Minute Marketing

Everyone knows how important marketing is, but somehow it always falls to the bottom of our to-do lists. Here are some ideas for quickie marketing tactics that add up to just 30 minutes per day.

Make Some Calls: spend 10 minutes researching a potential new client and then take five minutes and give them a personalized call or e-mail to let them know about the services you provide. This is a modified cold call and is quite effective, especially if you are able to identify a way that you can immediately help the prospective client. TIME: 15 minutes/day

Pitch the Media: everyone knows that PR is a powerful tool, but we usually think of it in big, expensive terms. For a gradual approach, pick one publication and research it to get a feeling for the types of stories covered and who writes them. Then send a concise e-mail to the appropriate journalist, editor or assistant editor with your idea. Follow up with a phone call (you’ll usually have to leave a voice mail) and then move on to another publication. TIME: 4 hours/month

Attend Networking Events: research appropriate groups, and then during each meeting seek out just one or two potential customers or referral sources and focus on creating a relationship with them. This approach can have much higher results than spreading yourself thin and trying to connect with everyone in the room. TIME: 1 hour/month