Category Archive: marketing tips
So I got to thinking today that being a single mom has really helped me get serious about my business. Nothing teaches you quite how to juggle than being a single mama. So I’m feeling a little silly today and thought I’d share with you my 5 ways to market like a single mom. Hope it brings a smile to your face.
1. Be Frugal where it counts. What will it cost? In marketing and branding sometimes it’s OK to be cheap. I’ve seen it many times–someone is launching a new product and they NEED to get the word out YESTERDAY! So they spend 1/2 their marketing budget on a “no fail” seo package or a really slick postcard campaign. The only problem is…they didn’t do their research to see if their ideal market would even be interested. Doh! They jumped before thinking! Weigh all of your options before spending the majority of your marketing dollars in one place. The best/cheapest marketing is word of mouth and branding your business can really help with that! Plus give yourself a budget–and stick to it. If it’s too expensive right now it wasn’t meant to be.
2. Organize or be eaten alive. Between work, laundry, sports, school and grocery shopping, every mom knows that you better get your schedule in order or your life will eat you up and spit you out into a pile of unbrushed hair, toothpaste and pantyhose. So take a little advice from me:
So buy or make a calendar that is solely for the purpose of your branding & marketing strategy, write in any major events to come in the next 6 months, then write in any vacations, or personal events that may spring up and distract you. PLAN out 6 months of marketing and branding tasks (but be realistic in your expectations). Next set a deadline every week to do something meaningful for your brand and start ticking things off your list. It’s passe’ to spank yourself nowadays so if you do not meet these deadlines so just take away your favorite treat for a week. But don’t forget to reward yourself should you complete your tasks on time.
Next, Use Microsoft’s Sticky Notes and Notepad. If you have Windows 7 take advantage of the Sticky Notes and Notepad applications. Use Sticky Notes for ideas that pop-up mid-stream during your day. Then during the last 10 minutes of your day copy and paste that text into a Notepad document and save it in your “branding or marketing” folder on your computer. This can also be done easily with OneNote or Evernote.
3. Put on a little makeup, honey. Every single mom knows that just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you need to look like one. (Heck, you wanna be single forever?) So, while looks aren’t everything don’t forget to put your best foot forward. Spend a little on graphics–freshen up your website, dob a bit of “concealer” on the dark circles of your under-slept emails and slap some “lip-gloss” on your blog. Show the world you care enough about your business that you want to make her look her best.
4. Take a moment to breathe every day. Set aside a specific time every day to focus only on branding & marketing, even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes. That way if ideas pop up during your day, you can simply jot them down and relegate them to that time of day when you have time to really process it. You will start looking forward to this special time of day like you would a relaxing candle-lit bath, well almost.
5. Build a support system. I will tell you first hand, as a single mom you do enough on your own if you’re going to survive you’ll need some help. The same is true in running a business. Things are a LOT easier with a support system, so get out there and make some friends. Find people who are like-minded and have a passion for success. They will be a shoulder to cry on and your biggest supporters when times are rough. They’ll even vouch for you and tell the world how wonderful you are, because, after all they know you really are THAT awesome. 
So start using Facebook, Twitter and other great networking opportunities to offer a hand to others and get some support when you need it too.
Ok that was fun. Let me know what you think–any other tips out there?
Great to meet Scott Stratten (upper left), photo (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.snapfoc.us
It took me a little time to fully process everything I learned at BlogWorld 2010. While many other attendees produced glowing blog posts within hours or days of the Oct 15-16th conference, my head was still a little “spinny”. I can’t wait to implement and share what I’ve learned, but that will fill waaay more than this blog post. So I will attempt to share at least SOME of the awesomeness with you right now!
Start by Being Awesome
The opening keynote practically felt like a dialogue with Scott Stratten, President of UnMarketing (@unmarketing) and set the tone for the entire event. Scott spoke about the traits that have contributed to his success namely: connecting with your audience by giving a damn and providing awesomeness. Scott quipped “When you are your authentic self you have no competition.” I love it! This is a message we all need to take to heart. It’s time to discover and use our strengths, the traits that make us great, if we want to succeed. As for his definition of providing awesomeness, Scott talked about creating content that your followers and clients will find, what else, AWESOME! My favorite quote of Scott’s keynote though, which made me burst into laughter, was “When somebody gets a notification that your new blog post is up, I want them to crap their pants and say, ‘I’ve gotta read this now.’” It certainly drove home the point for me—so I’ll be working on more awesomeness to come.
My Top 7 Take Homes
So here’s your abridged Cliff’s Notes on Blog World 2010:
- Be yourself (your most awesome version) and you’ll blow the competition away
- For love of Pete, Use Common Sense when it comes to blogging, social media (or any branding/marketing for that matter). And if you don’t have any common sense, hire someone who does.
- Get ready for big changes in the way people consume information (hint, hint: mobile)
- Don’t be afraid to take the risk and put yourself out there! As Mark Burnett said in his keynote: “People who need all the conditions to be right [to take action] don’t have the intention of following through anyway. …Take the Risks”
- Work together. It’s time for the marketing, branding and sales teams to work together to achieve social networking success.
- Provide meaningful [read: awesome] Content that your clients, customers, friends will actually want to read!
- Get networking already. If you don’t have a social media or blogging presence, get going, this isn’t a trend, it’s a great opportunity to connect on a meaningful level with friends, colleagues and customers. So don’t miss out.
The Future of Blogging (& Social Media) – A Recap & Some gratitude
Some of the great people at Blog World: Ashly, the guys from SMReach and even Top Chef Rick Moonen!
So as many of you know I got a free ride to go to Blog World 2010 in Las Vegas, a few weeks ago via Mashable.com. (I know ‘Lucky’ 19 right?) I won my ticket as a result of answering a single question, namely: “What is the future of blogging?”.
This was my answer: “As blogging grows and matures it will continue to provide a venue for transparency and community/connection in business. I see it evolving from “everyone writing about everything” to more and more experts writing from their wealth of knowledge whether that’s in parenting or rocket science. It will become more clear who is providing fluff and who is providing meaningful content.”
Someone recently asked me, after attending Blog World, do I still agree with my winning comment? Yes, yes I do—content is king and it will continue to weed out the mediocre. But, man I learned a lot more at BlogWorld than just that! I look forward to sharing some exciting new things in the coming months!
Thanks again Mashable & Blog World for probably the best time I’ve ever had in Las Vegas!
I remember when it really sank in for the first time. It was 2004 and my life coach, at the time, iterated to me words to live by, “You can’t control what other people do, or what happens around you; you can only control yourself and how your react.” This was one of the first times I truly felt empowered. No longer did I just look at hardships through victims eyes, but I could choose how to react in a given moment. As grand as this sounds, sometimes we’re not always in the frame of mind to react in the way we’d prefer. Nonetheless the responsibility for how we handle a given situation lies with us. This idea from the self-help community carries through to branding.
The Gauntlet
One thing is sure about life: it will constantly change. So how will your brand “react” when things change? You know those moments when Murphy’s law seems to be in overdrive: you’re late for a meeting, you spill coffee down your shirt, the babysitter calls and your son is sick and to top it off the guy in front of you is driving as if he honestly believes his car tops out at 35 mph! Or those moments in business: you’re just about to launch a product and your competitor launches the week before; or your product has been selling like hotcakes and then some company copies it and sells it for half price; or a recession (ehem) hits, your customers get scared and your sales drop all of the sudden! (Side note: that last one happened to my business, AMH Creative, that’s what prompted my brand re-evaluation and the eventual launch of Lucky 19!) When these hurdles hit you like whap in the face–how will your brand recover?
Digging Deep
Staying on top when the unexpected happens involves some guesswork, guts and facing your inner strengths and weaknesses (hmmm, much like self-development). In order to feel secure in your position as a human being, or in this case, a brand you need to be self-aware. Building a secure brand foundation, knowing what makes it unique and what gives your brand staying power is much like sending your brand to a life coach. If you have already established your brand’s value, you already have a vantage point and some nifty tools, from which, you will be able to venture in the best direction and not just simply react to a given situation.
Hardships, challenges or changes in the market can be a real gift to the well-built brand. When the storm is brewing around you it does more good to look for the strength that lies within rather than the “dangers,” real or perceived, that lay outward. As in personal life, so much is a matter of perspective. Self-development can be the difference between falling apart and adapting. So branding development can be the same. If you have established your brand’s strengths and weaknesses you will be more prepared to circumvent doom. Consider that you can control your brand’s vision, mission and values, style, product or services, graphics, but you really have no control over your customers/clients, competition, trends, market, economy, etc. If you build your brand around the areas in which your brand excels it will be more likely to have longevity.
I encourage you, today, to make time to answer the questions below, about your brand. They really only comprise a simple jumping off point, but at least they’ll get you “thinking in the right direction.”
- What are the top three “selling points” of my brand (i.e. why the customer wants it)?
- Are any of these selling points based on factors that may change?
- What are my brand’s top three values (i.e. what it stands for)?
- Could those values change?
- If someone copied my service or product, what might be some worst case scenarios for salvaging or retaining my brand’s value?
- Is my brand unique enough to have staying power; can it stand the test of time? If so, how? If not, how can I improve it?
If you have a story about how you adapted your brand during a time of “hardship” please share it by leaving a comment.
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The Lucky 19 Blog
Welcome to the Lucky 19 blog! I am Andrea Guevara, founder of Lucky 19 and I specialize in helping businesses decipher, plan & manage their brands through brand strategy, design & development. I hope you find lots of great info here! To get the latest posts as they arrive "hot off the press," please subscribe below. And if you have some comments/input on anything here please join in! I look forward to hearing from you.~Andrea
This site is in beta (nearly complete just a few bugs here & there). But we just couldn't wait to go live so here it is, a few blemishes & all. (ironically, similar to the humans who created it.)