I've been doing "marketing" now as a "job" for nearly 3 months. Yes, this is the reason I didn't blog at all, laziness had nothing to do with it *cough* yeah right *cough*.
In that time I've learned a tremendous amount about personal marketing both by developing things that work and things that just don't work.
I think the biggest lesson learned so far is that you shouldn't market in a way that isn't personally compelling. That isn't to say that just because you create a campaign that is compelling to you, it will be compelling to everyone else. No, it's merely meant to say that, if you don't like it, its likely that no one else will.
This basic premise goes for "tactics" as well. Take for instance non-profits and their donation raising strategies like sending you a "you missed your annual donation" letter. Yeah, that really makes me feel loved and appreciated. Thanks. We've ALL seen these before numerous times and increasingly fewer of us respond to them, some of us are actually insulted by them. (Hint Hint It's ME!) Yet, "we" press on using the same tired "tactics".
That said here's a few pro-tips:
1. Don't be afraid to market outside of the box, reaching everyone with a single campaign just doesn't happen anymore.
2. Try something new, don't be afraid to crash and burn once in a while.
3. If YOU wouldn't respond to what you've just created, don't ship it, because no one else will either.
4. Know your base. I can't stress this enough, you have have KNOWN you base at one time but they change, just like you. So take time to re-know them every once in a while.
Happy marketing and God bless.
