The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

December networking in NYC

Thursday, December: PRESTO! Presentation with Jezra Kaye
(The Fast, Fun, Foolproof Way to Speak to Any Audience about Any Topic)
NYPL’s Science, Industy and Business Library
188 Madison Avenue (at 34th St.), NYC
5:30-7:00PM
Open to all; no fee.

Thursday, Dec. 11: Digital Exposure: Keeping Your Data Safe from Prying Eyes
The 5th in the Taste of Technology Small Business Series
Samsung Experience, Time Warner Center | 10 Columbus Circle 3rd floor
6:30-8:30pm
$39 (but I have a few free tickets so email me (ilise@marketing-mentor.com) if you want one of them)

Any others you know of, here or there?

Must-do weekly marketing

I'm updating the Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar for 2009 and I need your help.

One reason for the plan is to make sure the most important marketing tasks are on "paper" and top of mind, so that when things get busy, you don't drop the ball with your marketing. Because you know what happens then...you forget what you're supposed to be doing and before you know it, Feast or Famine sets in.

So my question to you: what are the top 3 marketing activities that you do (or know you should do) every week?

When hot prospects turn cold

Do you ever have prospects who are very excited to work with you, so you get excited too, and then nothing ever comes of it?

Is there something you do differently with these prospects? Maybe get a little lazy because it seems like such a sure thing?

I'm working on an article about this "excitability in marketing," so if this has happened to you, I'd like to hear about it.
Please post your story and/or comments.

What are you doing to weather the storm? Feedback needed!

Although our economic climate is changing and we’re facing some uncertain times, many creative agencies are still thriving. I’m writing an article for an upcoming issue of HOW magazine and would love from you about what you are doing, or what you set in place, to weather the storm. Are you doing anything different with your marketing? Are you managing your finances in new and creative ways?

Email me your thoughts (peleg AT marketing-mentor DOT com) and you just may see yourself featured in the article!

New resource of business help launched for designers

If you’re looking for a good place to visit on a regular basis for business articles and ideas check out the newly launched CreativeBriefcase.com. You can find a range of business articles targeted for creative professionals, newbies and veterans too. The membership site includes hundreds of articles about accounting, business planning, client relations, employees, pricing and marketing (with a few articles by Marketing Mentor too!). The site also includes a business directory of essential resources for all areas that can support your creative business. Check it out and let them know Marketing Mentor sent you!

Here's your chance to shine eco-consciously!

Crescent Hill Books, publisher of many collaborative design books (we told you about one of their logo books a ways back), is currently accepting submissions for a new book on eco-conscious design, The Big Book of Green Design. Over 1,000 entries, printed on environmentally-friendly paper, and no charge to submit.

This link will take you to their submission site. You'll need to take a moment create an account in order to view the various books and to submit your own entries.

Don't dilly-dally, either. Deadline is December 1, and November is a short month!

November Networking in New York

I've said it more than once and I'll keep saying it until the economy turns around: face-to-face, in person, real time, networking is your number one marketing tool. Why?

The impact you make online doesn't hold a candle to the impact you make in person.

And as soon as the holidays hit, the networking turns to partying, which in my opinion, isn't nearly as productive.

So here are a few events coming up that we highly recommend you attend:

November 10 6:30 PM
How to Get Free Publicity for your Business
I have free tickets ($49 value) for the first 10 people who email me (ilise AT marketing-mentor DOT com)

November 13 7 AM - 7 PM
Women's Leadership Exchange: East Coast Summit

November 13 6 PM
Usability & Interaction Inside NYC Taxis: Design Lessons Learned
(part of World Usability Day)

November 18 6:30 PM
Spark Roundtable—Comparing Proposals

November 19  7:30 AM
Crains NY Business Small Business Awards Breakfast

November 19 in Brooklyn NY 6:30 PM
Freelancers Union first industry-specific event for the Film and Television Industry

Any others you know about? in New York or elsewhere?

Tips for financial success!

If you are a creative solopreneur or  the owner of a design firm and want to improve your financial growth, don't miss this special live event with Marketing Mentor co-founder Peleg Top.  “Running a profitable design business in challenging times” will be presented together with Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Williams, founder and CEO of FunctionFox.

This presentation will help move the financial state of your business to the next level. Whether you are running a solo business or a small creative firm, this seminar will give you some great tips and fresh ideas about creating more profit from your business.

You will learn:

• How to understand and implement key metrics and formulas
• How to determine your billable rates
• What your firm should be billing based on your staffing
• The difference between performance-based and value-based compensation
• How to talk to your clients about money
• How to get your client to reveal their budget
• What to say to build trust with your clients and charge the fees you want

Join us for this not to miss event! Admission is FREE with your RSVP | Space is limited to 50 people so act fast as this event will sell out.

Thursday, November 6, 2008
7:00 pm
BlankSpaces, 5405 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles  

To register please visit: http://www.functionfox.com/beprofitable/

Join cartoonist, Lloyd Dangle in San Francisco on Election Night Party

Our very own Lloyd Dangle (), syndicated political cartoonist, illustrator of the infamous "terrified" germs on Airborne packaging (featured earlier this year on The Colbert Report), as well as featured speaker at the Creative Freelancer Conference and longtime Marketing Mentor client, is hosting an Election Night Party (on November 4th) in San Francisco. Get all the details here.

How business-like is your business portrait?

As much as I like using photos of me with my dog, Charlie, they're not really appropriate for business.

We all know that with so much online networking -- LinkedIn, Facebook and more coming -- a good professional portrait is a must-have marketing tool these days.  Is yours showing you in the best light?

If not, check out photographer, Michael Robinson's Business Portrait Day in New York City on October 28.

Check out the details here.