I, [YOUR NAME], Solemnly Sweat to Self Promote

You may not be instructing your children to "self promote" themselves whenever possible, yet you absolutely ought to be - whenever the opportunity presents itself - or rather, whenever you can create that opportunity for yourself. After all, isn't that what marketing is all about, and if you are not actively doing so, then who is?

Don't beat yourself up too much because more than likely you are already doing a decent job of self promoting yourself. Do you have a Facebook account? LinkedIn? Do you share your photos via Flickr, Snapfish or Kodak? There are countless ways to self promote (i.e. boast) about your family, career and extra-curricula activities.

Over the weekend while driving with my kids, I said to one of them: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...boy did I feel old (and it had nothing to do with my impending 40th birthday)! Truth be told, I've been guilty of not self promoting my own company enough lately.

In August of 2011 our company was named to Inc. Magazine's Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. This was a huge accomplishment for us. If I am not mistaken, we were the only promotional products company in Massachusetts to receive this recognition - something I should be talking about more with our customers. We've worked extremely hard to grow our reputation, sales, and presence within the marketplace so why shouldn't we work just as hard to share our successes with friends, family and customers?

Proforma Printing & Promotion received more good news last week from the Boston Business Journal:

BBJ honors area's fastest-growing companies at Pacesetters event

Boston, MA ---- The Boston Business Journal recently released the 2012 Pacesetters — a list of the region's fastest-growing privately held companies, and will single out companies that have experienced strong growth despite the tough economy. To make the list, a company had to report annual revenue growth of at least 10 percent over a four-year period and have 2009 sales in excess of $750,000 to qualify. New for 2012 – the Top 5 fastest growing firms in two categories, as defined by 2011 revenue figures & percent of growth, will be named Elite Pacesetters

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When people ask us how we get new business, the answer is brief: referrals. What's our number one marketing tool? Self Promotion Giveaways: Proforma branded giveaways to clients and friends - highlighters, usb drives, pens, umbrellas, coffee travel mugs. We spend more on self promos than any other marketing line item and will continue to do so in 2012.

Self promos are a fantastic marketing strategy because they are affordable and effective. Who doesn't love getting free stuff? Just a few things to keep in mind:

Be creative with your giveaways. If you're giving away a highlighter (as we recently did), don't give them a traditional smudgy one with a boring shape - givng them something that stands out from the crowd and will be remembered (like your company)!

Avoid the "cheapest" item and instead give them quality items. You don't need to give them a $15 Camelbak bottle but don't give them the $.99 special you found online either. Cheap items sort of ruin the effect of promoting your company's strengths and capabilities.

One and done isn't a strategy (unless you are doing a trade show or annual event). Stay in front of your customers by giving them items throughout the year. Make it a quarterly program. The "seven touches" rule applies here and self promotion items count for great marketing touches.

I think you get the idea.

I'll be turning 40 tomorrow and to be honest, I am totally fine with it. As I told my wife the other night, my body turned 40 about 3 years ago so I shouldn't really notice much difference when the digits go from 39 to 40!

Mark