On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being Best) how would you rate yourself as a Marketer?
If You Didn’t Say Somewhere Between 7 and 10 . . .
. . . what is holding you back? What changes do you have to make? What skills do you need to acquire? What do you have to learn? How long will it take you?
For you or, as a matter of fact, anyone else, there are 2 ways to become better at what you do. You can either do it alone or get help from someone who has already achieved the level of skill you desire. Someone who is already a 10 or very close to it.
If you do it on your own, it is going to take a long time. You have to figure out exactly what is necessary each step of the way. You run the risk of trying something which may not be right. In those instances, time is wasted. Hopefully it will be a learning experience and you won’t repeat it again. Any way you look at it, doing anything on your own is a very hard way.
The other way is to find someone who already has the expertise you desire. Then have them guide you. You still may make some errors. However, there won’t be as many nor will they be as devastating as those you would make on your own. This person will help you to achieve the success you desire in much less time.
Wax On . . . Wax Off
This other person is your mentor. Let me give you an example you’re probably familiar with. Do you remember the movie, “The Karate Kid?”
Mr. Miyagi was a mentor to Daniel. Everyone vividly recalls “Wax on – Wax off.” Even though Daniel just wanted to learn Karate, Mr., Miyagi taught him much more.
A Marketing Mentor?
You may have never heard of a Marketing Mentor. Many have one except they don’t make it known. Have you thought about getting one? Your mentor might be your boss at work. It might be a marketing person at another company whom you know.
As a matter of fact, you can have a Marketing Mentor you don’t even know. It even can be someone who has already died.
You might wonder how a mentor can be someone you don’t know. Very simply, you study everything you can about that person. You look at the marketing they’ve done and you look closely at how they did it.
If they’re still alive, you can even email or call them. Let them know you admire their work and ask them how they did it. What were some of their victories over the years? What were some mistakes they made which they wished they could have avoided?
Your Objective – Learn as Much as Possible from Them
The more you do, the more quickly your own marketing will improve and the faster you will become that marketer you want to be.
You might find one mentor can only take you so far and no further. That’s great. Just be grateful for how much they help you and find another one who can take you further. Some people have 2 or 3 mentors during their careers.
Right now, you may want to excel at Content Marketing. This is a relatively new field and you might think there are no real mentors in Content Marketing at this point. That is not correct. Certain people have developed Content Marketing to where it is now. They also are the ones who will be taking it further.
Find one of those to mentor you. Start by looking at organizations which are focused on Content Marketing. Some potential sources are the Content Marketing Institute, Copy Blogger, Marketo and CMS Wire. Look at the people on their websites. Pick the one you feel you can learn the most from and follow them.
If you love Marketing, I am sure you want to excel at it. You want to be the best marketer you can be. Don’t try to do it all on your own. It may take a long time and you may be frustrated many times along the way. As soon as possible, get a mentor and learn as much as possible from them.
There may be many days where it’s only “Wax on, Wax Off.” However, the outcome will be well worth it.
