Everyone else who attends these "meet and greet" assemblies is there to do same thing you are. You may be able to make some valuable contacts for future ventures and promotions, but one-on-one networking is time-consuming and results are unpredictable.

Avoid this mistake by:

• Treating networking opportunities same as any other marketing tactic. Track results by determining your costs and measuring your payback.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 7: Doing What Your Competitors Do

It's important to be aware of what your competitors are offering, but do not let it dictate strategy you use for your own business.

If your competitor wants to be low price leader, let him. Don't try to become "lower price" leader. Chances are this will lead you to financial problems because it will thrust you into an ugly price war. If your competitor wants to tout low prices, then you focus on value. Bargain hunters don't necessarily want lowest price. They want best VALUE. Make what you have to offer something of value.

Avoid this mistake by:

• Finding an unmet need or want of your target market, and fill it to differentiate your products and services from your competitors.

• Giving customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. Define your USP, and identify your niche market.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 8: Not Targeting a Specific Market

If you believe your market is "everybody," you will struggle to attract people who will buy from you. The value of target (niche) marketing is one of toughest sells I make to my clients. They understand logic of it, but "fear of losing a potential customer" gets best of them.

Avoid this mistake by:

• Viewing practice of niche marketing as inclusive, not exclusive. Think of your business as part of a person's support group. It's logical to say, "Everybody needs a support group so my business should attract everyone." But, will it? People - your customers - want to go to a support business that understands their specific concerns, needs, and wants. Make sure you ARE that business by targeting a niche market.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 9: Targeting a Market You Can't Reach or One That Can't Afford You

Targeting a niche market is smartest way to market. Yet, targeting a market that is too specific will limit your ability to succeed long term. For example, a market that might be too specific would be: female pilots under age of 35 who fly ONLY New York to London flights. That's a pretty narrow market to sustain your business in long term unless you can capture ENTIRE market with a product or service that has a high profit point and customers need to use or replace it often.

In that same vein, a market that is begging for service or product you have but cannot afford it will also be a business impossible to sustain. Never compete for someone's rent money. Your target market must have means to buy your products and services.

Avoid this mistake by:

• Creating your customer profile to identify characteristics of your potential buyers,

• Identifying a niche market,

• Examining long term potential for new and repeat sales.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 10: Focusing On Acquiring New Customers Instead of Promoting to Current or Previous Customers

When you first start a business you have little choice but to focus on gaining new customers. The cost of finding those new customers can be expensive, which is one reason it is so important to really target a specific niche. However, once you've made just one sale, you're ready to start looking at other marketing options.

Wouldn't you like to: ... slash your marketing costs by half or more? ... reach proven buyers for your service or products?

That little goldmine of proven buyers available to you "on cheap" is already yours in form of current and previous customers.

Any respected marketing guru, past or present, online or offline, will tell you that biggest asset your company has is your customer base.

Avoid this mistake by:

• Realizing that, when a sale is finalized, it is beginning of your relationship with that customer, not end.

• Offering additional products or services to current customers. If you don't have your own to offer them, then develop a referral, joint venture or product bundling program so you can reap profits from your already-interested (and buying) customers.

MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 11: Not Systematically Following Up on Leads

The least expensive part of business is making sale. The most expensive is generating leads - finding people who are interested in what you have. Once you find people who express an interest in what you have to offer - whether they buy from you or not - you MUST develop a follow up system that will keep marketing to those interested prospects. A person who has expressed interest in your products and services is far more likely to eventually buy from you than someone who did not respond at all!

Avoid this mistake by:

• Curbing tendency to become obsessed with generating more leads until you have exhausted ones you already have.

• Developing an easy, systematic follow up for leads, designed to convert a "maybe" into a "yes."

Susan Carter is a small business operations and marketing consultant, and author. This excerpt is from Carter's new book, SPLASH Marketing for Overworked Small Business Owners, now available in a printed version or ebook form. 3 sample chapters available at: http://www.successideas.com

The opening statement is everything. It will dictate headline. It will determine focus of your article. It will dictate evidence you offer to support your statement.

Spend a lot of time honing your first paragraph. Ask yourself, “If I read this paragraph for first time right now, could I resist urge to continue reading this article?”

Step 4: Defend your statement.

Your op-ed will total between 500 and 700 words. Your opening statement will take up about 25 words. Your conclusion will take up another 100 or so. The rest will be devoted to defending your opening statement.

Use facts and statistics, but only those that apply directly to your statement. Don’t go off on tangents. You don’t have space for that. Stay very, very, very focused.

Introduce quotes from third parties. These would include documents, studies, surveys, public statements, white papers, books, articles and like.

And don’t forget emotion. Facts provide reasons to agree with statement, but emotion provides impetus to take action. No emotion, no action. That’s just how human mind works.

Step 5: Propose a solution

Wrap up your story by proposing at least one clear, bold solution to problem you have identified. The proposal is what will brand you as an expert. Sidestep proposing a solution and you will lose your audience.

Let’s talk a moment about format:

A. Use a common typeface, like Arial or Times, in 10 to 12 point type. Double space.

B. Write in short sentences.

C. Speak in a bold active voice that leans upon nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs.

D. Avoid jargon.

E. Put your name, address and phone number at top of page.

F. Suggest a headline based upon your lead paragraph.

G. Include a paragraph at end that explains your qualifications.

H. Place a “###” at bottom of last page to indicate end.

I. Enclose a brief cover letter that summarizes op-ed and your expertise.

To study examples of well-written op-eds, visit http://www.prrainmaker.com/opeds.html.