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Are you guilty of ignoring your customers? Before you say no, I’d like you to answer the following questions….

• Have you ever started a blog, then neglected it because you didn’t think anyone was really reading it?
• Sent out a newsletter once or twice, then abandoned it because it took too much time & effort?
• Gotten so overwhelmed that you can’t respond to emails or phone calls in less than 24 hours?

Well, you’re not alone.

Time and time again, I see companies of all sizes ignore their customers and prospects by doing these very things. In fact, a lot of wedding professionals do the exact same thing.

But imagine this, brides are looking at your site for information, researching what you do, and maybe even calling or emailing to ask a simple question. And what they get is, well, nothing.

On the surface, these things may seem small or trivial. But it’s often the little things that make the biggest different. And not following through in a timely manner makes brides see you as inconsistent, unfocused, uncommitted and unprofessional.

Creating consistent messages and communications shows you’re reliable. A company and person that others can TRUST. So even if you think no one is reading your words or you’re just too busy to be timely, you need to stick to it. Because you never know when a bride is watching. And trust me, they are.

Don’t spread yourself too thin. If time management is an issue, don’t bite off more than you can chew. You’re only one person after all. You don’t need to be on every social media channel out there. Pick one or two and then do it on a regular basis. Once you master them, consider adding another. Of course, you can always hire someone to help or use a service to do it for you.

Use online tools that allow you to showcase your work. Brides aren’t buying you just because you have a blog or facebook account. They are buying you because of the results that you can produce. So make sure that you are using tools to effectively educate and showcase your work. You need to show brides that you can create the wedding of their dreams!

Remember, marketing is all about consistency. Do it on a regular basis, showcase your work and you’ll be on your way marketing more effectively and growing your bridal business. Not to mention setting yourself apart from a lot of other wedding professionals!

Of all the things entrepreneurs struggle with, this one is probably the most difficult and most dangerous. Why? Because it directly impacts the success of your business.

I know I’m not revealing any big eye-opening secret when I tell you that if you don’t regularly and consistently market your business, your business won’t grow. I know you know this. But none of that helps you when you hate marketing. (In fact, it probably makes you feel even worse, doesn’t it?)

So what did you do? Here are 3 steps to get you started (hint — these work even if you love marketing):

1. Find a marketing strategy or tactic you enjoy. There are LOTS of ways to market yourself, I guarantee at least one of them you will like doing. Your job is to find it and then build your main marketing strategy around it. Here’s a list of a few marketing activities to get you thinking:

a. Writing — blogs, articles, etc.
b. Speaking — live, on teleclasses/webinars/livestream, or even podcasts
c. Being interviewed on radio or television
d. Video
e. Chatting with people via social networking

At least one of those should resonate with you.

Once you figure out your favorite marketing activity, the next step is to build your marketing strategy around that activity. (More on that in step 3 but first…)

2. Outsource what you hate to do. The problem is no matter how much you may love one marketing activity, there are probably other essential activities you don’t love quite so much (hence why you probably hate marketing to begin with). So the trick is to build your marketing plan around what you enjoy doing then you outsource the other pieces you don’t enjoy.

Sounds pretty easy when I put it that way, eh?

Okay so what if you have no one to outsource to and you’re worried about cash flow. My advice is to take a deep breath and find someone. Look, outsourcing your marketing is the easiest way to see a return on your investment — if you start consistently marketing your business that money WILL come back to you.

Start by looking at your budget. See what you can put aside each month for marketing help. Then find someone who can do the tasks you need done in that budget. You might not be able to get everything done, but prioritize what’s most important (i.e. what you’re going to see a return on your investment the fastest) and focus on that.

3. Start small and build from there. Yes I know there are lots of marketing activities out there you could be doing, and the more marketing you do the better your results. However, that doesn’t mean I want you try getting everything done tomorrow.

Here’s the minimum of what you need to have a successful, growing business — one main lead source bringing leads into your business and one main way of converting those leads into customers and clients. That’s really it (at least for the marketing side). You get that nailed down and the rest will come.

And here’s some examples of how this can look:

1. Lead source (speaking, blogging, videos, interviews, social networking)

2. Lead cultivating (ezine, free calls)

See how simple this can be?

And to take this one step further, let’s say you love speaking and hate writing. You can focus on speaking and hire a virtual assistant to take care of putting an ezine out for you.

Voila! Marketing plan built around your strengths and outsourcing your weaknesses.

Then once you have that nailed down you can start adding more marketing activities to the mix. Before you know it, you’ll find you have built up an amazing marketing system that’s feeding your business (and better yet, you may discover you don’t mind marketing quite as much as you thought you did).

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an international campaign designed to increase awareness of breast cancer, which affects one in every eight women. In the U.S., this campaign was founded in 1985 to promote mammography as the most effective tool at preventing breast cancer. Throughout the country, participants in charity events receive imprinted promotional products featuring the well-known pink ribbon.

During fall 1991, pink ribbons were distributed to participants in the Susan G. Komen Foundation New York City breast cancer survivor race. In 1993, Estee Lauder Companies Senior Corporate Vice President Evelyn Lauder created the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She designated the pink ribbon as the symbol for the foundation. Since then, this small ribbon has become a powerful international symbol for breast cancer awareness.

People worldwide wear pink ribbons to express their moral support for women and men who have breast cancer. The ribbon is imprinted on clothing, bags, and promotional items like mugs, cups, and water bottles. It has even been designed as a magnet for display on automobiles. Charities shopping for promotional items may be able to design their own breast cancer awareness ribbon that features full color printing and an image of their choice. These thick magnets are water-repellent, fade resistant, and designed to be used outdoors.

Many shoppers are taking steps to reduce their use of plastic and paper shopping bags. Instead, they take their own reusable totes to transport their groceries. A pink non-woven customized tote will be in high demand with this crowd. It is durable enough to hold heavy grocery items, clothing, or even beach gear. The tote folds compactly and can be stored in a compartment behind a vehicle seat when not in use.

Insulated mugs keep hot beverages at the desired temperature. When a breast cancer fundraiser is held outdoors on a blustery day, filling these with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate helps keep participants going. They are attractive enough for everyday use and feature a sturdy handle and a thumb slide lid that helps prevent beverage spills. The bottom of the mug is designed to fit into the cup holder of the automobile and BPA-free material eliminates fear of contamination.

A unique promotional item with cancer in mind is a safety kit. Two packets of sunscreen, one packet of lip balm, adhesive bandages, and antiseptic and wash-up towelettes are contained in a case that fits into the glove compartment or a briefcase. Charities can have their logo imprinted on the lid of the case, advertising their support. Quantity discounts are often provided for promotional items like this, making it worthwhile for charities to order enough for events throughout the year.

Imprinted promotional products designed for breast cancer awareness feature the well-recognized light pink color. Fundraising groups imprint their logo and the pink ribbon onto these items and distribute them at events held throughout the year, particularly during October. In exchange for a donation to the cause, each supporter is provided with one or more of these promotional items.

Blog marketing tips are great because many people do not understand the purpose of blogging. Even worse, people fear their blogs! It is time to get acquainted with the blog and make a profit!

Blog marketing is used to promote products or services online. The general population is unaware of the fact that a great number of the websites they visit are blog sites. Blogs are money-generating platforms. They should be treated as such. Each blog has a theme, the main niche. Sub niches should include the main niche. Every post should include the niche. This will make the blog niche specific and allow for quality content.

Quality content is one of the greatest blog marketing tips. Quality, niche-specific content is really important. First, to establish followers, they need to have a reason to follow. That reason will be quality content. Second, search engines favor websites that are rich in quality content. Search engines change their algorithms. Blogs that survive the changes are those that provide people with useful information. Quality determines how useful information is, so quality is critical.

Blog marketing tips about quality go deeper than being niche specific. Quality blog posts utilize correct grammar and spelling. The voice is maintained throughout the entire post. Switching from first person to third person is an example of a bad writing style for a blog post. It needs to be professional. Professional blogs attract readers. Readers are leads, so the blog must cater to their attention.

Another great blog marketing tip concerns content ideas. It is easy to run out of fresh ideas. A great way to have a continuous flow of ideas to write about is to check the trends in the search engines. Find out what people want to know. For people who have a following or email lists, or both, ask them what they need to know more about. Responding to needs in blogs is a fantastic way to increase traffic and quality. Increased traffic and quality will increase sales as well.

Blog marketing tips are useful for everyone blogging. The keys to remember are providing quality, filling needs and being professional. These key points will keep the blog ranking well in the search engines over long periods of time. They will make readers become followers. They will keep a good flow of traffic to the blog. All of which will facilitate the money-generating capabilities of the blog.