While the marketing story of Imago through mass media, especially the Oprah Show, is well known, the marketing process before Oprah is not. It’s a local story, centered mainly on Dallas, where Imago began, and it might be relevant to local workshop marketing. The situation was this. For the five years before we married and moved to NY in 1982, before Getting and before Oprah, the Dallas workshop practice included a monthly 20-30 couple workshop, 30 couple clients and a monthly training program in Imago. Essentially, the marketing philosophy we developed was to (1) Show up; (2) Pay attention, and; (3) Follow through.

(1) To show up means becoming visible in your community. I gave free speeches wherever invited and always distributed brochures and an annual schedule of workshops, none of which were ever cancelled no matter how small. This helped couples plan when they wanted to come and they could count on the workshop occurring.

(2) To pay attention means noticing your options and opportunities. I responded to every opportunity for media interviews—nothing was too small—and used all public speeches as an opportunity to assemble a mailing list of potential workshop attendees.

(3) To follow through means to consistently remind people about your work. Someone in marketing said: don’t let them forget you. I mailed a letter and brochure to every couple on the mailing list quarterly. I invited therapists and clergypersons to attend free so they could check it out. I assured therapists I would return all their clients to them. I also asked workshop attendees for referrals, and always sent a thank you letter immediately to any couple who came and to any referral source.