Well, that got your attention! Isn’t that what every independent professional is really looking for — that one magic formula that will take the effort out of marketing and bring you all the clients you need, forever?
Searching for this marketing silver bullet, they read articles and books, take seminars and home-study courses, and hire consultants and coaches. And in the process they learn about many, many so-called marketing secrets.
These “secrets” to marketing consist of supposedly surefire approaches like search engine optimization for your website, publishing articles online, social networking, joining a leads group, sending postcards, and running pay-per-click ads. There are of course many more, and each of them is being touted by someone as the ultimate solution for marketing your business.
Trying to sort out the truth in these conflicting claims leaves you with three basic possibilities:
- All of this is nonsense; there is no secret to marketing.
- One of these approaches probably really is the secret, but since you have no way of knowing which one, you’d have to try them all.
- All of these probably are secrets for some people at some times, but none of them may be right for you.
No matter which of these points of view you take, the result is that none of these secrets are ultimately very helpful.
For many years, I’ve said that the real secret to marketing for independent professionals is choosing a set of simple, effective things to do, and doing them consistently.
That word “effective” can make this a bit tricky. You have to know what is effective in order for this secret to work for you. If you were to choose a set of completely ineffective things to do, this approach would fail.
But by “completely ineffective,” I mean ideas like running a Yellow Pages ad to market a management consulting business, or networking on Facebook in order to make more contacts with doctors, or sending out direct mail letters to attract psychotherapy patients. When the marketing tactics you pick are that far off base, no amount of consistency will make them work.
If you choose a set of activities that have any level of effectiveness, they will work if you do them consistently. Cold calling will work if you make enough calls. In-person networking will work if you attend events regularly and follow up with the people you meet. Public speaking will work if you speak to audiences of a decent size on a regular basis.
With consistency and persistence, you can make even the most mildly effective marketing approaches pay off in the long run. But that qualifier “in the long run” is the catch. You don’t want to wait that long. No one does.
Is there another layer to this secret that will make it all happen faster? Yes. Choose a target market that needs your services and can afford to pay for them, craft a message that market will respond to, choose a set of simple, effective approaches to reach that market, follow through on each approach, and spend enough time on your marketing to produce results.
Notice your emotional reaction to reading those words. They’re not very exciting, are they? It sounds like work.
It would be much easier if the secret was something like search engine optimization, where you could pay someone else to do all the work and the clients would simply appear. Or joining a leads group, where you could show up at a weekly meeting and the other members would hand you business. Or running pay-per-click ads, where you would never have to talk to people before they became your clients. But of course none of these approaches really work that way.
Don’t blame yourself for wanting to avoid hard work. It’s human nature to look for the easy way out. But if you spend all your time searching for the effort-free way to market, you will end up making your job much harder. Every time you try another new way to market but then don’t follow through on it, or give up too soon to see results, you waste time and money, and lose momentum. By trying to avoid work, you actually create even more.
So instead of looking for a magic formula to avoid the work of marketing altogether, find ways to make it easier on yourself. Here are four suggestions that will help.
- Choose a target market you enjoy spending time with, and whose issues and goals you care about.
- Get help with crafting marketing messages if messaging isn’t your strong point.
- Use role models, recommended advisors, or a trusted system to identify only the best marketing approaches, then do what they advise.
- Use the support of a buddy, coach, or success team to help you follow through on your plans, market consistently, and break through fear and procrastination.
Note that if the above are ways to make marketing easier, doing the opposite of any of these will make it harder. Refusing to choose a target market, for example. Or spending time and money marketing with an off-target message. Or trying flavor-of-the-week marketing tactics no successful person in your field uses. Or not doing enough marketing because it’s scary. Or trying to do everything on your own. Or continuing to chase after silver bullet solutions.
The secret to successful marketing for independent professionals is choosing a set of simple, effective things to do, and doing them consistently. The secret behind this secret is finding ways to make the process easier. And the secret behind that secret is to stop looking for another secret and get to work on implementing the first one.
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now!: A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants and Coaches. Susan Myers is a licensed Masterful Facilitator for Get Clients Now!, delivering this road-tested program to businesses and organizations. You can’t afford to ignore your marketing any longer, Get Clients Now!
Susan Myers
Susan works with business owners to help ensure they have a website that works as hard as they do in their business. Website Design, Website Maintenance and Website Support are a few of the ways she can help your business. Get Started Today! Chat with Susan on Google+ | Twitter | Facebook.
Latest posts by Susan Myers (see all)
- Website Redesign-Is It Time For Your Website To Get A Wake Up Call? – March 12, 2013
- Why Evernote Is A Daily Reminder There Are Hackers Out To Get You – March 6, 2013
- Time To Change The Google+ Icon On Your Website – March 4, 2013
Hey great article Susan, I got linked to your site off of twitter. I really appreciate your marketing tips, although many marketers may already know them. They’re great reminders!
Why don’t you place your two cents in by adding a post on our Marketing Forums at forums(dot)empireinnovation(dot)com I’m sure many would like to converse with you and hear your advice.
Thanks again, if you’re ever in need of any website assistance, feel free to reach out! www(dot)empireinnovation(dot)com
Mario
Thanks for checking out my site Mario. I will check out the Marketing Forum later this week to see how I can fit in. Thanks again.
jam packed with great info! thanks and great job today! Patricia
Great info! You are so right about the consistency! That is the key to success!
Consistency is the key in so many areas of life. We are all experts at being consistent, as we go about our daily lives. Being consistent in business is just adding on another layer. Thanks for the great ideas!
I agree that the key is consistency! Another great informative article, Susan! I learn something in every one of your posts. Thank you!
Great info! It is all about consistency and being sure you like the market that you’ve targeted will definitely make it easier to be consistent and take some of the “work” out of it!
This is absolutely SOLID! My favorite line: the real secret to marketing for independent professionals is choosing a set of simple, effective things to do, and doing them consistently. I have to share this with my followers! Thank you!
Such grear info Susan, thanks for showing us the way in marketing. I always thought there were secrets to doing this right, but I also beleive that cinsistency is key and finding your own way through it all is very significant as well. Thanks!!!
Wonderful info—– consistency is the key for certain! I’m off to share your key facts on twitter!
Great post Susan! I like that you mentioned that some strategies work for some and not for others. People think when they see success it will be applicable to them, but not always.
Just what I needed Susan, (really!!!). Thank You. I will follow your advice since it is exactly what I need to do right now.
Wonderful advice, Susan…my favorite part is “And the secret behind that secret is to stop looking for another secret and get to work on implementing the first one.” I am going to remember that one!! : D
Great tips, Susan! CONSISTENCY and PERSISTENCY are two of the words that are etched in my brain for gaining success!! Thanks for a great post!
Great info, Susan. Consistency is really one of the key in marketing. Thanks for sharing this great article.
4 Tips are excellent and spot on! I actually have a picture of the women I market to on my wall
I have shared for you!
I agree…consistency is key! And I think knowing ourselves and our own abilities/skills is key to being consistent. What a great reminder!
So true…”the real secret to marketing for independent professionals is choosing a set of simple, effective things to do, and doing them consistently.”
What a great article Susan! I love CJ Hayden’s book too!! Good information on what’s effective and being consistent. Thanks for sharing.
Great info. Susan. I love this part “Note that if the above are ways to make marketing easier, doing the opposite of any of these will make it harder.” That is true in marketing as well as fitness or anything else.
All I can say is BRILLIANT!! My greatest challenge was figuring out how to quiet the noise on the internet. In the effort to help myself, I found I was spending way more time than I should reading conflicting “helpful hints”. I finally figured out that one thing wasn’t going to help…I had to weed out what worked in my business for my niche. Thanks for saying it so well.
Excellent tips! I love that it really comes down to keeping it simple! Thanks for sharing.
Love this article. And the closing paragraph is brilliant!
Thanks! Great post! I have a coach who helps me very much, so I guess I’m on the right track!
)