The holidays are over, the leftovers are long gone, the resolutions have been made.
Or not.
Are you unnerved at the thought of either starting a marketing plan, or chewing your nails about polishing your existing image? It can be overwhelming if you look at where you want to be compared with where you are now.
It’s not a big deal. Just start at the beginning.
What’s your first impression?
What’s your initial point of contact with your customers? Is it your website? A studio, storefront or office? A Facebook page? Start with that, and work both inward and outward.
Working outward is obvious: you take an objective look at your public face, so to speak.
Looking inward is no less important. What you tell yourself about your business or professional practice shapes the way you make every decision.
What you tell yourself can also stop you dead in your tracks.
Kiss your objections goodbye
“I can’t do marketing. It feels fake, like I’m bragging.” So don’t brag. Talk about what you do. Dispense with the flowery words and use plain language instead. You can embellish later, once the jitters settle.
“I can’t keep up with the bigshots. They’re famous and I’m not.” A lot of bigshots started out like the rest of us and worked their way to the top. Stop making comparisons.
“I don’t have a big marketing budget.” That excuse might work if you’re trying to take on the Ford Motor Company. You’re not. Connecting with your customers doesn’t cost a fortune.
“But I suck at networking!” Me too. I’m no good at small talk. But I love ideas. Sharing ideas on Twitter is a blast. (And it’s free.)
“I can’t make cold calls.” Most of us hate making cold calls. So don’t. There’s almost always more than one way to do something. The alternative might take longer and mean more work, but if it keeps you moving in the right direction, you just walked around a roadblock.
Respect your work
This is your profession. It’s your job. Your livelihood. Even if you’re just starting out and made your first fifty bucks, you have to treat your business like a business. Even if you’re scared out of your mind that you’ll fail miserably. Treating your work with the same gravitas as if you were a surgeon or an engineer helps keep your focus where it needs to be.
What if the nasty chicken voices won’t shut up?
Sometimes all the positive self-talk in the world won’t get you going. Sometimes you just have to pretend you aren’t terrified. There’s no single method that will work for everyone. If you’re the type who needs some concrete action before you can do the mental work, stay tuned for part two, for the hands-on stuff.
Any nasty chicken voices to share? What’s your biggest stumbling block? What’s your favourite objection to promoting your work?
Possibly related posts:
The most difficult part of work for me is being alone. Mind you, I chose this many years ago… and in so many ways I love it. I love not having to say “good morning” to anyone; love, of course, not having to report to a boss; love the freedom of time etc etc. I don’t work in my house. I abandoned that many years (and three offices/studios) ago. I now work in a building with some really nice people, so that helps. But still…..it is lonely work.
I’m getting ready for the Atlanta Mart this weekend. Trade shows REALLY energize me. I socialize. I show my stuff. I make new contacts.
And last, but really most important, is the internet. WOW. What a difference that has made!
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Stacey Cornelius Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Libby, I hear you. Sometimes I feel like I’m shouting down a well. But yeah, the freedom is fantastic, and the Internet is a big candy store full of ideas.
Enjoy Atlanta.
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My “favourite objection” (love that I’d even have a fave) is that I am not selling anything, so I tend to think my work has a lower value. Despite my efforts to see the value in craft, that it is a process and a mindset and that it is not always about the final product, I feel less of an entrepreneur if I’m not hawking my wares. Like I didn’t sweat enough to get paid.
I am glad that I don’t let that duppy hang out over here too much. It comes up every once in a while.
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Stacey Cornelius Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Lydia, I have to confess I chuckled to myself when I asked about favourite objections, but if we didn’t love them so much, we’d send them away in a heartbeat.
Value is highly subjective. Perhaps your currency isn’t cash, but something else. Your growing audience certainly seems to think so.
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Interestingly, Lydia, you have actually inspired a big shift in this “chicken voice ” area for me…I decided that I don’t HAVE to have a something to sell…this is such a relief after years of feeling like I needed “something” to sell…that has kept me from just offering what I have to offer which is not always something to sell.
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Stacey Cornelius Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Nice way to start a new year, Kathy.
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The most difficult part for me is also the most liberating: not selling much. You bet I’d like to be able to make a living through my photography and many people assume I make a lot more money from it than I do.
But not selling allows me to take pictures that I want, not having to consider whether or not they’re salable or if a client would like approve.
To complete the circle, I find that, on the whole, people like the photos that I take “for myself.”
Would selling more influence my vision and the pictures I take? I like to think not.
I’ve learned that my best pictures come simply from my liking the way something looks. I may have to work to produce the photo that “replicates” (or represents) a scene or subject and it may take several tries but that’s what being a photographer is about.
I’ve also learned that I can’t force or fake liking the way something looks.
So, for me the “chicken voice” = freedom to photograph the world the way I see it.
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Stacey Cornelius Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
You know, Sally, people wanting to buy the work you love yourself is exactly what most professional creatives dream about. Just saying.
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[...] you’ve had a little time to banish objections and self-made intimidation. This next part is simple—come up with one thing to improve your first impression. One. Here are [...]