Comments on: Let’s Be Consistent

By: Mridu Khullar

Mridu Khullar — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:39:08 +0000

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

I think the reason I'm not afraid of marketing is because for me, it's a one-minute job. I've already written the LOIs (if that's what I'm sending) and have a notebook full of ideas. When I spot the right market, it's a matter of quick edits (in case of the LOIs) or ten minutes to write up a query and it's off. Easy peasy.

In fact, once you have your marketing materials done (LOIs for various markets, query templates, etc), it's really just a matter of changing the names of people, adding a few details and hitting send. Less time than it took me to write this comment!

By: Sal

Sal — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:46:46 +0000

Believe it or not, I don't do a lot of marketing myself. I actually look to build relationships. I guess at some point I will have to reach out and start sending queries and such, but for now, I enjoy building relationships first. My marketing strategy is helping other people out.

Consistency is key though. I can attest to that. After being out of the loop for well over a year, getting back into the swing of things was rather difficult and business was slow at first, but once you build the relationships and genuinely care about making others happy and doing your best work for them, your marketing seems to become less and less mandatory.

Does that make any sense to anyone other than myself?

By: Paula

Paula — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:10:08 +0000

Funny how having to report my progress inspires me to have more to report. First time I remember that was in sixth grade. I signed up for band and our director had us keep practice sheets to record how much time we practiced each day at home. I hated having to fill in "0 minutes" for any day of the week.

Now a client requires weekly progress reports, and each week cram in as much as I can at the last minute. Yeah. I'm a people pleaser, but I also like to be acknowledged for my hard work. Or practicing.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:29:52 +0000

Way to GO, Becky! Congrats!

By: becky @ misspriss

becky @ misspriss — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:55:40 +0000

Huh. I left a comment this morning. Apparently Blogger ate it.

I know I need to market when I'm really busy and have little time to do it. And I also know that I need to do better in that area.

Did I tell you I got a gig off of Facebook of all places? Old acquaintance contacted me because I mentioned that I'm a writer in my profile. Now doing a flyer and some web content. Social networking for the win! :)

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:41:52 +0000

Jake, it looks fantastic! Thanks. Check your in box.

Paula, welcome to the club. :) I've learned not to do that, but it takes concerted effort when I'm very busy to get things lined up for later.

Hi Sarah! How's everything going?

Cathy, I taper off, too. What has helped is listing my monthly assessments here - I'm accountable to ALL of you, so I have to keep sticking with it. Also, I have a sticky notes program on my desktop - I keep a running list of queries sent. It's right there when I turn the computer on and it's visible all day. It's like my little reminder to get off my rump and market. :)

By: Jake P

Jake P — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:01:06 +0000

Ouch, very ouch. Cobbler's kid with no shoes here -- I am much happier writing someone else's marketing stuff than working on my own. I've backburnered my portfolio site revamp endlessly...which leads to me not wanting to drive any traffic to it. So, I'm on it!

Lori, check your inbox for my guest post :)

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:46:01 +0000

I tend to start off the month off well then taper off. I have a 30-day plan that I got from one of those 4 billion books that I think is a good one. I need the structure, but once I start getting busy, I tend to not follow the plan so closely.

Maybe I have attention deficit disorder – or – the don't bother me, I'm busy here attitude – until I'm not – busy, that is. 🙂

By: Sarah Nagel

Sarah Nagel — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:19:42 +0000

Thanks for the reminder! It's so easy to slack off on marketing when you have projects to work on, but you have to think long-term to stay in it.

By: Paula

Paula — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:59:53 +0000

I am consistent in my inconsistency.

I don't let long stretches go by without doing some types of marketing, but I do slack off when faced with pressing deadlines. The worst part is I know that's the most important time to do it, before the work dries up.