The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

What's next?

Welcome to Week 52 of my adventure of following the Start Up Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and Week 14 as a member of the Marketing Plan Group. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning from my group experience.

In my last blog post, I recapped 2009 to see if my efforts paid off. Colleen commented on the post and asked, “What’s next?”

So I asked myself this question.

Here’s what I’m planning for 2010.

• Don’t sell myself short. Even if it means quoting what I think is “a ridiculous amount of money.”
• Less time for the (super) small stuff. I did a lot of jobs this year that were tiny, and probably were more work than they were worth. In 2010, I’m going to go after bigger jobs.
• Stop billing hourly. I started quoting by the project this year, but a few hourly projects did slip in. Billing by the project makes so much more sense, because like Ilise and Peleg said in the Designer’s Guide to Marketing and Pricing, it’s not just your time the client is paying for. It’s your brainpower! And because the better you get at something, the less time it should take you. So if you billed hourly, it would mean people are paying less for more experience, which makes zero sense. In 2010, no more hourly billing.
• Communicate more. I have found that success this year has happened because of communication. Picking up the phone, clearing things up, and keeping in touch all create success.
• Put things in the mail. I enjoy receiving things in the mail (i.e. handwritten thank you notes). This really makes an impression on me, so I’m going to make it a habit to do this for my clients and prospects.
• Email newsletter. Well, actually un-newsletter. I need to have some form of ongoing virtual communication with my clients and prospects, and now is the time.
• Picking up the phone. I started research calling this year, and I can tell it’s the key to getting new clients. This year, I’m going to really add it to my routine.
• Goals. In the year ahead, I plan to plan more. Implement more goals and be more serious about sticking to them. This will include a legitimate monthly financial goal.

I’m also going to continue to blog here at the Marketing Mix! And I’d love your input.

What do you like, which posts do you find useful, and what could I blog about in 2010 that would support you in your marketing efforts?

Happy New Year!

 

To Comment, or Not to Comment: That is My Question

For some time, I’ve made it part of my marketing strategy to comment on other peoples’ blogs. I do it to gain visibility, I do it because I learn from good discussion, I do it to create new relationships.

But what if making all those comments is a waste of time?

I ask the question because of an observation by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress (WordPress hosts over 14 million blogs):

Don't participate in Comments. Make it clear that your post itself is for anointed authors who don't mix with the hoi polloi in the comments ghetto... those people silly enough to contribute content to your site for free should feel ignored.

Sure, he’s writing from the perspective of a big-time blogger. But, his disdain for the silly content contributors is pretty evident, isn’t it?

I can tell myself to get over it easily enough, but here’s the thing: Matt is obviously a pretty smart guy who knows a lot about blogs. If he thinks my time and energy end up in a “comments ghetto,” maybe I need to rethink my strategy.

This brings me to my question: do you think commenting on blogs works as a practical marketing strategy for creative freelancers? There are plenty of reasons it makes sense.

But does it work?

Have you ever gotten a lead from a comment you left on someone else’s blog? Did you get to know someone who sent you a referral?

Does it work for you? Or do you stay out of the comments ghetto?

I know, I know: to answer, you have to post a comment! Please forgive the irony and share your thoughts anyway! Thanks!

Thanks to Luis Maimoni of Fresh Graphics in Long Beach CA.

Defining "one round of revisions"

In the book that I’m working on, about how creatives deal with money, I’m getting down to the nitty-gritty on many topics.

Right now, I’m dealing with the topic of revisions.

Many contracts include a certain number of revisions – but how exactly do you define one round of revisions?

I asked this question on the Creative Freelancer Conference LinkedIn Group yesterday, and I’d love to get your input.

Growing your business with marketing, week 52: Year in review

This is Week 52 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See the Project Companion Blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Made it! Made it! Made it! Did it work? Would I do it again? Join me on the Virgo Guide where I spill all the dirty details.

And hey—have yourself a merry little Christmas, while you're at it, if you do that sort of thing.

Did it work? My 2009 Marketing Recap.

Welcome to Week 51 of my adventure of following the Start Up Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and Week 14 as a member of the Marketing Plan Group. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning from my group experience.

It’s the end of my year-long quest to grow my business with marketing – and it’s time to crunch some numbers to see if my efforts actually paid off.

Ready?

Here’s how I did in 2009 compared to 2008.

Word of Mouth Referrals

2008: 3
2009: 15

People Who Found Me Online and Became Clients

2008: 0
2009: 8

Web Visits

2008: 300                           
2009: 1400

Inquiries from Web

2008: 0
2009: At least 40

Cold Calls Made

2008: 0
2009: 35 (resulting in 3 clients, which is what Ilise predicted: 10% conversion rate)

Money

And now, it’s all about the Benjamins. I’ve done my final calculations, and here are the results.

I made almost 10K more this year than last year. I also made up for a 12K retainer from my previous employer that seemed like free money. So, the way I’m looking at it, I made nearly 22K more this year than last year – in actual work that I found through marketing. While my lofty goal of tripling my income didn’t quite happen, I have to say I am pretty amazed at what I’ve accomplished.

I can say one thing for sure. You definitely get out what you put in. I put more effort into my business this year, and it worked. I can see now that the sky is the limit. Goals that once seemed ridiculous are now attainable. I am so excited to have the tools I need to grow my business – and I’m looking forward to continuing the adventure.

I’m looking forward to an excellent 2010 – and I wish you all the very best in the year to come.

If you are ready to grow your business, the new and improved 2010 Marketing Plan + Calendar just came out. It worked for me! Find out more here.

More on a new mindset for 2010

Sometimes, it's hard to see clearly when something is too close to you. That may be the case with your business. I know it is with mine. That's why I have a network of colleagues and professionals I call on when I need feedback, or simply another way of looking at whatever issue is challenging me. (Yes, even the Marketing Mentor has a mentor!)

I wrote about this in last week's Quick Tip (read it here if you missed it). 

And I elaborated on the idea in an interview with Jim Blasingame of Small Business Advocate, specifically as it relates to preparing your marketing strategy for 2010.

For more helpful resources from Small Business Advocate, follow them on Twitter.

Leave Feast or Famine Behind in 2010

Are you a creative who experiences the Feast or Famine syndrome? For both marketing and meal planning, preparing the basics in advance (so you don't have to resort to fast food) makes a big difference and could leave you satisfied all the time, never hungry and never stuffed silly.

Read my latest article, Marketing is Like Meal Planning, for Adbase here: www.adbase.com/Articles/MarketingIsLikeMealPlanning

Growing your business with marketing, week 51: The pain of not scheduling

This is Week 51 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I'm applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week. See the Project Companion Blog, A Virgo's Guide to Marketing, for in-depth posts, additional links and other marketing-related goodness.

Second-to-last week, but never too late (or too painful) to learn a really valuable lesson. Curious? Join me on the Virgo Guide and I'll share what I've learned I never want to do again!

Warding off pushy language

Welcome to Week 50 of my adventure of following the Start Up Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and Week 13 as a member of the Marketing Plan Group. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning from my group experience.

The goal of a research call is to get people to share information with you about their businesses -- to let you in -- and to plant the seeds of a relationship in case they might need your help (now, or in the future).

The goal of a cold call is to sell.

This is why cold calling gets such a bad rap. You can hear one coming from a mile away -- and they usually leave you feeling, well, cold. This is also why we renamed our calls to be "research" calls.
 
This week, my group and I worked on our research calling scripts so that they opened a relationship instead of closed one. We worked on the language and wanted to eliminate anything that might come off as cold, rude, or pushy -- in exchange for warmer language that promoted relationship growth.
 
It's amazing to know that words have this power -- and that the words you choose can either make a prospect feel comfortable and receptive, or put off, defensive, or downright angry.
 
We all know that people don't respond well to "pushy," and on today's group call, I realized that what might not seem "pushy" to me can seem "pushy" to my prospects. What else did I learn? That running your cold calling script by your (practice) prospects is a great idea because they can provide excellent feedback.
 
In the pursuit of a good cold calling script, we didn't realize that some words, sentences and phrases, as innocent as they seemed on paper, came off less innocently when read out loud. Fortunately, tweaking a word or two can make a big difference in how your outreach feels to your prospect.
 
Here is an example:
 
I'd like to help your business.
or
I'd like to see if I might be able to help your business.
 
The first sentence assumes that your prospects' business needs help, and that you're the person to help them -- and since they may not know that yet -- it can rub them the wrong way.
 
Slightly rephrasing the sentence allows your prospect to feel more comfortable. It allows them to choose to open up, instead of to feel defensive and close down.
 
This doesn't mean you should never be assertive or direct. It just means that those first seeds of a relationship need tender care in order to grow.

In my script, I currently mention that "I pay a referral fee for each page of copy that I write." I never realized it, but my group members, who are also my prospects (designers) said this came off a little pushy and had a cheap salesy feel. They all agreed that they wanted to know more about what I could do before they knew about money issues.
 
The reason I had it in there is because I saw it as an incentive but it never occurred to me that it could feel cheap.
 
What do you think?
Any suggestions on how to phrase your research calls so your prospects are more receptive?

How are we doing?

This morning, Ilise and I were talking about today’s blog post. She brought up the topic of this being a good time of year to have a conversation with clients -- about how things have gone this year, what’s worked, and what could be improved.

So, I took the opportunity to ask Ilise, “How have things gone this year? What have you liked? What can we improve?” (I’m not only a website copywriter – Ilise also calls me her "right hand.")

We had a great chat about the work we’ve done this year… how we have worked together and how we could grow in 2010.

Fortunately, we try to discuss and improve upon any hiccups as they happen. But not all working relationships are this way. Are your clients forthright about issues? Or do they need to be asked?

How about you? Are you the kind of person who says, “This isn’t working for me”? Or do you keep it in and ultimately resent your client?

We think that communication is the key to having good working relationships. To quote Ilise, “Clear communication is the key to success.”

So, for the sake of a productive, fruitful 2010, talk to your clients today. Come up with one thing you like, and one thing you would like to improve in each working relationship. Then call the client and have the discussion.

You will definitely get feedback that will help you improve your relationship in the future – and you might even get some well-deserved praise and appreciation (and don't forget to ask if you can use it as a testimonial)!

Try it. And let us know what happens.