213 How to Tell People What to Do in a 3-Step Plan
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Release Date: 05/31/2023
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
I got this podcast episode idea in the middle of Aldi. Seriously. I was walking down the grocery aisle when a sign stopped me in my tracks. It said: "Shop Aldi First." And I remember thinking: "Dang. That's good." Buried inside that simple phrase was a powerful marketing lesson that applies to almost every direct-to-consumer farm business. Aldi isn't trying to convince customers to buy everything from them. They're trying to become the first stop. In this episode, I unpack the marketing strategy behind Aldi's campaign and show how farmers can apply the same thinking to become the first place...
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What if the fastest way to grow your farm business wasn’t finding more customers… but finding the people who already HAVE your customers’ attention? In this episode, I’m introducing the concept of the “Dream 25 List” -- a simplified version of the famous Dream 100 marketing strategy -- and showing farmers how to identify partnership opportunities hiding all around them. We’re talking about: what's a Dream 25 list? why partnerships can accelerate trust faster than social media how to identify 25 businesses and influencers that already serve your ideal customer examples of...
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In this episode, I sit down with Krista Barzen-Hansen of Thirsty Fruit Farm (one of my students from Farm Marketing School!) to break down how her farm marketing has evolved and strengthened over the past year. In this farm marketing case study, we unpack: how customers discover her farm, how she nurtures leads, how she's constantly optimizing her "gateway" product what content she creates, how she thinks about onboarding, the systems she’s building, and how she’s learning to approach marketing with confidence and experimentation instead of overwhelm. Krista’s primary sales model...
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What if one sentence could help your customers trust you faster? In this episode, I’m introducing a powerful marketing tool called a proof sentence — a simple line that helps your customer think, “Yeah… this is probably going to work for me, too.” A proof sentence doesn’t just describe your product. It shows what happens after someone buys it. We’ll talk about why promises are so powerful in marketing, how to identify the transformation your farm product creates, and how to build your own proof sentence using a simple formula. Because your customers aren’t just buying...
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Is your farm website reflecting what’s happening on your farm RIGHT NOW… or is it stuck in last season? A few weeks ago, our farm was featured in the Toledo Blade newspaper during asparagus season, and suddenly we had a wave of new people discovering our business online. There was just one problem… Our website wasn’t ready for them. The homepage wasn’t talking about asparagus. There was no mention of the newspaper feature. And there wasn’t a clear next step for new visitors trying to figure out how to buy from us. That experience sparked a huge realization for me: Farm websites are...
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May 13, 2026 There’s a missing piece in most farm marketing funnels, and it lives after the sale. If your customers feel overwhelmed, unsure what to do, or like they’re “failing” with your product… they don’t come back. In this episode, I’m breaking down the concept of a Success Path -- the intentional roadmap you build to guide your customer from confusion → confidence → transformation. When you build this well, you don’t just create repeat buyers… you create loyal fans who trust you, stick with you, and tell others. What You’ll Learn: What a Success Path actually...
info_outlineMy Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
I own every single album by the Indigo Girls. I’m a true fan. I know the deep cuts. The obscure songs. The ones most people have never heard of. But the album I reach for the most?...Their greatest hits. The one with all the favorites. The songs I already know I love. And it got me thinking… What if your farm had a “greatest hits album”? Most farmers are sitting on their most powerful sales tool… and not using it. Your best sellers—the products your customers already love—are doing more work than you think. But if you’re not intentionally leveraging them? You’re leaving...
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What if the growth you’ve been chasing… isn’t actually about getting more customers? In this episode, I’m introducing a simple (but incredibly powerful) metric called Customer Value. And once you understand it, it will completely change how you think about your farm’s revenue, your marketing, and your growth strategy. Most farmers are focused on the wrong lever. They’re trying to bring in more people… when the real opportunity might already be sitting inside their current customer base. Inside this episode, I’m going to show you: What Customer Value actually is (and how to...
info_outlineMy Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
I walked into the grocery store this week… and it felt like Easter punched me in the face. Everywhere I turned, there were Easter baskets, chocolate bunnies, pastel packaging, even M&M’s rebranded as “eggs.” It wasn’t just a reminder that Easter was coming—it was a full-on invitation to buy like it was Easter. And here’s the weird part… I found myself wanting things I didn’t even plan to buy. If your farm products aren’t selling, it might not be your pricing… your offer… or even your marketing. It might be your timing. In this episode, I’m breaking down the 5...
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We just sold out our entire Spring Plant Sale in 48 hours… and I had to shut the store down five days early. I don't think it was luck. This year, I approached the plant sale differently. I built it like a launch. And in the process, I uncovered a few new strategies (and a few surprising insights) that I haven’t shared before. If you’ve ever run a promotion and thought, “Why didn’t this sell as well as I hoped?”... this episode is your behind-the-scenes look at what actually moves the needle. I’m walking you through the anatomy of this year’s Spring Plant Sale launch -- what I...
info_outlineMay 31, 2023 by Corinna
Wondering why more people aren't buying your product?...
Well, it could be many things. But maybe your customers are confused about how to start doing business with you.
Imagine a brand new potential client finds about your brand. They're curious enough to go check out your website or store. They might even scan the website all the way to the bottom! But they don't take action because they can't figure out what exactly is going to happen when they click the BUY NOW button.
This is a problem I see time and again on company websites and messaging. (I am guilty of it too!) As business owners, we aren't making the whole process clear. We are so close to our product that we assume everyone knows how it works! But what if they don't?...
For example, a prospect sees your "SHOP ONLINE" button, but they don't understand how pickup works. Where or when are they picking up the product? Or do you deliver it? When do they select that option? So they don't click the button.
People will not enter into a state of confusion.
Our job as marketers is to eliminate confusion, and part of that means we need to proactively map out the journey for them BEFORE they even step into the call-to-action-button -- to help them see the critical milestones in the ENTIRE process from purchase to fulfillment.
What does this look like? One popular method for communicating this information is to use something known as the "3-Step Plan." In today's podcast, I discuss what this plan can look like for a farm business, and I share some questions you can use to help you figure out your 3 steps.
This podcast was sponsored by Local Line, the leading e-commerce platform for the local food system. Try Local Line for your farm today! Local Line is offering a free premium feature for free for one year on top of your paid subscription. Claim your discount by signing up for a Local Line account today and using the coupon code: MDF2023. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: www.mydigitalfarmer.com/localline
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
I reference several examples of how the 3-Step Plan looks on actual websites. Check them out:
- SharedLegacyFarms.com/csa-membership <== my farm's CSA sales page
- WillowhavenFarm <== my farmer friend Tessa Demaster shows a Plan for a customizable CSA
- DallasOasis.com <== a wedding/event planner company
- Seven Sons Farm <== meat subscription box
- Chamberlain Law Group <== even my lawyer in Perrysburg, Ohio, is using a Plan section!!
Join my free email list! I have a great "email onboarding sequence" that will guide you through the marketing jungle over the course of several months. Each week, you'll get a new email with suggestions and tips to make your marketing better.
Accelerator Group Coaching with Corinna -- get on the wait list for this 15-member group Mastermind and Farm Marketing School experience.
Sign up for my CSA Academy -- and get access to my CSA member resource library to use for your own CSA (as long as you're a paying member). Use coupon code TRIAL to get your first month for $1.
Ten Common Farm Website Mistakes -- Use this PDF guide as a checklist to identify and troubleshoot common website messaging mistakes!
Find my Facebook group for farmers!
Follow me on Instagram for a daily IG story tip on marketing! @mydigitalfarmer