Reading Seth Godin not only changed my life but taught me what great marketing is. Once you know what great marketing is choosing your tactics is easy.<p>His blog is invaluable (<a href="https://seths.blog" rel="nofollow">https://seths.blog</a>). Read his “Top 100” and then go buy his latest book “This is Marketing.”<p>Marketing in a nutshell: Grow an audience by earning their trust through consistently providing value and fulfilling your promises. Choose the medium that best resonates with your audience. And start with the minimum viable audience.
One of the best resources I found was the Small Business Administration (SBA). I learned a lot from just reading through all their online resources (<a href="https://www.sba.gov/business-guide" rel="nofollow">https://www.sba.gov/business-guide</a>). I'm pretty sure a similar organization exists wherever you are, just search for 'small business administration' + your location.<p>I think if you want more hands-on learning, you should schedule an appointment with an experienced business advisor. The small business org will do their best to find a relevant expert to advise you. I did one of these and I got matched with an Entrepreneurship lecturer from USC where I was able to pick up a ton of insight on marketing and running/starting up a business in general. I feel that this was valuable information that would've taken a lot longer to find or learn if it was on my own. I highly recommend this and the best thing is it was completely free. Make sure to take lots of notes and ask questions specific to your situation. You can schedule follow-up appointments as you reach milestones in your marketing plan as well. There are also some marketing workshops but some of those have fees so watch out for that. I was surprised but there is no "catch", it's just a taxpayer supported organization for supporting small businesses.<p>tldr; <a href="https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/market-research-competitive-analysis" rel="nofollow">https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/market...</a>