Checklist: 19 Quick Marketing Tips for New Entrepreneurs

 

If you’re unemployed or under-employed, do you have an entrepreneurial spirit – would you like to be your own boss? Are you gainfully employed but have a great entrepreneurial idea?

If answer yes to any of these questions, you might want to launch a new business. An economic downturn is often an excellent time to launch a new idea.

Ideally, I’d write a SWOT Analysis – identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). The minimum I’d suggest is a typed, one-page vision plan for cash flow, multiple revenue streams and marketing.

Keep in mind there are at least 19 basic marketing steps to keep in mind in launching a new enterprise.

To start a business, here’s the basic marketing checklist:

1. The objective (sort of a brief mission statement)
2. List your products and services
3. Five value propositions (the 5 benefit statements – the benefits you will, not can provide)
4. Branding slogan in three to five words – e.g. mine is: Proven Solutions for Maximum Profits (ideally it should be in italics)
5. A buyer’s remorse statement to prevent doubt by your prospective customers or clients – e.g. mine is “You will be very pleased with the strong results.”
6. Logo (to convey why people should buy from you)
7. Web site (the name should tell your benefits but be short as possible)  – e.g. a simple, free WordPress template is possible
8. Ten-word Web description (the phrase that Internet users see when they see your Web site listing)
9. Key search words for the Internet – maximum of 10
10. Blog on your Web site – to increase your prominence on the Web and to pique interest of Internet users Personally, I prefer the term commentaries instead of blogs…stop short of giving too much detail (they have to hire you for the complete answers)
11. Your bio – a half-page or quarter-page on your Web site emphasizing your accomplishments (why you’re an expert)
12. Marketing tactics/elements (including how to use the media drive business to you…and social media, especially Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn)
13. List of centers of influence – people and organizations that are capable of referring business to you
14. One-page handout – a flyer with benefit statements, buyer’s remorse statement, slogan, logo and contact information
15. Don’t forget your picture on all materials (use the same picture in all your marketing efforts)
16. Do marketing everyday – even if you’re busy – when business slows down, it’s difficult to quickly ramp up marketing for positive cash flow
17. Get an excellent mentor
18. If you’ve done your homework and bounced your ideas by a great mentor, don’t let any cynics dissuade you from your dreams — don’t engage in self doubt
19. Be tenacious

Most of the above topics can be further explained in more detail in dozens of columns in the Marketing/Sales section of this portal.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are two articles The New York Times published about my strategies for new entrepreneurs:

• Been There… Done That… Here’s How – New York Times
• Advice on Taking an Entrepreneurial Leap – New York Times

“It’s hard to do a really good job on anything you don’t think about in the shower.”

-Paul Graham

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.