintain a boundary. Furthermore, when you carry out an SEO campaign, you’re only getting visible among people who are actually interested in what you have to offer. This limits the opportunity for individuals with nothing better to do to stumble across your content and start adding unnecessary comments to the mix.
Long-Term Rewards: SEO is a long-term game with long-term rewards. Progress is steady and sustainable, rather than fast, high-energy and high-maintenance. You get to transform your website into an asset that works away in the background, and your efforts accumulate over time to produce results. There is no viral, no “blowing up”, and no pressure to maintain momentum that can feel volatile and beyond your control.
Actionable SEO Tips for Introverted Entrepreneurs
Introversion and SEO are natural partners because many introverted traits lend themselves to running a highly effective SEO campaign. However, being introverted does present its challenges, and sometimes even our positive traits can hold us back. Overthinking, over-preparing, and the need to dive into every detail mean we can sometimes get bogged down with analysis paralysis. Here are a few actionable SEO tips for introverted business owners:
Focus on Content: We often say in the SEO world that “content is king”. Focus your efforts on producing consistent, quality content that educates, inspires and motivates your target audience. If you just want to concentrate on one thing, make it content.
Outreach and Link Building - The Introvert’s Way: Guest blogging and backlinks are part of SEO. However, they do not have to be your main focus (hence the previous point) and you can do it your way. You do not need to slide into the DMs of random people to pitch your blog. Instead, build meaningful relationships with other business owners and take it from there.
Research, Plan, Strategise - But Not Too Much: Too much analysing and not enough action is a common combination for introverted entrepreneurs. Avoid analysis paralysis by focusing on one thing at a time and remember that SEO strategy naturally evolves over time. It is not set in stone, so you are allowed to change your mind later on.
Be Authentic: If you are going to the effort of producing quality, engaging, long form content for your website, then allow your personality to shine through. Write the first draft however it sounds in your head, even if like me you have a dry sense of humour that not everybody appreciates. Your people will find you, and those who aren’t your people should be suitably repelled. If you try to please everybody, then you will please nobody.
Unlock Your Marketing Superpower: Start Your SEO Journey Today
SEO is an ideal marketing channel for introverted business owners. Planning, strategic thinking, deep focus and long-term results are central to a successful SEO campaign and coincide perfectly with many introvert traits. The opportunity to build authority quietly, and concentrate visibility among exactly the right people allows introverted entrepreneurs to thrive without the pressure and drain of social media, networking and live events.
If you are an introvert, and you want to grow your business in a way that is authentic and manageable, then SEO is well worth the effort. If you start today, then in three months you’ll start to see subtle shifts in your website rankings. In six months, you’ll have seen a steady growth in your organic traffic. In twelve months you’ll start to see more sales or leads through your website, and in a couple of years’ time you’ll have transformed your website into an asset that works for you 24/7 to drive organic visibility, traffic and sales without you having to spend all day on social media, hustling at networking events or showing up anywhere and everywhere just to get in front of your audience.
Drive Organic Visibility, Traffic and Sales with My SEO Training & Consultancy
An introvert myself, I help independent business owners learn SEO so that they can transform their websites into a consistent source of organic visibility, traffic and sales. My suite of SEO courses, coaching and consultancy services are there to help you get in front of your target audience, no matter where they are in the buyer journey. From initial awareness and building that know / love / trust factor, to closing the sale and generating repeat business, SEO has a role in helping your business grow online.
Finally, if you are an independent business owner who wants to take advantage of the huge potential SEO offers, but you aren’t sure where to start and want support and accountability combined with SEO training from an experienced consultant, then my brand new SEO membership is for you. Starting September 2024, I am taking a compact group of independent business owners through the process of transforming their websites, and I want you to join us. Spaces are limited, and I am running a special launch offer for everyone who chooses to join us in September. Join the SEO Club waitlist via this form, and you’ll receive first access to the early launch offer!
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