marketing

, , , , , ,

9 Free Resources You Can Use Every Day to Market Your Creative Business

, , , , , ,
9 Free Resources You Can Use Every Day to Market Your Creative Business

Sometimes you just want to do everything yourself. Or, you don’t know how to delegate your marketing needs to another person, because quite frankly you haven’t figured out what works and what doesn’t.

And then there’s that feeling when you say want to say f**k it. Or, “What’s the point?” But then you resign - you know you must must promote your business, but you get overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.

So here are 9 free marketing tools and resources you can use on any given day. Each provides various sparks of motivation plus a good dose of reassurance that you’re probably doing a lot of stuff right.

, , , , , , , , ,

What's Instagram’s Algorithm? #3

, , , , , , , , ,
What's Instagram’s Algorithm? #3

This is the third post in a series about Instagram’s algorithm. You can read Session 1, here and Session 2, here.

As I wrote in the previous posts, I’m not a social media strategist. I’m a marketing strategist who, among other things, can help professionals determine which social media platform is best for their needs - Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Then I can help curate content that speaks both on my client’s behalf but also solicits authentic engagement from a target audience.

A lot of marketing jargon in that last sentence. But it’s important to differentiate that a social media strategist is more likely, for example, to help you accumulate that audience of 10k within 3 months on Instagram. And to even do that you’ll likely need to engage in a paid advertising campaign to push your ads - on any platform (I may also add that your presence online needs to be sharp before you bring 10k followers to your content - that’s also where I typically come in :))

, , , , , , ,

What's Instagram's Algorithm?? #2

, , , , , , ,
What's Instagram's Algorithm?? #2

This is the second post in a series about Instagram’s algorithm. You can read the first one, here.

As I wrote in the previous post, I’m not a social media strategist. I’m a marketing strategist who, among other things, can help professionals determine which social media platform is best for their needs - Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Then I can help curate content that speaks both on my client’s behalf but also solicits authentic engagement from a target audience.

A lot of marketing jargon in that last sentence. But it’s important to differentiate that a social media strategist is more likely, for example, to help you accumulate that audience of 10k within 3 months on Instagram. And to even do that you’ll likely need to engage in a paid advertising campaign to push your ads - on any platform.

, , , , , , , , ,

What's Instagram’s Algorithm? #1

, , , , , , , , ,
What's Instagram’s Algorithm? #1

Precursor: I’m not a social media strategist. I’m a marketing strategist who, among other things, can help professionals determine which social media platform is best for their needs - Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Then I can help curate content that speaks both on my client’s behalf but also solicits authentic engagement from a target audience.

Lot of marketing jargon in that last sentence. But it’s important to differentiate that a social media strategist is more likely, for example, to help you accumulate that audience of 10k within 3 months on Instagram. And to even do that you’ll likely need to engage in a paid advertising campaign to push your ads - on any platform.

, , , , , , ,

The Solution You Can't Find in a Google Search

, , , , , , ,

Last week, via Instagram, I mentioned having lunch with an old friend and colleague from my days in New York. He’s an incredibly talented designer and painter.

And he works in marketing.

And not just any marketing. He’s the creative director for the digital campaigns of a global fashion company that sees over $100 million in annual revenue from digital sales alone (I so so so wish I could say the name of the co. but the company is extremely private and he asked I keep the name to myself when sharing stats).

, , ,

Squarespace SEO Checklist

, , ,

As of this writing, if you are an administrator on a number of Squarespace accounts you’ll receive special access to certain Squarespace forums. The Squarespace SEO checklist link below is public but was discovered by me as a result of that access.

, , , , ,

The Marketplace - More Time & Money on Disappearing Stories

, , , , ,
The Marketplace - More Time & Money on Disappearing Stories

'Ephemeral Marketing' aka 'Stories' is by now a tool that most users know on Instagram. I've always been adverse to Snap Chat, and Facebook still hasn't really grabbed me, but Instagram had me from day 1. 

And when stories came out, I have to say, I was pretty captivated. And as a consumer, and a self-titled consumer analyst, I've been watching companies weave their way into the Stories I personally watch, right alongside the hair stories, or dog-stories, or travel stories of my friends.

And I really love making Stories :)

, , ,

Mark(et)ing Happiness

, , ,

Not enough money, not enough time. The scarcity model, when it comes to running your creative enterprise, and your life, is over.

 If you haven't already noticed, you can get a LOT online, for free. This blog post is not about accumulating free stuff but points out and asks why much of our consumer market has veered in two directions: incredibly, exorbitantly expensive, or basically free.

, ,

Spark J O Y

, ,
Spark J O Y

When I'm' moved by another person's idea, I grab tight and don't let go. This 'grabbing' can simply mean I use the idea in my own daily life, share it with others or think of it often - referring to as a way to improve my habits, lifestyle or work.

Enter Marie Kondo and her 'Spark Joy' concept.

Perhaps you've heard of it. Introduced in Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Habit of Tidying Up. I learned it and grabbed tight. The premise is simple: eliminate that which does not 'spark joy', keep or bring in that which does.

I use this concept frequently. And so do millions of others around the world.

Leave This Trail Behind

I've worked in sales. Not the car sales type gig, but the media sales type gig. At times, this position was as lowly, petty, predatory, and even humiliating as one who's never done sales, can imagine. Then there were other sales roles (I got to be a sales 'director' at one point :)), which I found satisfying, engaging and confidence-building. These were better.

Fast forward to now, and in the last two weeks, I've had not only been approached by my previous employer for a role in sales but by another media agency, today. 

And it felt terrible. The offer was introduced vaguely in an email. The writer is someone I've known in the field for a few years and I think we've grown to respect one another. In writing, she didn't initially state the type of job, just suggested I might be interested in some work.

, , ,

What Stealing Looks Like

, , ,

This 4th of July holiday I made a new friend who works for Hearst communications. She's hustled hard to get her place as editor for a bike and running publication, and when we began following each other on Instagram, passing one of the many phases of the 21st-century friendship, I commented in faux (but secretly real) jealousy of her 2k+ followers.

, ,

Popularizing Christianity

, ,

I don't know much about David Brooks. His name is familiar and if I take 30 seconds, the internet reminds me that he writes a column in the NYTimes. I've also heard him on NPR, and maybe PBS. If I still regularly tuned into PBS.

But I'm not writing so much about the career of David Brooks as I am about his life's work (there is, in fact, a difference). And his life's work is relevant to my career work because his life work is about marketing complex ideas to the mainstream world.