I was reading this morning about the growth of the DIY (Do It Yourself) culture in the face of the Covid pandemic. Did you know the price of retail wood has tripled in the U.S. because people are renovating their own homes. In the UK, 50% more businesses started up in June 2020 than in June of 2019.  And on and on…

YouTube is answering the call with a new TV campaign celebrating all the people searching its site using the words “How to?” Doing it yourself, win or lose, is very fulfilling — whether replacing a bathroom light switch or porch stairs. Both How-Tos are available on YouTube.

I’ve come across a number of young entrepreneurs who are DIYers when it comes to marketing. Many believe with a little research they can cobble together a free website. Build a list of search terms and run Good AdWords. Create a logo using design templates. And set up a marketing engine to support their good business idea. All for a few hundred dollars.

But marketing is not an undertaking for the weekend warrior or the Covid free-timer. Unless they begin with a strategy. A brand strategy, more specifically. As an “organizing principle for product, experience and messaging” it undergirds each and every tactic of marketing. Tactics sans strategy are an Excel flowchart and nothing more.

If you are a DIYer getting ready to launch a business, set your brand up to succeed; get the strategy right before you start doing.

Peace.