No marketing is better than the wrong marketing, because at least you aren’t wasting your time and money.

When marketing isn’t working, the cost isn’t just financial. It’s the time, energy, and momentum lost along the way. Below are a few common ways advisors unintentionally waste their efforts and money.

1. Doing the Wrong Things

Without a clear strategy, marketing turns into throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks. That doesn’t just waste money on activities that won’t work. It also wastes time you could be spending on building momentum in the activities that do work. Remember: Most effective marketing takes time to compound.

2. Not Doing Things Consistently

Even the right strategy won’t work if it’s applied sporadically. Inconsistent effort prevents momentum from building, which means you never see the return on the time and money you’ve already invested.

3. Spending Time Where Your Audience Doesn’t

If you’re investing a lot of time in a channel your audience doesn’t use, that effort is wasted, no matter how good the execution is. For example, spending hours on a social media platform when your ideal clients aren’t active there won’t produce results. Marketing works best when your efforts align with where your audience already pays attention.

4. Communicating the Wrong Message to the Right Audience

Reaching the right people isn’t enough. If your message doesn’t clearly explain who you help and how you help them, you’re still missing the mark. Confusing or generic messaging wastes attention, which is one of your most valuable marketing assets.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Doing nothing is sometimes better than doing any of the above. At least then, you’re not burning time and money while convincing yourself you’re making progress.

The takeaway: Marketing works when strategy, consistency, audience, and message are aligned. When they aren’t, effort gets time-consuming and expensive very quickly.