Marketing Me! They should do something

I read an interesting article not too long ago which described the conditions in the former U.S.S.R. following the fall of communism. Besides the shortages, crime and anarchy which came after the heavy-handed government ceased to exist, everything having to do with work and employment changed as well.

The author primarily noted middle aged men, going day after day to their offices and factories, sitting idly for want of something productive to and complaining endlessly that the government should do something.

Election year or not in the U.S., we hear this frequently, that no matter what the problem, the government "should do something".

Frankly, I don't know what it is people want the government or anybody else for that matter to do for them.

Rather, Marketing Me! declares that YOU have to do something for yourself rather than waiting for the other guy to step up.

Look, the Internet alone has created a huge virtual billboard with your mug displayed potentially for the whole world to see. And in the spirit of the long tail, the more traffic you can run to YOU the more business, however small, you can build for yourself.

How? Again let's always start with what we know. If you have not already, start a blog. Start a couple. You can use Blogger like I do, or Wordpress or Typepad. If you feel really gung ho, get your own domain name and host your blog on your new name. Which domain name? Register your name (I finally got mine this weekend!). Register your business skill or calling. Check out the GoDaddy link to the right and get your domain name and hosting account today!

Start a mailing list. I use AWeber, but there are lots of them (use a real mailing list company rather than Outlook. Spam complaints can shut down your access). Build an opt-in mailing list (people join voluntarily rather than you spamming). Remind people weekly through email of your existence and expertise.

Write an ebook. It is not that hard. Pick a subject. Write a 16 page ebook. Convert it to pdf and give it away to new subscribers to your mailing list. It helps to make it related to your line of work, but people remember the expert no matter what you write about.

Why stop there? Offer to speak. There are plenty of events in your line of work that need speakers. I recently signed up to speak at a telephone carrier sales meeting. Yes, there will only be about 30 attending, but if I am good, that will be 30 new evangelists spreading the word about my brand.

What else? Have you ever considered consulting? Have you ever considered starting your own business? You already have the blog and domain name, why not use it to generate extra revenue for your time?

There is so much you can do right now that will result in right now opportunities that it makes no sense to wait around for the "government" to do something.

So get off your butt and get busy. Time is wasting!