This is Week 47 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I’m applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week here, on the podcast, and at the Marketing Mix blog.
I had a dad who worked all the time. I used to think this was a bad thing—okay, I still sort of do, as he’d probably be around had he taken a little better care of himself and not worked quite so hard.
But work was what he loved, and a lot of his work was just meeting with and talking to people. Everywhere. Of all types. It was astounding to me, his schedule, so filled with appointments to talk to people—on the phone or in person, or to correspond via old-fashioned postal mail.
As I look at it more carefully, I see that what he was doing was very much along the lines of what I find myself doing: marketing by Not-Marketing. Talking to people, meeting people, talking some more. Building a network that builds itself, after a bit (although you are still always responsible for maintaining it.) I realized while I was talking to my friend Havi and her Gentleman Friend that a good deal of the work and opportunities that flow to me do so because I talk to people, either in a formalized way (the public speaking stuff) or an informal way. Maybe advertising works better for you, or maybe other types of marketing. But systematically trying stuff, then paying close attention, should illuminate your path after a bit.
“Marketing” round-up for this week:
- 6 blog posts (five at the main blog, one here)
- talked at Work the System Boot Camp in Bend
- did Ignite: Portland
- had dinner with my friend, Jean, and her sister (we talked shop, so it counts)
- had dinner and hung out with my friend, Areanne (ditto)
- had breakfast and hung out with Havi and her Gentleman Friend (like we’re gonna get together and NOT talk shop!)
- email! email! email!
- morning and afternoon checkins with Facebook and Twitter
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Colleen, I was walking Charlie yesterday and thinking to myself, “It (business, and life, for that matter) really is all about who you know and who knows you.” More and more, this keeps getting reinforced to me too. Maybe if we stop calling it “networking” and more people would do it.