Marketing for Digital Artists Slated for March 2012
January 11, 2012 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
UNM Continuing Education offers the practical “Marketing and Self Promotion for Digital Artists,” course #55622, in March 2012.
The class is focused on marketing and publicity tactics necessary for artists, designers and other professionals. Participants explore benefits of media kits, promotional calendars, email signatures, and web-ready bios.
Real-world examples help students understand how to apply the information. Interactivity is encouraged during each of the three two-hour sessions. Exercises center around steps to move each business forward.
Elements included in the series:
- A basic overview of publicity/visibility options and why they’re critical to success
- General press releases and other information to publicize your work
- Social media, the new PR effort, and how it impacts you
- Prioritizing action items to get the word out
- Getting started with a plan
Previous participants say:
Mary Ellen’s program brings out the excitement in marketing and promotion (and I never knew there was any)! I learned to describe myself, not just present facts. – Chandra Bales
This course helps you focus on your strengths and how to market yourself. It helps you work through the challenges most of us put off, but are highly important in marketing yourself. – Veronica Bafo
Take charge of your marketing efforts. During this six-hour class you’ll build and present a mini-marketing plan, one you’ll be able to put to use immediately.
- UNM CE #55622, Marketing & Self-Promotion for Digital Artists
- 6pm – 8pm, Tuesdays, March 13, 20 and 27
- $179.00 fee
- Discounts may apply
Will you leave your marketing to chance or sign up for this course?
NOTE: If you’re still unsure, join UNMCEDigitalArts on Facebook for updates and discussion about Digital Arts at UNM Continuing Education, including this class.
Gear Up To Pare Down
January 4, 2012 by MaryEllen · 1 Comment
What one action could have a real impact on your business for the next few months? Define and begin that action, and prepare to reap profits.
Too simple? Simple makes sense.
If you have difficulty narrowing a myriad of projects to one goal, welcome to reality.
I participate in a mastermind group that tackles reality with a theme. Each participant develops the wording to focus their actions for the year. For example:
- Transcend What Is and Invent The New
- New Me
- Heart Vision, Intuitive Momentum
The theme offers a solution to multiple projects because, like an umbrella, it embraces all. Scheduling determines priorities.
Although every person has the same amount of time in one day, some get far more done than others. I’m convinced productive people know exactly what they need to do.
The steps look like this:
- Establish a theme
- Define goals
- Break goals into realistic steps, i.e., what will I concentrate on this month?
- Take monthly goals or concentrations and divide them into weekly ones
- Each week, for example, list the top 10 goals for the week
- For each weekly goal, list the steps or tactics that must be taken
- Define a realistic amount of time for each tactic
- Physically schedule tactics on your calendar
A calendar facilitates reality. If you have realistically estimated the time involved and marked it on your calendar, it’s simple to see if you are over-committing. I, for one, frequently list far too many projects for the time allotted if I fail to visually map out the tasks on a calendar.
One of my most important projects for first quarter 2012 is paring my 198-page ebook, “The Six Week Marketing Master Plan” to Four Weeks.
- Step one is to revise the 45-day table of contents (toc) outline to a new 30-day outline.
My TOC outline is due on/before next Tuesday. I estimate it could take as long as three to four hours to complete. My calendar has time blocked for completion of this task.
- Step two, the copy portion of the project gets more complicated. Working from the toc outline I plan to complete all content rewrites prior to February 15. I will then and submit the new product to a graphic designer for finalization.
- Step three, the finalization of the project will be complete on/before March 15, 2012.
I determined one action – the rewrite of this ebook – could significantly impact my business in the next few months. I added accountability to my own project with a promise to copy someone else on my toc outline due next Tuesday. Then, I published my own deadlines here for the world to see.
It’s simple, this effort of gearing up to pare down.
What one action could have a real impact on your business for the next few months?
What’s stopping you from taking action?
Communication Presentation at Santa Fe Business Incubator Discusses 2012 Realities
September 24, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
Seasonally New Mexicans turn off swamp coolers and winterize their homes in October. The fourth quarter with its
cooler temperatures requires a different approach for comfort.
Similarly, businesses might evaluate communications in preparation for the New Year. The realities presented by 2012 demand a freshened marketing approach.
Traditional marketing plays the numbers game. It uses sales, advertising, promotion and public relations to send the message out.
The average person gets more than 2,000 outbound messages a day.
Trade shows, direct mail, television, radio and print advertising, all examples of traditional marketing, continue to lose effectiveness.
Studies show today’s customer chooses inbound communication, finding information on their terms. Can your business meet the demands of “real-time?”
In a presentation to clients at the Santa Fe Business Incubator, I listed five communication realities represented by these changes:
- Because of the attention economy, now more than ever, your message must be defined and honed for your ideal customer.
- Smartphones already play an important role in our lives. How mobile-friendly is your business?
- New tools to consolidate information emerge daily. Your competitive advantage may well depend on your use of technology.
- Interactivity is essential in all communication. This means the brochure website is dead. Not only must your website be interactive, but business must make responding to customers online and offline a priority.
- Nothing substitutes for smart goals and good planning. Begin now to define your benchmarks for 2012.
Evaluate your business against these five realities. On a scale of one to five, with five being strong, how confident are you about your current situation? Download the pdf now. Are you prepared?
Review and Update Marketing Plan to Increase Success
July 20, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
Even the best marketing plan requires review and updating.
Business climates change. The competitive landscape shifts. Communication tactics morph (Facebook, anyone?) and your business is forced to take notice.
If additional marketing focus is one of your business goals, enroll in “Four Weeks to a Master Marketing Plan,” a class series presented by the Albuquerque South Valley Small Business Development Center.
The Marketing Master Plan derives its success from facilitated sessions with small business owners. This series begins Thursday August 11, 2011 at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, 1309 Fourth Street SW.
Details: 1pm – 4pm, Thursdays
August 11, 2011 – September 2, 2011
Investment: $250 per attendee
Register online
Dozens of small business owners have completed this series. When asked what they liked best about the classes, previous participants said:
“Group feedback from peers who are knowledgeable and interested in class discussions”
“Directed conversation”
“The push to pinpoint your client and describe your business in seven to eight words is very helpful”
“Development of business bio”
“Goal setting”
“I enjoyed peer input as well as the introduction to many tools to assist in my marketing plan.”
“Finding out ways to multi-task”
“Feedback, helpful weblinks and utilities”
“The comfort level to ask any question”
Five reasons to consider enrolling in the Four-Week Marketing Master Plan class series:
- The structure of this program makes it easy to proceed. No more questions about where to start. Instead, you focus on your business, beginning with its goals, an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses and an overview of your best customer.
- Small groups increase your market planning effectiveness. Participants serve as sounding boards, trusted advisors and creative catalysts for brainstorming.
- With no ringing phones, you concentrate fully on your business and identifying the marketing tactics to make your product/service noticeable.
- Interactive weekly meetings hold you accountable and by the end of the four-session class series, you develop a detailed plan with time lines for each action.
- The workbook, 197-pages of worksheets, guides, resources and questions, is yours to keep.
Costs for the sessions is $250. Participation is limited to 10.
Sessions are presented by Mary Ellen Merrigan, author of “The Six-Week Marketing Master Plan.”
Comments from previous 6WMMP participants include:
“I found it was easier to start thinking about a comprehensive marketing plan for my own business through our sharing and feedback sessions and reviewing other class attendees’ strategy.” – Aubrey Owens, BigByte.cc Corp
“Positive ways of learning how to manage the marketing mudslide and use it to your advantage.” Jonathan Kronz, Aveda Institute New Mexico
“I love how the material holds you accountable with lists and worksheets.” – Karyth Becenti, Mark Pardo Hair Skin Body
“Mary Ellen’s program helped me focus, answer questions, and provided direction and suppork.” – Dolores Maez, Inn at the Delta
“The people you meet in class are wonderful and the synergy of ideas are mind-expanding. So much information – you leave each session bursting with new ideas.” – Margaret Onuska
“Mary Ellen’s program was very informative with many social media ideas as well as a detailed outline on developing a marketing plan.” – Janea Davis, Advanced Transcription.
UNM CE Adds Marketing and Self-Promotion Basics Class to Summer Offerings
June 7, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
Plagued by nagging marketing questions? Unsure of your next tactical move?
“Marketing and Self-Promotion for Digital Artists,” a two-session class from The University of New Mexico Continuing Education, begins July 26, 2011.
Students in this class will take charge of self-promotional campaigns, understand the marketing choices that work today, and then gain confidence as a result of their work.
The interactive class platform encourages participation. Participants organize marketing information based on practical, real-world case studies and tips as they apply to individual situations.
In addition to identifying messages, participants choose 10 marketing tactics that could best serve them or their business.
By the end of the second session, students develop a mini one-page marketing plan that sums up next future steps.
The course includes:
- A basic overview of publicity/visibility options and why they’re critical to success
- General press releases and other information to publicize your work
- Social media, the new PR effort, and how it impacts you
- Prioritizing action items to get the word out
- Getting started with a plan
Details:
Course #55622 – Marketing and Self-Promotion for Digital Artists
Session one, 6pm – 9pm Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Session two, 6pm – 9pm Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Fee: $179.00
Register online at UNM CE.
Create Your One Page Marketing Plan Now
May 11, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
“It’s expensive to advertise.”
“With so many choices, where do you put your money?”
“Everything is changing – will my business survive?”
If you recognize yourself in these statements/questions, you’re not alone. The sheer proliferation of marketing channels causes many small business owners to request help with marketing. Every day I hear from individuals who want reassurance. It’s a fact: there’s no easy solution.
Move from questions to action in a series of Marketing Master Plan classes sponsored by the South Valley SBDC. Learn from your peers, other small business owners who experience some of the same problems you face.
The Marketing Master Plan Series is back by popular demand. Each of the four-week sessions provides opportunities for hands-on work. Participants receive a copy of the updated 197-page e-book, “The Six-Week Marketing Master Plan,” a $69.95 value.
Weekly agendas include:
6WMMP in 4: Week 1 Objectives (1:00pm – 4pm, Thursday May 26, 2011)
• Engage in the 6WMMP challenge
• Prepare a SWOT analysis
• Connect value and differentiation in business
• Define your target audience
• Find your audience online
• Assess your competition
• Grasp the importance of Google analytics
• Understand how this places in the plan
6WMMP in 4: Week 2 Objectives (1:00pm – 4pm, Thursday June 2, 2011)
• Assess your business and social media
• Understand the social threesome
• Solidify the social choice of a Facebook Page
• Identify differences between Profiles & Pages
• Boost knowledge of mobile and local search
• Grasp how a bio fits in and boosts visibility
• Build a measurable social media strategy
• Understand social media’s place in the plan
6WMMP in 4: Week 3 Objectives (2:00pm – 5pm, Thursday June 9, 2011)
• Develop Fact Sheet for collateral materials
• Formulate and prioritize edit list for website
• Review additional web resources
• Discover additional media to showcase
• Prepare to launch an online media room
• Understand how this places in the plan
6WMMP in 4: Week 4 Objectives (1:00pm – 4pm, Thursday June 16, 2011)
• Plan promotions for your business
• Develop and prioritize an editorial calendar
• Produce a blog calendar and categories
• Schedule your strategic publishing plan
• Build your One Page Marketing Plan
• Define next steps
• Celebrate! Completion
The South Valley SBDC first offered this program in April 2011. When asked, “What did you like best about this seminar series?” participants responded:
“feedback, helpful weblinks and utilities”
“finding out ways to multitask”
“group feedback from peers who are knowledgeable and interested in class discussions while Mary Ellen directs the conversation”
“the goal-setting, designing the path”
“flow and positivity”
I enjoyed the opportunity of peer input as well as the introduction to many tools to assist in my marketing plan”
Register through the South Valley SBDC.
“The people you meet in class are wonderful and the synergy of ideas are mind-expanding.” – Margaret Onuska
“I found it was easier to start thinking about a comprehensive marketing plan for my own business through our sharing and feedback sessions and reviewing other class attendees’ strategy.” -Aubrey Owens
“Uplifting, informative, positive ways of learning how to manage the marketing mudslide and use it to your advantage.” – Jonathan Kronz
Conclusion:
Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys said, “A coach is someone who makes you do what you don’t want to do so you can become who you want to be. Get coached on a current marketing plan with the Master Marketing Plan Series. Participants develop their plan during the month and present it at the final session.
Details:
South Valley SBDC
Thursdays, 1-4pm
May 26, 2011 through June 16, 2011
Register online or for more information call Liliana at 505-248-0132.
Marketing Master Plan Class Begins March 31
March 8, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
Simplify, structure and solidify your marketing plan. Address the tangle of today’s marketing channels in a four week series presented by Mary Ellen Merrigan.
The hands-on workshop offers business owners an opportunity to sort, prioritize and simplify marketing tactics in an interactive, small group setting.
For four weeks beginning March 31 entrepreneurs will work on their business with customized input from other participants and Merrigan. The program includes Merrigan’s 200-page e-book, The Six Week Marketing Master Plan revised and updated in early March 2011.
The series is hosted by the South Valley Small Business Development Center. Call 505-248-0132 to register.
Details:
1pm – 4pm, four consecutive Thursdays,
March 31, April 7, April 14 and April 21
Albuquerque Hispano Chamber, 1309 Fourth Street SW, AlbuquerquePre-registration required. $250.00 per participant
Past participants of the Six Week Marketing Master Plan give the program high marks. See comments below:
“I feel I have gone down the rabbit hole and lord it is ALOT of info!”
Phoenix Forrester, Phoenix Forrester Fine Art“You may feel like you are herding cats when you add constantly changing social media to your marketing responsibilities. Mary Ellen’s book, Six-Week Marketing Master Plan, adds the right catnip to your marketing tool bag.”
Jane F. Lee, Ed.D., Vice President, TeachTown“The training that Mary Ellen offered enabled me to develop a strategic plan for the development of a new external website which has garnered support and funding from the top executive management of my organization. Thanks to Mary’s training, I was able to develop a plan which has encompassed strategies ranging from better content oversight on thousands of outdated pages to an evolved social networking campaign as well as better marketing and communication in all aspects of the website. I continue to use the concepts that I learned in the class daily as my team moves forward with overhauling our outdated and ancient website.”
Ann Lorenz“I feel that this is the best $$ I have spent on marketing since I started my business.”
Cindy Padilla, Kokopelli Bodyworks
To learn more contact Mary Ellen through this website form.
Identify Your Master Marketing Plan
January 20, 2011 by MaryEllen · 2 Comments
Ready to thrive in business and enjoy life?
Begin with a systematized step-by-step plan for marketing.
Join me at EXHIB-IT Trade Show Marketing Experts, 6207 Pan American Freeway, 9am Tuesday, March 1 to discover more.
- Discover three metrics you can use anytime, anywhere
- Leverage your core messages
- Reduce overwhelm with limited key media
- Transform your results with tactics you like
For more information, or to register, contact EXHIB-IT! Trade Show Marketing Experts.
Untangle the Marketing Knot
January 5, 2011 by MaryEllen · Leave a Comment
Stymied by marketing?
Fed up with social media that sucks your time and offers little or no return?
Disgusted that your competitor got a feature in the local paper and you did not?
Tired of hearing promise after promise about the four hour work week as you put in 40, 50 or 60 hours of effort?
You’re not alone.
It’s time to stop the insanity. Do something different. If your New Year’s resolution involves changing your marketing results, look no further.
“The Six Week Marketing Master Plan” untangles today’s many marketing channels. (Disclosure: I collaborated with designer and web specialist Maria G. Nozza to produce the book in 2009.)
A group of dedicated consultants and coaches is now working through the program. Revision 1.11 launches later this month.
During the past year dozens of professionals have used this system to set and achieve marketing goals. They’ve produced detailed marketing plans customized for each of their businesses.
The Six Week Marketing Master Plan gives structure and streamlines efforts. Participants learn a systematized method to customize collateral and define tactics for visibility.
A new group now forming begins the week of January 24, 2011. For details, complete this contact page.
Each participant receives the revised, expanded and updated Six Week Marketing Master Plan. Classes, limited to 10, meet weekly for three hours.
Six week classes also begin in March and April.
“This program helps you sort and prioritize so you know which business efforts help you succeed,” commented author and facilitator Mary Ellen Merrigan.
“Don’t let another year pass without accomplishing the marketing goals you choose.”
Ultimate Blog Challenge Nets ProfitMeister Posts About Marketing Master Plan
October 3, 2010 by MaryEllen · 2 Comments
ProfitMeister, a DIY smart marketing strategies blog founded by Mary Ellen Merrigan, joined October’s Ultimate
Blog Challenge.
The Ultimate Blog Challenge, hosted by Michele Scism and Michelle Shaeffer, offers accountability and a learning opportunity for those wanting to increase their blog power.
Challenge participants post 31 times during the month, working with other bloggers to increase readers and traffic. There is a 100 word minimum on each post. (NOTE: The Ultimate Blog Challenge is free. The requirement is 31 times during the month, not specifically one time per day, so if you want to accept the challenge, go for it!)
October’s Profitmeister posts will focus on the corresponding topic of the day from the Smart Marketing Master Plan E-Book, produced earlier this year.
The Smart Marketing series has also been accepted as a marketing certificate series for UNMCE, University of New Mexico Continuing Education.
In a series of six three-hour classes class members will develop a master marketing plan for their business. A step-by-step workbook accompanies each week’s presentation. Each section costs $89 and runs from 6pm – 9pm on Mondays. Attendance is limited to 16.
Smart Marketing Series – UNM Continuing Education
55611 Smart Marketing 1: Assess, Differentiate and Audit Your Firm’s Status – October 25, 2010
55612 Smart Marketing 2: Define Your Target, Develop Content Strategy – November 1, 2010
55613 Smart Marketing 3: Review Competitors, Develop Keywords – November 15, 2010
55614 Smart Marketing 4: Select and implement social media tactics – November 22, 2010
55615 Smart Marketing 5: Collateral and other content specifics – December 6, 2010
55616: Smart Marketing 6: Strategic ways to tie your plan together – December 13, 2010
The Ultimate Challenge Blog Postings will follow the topics as outlined for the marketing class series, thus serving as an additional resource for the class.
About Mary Ellen Merrigan
Mary Ellen Merrigan has developed successful, sales-building D.I.Y. (Do it Yourself) smart marketing strategies for a wide range of clients and promotes the benefits of combining traditional and social media. She is the author of “The Six Week Master Marketing Plan: An hour a day to take your business to the next level,” available online. Freelance graphics designer Maria G. Nozza of Design and Thrive collaborated with Mary Ellen to produce a content-packed e-book that encompasses marketing today. Maria specializes in visual graphics and continues to study web marketing. Take your business to a new level with a marketing action plan.
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