When I'm not marketing for my small business clients, one of my guilty pleasures is watching television, including ABC's reality shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. What I have noticed since watching several seasons of the show is that some contestants are better than others at playing this reality dating game. Some of them are not very well-skilled at getting noticed, and they hardly appear … [Read more...]
Letting Go of Old Marketing Habits
With a new year in full swing, it may be time for a change in how you market your business. Whether you are looking for new growth or would like to maximize your current efforts, it’s time to shake things up a bit. Are you stuck in the status quo? You may need to let go of one of these three old marketing habits that are holding you back: Habit #1: Same Message Have you been communicating … [Read more...]
Help Your Business Stand Out from the Competition
The famous quote from children’s author Dr. Seuss tells us that, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” The same is true of your business. But are you making your uniqueness stand out from the competition, or are you blending in with the others? If you make the mistake of offering the same service, using the same language, and advertising … [Read more...]
Spreading your Marketing Message
Every business has a product or service to sell, and a message to share with their target audience. But how do we cut through the clutter when our audience is bombarded with more messages than they can even process? Here are four qualities you need in order to create and share a more memorable marketing message: In the case of your marketing message, you want it to spread like a … [Read more...]
Great Ads in Michigan
Michigan's tourism advertising campaigns are pure genius State tourism associations focus the majority of their advertising budget on neighboring states within a day's drive of the area. Here in Indiana, we often see advertisements for Cincinnati and Ohio areas, Chicago and Illinois, Kentucky, and our state to the north - Michigan. Tourism advertising has the significant task of persuading … [Read more...]
29 Ways to Integrate and Reuse Your Marketing Content
Sometimes, coming up with new content for your website, blog post or other marketing can be downright exhausting. As an outsourced marketing copywriter for my Indianapolis clients, I'm always trying to find ways to re-purpose existing content and marketing tactics in order to save my clients time and resources. So I put together 29 ways that you might reuse your existing marketing … [Read more...]
Why you Need Good Web Copy
When looking to redesign their corporate websites, most business owners are concerned primarily over the look and design of their websites . When I ask Indianapolis area companies about what they want in a new website, the comments I often get are similar to these: "Our site just looks outdated" or "I want the site to look just like XYZ company's website" or "I definitely want to have the picture … [Read more...]
Real Estate, Curb Appeal and Marketing Your Business
On a hot, 80-degree plus afternoon, I decided to go for a jog in my neighborhood. While I was not trying to use this time to think, without an iPod (mine has been lost for several months), my mind started wandering, and I began making note of my surroundings. In my observations of my neighbor's lawns and houses, I started making connections to the marketing world (I know - what a nerd!) So what … [Read more...]
Effectively Branding your Small Business: Lunch & Learn Series
I am proud to announce that I will present at the 2011 Lunch & Learn Series hosted by the Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Small Business Development Center. Here are the details: Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce and Indiana Small Business Development Center Present: 2011 Lunch & Learn Series Topic: Effectively Branding your Small Business Speaker: Susan Young, … [Read more...]
Where’s the Brand Loyalty?
While watching a recent episode of AMC's Mad Men, the advertising agency characters were lamenting over the potential loss of another account: The Lucky Strike people were switching agencies. This same agency turnover is very common in the advertising industry, and has also occurred locally here in Indianapolis -- with one Indianapolis advertising agency -- Pearson Partners, Inc., closing its … [Read more...]