While networking at Nonprofit Dreamin this week, someone asked me why am I so good at marketing myself? Being a soloist cannot be easy, he added. After all, I
- Help implemented projects with nonprofits and partners serving nonprofits
- Built a Salesforce app that allows Canada nonprofits to generate tax receipts
- Host a weekly podcast about superheroes in the nonprofit space
- Write emails 5 days a week to help Salesforce consultants
My response was laughter. I’m actually terrible at marketing, which is why I do all these things.
What I mean is I actually have no idea how to effectively market myself. What I do have, and what I do trust, is my process.
Sure, all of these activities are shades of marketing, but I don’t perceive it that way. I see it as, “Today, I need to do this single task”, “Tomorrow, I need to write that short email” and so on.
My marketing efforts have been broken down into bite-size tasks. I have strong processes and positive reinforcement to complete these days. I lean on the processes and trust the outcomes they produce.
The takeaway
All marketing is a long-term approach. You usually don’t see the fruit of your labor until many months, perhaps years later. So the “trick” is to show up everyday, do the work, and trust the process will yield beautiful crops one day.
Then you feast on the crops!