Where on Earth Do You Start?

No, that’s not a literal question. You can start your business from just about anywhere and keep it going from just about anywhere, too. That’s one of the joys of the Internet age.

A better question is: Where Do You Start When You’re Just Starting Out?

I’m talking marketing here. When your business is brand new and you’re dealing with start up expenses, crazy schedules and the inevitable bumps in the road along the way, how are you supposed to decide what marketing to do and when to do it?

Take your pick

• advertising
• opening promotions
• special offers
• newsletters
• coupons
• discounts
• public relations
• interviews
• branding
• flyers
• business cards
• brochures
• logos
• websites
• press releases
• handouts
• freebies
• giveaways
• publicity stunts

It’s a never-ending to-do list and it doesn’t even include all those day-to-day activities that are also part of marketing, like customer relations and sales.

So where should you start your marketing?

Well, you can’t do your brochures without a logo (at least you can’t for the sake of the discussion here), so do the logo first. But you can’t do the logo without knowing what your brand is all about so do your branding first.

Right?

Nope.

Wrong?

Nope.

So what then?

Well, as you may have gathered, I’m suggesting that there is no right answer. It all depends on your situation.

If you get a great offer to throw in some flyers with a local newspaper distribution next week but you haven’t got your logo yet, should you let that stop you?

Probably not.

But if you haven’t finished your logo and you want to print a direct mail shot, I’d advise getting a little further with your branding before you do.

And what about where to begin with that long list of marketing possibilities?

Rather than worry about it, just pick something. Anything. And stop stressing about it.

No, it’s not traditional marketing advice.

But it’s far better than doing nothing because you’re overwhelmed by the responsibility to get it right.

In short: Do Something.

Things start to fall into place once you take the first step.