The Marketing Myth That Confuses Many Entrepreneurs
At an auction a few months ago, Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter sold for $27,000. As a token of the past, this typewriter is certainly valuable. Some of the greatest novels in American history were written on it.
But a typewriter is a tool. As a tool, this particular typewriter is worth nothing more than any other typewriter. In an age where we rely on complex word processors on our computers, an old fashioned typewriter – even one belonging to a famous author – is not all that valuable.
It wasn’t the typewriter that made Hemingway produce The Old Man and the Sea. He could have written it on any typewriter, or with a simple pen and paper, or even by transcribing it to a typist.
The typewriter was simply the tool Hemingway used. The masterful work of art came from his unique talent and dedication to his craft.
Here’s how this relates to you…
Entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals come to me regularly seeking my counsel on the latest and greatest marketing and social media trends. They often ask something along the lines of, “I’ve been told the only network I should focus on is Instagram. All of the others are dead. Is that true?”
My professional advice is that you should take statements like this one with a grain of salt.
The network or medium you focus your marketing efforts on is simply a tool you are choosing to use. It’s the story you tell using that tool that matters.
There are a few things worth noting about this.
- The Tool Only Matters So Much
People produce valuable, marketable content on every social media channel and communication tool imaginable. Email, podcasting, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, blogging, YouTube – you name it.
It’s not the tool you choose that really matters. It’s what you bring to your marketing – your unique perspective, your valuable knowledge, your determination, and your story – that counts.
So next time you hear “Facebook is dead,” or “blogging no longer works,” I urge you to silently add the words “for me” on behalf of the speaker. Because what they are really saying is that blogging or Facebook doesn’t work for them. And that’s fine. But it has nothing to do with what works for you.
This also applies when anyone says, “You have to start using TikToc,” or the next new fad. That tool works for them, but it doesn’t mean it will work for you.
- Choose a Tool You Like Using
If you’re great in front of a crowd, try using video as your medium of choice. If you’re a good writer, try emails or blogging or Twitter. Find the tool that works for your talents – not the other way around.
Beyond your talents, what tool do you enjoy using? You invest a lot of your time and talent when telling the story of your business, so you don’t want to choose a medium that you find frustrating. If you enjoy marketing your business, it’s going to come across as much more natural and fun, drawing the ideal clients to you.
You also want to consider which tool your audience uses. The crowd on LinkedIn is indeed different than the crowd on Pinterest.
- Nothing Replaces Doing the Work
If you want to write the next great American novel, is the surest way to do that spending $27,000 on Hemingway’s typewriter? Of course not. And yet, too many entrepreneurs look to tools as shortcuts to get around doing challenging work.
You can buy the gym membership, but it’s not a shortcut for getting in shape. That requires going to the gym week in and week out. You can buy the language courses, books, and CD’s, but they aren’t a shortcut for learning Japanese. That requires daily practice, an open mind, and determination.
Smart entrepreneurs and professionals know that there is no shortcut to a lasting Legacy Business. You can invest time and money in all of the tools out there, but if you don’t put work into the tools you invest in, it’s a waste.
Commit yourself to using the professional tools you have at your disposal to tell your story fiercely and determinedly.
If you want to boost your profile and find more potential clients on any marketing tool, contact me today. It’s not about the specific tool you choose, but about applying a proven formula to attract more of the right prospects by telling your story, and I’ll show you how.
Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlusTM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.
To learn more about Celeste, click here.
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At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I work with each client to implement the strategies they’ve been missing that will enable them to break through barriers preventing them from the success they know they are capable of. Contact me today to find your future clients who just don’t know what they’re missing.
