New NYC Marketing Event Teaches Solo Professionals How to Thrive Online and Offline

Most solo professionals are well-trained in their field, but many struggle when it comes to promoting themselves and building a thriving business, especially in a tough economy. Day of Marketing, a new, live training featuring 10+ private practice marketing experts, aims to turn this around. Day of Marketing will be held May 16-17, 2008 at Columbia University in NYC.

We are truly intent on people leaving here with several steps already taken and a clear strategy for what they need to do in their particular practice.

New York City, NY (PRWEB) April 25, 2008 -- A new event, featuring 10+ marketing and business-building experts, will train solo professionals in critically needed marketing skills for today's economy and today's Internet reality.

Day of Marketing, May 16-17, 2008, Columbia University

The event is intended to fill the gap for solo professionals, who are well-trained in their field but often lack critical information about how to build a thriving business. As a result, many struggle to earn an adequate income or fail in business altogether.

"Day of Marketing" takes place Friday, May 16, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 17, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Columbia University (Mills Chapel, Teachers College). It is open to solo professionals of all types, including psychologists, coaches, attorneys, consultants, etc. In addition to learning from 10+ marketing experts, the event also features one-on-one consultations for each attendee, complete on-stage "marketing makeovers" for several lucky attendees, and a Creative Business Building Panel.

The event is co-organized by Linda Claire Puig, president of Claire Communications, and Deborah Gallant, CEO of Web Power Tools, and is being hosted by the Columbia University Coaching Certification Program.

"Many professionals in private practice are struggling," Gallant says. "Psychologists, coaches, attorneys, consultants of all kinds--they're experiencing the same thing: financial worries, fears about shrinking practices during a tough economy, and a whole lot of confusion about how to reach potential clients, both on and off the Internet."

Gallant notes that very few professional schools provide business and marketing training to their students. So while private practice professionals come out highly trained in their field, they know very little about how to promote themselves.

This often leads to what Puig calls the "Field of Dreams" business approach: Open a practice, be a good practitioner, and the clients will come.

"It just doesn't work!" Puig says. "Like any other business, you must be proficient in marketing in order to have a thriving private practice! And I'm not talking about just passing around business cards or having a Yellow Pages ad. There is so much more to marketing. The problem is that most solo professionals--whatever their profession--don't really know what that is or how it works."

Another problem, Puig says, is that marketing used to be considered distasteful--some forms were even illegal--for some service professions. The residue of this still makes some people uncomfortable about marketing themselves.

"But if you look at your service as something that helps people, how could you NOT let people know that you are available to help," she says. "The trick is to make your marketing, and all of your materials, congruent with your values and your interests, so that it doesn't feel like marketing--yuck!--but like sharing helpful information."

Day of Marketing will take participants through all the critical marketing and business-building areas, and then help them formulate the learning into actionable steps. The event's format features 10+ experts speaking Friday on branding/niching, Internet marketing, newsletters and articles, speaking and seminars, e-commerce, technology, product development, public relations/media and more.

Known as Mastermind Saturday, the second day will focus on putting the learning into practice. The day includes on-stage marketing makeovers for four members of the audience, as well as one-on-one laser consultations for each attendee with one of the experts.

"No other training event offers solo professionals this much individual attention," Gallant says. "We are truly intent on people leaving here with several steps already taken and a clear strategy for what they need to do in their particular practice."

Cost of the two-day event is $497. If attendees cannot make both days, they may purchase individual days. Friday only (May 16) is $347, while Saturday only (May 17) is $177.

A recording of a one-hour Q&A with the Day of Marketing speakers gives listeners a preview of the speakers and their content.
    
About the event organizers:
Deborah Gallant is a business coach and an early Internet pioneer. She is the author of a book about Internet careers and for the last five years has been coaching solo entrepreneurs on strategy and marketing. She is CEO of Web Power Tools, a do-it-yourself website builder. http://www.webpowertools.com

Linda Claire Puig is a newsletter-marketing expert and a writer with 25 years' professional experience. She is president of Claire Communications, which provides marketing communications solutions to busy coaches, therapists and other professionals. http://www.clairecommunications.com

Contacts:
Linda Claire Puig, 707-849-8154
Deborah Gallant, 805-217-4881
Day of Marketing
http://www.dayofmarketing.com

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