There is no time like the present….

One of the things that seems to be the hardest of all to keep up with when you are just starting out is your personal marketing.. Workflow just happens and the tax man is great motivation for your book work, but there is no-one lighting a fire under your toes to get your marketing done.. Or is there?

Here are 5 key reasons why your personal marketing should always be at the top of your to-do list…

1.       Finding clients…

That’s right you may be busily working away on some sweet projects now but what will you be doing once they are finished? Do you have another project ready to go? What will happen to your cash flow? If you ensure that you are continuously looking after your marketing new clients can find you, not only can they find you, they can see how dedicated you are to your business.. So keep blogging, update your Facebook and get those ads in people!

2.       Sharing is caring…

Sometimes especially when you work alone (some of us in our PJ’s ) it may feel like no-one else will ever see what you are working on and this can lead to many negative things including; self doubt, procrastination and creative block- not much fun if you ask me. However by integrating social media into your marketing plan, not only do you have a great way of getting your business out there but you have a sharing platform that allows you to connect with peers, clients and a whole world of people.. So share.. share it all  connect and be social.

3.       What do you do again…

Have you ever been so involved in a project that days have gone by and you realise that you haven’t left the house! Creative flows like these are great but don’t let them cause your audience to forget what you do. Make sure you share your success, remind the world that you are good at what you do and make sure they know what it is! This is as simple as sharing a photo of your finished project, maybe add a blurb about taking orders... Don’t be shy everyone wants to know what you do and how it will help them!

4.       www.hasn’tbeentouchedinawhile.com...

We are all guilty of it, we build a whiz bang website and let it stand all alone… but did you know that it doesn’t matter how awesome your site is, how many keywords you have or even how much you spent on it.. Inactivity will drop you down that Google/Yahoo/Bing list faster than Wille Coyote after the Road Runner.  Your web presence is as important as your home, if you don’t look after it, it will become a shambles which will result in new clients not being able to find you and if you’re lucky enough that they do… are they going to love what they see or is it all old, irrelevant and dated?

5.       Building your business...

The most important reason to keep up with your personal marketing is easy… It will grow your business. People need to know who you are, what you do and how it will help them… And if you don’t tell them… who will?

In all seriousness, it takes half an hour to effectively manage your marketing at a base level, if you make sure you are doing this 2-3 times a week you are already ahead of the pack.