My friend Bob has a sign on the wall of his screen printing shop just to the right of the desk where he sits with customers to take their orders. It says: You can have it fast. You can have it cheap. You can have it be good. But you can’t have all three. For Bob, it’s a constant reminder that he can’t be all things to all people. For his customers, it’s a subtle...
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Every October, artists from around the world put pen to paper to create drawings for a daily challenge called Inktober. They can follow a list of official prompts or one of several spin offs. Or, they can just wing it. The only “rules” are to draw every day and post on line with #Inktober.
Read MoreWhen I work with clients, we talk a lot about who they’re trying to reach. We spend a great deal of time defining and honing in on the ideal customer, called a “buyer persona” in marketing speak. It’s a good place to start. Afterall, the more you know about who you are trying to reach, the easier it is to develop content that will appeal to that person.
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It’s important in business to understand what your customer wants, but it’s even more important to understand why. What are the underlying needs, issues, concerns or problems that are driving people to seek out a particular product or service? Knowing the answers will help you create better content for your blog and social media.
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It seemed like a simple request from my client. She wanted a serious headshot and one that showed the lighter side for her website. But how often is it simple when it comes to photos?
My last headshot was taken more than two years ago when I had shorter hair. In the one before that, I had almost curly hair and fewer worries. Neither fit her goal. Besides, they were no longer quite accurate, which means they aren’t quite authentic. And went it comes to online marketing, authenticity matters.
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The sun finally came out on Sunday bringing a welcome warm breeze. I know because I glanced at it longingly from my desk in between furtive bursts of working to catch up on a year’s worth of bookkeeping. I would love to have been outside, but instead, I was at my desk going through my calendar and crunching numbers.
At some point in the afternoon, a little piece of advice I was once given floated into my brain: Systems will set you free.
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