There really is no reason not to have a site, even a rudimentary one. It costs me maybe $50 a year? Can't remember because the price is so darned low.

Agreed on the social media. It's one tool. It's not an entire marketing plan, though how many people have we seen who use it as just that? You make a great point –getting in touch in person is now much more noticeable than just tweeting or popping in front of someone on LinkedIn.

Marketing & selling: exactly. 🙂 The end goal in marketing is to sell, but I've seen so many people start out with the hard sell and forget completely the relationship. I'd much rather they not sell at all than do that! But you're right. It's a balanced approach to selling if it's done correctly.

Not much else to say about web sites – besides you NEED one, and $10K??? With all the cheap or no-charge options out there, no one has an excuse anymore!

I'm one of those people who does virtually nothing on social media, and yet does just fine. No offense to those who think this, but it's just so silly. What do you think people did prior to, oh, 2005 or so, before any of the social media sites really existed?

Of course the answer is, the same things many (including me) do now, because they were effective then and they're still effective now, and I'd say, MORE so than social media.

Most marketing folks agree that social media is a more longer-term strategy by definition (since it's about building awareness of you and your business/brand over time, vs. more direct approaches like cold-calling, direct mail, email marketing, etc).

As for marketing not being about selling, I agree and disagree…;) I agree that it's not selling in the way many people THINK about selling (i.e., high-pressure, pushy), but I do say you ARE selling. But, to me, sales is about finding common ground between what you offer and what a client needs. And it there is no common ground, they're not a prospect.

Good discussion!

PB

I did start this on Blogger, and it remains here. I upgraded to my own URL (can't remember how much, but it was very cheap — maybe the price of a few Starbucks teas? And there are templates aplenty to choose from. Also, I have my main website on a Weebly template, and my risk management blog on WordPress. So I agree with everything you say. 🙂

Your Words on the Page website is on the blogger.com platform. It is entirely free to use and is relatively easy to set up. I was a big fan but have converted to the free WordPress platform only because it gives me more variety for layout, design etc.

There are other free ones available like weebly, wix, yola and webs. I have tried them all out at some point but still lean towards wordpress only because it's more creative and very user friendly. Just my personal preference.

Using the free sites to get a foot in the door web presence is great when starting out, however, I wouldn't advise using them for any extended periods of time because the contributor doesn't own the content and are at the mercy of the site owners. Should people want to use the free sites, I would advise making copies of any content just in case. I can't imagine losing all of my stuff as I'm trying to establish a myself. What a blunder that would be.

I know Lori is a big fan of L.O.I's so using this method, I sent some out to barter for things that I'll need to get going. To me it was win-win. I've been contacted by 2 graphic artists for my print material and logo (still on the fence about using a logo.) Bartering for services may seem old school but what a better way to build some credibility, get some clips and build your business.

The key to marketing isn't about how much to spend, but how to best utilize our creativity.

Cheers!

BTW – my website is officially in the works. Have the domain, just need designer sister to work her magic. Pro: She's a professional graphic designer, and is doing it for free. Con: she's doing it for free so it's her lowest priority.

That big snowstorm is due to hit us tomorrow, Lori. And when I was buying groceries an hour or so ago a guy who looked a lot like Jim Cantore was on his way out. Had to do a double take to make sure he is wasn't a Weather Channel logo on his jacket.

Speaking of snowstorms and The Weather Channel. I absolutely LOVE TWC (and just wrote a profile of Mike Bettes and his dog Joplyn), but Named snowstorms are stupid (Tracking 'Nemo,' Really?). And twice today I've turned on TWC for a storm update and their stupid reality shows are playing…with no scroll with storm watches and warnings.

Cathy, AMEN. I am present on two forms of social media. I'm here-and-there on the others, but I'm not interested in spreading too thin. As you've pointed out, that's a big mistake.

These are all some doozies, Lori; but that last one is a big mistake I often see freelance writers making. Money spent taking certain classes, attending trade shows, printing quality business cards and other marketing collateral is an investment.

Quality time spent on one or two platforms beats a scatter-shot approach to being everywhere.

Note coming via Facebook…