How to Cure Your Marketing Headache

Many times business owners get stuck when it comes to marketing because they feel uncomfortable doing it. They are afraid of being seen as pushy, intrusive, or fake.

What if you could change the way you think about marketing by connecting to your true intention for doing it in the first place?

Have you ever thought about WHY you are marketing your business? OK, the answer seems obvious – to sell what you offer – but think deeper. You genuinely believe your products and services will help people, otherwise you wouldn’t be offering them. Right?

Try a quick exercise with me for a minute. Close your eyes (don’t worry this isn’t going to get weird) and picture your clients and the success they reach by using your products and services.

See the impact that your business has on their lives and/or businesses. Can you see your intention to make a positive difference?

If you are clear about your intention for marketing, then you will be able to approach marketing in a relaxed and confident manner.

When your intention is to help people, to offer them something that may benefit them – that feels good. It’s even exciting!

You could even go as far as to say that you are doing a disservice by not sharing what you offer to people who could use it.

Remember, people can’t buy something they don’t know about. By making your offer known, you are giving people the choice to consider for themselves if it is something they want.

The truth is that simply sharing your offer is a neutral act that may or may not be accepted. That’s it.

Imagine what it would feel like if you shifted your perception of what it means to market your business. Marketing feels natural and positive if your intention is one of supporting your prospective clients and being of service to them.

The focus is not on you or your business. Your focus is on sharing your offer with the people you want to support. Here are seven ideas about where and when you can share your offer:

1. Your newsletter or someone else’s newsletter

2. Your website or someone else’s website

3. E-mail or post (snail mail)

4. Google AdWords

5. In the author bio box at the end of articles you write

6. When you’re networking

7. When you’re speaking

Marketing can feel good when you see it as sharing an offer that people want and need. Discover your true marketing intention and connect to that feeling before you begin your marketing activities. It will make a huge difference in how you feel as you take action.

What’s more, your audience will receive a message that comes from an authentic intention. So make the shift, connect with your intention for marketing and enjoy taking action when marketing your unique business.nn© Stephanie Ward, 2008n