Sharing wisdom is actually what advertising and promotion is all about. Educating those who need our help is the soul of marketing. And helping our clients is the purpose of our business. That’s why I think of marketing as if it’s a kind of ’spiritual’ practice. No, not religious, but soulful or the outward direction of the spirit of our business goals.

Almost every spiritual practice has a priest, wise woman (or man), holy person, shaman or spiritual leader who professes the truth to those who wish to learn.

As a business owner, it is our own spiritual quest to profess this truth—our knowledge or education about how our products can help others—in an inspired message to those in need.

A common mistake of business owners, usually in their early stages of development, is to not reinforce this sharing of information often enough.

For example, common marketing wisdom states that if a company plans to run an advertisement, it should run at least 6-12 times before evaluating its effectiveness, as it takes that many “impressions” of seeing it before it sinks in and takes hold of the very busy people from whom we are trying to evoke a response.

It is important to educate your customers or potential market so they can understand how to use what you offer. The world’s great leaders, like the Ghandi, spent most of their lives educating their “market” -their constituents-  or those they were trying to influence through their teachings, prayer, and practices. As business owners, we could learn a lesson from them: If we spend more time teaching and less time telling people they need our products, we may move further along in our divine purpose.

As one observes the great world leaders from the Dalai Lama to Martin Luther King, we notice that even our great leaders spread their message through the use of many media—from word of mouth, to television interviews, direct mail, teaching and lecturing, and e-news or websites.

It is important to mix our messages into many type of media in order to reach as wide a target market as we can since not everyone watches tv, opens direct mail pieces, or follows Twitter.

And lest you think I’m being sacriligious comparing the gospel of our great leaders to marketing, well, it’s time you rethink your perception of marketing: It’s a practice that’s all about helping people. And in the thousands of clients I’ve helped, I’ve only ever met one person who was just in business to make money and not truly devoted to helping people in some way.

After all, Knowledge is Bliss.

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Sharing Marketing Tips, Resources and ideas is what business is all about and what this blog strives to offer.

In this blog by expert Marketing Coach & Consultant, Allison Bliss (www.allisonbliss.com), you’ll find articles to help you understand marketing: what works and what doesn’t, ideas to create ads that work, resources that save time & money, publicity tips; some do’s and don’t’s, plus how to find help from a Marketing Coach.

We are all learning in this adventure called “life” so please share your opinions, experiences, frustrations, successes and knowledge with our readers. After all, ignorance is expensive, but “Knowledge is Bliss.”

Allison Bliss Consulting is a Marketing & Communications Agency for corporations requiring an outsourced marketing department, creating branding, strategies and website, social media & promotional materials . Marketing Coaching rescues business owners who are completely bogged down with their day-to-day survival, and often lack the knowledge or perspective needed to reach their target market: Resources, Websites, Optimizing, Promotional Material, Connections, Sales training, & total support.

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from my old blog: 2006

I’ve noticed that a Marketing Coach is most helpful when someone needs an answer RIGHT NOW and can respond when they’re stuck on an issue.

One of my clients, a massage therapist, is opening a new wellness center expanding her offerings with partner practitioners. Naturally, I suggested as part of her expansion strategy to let her existing clients know about her new center.

She needed to get an invitation in print today so emailed me asking for an edit check on her text. It was fine, and just needed some minor tweaking which I handled in between other duties today. ahhh, mission accomplished.

So what does everyone else do when they don’t have a marketing coach standing by for them or the answer isn’t available immediately on Google? Sure a qualified coach will create a marketing plan with the right strategies, but sometimes you just need immediate help getting information to the media, preparing a proposal, fixing a website, writing a brochure, dealing with a difficult client or situation, or getting new projects in the door fast! That’s where a responsive marketing coach comes in.

Trying to do it all by oneself is one of the top reasons for failure of small businesses, which I call the “lone wolf” syndrome: we feel we’re smart and capable and should be able to do it all ourselves. In reality, we need help with those strategies, writing, design, websites, or even plumbing that we haven’t the experience to do ourselves.

And for those who just need some marketing tips, here’s a few to get you started:

http://allisonbliss.com/write-a-company-profile.htm

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On this page: http://allisonbliss.com/resources, there are resources for:

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• HOW TO GET BOOKED AS A PAID PRESENTER
• 11 STEPS TO BUILD ENEWS CAMPAIGNS
• MY FAVORITE NETWORKING TIPS
• PREPARING FOR A TRADE SHOW
• FINDING PERFECT EMPLOYEES

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Friday, August 8, 2008

Twenty years in business and I still find myself in the ‘entrepreneur’s dilemma’ – I have the time to make changes to my website, but not the money. Or when I have money pouring in, I’ve no time to improve my business.

I might get stuck on this issue and not do anything if I’d not seen it crop up and slap me in the face so many times. I’ve now learned to slap back.

While I put cash in reserves to try to resolve this dilemma, there just always seems to be more need than cash.

So, today I’m starting something new: I’m spending the money on items I need to improve at the same time I’m starting to put ‘out to the universe’ a request for more cash or income. I’ll let you know what works, if anything does.

And I’d love to hear how you handle this, too?

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