What I'm Listening To: Russian Roulette-Rihanna
Here is the end of the marketing principles from the blog of the lovely Rachelle Gardner. Let me know what you think
Marketing Principles: Part 3 of 3
by Jim Rubart
Marketing Principle #4:
Olympic caliber networking
When people hear the word marketing they think ads or PR. Those are parts of marketing, but marketing is much more than that. Marketing is everything you do in public. Everything. In every moment you are marketing yourself. In the way you speak, the wit you display, the subjects you talk about, the way you dress.
And who are you marketing to? People. It always comes down to people.
With the onslaught of marketing technology like Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, e-mail, podcasts, teleseminars, etc., I think we've forgotten that at its essence successful marketing is simply having people like you and be interested in you.
Most editors and agents, if they're choosing between two authors of equal skill, will take the one they like. I know this is obvious, but it's worth repeating: If an agent, or editor, or reader likes you, the odds of them buying from you skyrockets.
Put another way—assuming you've polished your writing chops—success as a writer can be improved by successful networking.
→ Be interesting, & be brief.
→There's an old show business adage that says, "Leave the audience wanting more." It works. Remember the old Seinfeld episode where George walks out of his employer's meetings as soon as he delivers a funny line? His boss ends up firing everyone except George because he likes George and thinks he's the only employee the company needs. So contribute to the conversation. But conversations aren't monologues. Keep it brief and give others a shot on stage.
→ Ask. Listen. Ask. Listen. Ask. Listen.
→ Ask. Most people don't know how to ask questions. They ask one, never following up with another. People like to be asked questions. We are needy people. We need to know we're valued. We need to know our opinion matters. We need to know others are interested in us. So ask a question, then another, then another. People will love you for it.
→ Listen. Most people struggle to listen. They're thinking about what they're going to say next, and most don't even wait for the other person to finish. So interruptis gigantis dominates most conversations. Don't let diarrhea mouth happen to you. Try this experiment. In the next conversation you have, count to five—in your head, not out loud—before you respond to your friend's comments. You'll be amazed. Truly. (No, I'm not going to tell you what will happen, but I will tell you the great interviewers understand this powerful principle.)
→ Make it real
→ People are human lie detectors. If you're faking it, they'll know. The goal of good networking is not to get ahead. Yes, it will benefit you if you do it right. But the goal of your networking should be to care about people, to be in relationship with people who share similar passions. Am I saying it's better to give than to receive? Absolutely. And don't worry, if you have that attitude, it will come back to you in droves.
Time to get off the stage. Hopefully I've helped a bit, and maybe even left you wanting more. If so, maybe we'll do it again sometime.
Jim Rubart is the owner of Barefoot Marketing (www.barefootmarketing.com) a marketing & consulting firm in the Pacific Northwest, and his first novel ROOMS comes out in April from B&H Fiction (www.jimrubart.com). He is represented by Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary. (www.chipmacgregor.com)
