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Managing Your Marketing Career
Diva Design World ( http://www.divadesignworld.com ) is an expert marketer with a booming business and a large number of clients. In the highly competitive field of marketing, becoming a marketer of Diva Design World magnitude is a major accomplishment. Diva Design World is located in Portland, Oregon, and has clients both locally and globally. Here, they offer seven tips for other women marketers, based on the questions they most frequently receives from marketers who are not as successful as they are, as well as those who wish to break into the marketing field.
1. Take a look at your skills. There are many different aspects and areas in the marketing field. Determine where your strengths and weaknesses are, then promote yourself as an expert in the marketing areas that you actually are an expert in. Re-evaluate your skills periodically, as you will learn new things as time moves on.
2. As a marketer, you should know very well exactly how to market yourself and your business. However, just as doctors do not operate on their own family members or diagnose themselves, you should strongly consider turning the marketing of yourself and your business over to another marketing firm. It is important that you choose a firm that is not in direct competition with you. The firm you choose should not specialize in the areas that you specialize in. Your best bet would be to use an out-of-state, or even an out-of-country marketing firm.
3. Write a business plan. Know what you want and how to get it, and where you are going and how to get there. Outline your business goals and make a plan to reach those goals. Don't be afraid to change. Often, our goals change as time passes and situations change. However, never change a goal simply because it was hard to reach. The best things may be free. But, just because they are free doesn't mean they aren't hard to obtain.
4. Plan to take control of your career. If you currently work for a marketing firm, plan to launch your own firm in the future. Learn as much as you can from the marketers at the firm you are with - and learn well. But, once you've learned everything they can teach you, it is really time to move on. Either start your own firm, or move to a more advanced firm, in a position that will give you greater responsibility, or more knowledge than you currently have. Loyalty to the firm you work for is great - but you have to be loyal to yourself first. Keep this in mind at all times, and cultivate relationships with your clients that cannot be broken.
5. Keep a portfolio of the work that you have done. Keep a hard copy, and publish a copy of your portfolio on the Internet as well. Each profile should include the client’s information, copies of the ads, a detailed report as to how the advertising campaign was managed, and the results of the campaign. Make sure that you do not publish confidential information. If you can get each client to write a testimonial for you, that should also be included in your portfolio. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn. Make sure that you keep your portfolio updated. You should also include a resume as part of your portfolio.
6. While it is hard to be choosy about clients when you first start out as a marketer, as soon as you are able to be choosy, do so. First, you want the best clients that you can get. If you are filling your available time with small paying jobs and difficult clients, you won't have room for the bigger, easier-to-work-with clients. Another benefit of being choosy is that it makes you appear to be exclusive. Play that up to it's full potential - it will help you land more important, better paying jobs.
7. Above all, guard your reputation. If you don't feel that you are experienced enough to take on a job, don't take it. It is better to turn down the work, with the excuse that your schedule is currently full, than it is to take the job and botch it. The funniest question ever asked in an Internet forum was from a marketer, asking "How do I promote my website?" Needless to say, that marketer is no longer in the marketing business. You must always be professional, and you must always radiate confidence in yourself and in the work that you do.
While the marketing field is highly competitive, you can become a success if you work hard at it, and make good decisions. Never assume that you know everything there is to know about marketing. It is an ever changing field. You must continue to educate yourself in all of the various areas of the field on an ongoing basis. Never stop learning, and you will succeed.
About the Author: Monique Danielle owns Portland Marketing Agency, DivaDesignWorld.com, a full service firm that offers web development, graphic design, consulting, and a wide variety of creative services. She is also the founder of divadirectories.com,a free online resource designed to promote the growth and development of women owned businesses throughout Oregon, Washington, and the Northwest.
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