Dreaming up Magic

I once had a boss who said, "If you're in marketing, you should always be thinking about marketing; even in the shower, you should be thinking about marketing."

I'm not sure if at the age of 22 that I fully understood what he was telling me, although I know I wanted to.

It was my first job working for a fashion brand within a legit marketing department. I had varied positions in the past including wholesale sales, event coordination, managing retail stores and e-commerce websites.  A year prior, I had launched my own company where I connected business owners with creative experts. It was called Marka Concepts and it was when I first knew I had a knack for seeing a need and solving a problem. It was my first taste of entrepreneurship and I knew some day I'd want more. However, I decided to put it aside to focus all of my attention on my new role.

This boss of mine was the CEO of a successful wholesale and retail junior denim brand. He had a fiercly strong personality and I always admired his drive. He had created the company from nothing and while many brands in that highly competitive space fizzle out after a few years, he and his business partners have continued to grow the the company since launching in 2000. While working there, I grew from Website Specialist to Marketing Coordinator and finally to Advertising Manager. It was the true jumping off point in my career and I'll never forget the opportunities and exposure I was provided. 

Fast forward to today, after launching Written & Styled in August of 2016, I can finally say that I am living those words spoken by my past boss. These days, creative marketing ideas and inspiration come in strange forms and seem to appear most often when I take time to breathe and let go.

By setting yourself up for opportunities to be inspired or gain clarity by getting away from the day-to-day grind and connecting with others, you might find the answer you're looking for was always there, you just have to be open to seeing it. It may come to you on a serene beach or maybe even in the shower. 

I hope you take time to recharge in order to let go and dream up some magic for the New Year. 

With love,
Arica

How Customer Appreciation Can Make All the Difference

I was inspired to dig deeper into positive customer service efforts after I had such a wonderful experience with a company called WKND LA. I had posted a page from LUXE Magazine on Instagram, here.

The page from LUXE featured various home decor products, including a wall hanging piece by WKND LA. They have a great following at around 18K and the person in charge of their social media took the time to comment with a thank you for including them in the post. They also reached out a via DM to send me a 10% discount for their online shop in appreciation for the mention. I definitely didn't post for the discount, that was a fun little surprise. 

I know 10% isn't a lot, but it's the gesture of going out of their way to make a connection with a new fan that is worth so much.

What are some ways that you can show a more human side to your business? How could you create a connection with someone that shows an interest in your brand and keep them coming back for more? 

In the next few weeks I'm going to dive into ideas for how you can work in this kind of magic for your own business. 

Sometimes all it takes is a simple thank you because authentic appreciation goes a long way. 

- Arica

Do You Need Clarity in Your Marketing Message?

Everyone appreciates an objective third-party perspective.

Each time I meet with a coaching client for the first time, my goal is to provide some clarity and help them see things that they may have missed by being too "in it". In most cases, the owners and creatives I meet with know their stuff... they just need a little guidance in the right direction.

Many times, their reason for starting the business in the first place gets blurred or even forgotten. I think it's important to stay connected to that passion even if that means the passion has shifted. It's about awareness about, where you started and where you want to go. 

It's not easy to see the entire map when we're in the middle of the road. 

Here is a fun little clarity exercise to try:

Step #1: Write or record an explanation of your business without looking at any of your marketing assets. Just write/record freely without any references and try your best not to edit yourself.

• What inspired the creation of your business?
• What products/services do you make/provide?
• Who do you sell to?
• What do you love most about the business? What brings you the most joy?

Step #2: Look at your marketing assets (website, brochures, social platforms, business cards, hangtags, etc.) - Ask yourself if they all convey the same information/story as your clarity exercise did. 

When things don't jive, this creates confusion for you and for your customers. 

If you found inconsistencies, fix them so that every aspect of your message is cohesive and authentic to your story. 

This is actually the first thing I do when I provide a consultation with a potential coaching client. I want to see if what they tell me verbally about their business is the same thing that is being conveyed on their website, social platforms, etc.

Providing this kind of third-party perspective is one of the things I love most about coaching/consulting. I get to view the business like a potential customer might and give them truly unbiased feedback. 

Try the clarity exercise and PLEASE share your findings with me either confidentially via email at arica@writtenandstyled.com or be extra brave and post it here in the comments. :)

-Arica

image by Jordan McQueen via unsplash

Why Waiting to be Inspired is Not the Answer

Don't you find that even if you take just a few days away from your creative work that it's easy to forget where you left off? Even if you can only spend 15 minutes on your content development, that daily effort will make it much easier to sink back into what you were working on and keep that creative flow. By consistently practicing our craft, we create opportunities to be inspired rather than wait for it to happen.

Like "The Tortoise and the Hare" folktale, sometimes slow and steady wins the race. 

When it comes to content creation, many people I speak to get tripped up by feeling the need to have everything just right before getting started. I understand this and commend their commitment to excellence. Yet, sometimes, just diving in head first and keeping up a continual routine is going to serve us better.  

My best advice is to carve out some time at the end of each month to brainstorm/research some content topics for the following month.

For example, if you know you want to blog once per week, you might want to draft a handful of potential post titles and source related images and/or necessary facts/quotes. This effort helps to just get some ideas forming. Your actual content may shift, but at least you have some great starting points for when you get down to work.

I will say, sometimes planning too far in advance doesn't always work for me. I'm usually inspired by what is going on at the moment which allows me to be really connected to what I'm writing. This post was inspired by my own planning efforts for upcoming social posts.

I was super lucky and had a free Sunday morning (kiddos are at Grandma and Grandpa's) to gather a bunch of content for my Instagram posts. Feeling so organized right now! I'm guilty of usually only preparing a few days ahead or even the day of, which results in me posting a lot less often then I'd like. 

After you get in the habit of carving out that time to brainstorm and research ideas, commit to working on developing that content every day. 

“A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.”

— Anthony Trollope

Cheers to consistency!

-Arica

image via Thought Catalog