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Creatives Meet Business

Listen in on what industry experts had to say at the latest Creatives Meet Business event. Host Ashland Viscosi curates and shares the best content and tips from the live events to help creatives and artists transition into creative entrepreneurs.
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Now displaying: 2017
Dec 27, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Rachel Clemens, Chief Marketing Officer at TradeMark Media, who joined us in June during our roundtable event on Branding. As you'll soon find out, she has so much to share about the principles behind every engaging story and does it in just over 10 minutes! Because there's so much magic in this episode - let's hop in and hear what Rachel has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:40 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Rachel Clemens
  • 1:42 to 2:13 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Behind Every Engaging Story...is a Set of Principles)
  • 2:14 to 2:50 - Why Storytelling is Important
    • Humans are predisposed to tell stories
    • Wired for conclusion, want closure on story
    • Stories allow audiences to move from passive to active
  • 2:51 to 5:18 - Unearthing Stories & Rules of Storytelling 
    • Underlying foundations for your storytelling
      • Know thyself
      • Point of view / perspective - rallying cry either for or against something.
        • You should turn on 50% of your audience and turn off the other 50%
        • Example from previous agency
    • (For founders) Dive into your history to find your stories
    • Allow yourself to be vulnerable
      • People want to hear stories about real humans
  • 5:19 to 7:06 - Story Spine
    • Beginning, middle, and end of a story
    • Need all three parts to be engaging
      • Beginning - starts with one day
        • Set the status quo, the lay of the land
      • Middle - until one day
        • What starts the journey, signals that something is changing
        • Because of that, because of that - as many or as few as you need to tell the story
      • End - until finally - the conclusion
    • Example with squirrel
    • Case studies are good examples for story spine
  • 7:07 to 10:58 - Uncovering story through common plots
    • Overcoming insurmountable odds
      • Erin Brockovich example
      • Underdog story, what's an underdog story for your organization (you or your client)
    • Unlikely pairs
    • Using creativity to solve a big problem
      • MacGyver 
        • How you're using the tools in your business to solve big problems
    • Good versus Evil
      • Hero and a villain 
        • Client is the hero
        • Villain can be a person or a concept
    • Experience
    • Status Quo
  • 11:03 to 12:22 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, and rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on InstagramTwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for more on Branding, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Dec 11, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Trenzio Turner, Parter at Sanders\Wingo, who joined us in June during our roundtable event on Branding. As you'll soon find out, he has so much to share about empathy - how it differs from sympathy, how you can develop it, and how you can leverage it for your brand; and does it in just under 15 minutes! Because there's so much magic in this episode - let's hop in and hear what Trenzio has to say!

  • 0:00 to 2:14 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Trenzio Turner
  • 2:14 to 2:37 - Introduction of Self and Topic (What is Empathy, How Do I Use It and How Can I Leverage it For My Brand?)
    • Empathy is a strength, not a weakness
  • 2:38 to 4:19 - Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy
    • Empathy - putting yourself in someone else's shoes, understanding or relating to their beliefs, concerns, experiences or their emotions.
    • Sympathy - having concern or showing welfare or sorrow for someone's misfortune or loss
    • Empathy is ascending over time, sympathy is fleeting
      • Example with passing of friend's loved one
  • 4:20 to 6:53 - How Do You Use It
    • Active listening - seeking to understand (about meaning, about purpose)
    • 7 Key Components
      1. Be attentive
      2. Ask open-ended questions
      3. Ask probing questions
      4. Requesting clarification
      5. Paraphrasing
      6. Reflect on feelings (be mindful of nonverbal cues)
      7. Summarize (create next steps)
    • Paul Lyons (writes about empathy in the workplace)- "people want to be heard and have their view acknowledged." It's not necessarily about agreeing, but about acknowledgment. 
  • 6:54 to 11:31 - How Can I Leverage Empathy For My Brand
    1. Create a culture where empathy is nurtured and expected
      • Make questioning to understand a part of your DNA, part of the ethos of your brand
      • Prioritize progress over wins and losses
        • Example with $2 bills at agency to recognize progress over wins / losses
    2. Hire people with empathy, have soft skills
      • It's sticky, people want to stay
      • Millennials perform better in an environment with empathy-based managers
      • If managers don't have that, create a training program that includes empathy
      • Unconscious bias training
    3. Create solutions (products, services, offerings) through an empathetic lens
      • Silicon valley has mastered this
      • New disciplines developed - design thinking, chief sustainability officers, UX, UI - all based on empathy
  • 11:32 to 11:47 - Theodore Roosevelt quote
    • "Nobody cares about how much you know until they know how much you care."
  • 11:51 to 12:52 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on InstagramTwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for more on Branding, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Nov 29, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Billy Moyer, Author and Founder of SOS Leadership, who joined us in April during our roundtable event on Managing Professional Relationships. As you'll soon find out, he has so much to share about setting up relationships properly in the first place (to avoid burning bridges); and does it in just under 15 minutes! Because there's so much magic in this episode - let's hop in and hear what Billy has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:28 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Billy Moyer
  • 1:33 to 3:33 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Walking Away Gracefully: Calling it Quits Without Burning Bridges)
    • Example with prospect that wasn't a fit and how Billy helped that prospect find the right provider for their needs.
    • Approach is to look at why he shouldn't work with a certain client instead of why he should 
  • 3:34 to 5:40 - The Conversation that Leads to Exiting a Relationship Really Begins When the Relationship is Formed
    • Start at the beginning with clear goals and expectations of what you want the relationship to be (i.e. contracts)
    • It's a lot easier to end a relationship if it was clear up front
    • Prenup is signed BEFORE the wedding, not after
    • Formalizing expectations later in the game brings time draining consequences and emotions into the equation
  • 5:41 to 6:50 - Avoid Using the Word "Maybe"
    • Maybe means "No, but I don't want to hurt your feelings"
    • Example with t-shirts for an event 
  • 6:51 to 13:23 - When Having "the" Conversation, Utilize the Following:
    • Stay calm
    • Be mindful of saying and writing things you will come to regret
    • Be understanding of where the other party is coming from, empathize with them
    • Be direct
      • Things get messed up when you aren't direct
      • You want to know when it's ending
      • Having a repeat of the same conversation is harder the second time
    • Too much worry around burning bridges creates indirectness 
      • The longer something gets drug out, the more likely it is to burn a bridge
      • If you have practiced directness, calmness, empathy, and setting expectations in advance and the bridge still gets burned - do you care?
    • Stick to facts, leave emotion out of it
      • Business itself is logic, though some parts include emotion (sales, sharing vision, etc)
      • Make decisions based on what's best for your business
    • Jerry Maguire quote - "It's not show friends, it's show business"
      • Friendship is an emotional relationship
      • Emotion trumps logic, it's very difficult when you mix those together
    • Don't dredge up the past or place blame
    • Be fair, don't leave someone with an unfinished project
    • Be reasonable, don't leave someone scrambling
    • Practice emotional maturity
    • Say "thank you"
      • Thank a person exiting the relationship for the contributions they made to the project, organization, etc. Shows emotional maturity and respects their involvement. 
    • Always look for "win win" situations
      • Want for both parties (you and the other) to win
      • If you can't get "win win," then aim for "win"
      • What you don't want is "lose lose," it never works out well
    • Number one role of a manager - inspect what you expect
  • 13:28 to 14:55 - Ashland Closing Remarks
    • Stay in touch, email us (ashland@cmbatx.com) or connect with us on social (@createmeetbiz on Instagram and Twitter // Creatives Meet Business on Facebook)

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on InstagramTwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for info on Branding, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Nov 6, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Kara Kriegshauser, Client Services Professional, who joined us in April during our roundtable event on Managing Professional Relationships. As you'll soon find out, she'll walk you through the fine art of managing up, down, and across in under 15 minutes. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Kara has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:40 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Kara Kriegshauser
  • 1:41 to 3:44 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Managing Up, Down, and Across)
    • Managing up - trying to influence someone to change their mind who has say over your paycheck
    • Managing down - managing an employee, assistant, intern
    • Managing across - working with someone equal to you (a peer) to accomplish a goal that you desire
  • 3:45 to 5:10 - Success is about influencing others / 3 Main Things to help create influence
    • Empathy
    • Information
    • Reciprocity
      • Queso versus sushi with friend example that uses all three principles
  • 5:11 to 6:34 - Mutual Respect
    • Google study about what makes teams successful within Google. Survey result was "being nice to each other"
    • Mutual respect
    • What piece can you control and how can you influence within that
  • 6:35 to 11:19 - Understand Place in System and How to Build Influence
    • What's my goal. What can I control? What's my role? So, what can I control within my role?
      • Managing up example with CEO at former company
      • Managing up example with boutique owner and task management software Asana
        • Pilot your idea!
        • After implementation, work with the manager to find more ways to improve the process or solicit feedback for improvement
        • Take time to celebrate
  • 11:20 to 12:02 - Parting Quotes
    • Steve Martin, "a mistake that we make is we ask ourselves who can help me when the question to ask is instead whom can I help first."
      • Builds mutual respect
    • "The key to successful leadership today is influence and not authority."
  • 12:07 to 13:23 - Ashland Closing Remarks
    • Stay in touch, email us (ashland@cmbatx.com) or connect with us on social (@createmeetbiz on Instagram and Twitter // Creatives Meet Business on Facebook)

Links that Kara references:

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on InstagramTwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for more info on Managing Professional Relationships, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Oct 12, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Dr. Vagdevi Meunier, Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Relationships, who joined us in April during our roundtable event on Managing Professional Relationships. As you'll soon find out, she'll walk you through the fine art of boundary setting in under 15 minutes. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Dr. Vagdevi has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:43 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Dr. Vagdevi Meunier
  • 1:49 to 2:39 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Boundaries)
    • As soon as you're in a relationship, you have to think about boundaries
    • We negotiate boundaries from the time we're children
  • 2:40 to 6:37 - Setting boundaries
    • Know what makes you feel like somebody crossed a boundary for you
    • Boundaries are about personal integrity and self knowledge
    • Boundaries are necessary because they create safety and allow people to be the best versions of themselves 
    • Safety is necessary for creativity 
    • Setting boundaries is an important skill for creatives to have
    • Self awareness and observation are key to understanding personal boundaries
    • Think about personal values and sense of purpose
    • Know what makes you flourish and feel free (not restricted)
    • Know your limits and capacities
      • Know when you're approaching your capacity
      • Negotiation changes when you have a better sense of your capacity
    • Know what makes you feel fear or lack of safety
    • Know what you have a tendency to do
  • 6:38 to 7:03 - Guiding Principles
    • Write out a three sentence statement about what you're about
      • How do you want people to experience when in relationship with you
      • This becomes your set of guiding principles
  • 7:04 to 9:45 - How to Set Boundaries
    • Learn to be assertive and not aggressive
    • John Gottman research - four behaviors that are aggressive rather than assertive:
      1. Criticism
      2. Defensiveness
      3. Contempt
      4. Stonewalling 
    • The antidote for each of these is assertiveness
      • 3 R's Formula:
        • Receive
        • Reflect
          • Implicit Values
        • Respond
  • 9:46 to 10:26 - Put yourself first
    • Take time for self care!
    • Meditate
    • More likely to stand up for ourselves when we feel like we're befriending ourselves
    • Seek consultation
  • 10:27 to 11:24 - The Art of Saying NO
    • Always begin with a "Yes" and then talk about what you need and want and when it would be a good idea for you to offer that
  • 11:27 to 12:39 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for more info on Managing Professional Relationships, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Aug 31, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Jen Spencer, Founder of The Creative Executive, who joined us in April during our roundtable event on Managing Professional Relationships. As you'll soon find out, she's basically crafted a Professional Relationship 101 course that you get to partake of in under 15 minutes. She begins with defining various types of relationships then walks you through how to design them to work for you. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Jen has to say!

  • 0:00 to 0:57 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Jen Spencer
  • 1:00 to 2:14 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Designing Professional Relationships)
    • She isn't referring to all of the relationships that are part of your network (some of those are at a more superficial level), instead she's talking about the deep, meaningful relationships that are part of your business or career
    • Assumption that there's a mutual relationship of giving and taking (reciprocity, not one-sided)
  • 2:15 to 6:05 - Types of Professional Relationships
    1. Guides - could be a mentor or coach, colleague. Someone who helps guide you in your business and on your career path
    2. Partners - can be formal and informal.
      1. Link to Jen's blog post: "10 Things to Think About Before You Get Work-Married" 
      2. Uncommon to have a 20 year business partnership
      3. Collaborators 
        1. Alliance / Affiliation, a more formalized collaboration
      4. Conduit / Channel Partners
    3. Workers - employees or subcontractors. With workers, you make the call, you're in charge
    4. Clients - everyone has them!
  • 6:06 to 9:13 - Three Phases for Designing Relationships
    1. Creating - you need a direction for where you're wanting to go. Creation is about the initiation phase or "dating." Do you share values with your partner / collaborator?
      1. Link to Jen's Values Assessment (you'll need to share your name and email address to download it)
      2. What's the agreement part of the relationship, figure it out beforehand
    2. Maintaining - you're being assessed and you're assessing other people about what's working and what's not working.
    3. Refining - Use action around what you've learned in the maintaining phase. You can:
      1. Course correct
      2. Expand the relationship
      3. Pause it if it didn't feel like a good fit
      4. End it 
  • 9:14 to 9:40 - Three Questions to Think About for Your Professional Relationships
    1. Where are you going?
    2. List top 10 to 20 relationships that fit inside of Guide, Partner, Worker, Client categories
    3. What's working, what's not working, and what's missing for where you're going? 
  • 9:43 to 11:41 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

Get ready for more info on Managing Professional Relationships, stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Jul 31, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Claire Winslow, President and Senior Strategist at Best Practice Media, who joined us in February during our event on Digital Marketing. As you'll soon find out, she shares some completely brilliant insights into the world of Online Reputation Management and what you can start doing now to own your front page. She chats about which platforms you can solicit reviews on (if you must), how to google yourself incognito, tools for managing your online reputation, and so much more. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Claire has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:11 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Claire Winslow
  • 1:16 to 1:26 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Online Reputation Management and Social Listening)
  • 1:27 to 3:34 - Social Audit and Online Reputation Audit
    • Social Audit - what someone is doing on social, what their competitors are doing, etc.
    • Online Reputation Management Audit - Google people, company, executives and see what can be found
      • The best place to bury a dead body is the 2nd page on google search results
      • Your current online reputation is the top 10 results
      • Search in incognito mode to see your true online reputation
      • Important to know - how much of the content on your first page do you own yourself and how much was created by other people (or it isn't about you)
        • Best Practice Media example, took some time to own the first page because people often search for Best Practices IN Media
  • 3:35 to 5:09 - Social Listening Tools
    • Google Alerts - a free tool to help you monitor your online reputation
      • Set one for your own name, your company's name, your industry, your competitors
      • Remember to put the text in quotes ""!
      • Takes about 24 hours for results to populate
    • Enterprise level tools (like Spredfast and Brandwatch)
      • Probably don't need these tools when getting started
      • These tools can measure brand sentiment
      • VERY expensive
    • Lower cost social listening tools
  • 5:10 to 8:52 - Review Platforms!
    • Yelp - strict algorithm. Do not solicit reviews, they will not stick. Yelp knows when they're fake. 
    • Google My Business - you need a physical, brick and mortar address. PO Boxes (and the like) aren't accepted
      • Select either home address (not recommended), OR
      • Coworking space floating membership, most low cost options will allow you to use their address
    • Facebook
      • Not often thought of as a review platform
      • If you have a local page, you can get reviews
      • No algorithm for filtering out reviews
    • LinkedIn
      • You won't get negative reviews
      • Endorsements, the value is unclear
      • Recommendations are very helpful, especially when you're on the hunt for a job or new clients or when you're bidding for a client or piece of work
    • Glassdoor 
      • Platform for employees to comment about previous or current employers
      • Glassdoor has great SEO
    • Industry specific platforms
      • Avvo - for lawyers
      • Healthgrades - for doctors
      • Angie's List - services
      • Search for arts and freelancer platforms
      • Don't count these out! These are great opportunities to get new clients.
  • 8:53 to 11:22 - What to Do If You Don't Own the Content on Your First Page Or Don't Like What You See
    • Do your Local SEO - take brick and mortar address and make your own directory listings:
    • The deeper dive is to create your own content to own your front page
      • Active blog, social platform
  • 11:25 to 13:25 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

One more on Digital Marketing, then we move over to Managing Professional Relationships so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Jun 27, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Cortney Hickey, Digital Marketing Manager at lookthinkmake, who joined us in February during our event on Digital Marketing. As you'll soon find out, she shares some completely brilliant insights into the world of SEO and what you can start doing now. She chats about when to be creative (and when not to be creative), how to set up a Keyword Planner, how to update previous content to be more searchable and so much more. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Cortney has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:35 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Cortney Hickey
    • There's a couple hisses and pops in this episode - sorry!
  • 1:36 to 2:07 - Introduction of Self and Topic (how to get search engines to work for your blog)
    • SEO can seem intimidating, but it's not! 
    • SEO is for any size of business
    • There are tools you can start using today 
  • 2:08 to 2:50 - What Search Engines Do
    • Two functions:
      • Spider - they crawl around every page and link on the interwebs and create an index of everything that's out there
      • Answer Machine - create ranked lists of websites that they deem relevant and popular for a certain search term using algorithms or ranking factors
        • The full algorithm and ranking factors aren't revealed, but SEO professionals have a very good idea of what they're looking for
  • 2:51 to 4:03 - Why Blogging Is Important to Search
    • Search engines see new content as a ranking element
    • Search engines include dates for when posts were written
    • 3/4s of people use search engines to find local business information
    • Power of SEO grows over time
  • 4:23 to 5:04 - Blog Content and Best Practices
    • Focus should be first on quality content
    • Ultimate goal: write useful blog posts that are optimized for search
    • Focusing the content of each post pretty narrowly
      • What's the goal?
      • Is there a metric I can measure that goal against? 
      • Keep the content between 300 and 700 words
  • 5:05 to 7:51 - Keyword Research
    • The terms need to be something that people are searching for
    • Google Keyword Planner tool - it's free, you just need to create an Adwords Account
    • Enter in your website, theme or keyword you're thinking of and it will create a list of keywords that are relevant. Also provides search volume for the keywords.
      • The more search volume, the more competition. And thus, the harder it is to get ranked.
      • Look for long tail keywords
    • Example about "favorite things to do in Austin" blog post, get more specific.
    • Google Keyword Planner is a good place to start, but it's not creative.
    • Think outside the box!
    • Think in the searcher's brain and not just from what Google has told you
    • Once you have your keyword, pick around 3 to 5 variations of that keyword
    • Keep it natural in your content
  • 7:52 to 11:07 - Onpage Optimization
    • If you have a website hosted on Wordpress or another CMS, there's usually a plug-in that can help you get started. Yoast for example is helpful for Wordpress
    • The plug-in will analyze content, give you information on keyword density, give you an opportunity to fix your titles and descriptions of pages, and is really useful for people just getting started.
      • No code!
    • The most important aspect of this is your title tag (what shows up in search engines that people click on)
      • Don't get creative here, say EXACTLY what the blog is about
      • 70 characters or less is a good length
    • URL - most URLs are based on the name of the post, but you should shorten as much as you can.
      • Remove stop words (e.g. And, The, An) to shorten the URL
    • Meta description - the search preview snippet shown below your title
      • Not an SEO factor, but very important to stand out from other results on page
      • Any words in here that are used by a searcher are in Bold. 
    • If you're updating any images or using any media, you can set alt descriptions and give an exact title of what your image is.
      • Helps search engines with what image is about
  • 11:08 to 12:12 - Once the Post is Published - Linking
    • What other resources can you point to, include other internal or external links
    • Internal linking - the way your own website links to pages within itself
      • Important ranking factor
      • Search engines will think the page with the most links to it is the most important 
    • When you write a new blog, think about an older, more authoritative page to point from.
      • Look at your homepage or a popular previous blog, see if there's a module you can link from
  • 12:13 to 14:47 - Outreach and Amplification and SEO Takeaways
    • Social sharing and telling everyone you know!
    • Main takeaways:
      • Results of SEO don't happen overnight
      • You can't hurt anything by getting started
      • You can revisit previous content and pages to your website and make changes
        • Go to Google and type in Site: (and your website)
        • It will show all of the pages it has crawled and indexed and include the titles and meta descriptions
          • Google has webmaster tools to provide more help if pages aren't showing up
      • You can update pages on your site, not just blogs
        • Homepage, services, etc
        • Make sure external links aren't broken
      • Don't be afraid to get local with your content
  • 14:48 to 16:27 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

More on Digital Marketing so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

May 25, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Chad Jones, founder of Hatcreek Marketing, who joined us in February during our event on Digital Marketing. As you'll soon find out, he shares some awesome insights into the world of analytics and what you should really know. He chats about the scientific method, how to find the analytics that you actually need to measure and so much more. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Chad has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:43 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Chad Jones
  • 1:46 to 2:36 - Introduction of Self and Why Analytics Should be Measured Now (Not Later)
    • You should be paying attention to analytics at every stage of your business as analytics help you keep your finger on the pulse with your customers and prospective clients
  • 2:37 to 5:59 - Concepts and Approach for Analytics - The Scientific Method!
    • Travel back to middle school and revisit The Scientific Method
    • Ask questions, come up with a hypothesis, test / research, come up with a conclusion
    • First question should be - how do I provide value to a client? Then -what metric do I use to measure that?
    • Example of a photographer - metric to measure is time on site
    • Think practically about what scares you off when you're shopping for things - Reviews? Slow load time on page? Preview thumbnails are too small?
    • Analytics is: question, test, answer, new question
  • 6:00 to 7:32 - Segmented Data
    • Grouping data and looking at specific metrics inside those groups
    • Source metric - where traffic is coming from (i.e. organic search result, twitter, newsletter)
    • Example with auto post to Facebook and Twitter, how you can measure the results to see which audiences are bouncing and which are engaging
    • Segmenting data gives you actionable intel
  • 7:33 to 9:20 - Building Funnels
    • Anytime you build an email campaign, website, etc, you have an idea how you want people to step through it (steps to take)
      • i.e. social post to landing page to call-to-action to form
    • Compare predicted behavior to actual behavior 
    • Hatcreek Marketing example - basic navigation funnel
      • Why, What, How and Who
        • Look at metrics with that funnel in mind
  • 9:21 to 10:54 - Pitfalls to Watch Out For
    1. Know how the metric you're relying on is calculated
      1. Example of bounce rate on a one-page website
      2. Example with dryer not behaving properly and bouncing from site after taking all of the suggested steps from the website (the site did what it was intended to do)
    2. Watching out for bogus data
      1. Counting your own traffic
  • 10:57 to 12:51 - Deep Dive on Google Analytics
    • Conversion funnels that can send you emails
    • User flow - user behavior report
    • Good place to start if you're just now thinking about funnels
  • 12:56 to 14:00 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

More on Digital Marketing so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

May 9, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Maggie Miller, owner of MaggieGentry, who joined us in February during our event on Digital Marketing. As you'll soon find out, she shares some awesome insights into the world of email marketing. She chats about everything from strategies with downloadables and providing valuable resources to your audience to healthy open rates to strategies on when to send your emails (and much much more). Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Maggie has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:59 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Maggie Miller
  • 2:05 to 3:42 - Introduction of Self and Marketing for Solopreneurs
    • Misconception is that marketing for solopreneurs is only social media
      • You no longer own the content that you put out on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Once published, they are owned by these platforms
      • Use your social media strategy to drive people to your website or newsletter
  • 3:43 to 5:14 - How Do I Get Anyone to Join My Newsletter List?
    • Through the idea of an email opt-in, freebie, or downloadable
    • This is a free resource that provides value to the user in exchange for their email address
    • Product-based businesses provide 10% off first order in exchange for email address
    • This allows you to own the email address of that user
    • Whitelist your email address to reduce emails falling into spam or promotions filters 
  • 5:15 to 7:05 - What's My Free Resource?
    • Checklist or workbook, 5 free stock photos
    • Think about your end client, what will they find valuable?
    • Take it further though - what is valuable to them but also helpful for you? Think about the process you take with every client.
      • Example - a graphic designer who focuses on logo identity or brand design will need to create a mood board. An email opt-in could be a checklist for all of the elements for a perfect mood board or a worksheet to create. When they complete it and come back to hire you, they've completed the first checklist which helps you. 
  • 7:06 to 8:27 - How Often Should I Send Something and When Should I Send It?
    • Keep it consistent, but find YOUR consistent
    • Best time to send is typically Tuesday through Thursday
    • Test to find your sweet spot
  • 8:28 to 10:14 - Open Rates and Click Throughs
    • A healthy open rate is 30%
    • If you want to improve this, you can send a series of 3 emails to engage your audience and see if they want to still be on your list. If they say no, remove them and then you'll have a healthier list with a higher open rate.
    • A healthy click through rate is 2 to 3%
    • If you have a goal for yourself to sell a certain number of items or services, do the math backward and see how many people you'll need on your list to make your sale
    • People need to hear something 7 times before they take an action
  • 10:15 to 10:31 - A Typical Launch Strategy
    • 21 day is the sweet spot, 3 weeks and 7 emails
  • 10:32 to 12:14 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

More on Digital Marketing so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Apr 18, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features James Renovitch with The Austin Chronicle who joined us in December during our event on PR. As you'll soon find out, he succinctly explains PR from the journalist's perspective. He chats about everything from how you should speak to press to what you should share with them to maintaining your own personality (and much, MUCH more). Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what James has to say!

  • 0:00 to 2:42 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of James Renovitch
  • 2:47 to 4:45 - Rule 1: Know That You're Emailing Another Human Being
    • Know who you're talking to! That extends to the publications (what their bread and butter is) and what each journalist covers
    • Know why you're writing to them. Tech related? About social issues?
  • 4:46 to 6:08 - Not Sure Who to Start With?
    • Call the front desk of the publication. Don't ask to be transferred, just describe your project and ask who you should be emailing
    • Still not sure? In your email outreach mention "I'm not sure if you're  the right person to share this with. If you're not, could you please direct me to the right person or forward my email to them?"
  • 6:09 to 7:27 - How Many Times Should You Follow-Up
    • If there's no time sensitivity - Send first email, wait a week (include information again). If you don't hear again, that's probably it. You can try again in a few weeks, but that's really the max you should do.
    • If it's time sensitive, you can fast track it a little
    • Be mindful about phone calls
  • 7:28 to 9:27 - Tone
    • Professional or Informal? Depends on who you're writing to - know who you're writing to!
    • Don't hide your personality.
    • Professionalism is great, but that's really about including what needs to be included.
      • Don't forget to include a link to your website.
    • Put yourself in the journalist's shoes - what would they want?
      • Include a summary, photo, a link to see more
  • 9:28 to 11:10 - Don't Write the Story for the Journalist
    • Help them picture what the final product would look like
    • Include a photo, a video (if you have one), some snippet that stands out about what you've created
    • Know your strengths and weaknesses
      • If it's unfinished, mention the elements that aren't complete
  • 11:15 to 12:11 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We're moving over to Digital Marketing soon and have some pros that we can't wait to introduce you to. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Mar 30, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Kristen Chin with POM PR who joined us in December during our event on PR. As you'll soon find out, she succinctly explains SO much about "timing" in the world of PR. She chats about everything from the variety of different media outlets and when you should pitch them to what should be on your timeline and how  you should format it (and much, MUCH more). If timelines eluded you before this episode, you'll walk away with a spring in your step and a better understanding of all things PR. Because there's so SO much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Kristen has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:40 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Kristen Chin
  • 1:41 to 2:01 - Introduction of self and POM PR and topic "Timelines - Why They Matter and How to Plan One"
  • 2:02 to 2:47 - Newsworthiness
    • Ask yourself - "Is this your time and why?"
    • Think about what's your story and what's the timeframe for you
    • Editorial usually won't break more than two weeks before an event / performance. Look into paid marketing opportunities if you're wanting coverage beyond the two week mark.
  • 2:48 to 3:20 - Formatting Your Timeline and Tasks
    • Suggests using Excel or Google Calendars (create a PR calendar for your PR activities)
  • 3:21 to 4:09 - Tasks on your Timeline
    • Get your materials (press release, pitch, artwork, graphics) ready to go before you start pitching
      • Worst thing that can happen is you get press interested in your story and then don't have any images or materials and you lose the story altogether
  • 4:10 to 5:02 - Creating Your Media List
    • Research outlets and writers
    • Read recent stories the writers have written
    • Nothing will get your email deleted faster than sending something to a writer that's not relevant for them
    • Media move around a lot, make sure they're still with the publication you think they're with before you reach out (and make sure they're still writing on the same topic)
      • Check the website, masthead, LinkedIn, google
    • Beats can be very nuanced, researching helps you know you're reaching out to the right writer
  • 5:03 to 8:37 - Timeframes for long lead press
    • Magazines - 8 weeks out
      • Think of your end goal date and back that out 8 weeks
      • Tip - pull the media kit online and look at the advertising deadlines 
      • Editorial will always happen before the ad date close 
    • Calendar listings - 6 weeks out
      • All your basic information - who, what, where, when, pricing and an image
      • Many calendars are self-submitting. If it's the first time you're doing it, factor in timing for creating an account.
        • Check it after it's posted to make sure everything transferred properly, the image is correct, etc.
    • Online and blogs - pitch periodically
      • Bloggers might have content planned as much as two months out
      • Give yourself enough time
    • Coverage is in limited supply - think about when you were last featured
      • Coverage is spaced out
    • If your news isn't time sensitive, pitch it around when your topic best fits into the media's editorial calendar
      • Advertorial sections can give you a good indicator of the topic that's being featured in a publication
  • 8:38 to 11:11 - Press Releases
    • General news announcement for a vast number of outlets all at once
    • Cuts down on amount of time you need to spend on finding media contacts
    • You can use a wire service to reach a lot of press at once
    • Benefits to wire service is press release pickup that copies your press release word for word which helps with SEO and link backs to your site.
    • Downside to wire service - you have to monitor your coverage, you have no idea when your piece might hit.
    • Downside to press releases - you aren't cultivating relationships with press
    • Hybrid situation - you can build a media list yourself and then if time runs out, blast it out to your whole media list (use something like MailChimp or Constant Contact to see who opened it for follow-up).
      • You can also do this by separating your long leads from your short leads
      • You can also send to 5 or so people individually and then a press release to the remainder of the list
  • 11:12 to 11:59 - Frequency of Pitching
    • Pitch when you have something really important to say
    • Once you've pitched, you want to follow up once, wait a week and then follow-up again. Don't ever follow-up more than twice. If you haven't heard from someone after two follow-ups, they aren't interested (not the right topic or not the right time).
    • Don't get discouraged - it's all about patience
  • 12:03 to 12:58 - Ashland Closing Remarks
    • More PR to come!
    • Stay in touch, email us (ashland@cmbatx.com) or connect with us on social

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be sticking around the world of PR for a couple more weeks and have some pros that we can't wait to introduce you to. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Mar 7, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Casey Miller with lookthinkmake. She joined us in December during our event on PR. As you'll soon find out, she succinctly explains SO much about the world of PR. Topics range from media alerts to press releases to honing your story (aka - know, explain and stay true to your why) and much, MUCH more. If PR confused you before this episode, you'll walk away with a spring in your step and a better vocabulary for chatting about all things PR. Because there's so so much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Casey has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:27 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Casey Miller
  • 1:32 to 1:40 - Introduction of discussion topic - honing your story and making it compelling
  • 1:41 to 2:26 - Back it up, begin with your why
    • Don't start with what you're doing, but WHY! Tie things into your brand pillars and identity. 
    • Have this serve as your anchor for everything you do
  • 2:27 to 3:25 - Think about who your audiences are and what they will find interesting
    • Who is your audience - you, clients, media, other people in your industry (all of them combined)
    • Start by writing down a list of topics about what is interesting about what you're doing 
  • 3:26 to 4:32 - Telling what you need to tell in a tight and meaningful way
    • Be digestible and surprising
    • Be mindful of what somebody is going to cling onto. People resonate with emotional aspects and anecdotes
    • When telling a story, think about building a friendship
    • Make sure you're building a relationship with your brand
  • 4:33 to 6:54 - Press Kit
    • Evergreen, but update it when you have new content
    • Introduction to your story and your brand
    • You write it yourself, it's a way to craft your own story
    • Be mindful of adjectives and words that work best for you
    • Press Kits contain: 
      • History
      • Why you're doing what you're doing (story)
      • Background
      • Bios
      • Facts
      • General Information
    • You want your press kit to be used by media and have quotes and content pulled from this, it's how you want to be described!
    • Include visual assets
      • Always a good investment, this content can be used in so many channels to tell your story
  • 6:55 to 8:55 - Press Releases
    • Owned content (you write this yourself) that you send out to announce a significant milestone or piece of news
    • Include a couple of quotes and a boiler plate at the bottom (company bio)
    • Helps strengthen SEO for website
    • Helpful to distribute over PRWeb or another news wire service because it helps get your name out there
    • Differentiate between fluffy pieces and more timely, significant milestones. Use a press release for the significant milestones, things like: a new partnership, hitting a major milestone, announcing a new brand, an award
  • 8:56 to 11:56 - Media Pitches
    • Opportunity to tell your story to someone to share it with their audience
    • Keep your email short, around 3 to 4 short paragraphs
    • Be mindful, people read emails on their phones and consider the amount of scrolling needed to read your email
    • Be clever, catchy and hook them with your first paragraph with what you're trying to accomplish
    • Be digestible and concise
    • Don't just say "I'd love you to cover this certain thing," offer a hook and differentiate how you can be helpful and a resource
    • Take the time and think about who you're writing to (know about this journalist)
      • Look at their coverage and see if you can match your story to what they like to write
    • Your subject line is also an opportunity to hook them (if they don't know you). You're asking them to take a lot of actions, but by hooking them the hurdles get smaller and smaller.
    • Use the same adjectives you use in your press kit
    • You don't have to be the only person in a story for it to be a successful story.
  • 11:57 to 12:48 - Don't forget your interviews!
    • Prepare! Be prepared for them! 
    • You want to give a sound bite conversationally
    • Do your research on the journalist
    • Media isn't the only way to tell your story
    • Don't forget to reach out all the time, stay top of mind and be consistent
      • Don't pop up once every 6 months, they won't remember who you are
    • Eventually you'll find a story that works, the point is to build a relationship with the journalist
  • 12:49 to 13:56 - Ashland Closing Remarks
    • More PR to come!
    • Stay in touch, email us (ashland@cmbatx.com) or connect with us on social

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be sticking around the world of PR for a few more weeks and have some pros that we can't wait to introduce you to. We're so excited about future episodes on: timelines, leveraging events as part of your PR strategy and much more. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Feb 8, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Jennifer Sinski with Giant Noise. She joined us in December during our event on PR. As you'll find out, she leaves no stone unturned when it comes to Influencer Marketing. Topics range from what an influencer is, what pay to play is, how to engage with an influencer from a brand perspective and much, MUCH more. If influencer marketing confused you before this episode, you'll walk away with a spring in your step and a better vocabulary for chatting about all things influencer. Because there's so so much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Jennifer has to say!

  • 0:00 to 1:26 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Jennifer Sinski
  • 1:28 to 1:48 - Introduction of self, Giant Noise and discussion topic
  • 1:56 to 2:38 - Defines Influencer
    • Owns own platform (blog, Facebook page, YouTube), not a traditional media outlet and produces their own content. Looked to as tastemaker / leader in their area
  • 2:39 to 4:47 - Interacting with influencers and Pay to Play
    • Influencers are willing to promote a service or product in exchange for an experience or product
    • Restaurant example - dining experience for Instagram post
    • Pay to Play - Influencer will provide a media kit as well as cost for a post
  • 4:48 to 8:19 - How to Identify Influencers
    • Depends on industry
      • Food - look up hashtags, what's being tagged and who is tagging them
      • Search through location or services 
        • Instagram blocks APIs of a lot of 3rd party apps 
      • Look at Follow Page
      • Content that your friends like, people around you are liking
      • Hashtag research
        • Top content being engaged with, that content creator is someone you might consider being on the influencer level
      • Having a second means of communication - a blog, YouTube or other platform is a plus
    • Micro influencer - anyone under 20K followers on Instagram (not exclusive to Instagram, there are other platforms that should be considered)
  • 8:20 to 8:54 - Negotiating with an Influencer
    • Be clear about your expectations and what you're getting
    • With Pay to Play - Have a Contract!
      • Include: how many times they'll post, the copy of the post, when it'll be posted by, how they'll get paid, have them send a W-9
      • Don't just have a one email interaction or send product blindly, it won't come back to you
  • 8:55 to 10:14 - Identifying Fake Followers
    • You can buy followers
      • 100,000 followers with 100 likes or zero comments aren't good odds that they have real followers
    • Services that comment on photos for you doesn't translate to event attendance or product purchases
      • Services let you select demographic and it'll make comments like "This is everything" or "Thumbs up" 
    • Follow / Unfollow - following a person in the hopes they follow you back, then unfollowing them
    • Understand how Influencers have built their audience. If you are wanting to work with them, will this audience help you do what you want them to do
  • 10:15 to 12:00 - Influencer PR Strategy
    • Goes hand in hand with a traditional PR strategy. Just like you would do a media alert or press release, you'd pitch an influencer but tailor it to them
    • Expectation isn't that they will write about it. In outreach, offer opportunities for photographing and more
    • Influencer outreach is same type of interaction as press outreach
    • Done on every level, not just locally
    • Mommy blogging is a big market
  • 12:01 to 12:58 - How People Become Influencers
    • Some buy followers, for others it just happens
    • How to deal with it? Honesty with audience is key!
      • Attend media events
      • Attend free events
      • Sponsored posts are an option
    • Influencer Marketing helps brands reach their target demographic directly
  • 12:59 to 13:17 - Who Works with Influencers?
    • Ad Agencies and PR firms are in the middle, both share in this space 
    • Some ad agencies have targeted themselves as only working with influencers
  • 13:18 to 14:31 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be sticking around the world of PR for a few more weeks and have some pros that we can't wait to introduce you to. We're so excited about future episodes on: timelines, making sure your story is compelling for press, leveraging events as part of your PR strategy and much more. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Jan 17, 2017

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Jon Lebkowsky, founder and CEO of Polycot Associates. Jon is a fascinating fellow and is beyond knowledgable about all things web and development (and on ALL things internet).  Jon shares about the different types of platforms out there (and the difference between them) and what questions you should be thinking about if you're ready to work with a developer. Because there's so so much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Jon has to say!

  • 0:00 to 2:16 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Jon Lebkowsky
  • 2:20 to 5:23 - Four Categories of Platforms  
    1. Hosted Service - examples include Squarespace, Wix, Tumblr
    2. Light Content Management System - you arrange the hosting yourself. WordPress is an example. Note - WordPress does have a hosted version, but Jon is talking about the software, not the service.
    3. More Complex Content Management Frameworks. An example is Drupal
    4. Web Application Development Frameworks - Ruby on Rails is an example. Basecamp is an example of a site built with Ruby on Rails
      1. Rails is good for rapid prototyping and web application development
  • 5:24 to 7:11 - Web Development is less about building from scratch and more about re-tooling to increase and customize functionality. Two ways to extend functionality:
    1. Themes, free or purchase - configure to customize based on needs
    2. Additional functionality that's not in the core platform:
      1. WordPress - plug-ins
      2. Drupal - modules
        1. Be careful of the plug-ins or modules you attach to your site as they increase complexity to site and potential for conflicts. There could be security flaws with the plug-ins or modules, so be cautious.
  • 7:12 to 11:32 - Questions to Ask When Decided on a Platform
    • What are you trying to do and who are you trying to reach with the platform?
      • Brochure sites - basic information
      • Considered Purchase site - informative, repeat traffic from same visitor
      • Information site or portal - very information dense
      • E-commerce site - can be simple or complex
      • Web application - application that's served over the web (Basecamp is an example)
    • How are you going to choose a developer? If you have someone in mind, get to know their platform proficiency.
      • Recommended to get developer first and include them in the conversation about platform selection that will work for your project
    • How much can you afford to spend?
    • How much are you willing to spend for ongoing maintenance?
    • How often will your website and content change?
  • 11:36 to 12:36 - Content Management System For Self-Maintenance 
    • Open source allowed more freedom for customers to change  developers, no longer locked into a developer if the client was dissatisfied 
  • 12:37 to 13:57 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on TwitterFacebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be moving over to PR next, so start getting excited. Stay tuned for more!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

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