The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Marketing, Money, Client Relations and Work/Life Balance

Have you noticed how much "content" there is to read and watch and digest every single day? I don't know how we're supposed to do it. I am too busy creating content to be ingesting someone else's.But that seems to be the way things are right now. So I'll keep creating and curating....which brings me to today's post.

If you haven't seen the Creative Freelancer Blog lately, come on over and check out a full month's worth of multiple bloggers, both freelancers and experts on the four main business topics: marketing (of course), money, client relations and everyone seems to love Dyana Valentine's charming videos in the work/life balance category.

We're looking for freelancers who want to blog so check out the guidelines here.

 

 

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?

Talking directly to your market

I talk a lot about how to speak directly to your market using the terms and language they understand.

Here is a perfect example of this from Pam Saxon of Saxon Design. She has posted, Want Raving Fans? Break the Fourth Wall, on her Facebook page. Although the post makes sense for any business owner who wants “raving fans,” it is particularly relatable to the people in one of her markets, show biz. 

Here is an excerpt:

Snarky is 'out' and authenticity is 'in'
There exists a huge gap between what is real and what is perceived in the marketplace, and consumers know this, which is why it is harder than ever to gain trust. Closing that gap (breaking the fourth wall) helps to create trust. For instance, when a business positions itself as carrying a certain value or experience, and that doesn't resonate with the story they are telling (their personal updates on Facebook, for instance), it gives their prospects a reason to look somewhere else; consumers will quickly shift their attention to a brand that consistently 'rings true'.

So how do we do that? The answer is simple, but simple is not always easy -- be ourselves. And since there are many aspects to 'who we are', make sure to choose that part of you that is consistent with the part of you that is your brand. Remember who you are talking to, and under what conditions. For instance, your LinkedIn updates wouldn't necessarily be the same as your Tweets. Different situations, different platforms, and the inferred rules of the game-spaces are distinctly different.

Read the rest here: http://www.facebook.com/notes/saxon-design-creating-trust-in-marketing/want-raving-fans-break-the-fourth-wall/133651199997950

How can you use the specialized language that your audience understands?

Where do you find ideas for blog posts?

Sometimes, ideas for blog posts and newsletters appear like magic. But other times, they don’t. When you’re stumped, and you need inspiration, where do you look?

I just listen to my clients. Whenever I get a question (especially from more than one person), I take time to answer it, then turn it into a blog post.

We found a few posts on this very topic. Here, Chris Brogan shares 20 blog topics to get you unstuck, and Steve Aitchison shares 100 ways to find ideas for your blog posts.

Writing a newsletter or a blog (as a way of keeping in touch with your target market), is an important tool we teach in the Marketing Plan Group. If you’ve been meaning to get one started – but haven’t, and need a boost, the next group starts the week of July 19th. Details here or fill out this form.

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.

Are you into video?

Colleen Wainwright (a.k.a. communicatrix) is trying video, and she really wants to know if and why people are into (or not into) it.

Always full of personality, in this video, Colleen shares how she gets a handle on her day, why she likes “gold stars,” and which pens are the best for writing (but the worst for planes).

Read the comments on her post. They are a virtual how-to for web video, from what accounts for a video someone will actually sit through, to how long it should be, to how to do the lighting. Brilliant!

Want to see our best?

We’ve been blogging for years, and over this time we’ve come out with some pretty helpful posts, nifty ideas, and inspiring topics that really “hit home” with our readers. That’s why we put together this new product, Best of the Blog – Part 1: The Basics. Right now, it’s the “Ridiculous Deal” at the Marketing Mentor Toolbox for only $4.99.

Part 1, the Basics, covers many topics, including:

    * Word-of-mouth ain’t all that!
    * Do what you love…
    * Your work life could be so much easier
    * Does confidence matter?
    * Getting to the real decision maker
    * When is it too late to follow up?
    * Ten-word blurb vs tagline
    * Do your clients fall off their chairs?
    * What to do when you get into overwhelm
    * And more!

More info or purchase here.

Are you serious about having a website that is search engine friendly?

I’m back from the ASPP Reinvention Weekend in Boston where I met some amazing businesspeople including Allen Murabayashi, co-founder of PhotoShelter, a company that helps photographers get pro websites online in 5 minutes, sell directly online, and market themselves with social networks & SEO.

I love that their tagline is websites and tools for serious photographers because I also work with serious creative professionals. (I provide tools for creatives who are serious about growing their businesses.)

Allen was on a panel with me for the session, Click, Tweet and Repeat: SEO, Social Media, and Brand Management, and I was blown away by his SEO knowledge and insight on how to make your website search engine friendly.

He’ll be blogging about this topic here on the Marketing Mix soon, but in the meantime, check out PhotoShelter’s blog and their free reports.

What John Mayer Can Teach You About Effective Messaging

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, singer-songwriter John Mayer admits to a fondness for tweeting his followers about – I’m not kidding – poop.

Much as I like his music, this does not make me want to follow him on Twitter. But maybe I should, because in a strange way, he’s on to something. Later in the interview, he says: “When I send a poop joke on Twitter, every single time, people write back: ‘LOL, that’s why I love you. You’re not like every other (insert profanity here) celebrity. It shows an artist dethatching from the matrix of trying to micromanage perfection…so it’s really not about poop at all.”

So there you have it: John Mayer has a message behind the message – one that sets him apart from other entertainers, and one that obviously works for him, as he has a huge Twitter following. 

I’ve just recently “bitten the bullet” and joined Twitter, and it’s fair to say that I’m still figuring it out. If you follow me (and, shameless plug here, I hope you do, at http://twitter.com/alankravitz), don’t expect to find dictates about what I’m having for lunch, let alone when I’m going to the bathroom. It’s just not me to write things like that. 

But even I can learn something from John Mayer’s Twitter habits. I’m a good writer, but there are lots of good writers out there. I need to think about what sets me apart from other writers, just as Mayer obviously thinks about what sets him apart from other entertainers. My clients tell me I’m easy to work with. And my writing usually does produce high favorable results for them. So, even if I never tell you when I’m going to the bathroom (and trust me, I won’t), I do need to make sure that my messaging communicates these attributes, and more.

Special thanks to Alan Kravitz, copy writer/editor/consultant who founded The Infinite Inkwell. 

What about you? What are your “messages behind the message” – aside from your obvious talent? 

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.