The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

One design firm’s whirlwind year

In our recent interview, Jennifer Neal from K9 Design describes which marketing tools her firm used in 2010 to increase their business by a whopping 30% and move out of the home office into their own building! She talks about how she:

• Overcame the fear of focusing on one industry (publication design)
• Gained national exposure as experts in that industry
• Strengthened their position in the Canadian magazine market
• Finally got the clients they’ve been trying to get for years
 
Hear it all in this 14 minute interview on the Marketing Mentor Podcast.
 
BTW: If you want to learn the tools that can grow your business in 2011, I have one spot left in my Advanced Marketing Group that starts Jan 28th. Here’s a blog post Jennifer did about what it’s like working with Marketing Mentor: http://www.k9designco.com/blog/2010/11/thank-you-to-a-wonderful-mentor/

Does low confidence = lower earnings?

One of the biggest issues I hear from my clients—is that they lack the confidence they need to grow their business.

In my latest blog post for the In-HOWse designer blog, I talk about my interview with Financial Recovery Coach, Mikelann Valterra, where we discussed how and why creative professionals have so much trouble pricing their work, especially women.

See what Mikelann had to say, and listen to the audio clip here:
http://invangelist.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/in-house-interpersonal-value-your-value/

How can you be like Santa?

Who is the most popular, well-known person in December? Santa, of course. In her blog post, “How to be a Better Marketer than Santa Claus,” Bethany Siegler from UniqueThink talks about what we can learn from such an effective marketer. Here is an excerpt:

You gotta admit, Santa rocks the marketing!

Whether you celebrate the Christmas holiday or not, you have to agree, Santa is the ultimate marketer.

For one month out of the year (December), he does a bunch of high profile joint partnerships (tie-ins with everyone from Macy’s to Salvation Army – not to mention Rudolph), everyone is talking about him the whole time (effective word of mouth marketing), and, in one night, he gets more done than most of us do all year!

Santa Marketing Facts:

1. Branding: Everyone knows who he is and what his story is about, where to find him and how he works! Not to mention, the all important, everyone wants what he has to offer.
2. Networking: This guy is all over the place: Shopping malls, holiday parties, he does cameos on most of our favorite TV programs, special appearances at the White House, Rockefeller Center and just about every big gig this season…
3. Exposure: No one gets more air time then this guy: TV specials, newscasts, radio spots, commercials, billboards, print and, everywhere online!

How does Santa do it? And more importantly, how can you duplicate it?

Read the rest here...

Bethany Siegler, of UniqueThink Online Marketing & Web Design, helps to build your complete online presence.  She can make your current website stronger, move you to a WordPress based site & blog, show you when to do an email newsletter, establish your presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, integrate your online & offline marketing efforts, and more…Visit her at UniqueThink.com.

 

One design firm’s “best year yet”

Cleveland Design has been in business for nearly 20 years – and this year has been one of its best years ever.

In my recent interview with Jonathan Cleveland, Principal of Cleveland Design, he tells which marketing tools are working, and shares insight on:

• Real customer service
• Making sure there’s a “seat at the table”
• How to make sure his clients know “everything” they do
• Why the printed-calendar (below) is getting him business

Listen to the interview here.

If you’ve had a great year too, please tell us why. What’s working for you?

More copywriting clients in 30 days

Right now, copywriter extraordinaire (and my client) Bob Bly is doing a “Getting Clients” teleconference series, geared towards copywriters, for AWAI. It is made up of a 30-day roadmap to follow, and 6 sesssions with 6 different experts, including:

1. Selling Yourself in the Great Recession
2. Selling Yourself with Direct Mail
3. Selling Yourself through Speaking and Writing
4. Selling Yourself through a Website
5. Selling Yourself through Social Media and Blogging
6. Selling Yourself through Networking

I’m the expert for the “Selling Yourself through Networking” session, and with Bob, I will be talking about making contacts, meeting potential clients, and building relationships through good old-fashioned networking.

More info on the series here:
http://www.awaionline.com/benun-bly-networking-webinar/

 

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.

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!).

Our first time was all smiles and candy bracelets

We are just back from Denver where, after a very successful CFC, we moved over to the HOW Design Conference where we had a Marketing Mentor booth in the Resource Center (see photo below). It was our first time at a trade show, and we had so much fun meeting new people, hearing what they do – and sharing what we do.

We were like kids in a candy store. Speaking of candy… people seemed to love the candy bracelets we were handing out, and we found ourselves to be quite popular because of them. We were thrilled when one person said, “I was in a bad mood, and this candy bracelet just made me so happy!”

From talking to so many people at the trade show, something became very clear:

The more you talk about what you do – the more natural you become.

Deidre and I got plenty of practice talking about Marketing Mentor – and as the time passed, we got more and more casual and adaptable. Conversation just flowed, and we found ways to connect with people depending on each unique situation. By immersing ourselves in this trade show situation, we got better.

Here we are in the booth:

 

Want to practice your 10-word blurb?

Join me and Dyana Valentine in NYC this Wednesday, June 16th, at 6:30PM. Details here: http://workingtoday.org/events/2010/winter/speed-networking.html

Need real-world advice for marketing design services?

If you're in the Northeast, this is a "can't miss." Cameron Foote, from Creative Business, is presenting his popular one-day design seminar in Boston on June 11th.

Marketing Design Services has a practical, real-world approach that's ideal for anyone who is unsure about his or her marketing ability, has had difficulty prospecting for new clients, needs to know more about hiring and motivating sales personnel, wants to explore the use of new social media in creative firm marketing, or has been less than successful in converting presentations into projects.

What you will learn:

• Strategies and tactics: The benefits of marketing that go beyond the obvious... defining your firm's positioning... developing the right marketing mix for your firm... acceptable time and expense ratios and return on investment... short- vs long-term strategies... defining strategies and tactics to meet your sales objectives.
• Prospecting and contacting: Setting realistic expectations and goals... which promotions work best in which situations... building contact lists... the expanding role of social and new media... hiring and compensating new business development (sales) personnel... qualifying prospects... getting appointments... focusing on relationship building.
• Presenting and closing: Developing effective presentations... countering pricing and other objections... closing the sale... principals' involvement in client relations... measuring success... the importance of follow-up.

More details and sign up here.

How to develop expertise in your niche

Our friend, Neil Tortorella, has done a series of blog posts on developing your niche. In the third post of the series, Developing Expertise in your Niche Market, Neil tells my story of how I came to focus on my niche, creative solopreneurs. He also shares plenty of insightful pointers:

Here’s a little secret – not everybody knows the stuff you do. That will become a cornerstone in establishing your niche authority. The thing is, you do whatever it is you do every day. Whether it’s graphic design, writing, accounting, law, financial planning, etc., there are those knowledge bits and bytes that you assume everybody knows. You know it because it’s a regular part of your business life, so you figure, “That’s awfully basic. Everybody knows that.”  In reality, they don’t. Others don’t think about it until they happen to need a certain little tidbit.

Read the rest here: http://neiltortorella.com/developing-expertise-in-an-industry-or-project-type/

Other posts in the series include, Nicely Niched – Introduction, and Identifying your Niche.