If you run a business where you are selling a service that helps people with things like  like health care, business services or therapy you know how much you have to market yourself.

In order to attract the number of clients you need to keep your own business going strong it’s all about marketing. Most entrepreneurs skip the first step which is all about knowing your ideal client inside and out.

You have to know what their problem is they need help with and what is the emotionally compelling issue that  they are seeking solutions to.

Example 1.  If you are selling skin products, your ideal client might be someone who wants to feel better about herself. She doesn’t like how she looks and if she thought  your skin product would help her to get a date she might buy it. It could be that your products are very medicinal and will help her to have healthier skin but that issue is not as compelling as wanting to get a date.

Example 2.   Maybe you are a bookkeeper. Your ideal client is stressed and anxious  and feels at sea when it comes to money management. Her emotionally compelling need is to feel secure. She wants that sense of peace that comes from knowing her money is being managed properly.  If you talk all about account receivables and reports she will glaze over because that’s not  as compelling as the feeling of peace.

So figure out what the emotionally compelling issue is for your client and you will have the first step  of marketing done.

Suddenly everyone is blogging and those who aren’t  are being told they need to.  People are asking me, “How is my blog going to bring me more clients and help me grow my business?  How is blogging going to bring me more money?”

These  are a great questions and  you need to be asking this if you are in business. Otherwise your blog will end up being another thing to doodle around on and eat up your precious time.

Everything you do online is about marketing your business. So, in order to know how to best use your blog, you need to have a marketing plan for your business, know who your target client is,  what their problem is and what they need.  Once you know that it is all about writing posts that speak to those people and to questions they have.

If your blog is doing it’s job it will funnel people back to your website for more information about the services you offer or for more valuable information on how to get the help they need. Your blog can help build your relationship with your clients and keep them involved. Make sense?  What is your blog address? I’d love to visit.

When you think of marketing, your mind probably goes to things like networking, elevator speeches and e-mail letters.

If you’re like most small business owners you want to do whatever you can to get more clients, and yet it can feel like throwing darts when figuring out what to do.

The first step is to look at yourself. Most business owners are faced with being disorganized and have fears and insecurities that can hold you back in moving forward.

I have experienced all three, but organizational challenges have felt huge and overwhelming at times.  Developing a clear and logical 7 step marketing system has helped me to keep things in order and create a plan to follow. Overcoming my fears and insecurities have helped me to know that what I am offering is highly valuable.

In order to make any plan work the first place to begin is to face those inner attitudes and once you are more empowered you will be more successful in your marketing plan.

I groaned years ago in my first business ,when my marketing mentor told me that in order to build my business it would require four to five hours per day of marketing.

I was shocked because I needed to have cash flow and marketing felt like I was just giving my time away.

At that time I didn’t understand how it worked and didn’t really get that marketing was all about giving value to potential customers so they would see the benefit of my services and build a relationship with me.

I attended a networking group recently and met a man who was a carpenter and said his specialty was floors. I excitedly asked him if he could tell me a way to mend a scratch in my pergot flooring. His response “floored” me. He said, ” Yes I know how to do that but that’s what people pay me for so if you hire me to come out I’ll gladly have a look.”  I felt embarrassed and couldn’t get farther away from him.  I was a potential customer and he virtually pushed me away.

So remember, marketing is all about giving. The more generous you are the more you build your relationships and people want to work with you.  Find ways you can offer help, give advice  or  impart information. Stinginess  doesn’t build trust and doesn’t make people feel warm and comfy with you. When you willingly give, people want to give back. It’s human nature.

I am totally out of my league here,  but I’m going to jump anyway. By the way- I was one of those kids who was terrified of the high board and would stand on the end shivering.

I knew if I did it wrong I would get water up my nose,  do a belly flop or something else that felt miserable and also made me look stupid.   I guess I still haven’t learned!

I have been told by two geeky types, who both instilled confidence in me, that having a blog roll with a list of 5-6 other blogs I trade links with, would be good Google karma.

Evidently it might help my page ranking and if my page ranking was higher my site would appear in a Google search. If it appeared in the top 10 of the Google search more people would visit my blog.

If more people visited more people would comment and share, more people would see my free e-book and want it or they would visit my regular site and then throw themselves at my feet begging me to help them with their business . Is it this simple? I hope so because I just began a blog roll.

Ok, you geeky types. Give me your opinion.