The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Ramen noodles for retirement?

Welcome to Week 44 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.

One plus from my former job in corporateville was the lovely 401K plan, lofty contribution matching, and excellent investment advice. My 401K is still there, but since I’ve been self-employed, guess how much I’ve put away for retirement? Zero.

If I continue at this rate, I’ll be lucky if I can afford Ramen Noodles in retirement.

Fortunately, my homework this week in my Marketing Plan Group was to do something about planning for retirement, so I can afford Ramen Noodles, and who knows, maybe even something nicer. Just the kick I needed.

At the Creative Freelancer Conference, Galia Gichon, from Down to Earth Finance, gave a talk called, It’s Your Money, So Take It Personally. Although I had previously been very confused, she simplified things and made saving for retirement seem more approachable. Plus, I liked that since Galia is an independent finance expert, her advice is totally unbiased. (Nobody is paying her to sell particular funds or investment options.)

At CFC, Galia said a great first-step for the self-employed is to open a ROTH IRA. She sent me this information about IRAs, excerpted from her “My Money Matters” kit, to share with you.

Open a Roth IRA
The ROTH IRA is an individual retirement account with special tax benefits. Your contributions are made with after-tax dollars and it grows tax-deferred. When you start withdrawing the money at age 59 ½, it is TAX-FREE. 

You can only contribute to or open a ROTH IRA if you make less than $120,000 as a single person or $177,000 as a couple. If you make more than the income limit the next year, you can't add any more money to your existing ROTH IRA. However, nothing will happen to your existing ROTH IRA; you have to open a

Traditional IRA. If you have a year in the future where your income dips below the income limit you can add to your ROTH IRA again.

A great benefit of the ROTH IRA is that if the principal has been in the account for at least five years, there is no penalty to take the money out.

There is also no penalty if it is used for a first-time home purchase, qualified education expense or certain medical hardships.

Consolidate and Maximize IRAs

If you have more than one IRA, pick one place and consolidate all your IRAs. If they are in the same format (either ROTH or Traditional IRA), they can be consolidated to one IRA.

For 2010, you can contribute up to $6,000 and $6,000 if you are over 50 to a ROTH or Traditional IRA.

If you are working for yourself, or work for a company that doesn’t have a retirement plan, you should look at self-employed retirement plans like a SEP IRA. They can be opened at any mutual fund company.

If you don’t have enough to fund the complete IRA, consider setting up an automatic savings to your ROTH or Traditional IRA. This only comes out to $416 a month. Can’t afford that? Then do $100 a month and fund the rest at year-end.

For opening a ROTH IRA, Galia’s favorites are Fidelity, Vanguard, T Rowe Price and Schwab. I did some research:

At Fidelity, you can set up a no-fee IRA online. There is a $2500 minimum initial deposit, but this deposit is waived when you commit to $200/month automatic contributions. This is what I’m going to do.

If you’re saying to yourself, “This is too confusing, I’ll worry about it later,” don’t. Every year that passes without saving for retirement = less Ramen Noodles!

You don’t need to do it alone. There is expert help available.

To get your finances on track, Galia’s “My Money Matters” kit has everything you’ll need.

If you need more guidance, Galia works with clients on an individual basis too. She can give you a complete financial check up, and help you with financial planning, financial education, analyzing cash flow, changing spending habits, and getting out of debt. She can hold your hand through the process, and give you specific guidance when you’re looking to buy home, need life insurance, wills, college savings plan, and more. (She’s kind of like the Ilise of the finance world!)

You can start with 2-hour session for a financial check up, and go anywhere from there. Also, you can sign up for her helpful newsletter here.

Is your business out of sight?

Is your website “out of sight, out of mind?” Do you know how many people are visiting your site each month? Have you added new testimonials or made updates recently?

If not, use this post as a reminder!

And if summer is coming to an end – and you still don’t have your website ready – I have a new Website in a Week group happening August 16-23rd. If you join, you can have the marketing-smart content for your site finished before Labor Day.

If your site isn't “getting done” by itself, and you need some accountability, this one-week, accelerated group is perfect. Details here or fill out this form.

How to avoid becoming a marketing dinosaur

It can be overwhelming to figure out which marketing tools you should be using, especially when it comes to all the social media tools. So how can you decide?

Sometimes, it’s as easy as asking your customers how they want to be contacted, and how they like to communicate. You might be surprised at how willing they are to share this information with you. But be prepared… they might say Twitter, Facebook, and text message. In that case, you might need to add some new facets to your marketing.

Either way, it’s important to know the tools they respond to, instead of spending time on marketing that isn’t getting noticed. After all, no business wants to become the equivalent of a marketing Tyrannosaurus Rex.

For more about how to build your multi-faceted marketing strategy, listen to my 15-minute interview with Jim Blasingame of Small Business Advocate. It’s here on the Marketing Mentor podcast, or on the Small Business Advocate site (along with lots of other interviews Jim and I did for small business owners).

Is bartering for you? One creative's experience.

Many creatives find that bartering is a helpful component of their business, and some networking groups even make it possible to barter on the bigger picture -- because bartering is the main purpose of the group.

Dawn Mitchell, owner at G4G Interactive, shares what she’s learned from being a member of a national bartering group, and gives suggestions for others to navigate one effectively. She says:

- It's not that expensive and opens doors to certain opportunities and meeting new people.

- I see it as a little hidden savings account. There is a massage spa in our group and I like to use my bartering money to spoil myself sometimes. It's money I'd probably not spend in other circumstances.

- The clients I've received from it tend to be cheap because they want something for nothing. It's mainly for small jobs and networking to meet other people.

- Make sure that there are other businesses in the group that you want to do business with. If you don't, you may make money that you can't spend. Remember that it's not "real" money in your account and you can't withdraw it. Make sure your account doesn't get too high.

- I give limits on how much I will accept on trade. For instance, I'm only accepting $500 total for any project. If it's a $5,000 website, $4,500 is cash and $500 is trade. You can adjust how much you barter at any time with any bartering group.

- It gives me an excuse to not do any other bartering if I don't wish to. If someone suggests bartering and I don't want to, I mention that I only do bartering through this service. If they join, I can barter, if they don't, I can't barter.

- Sometimes I'm busy with a lot of bartering clients and prospects and sometimes I'm not.

- I would recommend only bartering your time and not any of your out of pocket expenses. If you are working on a barter project that requires printing and you receive a printing commission, consider bartering the design portion only. It's a good way to make a few bucks on a barter project. Also, if there's a printer in the bartering group, consider using them for your printing for barter and non-barter projects. That's a good way to keep cash in your pocket for all projects.

Dawn’s bartering group is Velocity Trade Exchange. The website has a very creative video (featuring Dawn!) that shows how the group works.

Do you have experiences with bartering? Are you in a group like Dawn’s? Please share.

Want to try out regular blogging?

Welcome to Week 43 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.

Remember how last week we were talking about the freedoms of self employment?

Well, in mid-September, I’ll be using that freedom to take a month off (to get married). While I’m away, we thought it would be a good opportunity to change things up on the Marketing Mix!

We are looking for 4 or 5 guest bloggers extended (to write once per week, or daily for a whole week). We can be flexible about the schedule, but right now, we are looking for people who are interested.

If you’ve been thinking about having a blog of your own, this is a good opportunity to try it out. If you already have your own blog, and you have relevant material to share, that works too!

Interested? Send me an email by August 9th with your ideas. What kind of things would you want to post about?

Does your email say "open me"?

We love email marketing. We love Emma for email marketing. And we love Emma’s blog for email marketing best practices. We love them so much we offer a partner discount of 20% off “everything Emma.” 

On the Emma blog, Matt McCutchan shares five effective subject lines that defy conventional wisdom – and they really do! Even though they might go against the rules, they stood out in his inbox and made him open the message. He says:

If you’ve ever seen tips for writing an effective subject line or maybe even attended a conference about email marketing best practices, you’ve probably been advised to abide by a certain set of tried-and-true principles.

First, the experts often say, include your company or brand name so that the mailing becomes instantly trusted and recognizable. Next, keep it short to make the most of the fixed space for subject lines in most email clients and webmail applications. And lastly, use the subject line to highlight the most important part of your campaign message and get your readers to click.

These are great guidelines and are always a helpful place to start. But it’s worth going your own route sometimes, too. I’ve recently noticed five subject lines in my inbox that have seemingly ignored or temporarily kicked conventional wisdom to the curb, yet still grabbed my attention…

See them here: http://myemma.com/blog/2010/07/16/subject-line-remix/

If you need to create an email newsletter – we can't recommend Emma highy enough. Use Marketing Mentor code “MM0701” when you sign up and receive a 20% discount.

Time tested business essentials – and free advice

One of the things we love about the Creative Business Newsletter, edited by Cameron Foote, is that it provides time-tested essentials that help creative business owners run their business more efficiently, no matter what the latest trend.

Plus, all subscribers get unlimited access to telephone and e-mail advice. You are actually encouraged to call or e-mail anytime you need a business reality check, face a new situation, or desire a second opinion. This added benefit, unique among publications of all types, saves subscribers thousands each year in wasted time and avoidable mistakes.

The July/August issue of the Creative Business Newsletter just came out. Here is a look at what’s inside:

Business Conditions Update
For some readers the last two years have written a new definition of hard times. For some fortunate others it has been a period of concern about whether their good fortune can continue to outlast the economic downturn. Whatever has been happening to your business, it helps to know where things now appear headed. And how quickly…

It’s Time to Review How You’ve Been Keeping the Books
Last year’s financial results should be fresh in your mind. You’ve recently settled up with the taxman. And half the year is yet to come. There’s no better time to make sure your financial house is in order…

How to Respond to Unsolicited Inquiries
Sometimes it’s a telephone call, but as often in today’s world it’s an e-mail. An unknown prospect contacts you about meeting and discussing some work. You don’t want to offend a potentially good one by asking if they are serious. Yet, you also don’t want to be wasting your efforts on the under-budgeted, the clueless, and the tire-kickers...

And, the Business Advice section answers questions like:

   * Should you credit unhappy clients?
   * Who should be responsible for collecting invoices?
   * How many vacation days is the norm?

Want to see a sample issue? Click here.

Find out more about the Creative Business Newsletter here (and if you sign up, you receive a $20 Marketing Mentor partner discount!).

Keywords made simple

Sometimes the process of choosing the right keywords can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are two easy-breezy keyword resources for you.

Alan Kravitz, a copywriter who integrates SEO into his copywriting services (and a Marketing Mentor client), recently published some excellent tips in his email newsletter, 5 Things to Remember about Keywords. He gives five tips about keywords and includes this handy list of useful keyword tools:

Keyword research is easy - and affordable! It's true. You no
longer need an M.I.T. degree to research keywords effectively. I either use - or have used - all these tools. Many are free, or at least have free trials. Check them out and test drive them.

• Google Keyword Tool - You do not have to have a Google Adwords account to do basic research.
• Wordtracker - Great for helping you find lots of keywords.
• Keyword Discovery - This site has an amazing feature for research on misspelled words. 
• Microsoft Keyword Forecast - Type in a keyword and it gives you the word's past performance - as well as a "forecast" of how popular it could be in the future.
• Google Analytics - Helps not only with keywords, but with web page effectiveness.
• SEO Glossary - Don't know what an algorithm is? Look it up here.
• Mashable and Social Media Examiner - Two of the best sites out there for easy-to-understand social media info.

In Norma Maxwell’s latest article on Biznik, A Simple Guide to Choosing the Right Keywords for Your Business, she addresses how choosing the right keywords can help you get qualified and targeted visitors to your site. Read it here.

Every marketing-smart website should include SEO and keyword basics. If you need help getting the content for your website ready, the next Website in a Week course begins Mid-August. Details here or fill out this form.

Where's the fine line?

Welcome to Week 42 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.

You’ve heard me talk about finding balance before. These days I’ve been quite busy (which is great), but I’ve noticed some curious behaviors popping up in my normally routine-ish workday (which I’ve worked pretty hard to establish). This has left me wondering, at what point does our usage of “freelancer flexibility” begin to infringe on our work-life balance?

I see the freedom I have as an absolute luxury. I’m so grateful for it. Self-employed people have the freedom to do lots of cool things, like:

• Meet a client, prospect, or friend for lunch or coffee
• Exercise when we want – skip the crowd at the gym or take a midday bike ride
• See the doctor in the middle of the day if necessary
• Take time off, a few hours or even days when we choose to
• Schedule summer work hours around vacations/children who are home from school
• Be home to meet the cable guy/electrician/UPS guy
• Be home to walk the dog
• Work from Starbucks/Central Park/Australia/etc. I live in Ireland and visit home (New York) often. I work from both places.
• Bake a midday banana bread!

What other freedoms do you treasure?

On the flipside, I can also see that our freedom is a slippery slope. For example, how often do you:

• Work late at night (and forego dinner or time spent with loved ones)? My fiancé has been coming home from work lately, and while we usually have dinner together, I’ve been locked in my office until 10pm. Not a habit I want to get into.
• Take daytime phone calls from friends who don’t work and have the gift of gab? Yes, I’ve got some of them. It’s amazing how much of my workday can get wasted if I answer phone calls from friends who aren’t working.
• Answer client calls at crazy hours?
• Work weekends? 16-hour days? I have been lately, and it’s been taking away from the other things I enjoy, which makes me sad. It’s also been making me resent my work a little, which I normally love!
• Waste time on Facebook or online shopping? With an upcoming wedding, it’s tempting to look for shoes or hairstyles online! But I need to remind myself, not during the workday!
• Take a sick day (even when you’re really sick)? Just because we can work when we have the flu, doesn’t mean we should.
• Take time off (and actually put a vacation message on your email)?
• Clean the house/do laundry/chores? I like doing a load of laundry every now and then, but sometimes I find myself cleaning the kitchen or vacuuming, all while I should be working, and it adds up!
• Run errands during work time? Stopping by the post office and the supermarket adds up too. Plus, these things can be done later, after working hours.  
• Watch TV during the day? I used to watch Ellen during my lunch break, but I had to cut the cord.  Back in corporate land, I got an hour for lunch. I need to give myself a reality check. If I’m spending more than an hour NOT working during my workday, I’ve got to taper.
• Skip exercise/cancel plans/not pursue hobbies or interests because of work?

I guess the real answer here is – all of these things are okay to some extent – if they work for us. If we choose them. But that’s why we need to know what we choose. We need to create guidelines for ourselves about what we want out of work, and life. What our rules are. Not only for working with clients, but for working with ourselves! How do we want our days, our businesses, and our lives, to be?

Without some sort of baseline, bad habits can develop, and we might not even realize what’s happening. At least with some guidelines – in writing – when we choose to deviate from our rules, at least we know it.

It’s also why our financial goals are so important. Because we can gauge our best practices for work with our financial goals -- and if the two aren’t meeting up, we can decide what gives. If we are breaking our “rules” but still not reaching out monetary goal, we can reassess. Change our goal, change our rules, charge more, get higher-paying clients, etc.

Some of my best practices include:
• Finish working by 6PM.
• Don’t work on weekends.
• Take only 1-hour during the day to eat/exercise/run errands.
• Tell people who call and feel like chatting, “I’m working now, I’ll call you back,” or, “I only have five minutes,” and stick to it.
• Put on my “out of office” when I’m not working. It gets rid of that always half-working feeling.

Yes, I have made exceptions to these rules, but I need to make sure they are exceptions, and not the norm.

Have you created best practices for yourself? So, where is that fine line? Or is it ever-changing? Please share your thoughts.

How should I structure retainers?

Retainers can be one of the best ways to keep money flowing on a regular basis. But the rules can be tricky. If you’ve ever wondered how retainers should be structured, Sharon Bending of Bending Design graciously shared some information on how she handles them. Here’s what she said:

I have three clients on retainer currently and it can be a very nice thing. Some things to note about how I do them:

• the client must commit to a minimum of 6 months
• they get charged an hourly rate which is a benefit because normally I charge by the project
• we agree to a set number of hours ahead of time and they pay that full amount before the month begins (reasoning is I have to set  aside the hours)
• I have a certain number of hours that is a minimum I do a retainer for (10 hours a month is the smallest I will do. Less than that is hard to get anything accomplished and you'll spend more time checking your time than getting anything done.)
• They get a report of the hours including descriptions at month's end so they can evaluate if they need more. I don't even think my clients read this but they feel better knowing you are doing it. Helps them to be comfortable.
• If we are running close on hours I let them know and I always get their permission before going over.
• If we go over on hours they're billed at a higher hourly rate.

Sharon got her agreement from the Creative Business article on retainers and tweaked it slightly. Retainers--Replying to Discount Requests by Offering Them is a four-page article that explains why "volume discounts" are uneconomic for a creative firm (lack of scale economies), and suggests a retainer instead. The article includes retainer pros and cons, for both creative firm and client, and a sample retainer agreement. Get it here.