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The Marketing Mix
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Top 5 Books You Need To Read To Grow Your Busin...
Here's a new guest post by a young marketer, Brenden Delarua Lately I have been on a bit of a "bender" reading quite a lot of books. Mainly books about...
Simplest Marketing Plan: February Extras (2019.2)
February's Market of the Month: Startups I like to say, "Focus on the market that you have access to" and during this month's Office Hours, I will show you how easy...
[Video] How to Show Your Process in Your Portfolio
If you want clients to pay big bucks for your work, they need to understand what goes into it -- in other words, your process, which is one of the...
[Podcast] #361 Nick Usborne on Conversational C...
You know those aggressive sales letters and pushy marketing email messages that try to get you buy something NOW? I’ll bet you’ve clicked that “buy” button, your heart beating fast,...
Is WordPress just for bloggers?
It’s just for bloggers. It’s not for selling stuff. It’s less secure. These are common misconceptions I hear about WordPress, and in my latest post, I clear them up. Here’s...
[Video] Here's How the Simplest Marketing Plann...
If you need a plan for the new year and are considering my Simplest Marketing Planner ("Don't be fooled by the low price" wrote one reviewer), or even if you...
2018 by the numbers
A new post from Deidre Rienzo.... First, the crummy news... My revenue this year was its lowest since 2014. I’m down $7180 from last year, which was down $2779 from...
Is Social Media All That? [QTMM 1-15-19]
Why do so many people think they should be posting constantly on social media? As if it’s the most effective marketing tool out there! If you have my new Simplest Marketing...
Selecting a CMS for your new website
One of the things I love most about websites today? The ability to manage your website content is at your fingertips. The availability of Content Management Systems (CMS) means you...
David Whyte on "Work" = "where the self meets t...
(Listen to this essay read aloud on the MarketingMentorPodcast.com) Work, among all its abstracts, is actually intimacy, the place where the self meets the world. Work is intimacy and discovery...
The Only "Number" You Need to Know [Quick Tip f...
I’m not a big fan of “goal setting” – the practice or the phrase – especially when it comes to financial goals.It’s psychologically fraught and too easy to set unrealistic...
[Podcast] #359 Content Marketing That Works wit...
To kick off the Marketing Mentor Podcast for 2019, I have a special guest on an important topic: Ben Callahan, President of Sparkbox, a web design and development firm on...
Need a Marketing Plan for 2019?
Start the new year off right -- with a plan! All our marketing plans are designed for independent creative professionals and they're available today only at 2018 prices. If you...
Simplest Marketing Plan: January Extras (2019.1)
January's Market of the Month: Museums I like to say, focus on the market that you have access to. So if you're not sure which target market to focus on,...
What I'm listening to as we enter into a new year
It's been so nourishing to have some quiet time as we wind down the year and enter into a new one. I especially love listening to other people's voices as...
Excellent Examples of Holiday Marketing
So proud of the members of my Content Marketing Accountability Groups -- here's some of the holiday marketing they did this year! Gratitude and Client RelationshipsJillfrances Gray of JFG wrote a very...
[Podcast] #358 How to Handle Tricky Situations ...
I’m closing out my 10th year of the Marketing Mentor podcast with the 15th episode in my series of meaty chats with Michael e. Stern, a time lapse filmmaker (and so...
Plan Your 2019 in a One-Day Customized Retreat
If, like me, you don't want to do the same ol' same ol' for the holidays and would instead like to take the time for you (#MeFirst) to focus on...
[Best of the Podcast] Michael e. Stern on Thriv...
In August of 2015, I got a call out of the blue from a photographer inviting himself to be on The Marketing Mentor Podcast. He told me he had experience to share. Well,...
Helping Good Clients Become Great Ones
If you stay in it long enough, people from your past start to resurface, which I am loving! One of those people, with whom I recently reconnected after almost 20 years,...
2018—not what I’d hoped
2018 has been an interesting year. I’ve struggled with motivation, focus and timing all year. Despite a pretty healthy lifestyle, exercise and plenty of sleep (and definitely-excessive vitamin intake), I’ve...
[Video] The Entrepreneur's Inner Game
For some weekend learning, watch this brand new interview I did with Nina Cooke. She's a UK-based business coach whose focus is the mindset of success. Find more of Nina's...
What can I do to prepare for our call?
They’ve signed the contract and given you money.(Don’t have a contract? Read this immediately.) Contract—check. Money—check! Work is ready to begin. As creatives, this can be very exciting us for...
[Podcast] #357 Mark McGuiness on Being a 21st C...
It’s not easy being a creative professional in the 21st century. Things keep changing, and fast. Whether you are a fine artist, a performer or entertainer, a commercial creative, or...
4 Year-End Marketing Ideas Centered Around Grat...
It's almost December but I hope you're not finished with your marketing for the year. I highly recommend at least one more effort centered around gratitude. Here are a few...
[New] The Simplest Marketing Plan for 2019
Have you noticed that everyone who wants you to buy something does it by overwhelming you with a really long list of "what you'll get?" It's too much! It's more...
[Podcast] The Niche Debate with Jeffrey Shaw
I love talking about niches! I am forever trying to explain how I think about what a niche is and how you go about choosing one (and how it sometimes...
Why I love the Revolve Conference
Had a great time at the 2018 Revolve Conference in Charleston last week -- my thanks to Karl Hudson Phillips and his team for putting their heart and soul into...
[Podcast] #356 Jane Friedman on How to Get Your...
Should you write a book? It always surprises me how many people want to write a book and how impressed they are that I have written 7 of them. I...
Is your website ready for 2019?
When websites first came along, they were more like online brochures—simply giving you an online presence that people could look at. But now, websites are so much more. They can...
Should I Take That Project? Checklist
Here's one of Deidre's oldie-but-goodie blog posts that a reader wanted to share -- so I'm bringing it back to the top. Like I have said many times, having a niche gives me...
[Podcast] Ryan Gill of Communo.com on Building ...
In the latest episode of the MarketingMentorPodcast.com, I talk with Ryan Gill, who is (among several other things, as you'll hear) co-founder of Communo.com, a new sharing economy platform for...
The Mother of All Pain Points for Your Clients ...
Do you know what your clients' biggest pain point is? I think I might know -- and I don't even know your clients! One huge problem has been coming up...
These 3 core skills lead to your ideal clients
Two more industrious AWAI Bootcamp attendees, Stella Bouldin and Brenda Dunse, took me up on the challenge of creating some content out of my presentation, “How to Find and Reach Your Dream Client” Instead of a...
[Podcast] #354 Revolve Speaker, Ali Schwanke, o...
Marketing has gotten really complicated, what with the rise of data and the abundance of data. It’s almost impossible to know which metrics matter, how many followers or "likes" are...
2 AWAI Bootcamp copywriters already taking action
Yesterday, I gave my new presentation, How to Find (and Reach) Your Dream Clients, at the AWAI Bootcamp. Afterwards, I challenged the virtual attendees to put what I was preaching...
Want to blog, but dread writing?
In Ilise’s recent content marketing workshop, a lot of people cited “lack of time” as the main roadblock to writing. Well, if this is you…I can certainly relate. Time is definitely...
Email newsletter vs. blog: what's the difference?
What's the difference between an email newsletter and a blog? First of all, the differences between them have nothing to do with the actual content. It's not like there is...
My denial is over
At the beginning of the summer, I switched to the new FreshBooks…which I’m adjusting to and like overall EXCEPT that they did away with my favorite report, Revenue by Client....
We need more women in leadership everywhere!
If you agree that we need more women in leadership at all levels and in all arenas, share this ebook with your clients (and read it yourself too). Let's commit to...
What exactly is "content marketing" for creativ...
Last week, one of my clients, a designer, was explaining to me why he doesn't want to do content marketing, which he defined as "long articles and blog posts with the...
[Podcast] #353 Kevin Rogers of Copy Chief on Fi...
What's the difference between "bat signal talent" and "bat signal content?" That's the question for this week’s podcast episode with Kevin Rogers, founder of Copy Chief, (the community and the...
How do you pick a business name?
I know so many creatives who have agonized over their business name. Is all the agony worth it? I don’t think so. Here’s the thing about a business name: You...
Do you have "fickle focus" too? [QTMM 9/26/18]
"I've noticed that when I run into something interesting or new, my instinct is to say, 'Maybe it's the niche I'm looking for.'" One of my clients recently wrote this...
How often should you blog?
How often should you blog? How often should you send out a newsletter? How many events should you attend? And how the heck do you carve out time for your...
The 3 Ps of Pitching for Freelance Writers
Can't wait to go to Cincinnati next weekend for IndieLAB, the new event from Writer's Digest., where I'll be giving an interactive workshop called, Know Your Worth! The editors of...
[Podcast] #352 Greg Corey on growing from freel...
So many people struggle with how to choose a niche. If you’re one of them, know that you’re not alone. That’s why I talk and write about it so much!...
Should You Market Into a Disaster?
Last week, I heard from many in my network wondering if I was in the path of Hurricane Florence. Savannah went in and out of the cone! We got lucky this...
Introducing: Content Marketing Accountability C...
I'm thrilled to introduce a new way of working: Content Marketing Accountability Coaching Groups What is it? Small online coaching groups focused on getting your content marketing done consistently in...
[Podcast] #351 What's Your Value to Your Dream ...
Do You Know What Your Value Is to Your Dream Clients? Lately, I’ve been focused on 2 related topics in my speaking and writing: how to create what I call...