Do you hate internet marketing?
Fledgling and aspiring entrepreneurs frequently confide in me that they want to start or grow their business. They start out with great enthusiasm but lose momentum and fall into paralysis mode at the thought of marketing. They use words like “sleazy” and “underhanded” to define internet marketers. I keep hearing, “ I really want to start a business but I hate the marketing part.”
As a new entrepreneur, it makes sense that you hit a wall when everything you read tells you that the only way to build your business is to create free mega tele-summits where you give a few bites of valuable content and then spend the last fifteen minutes of each call plugging a high priced program. It works. but YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT to succeed. I don’t and some of my entrepreneurial friends don’t either. We write on our blogs, share with our friends on Facebook and Twitter and charge reasonable fees for our valuable services. We don’t hold free calls and then offer pricey programs. We promote paid tele-classes where we offer valuable information.
I’m not making a judgement on that type of internet marketing. It just doesn’t feel right for me. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I love marketing. I love good marketing so much that on the rare occasions I watch television, there are a few commercials that I actually look forward to viewing again and again. I giggle every time I see a certain home insurance commercial featuring an exceptionally domestic canine. I’ve never thought of buying a Subaru but their recent ad campaign featuring a father and daughter makes me want to hug the ad team.
As a small business, you might not do a lot of paid advertising. As a solo entrepreneur, you are better off developing ongoing relationships with people who have like interests and will become long term fans. That’s marketing-the art of connecting with those want or need what you have and letting them know about your products and services. You don’t have to use the popular formula if it feels “bait and switch” to you. If you offer something of value in an authentic, straight forward style, there is nothing “sleazy” about it.
