Monster Mice interview with Didi King.

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Didi King is a certified Thinking into Results consultant and Proctor Gallagher Institute consultant and mastermind facilitator. She helps her clients build success, discover their deepest goals, and reach their potential. During this interview she shares with us how to build more self-confidence. Find out more at www.didiking.com.

 

 

 

 

Monster Mice interview with Rob Munch.

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Rob Munch is a certified John Maxwell coach, trainer and speaker. He helps people during transitions in their career and life. During this interview he shares how finding your purpose will help you succeed, not matter what profession you are in. Find out more about Rob Munch at www.robmunch.com.

 

 

 

How to promote music events.

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Douglas Detrick is a friend from Lawrence University. He and I both studied trumpet performance.

When I caught up with him recently, I was happy to see that he was still playing the trumpet and composing.
But he’s also bringing his marketing skills to the table in a big way, raising money and awareness and growing a loyal fan base for the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble as well as for his own musical projects.
During this interview, he tells you all about the marketing methods that have worked well for him and will work with other musicians.
Listen to it here.

WAY too much traffic.

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Last night we were driving up 285 toward Carlsbad, NM, (still on the Texas side) when we hit a pothole hard.

The air exploded out of our tire. My husband steered the van onto the shoulder of the road while a speeding semi bore down on us from behind.

We drove as far down into the shallow ditch as we could, dumped a dozen Christmas presents onto the dirt to get at the spare and got to work.

Meanwhile, tankers and other huge trucks continued to speed by… going 80, 90 miles per hour. This was insane!

The narrow two-lane road was in terrible shape, potholes everywhere and yet the drivers were treating it like it was a freeway.
There was just too much traffic.
The oil companies are clearly making lots of money, but the infrastructure is falling apart.
Most business owners have the opposite problem. Their products are ready to go, but they aren’t getting enough traffic to make consistent sales.
If this sounds familiar, we should talk.
I can write the kind of engaging content that will bring new customers to your site, engage your audience, give them a reason to sign up for your newsletter and buy from you.
If you want to get more traffic and make more sales in 2018, let’s get started now.

Check out my new LinkedIn profile pic

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Last fall, Mary Rose Maguire and I were both listening to Ann Handley’s brilliant talk about content marketing at AWAI’s boot camp.

Ann was explaining the folly of littering your LinkedIn profile with the “constellation of nope” … which is her term for the default cover photo in LinkedIn. When you leave the default photo there you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to tell people about who you are and what you do.

So when Mary Rose offered to make me a new cover photo for my LinkedIn profile, how could I resist?

Not only does Mary Rose know me, and she understands my business, but she also knows the value of having a great cover photo. She was offering me what I needed, just at the time when I needed it.

How about you?

P.S.

Here is what she came up with.

 

How to promote music events, an interview with Douglas Detrick

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I met Douglas Detrick years ago when we were both studying trumpet performance at Lawrence University.

These days Douglas is still playing trumpet (and the banjo!!!) and he’s the executive director of the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble.

In this episode he shares his wealth of experience promoting jazz concerts, selling tickets, raising money for a non-profit and telling engaging stories that get people from all walks of life to care about what he’s up to musically.

 

 

How Karen achieves a consistent online presence

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On Tuesday morning I stopped by the Karen Wray Gallery to take some pictures of Karen painting.
I’ll also be sure to use the pictures in upcoming articles about her art classes and exhibits, in her newsletters and on her Facebook page.
I have been working with Karen for several years. I enjoy getting to know all the artists in her gallery and telling the stories of their creative lives.
Karen wrote a testimonial for my website recently. Here is what she had to say about the experience working with me.
“Mandy is my publicist. She writes articles for the magazine and the local papers and also posts articles on social media. It’s well worth the money, and it gets rid of the headache of ‘I have to write this article.’ Mandy takes care of it.

Since I hired Mandy, I have more of a continuous presence online and locally. People are aware of my gallery, see the articles and appear to read them, and they come in as a result. I have seen an increase in people saying they found me through articles and Facebook.

As a business owner, I was thinking of saving time over saving money before hiring Mandy. For someone who knows how to write well, knows how to place them… it’s invaluable.
I would absolutely recommend Mandy to other people. She works very hard to satisfy [the] business owner. She’s very creative with the placement of articles. Recently, I had someone from Santa Fe come up after reading an article about us. I didn’t put it there!”
I have some openings for new clients in 2018. If you would like to hear more about my services and see if I could help your business, sign up for a free 15 minute meeting where we can go over your marketing needs.

Do you need someone to plow your parking lot or driveway?

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A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to make a brochure for a group of men who have a local snow plowing business.
Here’s how it turned out.
Front:
Don't get snowed in, front (high quality)
Back:
brochure rear, high quality
If you’re in Los Alamos, call Valente Yoder at 505-692-8422 or Luis Ontiveros at 505-695-0083.
They do residential and commercial snow removal.

 

This article brought shoppers into the gallery.

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People ask me all the time how to write copy for the art market.

Apparently, it’s one of those niches that seem mysteriously difficult to write for.
Whenever there is an event at the Karen Wray Fine Art Gallery, Karen has me write a press release about it.
When we publish articles that show that there is a special event, she will get a crowd of people.
Here is a link to the most recent article, all about how people can get some unique Christmas gifts right now.
Karen said, “Thank you for the article about our Christmas show! Several customers mentioned that they read it and chose to come in due to the article!”
If you have an event coming up, or want to get more people to come to your business, a press release might work for you. Click here to make an appointment.

That was sooo unprofessional!

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I’ve been bellyaching all week because a client canceled a project.

He didn’t mark up what I wrote or say anything was wrong with what I gave him.

I don’t think it had much to do with the work at all.

His biggest problem was ME.

I could totally take it personally this time.
He didn’t think I acted professionally. I was late to our meeting. I didn’t seem to be paying attention when he was talking. And he was really offended when he could hear kids in the background when we spoke on the phone.
I get that there are some basic things that I can improve my business life.

I am going to be more punctual, but I am also going to charge people for mileage and my time when they ask me to meet in another city.

I will never again take a call when there will be kids in the background, but that means that if a client calls on a Saturday and asks, “Is this a good time?” the answer will be, “No, let’s make an appointment.”

With those things out of the way, I want to talk about the bigger issue here.

Being PROFESSIONAL.

I am a professional writer… people pay me to do this. But you’re not hiring me because I’m going to show up in the three-piece suit holding a clipboard and an official file.
You hire me because I am going to get to know you, find out what makes you and your business special and unique, and then write something that will connect with your audience on an emotional level.

In the past, my laid back demeanor helps me accomplish my goals. It makes other people feel comfortable, and when they feel comfortable they start to share their stories and give me the kind of material that works.

I want your unique personality to shine through when I write something for you.

P.S. So if you want to be 100% professional, it might not be a good fit. I want to get to know you and show just enough of your quirky side to get people’s attention and get them to buy.