Tonight I administer the final exam for my marketing class at Platt College.  I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have attracted this opportunity into my life. Teaching this course has provided me with such a strong foundation for being an educator and enhanced my professional knowledge and skills in many areas as described in my previous post about Social Media Education. This is the first final exam I’ve ever administered, but the word “final” definitely doesn’t describe my continued ventures in education.  Last April 2009, I had the privilege of attending  WeekendU’s Internet Power course.

Weekend University is an innovative educational institution focused on practical in-person and online digital skills education. Their courses deliver practical knowledge from experienced practitioners, providing students with real world skills they can use the next day in their professional and personal lives.

WeekendU is lead by Dmitry Shapiro, a pioneer in the tech industry and one of the most well respected leaders in the online space. I can honestly say that this course revolutionized the way I use the internet. I’m more efficient, organized and the information I want is coming to me.  During the course I had my laptop open and implemented many of Dmitry’s recommendations. I immediately noticed my productivity skyrocket. My enthusiasm for this course is conveyed in the WeekendU Internet Power Video.

In addition to improving my own skills, I was empowered with technology and information that allowed me to teach others the same innovations I learned. Many of the talks I give and classes I teach are founded on the principals from this course.  Since I’ve been an evangelist for WeekendU’s education for the past year, it is now an absolute honor to announce that I’ll be an Instructor at WeekendU, along with Dmitry and other experienced technology and online entrepreneurs.  Please stay tuned for upcoming webinars and in person classes I’ll be teaching. WeekendU has big plans in store for 2010 and beyond.

The first course I’ll be teaching is Internet Power this Saturday February 27^th at UCLA. Dmitry will lead the class on finding information faster, organizing and managing information flow, leveraging power tools and I’ll be teaching a section on Social Media.

I’m giving away one complimentary pass to attend the course and as always offering you 3 ways to win. If you participate all 3 ways, you’ll be entered 3 different times. The winner will be chosen Thursday evening so you have a couple days to plan for Saturday.

1. Join my Facebook page and leave a comment my Facebook “Discussion”  about WeekendU

2. Retweet this blog post with the Tweet button on the top left of this post and make sure to include my Twitter name @MyMelodie in the tweet.

3. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me your biggest challenge with managing your internet use (ie: overloaded email inbox, difficulty finding relevant information, etc)

Additionally I’m offering my entire network $100 off this Saturday’s course.  So please let me know if you’d like a promo code.

Whether you’re a novice internet user or an online industry leader, I guarantee you will learn something valuable from this class. In fact we’re so confident  we offer  “100% Satisfaction Guranteed – Or We Will Refund Your Registration Fee” I look forward to seeing you on Saturday at UCLA!

I’ve emphasized in many previous posts the importance of education especially in the online world as it’s such a rapidly changing space. It’s important to understand what works and what’s no longer relevant in order to stay ahead of evolving technology, be an early adopter and really understand the landscape of the social media revolution.

My most recent venture in education industry is one that I’m most grateful for. I have the privilege to educate college students at Platt College San Diego on a subject that is my absolute passion, Online Marketing and Social Media. I was hired to develop a brand new Marketing curriculum focused on innovation, new technology and social media which is really the essence of marketing in 2010 and beyond. The school teaches students both traditional and contemporary skills because the fields  instructed at Platt (3D Animation, Graphic & Web Design, Digital Video Production) are in a constant state of development. There is a strong emphasis on providing a foundation in problem solving skills to meet future challenges and needs of a constantly evolving job market. My role as a Marketing & Communication Instructor is to empower students with new technology and social media skills for their professional development and career ventures.

I’ve only been teaching the class for a few weeks and although it’s my role to be the educator, I have learned a significant amount in areas of business management, professional speaking, presentation skills and more. By sharing my learning I’d like to inspire others to start educating about their passion. Education isn’t limited to a college setting.  There are many platforms that allow one to teach about their passion. Professionals can educate other business owners, speak at industry events and educate within their own company. If you’re passionate about something, share it with others and that’s exactly what I’m doing!  Here’s how educating has helped my career development allowing me to better serve my clients and partners as an Online Marketing Consultant, Social Media Strategist, Speaker and Entrepreneur.

1. Refined Professional Speaker- I’ve been using professional speaking as a marketing tool for myself and a service offering to help businesses and events for the past few years. Speaking has always come naturally to me especially when I’m talking about my passion. The act of teaching has refined my professional speaking skills significantly because I’m constantly practicing my ability to read the audience and engage them with compelling content. I’m learning better ways to prompt participation to create an interactive experience. I’m also enhancing my skills to be clear and concise with my messaging.  Each lecture I give is essentially a new speaking platform for me as I continue to grow my business as a paid professional speaker on online marketing and social media.

2. Better Visual Presentations- I’ve learned how to incorporate visuals in a way that tells a story  thus eliminating long drawn out sentences through excessive bullet points. Images trump text in any publication as people see  images before even scanning the text.  Choosing the right images for your presentation really makes a difference in the ability to engage your audience. My visuals are consistent with my lecture.

3. Enhanced Business Management Skills- I compare managing a group of students to a leadership role in a company where you’re managing a team. I’m responsible for providing clear instruction, managing expectations, motivating my students to meet deadlines and being an overall leader that inspires my class to really take the initiative to stay learn.

4. Increased Knowledge about the Social Media Landscape- Since teaching the class I’ve educated myself more on the social media landscape and technology developments. I find myself reading more blogs, watching more videos and scouring social media for examples and case studies relevant to my lectures. While I do this because it’s a passion, it’s now become a responsibility. As a leader  in the classroom and a professional in the online marketing space, I expect myself to fully understand the evolving social media landscape.

5. Improved Interpersonal Communication- My interpersonal communication skills are constantly being challenged and improved as a Instructor. I work with students from all walks of life so I must be able to adapt to their style of communication but also implement strict policies in a manner which allows them to understand the benefits of my assignments and requests. I must be understanding of each individual student’s circumstances while being firm about my policies and overall craft replies that are tactful and respectful. These are the same strategies I apply to business relationships so the more situations I’m in where interpersonal skills are necessary the better I become at improving my own communication.

As my class continues I look forward to sharing more of what I learn and how it applies to my career development. I’m always open to new opportunities to teach and educate others so feel free to contact me if you feel there is a good fit with my teachings and your educational institute, business or organization.

I’ll be attending the DMA conference for the 2nd year in a row Oct. 17th-22nd. Last year I was introduced to the event in Las Vegas. I didn’t have a chance  for much pre planning to create a marketing strategy around my attendance last year but I got a good idea on what to expect and how to create opportunities this year. I’m happy to be living in DMA09’s host city aka: America’s Finest City, San Diego!  The San Diego Convention Center located on the beautiful San Diego bayfront is a prime location for large conferences, especially during this time of year. While we’re still enjoying the beautiful sunshine many places are already snowing!?

I’m so excited that everyone at DMA09 will get a glimpse of our gorgeous city! I’m participating in myriad of activities and want to invite you to join me in one way or another. Here’s the inside scoop on some awesome events, sessions and labs I’ll be participating in during the DMA!

1. BusinessOnLine’s Usability Sessions & Labs – Monday October 19th: The Usability sessions will help define user-experience and demonstrate how the user’s perspective should be taken into account when developing all the components of your site – from navigation, to image placement and calls-to-action. All DMA09 Attendees have an opportunity to sit down with a Usability expert for a personalized lab. The lab will give you time to discuss your website usability challenges where we’ll give you a better understanding on items which have the biggest impact on your ROI and tips on how to improve your efforts. Labs run in 15 minute increments from 9:30am to 5:30pm. You’ll get a sense of the caliber BusinessOnLine is able to deliver if you’d like to engage in further services.  Labs will full up quickly so please reach out to me if you’d like to schedule a time.

2. BusinessOnLine’s Social Media Labs- Tuesday October 20th: Social Media Labs run in 15 minute increments from 9:30am to 5:30pm. These labs allow you to discuss your social media situation and ask questions about strategy and measurement. We’ll review your on-site activity: sharing features, blogs, digital assets, and participation, off-site activity: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTub, Integration between platforms and activities. We’ll go over the importance of monitoring and measurement. This entire session is customized to your current social media participation and again will give you a sense of BusinessOnLine’s capabilities in Social Media Optimization. These labs will also fill up quickly, so please contact me if you’d like to participate.

3. Live Tweeting- For the latest event updates, education, inspiration, TweetPhotos and reminders, BusinessOnLine has launched a new Twitter account that will update throughout the event and beyond.

4. Video Blogging (vlogging) – I’ll be collecting a varity of video footage at the event as I continue my success as a vlogger from the ERA’s D2C Convention. I will  interview people who participate in our Usability and Social Media labs, attend the Usability Session, people who are excited to share their experience, those with an interest in Online Marketing and anyone who just loves a few minutes of fame! Please come find me if you’d like to participate in my vlogging ventures. Footage will be showcased on BusinessOnLine’s Facebook, YouTube and more!

5.  BuzzParty- The BuzzParty at the Hard Rock on Sunday night will be sure to kick off a great week! Join the fun by RSVPing to the BuzzParty . For those who aren’t familiar with the Hard Rock, it’s a great venue with friendly staff and a positive vibe. Out of all the locations to go clubbing in San Diego the Hard Rock is one of my favorites. This venue succeeds without egos or pretentiousness which is a rarity in the nightclub scene (I haven’t been there in a while so things may have changed, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt). Unlike Vegas, you won’t leave smelling like smoke and you’ll actually get back to your hotel at a decent hour giving you a chance to rest and be refreshed for Monday!

6. Private Parties- Monday night I’ll be taking part in hosting a private cocktail reception. I won’t share too much about this event, but it will be a great group! After the cocktail reception I hope to my way to Altitude, my favorite rooftop bar with a gorgeous view of Petco Park. This is yet another semi-private party that’s sure to be filled with great minds. I’m not one to gloat about private events as I strive to share and collaborate as much as possible but if you catch my drift and read my next paragraph, I’m encouraging you to connect with me. There’s a reason for it!

7. Strengthening my Social Networking in Real Life- I’ve already connected with a number of people on Twitter who will be attending the event. (Tweets can be tracked #DMA09). Many of you are fellow marketers and social media enthusiasts like myself. There are also many business professionals and those eager to learn more about my specialty, online marketing! Whatever your reason is for attending, I encourage you to come find me and connect in real life. Let me know how I can help. Aside from discussing marketing you can be sure I will recommend my favorite places to dine, drink and site see in San Diego! San Diego is my hometown and I want to share it with all of you! So please ask me anything about San Diego and treat me like your host!

I’ve recently entered the Video Blogging (aka Vlogging) scene. I began my career as a camera shy producer of 12 Second Videos. I was embarrassed to watch myself and hesitated to publish but after posting a few videos I got used to the idea and now really enjoy the ability to capture moments on video. 3 months ago I posted a 12 Seconds video to encourage myself to start vlogging soon so I’m proud to announce that I’ve started! My major motivator to begin vlogging was my upgrade to my brand new BlackBerry Tour.

Yet Another Return to 12Seconds- Will Start Vlogging SOON! #fb on 12seconds.tv

I debuted my career as a Vlogger at the Electronic Retail Association’s D2C Convention where I was their official Vlogger. I interviewed speakers, attendees, board members and captured other fun moments. One of my favorite video is of the band that played at the opening reception at the Paris Hotel Pool. They hyped up the crowd by singing an ERA Marketing Song created specifically for the event!

You can view of the rest of my D2C videos on the movie reel hosted on the D2C Blog

Now that I’ve shared my debut into the vlogging scene, here are 5 great reasons to vlog and incorporate video into your business and marketing plan.

1. Personalize Your Brand- Vlogging lets your customers see for themselves what you’re all about. Not only are you putting a face to your company, similar to what photos do, you’re able to share a more intimate view of your personality and company culture through real live interaction.

2. Attract a Wider Audience- You’d be surprised at how many people who may have passed up your blog several times yet be willing to click on a quick video and watch. Your videos are a way to introduce yourself to an audience that you would not have reached otherwise. Once viewers are able to get an idea of what you’re about they will be more inclined to try your product or service and pay attention to other content you produce around the web.

3. Produce Demos- Video allows you to demonstrate your product or service exactly as it will be used by your customers. A video demo is a stronger marketing tool than photos and words describing your product because you get to see what you’re about to buy in action. You get a stronger sense of how it will work and how to incorporate it for your own use.

4. Flexible Format Video blogging is an extremely flexible format. You’re able to produce videos in any way you see fit. This includes posting impromptu videos of things happening on the fly that you capture without special effects editing. You can also create more professional videos that are edited, include captions, music, special effects, etc.

5. Socialize Your Brand- Socialize your Vlogs through interviewing your customers, creating testimonial videos and utilizing your videos as a way to include your community. Everyone loves their 5 minutes of fame so people included in your content are likely to repost, retweet and share it with others. Your Vlogs provide you another opportunity to grow virally.

I look forward to connecting with you everyone though my videos and vlogging. Subscribe to Marketing Melodie’s YouTube Channel for more vlogging action!

This year has been filled with new opportunities for personal growth and enrichment. I am so grateful for everyone and everything that has played a role in getting me where I am today.

I’d like to express my gratitude for a great career opportunity presented to me. A few weeks ago I received an invitation to come in for an interview with BusinessOnline. I’ve had a great relationship with this company since entering the online industry so this confirms my belief that building your personal brand both in person and through social media will come in handy to keep you top of mind for future opportunities. After many rounds of interviews that included just as many questions asked by me that I was asked by the interviewers (which by the way if you are being interviewed for a job I strongly recommend you see this as a chance to also interview the employer to ensure it’s a good fit) I was offered and gladly accepted a position to work as their Business Development Manager on their growing team.

I want to highlight 3 main reasons why I’m confident this is a great new opportunity

1. BusinessOnLine’s Vision for Growth- BusinessOnLine’s vision for growth is perfectly aligned with my personal ambitions. I’ve been very impressed by the company’s growth over the last decade. They are a pioneer in the online industry as they constantly stay ahead of changing technology. Not only are they able to embrace new technology they set an exemplary bar for best practices and results.

2. Advanced Team and Resources- The ability to efficiently provide superior results was very important to me so I was very thorough when interviewing the team about their knowledge, expertise and resources available for support. I was impressed by BusinessOnLine’s team and resources which exceeded my expectations. The team is carefully selected and diversely built of over 30 experts in specific areas. Our experts are published thought leaders in their respective fields, providing clients with advanced advice and recommendations to confidently grow their business online.

3. Focus on Education- BusinessOnLine is the host sponsor for the renowned Online Marketing Summit that I have been involved with for the past year as a Social Media Strategist. BusinessOnLine’s push for education matches my belief that education is necessary for companies to grow and generate more revenue. Businesses must understand the premise behind their campaigns in order to really be engaged in the process. My previous Online Marketing Education post I emphasize understanding the foundation of your campaign to keep your business ahead of the competition and at the forefront of your industry

To conclude I’d also like to give Express my gratitude and thank all of my Marketing Melodie readers for following me in my journey as a growing marketer and industry leader. I don’t think I have thanked you guys before but I am so honored each time someone mentions to me something they have read or learned from my blog. Your comments fuel my drive to provide more relevant content and your encouragement plays a significant role in my career motivation.

The short time I’ve spent in the year 2009 has been quite the adventure. 2009 has been consumed mostly by personal challenges best kept out of a marketing blog but I made the decision to start the year off by taking a break from investing all my energy into my career as an active way to improve my concentration, refocus my energy and create clarity on what my goals really are.

My biggest roadblock was being ok with taking a “break”. Ever since I entered the job force I’ve been going nonstop with a tight schedule full of deadlines, meetings, events and office work. I wasn’t used to an unstructured schedule and felt I wasn’t make progress in any direction. I continuously reminded myself that what I’m doing is a means to progress and new opportunity.

January flew by in the blink of an eye! I slightly panicked as I didn’t see any tangible results from my “break”. The Online Marketing Summit came up at the very beginning of February so I decided that attending this conference would be a great way for me to get back into the groove of things.

The most valuable resource I gained from the conference was the incredible networking opportunity.  While Social Media has revolutionized  networking, face to face interaction still has a personal component that can’t be substituted with technology.   I ran into a good friend of mine Ron Weber, Founder and CEO of SD Interactive in partnership with Ninthlink .  He’s talked to me about working with him before but the timing was never right. After talking to him a bit and letting him know my experience and goals he mentioned the plans for his company and thought I’d be the perfect fit for their new ventures.  I’m now proud to announce that I’m the newest member of their growing team.

This is the perfect opportunity for me to advance in my Online Marketing career for 2 main reason:

• Passion- I’m an extremely passionate person and thrive when I’m surrounded by like minded individuals. I’ve never seen so much passion in one place. I don’t mean passion for just making making money, I mean true passion from each person behind every task whether it’s creating design, developing a website or executing a marketing plan. Every single person truly believes in doing the best job possible to optimize success. This mindset really transfers positive energy into the entire work atmosphere and is exactly the type of place that inspires me to go the extra mile.

• Quality- The quality of work from SD Interactive and Ninthlink is superior. I am impressed by the professionalism and experience of the staff and am so grateful that everything is done in house to ensure the best results. Many companies outsource entire projects. With the right quality assurance team the final products are still pretty good but there is a difference when you can actually work directly with your developers and designers. Bringing them to meetings eliminates disconnect with clients and provides clients with more confidence. Having a strong support team is essential because I only want to produce the best results for my clients.

Stay tuned for some amazing thing from SD Interactive and Ninthlink. I’m excited to show everyone what we’ve got in store! You can keep up with the SD Interactive Blog and Ninthlink blog for more exciting news and information.

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.

By now I’m sure we’ve all made our New Year’s Resolutions. I’m also sure that many of us have already broken some of them . I made some personal resolutions but I also made a career resolution. My career resolution is that in 2009 I’m going to emphasize education behind online marketing. In addition to helping you develop your marketing strategy, I’m also going to educate you every step of the way. Many business owners have basic knowledge about SEO, Social Media, PPC, etc but don’t understand the strategy behind it. Understanding the foundation of your campaign is extremely important to keep your business ahead of the competition and at the forefront of your industry, especially in such a challenging economy. Let’s backtrack and bit to 2008.

The hardships we faced in 2008 including the credit crunch, out of this world gas prices, mortgage downfall, high unemployment rate and extreme national debt made 2008 by far one of the most stressful years in history.  I’ve seen more companies go out of business in 2008 than in my entire lifetime. However, despite such a down economy people are still spending, investing and buying. There are still opportunities out there, it’s just a matter of being smart on how you market and position yourself. I know it’s easier said than done as Marketers  in 2008  faced  tremendous roadblocks:

• Inability in generating qualified leads
• Struggle to get your website found
• Ineffective strategies for tracking ROI
• Traditional Media not working

Thank goodness 2009 is here and we all know it’s a year for change! Take action and don’t let the same roadblocks get in the way. When every single sale does matter and budgets are being cut left and right, developing a strategic and cost effective marketing campaign for your business  is essential. I recommend you constantly educate yourself on new marketing strategies and not repeating old school methods that don’t work.

This February 4th-7th, marketers business owners and anyone interested in learning will have a chance to accelerate their marketing knowledge at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego. They’re providing unique educational opportunities to attendees with certification programs, a career fair, hands-on workshops, on-site usability and SEO labs, thought-leader presentations on a myriad of online marketing topics and networking opportunities. This event is the perfect way to pump up your business for the new year!

Register here and receive a $400 online discount by January 10th. To ring in the new year I’m also giving away a free conference pass to 1 lucky winner. The prize is valued at $1,695.  To enter please leave a comment with your biggest marketing challenge in 2008 and what you plan to do about it in 2009! Short comments are ok, doesn’t need to have a lot of details but if you’re willing to share I would love to hear more! Let’s get a dialog going! Make sure to leave your email address. A winner will be randomly chosen on Tuesday January 20th, 2009 (Inaguration Day!) Good luck and Happy New Year!

For those who don’t already know I resigned from my position as a Marketing Consultant at Clear Channel Communications. I begin my new venture at with 3K Interactive on Monday Sept. 22nd. I am excited to move into Online Marketing. The Internet is growing exponentially and the opportunity is unlimited! I’ll be a true consultant, resource and connector for my clients.

The main question I get is “Why did you leave?” First I’d like to say that I absolutely loved working at Clear Channel. For almost 2 and 1/2 years I have felt nothing less than proud to represent the company. It was a difficult journey and succeeding there is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Long nights, stressful days, driving all over town, cancellations, internal battles etc, but my hard work at Clear Channel was well worth it! The things I learned about building client relationships, developing targeted campaigns, interpersonal relationships, having a strong work ethic and marketing in general are priceless! The perks of working in radio aren’t bad either!

After working there I am confident that I can take on any challenge and succeed. It was a stepping stone that opened up so many doors. I didn’t leave because I wasn’t doing well or I didn’t like the company. The more I grew in my position there, the more I wanted to offer more to my clients. By creating campaigns for people only within Clear Channel Properties I became extremely limited. I wasn’t creating targeted campaigns. I was reaching out to thousands of people with a commercial that probably only 1% of listeners actually cared about. Out of those 1% only another 1% actually remember to go home and look up info about the ad. Radio is the largest form of word of mouth and works great if you’re a huge corporation with a large marketing budget but for companies who can’t afford to spend as much as Coke or McDonalds the online presence is essential before considering any other medias. Thus my transition to online marketing.

I’m an Entrepreneur at heart. I’m always formulating new ventures, business ideas and plans to grow my career so the transition to online marketing is perfect because . I never sold a campaign that I didn’t believe would work but the more I learned about marketing, I realized that there is more that I can do to help businesses grow. I will now create campaigns where my clients will be found by consumers specifically searching for their product/service instead of trying to find consumers who probably don’t care. My campaigns will be permissive and the advertising will be sought after rather than interruptive like most TV and Radio Ads. I will help my clients build a community to really engage their customers. I will optimize websites to increase conversion rates and I’ll be able to track everything which will allow me to fine tune and customize the campaign as it progresses. I could go on and on about what I’m now able to offer with the online world! If you’d like to learn more about my new marketing resources please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

So there you have it! The real story about my transition and new business venture!