www.inkthinkerblog.com — Marketing and self-promotion are big topics of discussion here at Inkthinker, and with good reason: They’re the foundation of a successful business (assuming, of course, that you’re moderately skilled at what you do and not a big fat scammer), and without them, you’re probably not going very far.
As I’ve said before, most recently at the March 10 WIW marketing seminar, marketing and self-promotion don’t have to be about making a hard sale. Networking is all about building relationships, and it’s one of the best marketing tools you can have in your arsenal.
Case in point:
My friend the mortgage broker, whom I met while shopping around for financing options for our new house, is an ambassador or diplomat or something for my local Chamber of Commerce, and when she found out that I’m self-employed, she offered to personally introduce me to the Chamber membership coordinator to help me get a feel for the group and its networking opportunities.
So we met for coffee and she took me up to the CoC office. It was love at first sight, I’m telling you. My friend politely excused herself after some small talk, and I ended up talking with the membership coordinator for about an hour and a half, chatting with some folks in the lobby for another 20 minutes, and then snagging an impromptu meeting with the Chamber president for about 30 minutes of pitch-tastic fun, during which I proposed some informational content and seminars for the membership based on my experience in using written and online materials to promote a small business, as well as fundamentals of business writing and grammar boot camp — and I suggested my writing for the monthly CoC newsletter, a snazzy four-color half-size newspaper. All ideas were met with enthusiasm. Needless to say, I joined.
Then, on the way out, the prez introduced me to the communications guy, who, as it turns out, I used to work with at The Free Lance-Star newspaper right here in Fred Vegas. That was about two weeks ago, and today, my phone rang with my first assignment for the Chamber newsletter, which goes out to more than 2,000 local businesses.
So here’s the bottom-line equation:
(1 casual mention of my business) + (1 introduction) = (thousands of local businesses who will soon see me as an expert resource when it comes to writing, editing, and small business marketing and promotion)
I may have been an English major, but even I can see that that’s some exciting math.
Are you taking advantage of all of your local opportunities? If not, you’re missing out.
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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest
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