• Are you making enough money from your existing clients?
• Do you know where to find your most lucrative projects and dream clients?
• Do you know which events will bring you face-to-face with them?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions…then stop reading right now.

You don’t need Marketing Mentor’s new marketing tool your owncreative professionals, The Pick a Niche Kit.

Why? Because you are one of the lucky ones.

You don’t have to pick a niche.

It’s hard to explain but there are a few lucky creative professionals who get plenty of high quality, big budget work through word of mouth and are perfectly happy with what comes their way. If that is you, then good for you.

But if you answered “no” to even one of the questions above, or if you just know you could be doing better (that is, earning more, having more fun, working on more creative projects – ones that you care about), but aren’t sure how to get there, then The Pick A Niche Kit is exactly what you need.

Why?

Because the most amazing things happen when you pick a niche. Listen to what these creative professionals have said:

Here’s what could happen to you, when you pick your niche:

• Fame: You become known as an expert in your area of focus.
• Fortune: You can command higher fees for your expertise.
• Choice: You get the work you want – your dream projects -- instead of taking whatever comes along.
• Success: You achieve your personal and business goals.

If any of those things appeal to you, then it’s time…here’s how you do it.

How to Pick A Niche

There are 4 simple steps to the process of picking a niche and in Marketing Mentor’s brand new Pick a Niche Kit, you’ll be guided step-by-step through that process:

The Pick a Niche Kit will give you everything you need to choose your niches – with almost 30 examples of people just like you who’ve done it and thrived!

Here’s what you get in The Pick a Niche Kit:

• 10 Ways to Focus
  There isn’t just one way to focus. There are many different (and highly creative) ways to approach it. In the Pick a Niche Kit, you’ll choose from 10 possibilities. PLUS you’ll see actual examples of real creative professionals -- with screens shots and links to their web sites -- who are using each type of focus. That way, you can see exactly how they show and talk about their niche in the public realm. (And that’s not including the additional 5 examples you’ll get in the companion ebook from FlauntMyDesign.com, To Specialize or Not to Specialize? How 5 Happy Freelancers Found Their Niche.") In all, you get 27 examples to use as models for your own inspiration.

• 6 Podcast Interviews (including transcripts) 
  Ilise Benun interviewed creative pros who have put their stake in the ground and are doing better than they ever imagined. In each interview, they generously rere their process, exactly how they went about choosing, how they did the research, what they looked for, what they found (and what they rejected) and how they came to narrow their focus to the niches they have chosen.

• 3 Worksheets
  This is where you take what you’ve learned from others and apply the concepts to your own situation:
  • Clone Your Favorite Client
    To get a crystal-clear description of your dream client, this worksheet asks you all the questions you need to identify the characteristics of the clients you want to work with.
  • Target Market Brainstorm 
    To get to your top 3 niches, this worksheet prompts you with examples of many different niches to choose from and a matrix and scoring system that helps you determine which 3 are best for you.
  • Is Your Market Viable? 
    To get to the most viable markets for you, this worksheet shows you how to assess which is the most viable niche, so you don’t go down a rabbit hole with a niche that can’t support your business. You

BONUS ebook from FlauntMyDesign.com:

To Specialize or Not to Specialize? 
How 5 Happy Freelancers Found Their Niche.

When you download Marketing Mentor’s Pick A Niche Kit, you also get “To Specialize or Not to Specialize? How 5 Happy Freelancers Found Their Niche," a special bonus 43-page ebook from FlauntMyDesign.com.

In it, you’ll find inspirational interviews with 5 creative professionals who have picked a niche and are so much happier now than during their pre-niche days:

• Illustrator for Speakers and Thought Leaders
• The Wine Industry’s Designer
• Sports Identity Designer
• Infographics Designer
• Book Cover Designer

Each of them answered these questions (and more):

• Why did you choose this niche?
• What’s your most successful way of getting clients in this niche?
• What is your niche looking for in someone like you?
• What’s your “unique selling proposition” in this niche?
• How important has picking a niche been to you?
• What advice would you give fellow creatives who are choosing their niche?

So here’s what really happens when you pick a niche….

…opportunities appear for which you are clearly the best possible choice– not only client projects but also marketing opportunities that you wouldn’t have a chance at as a generalist.

Here are actual (and recent) experiences from Marketing Mentor clients: 

• H. was quoted on an industry blog because her niche is healthcare and wellness.
• Because J. R. chose the nonprofit niche, here’s what her latest Facebook post says: It's been a busy month. Earlier this week I was helping facilitate a daylong staff retreat at a University's Division of Student Affairs on the connection between planning, assessment and marketing. Today I led a storytelling workshop to help nonprofits get their message out - to help them tell engaging and effective stories. Next week I'm leading a 'Brand Basics Bootcamp for Nonprofits,’ and in early June I'm giving a talk on infographics for the social sector, at a conference in DC.
• Because her niche is alumni magazines, F. got an astonishing 90% response to her very first warm email prospecting efforts. The only explanation that makes sense is that her message hit the right target, thanks to her niche.
• When he struck out on his own at age 62 in 2011, J.G. wasn’t sure that the aviation niche would be big enough for him. But now he has 4 retainer clients, 9 freelancers on his team and is making more than he did when he worked for a big, big ad agency, because his niche is aviation (and there isn’t a lot of competition in that niche).

It’s practically guaranteed -- none of this will happen without a niche.

“I know this works because I’ve done it.” 
Ilise Benun, Program Partner for HOW Design Live and Founder of Marketing-Mentor.com

When I first started my business I had no idea that I needed to focus. For the first 10 years, I wasn’t focused at all. I worked with whoever came along — actors and fine artists and singers but also exterminators, dentists and an actuary. “I can work with anyone,” I thought, “because everyone needs to promote themselves.” (Still, you have to draw the line somewhere. When a port-a-potty company contacted me for marketing help, I knew that was outside of my market. I said no.) 

You see, the process of focusing starts by saying “no” to the things you know you’re not competent at, so you can really home in on things you know you are competent at. As you narrow your focus, you become more and more competent and therefore more and more confident to go out and get those dream clients. That’s where the magic is.

So these days, when I ask a new client (all creative professionals) why they chose me over the other mentors, consultants and coaches out there (and believe me, there is more competition now than ever, which makes having a niche even more important), the one response I hear over and over is this: “I chose you because you understand me, you know the creative market.”

In fact, I would bet that right now, you are reading this because the Pick a Niche Kit speaks to you, to your specific needs, not to any old generic market that needs to pick a niche (and everyone really does.)

So let’s go back to the original questions:

• Are you making enough money from your existing clients?
• Do you know where to find the best prospects and most lucrative projects?
• Do you know which events will bring you into contact with them?

If any of this makes sense to you and you want to be able to say “yes” to these questions…then it’s time to download the Pick a Niche Kit.

2. Get the Work You Want Evergreen Marketing Plan + eCalendar for Creative Professionals

It's never too late to start your marketing plan—and all it takes is one marketing effort every day to get the work you want.

Do you want better clients with bigger budgets who value your creative services?

They don't come knocking on your door. You need a plan to go get them.

We've got that plan. We've done the thinking for you in the Creative Professional's Enhanced Marketing Plan + eCalendar.

This simple, entirely downloadable marketing plan will tell you exactly what to do every day—without overwhelming you or your calendar.

With all the marketing tools out there for creative professionals, it's gotten way too complicated (and overwhelming) to figure out what marketing will get your ideal clients to come to you.

But:

• If you want to stop taking whatever clients come along‚
• If you want to make next year better than this year...
• If you want to stop the marketing paralysis through procrastination‚

The Creative Professional's Enhanced Marketing Plan + eCalendar can help.

WHAT IT IS

This downloadable, 121-page pdf will tell you exactly what to do every day. You also get 2 weekly checklists, an electronic calendar, lead tracking spreadsheet + 3 podcasts & webinar (w/ transcripts) and more!

WHAT YOU GET

1. The Plan: a 121-page pdf downloadable document that explains simply and clearly the 4 best marketing tools for creative professionals and how to use them. (As long as you're doing this, you don't have to worry about all the other marketing tools.) This part includes:
   • The 4 Essential Marketing Tools for Creative Professionals
   • List of example keyword phrases to make searching for your prospects easier
   • Model of Ideal Client Criteria to customize and build your own
   • 4 of the best places to start your search for your ideal clients
   • 7-step sample outreach campaign to get work
   • 3-part formula for what to say when you reach out to a “warm prospect”
   • 4 actual examples of “offers” you can make to get creative work
   • What never to say when you send a message to a stranger
   • 4 most effective content marketing tools to get creative work
   • 12+ actual topic ideas (that you can steal!) for newsletters and blog posts
   • Template for your follow up email message
   • 5 follow up tasks you should be doing weekly
   • 8 things to add to your web site to make it marketing-smart
   • “Getting Digital Gigs” by copywriter, Tom Tumbusch, of WordstreamCopy.com
   • Tips to make your web site copy welcoming from Deidre Rienzo of ConnectWithCopy.com
2. Updated! Two weekly marketing checklists—a handy cheat sheet of how to use the tools—literally, what to do each day of the week! Plus a version you can customize for yourself.
3. Electronic calendar that syncs with your iCal, Google Calendar or Outlook and pops up every day with your marketing task.
4. Updated! Marketing Mentor Stay-on-Track Spreadsheet: This simple Excel spreadsheet has pre-determined fields for the essential information you need to keep track of your best prospects. Use this spreadsheet in cahoots with the eCalendar as a tickler, to prompt you on the next step for each prospect.
5. Podcasts. Three podcast interviews (and complete transcripts) with creative professionals who are using these tools and getting results!
6. Webinar. Video and PPT of Ilise Benun's webinar, “3 Steps to 2015 Success” with complete transcript.

PLUS, you get:

• Tips and articles on the latest social media and networking tactics that are working for creative professionals
• Examples of well-positioned homepages for creative professionals
• Resources, especially the Pinterest board featuring “Best Web sites of Designers, Copywriters & Other Creatives”

This simple marketing plan will show you how to get the creative work your clients are clamoring for.

This plan will give you the confidence you need to market your services

Don't let your insecurities get in the way of getting the work that's out there. You have to be more confident (or at least come across more confidently)—so your prospects will be secure enough to say yes. When you show confidence that you can get the job done—whether you do it yourself or hire someone else to—your client will rest easy. That confidence must come through in your marketing, in both content and tone.

This Marketing Plan + eCalendar can help. As long as you practice what you preach and show what you know, you'll become more and more confident with each day.

We know there are so many options when it comes to marketing your business—that it's easy to get overwhelmed. This plan gives you exactly the right marketing effort—and only one—to do every day. All you have to do is do it—first thing in the morning, whenever possible!

What kind of marketing is required to specifically go after the work you want? That's what this plan will tell you.

What does your web site need to say? What 5 things must your web site have? That's what this plan will show you.

Which marketing tools should be most frequently used? That's what the eCalendar already has in it.

As long as you take your own marketing as seriously as you take the work you do for your clients, you will avoid the Feast or Famine Syndrome, get your ideal clients coming to you, make more money, and learn tools and strategies that will lead to your success and profit for years to come.

It's not too late to make this your best year yet.

Buy the Marketing Plan + eCalendar now....it was released in 2015 but it's evergreen. You can adjust the calendar to start anytime!