New Marketing Habits: Slowly but Surely

I’ve heard it takes around 30 days for something to become a habit. 

With 35 days passed at the end of week 7, I actually feel like I’m beginning to develop some good habits (for once)!  Marketing Mentor is not paying me to say this—but the Grow Your Business  Marketing Plan + Calendar is actually keeping me moving in the right direction.  Just having the words in front of me helps me to stay on track. 

I’m not perfect.  I don’t do every task on my list every single day.  But I do them most days.  And doing something most days over a period of weeks is a big deal for me. 

Here are the things I’ve been doing on a regular basis:

Writing goals: I’ve been writing my goals.  This is something I’ve never done before.  But instead of writing my goals as if I want them to happen, I’ve been writing them as if they have already happened.  “I got 5 new clients this month!” and “I made $$$$ this month!”  I can imagine myself saying these things at the end of the month, and it helps me to approach them with confidence.

Checking blogs/sites:  I check Biznik regularly- it’s my favorite.  I read articles, leave comments, and send messages to people.  I’ve moonlighted with other sites, but Biznik is the one I keep going back to.

Googling myself:  As of today, my website is #7 in Google for “virtual marketing assistant” and #1 in Yahoo.  Not bad for a site I put up 7 months ago.  I've noticed higher rankings since I've starting creating more incoming links to the site.

Exercising:  I do some exercise every single day (just about.)  I force myself to go to the gym or go for a walk, and I always feel better afterwards—not just because I’ve exercised, but because I had the discipline to get myself out the door.

Socializing:  I’m not attending networking events per se because my prospects are in the US—but  I am getting out and meeting people.  I’m taking salsa class on Monday nights and making it a point to talk to new people every week.  Tonight, I’m attending a meetup.com event in for Americans living in the Dublin area. Ps. Meetup.com is a great site to find events to attend.

Prospecting:  I have a favorites folder where I’m adding the prospects’ websites.  I’ve got 27 of them so far.

A structured workday: I’ve been starting work every day around 9am and ending by 7pm, give a little take a little.

Accepting:  I’m doing better at accepting that I’m not going to be perfect every day.  I look at each good task like a drop in the cup.  Every good thing I do simply adds, and nothing takes away. 

Evolving: I’ve noticed that some of my clients are web design companies who want to offer additional services to their clients, such as pay-per-click advertising, article and press release writing and submission, and keyword rich web content writing.  I’m starting to consider these web design companies as a new potential market, and I’ve started to prepare a proposal specifically for them.

Are you following your plan?  Are you finding that you are developing some good marketing habits?

Comments

[the communicatrix]

I don't know if you can see it from where you sit, but it's really impressive from the outside looking in.

I especially love the bit about everything adding and nothing taking away. I struggle with this always.

Well, and with the structured workday and all the rest of it, too. But little by little is the key to the progress.

Now if I could just get those barre chords down...

[Deidre Rienzo]

Thank you, Colleen! That is so nice to hear, especially from someone who is really attacking the marketing plan. (I can definitely say the same thing to you- I don't know if you can see it from where you sit, but it's really impressive from the outside looking in.)

And remember, every day you're practicing those barre chords-- you're getting another drop in the cup. I have to keep reminding myself of this... that everything I do is progress, and I think the most difficult part of this process has been to just stop beating myself up for not being perfect. Who knew a girl who could hardly get out of her pajamas to go to work could somehow be a perfectionist too?

[Jezra Kaye]

Deirdre, thanks for an inspiring reminder of how perseverance pays off (and not just perseverance in eating ice cream and reading romance novels! :-) I have a question: Can you say more about creating incoming links to your web site? This is a concept I don't quite understand.

[Deidre Rienzo]

Hi Jezra-

Incoming links... Well, they happen any time you write a blog comment (that allows for a link to your website--like this one), sign up for a social networking site, submit an article to an article directory, get listed on a clients' website, create a free listing on a community website, etc... Any time you create a link to your website, it essentially makes your website more attractive to the search engines. (It's just one of the many ways to improve search engine rankings.) One or two links won't necessarily have an impact, but it's a good habit to get into.

[AP]

So I follow Ilise's email newsletter campaign and landed here. Interesting read. Yes, web design companies are taking a more aggressive role in providing al le cart services because having a site is one thing, marketing is another. It’s definitely a nice niche to explore and as with all niches, the first to command reaps many rewards. Second, I found a video on YouTube that helps to explain Search Engine Optimization and how to rank better on Google. I won’t paste the link here, but my signature links to my blog where you can find the video. Search is a very powerful tool and when your clients find you organically, that is a very powerful thing. I just Google Virtual Marketing Assistant and there you are. Awesome! You’ve inspired me to work on my search engine rankings.