Promote Your History by Kevin Nunley When you were in your high school history class, did you ever wonder, "Why do I need to learn this boring stuff? History is way down on the list of things I really need to know. When will I ever use history? It's already over and gone." It's a popular attitude among adults as well as teenagers.

The bottom line is, history tells you where something came from and why it is the way it is. History defines every aspect of our lives, whether you're talking about ancient legends or contemporary events.

So what should that tell you about promoting your own history? To illustrate my point I want you to do something. Open your newspaper (or go online, if that suits you better) and look at the obituaries. Do you know any of these people? Probably not, but read through their obituaries and try to know them.

Here you have Gladis Johnson who is survived by three children and seven grandchildren. Then you have Jack Bradshaw who died of a heart attack at the age of 60. And what about Gloria Dennis, who spent the last ten years of her life doing service work at the local children's hospital, spent her free time painting and writing poetry, and supported her five children on her own when her husband was fighting in WWII.

Who do you care about the most? Who are you the most interested in? The obvious answer is Gloria. You care about her because you know her, at least a little, and you admire her. The first two are just pictures with stats. Gloria becomes a real person who overcame challenges, developed talents, and spent her life in generous pursuits.

Now consider the benefits of promoting your own history. When you give people the opportunity to know your history, you become more real to them. And it's far easier to trust and admire a real person than some faceless, nameless business entity.

A friend of mine owns and operates a bakery that has been in his family for three generations, during which time they cultivated family recipes for baked goods that can't be found anywhere else. Over the generations, they perfected their secret family recipes to create some of the most scrumptious cookies, cakes, breads and pies I've ever had the privilege to sample.

But recently a competitor opened up nearby and their business diminished significantly. The new bakery was trendy and unspecialized, offering a larger selection of coffees than baked goods. This new bakery lacked the decades of experience that my friend could boast. But the problem is, he wasn't boasting it. People like things that are new and trendy, but they also like things that are familiar and reliable.

I suggested that my friend emphasize the history of his bakery in his marketing. He changed his marketing to spotlight the fact that their bakery had been family owned an family run since 1928, and that 70 years gave them a lot of time to perfect their recipes and baking skills. I also suggested that he put a plaque on the wall of his bakery talking about the history, including a picture of his grandfather and grandmother, the original bakery owners, working behind the counter. My friend also put a card inside each bag of goodies sold that told the interesting history of how the bakery was founded.

Business soon turned around as those who had begun to frequent the newer, trendier bakery found that they missed the quality and personality of their old bakery. Promoting the bakery with its history had created a sense of loyalty within the community; an intimacy that the customers appreciated.

In my own Internet marketing business, I've often been amazed by the number of people who want to know my personal history of how I started my business. Customers who were wavering between buying and not buying have often been convinced after hearing about what I went through getting my business off the ground.

Your customers want to trust you, and one of the best ways to build a foundation of trust is to let your customers know who you are and where you came from.

If you've had trouble building a solid relationship with your customers, try emphasizing your own history in your marketing to personalize both yourself and your company.

Talk about who you are and how you began. Customers especially love to hear success stories. Many of them are trying to create one of their own, so it is comforting to know that you are proof of their possibilities.

Using your history to promote also gives your business credibility. People are unlikely to trust businesses that have only been established for a week. They never know if that business will be around for years to come, or be gone with the wind in less than a month.

Any business that has lasted ten years or more should spotlight that fact. Businesses that have been around for a decade are usually established and stable, and customers know that.

If you are involved in network marketing, it's important to make customers and opportunity seekers aware of your company's long- standing history. No one wants to buy something from a company that could disappear at any moment, and opportunity seekers are wary of getting involved with any company that is not firmly established with a history of success.

But whatever your business, give people the chance to know who you are and where you came from. When your customers know you, they will come back again and again. In other words, history will repeat itself.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copywriting. See his 10,000 marketing ideas and popular promotion packages at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com

or 603-249-9519.