Most business folks spend their days being nibbled to death by ducks.
You want to print the meeting agenda but the printer is out of ink.
Your website manager still hasn't updated your bio.
That new client postpones their call. Again.
The prospect can't meet for lunch at noon so would 1:30 work? Or next Friday?
The path to success requires relentless focus on what's important but that's hard to do with mallards and drakes nipping at your heels.
To Stay on Track, You Need a Track
If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably never get there, and even if you do you won't know it.
In the frantic scramble of the average entrepreneur's workday, marketing your book is one of the first things to fall through the cracks. If it's not a priority, it won't get done, and if it's not part of the plan it won't be a priority.
The Plan
You need to have your own plan, of course, but here is the big picture for a business person who has written a book to support their business:
- People engage your services because
- they read your book after
- they followed your blog, Twitter feed, and other social media when
- they saw your insightful generous comment on Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, or another blog, which happened because
- it was on your schedule.
Getting Started
My father used to tell the story of little Billy, who told the teacher he was late because he ran beside his bicycle all the way to school. When she asked why he did that, he said "Because I didn't have time to stop and get on."
Make the time to stop and get on the bike. You'll lose a few minutes now, and gain them back manifold in the coming weeks and months.
Write down your plan. Even if, at first, it's as vague as my list above, write it down. What's the path someone will take from total stranger to client?
Until you have that, you're flailing in the dark.
Once you do have it, you're ready to create a formal marketing plan.
If you need help with that, or even with the informal plan that comes first, give Sue a holler. We love helping folks figure out social media.
