Marketing: If I Knew Then What I Know Now
We all look back at our past and reflect, "if only I'd known X at the time. I would have been more successful/kept my hair/met the guy of my dreams."
The same applies to running your own business. I started my marketing firm nine years ago, and I laugh now when I see the crappy website I had and think about the kinds of projects I desperately took on just to have some income. Here's what I wish I'd known then about marketing.
1. "The Cobbler Has No Shoes" Syndrome Will Hurt You
As a marketer, I've, er, found it difficult to market my own business. I've always been too busy marketing for my clients. So there have been times when my business has suffered because I didn't put enough energy into growing my own business. When I read Michael Gerber's E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, his suggestion to "work on your business" really resonated with me.
2. Having a Niche Will Actually Bring You More Customers
Early on, I was scared to say no. I needed to pay my bills. So I took on projects I had no business working on. I didn't zero in on my niche of blogging until about six years in. When I did, I broke out into a sweat, sure I'd be out of business within a year. Instead, something interesting happened. The more blog content I wrote for clients, the more new business I attracted. I got really good at my core offering, and as a result, more people hired me. Awesome.
3. You've Got to Market, Even When Business Is Booming
Oh, 2009. You got me, and a lot of other people. Business had been chugging right along, and suddenly, no one had money to hire my firm. Now, had I been marketing my business in the months leading up to the recession, it might have been easier. But I assumed everything was smooth sailing, so I didn't put the effort in. Now I know that marketing today will lead to tomorrow's customer, and you'll always need more business in the future.
4. If It Ain't Working, Ditch It
I tried Google AdWords. It didn't work for me. Nor did Pinterest. Instead of wasting too much time on the wrong marketing and advertising channels, I learned to let them go. Sure, Pinterest was a great marketing tool for people with products, but it was a little harder to leverage it to sell intangible services.
5. Consistency Is Key in Marketing
I have a pretty steady cadence for my marketing now. I publish three blog posts a week, and have a steady stream of social media updates. I've learned that people find comfort in the reliable. It's the blogs that erratically publish every day then once a month then once a quarter that drive off traffic and potential customers.
6. There's Nothing More Important to Invest in Than Your Brand Image
I designed my first logo. I'm too embarrassed to pull it out of the archives. I didn't see the sense in paying someone to design a logo when I was perfectly capable. Yeah, it sucked. My website too was a DIY nightmare. Now I understand that these are visuals that potential customers see, and they damned well need to be impressed if they're going to cut you a check. So you can foresake a lot of business expenses (start with that Starbucks addiction you keep writing off as a business expense) but marketing isn't one of them.
I'm a firm believer in learning from my mistakes, and I have made plenty in marketing over the past nine years.
