3 Steps to Successful Marketing – Part 3

Earlier, I covered parts one and two of this 3-part series called “3 Successful Steps to Marketing.” To summarize, I’ve explained how effective marketing can be boiled down to three fundamental questions. Whether you’re an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you can achieve success by asking yourself the following:

1. What is your value?
2. Who needs your value the most?
3. Where do those who need your value congregate in large numbers?

After you’ve answered the first question and clarified your value, then you’re ready to move forward and ask, “Who needs my value the most?” You can also turn that question around and ask, “Who stands to lose the most if they never get access to my value?” Answering this question helps you streamline your marketing efforts to find new customers, readers, or donors.

Once you’ve defined your value and the people who need it the most, the third step is identify where they congregate in large groups. Why waste your time aimlessly trying to promote when you can reach a lot of people quickly who are predisposed to appreciate what you’re offering? I’ll wager that there are probably more than 25 places, online or offline, where your target audience congregates right now. Use my list of questions below for assistance:

Online:

• What websites do the people in my target audience visit?
• What groups on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or LinkedIn match my target audience?
• What active forums discuss my type of value or product?
• What blogs do they read?
• What news sites to they frequent?
• What online book clubs are they members of?

Offline:

• What professional or social organizations does my target audience join?
• What print magazines do they read?
• What television shows do they watch?
• What radio shows do they listen to?
• What religious groups or events do they participate in?
• What newsletters do they subscribe to?
• What hobbies do they enjoy?

When you identify where your target audience congregates, you can engage their interest and enthusiasm in several ways:

• Offer to provide free articles for that organization’s newsletter.
• Send free samples to the group’s leader.
• Ask to be a speaker at the group’s next conference.
• Provide a specialized resource or exclusive discount for the group.
• Provide free Q&A to the group’s members.
• Volunteer your time and expertise at one of the group’s events.

Millions of people around the world congregate based on shared needs and interests. Thus, they usually interact with other people and know like-minded groups with the same need. If you work to gain trust with one group, then they will likely pass word of mouth about you to the other groups whom they know, thereby helping promote on your behalf.

Marketing doesn’t have to be complex or costly. Use my 3-step approach to keep things simple and effective. When you know your value, who needs it the most, and where they congregate, you have all the fuel necessary to ignite a marketing wildfire.

 

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