Marketing your way to success according to Port Macquarie guru Jane Hillsdon

Jane Hillsdon has just released her first book, 'How To Do Marketing'.

"I decided to write the book to share the insights that I have accumulated over the last 20 years," Mrs Hillsdon said.

The book is targeted at regional small businesses.

"The regional landscape in the last 10 years has changed astronomically," she said.

"The internet has changed consumer habits."

Mrs Hillsdon concedes most people don't think of marketing as a 'must have'.

"If you compare it to accounting, most small businesses emphatically agree they have to have an accountant," she said.

"But I believe that is how people should perceive marketing.

"When you start a business you will probably get friends and families but that is where it will stop.

"That is not enough to sustain a business and future-proof it for growth."

Mrs Hillsdon believes small businesses in regional areas need to harness the local community.

"There might be less customers but the plus side is the sense of community is super strong," she said.

"Word of mouth is massive and in a local community that is really amplified.

"I always give the example, I have been able to build strong relationships with clients because I see them at a monthly boardroom table, I see them at soccer on the weekend, at a networking event and we share joint friends."

In her twenties Jane Hillsdon worked for some of the biggest brands in Australia including Coles Myer.

But it was an experience working for a small catering business in Sydney that ultimately changed her outlook.

"I was sitting next to the general manager who owned the business and I realised he was paying me to build his business with my marketing," she said.

"It kind of sunk in if my marketing fails this is his business, his mortgage and potentially his family on the line.

"This is not part of a corporate KPI where if we don't meet budget we get a rap on the knuckles, this is his livelihood."

The experience proved pivotal.

"It made me think strategically, it made me think more creatively, because the buck stops with me."

When Mrs Hillsdon moved to Port Macquarie she had three young children.

She began by freelancing through her business.

"There wasn't a lot of marking expertise in Port Macquarie so I saw a gap," she said.

"At the same time social media had become a thing and it really interested me.

"I was able to position myself as a digital marketer and there wasn't anyone doing that kind of stuff."

She is readily aware of the financial constraints of working with small businesses.

"When you don't have money to splash at media channels you are forced to think creatively," she said diplomatically.

Like most working mums, she readily acknowledges the juggle of running a business and bringing up a family.

And interestingly, it gets tougher as her children get older.

"You think under five they are dependent, but as they get older they almost need you more, they need your guidance and support."

There have been lessons along the way too.

"I made the mistake of thinking the couple of hours I drove them to and from after school activities was wasted time and I hired a nanny," she said.

"But I then realised it was the most rewarding time.

"They were the best conversations because at seven everyone is too tired at dinner and on the weekend too disjointed."

Mrs Hillsdon also co-hosts a podcast with Stacey Morgan from Port Macquarie Performing Arts every fortnight called Miss Bossy Boots.

"Stacey and I started the podcast as we both love to shoot the breeze about all things small business," she said.

"We interview people about professional development and personal development and basically shoot the breeze in the hope we will make other working mum's feel normal and share some of our insights."

'How To Do Marketing' is out now.