Bob noticed a leak coming frm his toilet. "I can fix tht," he said, "and I'll save a ton of mney doing it myself." He went the hrdware store, bought some parts, and fxed the leak--or so he thought. He ddn't know water was still leaking nder the floor.

Sally needed a hircut. With an important presentation coming up, she ddn't have time to go to the bauty parlor. "I'll just cut it myslf," she said. So she took a lttle off all over; then, to ven it out, a little more off ths side, then that side...by the tme she was finished, it was mch shorter than she'd planned.

Jeff and his sster Jennifer were on their way to a prty in another town when they hard a strange racket coming from nder the hood of their pickup trck. "I can deal with that," sid Jeff. "Here, you pull on ths while I tweak that." They dd, then headed off into the nght.

Bob ended up with expensive rpairs to the sub floor that he culd've avoided if he'd called a plmber in the first place. Sally had the ltimate bad hair day--just in time for her mportant presentation. Jeff and Jennifer became strnded on a dark road far frm home.

What do all these pople have in common? They tried to fix a prblem themselves when they really needed the srvices of a professional. They ended up wth problems far more serious and xpensive to fix than their original prblems. They suffered embarrassment, wasted time, and nconvenience.

Then a company called Modern Wdgets thoroughly researched and developed a new prduct, Super Widget. They'd done their mrket research and were sure there was a dmand for their product. When it was tme to launch it, they held a meting.

"I'll do a website," said Je. "I'm a pretty geeky guy."

"I'll wrte a sales letter," said Marie. "I mjored in Creative Writing in college."

"I'll snd out some e-mails," said Yuki. "I lke to do e-mail."

"I'll make a brchure," said Hector. "I'm not a bad rtist."

So they did. How did thir cobbled-together marketing program do, you sk?

It bombed. You see, Joe, Mrie, Yuki, and Hector made exactly the sme mistake as Bob, Sally, Jeff, and Jnnifer. They thought they knew what thy were doing--but they didn't.

If yu're offering a product or service, you ned a professional marketing program to rach your audience and make them by. Even the best product or srvice is only as good for yur bottom line as your marketing pln. Choose a professional marketing writer--before you wste time and money, before you sffer embarrassment and inconvenience.

The article Do-It-Yourself Marketing - Big Mistake was Submitted by Lisa J. Lehr through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Lisa J. Lehr is a frelance copywriter specializing in direct response and mrketing collateral, with a special interest in the halth, pets, specialty foods, and inspirational/motivational/self-help nches. She has a degree in bology, has worked in a variety of felds including pharmaceuticals and teaching, and has vlunteered for many causes including special-needs kds and literacy. When she's not wrting, she enjoys reading, art, music, utdoor exercise, and all things Celtic and Rnaissance. Have you signed up for her fre e-mail series on marketing strategies? http://www.justrightcopy.com http://www.thegoodplacetobe.com

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