Did you pencil me in this week?

This article was submitted by Michelle Gartner, of Gartner Web Development.

If you think that a cash shortage is what keeps business owners from marketing, you are halfway right. Many marketing campaigns can be started with very little cash outlay. What generally derails marketing efforts is the amount of time actually spent on marketing, not lack of spending cash.

On my initial visit with business owners about marketing their small business or website, the first thing they want to talk about is how much money it will cost them. The first thing I want to talk about is how much time they can personally devote to their marketing.

Instead of getting down to the heart of the issue- time and money, we usually start our discussions by brainstorming on the many different marketing products and resources available to them.

These marketing tools could include:

· Yellow page ads, including online yellow pages
· Newspaper ads
· Email campaigns
· A business blog
· Postcard mailers, a newsletter, a letter writing campaign
· Billboards
· Banner ads, Adwords, etc

The list goes on and on, of marketing tools available to businesses. Some marketing tools could be classified as intangible items like networking opportunities such as BNI, Chamber of Commerce, and attending conferences such as Affiliate Summit.

The next order of business after talking about the various marketing tools that are available to the company in particular is to isolate which options would constitute a targeted marketing campaign. No one should ever undertake a marketing campaign without first thinking about the targeted audience. This is to save precious resources of both time and money. One would not send out a bulk mailing for dog biscuits to an entire town that has one dog. A rather juvenile illustration but you get the point.

After the business owner and I have agreed on one or several marketing tools to implement, it is then that I lay all the cards on the table.

“How much time will you devote to your new campaign,” I ask?

That’s when the gulps come, the shortness of breath, and the excuses, on their part. It’s not that I am not sympathetic either; we all are pressed for time. However, if you don’t do any marketing how will your business or website thrive? If you don’t stick with your marketing campaign and be unrelenting about your businesses success- no one will do it for you. Sound familiar? I left with you that point last week.

It was worth mentioning again. You see, when I go back to visit many of my clients, the first thing they tell me is “I was too busy to post fresh content to our blog.”

“I just didn’t have time to write a newsletter this month, but next month it will happen. I have so many ideas for it.”

Next month may never come if you don’t market your business or website aggressively. This applies to businesses big and small, on the internet or in a store front, and to those of you who treat your blogs as they should- like a business. Don’t kill your business because you didn’t pencil marketing in to your schedule.

Back to my title “Did you pencil me in this week,” if you thought I was referring to me you were wrong. I am thrilled you took the time to read my Thursday post at Chris Bloczynski dot com. However, the “me” I was referring to is your marketing. Even more importantly then just penciling in a little marketing time is actually doing it.

If you haven’t been aggressively marketing your website now is the time to do it. Start by putting marketing into your work schedule several times a week. In your first few time slots start brainstorming all the ways you can market your website. Then move towards implementing the targeted marketing tools you will use for your website. As each marketing campaign ends, repeat the process. Remember marketing is cumulative, if you don’t put the time and work in you will not see results.

When next Thursday arrives will you be able to tell me you marketed your website? Or will you let another week slip by? Tell me about your latest marketing efforts, leave me a comment.