marketing

September 17, 2019

Life As A Lab — A Great Experiment

I’m going to let you in on a biz pep talk I need to give myself right now, about living my life as a lab. First of all, I’m a recovering perfectionist. But just like recovery, the process of giving up the strictures of perfectionism have not gone in a straight line. I thought I had licked this back in high school, when I realized I couldn’t be #1 at everything — I could only do my best. When I entered college, after meeting so many people who were so much more intelligent than me, I learned that competing with myself was the best option. It still is. But in growing my business, perfectionism has reared its ugly head many a time. It creates a sort of tunnel vision that doesn’t really help me see the big picture. I can’t see how far I’ve come because it seems like I have a long way to go. And there are reasons for this pressure: I want to help more people. I want to accomplish more things in my personal life. I want to be successful, like right now. But all of those things take time — specifically, you have to be open to experimentation. Life as a Game One thing about being an adult — someone may tell you about how a certain life event is going to be, but then you could experience a different outcome. But let’s talk about something a little less life-or-death…gaming! As a stress reliever (but sometimes […]
August 14, 2019

Don’t Be Sketchy: Build Your Email List the Right Way

Even though social media marketing is popular, email marketing is still a better bet for connecting with your ideal audience. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to build an email list. A Referral Gone Wrong The other day, I got back in touch with a friend who connected me with an organization for possible content marketing work. I was excited with the possibility of working with them and their friends. After the introductory email, I wrote them and gave them my calendar to schedule a call to learn more about how I could help them. I didn’t hear back from the organization, which is fine. It happens. People get busy and distracted. Of course, it’s a little disappointing, but it’s not the end of the world. But what happened next actually was surprising and a little dismaying. A few days later, I received an email from their email list — which I had not signed up for. The email was about some event coming up. I don’t even live in the city where this event was going to take place. Needless to say, I was quite annoyed. Not only did I not hear back from them, but they took the time to sign me up for a newsletter without my permission. I definitely did not want to partner with an organization that not only couldn’t be bothered to get back to me but then spammed me about their business. I immediately unsubscribed and said that I had not […]