The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Are you a techie who wants to speak up for success?

Marketing Mentor client and talented speaking coach, Jezra Kaye, is offering a Conversation Workshop called Small Talk for Techies on Thursday, May 6th from 6:30-8:30PM at In Good Company Workplaces in NYC. Here are the details:

Do you feel awkward meeting new people? Making eye contact? Starting conversations? Do you get tongue-tied talking to people who aren't in your field?

If so, Small Talk for Techies is for you!  This fast-paced, full-participation workshop will reveal:

* The Secret of Small Talk (Hint:  It isn’t small, and it’s not about talking!)
* The Ping Pong Paradigm
* How to Sound Like an Expert on Any Subject
* When to Hold ‘Em, When to Fold ‘Em; and much more

With plenty of time to practice and explore, Small Talk for Techies will help you build skills while having fun.  Don’t miss out on a unique experience that could lead to business opportunities! 

More info and register here.

Should I friend my mom?

My mom sent me a "friend" request on Facebook the other day.

I haven’t accepted it yet. I don’t know if I should. Of course I like my mom, and I enjoy the fact that she’s so computer savvy – but should I accept her as a "friend"?

I find that particularly with Facebook (of all the social networking sites), it’s hard to keep things business-oriented. Even if you have a “Fan Page” for your business, you still need to have a personal page, where if you friend your Mom -- she can post your baby pictures and write Mom-like things. The same goes for friends and other non-business acquaintances.

It’s not that I’m opposed to having some things of a personal nature on my Facebook site, but where do you draw the line? What do you think?

(Mom, if you're reading this, feel free to comment.)

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.

I'm going to CFC, are you?

Welcome to Week 29 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.

I just booked my plane ticket – Denver here I come!

This will be my first Creative Freelancer Conference, and my first time in Denver. Can I let you in on a little secret? I am desperately excited for CFC.  For me, the only downside to self-employment is solitariness. And the idea of being around people (who get it) just makes me so happy. I’ve seen and heard how empowering the experience is, and I’m ready to be part of it.

Stuff I’m looking forward to

• Networking walks! Though I’m not exactly an early-riser, I’m willing to drag myself out of bed for some fresh air, networking, and exploration of Downtown Denver. Fellow sleepy heads: drag yourselves out of bed too. (Don’t make me be the only person with sleep lines on my face and a thermos full of coffee.)
• I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that “I am a business,” so I’m looking forward to Ilise’s opening keynote, You Are a Business, where she’s going to talk about the shift in perspective that’s needed to go from “person” to “business.”
• Even though I have my “elevator speech,” I want to work on it, refine it, and be more comfortable when people ask me what I do. That’s why I’ll be in the front row at Dyana Valentine’s presentation, Pitch Perfect.
• Now that I’m getting a better understanding of my financial situation (thanks to my Marketing Plan Group), I’m looking forward to Galia Gichon’s, It’s Your Money So Take it Personally.
• I’ll admit it. Sometimes I price projects by pulling a number out of my hat. Accordingly, I need to attend The Art and Science of Pricing a Project by Shel Perkins.
• Happy hour. (It’s a scheduled event, look!)
• Meeting you! So if you haven’t signed up yet, please do so. You can still get the early bird discount if you sign up today, April 15th.

Check out all of the sessions here.

What are you looking forward to at this year’s CFC?

Why are they so inspired?

Inspiration comes in many forms – but we feel like some of the best are through learning and networking. That’s why we started the Creative Freelancer Conference.

This week, on Blog Talk Radio, Colleen Rice Nelson interviewed me and two Creative Freelancer Conference veterans. Listen to Alisa Bonsignore and  Dyana Valentine talk about what they learned at past conferences. Alisa shared how CFC helped her to see her business as a business and take it more seriously – and we all tried to describe the amazing networking, support, and camaraderie that sizzle during the conference. Oh yes, and I outlined all the topics that will be covered at this year’s conference. Listen here: www.blogtalkradio.com/freelancer-forum/2010/04/11/creative-freelancer-conference-2010-news-updates

Feel inspired too? Sign up today. The early bird discount expires Thursday, April 15th!

Ready to Reinvent, Re-imagine & Reinvigorate your career?

Join me in Boston this weekend (April 15-18) for the ASPP (American Society of Picture Professionals) Reinvention Weekend. The event is sponsored by Adbase (among others) and is intended to help picture professionals renew their approach to the image business.

Our conferences bring together the key people engaged with keeping the essential elements of our image community humming: stock agents, researchers, editors, publishers, art buyers, photographers and consultants. Expect spirited dialogues with your photo contemporaries from around the world!

I’m on the panel for the session: Click, Tweet and Repeat: Social Media, SEO and Brand Management on April 16th.

Can’t attend the whole weekend, but want to come to a session or two? No problem. They are offering entrance to single sessions on Friday and Saturday. More info here.

What's wrong with this email introduction?

I get variations on this message every day:

Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I am a graphic designer with a background in marketing.

I would like to offer you my services. I offer this, and I offer that.

You can see samples of my work here (website link). I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely, Tom Smith
 
Do you ever get messages like this? Do you write them yourself? What is it about the message that doesn't work? (Let us know what you think in the comments.)

More important, do you want to learn a more effective approach that will motivate your best prospects respond?  

You can, if you join my next Marketing Plan Group. It starts Tuesday, April 6th and there are only two spots left! Details here or fill out this form.

Start creating business friendships

My mother once told me, “You've got to be a friend, to make a friend.”

I believe this bit of information is the key to unlocking the floodgates to our creative businesses. It’s all about putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. If you had a problem, how would you want the person you came to for help to treat you?

The above principle also rings true in meetings, not only with clients, but with other creatives. If you’re going to HOW or CFC for the first time, and you strike up a conversation with someone else who is new to the conference, you both have common ground from which to start a new friendship.

You've got to be a friend, to make a friend. This little insight will work wonders in helping you hurdle you fears about being in a new place and meeting new people. You could talk about how many people are around, how shy you may be, who you’re excited about hearing speak and so on.

I read an awesome tweet the other day that said, “You don’t have enough business because you don't have enough relationships.” So, if you shift the perspective of your encounters with people, you will move forward in your career successfully. Start creating ‘business friendships’ instead of adding more ‘contacts’ and meeting with ‘prospects.’

Intentionally changing the language that you use to describe the folks you work with will change the way you perceive them. You’ve got to change who they are in your head before they become someone different (and better) in your life.

Are you targeting prospects? Or are you developing business friendships?

Special thanks to Clint Walkingstick from Eye Say Design.

So nice to finally meet in-person

Here I am with members of Marketing Plan Group #2 who gathered from across the country and met in-person over dinner at Carmine's in NYC recently.

 
  
Last year, the group’s members, Mallory Gazecki of Slick + Slicker Designs, Stephanie Helline of Strategic Design Studio and Joan Reilly of Life of Reilly Organizers developed a real bond during the group process, working so hard and learning so much together. It was wonderful to finally put faces to the voices.

(One member of the group had dropped out to go to nursing school. Maybe blood and guts was less scary than research calling?)

When you share your goals, your successes, and your weaknesses – and when you learn and grow together – you really do form a tight knit group, even if it's virtual. One of my current groups is planning to meet at this year’s CFC (June 5-6, 2010 in Denver CO).

If you want to find out what this group thing is all about, consider joining one of the next Marketing Plan Groups. There are 2 spots open in the one that starts the week of April 5th.

Designing and painting for a cause in Cambridge – March 25th

Two Marketing Mentor friends, Sharon Alama and Jonathan Cleveland are giving their time and services to support Cooking for a Cause, an event that will benefit the East End House Community Center in Cambridge, MA.

Sharon is donating a customized pet portrait to the silent auction. Check out the one she did of Charlie (and other pets) here.

Take a look at the silent auction page (under Sports and Art) and call the number if you want to place a bid.

Jonathan has contributed the graphic design for the event. He also recently co-authored the book (with Peleg Top), Designing For The Greater Good.

About Cooking for a Cause: The evening will consist of food, spectacular wine and beer, creative cocktails, and delicious desserts from some of the most celebrated chefs, wineries, bartenders, and specialty shops in the area. Held at the Seaport Hotel, all the proceeds will benefit the programs and services East End House offers the community.

More information or purchase tickets here: http://eastendhouse.org/cooking-for-a-cause.html