“I don’t like marketing” or “Marketing is too hard” is the mindset of many small business owners, especially those just starting out.

That’s a shame because marketing needs to be at the top of your priority list every day.  If you don’t plan on devoting the majority of your time to marketing your products or services, you may as well fold up your tent and leave camp!

Most of the time, a negative attitude toward marketing stems from misconceptions and a misunderstanding of the difference between advertising and marketing.

Let’s run through just seven (there are many more!) false impressions of marketing your business online:

1)  Marketing is a big bother and an interruption to
people.

Actually, that statement pertains to “advertising”, NOT marketing.
Television advertisements are bothersome, for example, because they
interrupt the viewing of a program.  I haven’t met anyone yet who’s said, “I
love T.V. commercials!”  Marketing is not a blatant “in your face” method of
making sales.  Marketing is a much softer and palatable business-building
tool.

2)  People won’t be interested in what I have to offer.

In other words, “People won’t buy what I’m selling”.  Not true.  If you’ve
taken the time to study the demographics of your target audience and
you’ve done some thorough keyword research, then you can market
confidently knowing there’s a flock of potential clients or customers that
want what you have to offer.  Marketing is about establishing and nurturing
relationships with your prospects through a crystal clear understanding of
their problems and the solutions you offer.

3)  It probably won’t work anyway, so why bother?

Oh, brother.  I’ve heard this one more times than I care to count. 
Developing the right kind of “marketing mindset” matters.  Giving up before
you even try is a one-way ticket to failure.  If you maintain a defeatist
attitude, your business will not thrive.  The only way to get past this type of
thinking is to dig your heels in and take some action!  You need to “test” a
marketing strategy or platform first, give it a fair amount of time, and see if
it’s working for you.  

4)  Marketing is way too expensive.

Rubbish!  Advertising can empty your wallet pretty quickly, but marketing
can easily be done effectively on a tight budget.  The majority of the
successful marketing strategies I use cost $0.  So even if you’re on a super
slim budget, don’t sweat it. There are literally hundreds of free marketing
platforms.  Want to learn more about marketing on a zero-dollar budget?
Download a Free Shoestring Marketing Kit.

5)  Only business owners with sub-standard products or services need
marketing.

Ouch!! I always want to fall off my chair when I hear someone say this and
I’ll never understand the origin of this misconception.  In fact, EVERY solo
professional needs to market their business. Once again, marketing needs
to be your highest priority.  Without marketing, don’t expect sales … period.

6)  Marketing leads straight to rejection.

Wrong.  “Selling” can lead to rejection.  No one likes to sell or be sold. 
Marketing, on the other hand, is a means of avoiding rejection.  Once
people get to know you better through your marketing, they’ll begin to like
you and, ultimately, trust you.  Then and only then will they feel
comfortable enough to make a purchase.  Remember that your primary
marketing goal is to build relationships with your prospects.

7)  I’m a lousy writer.  No one will want to read my
writing.

I’m going to ask you to trust me here.  You don’t need to be Ernest
Hemmingway to market your products and services online.  You need to
be YOU!  Whether you are crafting blog posts, articles, e-books, reports, or
sales pages – your writing will resonate with people if you use your
authentic voice.  But if you absolutely hate to write or you don’t really “get”
what being your authentic self in writing is all about – my friend and
colleague, Lisbeth Tanz, (corporate sales and marketing escapee!) can get
you on track and up to speed in just one weekend.  Look her up and check
out her Savvy Article Marketing Success Weekend.  Lisbeth offers a
simple, yet effective process to get business owners in action writing about
what they know best – their industry and business.

Just push these false impressions aside and get ready to love marketing!

Listen if you like!

Do you remember your parents teaching you this lesson when you were growing up?

“You are a direct reflection of who you hang out with.”

They may have tried to instill this lesson in you if you started hanging out with the “wrong” crowd, if you know what I mean.

Or they may have wanted to engrain it in your brain to help you make good choices when choosing your childhood friends and your circle of influence later in life.

This same lesson is true in the internet marketing industry.

The people you associate with and align yourself with are very important.  In order to be successful, you need to be barking up the right tree.  In other words, you need to hang out with people who will support you, promote you, and be in alignment with your morals, standards, and values.

My mentor, Jessica Swanson, is just such a person.

I knew, without a doubt, that I was barking up the right tree when I met Jessica via Twitter over three years ago.  For starters, I resonated with her style and her marketing message right out of the gate since “Shoestring Marketing” is the platform I’ve built my business on!

When I began purposefully and intently observing how she conducted business and how she carried herself in conversations online, I had a strong gut level instinct that she was going to be very instrumental in my success as a small business owner and online marketer.

Jessica is classy, savvy, super knowledgeable, authentic, engaging, and one of the kindest people you’ll ever want to meet.  She fits my definition of a true professional.

So who are you hanging out with these days?  Who is it that’s supporting you, promoting your talents, and helping you to realize the success you deserve?

Another Friday will be rolling around soon and Twitter enthusiasts everywhere will be joining the popular weekly event as an opportunity to recommend their favorite followers to others.

Some people choose to post at #followfriday and some prefer the shorter version, #FF.  If you’re brand new to #’s (hashtags), visit http://hashtags.org or do a search for hashtags on Twitter to learn more.

Follow Friday recommendations are oftentimes referred to as “kudos”, “mentions”, “reco’s”, and “shout outs”.

Here are my Four Best Tips for getting desired results using Follow Friday recommendations:

1) Don’t just “clump” a pile of names (Twitter ID’s) together in the same post.  It’s the standard approach I see all the time and it won’t work to get your favorite followers the attention they deserve. No one wants to take the time to rifle through name after name in order to check out each person’s profile.

2) Don’t create posts like: “Follow so-and-so” or “Follow my friend, so-and-so, he’s great.”  Does that really make you want to check the person out?  No, I didn’t think so.  You may think your Twitter friend is great, but why should I?

3) Give each of your recommended followers their own chunk of the spotlight.  Praise each one individually to share their talents, skills, expertise, and personality!  For example:

Be sure to follow @shoestringgal to tap into the most Powerful Free Marketing Platforms! #followfriday

Look to @ConnieGreen for a 5-pronged approach to online writing success! #followfriday

Check out @CathyGoodwin for copywriting savvy & the best doggone dog blog on the planet! #FF

4) And my all time favorite tip is to place your Follow Friday recommendations in a BLOG POST.  A blogging platform is the perfect venue to make your Twitter followers shine!  You can include a bio, a short story about each person, or a list of products or services they promote.  You might also want to share how you met and why you decided to follow these folks.  Posting your Follow Friday shout outs on your blog gives you total creative freedom and flexibility!

Would you like to follow me on Twitter?

The bottom line is that if you aren’t utilizing Facebook as one of your main marketing platforms, you NEED to jump on board. Service professionals, authors, consultants, and other small business owners are realizing revolutionary results on Facebook.  So why shouldn’t YOU?

I know I’m looking forward to making a big splash on Facebook and I hope you’ll join me and my friend and colleague, Jessica Swanson, the “Shoestring Marketer”, for a Free Profitable Facebook Marketing Webinar this Thursday, February 11th.

As an extra special bonus, you’ll receive a link to the video recording, a downloadable PDF workbook, and a step-by-step action plan.

Seats are limited so I suggest you RUN, not walk to register for this complementary event!