This article appeared as a guest post on Betterfly, a new site dedicated to helping you find people to help you look, learn, and feel better. From music lessons to Pilates to cooking to computers, Betterfly has a “Betterist” who can help you be better at anything. Check out my Betterist profile here.
Moving from corporate marketing executive to health and wellness entrepreneur required a major paradigm shift, not only in my career but also in the way I approached marketing. All of a sudden, I had to market ME instead of my employer or clients! Applying the skills I gained from a 15-year career in entertainment media marketing to my emerging small business was harder than you might think.
I’ve spent two years experimenting with various marketing tools and applying them to my Pilates and health/nutrition counseling practice. Here are my top five tips for putting yourself out there as a “solo professional”:
- Be visible. Be EVERYWHERE! Everywhere that makes sense for you and for reaching your audience. Are they online? Are they in your local coffee shop? Your local health food store? Schools? Libraries? Band camps? Figure out where your target audience hangs out and BE THERE!
- Be consistent. Make your presence and your message consistent. This includes your website, blog, business card, Facebook page, Twitter feed, e-mail signature and newsletter. People should know immediately who they’re talking to and what kind of info they’re going to receive. And they should receive that info on a regular basis once they opt in – which leads me to my next tip…
- Add value. Focus on adding value to your audience and developing relationships, particularly when using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and your blog. Nothing turns potential customers off more than constant sales messages, so make the pitches few and far between.
- Communicate YOU! As a solo professional – who probably offers the same services as many other solo professionals – what makes you stand out is YOU. Don’t try to be overly professional in your marketing materials – be you. You’ll connect with the people looking for you much faster (likely because they’ll see a little bit of themselves in you).
- Use the right tools. There are a million and one options out there for social media management, blogging, e-mail marketing, printing brochures and business cards, etc. In addition to Betterfly, here are some services that I use and love…and I’m beyond picky.
Emma (myemma.com) – A great, very stylish, and not-too-expensive e-mail marketing service. Best customer service I have EVER encountered. They’ll hold your hand every step of the way in getting your e-mail marketing program up and running.
OvernightPrints – My go-to spot for printing business cards that are inexpensive but still look great. Remember that your business card is essentially a mini-brochure – make it memorable. (Overnightprints.com also prints brochures, postcards, and other marketing materials.)
Help A Reporter (HARO) – A free daily newsletter that lists journalist queries from newspapers, blogs, television news, etc. (regularly used by the likes of The New York Times, CNN, ABC, Fox, The Wall Street Journal, and countless local media outlets as well). If your story is a good fit for the journalist, you respond directly to them and, voila!, free PR for you. (Full disclosure: The founder is a friend, but I’d use HARO even if he wasn’t.)
WordPress – My preferred blogging platform. It’s easy and intuitive to use with hundreds of design themes to choose from.
Tweetdeck – Social media management software. It lives on your computer desktop so you can manage Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media accounts all in one place. There are several other good options out there (like Hootsuite) – I just like Tweetdeck.
