What Counts as Marketing?: Building on Your Own Great Bones

04 Apr What Counts as Marketing?: Building on Your Own Great Bones

What counts as marketing? Building on your own great bones saves time and anguish. Walking skeleton from Andrew Bell, Anatomia Britannica (1770s-1780s). Uploaded to Flikr by the University of Liverpool Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, accessed via Creative Commons.

What Counts as Marketing?: Building on Your Own Great Bones

One of the most interesting client meetings I’ve had recently was about what really counts as marketing.

My client wanted a marketing plan, including timeline, like we create for RAISING CLARITY. This post tells you a lot of what he received from us (though none of his details). Our first question waswhat are you already doing right?

What you are already doing right is the most important first question a coach or consultant can ask. Why pay someone to tell you what you are already doing right?

Building on What’s Working = Building on Your Own Great Bones

Turns out that–among other things–our client was already doing things we think are very right when it comes to long-lasting, great marketing:

1. 1. crafting and emailing a great newsletter to his whole list.
   2. traveling to visit clients face-to-face to deliver to them.

Those two things alone gave us pages of ideas for him about marketing, along with guidance on how to timeline them into a marketing plan.

Marketing activities + Timeline = Marketing Plan, Demystified!

An Easy Great Marketing Plan Builds on What’s Working

Start by thinking: what am I already doing to connect with my people?

Now focus on the things that really reach people. I don’t care how many or how few. Those things you are doing that work are your “great bones.”

Second, think about how you can do more of what works:

• • Set aside time in your timeline for writing/creating and disseminating.
  • Set aside time for experimentation with intention and regularity.
  • Become consistent.

Third, timeline it! What makes it a Marketing Plan is when you timeline it. You literally make an appointment with yourself to take the next step of your Plan. Each time you meet with yourself, you make an appointment with yourself to take the next step. I emphasize”with yourself” because some folks only schedule meetings with other people. RAISING CLARITY gives you permission to schedule meetings with “just” yourself.

If you find you have over- or under-estimated the timing, be sure to use that as good information that will help you integrate changes into your timelining next time. This is our all-time best post where we have poured everything we know about chunking up a big task into timelinable steps.

When you get to the end of your Marketing Timeline, repeat. Think up new stuff to offer. Then timeline those things–and do them.

*No need to over-technologize your your timeline. We use a pen and paper datebook with whiteout tape for changes. We track everything this way, backed up by email folders for each correspondent/activity. And we are very organized.