Why You Dont NEED a Marketing Plan

If you pick up a copy of the November 2003 issue of Entrepreneur magazine, you'll see my Web site listed on page 10, along with a good amount of promotional copy.

How did I get featured in a major, national magazine?

Do I have a great PR person? Did I know someone at the magazine? Was this part of my carefully-crafted marketing plan?

No, no, and um, no.

I'll tell you exactly how I did it.

Are you ready?

I picked up the phone.

A few months ago, I was flipping through a past issue of Entrepreneur and saw they had a section that listed Web resources.

I looked at the bottom of the page and saw the name of the author.

I flipped to the front of the magazine, found the masthead, and located the phone number for their editorial offices.

I called that number and asked for that guy.

He picked up the phone.

I asked how I could submit a resource.

He told me.

I submitted mine.

He ran it.

Serendipity?

Well, I do believe when you put energy out, you get good things back. But honestly, I just picked up the phone.

I see this as a great example of that you don't have to be perfect.

I didn't wait until I had a marketing plan.

I didn't wait until I had all my ducks in a row.

In fact, I'm proud to share that I've never been fully prepared for anything I've ever taken on.

I just knew who I wanted to reach and what I wanted to say.

(I wanted to reach small business owners and solo professionals, and I wanted to let them know about all the valuable, free information at my Web site.)

And you know what?

That's also all YOU have to know!

Listen, marketing plans are swell. If you have one, more power to you. I often wish that I did have a nice, neat plan to follow for the entire year. In fact, it's been on my to-do list for about five years.

It just doesn't look like I'm ever going to do it.

I've realized that what works better, for me, is to simply jump at opportunities as they arise, even if my pattern is haphazard. Otherwise I'd still be where I was two years ago, waiting until I worked out a plan. I'll never move forward if I keep waiting for everything to "be ready."

I just attended one of highest level Internet marketing conferences for entrepreneurs in the world. And one of the speakers, a man who has made millions from his Internet business, uttered a sentence that has since stuck with me:

"It's amazing how much money you can make in this world without being perfect."

Are you trying to be perfect? Trying to plan everything ahead? Standing in your own way?

STOP.

Right now, this minute, I want you to do one thing, just one thing, that you know would push your business forward. Especially something simple you've been putting off.

Perhaps it's picking up the phone and introducing yourself to that important person your friend referred you to.

Perhaps it's replying to that e-mail regarding a great opportunity but you've been more occupied with more "urgent" things.

Perhaps it's sending one of your articles to the editor of that e-zine with 100,000 subscribers who are your target market.

Perhaps it's completing that proposal to speak at a convention that's going to put you in front of 500 pre-qualified prospects.

Please, just do it.

(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine." To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/

---

Marketing to the Affluent - with Wine

With its association to an affluent, sophisticated lifestyle, wine can... Read More

Questioning the Data of Demographic Off The Shelf Marketing Products

I have been working on a direct mail campaign for... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Shift the Focus

Most of the service providers I've worked for or with... Read More

Determining Marketing Effectiveness Even If You Didnt Track

What if you've done a variety of marketing activities over... Read More

Positioning For Success

According to military historian David Chandler the campaigns of Napoleon... Read More

Using a Contact List Profitably Part One

In previous articles, we discussed the generation of a contact... Read More

7 Ways to Evaluate Your Marketing Plan

Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their... Read More

When, Why, and How to Use Mailing Lists

Mailing lists may be the cause of more heartbreaks than... Read More

Mobile Marketing a New Age Strategy

More and more companies seem to be looking for new... Read More

Color Part 1: Accuracy

Color is one of the most difficult parts of a... Read More

Do You Know Where Your Marketing Dollars Are Going?

We all know the importance of marketing to increase sales... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started

1) Create systemsCreate systems for everything you do, especially those... Read More

Build A Successful Business By Staying Connected

Over the course of your business life you'll come in... Read More

Direct Marketing ? Brand Identity Guru Tips

If your company doesn't have a direct marketing program in... Read More

Cave Paintings, Baseball and Connecting

There's no such thing as a captive audience--any of us... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm

It's 1954. Yes, Mrs. Patricia Smith has been a good... Read More

Business to Business Direct Mail Offers that Say Free

In direct mail, the offer is the incentive or reward... Read More

Do I Need an RSS Feed?

RSS has been around for more than 10 years but... Read More

The Importance of a Marketing Plan

There aren't many things in life that you would get... Read More

Turbocharge New Sales with a Marketing Database

What is the most valuable asset your company owns? Inventory?... Read More

Want To Impress Customers, Win Clients and Influence People?

Remember the baseball cards kids traded while... Read More

How To Create Urgency So People Buy Now

..products or services now. They may not revisit your web... Read More

Take a Leap! How To Take Your Business To New Heights

Take a moment to reflect on the current reality of... Read More

GoogSpy: Business Counter Intelligence for Everyone

So, you want to know what your competitors are up... Read More

Trade Show Marketing ? Getting Prepared for the Big Event

With the increase in number of tradeshows being held across... Read More

Does Your Marketing Pass This 10-Point Test?

Good marketing, whatever form it takes, always meets certain criteria.... Read More

Small Business Pricing Strategies

Think the best way to get more customers is to... Read More

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Works (Its Cheap, Quick, Affordable and More)

Used the right way and with the right audience, postcards... Read More

To Web or Not to Web?

Do I need a web site? That is the question... Read More

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure

Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure... Read More

Benefits of Developing & Maintaining a Database

A database is more than a simple list of names... Read More

How Can I Get Name Recognition?

Some of the ways in which to get your "name... Read More

Marketing Lessons From TV?s The Apprentice

Can we actually learn a marketing lesson from reality TV?... Read More