Are You Making These 8 Marketing Mistakes?
It’s the beginning of a new year and you have decided to get serious about marketing yourself as a freelancer. Congratulations—that’s half the battle.
You have a lot of work ahead of you, and I found some tips in this article by Steve McKee for businessweek.com that will help you avoid some pitfalls. I’ve taken these tips and turned them towards the freelancing crowd, so you can make quick use of them.
Aiming at Everyone
My bet is that you are a freelancer who has a niche. Perhaps you work to help small businesses build a web presence, write articles about health and medicine, or work as a fashion photographer. Realize you can’t be all things to all people. If you are a wedding photographer, you need to market yourself to couples who are planning a wedding…and forget the rest.
Aiming at everyone is an oxymoron; the best marketers understand that by narrowing their target audience they can increase the intensity of their brand’s appeal, piquing interest and driving margins. You’re better off being the first choice of 10 percent of the population than being one of 10 options for everyone.—businessweek.com
Betting on Rationality
Don’t try to convince your prospects; connect with them. They’re depending on their gut more than you realize. —businessweek.com
This is where client engagement comes into play. You want to subtly sell yourself. Don’t spend hours on social media outlets selling yourself to everyone—people will stop listening. Offer advice and share your expertise rather than shove your agenda.
Getting Seduced by the New
Have you ever bought a new piece of technology only to find the next best thing comes out on the market days later? There will always be new marketing and media options out there, but do you really want to be the first person to try them out? Heck, I don’t even have a Google+ account yet! Instead of jumping in head first to any new options, keep using what works for you while you conduct some research into the new options.
Advertising Your Aspirations
Of course you want to be number one at everything you do—but if you advertise your aspirations, you are asking people to catch you failing at them. And when you do, there are unlimited ways for people to spread the news that you aren’t “keeping your promises”.
Aspirations are, by definition, promises that can’t be fully kept. Don’t announce them, just try to live by them—use them within the walls to rally your troops but don’t let them escape to rouse the ire of your customers. —businessweek.com
Following the Leader
I liked this advice: Don’t try to be better. Just be different. There will always be competition out there. Focus on doing what you do to the best of your ability. There will always be someone with cheaper rates, who works longer hours, and gives up a lot for seemingly a little. As a freelancer, you might not be able to match the claims of your larger competitors. This is where you offer your clients something the other guys can’t, like more personal customer service.
Starving the Budget
You have to get the message out about your business somehow, and you may have to spend a little money to do it. Paid advertising isn’t right for everyone, but it could be worth it to spend some money on a consultant to help you figure out the best way to market yourself.
As a freelancer, you probably don’t have your own marketing team—and unless you are a marketing professional yourself, there is always something you can learn from someone else. You could hire someone to work on your SEO or help you create a social media marketing plan that you can implement yourself. Don’t rule it out—work it into your budget.
Chickening Out
It’s amazing how much time and money companies spend getting their acts together, only to succumb to stage fright when it’s time for the curtain to rise. —businessweek.com
The same goes for freelancers. Plans are great to have, but until you take them from the paper and do something about it, they aren’t worth much. Know that not everything you try will work for you, but you don’t know what works (or doesn’t) unless you try.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by TpaBMa.
Leave a Comment
I’m guilty of aiming at everyone and of chickening out. But this month I’ve been networking despite the fear, and it works! Yes, some people are busy or preoccupied with other things. But so many are willing to help and pass on my details.
I’m also working out my niche – storyselling – and how to sell that in a 10-second pitch.
Aiming at Everyone
Betting on Rationality
Getting Seduced by the New
Advertising Your Aspirations
Following the Leader
Starving the Budget
Chickening Out
That’s seven, not eight points (I hate it when someone points out things like this in stuff I write, but still.)
“Aiming at everyone” has to be the single most common mistake. Generalists have a tough time getting noticed.
Good list.
Any tips on what the 8th point should be Don?
Maybe its “make a mistake that everyone can point out”?
I say this toungue in cheek, but I actually think that it can be a really useful marketing tool. For example, there are particular TV ads that are super boring and insignificant but they contain a blaring mistake, as a result the mind gets fixated on that mistake and you start paying attention to that otherwise boring and insignificant TV ad.
The other example is when you receive an Apology from someone who sent an Email campaign by mistake. I have received this a few times, and each time I never every read the first email, then after receiving the Apology I’m always tempted to go back to read the email that was sent to me by “Mistake”.
Strange how the mind works!
Man, I’m slow today. Great catch.
In all likelihood it was intentional.
Not only does this article got its title wrong like Don has pointed out, it really didn’t change anything from the original businessweek article… or added any thought to it. What’s going on, freelance switch?!
Although there are only 7 and not 8 marketing mistakes listed here, as previously mentioned in other comments, I still feel that the 7 that ARE mentioned are good ones to bring to light. I’m guilty of a few myself and I’m sure that others are guilty of some as well, even if they aren’t fully aware of what they’re doing (or not doing). This is a great post!
The original article is definitely worth the read:
http://www.businessweek.com/small-business/ten-common-marketing-mistakes-10112011.html
Thank you Melanie for your good article. The points you discuss here give more insight on how to market our-self in this growing market. I always prefer to excel what I do, so that I could help my customers by proving best solution.
I used to be guilty of aiming at everyone – and once I found a narrower target market, I began making more money. You’re so right on all of these, and particularly that one.
I love it, timely as well as I am working on a local marketing strategy. I have projects all over the country but I am trying to focus on getting a large local base to help with increased base maintenance sales.
I do have a question if anyone can give me some advice: My target is going to be the business owners, I will be first approaching the businesses that already have a website, but that site is in disarray to offer them upgrades, and then I will be focusing on the businesses that do currently have a site.
So dealing with these small business people that may or may not have extra employees working, does anyone have advice on how to get to the decision maker without sounding like a desperate salesman?
Good theory. What is frustrating in all such articles that seem to give you ‘solutions’ or point you in the ‘right direction’ are answers on the ‘black board’, as opposed to providing actual solutions on ‘black road’ in the real world. (the emphasis on black is not meant to offend anybody, but a true expression of what it says).
Electrician makes a good point about the intentional mistake. If it was intentional to include only 7 items on the list, it worked because it got us talking about it and paying more attention to the article. When I was a kid there was a furniture store in our small town that ran commercials on the local TV station. The owner of the store always did the commercials himself and always seemed like a bit of a doofus to my 10-year-old mind. The theme of one commercial was “Stretch Your Budget” and at the end of the commercial the guy unfurled a hand-written sign on butcher paper that said “Stetch Your Budget” (missing the “r” in “stretch”). The commercial ran for weeks and my brother and I laughed at what an idiot the guy was until my dad pointed out that he probably did it on purpose. He said there were probably many people making a point to go into the store and point out the mistake to the owner. All these years later, I still remember that commercial. Crazy? Or crazy like a fox?
Lol Rick that is a great story!
Now that is marketing at its best. Its hard enough to remember TV ads that you saw this morning, let alone 20 years ago. Sounds like your “Stech your Budget” guy was a genius!