Less marketing noise.More clarity, strategy, and action. Blog
Small But Mighty Episode 26: Lisa van Reeuwyk on achieving balance in business
Karen Wilson invites Lisa van Reeuwyk, a business coach who runs Bloom Business Development, to the show. Lisa is Karen’s own business coach and an entrepreneur, she understands the ups and downs of business and the power a positive mindset can have on success.
The importance of documenting business processes (even for small businesses and entrepreneurs)
By laying all of the steps you take to accomplish various tasks or complete recurring projects out in a document or program, you've created a basic standard operating procedure (SOP) that will help your business thrive.
Documenting processes and procedures, even as an entrepreneur or small business saves time, and can support productivity, business growth and hiring, consistency among outputs, and regular review and analysis to improve efficiency.
Small But Mighty Episode 25: Loreto Cheyne on building connections through greeting cards
Loreto is a graphic and brand designer by trade, but the pandemic afforded her the opportunity to pivot her business into her true passion – building connections through greeting cards.
How to create effective calls to action (CTAs) in your content
Your call to action directs your audience as to what you want them to do in each piece of content. It provides consumers with clear next steps and direction, which can reduce friction for customers, prevent decision fatigue or overwhelm, and generate more conversions.
Unfortunately, these calls to action are also often misunderstood, which can make them frustrating.
Here are some examples of the common issues I see with CTAs and how to fix them.
How learning chess reinforced my love of strategy and strategic marketing
Earlier this year, my son decided he was going to teach me how to play chess, and despite my initial disinterest, he not only managed to successfully persuade and teach me, but I even almost won a game against him...once!
As green as I am on the chess board, I have a deep appreciation for the time players spend learning various tactics, as well as the skilled practice of thinking through and playing out different scenarios. Thinking strategically in marketing and business is a lot like a chess game, which is why chess is so often used to visually convey strategy.
Let’s explore the parallels between chess and business and marketing.
How to test the credibility of the experts you highlight
Though most of the time random quotes and mentions of an author or creator won't have an impact on your brand or reputation, doing a little extra work to vet the people you highlight in your content is a good way to reinforce what you stand for.
It’s almost inevitable that consumers will draw parallels between you, your business, and the content you’re sharing. Whether those associations are positive or negative is largely up to you.
Don’t risk losing the trust of your audience because of something that could be avoided with some upfront time and energy on your end.
Prioritizing diversity of sourcing in your content
With recent news and emphasis in the media on diversity (and the sad lack thereof), systematic and systemic discrimination, and the need for companies to prioritize inclusivity in their business, you’ve likely been rethinking how your company is currently running, and what changes you need to make.
An area that’s often unfortunately overlooked, as business owners make their way through revisions to their hiring practices and procedures, putting guidelines in place to ensure the marketing media and copywriting they use are more inclusive and representative, and surveying current and past employees for feedback, is prioritizing the diversity of sourcing in your content.
Small business pricing and profits: The importance of aligning your prices to your values
Pricing can be tough when you’re a small business or solopreneur. As business owners, we’re intimately connected to our clients and our pricing. Because of this interesting dynamic, I find small business owners make more emotional decisions, modifying (or not modifying) their pricing based on what they feel their clients can afford.
It isn’t enough to simply pick a number that sounds good out of thin air for your program or service. It isn’t enough to just check a few items off your “marketing to-do list.”
Your pricing needs to reflect your values. And when you take the time to gain clarity on your values and goals for each of the offers you have, you’ll feel much more empowered to share about your business, promote your services, and find your clients.
What kinds of goals can you set for your business?
We've talked about setting goals before. The importance of establishing your company vision and the direction you want to move in, gaining clarity on your business and marketing goals, and how to use the S.M.A.R.T. framework to define your goals with more intention.
But what are some of the different kinds of goals you can set for your business? And how do you decide what to focus on? Here’s how to get started.
Brand, brand, branding: What does it all mean?
Do you know what branding is? What about a brand? Or a Brand?
While these terms are commonly interchanged, they’re all unique elements of your company, and all deserve your time and attention in different ways.
Let’s break them down.
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