Shameless Self-promotion for Dummies in the Catalog Industry, Part 2
For added measure, I included the line, ‘My name is Jim Gilbert and I approve this message,’ to pump up the humor volume a bit and ensure the mailings made a serious point, but in a funny way.
Caveat: Fair and Balanced — 20/20 Hindsight
I once had a direct marketing professor of mine say that if you’re right 51 percent of the time or more, you’ll be successful in the direct marketing business. While I’m not sure I believe that maxim completely, it does hold a modicum of truth. What sets direct marketers apart from their brand-image counterparts is our unfailing desire and ability to analyze our results and learn from our mistakes. Image is important, but results are everything! And as a direct marketer, no matter what product I’m selling, I must not deny the results — especially if the product I’m selling is me.
To be frank, this self-promotion campaign didn’t work. I had a clear objective, but my strategy and tactics were incorrect. In retrospect, I’m not sure my sense of humor came through appropriately. I think I was anxious about my lack of specific knowledge of the industry this company was in and therefore I overcompensated.
In the end, they probably went with someone who better fit the position, which is OK with me, anyway. I wanted the job, but where my career was heading, I knew I didn’t necessarily need it. So I took a risk I normally wouldn’t have.
What are your thoughts on self-promotion? Comment using the link below.
Speak to you next week.
Jim Gilbert is president of Gilbert Direct Marketing Inc., a full-service catalog and direct marketing agency. His LinkedIn profile can be viewed at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimwgilbert, or you can e-mail him at jimdirect@aol.com.
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
