4 Tips On Sowing Small Marketing Seeds That Yield Large Results

I love farmers. They have a wonderful profession and one that helps sustain life for each of us. Imagine, a small seed that you can roll between your thumb and forefinger can help feed an entire family. But that small seed takes a lot of attention to go from the tiny shell to a bountiful feast. In many ways, the seeds of our marketing efforts are the same. That's what I want to discuss with you today. Hopefully, this will encourage you not to lose heart as you sow your marketing seeds for your book or business. If you don't lose heart, a bountiful harvest may await you in time.

In our society, we have conditioned ourselves to expect instant results when we want something. That includes our marketing efforts. It's easy to grow discouraged when we work hard at marketing our books but we don't see massive results right away. That's understandable, but it's the wrong way to view our marketing activities.

If we spend the time doing the right things in our marketing plan, then just like the farmer's seeds, our efforts will sprout, grow and yield fruit as we go along. I offer these suggestions on how to grow your marketing efforts into a yield you will be proud of.

• Be consistent in your efforts- While I believe that there is wisdom in being flexible, there is also a danger in not giving your marketing plan time to germinate. Be careful not to jump to something else before you give the time for your plan to bear fruit.
  
  
• Use quality seeds- Through a little research (like what you can do on this site and the many others that I introduce you to), you can make sure that your marketing seeds are of high quality, designed to yield results for you. Look at what others have done successfully as a guide for you.
  
  
• Broadcast your seeds generously- A farmer would not be successful if he or she planted one seed at a time, cared for it, grew it and harvested it before planting the second seed. Rather, the farmer broadcasts many seeds. Some germinate while others do not; but in the end there is a sufficient harvest. The same holds true for marketers. Look for ways to implement your marketing plan through a generous broadcasting of it's seeds. The more exposure we give ourselves, the bigger the yield we can expect.
  
  
• Co-Op your efforts- Many small farmers join with other small farmers to increase their marketing power. By doing this, a small farmer can participate in advertising, afford great legal council, increase his or her buying and negotiation power. The same holds true for marketers today. Rather than go at this alone, find ways to work with others who are trying to do the same thing you are doing. By creatively working together, you can multiply your efforts and effectiveness.
  

I hope these ideas help you to have heart with your own marketing efforts. I know it can seem hard when we start out, but just like a farmer, there is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing our own marketing efforts start to germinate and eventually lead to the bountiful yield we all are working so hard for.


 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.