There’s a large difference between earning attention and expecting attention.

Expecting that people are going to be interested in what you have to say or do really only leads to disappointment on your part. Expecting something from others really boils down to I WANT something from others.

It’s about you and what you want.

So when it comes to generating marketing for your business, you only think about what you want your market to know.

They need to know about the price, they need to know about the features of our service. They need to know we service their area.

Sound familiar?

And when you have thousands of businesses doing the same thing to each person in the world, you wonder why it’s so difficult to separate yourself from the competition.

Earning attention means you are doing or saying something that other side wants to listen to. They are being pulled in your direction instead of pushed.

Because what you are saying or doing is worth something to someone else. There’s value in it, there’s meaning.

Your job as an entrepreneur is figure out what your customers value, what is meaningful to them, and bake that into your marketing.

• If your customers love the outdoors, how do you create marketing around that?
• If your customers are buying your stuff because of this one specific problem, how do you create a campaign that points to that?

You want your marketing to feel as if you are talking directly to that person. You’re not speaking in generalities to the masses.

You’re speaking to a specific group of people that are going to want to listen because they love what you are saying. They understand it, they enjoy listening to you.

They love what you represent and what you value.

Having price, features, and service areas are all fine if and when people are interested in that information.

You don’t strike up a conversation with a stranger at a networking event with “Hi, I sell X product for 59.99. It has great features and you can buy it right now. What’s your name by the way?”

Would you want to talk to someone like that?

marketing is the conversation you have with people when you’re not even in the room.

Earn attention, don’t expect it.