Owning a business can be stressful enough, but when you add in having to land enough clients, sell enough books or products, etc., it can be brutal. So much so in fact that many just give up prematurely. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, marketing can be fun and exciting. You just need to know how to make it so. These tips should help.
Marketing 101 – Best Tips to Market Your Business
- Define your brand and continually work towards improving your image. When someone sees something from you, you want them to immediately think, “Hey, that’s ___ They make the best…” or, “Hey that’s ___ they rock at…” When you are the first person that comes to mind of those who are looking for help in that area, it’s a win/win for all. They get what they need and you get a new client or sale. Now much of that involves actually being the best, but even more importantly, you want to keep your brand recognizable so you can build that immediate connection. You do this by presenting a consistent color theme, logo, image, and more importantly a consistent marketing message.
- Don’t get too comfortable marketing just one way. Many make this mistake. They only do one kind of marketing and subsequently don’t see the results they need. Now if something is working for you and you have all the clients and sales you need, by all means carry on. However, if you are looking for more clients or sales, then it’s time to add more to your marketing arsenal. But the next step is important: choose the right marketing. What are you comfortable doing now? What feels right and has proven to be successful? The key is to add something similar. Of course you can always take classes and learn new things – that’s encouraged. However, there might be marketing tasks you can do that go right along with what you are currently doing. For example, say you are currently marketing writing and sending out articles. Why not add in writing blog posts or press releases. If you are currently doing social media marketing via Facebook, how about adding a new social media network such as LinkedIn. Now we encourage you to keep on adding new marketing in, but make it easy on yourself initially.
- Be in the news and share that you are in the news – When sending out press releases and articles that rock, you become the expert and those that read your media, want to work with you because of that. Unlike advertising, when you appear in the media it doesn’t feel like you are selling, but more that you are awesome and know your stuff. Clients are more compelled to reach out to you because you are the expert they need. Now let’s talk about getting you there.
- Getting in the news – First you need a newsworthy topic. That’s a whole article in itself, but you get the picture. Don’t just write a release to write a release, you need to truly have something of value to offer. One way to see what others are writing about is to follow the news that is currently discussed in your industry. What are people talking about and asking questions on? What interests them most? How can your expertise contribute to these topics? Now get cracking and ensure that what you have to offer fits right in. Write a newsworthy press release and/or article and send it out. Also, accompany that with a pitch (a few paragraphs describing the release or article you are submitting and why it matters along with who you are) and then send it out to the right places.
- Develop databases to pitch to. We use Cision which allows us to create databases of targeted journalists, editors, bloggers, etc., so our pitches and releases we write get to the right people, those who would be interested in our topic. It’s expensive, but worth every penny. However, you can also do research on your own and find those to pitch through internet research. The most important thing to remember is to send to the right places and in the right format. What’s also gold is to continue to build those databases and to fine-tune them. When you hear back from someone that is interested, move them from this database to a new personalized one you will be pitching to. When someone asks to be removed, you promptly remove them. When you find new leads through research, add them. The key is to constantly be creating killer targeted databases.
- Making the most of your news – Yeah, you got picked up by a major media outlet. Congrats! However, you aren’t done yet. What’s important is that with everything you write, you get the most out of it. How do you do that? You share the news on your social media channels. Remember these are the people who already trust in you and know you. When you show them you got press, it might be just what they need to take that next step and hire you or buy from you. Also add it to your blog and newsletter and don’t forget your press page on your site.
- Be specific in your marketing – One mistake a lot of entrepreneurs make is when they market, they don’t market on the tasks they want more business in. It seems like a no-brainer, but more and more businesses make this critical mistake. They do more generic marketing as opposed to specific marketing. Decide on the products or services you want to market and write your marketing copy with those in mind. This isn’t to say that you can’t market other areas of your business at all. It’s just that when you are specific in your PR efforts, you will attract more clients who need that particular service.
See how easy it is to market today? It’s a matter of knowing your audience and brand, getting the most out of all your marketing efforts by being smart in the way you market, and finally, the most important part of marketing – belief in your product or service. It’s that simple!