There you are, sitting at your desk, ready to get the word out about your business. Trouble is, you not sure what to say, or how to say it. Adding to that, it seems like you’ve said everything 100 times before. Bottom line: you’re feeling a distinct lack of inspiration. Sounds like the perfect time to fill your marketing well!
What does it mean to fill the well? It’s a phrase I learned from reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The book is a guide to uncovering your creativity, and one of its first suggestions is to set aside time each week to replenish your well, the source of your creativity. Applying that same concept to your marketing can infuse it with added inspiration and motivation.
Filling your marketing well keeps your business fed. With your well full, you’ll be more inspired, have a greater capacity to create marketing content, have an easier time connecting with potential clients and referral sources, and have more fun. When your well runs low, it’s harder to motivate yourself to do marketing at all, much less create something that inspires you and others, and that’s bad for business.
How do you keep your marketing well full? Here are a few suggestions:
Mimic Someone You Admire
Watch how the people you admire do their marketing. Maybe you’re a big fan of Oprah and you like the way she runs print ads in her magazine, or the fact that she owns a magazine! Looking to others who are successful can give you inspiration for different marketing methods, and you can mimic what they do as you build up your marketing muscles.
Check Out Different Marketing Methods
Pick a marketing strategy you’ve been curious about and investigate how it might fit into your outreach mix. Learn more about it by reading books or websites, or visit online forums or meetup groups where people talk about the pros and cons of that marketing method. Ask people you know how they like that type of marketing, or take a course on how to use it effectively.
Take a Field Trip
Step away from the computer and get out into the world. Go to your favorite coffee shop, visit a museum or botanical garden, or spend the afternoon in the library. By spending time in places you love, your brain gets fed, which also feeds your creativity, which in turn feeds your marketing. Feeding all these different levels fills your soul, which makes you and your business happier.
Give yourself the gift of focusing on keeping your marketing well full by setting aside time regularly to do these activities. Maintaining a regular schedule of inspiration keeps your marketing feeling fresh; if you’re inspired by your marketing, others will be too, and that’s just good business.