If you’ve ever wondered why other people get more media and sales than you even though you have the better product or service, don’t freak! I’ve had those moments too. The trick: They’ve got great marketing!

It has nothing to do with your ability or product, and everything to do with great marketing tactics. 

Why? Because people know about them. And more people know about them than know about you. The good news is that you can fix that! So here’s my tip for coming up with great marketing.

But before we get going, a quick caveat:

Marketing is not endless Facebook posts, or just having a website or just running Google Ads. All of that is called advertising, which is smaller than marketing. Advertising is done on a paid promotion basis, marketing is about getting attention for your business.

And when I say attention, I mean all different forms of attention! Everything that draws attention to your business is marketing. Sponsoring (or putting on) events is marketing. Donating to a charity is technically marketing. Everything that you do which puts your company “on the map” in some form, is marketing.

E. G., The Impact Awards

In its inception, the Impact Awards was about giving back to the community and recognizing the amazing business owners who have and are changing the world. It was about finding ways to give away thousands of dollars worth of value to the business owners that deserve it, because they deserve it.

But the side effect that’s great for us? Grow Disrupt is getting a ton of attention, it’s turned out to be an unintentional, but phenomenal marketing driver!

If this all seems a bit hard to implement, let me give you my solid key to great marketing: creativity.

Creativity + Marketing Message = Great Marketing

Obviously you need to know your marketing message if you’re going to put your marketing message out there, but that’s honestly one of the easier parts of marketing. Because it’s all about why you do what you do. Tapping into the creative side of your brain can be a lot more difficult than writing down why you do what you do. 

Great marketing is crazy, wild, and often outlandish. It involves doing things that other people aren’t doing to draw attention to the value your business provides. Which is why creativity is such a big part of great marketing. But getting creative takes time and a lack of stress, which is rare for business owners. So here’s my tips for getting creative with your marketing.

#1: Take Time

This first one is literally just setting aside a time in the week to get creative.

Block out an hour where you sit on the floor of your living room with a gigantic piece of paper and sharpies, and just think about all the weird and different things you could maybe do to get attention. Or take a journal and sit with a cup of tea (or wine!) by the window while you list out different ideas. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, as long as you’re taking a moment to unplug from everything else and be creative.

#2: Get Connected

Find a group of people to get connected to.

The funny thing about creativity is that it rarely happens in solitude. It can! But it most often occurs in a group of like-minded people who are working towards similar goals. My suggestion would be to find and join a mastermind where you can bounce ideas off of. But this can be as simple as listening to marketing podcasts while sitting with a pen and paper, and jotting down ideas as they bounce into your head.

#3: Nature

Find some time to sit down in nature. Get away from all the man-made machines, walls, and electricity and just reconnect with what is natural and living and breathing.

Getting reconnected with nature comes back to the idea of getting connected to others. Not only does it get the endorphins flowing when you’re spending enough time outside, but the connection with other living things (plants, animals, etc.) can spark an idea you might not have had otherwise. It helps you unplug from the logic-side of your brain that’s been running the business all day and allows you to connect with your creativity.

Great marketing is the key to the growth of a phenomenal business.

So if you want to be amazed by the number of people who randomly pop into your business, it’s time to get creative! Because the business with the better marketing tends to win the day.