“Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” is Bullshit Marketing Advice for Solopreneurs

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This post might ruffle some feathers. 🤭

Here's the thing 'everybody' says, but nobody wants to admit about being "everywhere" online: it's complete bullshit. #sorrynotsorry

For years, we've been fed this lie that successful entrepreneurs are omnipresent time-traveling wizards —like Marvel's Dr. Strange— posting on Instagram, creating TikToks, pinning on Pinterest, tweeting on X, networking on LinkedIn, ...sewing posts? on Threads 😂 and SOMEhow still running their actual businesses too.

Here's what they aren't telling you: those big names you're trying to emulate, who gave you that advice? They have teams. Plural. Humans with specialized skills. AND expensive software, and systems you probably can't even replicate, let alone afford yet.

Meanwhile, you don't realize that they have so much help & support to do all of that, and you're over here wearing 75,000 different hats, trying to be Gary V., Marie Forleo, Steven Bartlett, Oprah Winfrey, and Mel Robbins simultaneously, all while wondering why you feel like a hot-mess-express that's about to explode and completely derail.

You're not failing. This outdated & unrealistic advice is failing YOU.

This multi-platform marketing myth is destroying solo businesses

I learned this the hard way. Between 2015 and 2019, I was everywhere—and I mean everywhere. Pinterest with 50+ pins a week (because apparently that was a magic number), Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and probably some other platforms I've blocked from my memory due to traumatic response. 😂🫣

With the 70/30 or 80/20 rule popular at the time for Pinterest specifically, I was trying to read every single piece of content before pinning/sharing it—70-80% curated content, 20-30% original. That PLUS creating posts & graphics for all the different platforms & keeping up with algorithm updates & changes in platform-specific best practices, etc. You can imagine how exhausting it was to vet and create and schedule, then engage with that much information while also trying to build AND RUN a business?

It felt like trying to cook a seven-course meal while simultaneously hosting a dinner party, cleaning the house, and doing your taxes. Something's gonna burn or blow up, and it's usually us.

🔥 The Bonfire Analogy

Here's what really happens when you spread yourself so thin across multiple platforms: You're trying to build seven different bonfires all at once.

You get the first one crackling, then move to the second & get that one going strong; by the time you're lighting the third, the first one may be dying out, so you rush back frantically adding kindling, —but now the second fire is barely flickering, and the third is roaring out of control.

Round and round you go, never getting any of them to the safe but roaring bonfire you were hoping for, because you're constantly in damage control mode and unable to focus on any one of them before one or more of the others pull your focus.

Even with all those fancy scheduling tools—Tailwind, Later, Planoly, Plann, Metricool, Creator Studio, whatever the 'cool kids' are using now—you still have to create the content. You still have to source it, write it, design it, and schedule it.

AI can't do all of the creative heavy lifting (yet). Plus, let's be real: do you even want to consume tons of content that's entirely AI-generated & published without a human? Because I sure as hell don't. And neither do your potential customers. Content created exclusively (only) from a robot is not helpful or relatable for humans.

Why the “Be Everywhere” Strategy FAILS Solopreneurs

We'll label these like Seinfeld episodes —and if you don't know what I'm talking about then we can't be friends. 🤭 (JK!)

1. The Notifications 🔔

Every time I tried to be active across multiple platforms, I'd quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of notifications or things to check. DMs, comments, likes, shares, mentions, analytics, hash tag strategies, comment/dm automations, —it's like having seven different jobs that all demand immediate attention & I don't like/enjoy ANY of them! 😂

When you're constantly checking notifications, you stop doing the work that actually makes you money. You become a full-time social media manager for your own business, which is probably not what you signed up for when you decided to become an entrepreneur. Yes, it'll probably help get your name out there and attract an audience, BUT WHY DOES THAT MATTER IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS, ANSWERS or HELP for those people you're attracting?! (ie: "the work" —meaning: content, services or products for your audience)

2. The Attention Deficit 😵‍💫

When you're spread thin across platforms, none of them get your best work or effort either. You're creating mediocre content for 7+ different places, instead of exceptional content for just one or two.

It'd be the same if you were in seven different relationships all at once, —somebody isn't getting the attention they want or deserve, and you're always exhausted trying to keep everyone happy. (Tell me you watch TLC's Sister Wives without telling me you watch Sister Wives. 😂)

3. The Burnout 🫩

This is arguably the main one. When you overextend yourself trying to maintain a presence everywhere by yourself, you WILL burn out. It's not an 'IF' situation. YOU WILL; it's just a matter of time.

The problem is, when you're a solo entrepreneur, burnout doesn't just affect your marketing—it affects your entire business. Without a team to help you, or tons of software to support & run a lot of these processes...as long as you're the only person in your business and if you crash, everything STOPS.

No systems? No backup software running in the background? No work, and maybe no safety net. Just you rocking back & forth in the corner, wrapped in a blanky, muttering to yourself with whatever energy you have left, which probably isn't much. 🫣

The Solution: pick ONE thing & get good at it

Revolutionary concept: Focus matters.

Instead of trying to be everywhere, pick one platform that you actually enjoy using and get really, really good at it. I know, it sounds too simple. But simple doesn't mean easy, and it doesn't mean ineffective either.

The one-platform strategy

For me, that platform started with blogging about 10 years ago. I added all the social media channels because I thought I had to, but I've been blogging for nearly 10 years, as of posting.

In 2022, I started adding YouTube videos to my blog posts as a companion piece that went WITH the article—7 years after my first blog post.

Here's how it works for me now:

1. I create one piece of long-form video content (the video in this blog post)

2. I turn that video's transcript into a blog post (repurposing the original content to a different medium)

3. That one piece of content shows up in multiple places: YouTube, my blog/website, search engine results (like Google), and now even AI chat responses (like ChatGPT and Perplexity).

One piece of content works across multiple touchpoints.

So it's not about being everywhere—it's about being findable with quality content that actually helps your audience, on a platform/medium you enjoy & can do consistently without overwhelm.

Why this strategy works for solopreneurs

1. It's way more sustainable.
   You're not trying to feed seven hungry platforms on a kid's allowance-sized budget. You're creating one really good piece of content and maximizing its reach, purposefully avoiding unnecessary work for yourself.

2. It builds authority.
   When you consistently show up in one place with valuable content, people start to see you as the go-to person for that topic. You become known for something specific instead of being forgettable everywhere. This is the ultimate goal, AFTER you master the sustainable marketing method you choose.

3. It's manageable for one person.
   You can actually do this by yourself without 3 different softwares, systems & automations, without burning out or hiring a team. 😏🤷‍♀️

“But Katelyn, How Do I Choose Which Platform?”

Great question. Here are my suggestions:

1. What do you actually enjoy?

This isn't a trick question, —promise! If you hate being on video, don't choose YouTube or TikTok or Instagram Reels. If writing makes you want to stab yourself in the eyes, maybe skip the blog-first approach. You're going to be showing up consistently on this platform for months (years, even), so pick something that doesn't make you want to fake your own death by 1,000 paper cuts. 🔪🩸

2. What are you naturally good at?

Are you a natural storyteller? Maybe podcasting or YouTube could be your thing. Do you love taking photos and have an eye for design? Instagram might be a better fit, especially now that posts will start showing up in Google searches soon (if they haven't already by the time you're reading this). Are you a word nerd who can explain complex topics simply? Blogging could be your superpower. Do you love live/in-person events? Maybe workshops or networking would work really well for you! — Play to your strengths, not against them.

3. Where does your audience actually hang out?

This one requires a bit of research, but it's crucial. If you're targeting busy executives, they're probably not scrolling TikTok during their lunch break. If you're trying to reach creative millennials, they might not be actively engaging on LinkedIn.

Don't guess—ask your current customers or ideal clients where they spend their time online.

The Timeline: Why 3 Months Isn't Enough

Here's where most people screw up: They pick a platform, try it for a few days or weeks, don't see immediate results, and either quit or add another platform to the mix.

Stop. doing. this!

If your business is new and your existing online presence is closer to nil/zero, you need to stick with your one platform for at least six months before you decide whether or not it's actually working or not. Preferably longer. Give yourself time to get good at this strategy, to get comfortable with it, to reach a point where it feels easy. And while you practice this strategy, CHECK YOUR ANALYTICS. Not to find out what your effort is worth (yet), but to get better at making decisions based on facts –not feelings.

When we are doing something uncomfortable, our brain tells us to stop and we can create any number of totally fake reasons to support that decision.

Meaning, excuses like:

1. Eat this cookie or piece of cake, it won't mess up today's diet if no one knows I ate it. 🤤

2. Speed just a bit more than usual; cops usually aren't on this stretch of highway & I probably won't get a speeding ticket. 🚔👮

3. I'll finish the course modules next month when I have more time; it can wait and I can make time later. 😏

4. Just one more episode before I go to bed... I know I have to wake up early, but that's tomorrow-me's problem. 📺

5. I have bills to pay, but those shoes are TOO cute to pass up! I can pay something late if I need to. 🤔

We all do this. We tell ourselves little half-truths or create justifications that feel good in the moment but sabotage our long-term goals. Our brains are absolute pros at manufacturing convenient stories that help us avoid discomfort.

And that’s where we get into dangerous territory. Because when those feelings start masquerading as facts, or when we confuse temporary emotions with logical conclusions… we start making decisions that don’t serve us or our business.

That brings me to one of the biggest mindset shifts you need to make if you’re in this for the long haul:

FEELINGS are not FACTS.
CORRELATION does not equal CAUSATION.

Just because you want something to be true, or feel like something is/should be true, doesn't mean it actually is.

This is something we all do. It’s human nature. Humans feel a lot of things. And the older I get, the more I notice how often this can show up, —even when I think I’m being rational and logical.

But if we’re at least a little self-aware, we can (hopefully) catch ourselves before we act on emotions alone and make decisions that aren’t grounded in reality.

Feelings vs actions

Today’s societal norms like to tell us “your feelings are valid” — and yes, that’s absolutely true. But that message has quietly mutated into a cultural belief that our actions based on those feelings are valid too. And that’s… not true. Whatever FEELING you feel in a given situation is valid, but how you ACT based on those feelings may not be.

Life example:
You come home from work angry. Totally fair — your feelings are real. But snapping at your partner or roommate who had nothing to do with it? Not fair. The anger is valid. The reaction isn’t. If you take that feeling and turn it into a behavior, you’re offloading your emotional baggage onto someone who didn’t pack it. That’s not emotional regulation, it’s misdirected fire.

Correlation vs Causation

Just because two things happen at the same time, or near each other, doesn’t mean one caused the other.

Life example:

Let’s say every time you grab your keys, your dog spins in circles like a caffeinated raccoon in a bounce house. You might think, “Grabbing my keys makes my dog do the Zoomies.” But keys don’t cause Zoomies. What’s really happening is that your dog has learned to associate the sound of keys with something exciting — a walk, your departure, or maybe snack time. So: grabbing your keys correlates with the chaos, but it doesn’t cause it. If you pick up your keys at 2 a.m. and go back to bed? Dog’s still spinning. Because their little dog-brain thinks it means something.

When we confuse correlation with causation in our own lives, we start doing the human version of barking at keys:

• 🌀 “They didn’t reply = they must be mad.”

• 🌀 “My launch didn’t work = Mercury is in retrograde.”

Coincidence is not causality. And “vibes” or feelings are not data.

Making better business decisions

Business is rife with this kind of faulty thinking.

• 💡 “My product isn’t selling — it must not be good.”

• 💡 “Leads aren’t moving forward — my pricing must be too high.”

Let’s pump the brakes, because those are feelings, not facts. Data is what actually helps us make better decisions, so let’s suss it out!

Example:

• Your product isn’t selling. But did the sales page get enough eyeballs? If only 50 people saw it, and the standard conversion rate is 1–2%… that’s one sale. Not a failure. Not a bad product. Just not enough traffic.

  • 🧠 No sales yet + low traffic ≠ bad product

• A lead doesn’t book right away after a discovery call. Do they tell you your price is too high? No? Then maybe it’s a timing mismatch, a decision-making delay, a convo with their biz partner that hasn’t happened yet.

  • 🧠 Lead not booked yet + positive discovery call ≠ your services are too expensive

When our feelings LIE

Here are some examples of how this shows up in daily business decisions:

• You feel like no one’s buying your product — but maybe your sale notifications are off. If you don’t check the dashboard, you might pull a product that’s quietly performing well.

• You feel like no one’s watching — but if inquiries are up, the content is working. You’re just measuring the wrong thing.

• You feel like your email list is full of bots because no one replies — but if they click your links or buy your stuff, they’re real. Just quiet.

Since adding YouTube to my long-game strategy in 2022, I’ve been learning with every upload. And while I’m not exactly swimming in subscribers (2.5 years in, still under 2.5K), the data shows it’s helping my business regardless of the growth speed.

Every video is practice. Every blog post is a rep. But if I judged success on feelings alone? I’d have given up long before now!

So: check your data. Pay attention to your thoughts & feelings, but don’t rely on them alone. Don’t bark at the keys. 😉🔑 🐕

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Questions to ask yourself after 6 months of consistency

1. Is there a return on the time/money I'm investing in this?

2. Am I enjoying the process (most of the time)?

3. Are people finding and engaging with my content?

4. Is this bringing qualified leads/customers to my business?

5. Do I feel like I'm getting better at this?

If the answer to most of these is yes, then keep going. If not, it might be time to try a different platform—but stick with just that one. If that means changing platforms, post something that says 'I'm moving over to [platform name], so find me over there!' to let people know you didn't just disappear/quit/give up.

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When (& How) to Add a Second Platform

Eventually, you might want to or feel ready to expand your reach by adding another medium for your marketing strategy. But here are my rules:

1. Wait until you're actually pretty good at the first one and seeing results

"Good" means you've been consistently creating content for at least 6-12 months, you have systems in place, it feels easy, and you're seeing some kind of return on your investment (whether that's leads, sales, or just people finding your stuff).

2. Choose something complementary

If you're killing it on YouTube, maybe add a blog. If you're a blogging machine, consider starting a podcast or YouTube channel. If you're on Instagram, maybe add Pinterest. If you're on Twitter, think about trying Threads. If you're doing in-person marketing, pick up more live events or start some live workshops. Pick something that works with/alongside your existing strategy, not against it. If they are too different from each other, and you're still a one-person show, then it will quickly feel overwhelming & you'll stop/give up before you see results.

3. Have a plan for repurposing

Don't just add more work to your plate. Figure out how to turn your existing content into something that works for the new platform too. One piece of content, multiple formats. This might mean buying subscriptions or software (the most cost-effective solution, honestly), vs hiring a contractor to help.

4. Set boundaries

Decide upfront how much time you'll spend on the new platform and stick to it. Don't let it cannibalize the energy you're putting into your main strategy or they could both explode/collapse!

Permission to Stop Doing What You Hate

Here's your official permission slip: You don't have to be everywhere; by itself, "should" is not a valid reason.

You don't have to be on Instagram if you hate/suck at taking photos. You don't have to be on TikTok if dancing/singing makes you cringe. You don't have to start a podcast if the sound of your own voice makes you want to crawl into a hole. You don't have to blog if it stresses you out. You don't have to go to/host live events if crowds make your heart race in all the worst ways & public speaking is your worst fear.

Other people don't run your business. They don't pay your bills. They don't know your strengths, your capacity, your income or expenses, and your goals. So why are you letting their "shoulds" dictate your strategy? 🤔

The “but everyone else is doing it” trap

Every time someone tells me they "should" start posting on social media, I'm always asking them why: "Have you successfully run your business using social media before now?"

The answer is usually some version of no, and is usually related to some version of FOMO and "should".

So why start now?

• Because you feel pressured?

• Because some marketing expert told you it's the only way?

• Because you're comparing your behind-the-scenes to everyone else's highlight reels?

Let's be real: none of those are good reasons to add more to your already full plate.

Pick one. Get good at it. Build an audience there. Then, if you want to and have the capacity, consider adding something else.

But please, for the love of all that’s holy, stop trying to do everything at once.

The secret of success

Ready for it?
Consistency beats omnipresence every single time.

I'd rather see you show up reliably in one place for a year than sporadically across seven platforms for three months before burning out and disappearing entirely.

Your audience needs to know where to find you, and so do the algorithms in these platforms. They need to trust that you'll be there when you say you will. They need to see that you're committed to providing value in that space. If you need to change your consistency, that's fine –but be consistent with the change too.

Going from every other week to 1x month? Fine, do what you need to do. Switch from weekly to 2x monthly? Okay, do what you need to do. But DON'T post when you feel like it with no recognizable schedule, because that's the best way to become invisible.

You can't build trust when you're scattered across the internet like digital confetti. 🫤

No BS: A Quick Recap

1. Stop trying to be everywhere.

2. Pick one thing.

3. Get good at it.

4. Build something meaningful there.

Your future self—the one who isn't burned out from trying to manage seventeen different social media accounts—will thank you.

Your business—the one that gets your full attention instead of your scattered energy—will thank you.

Your sanity—what's left of it after years of platform-hopping & shiny object syndrome—will definitely thank you.

You don't need to be everywhere to be successful.
You just need to be consistently valuable somewhere.

Your people are waiting for you there—not scattered across the entire internet, but in that one place where you show up as your best, most focused self!

What platform are you going to focus on?

Drop a comment and let me know—I'd love to cheer you on as you stop doing #allthethings and start doing the right thing for you, instead.