Part 1: Positioning Your Creative Business

This post is written by Ilise Benun, marketing coach for creative professionals, and the mind behind Marketing Mentor - the go-to resource for creative pros who want better projects with bigger budgets.

Are you doing the work you want?

If not, why not?

If so, which projects and clients would you like more of?

If you don’t know the answer to these simple questions, or if you are just taking what comes along (or think you’re lucky because you get word-of-mouth—which isn’t something you can control), it may be time to think again.

The work you want isn’t going to magically find you. You have to know who you want to work with, and then find those clients.

In between that, a lot of creative professionals get bogged down in the what of marketing.

There are so many ways to approach clients that it’s easy to get overwhelmed:

How will you find your best prospects?
Which tools are most effective for reaching them?
Should you reach out to them directly?
How many networking events should you attend each month?
Should you be blogging?
What about social media: is it worth the time?
And if so, which outlets/sites should you focus on?

I firmly believe that marketing gains momentum over time when done consistently. But before you start running campaigns and deciding which tools to use, you need to decide who you serve.

Video: How to Find Your Focus

Effective marketing requires focus: You have to position your products and services to stand out amongst your competitors.

Otherwise, not only will you waste time and money, but your ideal clients won’t listen when you’re speaking.

Everyone is so overexposed to advertising, our natural instinct is to cup our hands over our ears.

Properly positioning your business is how you show your clients, “Hey, we’re the solution for you.” And personalization is the key to hearts and minds.

Plus, knowing your own position will show you who your best prospects are, as well as who they aren’t. And eliminating ill-fitting prospects, companies, and marketing efforts is the key to a simple and efficient marketing plan.

Once you’ve decided where to focus, you’ll know which people to approach, which companies to target, and which events and campaigns are worth spending your money on. And you’ll know which ones aren’t worth the time, money and effort.

Every marketing dead-end you eliminate today is energy you save for good prospects later on. Plus, continuous positive interactions are going to be a multiplier when stacked together.

Your clients respond to confidence and happiness. And in turn, those clients tend to agree to more lucrative projects. Good positioning positively reinforces all your other marketing efforts.

What do you think? Doesn’t good positioning sound better than bad positioning, or more likely, no position at all?

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