Week Three - Creating Your Marketing Plan By Leslie Truex Updated December 17, 2015 This is the third part of a four-part ...
Week Three - Creating Your Marketing Plan
By Leslie
Truex
Updated
December 17, 2015
This
is the third part of a four-part series on starting a home business
in a month. If you missed the first two weeks, which are about
planning and putting your business foundation in place, you can
review them here:
At
this point you’ve done your research and put your business
foundation in place including getting needed licenses, creating a
website, and starting an email list.
During
this third week, it’s time to start letting people know about your
business by creating a marketing plan.
Day
15: Develop your marketing plan
Many
novice business owners don’t put enough study and planning into
marketing. That’s are problem for three reasons, 1) you waste
time, 2) you waste money and 3) you harm your business.
Developing
a marketing plan starts by understanding who are the BEST buyers of
your product or service. Don’t say “everyone” can use what
you’ve got. Even if it’s true, not everyone wants or needs it.
Instead, identify the exact type of person (age, gender,
socioeconomic status, wants, needs, goals etc) and learn what you
can about them. For example, many people want to work at home, but a
mom wants to work at home for a different reason than a baby boomer.
The
second part of the plan is learning about the market so you can
speak directly to it. If I’m wanting to market to moms wanting to
work at home, I need to know why (be home with kids?) and what
they’re looking for (flexibility?).
On
the other hand, baby boomers have a different why (support their
retirement?). These are important to know because consumers
are more likely to respond to messages that speak to their needs.
Finally,
you need to learn where your market hangs out. This includes
websites they visit, magazines they read, places they go.
This
is where you’ll want to put her messages. Generic messages in a
generic location will be a waste of time and money. Instead, target
market specific messages delivered directly to the market are a more
effective and efficient use of your time and marketing dollars.
Once
you have all these pieces in place, decide what types off messages
(ads, publicity, articles, etc) you will submit to your markets’
hang outs (websites, magazines, etc). Remember, marketing isn’t a
set it and forget it proposition. Make sure you do a marketing tasks
(see more ideas below) every day.
Day
16: Reach Out to Your Network
It’s
always a surprise to me how many new business owners don’t tell
their friends and family about their endeavor. While they may not
need the product or service you provide, they may be able to refer
people who do. Send an email, make a phone call and/or share the
news on social media. Tell them about the value you have to
offer and how you can help them or others.
Day
Seventeen: Develop Consistent Social Media Profiles
You
don’t have to be on every social network. Instead, focus on
the ones your market uses. Before marketing and making connections,
complete your profiles (including pictures and bio) and use the same
photos and logos across your platforms. This lets people know
they’re at the right place.
Day
Eighteen: Create a Social Media Marketing Plan
There
is so much that can go wrong in social media. You can waste time for
no results. You can accidentally say something that upsets people.
You can annoy your followers with too many “buy” messages. A
plan is the best way to manage
social media.
Your plan should include ways to engage your market (i.e. asking for
feedback or sharing ideas) and time spent responding to your market
and other connections (comments, retweets, shares etc).
Day
Nineteen: Send Press Releases to Media
Don’t
underestimate publicity to help you build your business. PR is free
and can make you look like an expert in your field. Start by sending
a press release to
your local media, such as newspapers (daily, weeklies), magazines
and local news stations. Next, identify publications your market
reads and send a press release to them. Be sure to post your press
releases on your website
Day
Twenty: Sign Up For the HARO Report
This
is my all time favorite publicity resource. Media outlets, including
blogs, podcasts, magazines, television shows, newspapers and radio
submit their interview needs to the report. Experts, like you, get
an email three times a day listing the media’ needs. If you find a
fit, you respond with a query. I’ve used this method to be
featured in Redbook and more. Note, that the media outlet isn’t
always identified in the email.
Respond
to all HARO requests that
you are an expert in. Even small outlets can get you in front of an
audience that might not otherwise have heard of you.
Day
Twenty-One: Reach out to Bloggers and Podcasters to be a Guest
If
you’ve been checking out the websites your market visits, you
should have a good list of places you can offer to write a guest
post or be interviewed on. When you pitch an idea to a blog
owner or podcaster, have your idea fleshed out. Don’t just write
and ask to submit an article of be interviewed. Include information
about who you are and what you offer, and your article or interview
idea.
Have
you completed week three? You're ready to head
on to week four!
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