Other people have been where you want to go. Books, tapes, workshops and coaching can save you huge amounts of time and money with ineffective marketing activities. I've observed that most people don't have much enthusiasm about marketing because they simply don't know what to do and where to start. This shouldn't be an excuse. We learned that sometimes a train and sometimes a car were the best transportation.
Different things work for different businesses and different people.
You'll only learn your best vehicles by trying many and seeing what works for you. For many, marketing gets lumped into one big undifferentiated mishmash. It all sounds the same and none of it makes much sense. Success stories abound but few dig deep enough to learn anything really useful. Borrow the best ideas for your marketing plan.