I am not a huge guy, in fact I am about 5'8", 175 lbs. In addition to designing business brands that help companies build more confidence and credibility, I am a boxer. Much to my family's chagrin, particularly my Dad who ponied up the money for my braces when I was young. Thankfully, I still have all of my teeth and faculties, and I'd like to share what boxing has taught me about advertising more effectively.

It wasn't until I read something in Permission Marketing, by Seth Godin that I saw a strong similarity between boxing and promoting my business. My goal as a boxer is to knock the other guy out so he/she can't fight anymore - that's how I win. In marketing and advertising for my business, my goal is to reach and attract new prospects and clients.

The similarity lays within the different strategies both marketers and boxers can use to accomplish their goal. Boxer behemoths like Mike Tyson and George Foreman can go for the one-punch knock out to accomplish their goals (knocking someone's teeth out), just as IBM, Monster.com and Ford can run one Superbowl advertisement and attract a load of new prospects. Most of us, including me, don't have the size or muscle of Mike Tyson or Ford, so we might consider another approach.

If you are looking for the best approach in either boxing or advertising, the key to success (unless you're Mike Tyson or IBM) is frequency. Take me for example: I am not very big and neither is my business, so neither of us has the resources to make a one-punch knockout count.

Spending all of my resources (either time, money or energy) on one roll of the dice isn't a good idea. I don't have the weight or the muscle for that to work, and if you own a small business, you probably don't either. But that's okay, just because we're not huge doesn't me we can still accomplish our goals; we just have to use a different strategy.

In advertising, the one-punch knock out used to work so much better, there was less competition, less products to choose from and people didn't have so many distractions. Things are different now, and even if someone sees your ad there's a fair chance they might not pay attention to it. So it makes sense not to evaluate or invest all of your money into one ad, that's where persistence and frequency come in.

Did you know that your prospects need to see your ad at least 3 times for it to sink in? I know, it's insane, but research has proven it time and time again. And if you've ever watched boxing, how often does someone go down in the first 3 punches? It almost never happens.

So you want to avoid what most business owners make the mistake in doing in that they run one advertisement and then pull the plug on campaign. Remember the boxing analogy, one-punch knockouts rarely happen. It'll take persistence and frequency to get your prospect's attention and to get him or her to take action, but if you keep at it, you'll succeed.

Keep on punching!

About Jeremy:

I help small businesses build more confidence and credibility into their business brand. Through marketing and design initiatives, I help you feel better about your company. Making you feel good about your business gives you more confidence and less anxiety when you are networking, promoting or selling your business.

If you have are a business owner who isn