Marketing in Tough Financial Times

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Marketing a business at all is a difficult feat, let alone in times like these.  In my own business, I’ve had to get creative, work much harder, and learn to rely on my strengths rather than my marketing budget.

In times past, I might have focused more on actually having a marketing budget.  Today, that’s a secondary concern.  What I mean is, in the past, I would have focused more on whether or not I was allocating enough of my revenue toward a marketing budget and then if I was effectively using that budget to market my business.

What’s more important now, though, is using what I do have in my possession to keep my name in front of people – and as many people as possible.  In times like these, I’m cutting every financial corner I can, including where my marketing budget is concerned, so I’m using other assets to support my lead generation efforts.

For me, writing has always been my “bread and butter” lead source, and fortunately, it’s free!

My clients have always found me through articles and posts I’ve made online, so my focus is writing and posting as much as possible on a daily basis.  Here’s my plan in a nutshell.

Monday:

Write two guest articles.  (Monday is light on lead generation for me, since that’s my day to catch up from weekend emails from clients, as well as to have my twice-monthly call with my accountability partner.)

Tuesday:

Write articles for newsletter, post to Twitter, and post entries to three of my blogs.

Note: I publish two email newsletters per month.

Wednesday:

Write guest articles, post incoming guest articles to my blog, post entries to at least two out of my three blogs, post to Twitter, request incoming/outgoing guest posts at BloggerLinkup, and mail to my “local business farm.”

Note: My local business farm is a group of 240 local businesses.  I send a card, once per week, to 20 of the businesses.  By the end of the year, each business will have received 4 cards from me.  I include coupons and discounts in each card that expire at the end of the month sent.

Thursday:

Post entries to three of my blogs, post to Twitter, and handle any to-dos related to my monthly “Solopreneur Camp & Connect.”

Note: My “Solopreneur Camp & Connect” is a monthly tele-seminar and networking event that focuses on issues related to solopreneurs and small business owners.

Friday:

Handle any to-dos related to my quarterly “Give Back Project.”  (Friday is another day that’s light on lead generation for me, since I usually wrap up client projects for the weekend and then usually try to take off somewhere between 12-3PM.  What’s the point of being a small business owner, if you’re not going to enjoy the extra flexibility and freedom?)

Note: The “Give Back Project” is my “websites for success” program where I build websites for aspiring business owners with little or no income.

My plan is heavy (very heavy) on writing.  It’s not easy, for sure, but it’s free, and it works.  The key is to be consistent. If you post often enough and make sure to stay in front of your ideal clients or customers, they will find you.

Author Bio:  Amber Riviere is a web designer with BrownBugProject.com.  You can follow her work through her blog and through her newsletter, Inside Brown’s Brain.

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