I love Crys Williams of Big Bright Bulb and her blog post about hand puppet marketing.
Through the web and social media, you can find people who are making a living unconventionally.
In writing and blogging, people talk about finding your writing voice.
Fashionistas bombard us with tips to flatter our body shapes and “signature style.”
I think it wise to bring this into our business thinking, and encourage you to explore, experiment to find your own marketing voice and style.
marketeers types of all shapes & sizes
Let me reassure you, there are marketing people of all types, even in conventional, corporate environments. There are legions of marketeers who look squarely at the data in direct marketing. Their world is about mailing packages, buckslips (those mailing inserts shaped like a dollar bill–hence, buck), response rates and test cells. In technology, product marketeers connect the world of their customer to the world of technical engineers.
In advertising, there are marketing folks who talk to the clients and make the presentations, and those who work behind the scenes as artists, creative directors, media buyers and production managers.
There is a place for you, too.
Crys brilliantly illustrates something I’m working on in my own business: workarounds. Like her, I am an introvert. I can also call myself a marketing professional, as both an employee and as a consultant. When people think about marketing, they picture the brash ad executive or a sales person.
I am neither.
You may think you have to play all the roles within a conventional marketing department. Yes, there are conventional things you can do. But you don’t have to do this, not anything, not if it causes you pain and suffering.
a style guide for making connections
At the core, marketing is simply making a connection to your customer.
How do you make friends? Do you volunteer? Do you meet people at church, professional trade shows, your running club or a writing group?
Do you ask one or two people to coffee or lunch?
Or do you meet people through social media or other online communities?
Use that as a starting point and a marketing “style guide” for yourself. Is there an equivalent space or way to reach your audience? What is the most likely place you’ll run into them, online or off?
I feel comfortable in the world of social media. But I do attend smaller in-person events, or events that I know will attract like-minded people.
And I’m the type to take you (and maybe one other person) to lunch. Close to my side of town. With ample parking.
So, keep it simple.
Experiment in small ways so it feels like a playful excursion rather than a high stakes game.
Let yourself explore.
Then show up for yourself.
image credit: Le Petit Poulailler (cc license)