by Alyssa Craft | Jan 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
If you would like to have an email marketing list but not sure where to start, or it isn’t growing as fast as you’d like, or even have one that you’re happy with but looking for new ways to build it, then you are in luck. Today we will be sharing three tips on how to grow your email list. Follow along in the video, but if you aren’t a video fan, the transcription (more or less) is below and you can read that as well. Enjoy! How to Grow Your Email List Transcription Hey guys this is Alyssa with Bright Mind Marketing and today I’d like to talk a bit about email lists and a few ways on how you might go about growing it. First off, why might you want an email list in the first place? It gives you permission to bulk-email people. No spam, just useful stuff of course. People check their email often and every email should get delivered. If you’re currently marketing on social media, then you can’t guarantee everyone see whatever you’re promoting You OWN this list. If you have all your subscribers strictly on Facebook, then what happens if Facebook pulls the plug? Bye bye subscribers! Today I’d like to share 3 tips on how to grow your email list, but don’t use these tips for evil, only use them for good. Okay? Promise? Let’s get started. 1. Ask people It may sound silly, but sometimes all you need to do is ask people. Just say “Hey, do you receive my newsletter? Would you like to?” Let them know you’ll be...
by Alyssa Craft | Jan 1, 2015 | General Marketing
Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2015 is full of wonderful new opportunities for you! Instead of creating a blog post to say what I want to say, I thought I’d try out a video for a change. Sometimes, a video can convey much more than words on a computer screen. In this video you will find three helpful tips to awesome marketing in 2015. Enjoy! 3 Tips to Awesome Marketing in...
by Alyssa Craft | Dec 22, 2014 | Education
Today I’d like to share with you how to build a graphic design portfolio. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably pulled your hair out over trying to get your work to look decent on display. You’ve probably dealt with finicky websites as well as inconsistent photography that is either blurry, too dark, or something else on the long list of undesirables. Follow this video and I’ll teach you all of my tips and tricks to having a graphic design portfolio that really shines and gives your work the credit it deserves! Transcript Hey guys this is Alyssa with Bright Mind Marketing, and today I thought I’d share with you how to make an awesome online graphic design portfolio. This is something that I’ve always struggled with as a designer and I’ve found that even though I thought my work looked pretty good, I wasn’t able to display it online, or in print for that matter, in a way that made me feel confident about what I was doing. That is, until recently. I stumbled upon a few tips and tricks I would love to share with you and hopefully you can take your graphic design portfolio to the next level. What We Will Cover My secret to making your work look AWESOME. Like I said, in my past, this has been very challenging. I found that my work looked pretty good online in PDF format, but I’d have to get it professionally printed, and then photograph it, and then edit the photos, and a lot of times the photos might come out blurry, or too dark, and I...
by Alyssa Craft | Oct 7, 2014 | General Marketing
Let’s talk about coupons, shall we? I recently stumbled upon the below infographic from Hubspot about coupon statistics so it inspired me to write an article about them since many business owners use them. As consumers, we have all used coupons at one point or another. Some people spend a couple hours a week cutting them out of papers and magazines while others use an occasional coupon when it crosses their path and is convenient, like free Dutch Bros day when you were already on your way to get a coffee. As a business owner, it can be tempting to offer coupons and discounts to your clients because like it or not, they work. With that said, should you use them for your business or should you steer clear? Let’s look at both sides. Why You Might Want to Use Coupons As a business owner, it may make sense to use coupons as an occasional promotional strategy. You can use them as a “get your foot in the door” offer so that your potential client has a reason to call. You can treat them well, provide excellent customer service and they will hopefully come back for more and tell their friends. I wouldn’t discount your services simply for the sake of getting customers in the door, but they can work as part of an integrated strategy. Make sure you understand why you are giving out discounts and how they will ultimately impact your business. Why You Might Not Want to Use Coupons If you are familiar with my post 5 Common Marketing Tactics That May Hurt Your Business, coupons...
by Alyssa Craft | Sep 1, 2014 | Social Media
Social media hype has hit epidemic extremes. When social media was newer, small businesses used to ask “should I be on social media?” and now they are asking “which social media channels should I promote my business on?” There is nothing wrong with asking these questions, but with all the social media hype it’s easy to jump the gun and start utilizing social media when it may not be the best strategy for your small business. Let’s take a look at why social media may not be right for every business and what questions to ask to discover the best marketing strategies. Why should you not immediately fall for social media hype? We have all heard the message: everyone is on social media today and if your business is not using it, you are missing out and will be left behind. While a large percentage of the population is using some type of social media and, and while some of these people may be your target market, it doesn’t mean social media is the best way to reach them. Most small businesses don’t have the time or the budget to promote to everyone, so you need to think about who is most likely to do business with you and what is the best way to reach them. You need to find the low hanging fruit. What should you do before promoting your business through social media? There are a number of things you can do before jumping straight to social media to promote your business. By asking yourself these questions, you can start to discover if promoting your business...
