Where Do Your Best Marketing Ideas Come From?

by Bob Baker

Creative people have different ways of coming up with promotional strategies. Many artists take a look at how their favorite successful artist is promoting... then borrow some of those tactics to apply to their own marketing campaign. Writers find out how other writers are getting work. Musicians borrow ideas from best-selling bands.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly acceptable to model the steps others have taken to move up the ladder.

However, you do run the risk of blending in with the mass of creative people trying to get ahead.

To stand out, you must take a fresh approach and do something different from what everyone else is doing. But you don't have to reinvent the wheel. In fact, I suggest that you still borrow successful marketing techniques -- only you borrow them from unrelated fields. Good ideas are everywhere. Sometimes, the best ones are not in the obvious places.

Here's an example: Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of the biggest and most successful rental car companies. Enterprise became successful because it catered to a specific niche within the industry -- insurance replacement vehicles. If you're involved in an accident or your car goes into the shop, you need a rental car to drive until yours is fixed. And that's the type of rental upon which Enterprise built its empire.

So what high-tech marketing technique do you think Enterprise uses to get that business? The answer: donuts. That's right, employees from local branches regularly visit repair shops in their area and bring free donuts for the shop workers. It's simple, it's cheap and it keeps Enterprise at the top of the list when repair shop customers need rental cars.

Could you borrow this tactic to promote your talents? How much would you be appreciated if you took free donuts (or pizza, candy, etc.) to your favorite radio station, TV channel or local newspaper? What if you delivered some type of goodie to that elusive gallery manager, editor, booking agent, director or artist rep?... You know, the one you haven't been able to connect with through other means.

From now on, be on the lookout for marketing ideas from any and all sources -- hair salons, dentists, dance troupes, fast food joints, plumbers, you name it.

Looking at the your specific field for new ideas is fine. But don't overlook the wealth of ideas you can borrow from other industries as well.

Bob Baker is the author of "Unleash the Artist Within," "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Branding Yourself Online." Get a FREE subscription to Bob's newsletter, "Quick Tips for Creative People," featuring inspiration and low-cost, self-promotion ideas for artists, writers, performers and more. Visit www.PromoteYourCreativity.com for details.