Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

  • Home
  • About
    • About Jim Connolly
    • Jim’s Small Business Marketing Newsletter
    • My top marketing tips for 2025. Yours now, for free!
    • Privacy Policy
    • How I use cookies
    • Contact
    • Disclosure
  • Hire me
    • Let’s Grow Your Business
    • Pick My Brain for the results you need!

Owning a hammer doesn’t make you a carpenter!

By Jim Connolly | May 7, 2009

Here’s why so few people get the marketing results they want from social media tools like blogging, Twitter, FaceBook etc.

If you wanted someone to make you a superbly crafted piece of handmade, wooden furniture, you would go to an experienced carpenter or cabinet maker.  You know that it takes training and dedication in order to develop the skills required, to build beautiful furniture.  You wouldn’t just buy yourself; a hammer, a saw, some wood and nails etc, and expect to immediately be ‘gifted’ the skills required to build it yourself.

For some reason, many people seem to think that different rules apply to anything connected to the Internet!

In marketing, I see people every day, who believe that just because the tools exist online, to help them build a network or community, that all they need to do is start using them.  Then, they start blogging, using FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc and wonder why they see very little commercial progress.

It would be just like giving me a carpenter’s tools and expecting me to build some beautiful furniture – I would end up with nothing more than bruised thumbs and an ugly pile of wood!

The best most people achieve from their online community / network building, is to develop lots of ‘links’ with others, who are equally unaware how to commercially benefit from all these tools.

If you are serious about using social media tools to help you improve your marketing, don’t end up with bruised thumbs! Learn the fundimentals of community building AND THEN start using these amazingly powerful tools.

FREE marketing tips & advice

Get my best marketing tips, advice and ideas delivered direct to your inbox. Just add your email below.
I respect your privacy.

Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

Featured by

marketing advice, marketing help

Site sponsor

packaging consultancy

Categories

  • Blogging (406)
  • Business development (480)
  • Copywriting (303)
  • Email marketing & mail shots (187)
  • General marketing (1,663)
  • Professional development (536)
  • Social media marketing (355)

Hosting provider

20i hosting

Search

Recent posts

  • Before they buy: 3 things your prospects need to hear October 1, 2025
  • You’re better. They’re more successful. Why? September 23, 2025
  • Proof: Your success potential is unlimited September 11, 2025
  • How many is “enough”? September 4, 2025
  • Let your competitors grow YOUR business! August 30, 2025
  • Follow-up: Increase conversion rates up to 80% August 20, 2025
  • This marketing gets opened 100% of the time August 8, 2025
  • How to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’! August 6, 2025
  • Higher Fees, Zero Competition, Maximum Profit. Includes 10 Examples! July 30, 2025
  • Tiny tweaks. Huge wins July 29, 2025
  • 10 Reasons your business isn’t growing (And how to fix each one) July 24, 2025
  • Attract new clients: It works better than advertising July 24, 2025
  • Here’s how the best paid service providers earn the highest fees July 21, 2025
  • 12 Quick tips that are great for your business July 15, 2025
  • The power of empathy July 11, 2025
  • Give it away July 8, 2025
  • The false assumptions that destroy your results June 30, 2025
  • Hard work isn’t enough (here’s what is) June 24, 2025
  • Make your marketing totally unmissable. Here’s how! June 19, 2025
  • Discounts: The full cost to your business June 17, 2025
  • Home
  • About
  • Hire me

Copyright © 2025 Jim Connolly