Marketing yourself and your business has never been more important. All of us in business are wearing so many hats that promoting your business can see a bit overwhelming. Not only is your time slim but your marketing budget may be slim or non-existent. With that said, I've learned that marketing does not need to be scary or expensive.

Here are some simple, practical, hands-on marketing tools that work.

#1  Be yourself. Be honest. Be transparent. Build relationships. Whether you are writing a blog, Tweeting, or old fashioned face-to-face networking, be yourself. You will be remembered. You will be sought after for opinions.   We enjoy doing business with people we know, especially our friends.

#2 Discover what makes you unique. Why should your clients do business with you?  What can you offer your customers? What do you provide other than your actual product? Personally, I sell "Spirit, Image & Visibility".

# 3 Market to current and past clients. Invest in your current data base of clients. Email marketing works. Be an expert in your field and send relevant information to clients. Remember to ask for referrals. This simple task is often overlooked.

# 4 Look for strategic partners. Who is a non-competing business that shares your clients?  Can you partner up to host an event? Share a trade show booth? Share referrals? Surround yourself with people that inspire you and build you up.

#5 Consider a written marketing plan. This marketing plan could be as simple as answering a few questions such as: Who are you marketing to? What are you marketing? How do you market it? How much will it cost? When will this happen? Having this information written down will keep you focused and on task.