New Online Store!

I'm excited to announce the launch of my new online store! Only have a few items in place, but the design is set and I'm now able to process payments via credit card and Paypal. 

Check back as we begin stocking the virtual shelves! 

www.shopatemily.com

How Can I Generate More Leads?

Need to grow your sales and are out of ideas for lead generation? Here's a refresher to get your creative juices going....

• Purchase marketing lists from demographic data providers. 
• Use follow-ups/scheduling reminders as an opportunity to upsell.
• Give advice to others in the comments section and link your website in the response. 
• Employ good, old fashioned cold-calling.
• Outsource all of your cold-calling to lead generation companies who take percentages off the top of closed deals. 
• Start a direct mail campaign – sending marketing pieces out using good, old fashioned snail mail 
• Setup event-driven direct mail campaigns – sending mailers based on an occurrence such a business filing, a nomination, etc. 
• Run email marketing campaigns 
• List your business on Google Businesses/Google Maps with links to your website, etc.
• Add a lead capture to your website: offer free, value able information and ask them for their email address/contact information prior to providing it. 
• Run video email marketing campaigns – use video to get your message across in email 
• Drip email marketing campaigns – a series of emails set to deliver between x number of days, weeks months from each other 
• Reactivate email marketing after the opt-out period has expired according to CAN-SPAM/Do Not Call laws.
• Host a fun event and offer free stuff or prizes. 
• Join your local Chamber of Commerce and build relationships.
• Work with a professional to polish and refine your sales pitch for maximum impact. 
• Put back links to your products and services and design a cool board on Pintrest
• Host a workshop or speak at an event on a related topic with a sales pitch
• Sponsor an industry-specific event and get a booth
• Network through business circles with the means to buy your goods/services or make decisions
• Establish a sophisticated, seamless social media presence 
• List promo codes and sales on www.retailmenot.com 
• Get an About Me profile
• Blog and blog often. Change content frequently to enhance your “social value” with Google. 
• Develop funny or how-to videos aligned with your product/industry/service – ensure your video pops up first when someone Googles, “How do I…?” 
• Build relationships with “Super Connectors” or “Socialites” to introduce you to the right people without paying a fee. 
• Use introduction brokers to get to the decision makers in big business deals for a fee. 
• Build stylish brochures and one-sheets.
• Write a whitepaper and have it published. 
• Bundle discounted goods/services and list them on Groupon (Goods) or other Deal of the Day sites. 
• Build an Executive Bio and become a featured speaker at industry events.
• Get mentioned in a magazine/industry journal. 
• Negotiate and buy print ad space.
• Negotiate and buy a radio spot. 
• Have people write positive reviews for your business on Yelp.
• Offer employee bonuses when people post positive reviews on Yelp, Google, etc.. and mention the employee by name. 
• Write articles with actual subsistence on LinkedIn.
• Rebrand and get bigger and better signage. 
• Write a book and go on a book tour. 
• Send cards and gifts to clients for the holidays. 
• Send personalized, handwritten notes to your clients for life events: congratulating them on new babies, marriages, sending sympathy cards, etc.
• Ask people to spread the word. Make sure other local businesses know who you are and ask them to spread the word. 
• Offer referral fees or perks for referrals. 
• Pay a celebrity to mention you, tweet about you or use your hashtag.
• Set a budget and use Google Ad Words to run a promotional ad campaign. 
• Blast content that will propagate throughout the web: blast to Reddit, Craigslist, etc. 
• Stand for a related cause and develop a voice/message related to your company or industry, i.e. Companies specializing in baby products standing for ending the “mom wars.” 
• Sponsor an event for cross-promotional marketing opportunities – align your brand with strategic partners.
• More to come... 

Bright Horizons,

Canva: The Best Free Marketing Tool Ever

Now that I've moved marketing to the background of my life in favor of working with organizations and information design, I feel I can go ahead and share one of my greatest marketing secrets.

And not only that, I'm going to tell you about this tool without even being an affiliate marketer, which means I wont get a commission cut off your purchases! This is pure philanthropy.

So here it goes:

Who needs to learn Photoshop or Illustrator anymore when you can use Canva to create elegant designs from templates for free? Yep, for free. Well, or for a nominal fee if you use their template designs.

Here's an example of a flyer I did when I was working on the Modern Living brand:

Pretty sweet huh? You can design social media headers, covers, elements, flyers, presentations - and other graphics with custom dimensions for like, no money at-tall.

You're welcome. Enjoy!

Blue Skies,

Marketing Tips and Tricks

I just found this tool for sending video emails called Bomb Bomb and it is quite literally the bomb!

Not only can you build elegant video messages (which, as we all know, increases the likelihood of people actually opening your email), but you can also track email performance.

There's also a feature for building drip campaigns - meaning you can build a series of say, 3 emails and time the way emails are sent, i.e. 1 email every 3 days. Check it out!

Blue Skies,