Marketing independent consultants: how much to spend?

So you want to start your own consulting business. Maybe offer some seminars, get some ongoing paying clients, start a blog, and (cue the holy grail music) sell your advice packaged as eBooks, or (gasp) an actual book. Ok, great! 

So how much should you invest in marketing materials? The answer to that entirely depends on how much money you are expecting to make. Yes it sounds obvious, but when you are starting out and creating a vision of your new business - it all seems possible. As you get going you will quickly narrow your focus, and your marketing needs will start to crystalize. Lets look at how consultants make money, and what kind of marketing materials are appropriate for each.

1) Large contracts. If you are in the kind of business where you are bidding on large corporate or government contracts, then yes, investing in some marketing is a good idea, and will definitely pay off, even if you just get a great logo and business card. You'll likely brand yourself as a corporation (rather than your name). 

2) If your consulting is sold to individuals by the hour — like counselling, massage therapy, etc - then your marketing efforts will be more personal. A cleanly designed business card maybe all you need as far as materials go. Your customers will buy from you because they like you, or have been referred to you by someone who does.

3) Products. If  you have gotten to the point where you have books or videos to sell - then your website will be paramount, and the quality of your materials should be high. The more products you have (and the greater their value) the greater the marketing investment. Just don't expect to make any money from a book - its a loss leader to solidify you as an expert, and get you hired as a speaker or consultant. 

4) Seminars and workshops. How much marketing you invest here depends on how many workshops you intend to do. An occasional seminar at a community college will need nothing while ongoing weekly seminars, or conferences means you will need a lot of people to sign up, and plenty of ongoing marketing.