Marketing Mentor Blog
The Marketing Mix
Read, watch and listen to the latest insights from Marketing Mentor & friends
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3 Simple Ways to Listen to the Market
How exactly do you listen to the market? It's a simple idea, but hard to absorb. In this video, Ilise Benun outlines 3 simple ways to listen for your niche,...
Networking vs. "Connecting" with Susan McPherson
If you hate networking, Episode #430 of the Marketing Mentor Podcast is for you. I talked with Susan McPherson, author of “The Lost Art of Connecting,” about the difference between...
When is it time to stop marketing yourself?
Wondering if you'll ever be able to stop marketing yourself? Or not sure if you're doing enough marketing? In Episode #429, Melanie the Marketer and I talked about what to...
Word of Mouth vs. Referrals: What's the differe...
Episode #427 of the Marketing Mentor Podcast is a conversation with Michael Roderick about the difference between word of mouth (a dangerous way to market your business) and referrals, and...
If you do nothing else, do this to market your ...
How to grow your creative business with one marketing tool by making it a daily habit -- it's that simple!
A simple way to stand out on LinkedIn!
If you want to stand out on LinkedIn, use the sound of your voice. Read on to learn how and, of course, see lots of excellent examples.
What it takes to make "email newsletter magic"
Podcast #407 is a conversation with Sarah Pike, a laser cutting artist whose email newsletter, Adventures in Laser Cutting, is working! In this episode, Sarah shares not only her process...
LinkedIn Hack: A Simple Way to Get People Comme...
How do you engage on LinkedIn without spending tons of time creating content? The truth is, all you need is an engaging question or idea -- and that takes thinking....
LinkedIn 101 for New Copywriters
"Melanie the Marketer" Deardorff answers 10 questions asked by beginning copywriters about how to use LinkedIn effectively (and shares a few videos too).
How to Use Your Birthday as a Marketing Tool
People love birthdays, theirs, of course, but also yours! So I'm encouraging everyone to use their birthday as a marketing tool. Anyone can do it so here are my top...
Should You Really Forget Funnels? A chat with L...
Podcast #400 is a meaty conversation with one of my favorite guests, Lisa Mullis of Paraphrase Communications. You see, I’ve been ranting lately about the "automation bandwagon" that so many...
How to Pitch Yourself as a Podcast Guest with F...
Podcast #399 is a conversation with Francis Nayan, a copywriter who pitched himself as a podcast guest to me. He shared how he chooses who to pitch to, how much...
Join the "Blogust" Blogging Challenge
It's not too late to join the "blogust" Blogging Challenge initiated by Melanie the Marketer. All you have to do is write 4 posts by August 31. That's it. We're...
Is It Time to Reframe Your Business?
Most of the time, I think of my business as a journey of personal development, through which I learn and grow up a little bit more every day, while having...
[Case Study] How Mikel Found the Focus and Fram...
By Mikel Martinez, Mikel Media Marketing Mentor Resources I discovered Ilise Benun on the Unemployable podcast’s How to Earn More on Every Project with Tiered Pricing episode. I immediately...
Cold emails worked on me!
Freelancers often reach out to introduce themselves and see if I can give them work. While I’ve gotten plenty of cold emails in the past, I never responded. The timing was never...
[Case Study] 5 Lessons from a Photographer Who ...
By Aaron Dougherty, Aaron Dougherty Photography. I’d like to think that my photography business has grown these past seven years because of my hard work and client-focused mindset. But when I...
Ghosted by a good prospect? [QTMM 10/31/19]
I know this has happened to you... A good prospect reaches out -- someone who knows you, maybe even a past client -- about what seems like a really good...
Writers: Stumped about your portfolio?
The free report I offer subscribers is Get Your Website Done: 12 Actionable Steps for Designers. Recently, I presented a Writers’ Edition of this topic to the Atlanta Writers Club. While most of...
[Video] Want to work with companies doing good?
Being your own boss means that you get to choose who you want (and don't want) to work with. But if you don't have your marketing machine in place, it...
How to put more "you" in your marketing. Watch ...
Out of sight, out of mind -- that's more and more the reality these days. So if you do nothing else, please use an email newsletter to stay top of...
[Podcast] #371 How (Exactly) to Use Generosity ...
Do you give strategy away? Many creative professionals do, probably because you don't see yourself as a "strategist." But that's not what I mean by generosity. If you’ve watched any of my recent...
Watch my CreativeLive course free Monday (7/18)...
Ilise Benun presenting “Command the Fees You Deserve” If you’ve been meaning to watch my CreativeLive course, “Command the Fees You Deserve,” set aside some time Monday & Tuesday when...
It’s not too late to say “Happy New...
Yesterday I got this Happy New Year postcard from Elements Design wishing me a year of growth and success. On Friday, I got this “new year” email message about 2017 trends from one...
Getting referrals? Don’t do this…
Lately I’ve been getting some great clients via referral. In the past few months, 5 new clients (qualified with budgets!) came my way via 5 different connections. Sounds awesome, right? While...
Is Word of Mouth the Best Marketing Tool?
It’s been a long time coming but I finally wrote a rant about word of mouth. So many people glorify it — maybe you too? You think it’s the best marketing tool...
Creative Introverts: Go to Summer Camp in August
Cat Neligan of the League of Creative Introverts and Get Your Art Out Summer Camp Here’s a guest post from Cat Neligan, a web designer in England who invited me...
B2B Copywriters: Learn from the Masters in August
If you are a copywriter working in — or considering — the B2B market, check out this new online training. I’m one of 8 teachers, along with Bob Bly, Ed Gandia,...
“Your Self Promotion is Not About YouR...
I know it sounds like a contradiction, but trust me when I say that effective marketing isn’t about you. It’s about them — your ideal clients. Here’s what I mean...
Why you should never listen to the inner critic
Last week, I held my annual “birthday sale” in the Marketing Mentor Shop–but I almost didn’t do it. As I was writing the email message announcing the sale, I heard...
The quickest “yes” ever…
I’ve spoken to clients before who seemed like they’d done their research, read my website thoroughly, and knew they were going to hire me before we even got on the...
Using LinkedIn Pulse as Your Blog — Conte...
I wrote last month about “finding your people” and to do that, you have to go where they go, to be where they are. Online that’s likely to be on LinkedIn, essentially...
Can I change old habits?
I’ve always been the kind of person who waits until I have no clean clothes to do laundry…who waits until I can’t see my table anymore to clean my house…who...
[Podcast] How to get projects that are perfect ...
Photo by Michael e. Stern Has this ever happened to you? You hear about a project and think to yourself, “That is perfect for me!” The only problem: the client...
5 Valuable Marketing Tips That Will Make You A ...
When I ask people what marketing tools they use, so many say, “word of mouth,” which makes my blood boil (ok, that may be a little dramatic!) because word of...
Who are “your people?” 3 Ways to Tell – QTMM
I think I’m getting more preachy as I “mature” (watch for my birthday sale in the Marketing Mentor Shop in June, BTW), but I hear myself saying this to almost all my...
Interview with the illustration “king” of self-...
Daniel Pelavin is entering his 5th decade as a typographic designer and illustrator. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Graphic Artists Guild’s Reboot, Retool, Refuel conference. He was pointed...
Guest Post: Land with a bigger thud
Today we are introducing our first series of guest posts from Jennifer Neal, of K9 Design in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jennifer and I have been working together through the Marketing...
Mixmasters Elsewhere: Colleen on getting your 1...
Unlike designer and Marketing Mentor friend Jeff Fisher, I am not a big self-promoter. Or, to be precise, I am not very comfortable tooting my own horn. (I blame it...
Call for outside passions
Sheree Clark of Sayles Graphic Design is doing a presentation at the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta in June. It’s called “Inspired by our Passions: The Pursuit of an Enriched...
Super-cheap self-promotion: get your own email ...
Yes, gmail and Yahoo! are free (and great). Yes, you get 100+ free addresses with your ISP account. Do yourself a favor and if you haven’t already, get yourself an...