Marketing Makes The Business
I just spent three days at a Rockstar Marketing conference. If there is one thing I have learned from being business over the last 2 years, its that no matter how amazing you, your products, and services are, you will not make money if no one knows you exist. Marketing is everything. And there are people who are fantastic with terrible marketing strategies and there are those who are terrible with fantastic strategy. And somewhere, in the middle of that milieu of social media, and direct mail, and email campaigning and opt ins, there are people who have their heart in the right place and are working diligently to make sure that you know it.
My Kind Of Rockstar
One of those people is Craig Duswalt. Craig teaches marketing strategy that is completely out of the box. His Rockstar Marketing bootcamps are filled with hundreds of marketing ideas to make you stand out, and most of them can be done with zero budget. Which is ideal for those start up, solopreneur businesses out there who understand the value of running lean in your first couple of years.
I met Craig when he hosted the 9pm breakout session (yes 9pm) at the Ewomen National Conference this past summer. Those of you who follow me on social know that, I was very tired when I showed up for the session, but Craig had hundreds of women on their feet and singing and laughing with him for hours that night. He understands the struggle of starting a business, and also gets that you have to stand out to make it out here. And that’s how I ended up at his Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp in Los Angeles this October.
If you have ever been a 3 day anything, you know that these events are full of information. But there were four things that made Craig stand out and make the learning sticky.
1) Structured Content
Day 1 of Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp and you get a workbook with all of the answers (almost) in it up front. As a presentation coach I immediately appreciated the added level of engagement a workbook provides for your audience. Craig made sure that we were following along with him each step of the way. And you had to, because there were blanks littered throughout the notebook to make sure you were paying attention the entire time.
2) Feed The Body and the Mind
Craig provided lunch every day for those who wanted to pay a nominal fee for it. This is huge. If you have ever been to a hotel event, and found yourself starving with a very short break, you know that feeding yourself can be a small crisis. Not to mention that absorbing that much information over such a short period of time causes severe brain drain and glucose depletion. Having a catered lunch (with healthy options) while being able to engage and decompress with other like minded souls from the event was a relief from the typical lunch time scramble.
3) Music
Craig’s background is in the music industry. Before he became a rockstar marketing director, and owner of his own creative agency, he toured with Guns and Roses and Air Supply. Everything he does is infused with the idea of music fueling your life, and fostering your creativity. Heck, his brand is Rock Your Life. And he makes sure that as you are busting your butt for your business, you are having a rocking good time.
4) Guest Speaker Haven
Bo Eason, and Craig Wayne Boyd were my favorites across the weekend, but Craig is notorious for pulling in big name talent to teach during his events. I learned so much from hearing Craig Wayne sing, Natasha Duswalt share her story of thriving past cancer, and watching Bo command the stage, it was like a crash course in perseverance.
Marketing Nuggets
Now that’s all about Craig and his event. but you may be wondering, where are the marketing nuggets? Craig covered 20 major areas that you can focus on to grow your business and get the word out about your amazing-ness. But there were three that I know I can tackle ASAP.
My immediate takeaways are write my book, finish my member site, and get consistent with blogging. Here’s a little sneak peek on Craig’s philosophy on each of those strategies:
Books
Of course books are a great way to demonstrate expertise in your subject area. Most people think writing and publishing is daunting but luckily Craig offers a system of writing small books and ebooks quickly, so that you can stop procrastinating and start getting the word out already. Those who have graduated from the Rockstar Mastermind (Craig’s year long private group) don’t even hand out business cards anymore. Everyone hands out books. It makes you stand out in a fishbowl of cardstock, and it assures your audience that you know what you are talking about. Craig also promotes hybrid book publishing so you retain the rights to your IP and can get it out into the public faster than with a commercial big name publishing house.
Member Sites
Not many people know that I have been working on a a member site since the summer. My beta program of the Side Hustle Intensive was incredible. The next step is to make it available to more people through a 12 week online program. But in addition to my online course, having one place for my subscribers to find resources (worksheets, workbooks, free downloads and articles) is a smart idea. Meeting with my web developer is on my top 3 list for the week.
Content Creation
I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now. But I’m not consistent. It’s feast or famine for when I publish new content. But wouldn’t it be great if I got consistent? The beauty of consistency is your audience knows where and when to find you, anticipates it, looks for you, and refers more often and 2) you get a consistent flow of material that you can re purpose in dozens of ways to grow your brand. Record blogs to create podcasts. Film podcasts to create video. Compile videos to create webinars, and tutorials. There is nothing you can’t do when you have a steady stream of content built around the discipline of consistency.
Rock Your Business Your Way
To find out more about Craig and his programs check out the next Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp in Los Angeles. I loved it so much, I became an affiliate for his program. He hosts events twice a year and they are a great way to kickstart your marketing activity. They are perfect for those of you still in year 1 of your busines and a great refresh for more veteran entrepreneurs. Learn about a world of options that you can use to boost business, and then focus on a few to take it (and you) to the next level of awesome.
What can you do in the next 7 days to make sure your awesome-ness is well known?
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