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The Marketing Mix
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[Video] Radical idea to get people to respond -...
Radical times call for radical action -- and humor! I have a theory about why people don’t respond anymore… Most questions actually require a thoughtful response, not a simple yes or...
[Podcast] #347 Creative Services by Subscriptio...
When I ask creative professionals who their ideal clients are, a good 25% want to work with organizations who are doing good, which usually means they choose the non profit...
Are Your Competitors Getting in Your Way? (QTMM...
When I started my business 30 years ago, I had no competition. No one had noticed "creatives" as a market and there were very few business coaches.But that's all changed! Every...
Want great website photos? Do this…
So, you have (or are planning) a great, custom website… But you’re only using stock photos? I’d love to butt in and share my two-cents. Don’t skimp with your images...
4 Tiny Ways I'm Reinventing My Business --- Rig...
In response to one of my birthday posts last week, one reader asked me to expand on one of the 6 principles to which I attribute my longevity in business. She was...
Too good to be true: a list of non profit pain ...
When I tell my mentoring clients that their marketing should be focused on their ideal clients, what I really mean is that it should speak to their clients' "pain points."...
[Podcast] #346 Should you barter your creative ...
If you’ve ever bartered your services, you know it can be tricky. There’s an art to it, from deciding whether to do it, to making sure everything is fair and...
3 questions to narrow down your niche
Congratulatory wishes from people I haven't heard from in years have triggered memories from my early years in business, especially about my early clients and niches. You see, although my first clients...
6 Core Principles = 30 Years in Business
This week I am celebrating 2 milestones and I hope you will join me. - 2018 marks my 30th year in business.- Today, June 25, is my birthday. In honor...
[July 18th Webinar] Proposals & Negotiating for...
Proposals and Negotiating: The Latest for Creative Professionals Have you ever spent days putting together a proposal, never to hear back from the prospect? Do you often wonder what other...
If you're feeling scared...
I don't know what's going on, but a lot of people I spoke to last week are nervous. More than one lost their biggest client overnight.Others tell me they aren't...
[Podcast] #345 Getting Starting with Podcasting...
Should you start your own podcast? There are an awful lot of podcasts to listen to these days. And doesn't it seem like every day there's a new one (or...
Are you "driven" enough to be self employed?
Do you ever wonder if your inherent nature isn’t conducive to self-employment? I did for a long time because I suspected that, deep down, I'm just too lazy to be...
I refuse to feel bad about what I'm not doing
I can't stop thinking about this tweet I saw last week. It speaks to me about business (not romance), about being my own boss. You see, what I love about being...
Are You Getting The Clients You Want?
To kick off the 30th Anniversary of my business, Colleen Gratzer, a Marketing Mentor client, interviewed me about how I got here for her new podcast, Design Domination. I really love...
Are "happy" clients your goal? [QTMM 5/30/18]
Last week, a client said to me: It's just amazing how, when someone doesn't answer your email, it can make you feel like you're the biggest loser. I find that...
How to Price Your Freelance Services
If you dread pricing your creative services, it may be because you don't have the right resources, information and training to do it properly -- that is, in a way...
The Right Mindset to Price Your Freelance Creat...
Why does the “money conversation” cause such angst for so many creative professionals? I have a couple of theories and I wrote about them in the Foreword of the brand new 15th...
[Podcast] #344 How to start a digital product b...
If you’ve been dreaming about getting rid of your (annoying) clients and turning your creative service business into a product business, this week's episode of the Marketing Mentor Podcast is...
How (and Why) to Stop Putting Yourself Last
#MeFirst This is the hashtag for a movement I am thinking of starting. This movement is for the creatively self employed -- designers, copywriters, photographers, illustrators, videographers, and any other...
GDPR Resources for Creative Professionals
You've probably heard of the GDPR by now -- What is it? It's the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and it went into effect on Friday, May 25th, 2018....
How to get your ideal client's attention [QTMM ...
Do you want the attention of your ideal client? The best way to get it is to stop focusing your marketing efforts on your work and start focusing on their...
[Podcast] #343 How to Get Clients from Speaking...
As a mentor who teaches creative professionals how to creatively promote their services, I am often asked how I promote myself. Because of course I have to practice what I...
How to Get Clients From Speaking
Can you get clients from speaking engagements? Absolutely, if you do it right! So many of my clients have been trying public speaking as a content marketing tool and finding it...
Should You Write That Proposal? [QTMM 5/9/18]
5 Criteria to Decide Whether to Write That Proposal I know it's exciting when a prospective client says, "Will you send me a proposal?"They love your work and this new...
Greetings from my laundroffice
Very early into self-employment, I realized that I needed a separate space for work. I had been living in Ireland, working at the kitchen table, and just couldn’t seem to...
Content Marketing on Steroids
At HOW Marketing Live today, I am giving a brand new presentation about the "best" marketing strategy for creative professionals. It's called, "How To Reach Your Dream Clients With Content Marketing,"...
Ever wanted to give a TEDx talk?
There isn’t an expert, an author, or entrepreneur I know who wouldn’t love to give a TEDx talk. Or to do more speaking in general. The problem isn’t opportunity (events...
[Podcast] Do Designers & Marketers Speak the Sa...
How can designers & marketers work better together? That's the question behind the white paper, The Intersection of Design & Marketing, (download it here) that Paul Foulkes-Arellano and I (and...
[Podcast] #342 Corey Poirier on the Business of...
My most effective marketing tool is content marketing. And my most effective content marketing tool, hands down, is speaking. I have been speaking to groups of creatives since 1993, when...
Copywriters: Don't Confuse Your Hourly Rate wit...
Your Hourly Rate Isn’t Your Price Sometimes it may seem like hourly pricing is the only option because the client will ask you, “What’s your hourly rate?” And if they...
[Free download] The Intersection of Design + Ma...
Have you noticed that the lines between marketing and the creative services (design, copywriting and more) are very blurry? Your clients come to you for help, and whether you provide...
Data is the future -- does it scare you? [QTMM ...
How many times a day do you say, "I'm sorry" or "thank you?" To whom do you say it most often? And what triggers it? If you counted, you would certainly...
The best digital marketing tools for designers
There are so many marketing tools to choose from. That's why (and how) I manage to create a new marketing plan for creative professionals every year. Someone has to narrow...
How to Get Creative Work in the Gig Economy
I was recently interviewed by Hal Conick of the American Marketing Association for their Marketing News column. We talked about the entrepreneur mindset, how creatives can market their business and...
[Podcast] #341 A Highly Accountable & Trackable...
In the latest episode of the MarketingMentorPodcast.com, Chris Leone of Web Strategies Inc. shares the details of the "highly accountable and highly trackable" marketing system his digital agency uses to generate...
Is WordPress right for ecommerce?
Let’s say you already have a WordPress site… And you want to start selling something—whether it’s a product, service or subscription. Do you need to use a different platform for ecommerce? Heck...
Special Discount on HOW Design Live in Boston, ...
I can’t believe it. HOW Design Live is once again right around the corner, April 30-May 3 in Boston. And the Early Bird deadline is tomorrow, Thursday, March 15.http://howdesignlive.com/ There...
Pricing Hourly: When It Makes Sense
When it comes to pricing your creative services, the process is never as black and white as you might like it to be. After all, you don’t work in a...
Need a sample agreement for your creative servi...
Today's blog post is short and sweet and very rich, in more ways than one! If you don't have a simple client agreement, you know what happens. (Read this to...
How I handled scope creep (including what I said)
I took on a red flag project. I knew it, considered it, and decided to anyway. The red flags: The timeline was insane, the project sounded disorganized, and there were...
How I handle the unpredictable nature of self e...
The nature of self employment (maybe of life too) is up and down. Things come in waves. You’ll get 5 new projects at a time or 3 proposals all due...
[Podcast] #340 Carl Smith on Agency Business Mo...
In the latest episode of the MarketingMentorPodcast.com, I chatted with Carl Smith, former co-founder of nGen Works, about the various business models his agency tried, including the 4-person partnership that...
Life’s too short to write proposals
At the end of my client intake phone calls, I say: When we get off the phone I’m going to send you a detailed estimate of everything we discussed today....
Do People Follow Up Anymore? [QTMM 2/24/18]
I connect with some people, and not at all with others. You too, right? And I want to work with the people I connect with, don't you?But how do you cultivate...
[Podcast] #339 Michael Solomon on the real curr...
In my latest podcast interview for the HOW Design Live podcast, I interview Michael Solomon. Today’s topic is the most important currency being exchanged in today’s economy (it’s not money)...
STARTS TODAY: Free Online Event -- Creative Con...
I've been surprised lately to see how many creative professionals feel insecure and are asking for material about how to build confidence.So if that's you, you're not alone. That's why...
If your content marketing isn't working....[QTM...
I know why your content marketing isn't working... Finding the right prospects is the biggest marketing challenge you have, right? We all know that you just can't afford to be...
[Podcast] #338 Managing Your Money as a Creativ...
It’s almost tax time... So in this episode of the Marketing Mentor Podcast, time lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern of BuildaBetterPhotograph.com, and Marketing Mentor, Ilise Benun, talk big picture about...
[NEW] Excellent Examples of Email Marketing Con...
I love collecting excellent examples of marketing tools that my clients are using to grow their creative businesses. Today I want to share 3 recent marketing messages from a design...