I was just a guest on an internet radio show for the very first time this morning. I think it went really well. Boy, was I nervous. Even though I have been an entrepreneur for 15 years, I still get nervous when I know I will be talking about myself.
Back in December Stacey Kannenburg was putting together a new radio show website. She was lining up entrepreneurs who could be regular contributors with their own show. I turned down her offer because the thought of doing a show on a weekly basis scared me. Can you believe that? I turned down weekly exposure to my business because of a silly fear!
Have you ever down that? Stupid question, I know. Everyone does that at some point. Many times actually. Turning down something that you know will help your business because you aren’t sure it’s the right strategy for you.
Well, that’s just it, isn’t it? I’m always coaching my clients to pick marketing strategies that work with their unique talents, their skillset, their own passions. I also tell my clients that it’s not always enough to go with what they know. That just gives you a starting point. Start with what you know. When it’s time to add new marketing tactics, you sometimes need to step out of your comfort zone and learn something new.
Sometimes we are really good at something, but we don’t know it yet because we haven’t tried it. Now, I had never tried a weekly show. I have no idea if it is the right strategy for me or not. What I do know is that I wanted to try it out first by being a guest on other shows. You know, sort of test the waters. Get a feel for what other entrepreneurs are doing with internet radio.
The marketing strategies that you choose need to be ones that work for you AND your type of business. Ask yourself, “What strategies am I good at, which ones feel right, which ones work for me?”, but also ask yourself, “Where is my target market expecting me to be?” “Where are my competitors?”
Before you decide what marketing tactics to use, you need test them out for a while and see how they are feeling. See what kinds of profits you are getting from them? If the tactic works, stick with it, learn more about and increase your exposure to it. If the tactic doesn’t work, drop it and move on to another one.
When I talk about working with your unique talents and skills, it’s important to realize that the skills you possess will change. As an entrepreneur we need to always be learning, to always be trying new things. It’s not only good for business, it’s good for us personally, as well. It helps us to grow.
Today when I was on Sharon Silver’s Getting to the Heart of the Matter Show, I realized that this was something that could be fun. I could actually enjoy this. Is radio in my future? We’ll see.
