Marketing. It is a big scary word that many of us have a bad image of marketing. So, let's think of it like spreading the word. Good marketing doesn’t bug you and is relevant. I am going to be talking about starting and why you need to here.

I want to get some things out of the way first before proceeding. First, this is not some crazy marketing growth hack article and b.s. tactic. This requires work like anything else. Like I wrote about last week, all hard work brings a profit. This is building on the "showing up every day" idea.

I am also not a marketing person but I do see a lack of marketing knowledge or the wrong type of marketing for the people I serve the best. That is churches and organizations or young startups. I am taking what I have learned and practice and spreading it out there.

Lastly, if you have not sat down and figured out your why and got specific, stop reading. Look back at some of my other posts and do that now. Otherwise, you are trying to throw sparks at a log and expect it to catch on fire. Getting specific allows you to focus on what and who you market to. Ideas generate easier and all of your ideas are consistent. Write the word and spread the gospel.

Remember, starting is the hardest part. However, if you never start, it will never happen. If you don’t spread the word, who the heck is going to find you? How will you help someone? It is okay if it isn’t so great at first, that is the awesome part of seeds.

The idea here is planting seeds. Eventually, they grow. Over time they start to add up and build a lot of value.

I am really big on the camp of creating marketing material that teaches someone else. The reason why is because it builds trust. Some examples would be teaching someone how to use your product. Educate about your process. Teach someone something new. If you get really specific, this is pretty easy to figure out.

Usually, by teaching someone in some sort of capacity, you have now created a valuable piece of content. Stop the “I can do this and that for you” posts. Most people don’t really care. It can work sometimes but it is a really short term gain. It is one of those annoying posts you skip. By teaching someone something new, they get more intrigued and want to continue learning more.

Also, don’t talk about tactics. For example, I am a designer but I never talk about the coding languages I write. I talk about what I do and who I do it for. Teach and talk about benefits.

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Takeaway:
Figure out who you are helping and serving.
Get specific and figure out how to help them or teach them.
Just start. Plant seeds so they grow into a large fruitful tree.
Also, start simple.

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Most of us are really busy so creating a strategy is pretty important. We will get into that next week and I will give some ideas and tips on how to be more productive.

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