Work hard for others, but don’t forget about the Brand of You!

A few months ago, I read an article in Forbes about Millennial Women working so hard that they were burning out in their jobs by age thirty. I immediately sent it off to my daughter, a 25 year old, self-described, “go-getter”,  doing PR and marketing for two restaurants in Washington DC.

I have watched my daughter and her friends jump into their jobs and give it their all, plus some. They are excited and totally consumed,  working long hours with single minded devotion.  I have watched the promises made by their companies not come through as the wheels of bureaucracy are slow or company priorities change. They work at full throttle and then every so often when the pace drops off for a bit, or  I have seen the crash that comes after the high.

Just last week my daughter’s boss presented her with a contract to work twenty hours a week each on two restaurants and also be floor manager for two shifts per week which added up to about 80 hours.  At least in this case she did point out to her employer that that was impossible.

They are given more and more responsibility and run with it which sets expectations for the next time since they have not practiced saying in nice terms, “Hell no, I can’t do that!” These young women can do it in the short term. But then the short term turns into the long term and the precedent is hard to change. [Read more...]

Quote by April Greiman Poster, Poster via Conran & Partner

I am a fanatic about having a WordPress website as the hub of your social media marketing efforts. But, just having a site is not enough to attract clients. You must craft a message on your website that targets  and converts the exact people that you want to reach.

Some people are afraid to stake a claim for one group of clients for fear that they won’t have enough business if they limit themselves. But, if your try to go after your whole market you will have to water down who you are and what you write  about so much that it won’t attract anyone. You will just blend right in with the other blah, blah, blah type websites.

Now is the time to step up and stake a claim for who you are and what you want your business to be.

Be yourself.

Let it show in your messaging and your blog posts. Do that and you will be going after and getting the business that you want.

Starting the new year is a great time to get some clarity about what you are doing and who you’d like to do it for. Try this exercise to hone your marketing message and creating or improving your elevator pitch by writing on each of the the headings below. When I do marketing coaching groups,  I am always astounded at how bad people are at briefly explaining what they do. [Read more...]

From Penny, my new client upon receiving my first comp for her logo and site header,

I love, love, love it Judi!! I have goosebumps! It is so totally better than anything I envisioned. And you have totally tapped my personal zeitgeist — a lot of my home decor is kitschy old Florida complete with (how did you know???) framed postcards.  I love the colors, I love the style, I love you!!!

I have to say it is really great. Penny writes a garden blog in the Tampa Saint Petersberg area.  I am glad she loved it since I also loved it and might have had to take up Florida gardening and use it myself if Penny  if that design didn’t work for her!

I am originally from Florida and have gardened in Florida and had a good idea of where I would take this project after talking to Penny on the phone for an hour. Sometimes it just works that way. I think it is the easiest to come up with a brand and logo for someone when the person I am working with has a good sense of themselves and their style.

I was on a call today with my business coach who had everyone go through an exercise telling the story of your business. She had us visualizing all of the elements of our businesses in metaphorical terms. If it were a character who would it be? If it were a place where would it be? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? And so on…

I think when I am doing branding and logo work I am most able to nail it for the client if they are able to communicate the essential being of their business to me. Sometimes they are able to use their words to describe what they are looking for. Sometimes I get it it by talking to them and getting to know them and their company better. Either way, the more they “own” and actually radiate their business, the better or I get fuzzy , diffuse messages and have a hard time hitting the mark because their is not one. This also happens when someone is trying to appeal to a broad audience and not offend anyone. If we are going to find “our people” we need to put ourselves out there.If we do that authentically,  it makes it easier for us to write which makes it easier for our readers to decide whether they are in the right place and want to come back. I told someone today that getting a logo design was a bit like getting a tattoo in that it is personal and you really have to like it for your business.  You really should not go in to a tattoo shop and say well what do you recommend! And then say well no that’s not it and not that either. Have an opinion. Own it and make it yours.

I can’t wait to finish Penny’s website. It is going to rock because people love her and her style and I am glad I could help make her vision materialize. Stay tuned  to see the site by signing up for my Just a Digital Minute newsletter which comes out every Wednesday morning with one social media tip per week. I  feature my newly launched sites there, so Penny’s will be coming out real soon!