Marketing Plans: What Really Matters?
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I have a confession to make. Last year at this time I put together what I thought was a complete marketing plan. I  made lists, I examined and revised my goals, I considered a variety of new products to entice clients old and new.
I went to my favorite five-and-dime store and bought a large, three panel board and some sheets of beautiful Prussian-blue foam to dress it up. My friends were all impressed.
 Alas, I'm sorry to say that by March my plan seemed both useless and oppressive. I began to daydream, while the board gathered dust.
At my college reunion I made new friends with health care people and extended my networks. I happened to vacation with a fellow writer, and was reminded that, for me, to write is to be happy.
Now, at the end of the year, I have a much simpler plan. I have learned that there is no point in chasing after new skills or products when what I do best and find energy in is writing for my clients.
I have a list of six items, handwritten on the inside of my notebook cover. They tell me what I'm supposed to do each day. I'm not saying I always do them. But they keep me honest and on target.
Now, you may be a large hospital with a complex marketing plan, or a solo provider with a simple to-do list. But I'm pretty sure that if your plan works for you, it's because you are very clear on this one point: marketing works when it's based on clients, and products, that match your character and your strengths.
By the way, last year's three-panel board will be recycled on Thursday.
See you in the New Year!
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Introducing Jane's New Blog
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My new blog, Marketing with Newsletters, is designed for all of you who use, or want to use, newsletters in building your client base. Not only email news, but hard copy, long and short, PDF and paper.
I invite you to explore with me what makes newsletters effective in engaging readers and sparking action. What are the essentials? What is the role of newsletters in a larger marketing strategy? What mistakes do newsletter writers make? What lessons can we learn from newsletters of the past?
I want to learn as much from the comments my readers have to offer as I hope you will learn from me.
Join me!
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| Jane Sherwin is a professional writer specializing in marketing materials for health care and wellness. In addition to in-depth articles, brochures, newsletters and web content, she also provides e-mail marketing services. Visit WordDriveCommunications.com for more information. |
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You did an absolutely wonderful job on our new web content. We really appreciated the way you listened to us talk about what we do, and then accurately reflected our messages in your writing. Key users of our website are very positive about the new site. Newer customers, especially, benefit from our more concise program descriptions. You even helped us to streamline internally what our key messages were, enabling our staff to best articulate all of our offerings. We certainly recommend you to colleagues!
--Sally Trnka, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Back by popular demand!
Some readers have asked me to extend the deadline for this, so here goes:
Call in the Editor!
Do you have many good things to tell your market
but no time to make sure your copy is clear and free of embarrassing grammatical errors?
Get started with WordDrive's "1000 Words for $100" package. Receive a complete, once-through edit of up to 1000 words.
For only $100, you'll get the polished, persuasive language you need to impress a whole new world of clients.
Offer now ends Friday, January 14, 2011.
For more information contact Jane.
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