A lot of my professional career has revolved around promotion and/or marketing. When I was in radio, I was marketing and promoting myself. In television, I was promoting the station and our programming. I love to find ways to partner with other organizations and produce the perfect win-win situation.
I knew that marketing had seeped into my being when I had a marketing dream a few nights ago. I used to have those dreams where I showed up for a class only to find out there was a test I was not prepared for. I have dreamed that I was in a radio news booth with the microphone going live only to realize that I had no news, and I was grabbing any scrap of paper in an attempt to find something to read. But this marketing dream was a first.
I dreamed that the owner of the daycare center where my kids went many years ago was asking me how she could get more families to use her center. I was going through various options that cost nothing to get awareness of her center out to the public. The irony is that in real life, her center always has a waiting list because it's so well-respected.
I love seeing businesses that are proactive, getting involved on local Facebook pages. For example, if someone is looking for a new plumber, it's nice to see a plumber promote his business and any specials that he may be offering. If someone has a complaint about a local grocery store, it's nice to see a representative from the store get involved in the conversation and try to make things right.
I am constantly wishing I could step in and assist various businesses with their marketing. It is so rewarding to me to see a little effort results in a boost in sales, ratings, or whatever the goal is. So many times, I see simple ways that businesses can be more proactive. My daughter works for a store that sells hair and skin products solely to licensed professionals. The store was gearing up for a huge sale and she asked if I had any ideas for getting the word out to the right people. They had made flyers that they were putting in the bags when customers made purchases. I asked her if they were sending an e-blast to their customers. She said that they didn't have their customers email addresses, and these were not people who used email a lot. I took issue with both statements. Even at a public television station, we gathered the email addresses of everyone we interacted with in order to keep them up on events, programs, etc. An email database makes so much sense to me, and it takes so little time and effort to get a blast out about the big sale. If only a few people are lured in the store by the blast, it's worth it since it cost nothing to do. And every hairdresser I know checks their emails....
I hope to one day use my marketing skills "when" my novel is published - I have countless ideas about getting the word out about my creation. And none of those ways cost a penny! (I am a huge fan of earned media!)
I am working on setting up a podcast right now that I will host with my faithful, though goofy, sidekick - my husband - at my side. If my producer son gets everything ready for me this week, we will record our first episode. And yes, I will be marketing it, as well as cross-promoting it with my blog. So stay tuned!
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