Thoughts about marketing?

[Danioover9000]

   Especially from freelancers and small businesses owners, how did you brainstorm for your own marketing strategy? Does it have to be directly in line with what you do?

[Yarco]

Unless you're doing something truly groundbreaking, somebody has probably already been where you are and derived "the secret formula" (or one version of it.) So there's not really a need for you to brainstorm and try to figure it out from scratch through trial and error.

When I took an online course on freelance writing, it included a list of job boards where you can land freelance writing gigs. Plus how to cold pitch clients, and exactly what to write in your email that's proven to work. (And it worked great for me)

When I did a game dev course, it included pre-marketing before your game launches, how to get people to wishlist your game on Steam, how to pitch game publishers, which publishers are indie friendly, what genres they prefer, what kind of income splits they offer, how to create a successful kickstarter, how to have a successful launch, etc. Stuff that would take you forever to research, or that you wouldn't even think to consider when starting out.

I've seen similar courses (or just straight marketing materials) that you can buy for how to be a best-selling novelist, how to run a farm, how to run an etsy store or shopify store, how to market yourself as a video editor / wedding photographer / you-name-it and get clients. You can even buy sales pages customized for conversion in your industry, entire email campaigns proven to convert where you just plug in a few details, etc, for a fraction of what it'd cost to get someone to do it for you, or that would take hundreds of hours of your time.

Look for a cheap solution that already works, especially if you're just getting started. You can always customize and optimize later

[puporing]

I just do what speaks authentically to me. Authenticity more than anything. What do you believe in and strive for consistently in this line of work you chose? People do really respond to this when you're genuine and it'll make you feel in alignment as well, rather than trying to do something that someone else might feel in alignment with. 

Often the work itself is marketing, with the 'marketing' aspects fleshed out around the work and kept simplistic that enhances your work. Hope that helps.  

Edited February 27, 2022 by puporing

[Danioover9000]

@Yarco

13 hours ago, Yarco said:

Unless you're doing something truly groundbreaking, somebody has probably already been where you are and derived "the secret formula" (or one version of it.) So there's not really a need for you to brainstorm and try to figure it out from scratch through trial and error.

When I took an online course on freelance writing, it included a list of job boards where you can land freelance writing gigs. Plus how to cold pitch clients, and exactly what to write in your email that's proven to work. (And it worked great for me)

When I did a game dev course, it included pre-marketing before your game launches, how to get people to wishlist your game on Steam, how to pitch game publishers, which publishers are indie friendly, what genres they prefer, what kind of income splits they offer, how to create a successful kickstarter, how to have a successful launch, etc. Stuff that would take you forever to research, or that you wouldn't even think to consider when starting out.

I've seen similar courses (or just straight marketing materials) that you can buy for how to be a best-selling novelist, how to run a farm, how to run an etsy store or shopify store, how to market yourself as a video editor / wedding photographer / you-name-it and get clients. You can even buy sales pages customized for conversion in your industry, entire email campaigns proven to convert where you just plug in a few details, etc, for a fraction of what it'd cost to get someone to do it for you, or that would take hundreds of hours of your time.

Look for a cheap solution that already works, especially if you're just getting started. You can always customize and optimize later

   Thanks for the post, I mostly thought all the work has to come from me in the marketing, and forgot that there are other ways to market.

Edited February 27, 2022 by Danioover9000

[Danioover9000]

@puporing

7 hours ago, puporing said:

I just do what speaks authentically to me. Authenticity more than anything. What do you believe in and strive for consistently in this line of work you chose? People do really respond to this when you're genuine and it'll make you feel in alignment as well, rather than trying to do something that someone else might feel in alignment with. 

Often the work itself is marketing, with the 'marketing' aspects fleshed out around the work and kept simplistic that enhances your work. Hope that helps.  

   One of the works I want to do and consider, is mostly NSFW, which raised the issue of how do I market myself in such a field. The work is also a niche, and not easily marketable  to a mainstream Audience. For example, I have several passions in my life, a few of them I have decent to above average skill in, like drawing, chess and video games. If I pursued the drawing, like becoming an online illustrator or comic book artist/writer, and go down the NSFW path, then I'd have a little bit of a problem being authentic in the marketing because of what I might specialize in.

   It's one of several paths I've considered, so if anyone here has that kind of experience marketing NSFW, I'd like to know more.

[Spence94]

@puporing Yeah authenticity and attracting those who vibe with your style and truth and not trying to appeal to everyone in your market. 

[Spence94]

On 27/02/2022 at 3:09 PM, puporing said:

 

Often the work itself is marketing, with the 'marketing' aspects fleshed out around the work and kept simplistic that enhances your work.  

Good point.

[puporing]

@Danioover9000 Well in that case 'fake it till you make it' might work for you. You can put out some stuff and cater to what people are loving, and that becomes your passion, is to make stuff a group of people love. I guess unless you also feel a strong opposite pull to not do this or somehow not your character that could be a struggle. See how you really feel about it! It's at least gotta be something you can consistently do.

[Preety_India]

I would say look at the marketing tactic of Dr K. He did not set up a clinic and directly market to his clients. 

Instead he networked through Twitch. I'd call it a smart move in the age of social media. 

 

[vizual]

Imo, the best long term marketing strategy for your product or service is to be real with people, don't try to bullshit them for your short term gain. It will hurt you on the long run. Communicate what your product is and how it can benefit the customer, don't try to make it more than it is with smokescreen tactics. And of course, you need to know your target demographic and know how to reach them. I personally don't like 'facebook ads' and such as it cheapens your product to advertise on such low quality and generic platforms. But that also depends on your product of course. If you have a product aimed at middle age housewives, facebook ads are probably pretty effective.

[Danioover9000]

@puporing

6 hours ago, puporing said:

@Danioover9000 Well in that case 'fake it till you make it' might work for you. You can put out some stuff and cater to what people are loving, and that becomes your passion, is to make stuff a group of people love. I guess unless you also feel a strong opposite pull to not do this or somehow not your character that could be a struggle. See how you really feel about it! It's at least gotta be something you can consistently do.

   Like put out cold emails, maybe online ads? Or join a website and draw for free for sometime, but later start charging costs?

[Danioover9000]

@vizual

1 hour ago, vizual said:

Imo, the best long term marketing strategy for your product or service is to be real with people, don't try to bullshit them for your short term gain. It will hurt you on the long run. Communicate what your product is and how it can benefit the customer, don't try to make it more than it is with smokescreen tactics. And of course, you need to know your target demographic and know how to reach them. I personally don't like 'facebook ads' and such as it cheapens your product to advertise on such low quality and generic platforms. But that also depends on your product of course. If you have a product aimed at middle age housewives, facebook ads are probably pretty effective.

   Thanks for the post.

   I already know my mission statement, my generalised purpose, my specialised purpose, my ten year mastery path, my top ten values, my top 5 feelings, my top 5 strengths, my zone of genius and already did some year resolution goals. I'm still not sure what my ideal medium is, like I want to be an illustrator, but I also want to be a comic book artist, but I also want to be a writer, but I want to be a video game player. I'm even more unsure what my ideal consumer base is, to align that with what I do. If I'm an illustrator, and do landscape type genres, I don't know what that caters to. I know id I became a comic book whatever, that caters to mostly late teens demographic, but I want to include more mature themes, and still feel like I'm doing an illustration almost per page, like it's a monthly release comic book versus a weekly release. Going indie or freelance is good, but I still don't know enough.

   

[Danioover9000]

@Preety_India

2 hours ago, Preety_India said:

I would say look at the marketing tactic of Dr K. He did not set up a clinic and directly market to his clients. 

Instead he networked through Twitch. I'd call it a smart move in the age of social media. 

 

   Social media marketing and networking, gotcha.