Marketing with Confidence

Marketing with
Conﬁdence
How to eliminate fear and
procrastination when it comes to
marketing your products, services,
and yourself

By Jennifer Barthé

Marketing with Confidence Jennifer Barthé

This eBook is based on the blog posts found on:

© 2009 By Jennifer Barthe
Copyright holder is licensing this work under the
Create Commons License, Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Special thanks to Steve Pavlina and David Meerman Scott . Steve helped me realize the
importance of marketing from the conscience and David helped me understand the power of
transparent marketing.

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Tweet about it, share it on Facebook and MySpace, email to your friends, and post it on your
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Table of Contents

Page 1 Introduction
Page 3 Playing the Waiting Game
Page 5 Sincerely Believe in Your Product or Service
Page 8 Get Out f the Wrong Line of Work
Page 12 Get Rid of Your Excuses
Page 22 Focus on Social Contribution
Page 24 About the Author


Introduction

“What lies
Alright, so you’re having a really hard time putting yourself out there and asking
behind us and
for what it is that you want. Perhaps you’re self-employed and need new clients.
Or maybe you’re unemployed or underemployed and need a new job. Whatever
what lies
the case, the idea of facing rejection is strong enough to keep you in your
before us are
comfort zone.

small matters
Some of us were taught as children that it’s rude to toot your own horn or bring
compared to
attention to yourself. Growing up in the Southern part of the US, I was always
told by adults that “Children were to be seen and not heard”.
what lies
within us.”
As adults, many of us are still remaining unseen and unheard. We prefer to
remain in the background, in our comfort zones, avoiding failure. Who wants to
fall flat on their face and experience the pain and discomfort of disappointment?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
But by staying in our comfort zone, we deny ourselves of the opportunity to
American Poet
grow and live full lives. We prefer to remain timid and in return subject
ourselves to long-term disappointment, frustration, resentment, and even
jealousy.

Page 1


The purpose of the book is not to teach specific marketing tasks. Instead my aim
is to help you recognize why you’re procrastinating and letting fear keep you
“Whether you be
from marketing yourself, your services, and your products. There are tons of
man or woman
marketing books that will tell you what steps you need to take in order to
promote yourself. However, very few of them describe the type of mindset you
you will never do
need to have in order to feel good about what you’re promoting. This eBook
anything in this
aims to fill that void.
world without
courage. It is the
greatest quality
of the mind next
to honor.”
James Allen
American Author

Page 2


Playing the Waiting Game

“Waiting is
painful.
Perhaps you’re waiting for the right business
opportunity or job to show up. Lots of people
Forgetting is
think that all they need to do is create
something and people will automatically
painful. But
come their way. Unless you already have an
not knowing
extensive network, only telling a handful of
people about your product or service is not
which to do is
going to get you far. You must be willing to
promote yourself on a daily basis, no matter
the worse kind
how hard or slow it can be.
of suffering.”
Does this describe you current state of mind?
- You’re often stuck in “planning mode” and unable to action. Paulo Coelho
Brazilian Author
- You’ve read business books but rarely implement the lessons learned.
- You think something “out there” needs to change before you can succeed.
- You consistently ask others for advice before you’ll take action.
- You believe that talent and experience is all that one needs in order to succeed.

Page 3


What if I told you that the only thing you needed to succeed in life was simply
passion combined with self-discipline? Passion by itself is not enough to get us
to the finish line. Our level of passion is dependent upon our present mood.
Some days we may be extremely passionate about something, but on the next
day we may not. Passion by itself is not very reliable without self-discipline to
“You win by
back it up.
working hard,
Self- discipline combined with passion helps us get things done when we don’t
making tough
feel like it. It allows us to stay up until 5 in the morning to finish an important
project. It makes us exercise even though we’d rather stay in the house. It pushes
decisions and
us to go to work in the morning, despite our a long commute or a boring job.
building
Self-discipline combined with passion creates a consistent flow of action.

coalitions.”
How can you develop the habit of self-discipline and combine it with passion?

John Egler
American Politician

Page 4


Sincerely Believe in Your Product or Service

One of the main reasons people procrastinate
when it comes to marketing, is because they
don’t really believe in what they’re
“Self-confidence
promoting. It doesn’t matter if they have
is the first
years of experience. Being talented is not
important when you lack faith in yourself. requisite to great
Even having connections won’t matter if you
undertaking.”
don’t believe in your ability to create and
provide quality products and services.
Samuel Johnson
English Author
Let Go
No one wants to admit that they’ve invested a significant amount of time into a
project, task, skill, or product that’s mediocre. Instead of facing the truth, we try
to justify our lack-luster results. We hear ourselves say that “It’s the economy
that’s to blame. If more people were interested in what what we had to offer,
then business would go up. If companies we’re hiring more, it would be easier
for us to get a job” and etc. But why do we like to hold to our excuses?

Page 5


Why is complaining so comfortable? Complaining protects us from making
mistakes.

“Working
How to Let Go

hard and
You know it’s time to let go of a product, service, job, or just about anything
when you:
working smart
- Cringe every time you tell people about what you’re promoting.
sometimes can
- Pray that people don’t call you back complaining about what you sold them.
be two
- Spend all of your spare time immersed in leisure activities to avoid reality.
different
- Find yourself unable to get past fear, procrastination, and worry.
- Do just enough to get by or not get fired.
things.”
- Don’t take the time to cultivate our abilities or talents.
- Complain about what’s not working, but do nothing to change the situation.
Byron Dorgan
- Talk about what you’re going to do instead of actually doing it. American Politician
- Continue to invest in a business that’s not working but you stay to save face.
- Do the same things over and over again but expect different results.
- Keep yourself busy when all you’re really doing is spinning your wheels.

Page 6


Just because you’ve invested time and effort into a project, product, or your
career, it doesn’t mean you have to stick with it if it’s not working out for you.
“Risk means
everything from
I’ve written plenty of blog posts that have never published. In 2008, I created
being honest about
three other blogs before launching Jennifer Barthe.com in 2009. It took me
your faith, to
weeks to re-design the layouts of my old blogs and to come up with writing
topics. Yet, because I didn’t really believe in what I was doing, I took all of the moving, to quitting
old blogs offline.
a job that's paying
you a fortune but
Even though I worked really hard at creating nice web designs, the quality of my
it's not what's in
content was sub par. I had invested time and money into these blogs and read
your heart. Risking
plenty of blog marketing articles, but I never did anything with what I learned.
I could have saved face and kept on blogging for months, putting out superficial
things is one of the
posts and building a bit of web traffic. However, I didn't want to live my life that
biggest fears we
way. It was the same story with my marketing career. I had invested years into
have.”
my identity as technology marketer, I didn’t like my job anymore, and I knew it
was time for me to walk away. I was too scared to do anything about it though.
John Tesh
TV PersonalityMusician
So for months, I didn't do anything but focus on figuring out why I was having
such a hard time getting ahead. After 9 months of intense journaling and
reading, I realized that I letting go of what no longer served me was only the
first step, to really make progress I would need to go a step further.
Page 7


Get Out of The Wrong Line of Work

No matter how hard I tried, I could not operate
at my fullest potential while being in the wrong
“You have to
career. Duh! I had to allow myself to let go of
the ledge and move on to something better. I
risk going too
needed to find out what I really wanted to do
far to discover
with my life. Sometimes we can fall into the
right line of work through trial and error. Or we
just how far
might have to try out ten things before finding
that which we’re good at. It’s precisely for this
you can really
reason that being between jobs and careers
could be a blessing in disguise.
go.”
Turn Around and Change Direction
-T.S. Eliot
If you’re self-employed and not doing well, then maybe you’re in the wrong
American Poet and Critic
type of business. Or you could be in the right line of work, but your products
need to be upgraded or replaced. If your career has become stagnant, then get
out of your current job or upgrade your skills. Whatever you decided to do, take
a step back and ask yourself how you can do things better. It makes no sense to
hold on to your old way of living if it prevents you from experiencing true joy.

Page 8


If you don’t really believe in:

“Many are
- Your products or service, I mean really believe in them
stubborn in
- Your abilities and talent
- Your right to success and true happiness
pursuit of the
- The fact that you can make a difference in the lives of others
path they have
- Putting your conscience ahead of money
chosen, few in
- Proving people with social value

pursuit of the
Then you will always procrastinate and make excuses
goal.”
when it comes to market your business or yourself.

The only thing that’ll be easy for you to market is what’s not working in your
Friedrich Nietzsche
life. You won’t have problems telling people about the bad economy, the lack of German Philosopher
jobs or business. It doesn’t matter how many business books you read. It doesn’t
matter how many blogs you subscribe to. It doesn’t matter how much education
you have. If you don’t have faith in what you’re promoting, you’re just wasting
your time and giving people sub par service. Let go of what’s not working and
see how much fun authentic, conscious marketing can be. Don’t be so stubborn.

Page 9


Get Rid of Your Excuses

Excuses are comfortable because they allow us to
justify our actions. We get sympathy from well
“Several
meaning folks and that make us feel good.
Unfortunately, excuses only lead to long-term
excuses are
denial and resentment. When we hold on tight to
our reasons for why we can’t do something, we
always less
settle for life’s bread crumbs instead of the whole
loaf. Isn’t it better to just let go, face our fears and
convincing
go after what we really want? Here are some of
the common reasons why we don’t let go:
than one.”
Excuse #1: “I’m scared of being rejected.
So what? If someone rejects your offer or product, then move on to someone
Aldous Huxley
who does want it. If you’ve got a worthwhile product or skill and market it like
English Novelist
hell, then in the end people will come looking for you! Please remember though,
that not everyone is your ideal customer. Trying to sell to anyone with a pulse is
a waste of time.

Page 10


Excuse #2: “Only Marketing people know how to do Marketing.”
Everyone knows how to market a product, service, or person. When you
“Complainers
badmouth a certain former US president (you know who), you’re practicing
word-of-mouth marketing. You didn’t read a book or get a degree in mass
change their
communications to learn how to do it. You just opened your mouth and let your
opinion out. Marketing is simply telling people about a certain something .
complaints,
Every time you tell someone about the latest sale at Macy’s, why you don’t like
but they never
McDonald’s burgers, or post videos of your new car on YouTube, you’re
marketing.
reduce the
amount of
Excuse #3: “I’m only looking for a job, I don’t have time to learn
marketing.”
time spent in
If believe that you don’t have time to learn how to market your skills, then you
could be costing prospective employers millions of dollars to NOT be
complaining.”
employing you. Think about all the great things you could be doing for a
prospective employer, how much money you could make for them and yourself,
and how you could improve their product line. If you’re really good at what you Mason Cooley
American Writer
do , then get out there and let people know. Screw sending out resumes
whenever a job opening pops up. Network with recruiters and companies on
social networking sites, in person, blog, podcast, do whatever it takes.

Page 11


Excuse #4: “I don’t know how to market.”
Earlier, I showed that bad-mouthing a certain former US president is considered
“If you have
to be a form of marketing. Anyone can get good at marketing themselves and
their products, provided their willing to learn. When you first start out, it can be
time to whine
a bit scary, but if you keep trying, you’ll build up the skills needed to succeed.
and complain
Improving your marketing skills is easy, just as long as you really believe in
about
what you have to offer and you’re willing to work hard. There are plenty of
great books, CDs, blogs, podcasts, college courses, and real life situations to
something
help you get your feet wet. Even if it takes you a while to get results, don’t give
then you have
up.

the time to do
The benefits of learning how to market what you really believe in includes:
something
- Helping millions of people improve their lives (the Internet can help with that)
about it.”
- Becoming an expert in your field
- Being in able to meet your physical, emotional, and financial needs
Anthony J. D'Angelo

The only beneﬁt of not learning how to market is that
you get to complain about everything. But who wants to
be around a complainer?

Page 12


Excuse #5: “I’ve read marketing before, they don’t work.”
Perhaps you bought a book and did what most people do after reading it,

“Action and faith
NOTHING!
enslave thought,
both of them in
One of the worst habits you can develop is to be addicted to buying self-help
and business books and not using them. You’ll fool yourself into thinking you’re order not be
making real progress because:
troubled or
inconvenienced
- Buying books feels like you’re really doing something about your situation
by reflection,
- You get to tell all your friends about which trends and authors are hot
criticism, and
- You entertain yourself by reading interesting material
- You let other people borrow your stiff, which makes you look smart
doubt.”
But here are the REAL The benefits of the habit: Henri Frederic Amiel
Swiss Philosopher

- You waste money and time
- You stay in denial
- You’ll experience emotional highs and lows whenever the novelty wears off

Page 14


- People will start to see you’re all talk and no game
- You’ll lose faith in yourself
“Faith is to
believe what
Excuse #6: “I don’t want to feel like I’m selling something.”
When you’re promoting anything you believe in, whether it’s your business or
you do not
yourself as a job applicant, then you’ll feel bad if you don’t tell others about
what you have offer. Now that doesn’t mean you try to make everyone your
see; the
customer or you apply for every job in sight. However, it means you focusing on
reward of this
providing real value to the people who need your services most.

faith is to see
Excuse #7: “I’m shy and don’t feel comfortable promoting myself.
what you
Read books on self-confidence and get over the shame of tooting your own horn.
If you’re doing something worthwhile, don’t feel bad about telling other people
believe.”
about it. People can tell how you feel about yourself by the way you speak,
dress, and by what you talk about. If you don’t come across as confident, you’ll
have a hard time getting what you want. Perpetual shyness is just a way to avoid St. Augustine
rejection.

Excuse #8: “I’m too old, young, live in a small town, am broke…”
It’s never too late or too early to learn or do anything new. There are people 16

Page 15


and 60 years old using Facebook. I’m 28 and am writing this book. It costs next to
nothing to market a product online and you can promote it from any location, just
as long as you have Internet access. Money, age, location, and skill level is not an
excuse for doing nothing.

“Life is
Excuse #9: “I DO believe in what I’m promoting, shut up.”
Then how come you’re not dying to tell everyone about what yourself? If you’re
hard. After
spending more time talking about why people aren’t buying your products, hiring
you for a job, or even taking you out on dates, then you’re right, you do believe in
all, it kills
what you’re promoting. Trouble is you’re promoting bad news that no one wants to
hear but you!
you.”
Ultimate Excuse: “The economy is bad, ain’t no jobs, and business is dead.”
Katherine Hepburn
Opportunities are available for those who really want them. It may not be easy to
American Actress
create your own luck, but it’s certainly not impossible. Lot’s of people have
prospered in bad times and through personal hardships. Want to know what really
hard times looked like?

Life During and After the Civil War
President Lincoln had to deal with a war-torn nation and the economic tensions
between The North and The South. The Southern states (Confederacy) were cash

Page 16


poor and depended upon forced slave labor to feed its economy. The Northern
states (Union) had skilled laborers and its economy was depended upon
“America will
Industrialization. During the Civil War (1861-1865), money was tight for both
sides, but the Confederate states suffered the most.
never be
destroyed from
When the Confederacy seceded from the Union, it started printing its own
the outside. If we
currency. But when the Union began to block the Confederacy's trade routes,
preventing Southerners from getting food, clothing, and weapons, widespread
falter and lose
panic and inflation took place. Basic food staples such corn and bread became
our freedoms, it
too expensive for the average family. In addition, farmers could not afford the
grains needed to plant crops and many of them went bankrupt. will be because
we destroyed
As the war progressed the number of slave
ourselves.”
revolts increased (a good thing) and more slaves
ran away. However, many of the slaves whom
stayed behind, were subjected to increased Abraham Lincoln
violence and diminished food supplies. They Former American President
were forced to work barren lands and weren’t
even allowed to keep the small amounts of food
they grew. Damage from the war also accounted
for failed crops. Soldiers from both sides

Page 17


slaughtered farm animals, crops, and stole food. Everybody in the South was
either going hungry,bankrupt or crazy.And to think, for what? They weren’t
“An institution or
even winning the war! There were riots and protests all over the place. During
The Richmond Bread Riot of 1862, 3,000 hungry people people went into the reform movement
streets of Richmond, Virginia, shouting “Bread or Blood!” At that point,
that is not selfish,
people were more concerned with eating rather than fighting a losing war.
must originate in
the recognition of
But despite all of these problems, a few individuals made good of what they
some evil that is
could find during and after the war. These people created their own good luck.
adding to the sum
of human suffering,
Clara Barton or diminishing the
sum of happiness.”
Clara Barton was a nurse for the Union during the war. She
created a program to help bring medical supplies and health
care to soldiers located in remote battlefields. After the war Clara Barton
ended, she established a relief program to help relocate Nurse and Philanthropist
missing soldiers. She personally went into battlefields and
searched for the dead and wounded who were left behind.

Next, she set up a program to help war-torn families on both

Page 18


the North and the South get food, money, clothing, and emotional support. Later
in life, she established a little organization you’ve probably never heard of, The
“A man's
Red Cross.

character
Years on non-stop work for a cause greater than herself and all of the toiling in
the battlefields looking for missing soldiers, diminished her health. Yet despite
always takes
this she continued her work. She traveled all over the world to establish Red
its hue, more
Cross offices in Europe, Turkey, and China. In addition to her selfless
dedication to the Red Cross, she tirelessly fought for the equal rights of freed
or less, from
slaves and for women’s right to vote. Clara was an un-married woman, living in
war damaged 19th century America, and yet she managed to accomplished quite
the form and
a lot.
color of things
about him.”
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Maryland in 1818.
He illegally learned how to read as a child and taught other
Frederick Douglass
slaves how to read in secret as a teenager. He was American Author/Activist
repeatedly beaten with whips because of his kindness
towards others. On his plantations, he was always tired
instill hope in the other slaves, convincing them that
slavery would one day end. He taught them that they were
human beings who were being stripped of their basic rights.
He escaped slavery at age 21.
Page 19


After becoming a free man, he built a prolific public speaking career at the age
of 23. He published his autobiography by age 27. He was not only a tireless
“A battle lost or
advocator for the equal rights of slaves and but also for American women.
won is easily
After the Civil War ended, he served in public office as the President of the
described,
Reconstruction-era Freedman's Savings Bank, a bank set up by the US
understood, and
Government to help the freed slaves become financially independent. He was
also the first African-American to be nominated for President by a major party
appreciated, but
roll-call vote during the 1888 Republican National Convention. He later lost to
the moral growth
Benjamin Harrison for the final Republican Presidential Nomination.
of a great nation
Douglass, a former slave in the 19th century,managed to accomplish quite a bit. requires
He was also married to a white feminist at a time when women weren’t allowed
reflection, as
to vote and interracial marriage was illegal in some parts of the country.
well as
observation, to
If Clara Barton and Frederick Douglass could shake things up at a time when
minority groups were oppressed, the nation was in ruins due to a brutal war, and
appreciate it.”
NetFlix wasn’t invented (ok, bad example), then what’s stopping you?

Frederick Douglass
American Author/Activist

Page 20


Focus on Social Contribution

“Men value
Once you decide to stop pimping so-so products or things in three
services, and are ready give up your excuses, then it’s
ways: as useful,
time for you to start focusing on what you can do to
as pleasant or
make a difference in the lives of others.
sources of
Your main concern should be to focus on creating or
pleasure, and as
providing a valuable service to others. The product can
be your skills, something your company has created, or
excellent, or as
a service you want to offer.
intrinsically
admirable or
But what if you don’t know what you want to do?
honorable.”
Ask yourself the following questions until you can come up with answer:

What am interested in? Mortimer Adler
American Philosopher
What do I have offer?
What are the real benefits of what I’m offering?
How am I denying people of the services they need when I don’t market myself?
.

Page 21


If I need to improve my skills, how can I get started today?
Am I willing to price my services accordingly?

“To succeed in
Keep asking yourself these questions until you can come up with answers that
life in today's
makes sense to you.

world, you must
Conclusion
It’s doesn’t matter how much time you spend learning how market yourself or
have the will
business, you will not be able create consistent results if:
and tenacity to
- You’re not passionate about what you’re doing
finish the job.”
- You don’t want to develop the self-discipline necessary to market on a
consistent basis
- You’re marketing a mediocre product or service and you know it Chin-Ning Chu
Chinese Businessman
- You like to make excuses for why why you can’t make it in life
- You’re not interested in proving real value to other people

I’ll close this book with a wonderful quote from the Buddha:
“A good person gives in five ways: out of faith, with respect, at the right time,
generously, and without denigrating the other.quot;

Page 22


About the Author
Jennifer Barthe is a former a technology marketer
who now spends her time teaching others how to
perform authentic online and viral marketing.

She is dedicated to taking the fear out of marketing,
thereby helping people market their skills, services,
and products with greater ease.

She blogs and podcasts at www.jenniferbarthe.com
and can be found on Twitter several times
throughout the day. She currently resides in Boston,
but loves to hang out in NYC on the weekends.

Find Jennifer on:

Marketing with Confidence

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