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What does it take to be a good marketer?
You must love your product or service as a true love loves their beloved. It
takes deep knowledge of the attributes, and unflagging enthusiasm. Marketing
constantly means saying the same thing over and over. Again. How many times,
how many ways can you say, I coach people in Emotional Intelligence," or
"our frosted caramel pound cake is the best you can buy"? How do you
stay fresh? How do you keep taking a new look at your product and service?
1. Understand "the public" and marketing.
I imagine most of you reading this have heard of the field of coaching, yet
when I spoke on a cruise, not one person in the audience had heard of it. It
will always be "new" to someone.
2. Therefore: Marketing 101: By the time you're "sick and tired of it,"
the public is just beginning to hear about it.
3. Another reason you must repeat and repeat is that open rates are so low,
and attention spans are so short. The average "open" rate for eZines
(according to Constant Contact, one supplier), is 48%. Half the people won't
open any given thing you send them, so won't have heard your message at all.
(Thus the "do it 7 times" rule.)
4. It can be the litmus test of your passion. Think about your child. Did you
ever once get tired of talking about your child, or run out of things to say?
Your business must be like that, or else (1) move on, or (2) hire a marketing
person to impart that enthusiasm.
5. Or take a vacation.
Getting refreshed, and seeing new things breed creativity. Get a good vacation
and when you come back, everything looks new.
6. We create our enthusiasm by creating our enthusiasm. It takes effort, intentionality
and action. It takes discipline. Like love, enthusiasm is an act, not a feeling.
7. Schedule your marketing and sales time for when you're "in the mood."
Most good salespeople I know admit that sometimes they just don't have it, and
sometimes -- well, when you're hot, you're hot.
8. Get inspired by reading other people's copy.
Peruse some large apparel merchant, and marvel at how many ways they find to
describe -- A BLOUSE! Now, you can do that too! Regularly cycle through websites
of competitors to see what's new. Terms, styles, vocabulary, pitches change.
9. Book a brainstorming session with a marketing coach when you get down and
run out of ideas.
That's what we're here for. When you're doing it constantly, and for a variety
of items, the pump is always primed. Get a website makeover. When the site looks
new, so will the words.
10. Listen carefully when your satisfied customers describe your products and
services, and, yes, write them down.
They will say things you could never have thought of in a million years, and
in their own totally unique way. Testimonials are worth their weight in gold.
About the Author
Susan Dunn, MA, The Marketing Coach
http://www.webstrategies.cc. Full-service marketing for the coach or entrepreneur
web design, web strategies, SEO, key words, metatags, article-writing and submission,
eBook writing, consultation, brain-storming. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE
eZine, and put "Checklist" for the subject line. You do what you do
best, and let us do your Internet marketing. |
