SubscribeMelodie’s 2009 Goals
Between personal and job related stress I’ll be completely honest and admit that 2008 was a rough year. To restore my sanity I decided to dedicate the month of January to refocus my energy, refresh my spirit and mentally prepare to positively embrace opportunities that come my way. This leads me to share one of my favorite quotes:
“Luck is when preparation Meets Opportunity” -Seneca (Roman Philosopher)
The quote by Seneca is a line I truly believe in for all areas of my life. I take action and am assertive toward things I want to achieve. I won’t just sit back and let things happen because I know they won’t. I’m prepared to embrace opportunities in order to maximize the success of my potential outcome. People often set goals and lose track of how to achieve them due to lack of clear milestones to track progress and lack of goal success indicators. I started off 2009 with an ambiguously big picture. I soon realized I had no road map to achieve an undefined goal so I decided to create this post as a personal reference for staying on task but also to help my readers gain a better understanding of the premise behind my blogs, social networks, client pitches, partnerships etc.
I must preface this list by saying that I’m not a numbers person but I know that numbers are a tangible way to measure a goal. I’m using them for the sake of this list but am also using active words and keeping in mind that my priorities may change so I might completely overachieve one goal but not completely reach another.
1. Write 120 Blog Posts
I have so much information that runs through my mind all time. If only I could be more consistent about documenting and sharing it. In 2009, I will be. I want feedback on ideas, provide resourceful information, share exciting events and news and leverage the power of the blogosphere to get my content out there. 120 seems like a lot but if you break it down, it’s 10 blog posts a month, 2-3 per week which I feel is very reasonable as long as I schedule time every day to blog.
2. Host 3 San Diego Speed Networking Events.
My previous post explains the event. After the last event I hosted I received great feed back and lots of emails from people asking “When’s the next event?” Before I can host any more events I have a long list of goals I need to accomplish. I need to redesign my website to make it more user friendly, seo friendly and interactive, the list goes on. I want it to be a resource for San Diego Networking. My ultimate goal to host 3 events will motivate me stay on top of all the prep work that I’ll need to do before I can even start planning the events.
3. Earn the business of 10 New Internet Marketing Clients
The more businesses I’m able to work with the more opportunity I have to execute and demonstrate the power of online marketing. I’ll be able to share my passion through educating and helping others grow their business.
4. Leverage my own Social Media Campaign
I want to update and be active in all my Social networks but I know it’s not an effective strategy if I just sign up for every social network on this list. It also won’t make sense to put minimal effort in each community. I’m choosing primary networks and secondary networks to invest my time and will remain remotely active in all the rest. I made a brief list of some things I’d like to achieve within each social network. This list is subject to change.
Primary Social networks
- Twitter- Build a strong following of people who know me as a resourceful digital marketer, connect people, provide useful information, entertain people as a socialite
- Facebook- Bridge the gap between social and work life, post photos
- LinkedIn- Become an authority by answering questions, connect people for career and consulting opportunities
- Tumblr- Anything goes! There seems to be a lot of opportunity for fun on here. Share recipes, green tips
Secondary Social networks
- Digg- Share interesting articles, videos,
- Yelp- Demonstrate and share my civic pride my letting people know about my experiences with local businesses, restaurants, events, etc.
- Myspace- I may eliminate this as a main social network but I’ve had this the longest and want to see if I can reestablish a strong brand on here as a marketer
- You Tube- Create my own video resume, share cool videos
5. Present 5 Presentations In order to give presentations they require prep work, research, collaboration with other experts etc. The work that goes into putting together presentations is a great learning experience in itself. I like the idea of vocally and visually sharing my knowledge. I get instantaneous feedback from the audience, have the opportunity to address questions, overcome objections and speak face to face with leaders who are eager to learn. In 2008 I gave the following presentations. I look forward to expanding upon this list in 2009. I know that I’ll need to update my speaker page with past presentations, photos, video, etc.
- 1. Women’s Global Network: Communicating with the Media
2. Art Institute of San Diego: Meet the Industry
3. San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce: Clear Channel Marketing
4. BarCampSD: Origami with Melodie
I have a plethora of other goals, but I feel that listing five will allow me to stay more focused. Many of my other goals are actually milestones that will help acheive the ultimate goals on this list. And of course I have non-career related goals that aren’t listed but are just as/if not more important, one of them trumps the importanace of every other goal on this list so I’ve definitely got my work cut out of me in 2009.
Why You Should Hire a Millennial Marketer
I’d like to start off by saying I have the utmost respect for those who have been in the internet marketing industry for years (many marketers I meet say at least 10 years). I commend you for being an early adopter, futuristic and constantly adapting to the internet as it evolves. Your success is my motivation!
Whenever something new enters the market, there’s always speculation along with anticipation. Will the new restaurant succeed? Will this new product take off? How is the rookie going to do when faced with all seasoned Veterens? or you can look at it in a more positive way. I can’t wait to check out that new hot spot! The new product is going to blow away all the others! This blog post is dedicated to my own unique selling points as fresh, new Internet Marketer and why my new status will benefit your marketing campaign.
I’m a Millennial Internet Marketer! The Millennial generation born between 1980-2008 (may be variations), growing up in the 90s and 2000s and educated with bleeding edge technology. I entered the workforce merely less than 3 years ago with more drive, ambition and hunger for learning than you could ever imagine! I’ve created a buzz, challenged old school thinkers and started a revolution of new ideas from the perspective of the actual end user. I too was there from the very beginning in an even more engaged and active way than most.
- YES I was on Facebook when only college students had the privilege to use it
- YES I had a Friendster in high school when all of you who now use Facebook and LinkedIn thought Social Media was for “kids”
- YES I blogged on Xanga almost every single day!
- YES I knew every single numeric code for pagers
- YES I had a brick cell phone when they were embarrassing to be seen with one!
So what does this mean? I may not have 10 years of marketing experience but I have more than enough experience with the technology that these “kids are growing up with” because I AM that Millennial Kid! Couple that with my strong background in traditional marketing where I bring the successful aspects of old school marketing and accelerate those elements with the internet and my passion for the the industry and you have me! Melodie Tao aka: Marketing Melodie aka: @MyMelodie on Twitter aka your Millennial Internet Marketer!
If that doesn’t overcome your objections to hire me for your next Online Marketing campaign then I encourage you to reach out to me with more questions and challenges. I love what I do and I love educating people on why it’s essential to have an effective internet marketing campaign!
Blogger’s Block, No More!
Recently I’ve been getting writer’s block (or blogger’s block in this case) when writing blogs. I realized I’ve been putting a lot thought into my blogs because I want them to be fine-tuned without any errors to sound professional. Someone brought to my attention that I just need to sound like myself when I blog. Well, “myself” does not have any problem with thinking of things to say or talk about. I’m good at impromptu and adapting my answers and comments to any given situation. I speak what’s on my mind and my passion for reflects in my delivery. From now on I’m adopting the same policy with blogging as speaking. I want my blog to reflect my unique personality, not sound like a corporate website. Blogs are unique to each individual and for the most part have no set standards, formulas or structure.
Blogger's Block
Now that I understand the power of blogging, I’m going to write what’s on my mind and if someone doesn’t agree, then they should start their own blog.
Another step forward to Marketing Melodie 2.0. Thanks to everyone who’s been supportive of my web transformation. Even when I have technical questions my new web community has been quick to answer them in order to guide me in the right direction. Happy blogging everyone!
Blog Transfer
Another downfall of Weebly is that I am unable to export my blog! I want to make sure my previous posts are still published and here for you as a resource so the next series of blogs will consist of me copying and pasting my old blogs. The archives will be off but I’ll make sure to begin each blog with the date it was written. Enjoy!
Bye Bye Weebly
My current website and blog are hosted on Weebly. I must say that Weebly has given me more trouble than any other web service I’ve used. Every single time I’ve tried to edit my blog a box pops up that says:
Oops!
Weebly encountered an exception. Please try your last request again.
syntax error
Sorry about that. In any case, click me and I’ll go away.
I proceed to “click me” so it goes away, but of course it does not go away. It takes me 15 minutes just to access the page where I can type my blog, then I have to “publish” it multiple times before it actually goes through. At first I thought it was an error that Weebly would fix, so I continued to blog on their site. Four months later the error still occurs. One of the main reasons I haven’t kept up with my blog is due to difficulty in accessing it. So finally, I’ve decide to take some time to import all of my blogs to WordPress. Now I find that Weebly does not have a tool which allows you to export their blogs! If anyone has any tips on how I might export my old blog from Weebly into my new one, please let me know. The only solution I can currently think of is to cute and paste each blog individually. The archives obviously won’t match up but at least I’ll have my information in one space.
So what attracted me to Weebly in the first place? Well they market themselves to be the “Easiest way to create and publish a website online”. Oh yeah and they are FREE. I learned that you get what you pay for. Stay tuned for a new and improved website and blog from me.
Six Easy Ways to use Promotions in Your Marketing Campaign
I love creating and executing promotions for several reasons. It keeps your product/service in consumers’ minds. It stimulates demand for your product. Promotions can also be customized and developed in so many different ways that it really gives me an opportunity to be creative. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity. It’s one piece of the pie in an effective marketing campaign. Consumers only respond to your advertising when they are in need of your service or product, therefore it’s important to always be top of mind to your potential consumer. This is where effective promotions can really help!
I’ve compiled a list of 6 things you can easily do that require little or no additional effort and money.
1. 1. Wear your business- Easy way to promote while being active. If you’re participating in leisure activities such as a sports league, an adventure club or even a social club wear something such as a t-shirt with your company logo, website or a slogan that may spark the question “What does your shirt mean?” Then when someone inquires about your logo/slogan you can give a brief plug about your business. Great conversation starter!
2. 2. Put Your Logo & Contact Info on Every Outgoing Piece of Paper and Electronic Document- People like convenience and this makes it so much easier to be at your consumer’s fingertips. They can reach out to you immediately after seeing a promotional product that reminds them of you because they don’t have to go look anything up. Make sure your thank you cards, emails, any promotional products, brochures, paper documents, etc. all have your logo and a way to contact you, even if it’s just a website.
3. 3. Put Tips on Business Cards -You can imagine how many business cards I receive from all of the networking I do. Make yours stand out by placing some useful tips on the back. For example many people have PDAs that don’t have the letter keypad it’s hard to identify a number such as 1-800-CALL-NOW. Having a business card with the letters on the phone pad would come in handy. Common phone numbers and websites are also good tips. I’ve even received a business card and on the back they listed how to figure out your blood alcohol level depending on your weight and the number of drinks you’ve had. Figure out some useful tips that may correspond with your business and put them on the back!
4. 4. Social Networking- Most social networking sites are free! What a great way to promote to thousands of people in a space where they already belong. Get your company on as many sites as possible because in this day and age you really need to reach out to your consumer. Don’t wait for them to seek you out. Remember, convenience is a huge factor in consumer’s buying decisions. Currently every single business needs a website. Sooner than later every single business will need a Myspace, Facebook, etc.
5.5. Cross promotion- Identify other businesses that target your same demographic and develop promotions that benefit both parties. For example, give a discount for your business if they purchase something for the other business. Create a giveaway that involves products/ services from both businesses. You can also place each other’s information on your website and in your store.
6. 6. Create an Interactive Blog- Pose questions on your blog and ask readers to answer them by offering an incentive. For example, everyone who answers your question will be entered to win, Free advertising on your website for one month, a gift card, products/services from your business, etc. The more you engage your reader, the more likely they’ll be to return to your blog.
