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A Good Writer's Industry Knowledge Knows No Bounds
| Posted on September 7, 2021 at 4:20 PM |
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As a marketing (and sales) copywriter, I’m often asked by perspective clients whether I have experience in their industry. While no writer has direct experience in every business sector; my career highlights include forays in diverse industries including financial services, healthcare, hospitality, high tech/IT/software, real estate/construction a...
Read Full Post »Marketing Hones Perspective
| Posted on July 20, 2021 at 2:45 PM |
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The title phrase above may seem extremely obvious, but think about the statement for a moment. After all, our perspectives of things certainly shape our approach to them. Whether we attend an event, purchase a product or sign up for a service most likely depends upon our thoughts or feelings towards the offering itself; or the company making the offer. ...
Read Full Post »Delivering Creative Copy & Imagery Using Today's Technology
| Posted on June 21, 2021 at 2:05 PM |
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Using the Right Avenues for Optimal Response
As we’ve said before, marketing really boils down to a couple of focal points: outreach and branding. The former is used to capture attention and invoke a response, the latter to reinforce a firm and its offerings to the audience. And both of these campaign types require ...
Read Full Post »Getting Back in the Saddle...
| Posted on June 9, 2021 at 2:25 PM |
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Great Marketing is Impossible without Great Content
Long-term contracts are much appreciated by freelance marketers – especially when a satisfied client hires one away to a full-time position. Having just wrapped a three-year stint in digital marketing for a manufacturing firm - it’s time to get Creative Co...
Read Full Post »Blowing Smoke – My Father’s New Cigar Cave
| Posted on April 13, 2020 at 9:58 AM |
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 Marketing communications is a creative endeavor; and we high-strung marcom types need our mental downtime to refresh the batteries of notion, concept and idea…this is about one of the methods I use to clear my head in order to give my clients my best efforts…While not politically correct today, my father and I (and occasionally others), enjoy hand-rolled cigars accompanied by premium spirits. It’s a bonding rite as well as a mental-health break. And, this being Florida, the enjoyment at times is greatly reduced due to the repressive weather conditions of summer’s heat and humidity. The initial thought was to carve out part of the family room as a glass-enclosed lounge next to the sliding-glass door leading to an outdoor patio that will be enclosed with a screened-in cage. This, however, is close to the main part of the house, and may have residual scent if so done. The office on the other hand, is in a more remote part of the abode – and hence lends itself well to becoming a multi-purpose room – where a cigar & libations lounge would be much more sequestered. So, I approached the “boss” of the house, my mother, with the idea - though I expected some resistance. But she took it upon herself to research air purifiers (smoke eaters) and found one that fits the bill. Then, we sealed up the access door with casement insulation and a threshold to ensure minimal cigar-scent egress. This has worked out well both socially, and from the “mind clearing” intent desired. (And of course, the escaping of the summer weather with enjoyment in an air-conditioned environment effect we were seeking.) The camaraderie and conversation have been both voluminous and energetic, not to mention cathartic – a win all the way around. (And the classical music in the background doesn’t hurt either – what snobs!) While not for everyone, the “cave” has left us recharged and refreshed and rewarded us with a break from our online ministrations. Getting away from the screens periodically, and conversing in-person, has made for some great experiences and memories already – and we look forward to many more! |
It’s that Time of Year again - Marketing Trends & Resolutions
| Posted on January 9, 2019 at 1:30 PM |
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 Happy New Year! And speaking of which, it’s time for those
pesky but oft well-inspired resolutions. We here at Creative Collaterals
resolve to better practice what we preach to our clients in terms of posting
blog entries on our own website on a more regular basis! (As I’ve written before
– like the
cobbler with no shoes – we get so caught up helping our clients (our first
priority of course) that we fail to help ourselves at times…;) Our clients are, of course, priority one. We enjoy helping
them turn their business dreams into reality thorough creative content, imagery
and campaigns that helps them best market their businesses. In 2019, we’ll work
to incorporate new digital marketing trends seamlessly into our clients’
collateral focusing on optimized web pages, email campaigns and e-newsletters
to reach out to new prospects, as well as keeping in touch with current
customers. Some key content marketing trends for the coming year
include:
Regarding email, Wendy Marx writes in ‘8
Content Marketing Trends That Will Fire Up Your Strategy,’ “Just how
important is email in reaching and nurturing your audience? A study from HubSpot
reveals that 86% of professionals prefer to use email when communicating for
business purposes. But does not mean that you should email simply for email’s
sake? No. Consider 78% who unsubscribed from an email list complained about
receiving too many emails.” Like most things in life – it’s all about balance.
We hope everyone enjoyed
Happy & Healthy Holidays. We look forward to a Prosperous 2019! |
Content Marketing – Failure is Not an Option!
| Posted on September 17, 2018 at 12:08 PM |
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 Content Marketing, the creation and sharing of online
information to inform, entertain, and maybe even amuse your audience; is meant
to engage – not overtly sell. Consistently posting and distributing information
relevant to your desired audience that is also optimized for online search
(SEO), is a big step in the right direction to helping you realize your
marketing and business goals.The customers and prospects you covet need to see your
online content as valuable. While this sounds pretty obvious; if you peruse a
few websites on the Internet, you’ll find too many that either are hard-selling
when they should be educating; or don’t post often enough to gain any traction
in their targeted market segments. Purveyors of products and services need to
give readers a reason to come back to their websites, after all… Or, as the Content
Marketing Institute so aptly states, “Content marketing is a strategic
marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and
consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and,
ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Instead of pitching your
products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to
your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues.” One of the best ways to feature ongoing content is through
diligent creation, and sticking to a regular posting schedule (at least weekly).
Since most businesses don’t change the majority of their web pages frequently; blogs
provide a great way to showcase the fact that your firm is an expert in their
industry – offering insightful and relevant information that readers (targeted
customers and prospects) find useful. Ongoing media release distribution also provides a great way
to highlight your firm’s news. After all, a company that doesn’t post new
offerings, hires, and other signs of growth on a regular (monthly) basis may
appear stagnant – a potential death knell in today’s fast-paced business
environment. And online media release distribution is easy to do, and very
inexpensive, about one hundred dollars per release. Augmenting web-based blog and PR postings with email
campaigns will further ensure that your online presence (SEO) is enhanced – and
that your target audience is reached. Email and newsletters sent directly to
recipients who already have been in touch; offer ways to continue to keep your
company and its offerings “on their radar;” while at the same time provide opportunities
for lead generation (via cross selling for instance) and list building – for
example, via incentives to introduce your wares to others.
How about this for a
goal? If your customers and prospects look forward to receiving your marketing
– that’s Content Marketing done well! |
Baseball & Marketing - More Than Keeping Score
| Posted on August 28, 2018 at 2:45 PM |
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 As any baseball fan knows, the game for die-hard followers is
all about statistics. The level of detail in the gathering and analyzing of
these numbers can be off-putting and distracting to casual observers of the
game; but to baseball purists, it’s a part of what makes baseball – well, baseball.
Hitting stats like RBIs, walks, home runs and extra base hits coupled with
pitching data such as ERA, strikeouts, wins, losses and saves provide the
metrics used to measure performance.In much the same way baseball’s offense and defense work
together and play off one another; marketing’s two sides, the creative and the analytical,
must also mesh well together to get desired results. Creative content and
imagery mean nothing to a company if they don’t drive prospects and customers
to purchase a firm’s offerings after all. Of course marketing analytics measure the performance of campaigns
being used; but the data can also help provide valuable feedback for campaign
corrections. For instance, by clearly defining the level of success of each campaign
- so that they may be continued, revised to capitalize on certain market segments
or offers that are responsive, or discontinued altogether if not getting desired
results. Content marketer Nick Nelson discovered ‘4
Marketing Lessons Learned from Baseball,’ “A fortuitous series of
circumstances led to my involvement as a co-founder of Twins Daily, which now
counts itself as one of the nation’s biggest completely independent fan sites
covering a pro sports team. Through five years of ups and downs with this
passion hobby and labor of love, I’ve gained some insights that prove
indispensable in my day job as a content marketer." His highlights and lessons learned:
And, ‘Bring it Home,’ continually challenge and engage readers
“don’t just collect them like baseball cards.” This will help to make
connections with readers deeper and more meaningful – leading to better metrics
thorough insightful and informative content.
Creative Collaterals –
Contact Us and Get the Word Out |
Marketing & the Internet of Things - It's about Connectivity
| Posted on July 24, 2018 at 1:15 PM |
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 As I was writing a blog for a client recently – it occurred to
me that the column topic and marketing are both about connectivity. While the
Internet of Things (IoT) is about the interoperability of Internet communications
technology; marketing too is about establishing connectivity as well. Not a new
notion of course, but an interesting parallel. We’ve been fortunate to receive several kudos from clients
as of late; complimenting our efforts on their behalf to enhance their digital
online presence. And like the IoT – online marketing is about establishing and
reinforcing connections. The more relevant and SEO-laden content a business has
on the Internet – the better; however, it must be well written and optimized
correctly. But the IoT doesn’t refer to just IT devices. According to a
recent posting on TechTarget
on the subject, “A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart
monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that
has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low or any other
natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and is able to
transfer data over a network. “IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless
technologies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the
internet. The convergence has helped tear down the silos between operational
technology (OT) and information technology (IT), enabling unstructured
machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights to drive improvements.” Marketing campaigns are interconnected as well. Continuity
across all messaging means that when clients and prospects receive your emails,
newsletters as well as web, blog and social media postings; they know from
where it’s coming – enhancing your brand, establishing trust and encouraging
action. Establishing and building upon your businesses online presence is an
ongoing endeavor – that leads to consumer confidence and repeat business. Web-enabled devices allow consumers anytime access to reach
your messaging, and of course your products and services, when it’s convenient
to them. So it’s important to have marketing campaigns speak consistently and
constantly to address the needs of your targeted market. Keeping online content
fresh and relevant keeps your offerings highlighted and in the forefront of consumers’
minds.
Creative Collaterals –
Contact Us and Get the Word Out |
The Cobbler with no Shoes…
| Posted on May 8, 2018 at 2:41 PM |
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 Post Online Content Regularly
for Best Business Results As so often happens in business, you’re so busy serving
clients, that the needs of your business take second place. You fall behind in
administrative and other tasks – especially ongoing marketing efforts. We too
are guilty of not keeping up at times with our own blog postings – in order to
focus on our clients’ needs. But keeping your marketing content house in order is
important for your Internet presence. Those persistent online algorithmic bots
that produce query results are ever searching for new content to present in
searches – searches that lead customers and prospects to your business! Regular blog posts also provide a way to show the
marketplace your experience and expertise in your field. Blogs are meant to be
informative and educational – in an approachable, problem-solving way – and should
not be overtly sales oriented. “The stats around
the subject of blogging are pretty compelling. According to HubSpot,
marketers who blog receive 67% more leads and receive 97% more links to their
websites; and links mean search engine rankings. However, many businesses get
blogging spectacularly wrong because they miss some of the most basic
principles. “Most businesses
get blogging spectacularly and embarrassingly wrong because they fail to
understand their blog's purpose. They create blogs in the mistaken belief that
people give a hoot, they don't. Most people reading your company's blog are not
doing it for pleasure, they're not hanging on your every word; they're simply
trying to solve a problem.” ‘What is the
Purpose of a Blog?’ by Red Evolution Customer testimonials and success stories, as well as
partner or vendor profiles, are another avenue to highlight success in your
firm. These “feel good” pieces provide a way to feature both your happy
customers; and your business partners that help make your firm’s growth happen. All of these pieces should be distributed via social media
outlets such as LinkedIn or Google Business once posted on your website. The more
places you use to showcase your company and its offerings – the greater the
chance of being found by your target audience – and the more exposure your
products and services have to those who want or need them! Here’s to your
success!
Creative Collaterals –
Contact Us and Get the Word Out |
