The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

When my prospects are interested...

Welcome to Week 18 of my adventure 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.

What do you send when a prospect asks for more information?

In my Marketing Plan Group, we have created one sheets for that very purpose. A one sheet is something that sums up what you can do for your prospect, in one-sheet. In my recent post about one sheets, TutleBlueBird suggested I post mine as an example. So here it is.

It’s not perfect, but as Ilise says, “it’s good enough for now.”  I’m getting over my desire to be perfect and putting it out there in the hopes that it will help some of you model your one sheets. Why? Because having one is way better than not having one!

So, have you created a one sheet?

And please share your comments about mine, especially since most of you are my “target market”!

P.S. If you want to learn the tools you need to stay on track with your marketing, the next marketing plan group starts Feb 12th.

What's your ideal day?

Back in early December, when designer friend Dani Nordin from The Zen Kitchen was in Brooklyn, we sat down and thought about our marketing desires and goals for 2010. Our thoughts aligned also with trying to make our lives better in general and less stressed. From there we asked ourselves how we can organize our businesses and lives to be more symbiotic.

This hoity-toity coffee-shop introspection led to the following questions:

+ What would be my ideal day?

+ How much client work (with raised rates) do I have to do in order to fit in health balances?

+ How much marketing do I have to do support my business and where I want to be?

+ What would make me feel less stressed out and how can I build it into my day?

+ How do those goals line up with my natural body rhythm? 

After that, I thought about it and here’s my ideal day (for now)...

• 7am — Wake up, shower, breakfast
• 7:45-8:45am — Make a list of the day’s work, evaluate previous day, walk boyfriend to subway & take a walk around the neighbourhood
• 9am — Email
• 10-11:30am — Client work
• 11:30am-12pm — Reading articles, Web, social networking, etc.
• 12-12:30pm — Lunch
• 12:30-2pm — Biz Dev / Marketing / Housekeeping (I’m usually sleepy after lunch and can work on more automated tasks)
• 2-4pm — Client work
• 4-4:30pm — Email
• 4:30-5pm — Walk around/free thinking (my energy starts to flag then)
• 5-6:30pm — Client work and evaluating tomorrow

Since I’m starting classes for my MFA this month, this schedule will also morph for classes and doing school projects. It’s not perfect, but it’s good start on a larger goal of having a clearer path to less stress, more success.

All of this leads to the basic concept of "Billing Based on Your Ideal Day." Reviewing that schedule, it looks like roughly 5 hours a day, or 25 hours a week, is dedicated to client work besides email. How many clients do I or you need to bring in each month or each quarter to fit an ideal day? How much marketing do we have to do to attract those clients?

As it stands with my current need to meet $5,000 a month, I would need to bring in roughly 2 projects a month. I reduced my monthly income goal from $7,000-$8,000 when I took into account I will not be able to work as much with school. Hence, the need to raise my rates and attract clients who can pay them. 

To get those projects and clients, Dani and I calculated: 2 projects/month = 10 proposals/month = talking to 60 people/month. This means I have to speak to or follow up with 2 new people per day to reach my goal. Yes, talking to new people/cold calling is scary but this could take the form of networking events, blog posts, or just talking to someone at the bookstore with a common interest. Planning marketing and networking into your work day can help conquer excuses to escape your marketing because you’ve deliberately set aside time just for you and your business. The 1.5 hours currently in my schedule should be enough to converse or write my way to a new client. 

So tell me, what about y’all? Please share your ideal days and any tips in the comments. We would love to see how other folks are incorporating two crucial components into their day: taking care of themselves and their businesses!

Tricia Okin runs papercut, a small design firm branding and designing for the mobile and food sectors while playing wingman to larger design firms.

Get my new book and do some good too

After 18 months in the works I'm thrilled to announce the release of my latest design book "Designing for the Greater Good." The book is officially available on Amazon.com and your nearest fine bookstore.

This book is actually a dream come true for me. I started pitching the book idea to publishers back in 2003 and kept getting rejected. "No one wants to look at a book of work that people do for free" was the common response. Never mind that I was running a successful agency that was doing pretty much only non profit work. That didn't matter or wasn't proof enough that it's a hot topic. Publishers didn't think a book on this subject would sell. But I didn't give up. Every chance I had I pitched the book. I knew that the world needed to see all the amazing work designers do for causes and non profits. 

And then I met Nancy Heinonen. Nancy invited Ilise and I to write the introduction to Big Book of Self Promotion and was interested in ideas for new book projects. I pitched the idea to her and she loved it. My enthusiasm with the topic helped her sell the book concept to Harper Collins and BAM! we had ourselves a book deal.

The book was not a small task. As soon as we announced the book and opened it up for submissions the work flooded in. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle authoring and designing the book myself so I turned to a good friend and Marketing Mentor client, Jonathan Cleveland of Cleveland Design in Boston, and together we collaborated to make the book come to life.

But the book release is not the only reason I am writing this today.

With the spirit of the book, I'd like to make a bigger impact through the power of the design community. So here is what my lovely co-author Jonathan Cleveland and I decided to do:

Buy a book and help rebuild Haiti.

Our promise: For the first 100 books sold this week we'll donate $10 per sale to the American Red Cross to help Haiti earthquake victims in your name. Think of all the goodness you'll be sending out there with each book purchase. It's practically banking karma points and making a real difference in the world.

What we ask of you: email a copy of your receipt of the book purchase with your name to peleg@marketing-mentor.com and your name will be added to the list of donors. That simple.

I have no idea if even one person will care to participate in this effort but I'm putting it out there.  Sure, I'm hoping this will help promote the book but frankly, I think this book will sell with or without this effort.

I'm super proud of this book. The work in it is some of the most inspiring design work I've seen in my life. Real work with real purpose. Design work that really touches people's lives.

I hope you grab a copy and savor the goodness!

Do you really need your own blog?

A lot of people think that just because they have their own business, they should have their own blog.

I disagree.

I don’t think blogging is right for everyone -- because the reality is -- blogging takes a lot of time. Blogs are hungry for information and they need to be fed. But if you’ve got the food (stuff to say, the commitment, the time), then here’s a really great article about why to blog as yourself (even if that’s not what you sell).

If you're hesitant about creating your own blog, you can still reap the benefits of blogging. Often times, it can be better to guest post in front of your prospects rather than create and drive traffic to your own blog. To do this, think about which blogs your prospects read, and offer to write a guest post there. 

P.S. We're always looking for guest posters here at the Marketing Mix. Take a look at the guest posts we've published recently to get ideas, and send your submissions in here.

On the East Coast? Join me.

I have a few speaking events coming up in Albany, N.Y., and Stamford, C.T. If you’re in the area and want to attend, here are the details:
 
Sunday, Jan 31st, 2010 - AIGA Upstate N.Y.
Sage Albany Campus, Albany, N.Y., 6pm - 8pm: Build Your Marketing Machine
If one of your New Year's resolutions is to grow your business and get new clients, you'll need a strategy and a marketing plan. Join me for a hands-on workshop where you will learn which are the most effective, and least expensive, marketing tools for freelancers.
http://upstatenewyork.aiga.org/events/2010/01/40019477

Wednesday, Feb 3rd, 2010 - Hilton Hotel, Stamford, CT 8am - 7pm
Small Business Expo & Conference
I’ll be the keynote speaker at this year's expo.
www.smartbusinessmoves.us

Did he just hang up on me?

Welcome to Week 17 of my adventure 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.

This week’s homework in the Marketing Plan Group was to do our research calls. I called 16 people. I left 4 messages and got 12 people in-person. Here are a few that stood out:

• I left a voice mail at one design company and their message said something like this: Thank you for calling our design company. Please leave us a detailed message and someone will probably get back to you. They said “probably”! I thought it was pretty funny and it made me laugh amidst the calls. If your voice mail says you’ll “probably” get back to somebody, maybe you should change it.

• I got connected to one design shop owner from the receptionist, and I went ahead with my introduction. I said: Hi, Bob. I’m Deidre and I write copy for websites. I’d like to introduce myself if you have a second. I heard him say something, and then I heard a “click.” I thought, Oh my goodness, did I just get hung up on? I felt a little sad but then I grew some balls and called back. I needed to make sure this man actually just hung up on me! After all, I'd understand if he didn’t want to talk, but hanging up is just plain rude. (These balls I grew, I think they must be evidence that I’m getting more confident at this whole calling thing.) So I got him on the line again, and at the risk of getting hung up on again, I said: Hi again, Bob. I’m not sure if we got disconnected, or if you meant to hang up – so I just wanted to check. He said we had gotten disconnected and thanked me for calling back. Then he started telling me about a project he might need help on.

Of the 12 people I spoke to in-person, all were interested in receiving information and rates. Some were more interested than others – but that’s 12 more prospects in my pipeline, all from 45 minutes of calling. Not bad, I think.

My group also did a great job with their calls. Some are still getting warmed up, and others aren’t sure yet if their market is viable, but all of them are committed to continuing because they know it will work. Go girls! 

My fabulous group buddy spoke to 18 prospects and made some great connections. She even said she “really likes cold calling because it helps her understand if her market is viable or not,” which is precisely why Ilise says we should do it.

Is calling part of your marketing plan for 2010? If so, tell us your stories.

Do you need some guidance and support when it comes to picking up the phone? If you do, there's a new Marketing Plan Group starting the week of Jan. 25th. Click here for details.

Get dressed, get the animals, grab my flash drive…

I woke up at 5am yesterday to what sounded like a fire alarm going off in a building nearby. It wasn’t my building, but it was close, and I sat for a few minutes thinking about what to do if I had to evacuate. My first thought was that I needed to put pants on. Second, I would grab the animals. I thought of what else I would need. My flash drive with the latest back up? Then I wondered if I were actually evacuating, and not just sitting around thinking about it, would I actually grab my flash drive? Probably not. The pants and animals would be my main priorities.

Then I remembered that I wouldn’t need to grab my flash drive -- because thankfully I back up to Mozy at the end of every day. Even though I also back my files up on-site, it’s nice to have an off-site backup too. If you want to back up your computer files online, I highly recommend Mozy as it provides much peace of mind. You can try it free, and plans start as low as $4.99 per month. Check it out here. (If you sign up, enter this referral code: 3CJGB0.)

Get All the Tools You Need for Freelance Success

A successful freelance career isn't fueled by talent alone. You also need a good grasp on the business aspects of working solo.
 
And that's exactly why you need to sign up for the 3rd annual Creative Freelancer Conference. Presented by HOW and Marketing Mentor, CFC will take place at the Hyatt Regency Denver on Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6.
 
Our panel of top consultants and veteran freelancers will share practical, real-world information, including:

• sessions on crafting contracts that protect you and your work
• finding great clients and managing their expectations
• making the most of your online presence (without wasting your time or money)
• effectively managing your finances and becoming financially empowered
• and more

Plus, you'll save when you sign up by the March 12 Early-Bird deadline!
 
Whether you're already established or still thinking about going solo, you'll get the information you need for business success in any economic situation. Find out more at CreativeFreelancerConference.com.
Register today!
 
Stay connected at the CFC Blog and join the CFC Groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.
 

It's not too late to join the Web Site in a Week process

If you really need to finish the content for your marketing smart website – this week – you can. How?  By joining the Web Site in a Week Group. The majority of the work will be done this weekend, with short conference calls and assignments, and by Sunday afternoon, you’ll have everything you need and ready to post.

Here’s the schedule (all Eastern time):

* Monday through Thursday you will be reading independently. 
* Thursday or Friday AM, you will do online research and prep work.
* On Friday at 1PM EST we will have the kick-off conference call and assignment.
* On Saturday, there will be conference calls and assignments at both 9AM and Noon. The first draft of your website text is due on Saturday at 7PM if you want feedback.
* Ilise will stay up all night reading and commenting, and will send in-depth comments by Sunday morning.
* There will be a conference call on Sunday at 9AM, and you will spend the day revising your content before the final conference call at 3PM Eastern.

Think about it. After all this time dragging your feet, by this Sunday you could have the content for a marketing-smart web site that your prospects and clients will find useful and usable. (No technology involved in this process.)

One of our participants gave this to herself for her birthday. If you’d like to give the gift of a website to yourself, find out more here: http://www.marketing-mentor.com/html/websiteinaweek.html

Turn Your Intentions Into Projects

In my latest edition of Biz Bits, I talk about how to identify intentions and turn them into reality. Here's how:

Over the holiday season, I spent a few days in a hotel room while I was visiting family out of town.  While in the room I indulged in a little TV watching, something I don’t do at home since I gave up my cable subscription a few years ago.  The commercials, in particular, fascinated me.  And this being a few days before New Years almost every ad had to do with making resolutions.

Give up smoking.  Flatten your stomach.  Eat better food.  Make money from home.  In other words, a slow drip of self-inflected guilt with hopes to get it all fixed by simply dialing an 800 number.

We all know that it takes more than a phone call and three easy payments to change our lives.  Real change takes dedication, commitment and a process to keep us engaged.  Real change doesn’t start with a whim inspired by slick copy and a fast-talking pitchman; it starts with naming your intentions and shifting your mindset to what it is that you really want to change.  
 
But identifying your intentions is only the first step to see them become reality. If you want to see results, turn your intentions into projects. A project aligned with your intentions will give you the framework and structure to move things along. Your project will help you stay connected to your intentions throughout the year so when January 2011 arrives you have something big to celebrate.

In the same way that you approach a creative project and break it down into small manageable steps, apply the same creative principles to your intentions. Here is the simple 10-step process I created and follow:

1. Identify the area you want to change
2. Choose your intention in that area
3. Create a project you can work on addressing this intention
4. Give the project a timeline and a deadline
5. Plan the preparation work before getting started
6. Divide the project into milestone phases
7. Break down each phase into small manageable weekly tasks
8. Add the tasks to your calendar
9. Get an accountability buddy to keep you in check
10. Decide how to celebrate when you've reached each milestone

You can apply this process to any area in your life and business and start seeing movement and change almost immediately. Get out of the habit of setting goals and losing track of them a couple of weeks into the new year. If you're serious about changing something, it all starts with the intentions you set and the way you treat them.
 
To get more tips like this delivered to your inbox, sign up for Biz Bits today.
 
Peleg Top is the co-founder of Marketing Mentor and works with creative agency owners in helping them grow their business, become more profitable and live a balanced life. Biz Bits, his free monthly business tips, will add a dose of inspiration to your business growth efforts. Sign up to get Biz Bits delivered to your inbox today.