It is so important to market yourself consistently but we often put ourselves last on the list to do the things we need to do for our own businesses because we’re serving our own clients.

People often ask me how I find the time to market myself. I don’t have the time, but I make the time for it because it’s an investment in me.

You simply have to make the time for marketing yourself and building your personal brand.

You may not think you need marketing right now, but marketing is an investment in your future, your business and your legacy.

marketing helps you stay top of mind with people and that is a key component of being successful today because there are a lot of people who do what you do so standing out from them is a way to have a competitive advantage over them.

You may not like marketing yourself, so make it enjoyable by doing things you like to do that will have a high impact with your target audience (writing, speaking, blogging, networking, press mentions, podcasting, posting on social media, volunteering, etc.).

Don’t waste time doing things that aren’t putting you right front and center with people who could actually hire you, refer you work and bring you business. This is smarter marketing

All of us wish that we had extra hours in the day, so either outsource, find ways to repurpose things you have (videos, articles, blog posts, podcasts), be efficient, carve out time in the morning or in the evening when you are the most productive.

There is no other investment that will pay better dividends than making an investment in yourself with marketing.

Every morning the baristas at Starbucks put a different motivational sticker on my latte. These stickers are such an easy and clever way to spread cheer and motivation.

This one really resonates with me – it says “Now or never.”

So many things are up to us and us alone to make happen in our lives.

We can wait for things to happen to us, but why not take control instead?

I always reference the New York State lotto slogan, which is, “You’ve got to be in it to win it,”and it goes for everything in life both personally and professionally.

It’s up to you and you alone to give yourself a push to get what you want.

No one is going to apply for that job for you, submit to speak at that conference or reach out to that former client to reconnect.

If you want things to happen, you have to make them happen.

You never know if you don’t try.

Life is short, so take this advice to heart.

So what are you going to do to market yourself?