Marketing yourself

One of the joys of establishing your own communications and marketing business is having to market yourself. It’s so much easier to be telling other people what and how they should b doing things.

Of course that is exactly the point. If it was easy for everyone to communicate and market themselves professionally, those of us in communication and marketing would be out of a job. It is that much harder to do it when you are so close to the business.

For those of you reading a blog of mine for the first time – welcome! If you are reading this in May 2011 (thought I would add that in just in case I have people in the future going back over the archives) then you are looking at my temporary website – something I pulled together to give me a launching pad while I do the real work behind the scenes. I have been working hard on writing my own business plan, building the basic brand, developing the foundations for the strategy and defining my services. This is something I have done for years for a number of organisations and something I hope to do for businesses and not-for-profit organisations for years to come.

I have chosen my words carefully because I want people to understand who they are dealing with. All will be revealed when i launch my full website in the next couple of weeks.

Connecting up on social networks is another starting point. Making sure you have built a foundation of contacts and that you are listening and responding to relevant topics the platforms most relevant to you.

Next is the toughest area – it’s actively looking for leads for potential clients. In your initial steps you have enabled networks including giving them an insight into your vision. Now you want to use them to increase your reach and bring in new clients. Recommendations are a powerful tool in any business. If you are a small business or a not-for-profit organisation your ability to advertise is limited. You rely on recommendations to build momentum.

So as I stand on the cusp of completing phase 1 and 2, I am looking for your assistance in phase 3, building my client base. I believe in my business model and I believe in the professional expertise I can deliver passionately to my clients.