by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Marketing Strategies
This is a guest post by Michelle Nickolaisen. Launch stress is awful at the best of times, but it’s definitely not something you want to have mess with your holidays. There are a lot of factors to launching during or after the holidays without ripping your hair...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Features and Benefits, Ideal Heroic Client, Storytelling, Writing Tips
The $64,000 question is: Do your customers want to buy what you're selling?
If you've done your homework (i.e., market research), and you know without a doubt that your product or service is something people need and/or want, yet you still fail to generate sales, then there's something missing in your marketing messages.
In short, you're not "speaking" your customer's language (either online or in person).
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Features and Benefits, Storytelling, Writing Tips
Eating healthy can sometimes be a tricky thing. Especially if you've got a sweet tooth. Or a penchant for all-things-fried.
When we don't make good choices, we end up feeling pretty miserable. And not just because we can't see our feet any longer. It really sucks when your bottom line won't fit into your favorite jeans!
The same is true for your marketing. Your website (and the other channels you use to promote yourself) need to have just the right balance of ingredients in order to keep a healthy number of customers and prospects at your table.
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Case Studies, Working with Marketing Professionals
(Or, does it just need a little freshening up?) When we start our ventures (if we do things right), we create branding that eventually accomplishes the goal of telling our story in a way that is unique, compelling and builds community. Both the visual and written...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding
You and I may never meet in real life. So there are a few things you might never learn about me. The fact that I’m 6 ft. tall, for instance. Or, that I generally operate on the “piles and post-its” filing system. (But those are just surface quirks....
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding
I always love when food (or in this case, drink) and marketing come together. Once you’ve read thru this infographic, share what flavor you think your blog is in a comment below… If Your Blog Were A Beer… infographic by...
![[Infographic] Solopreneurs: How We Market Online – 2012 Survey Results](http://storybistro.com/wp-content/uploads/food-growth.jpg)
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Market Research
What We’re Doing, What’s Working and What’s Not Created from survey data collected from nearly 1,200 respondents during June 2012. A full length research report is also available. For more, click here. Embed this Infographic <a...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research, Marketing Budget, Marketing Strategies, Working with Marketing Professionals
During our mentoring wrap-up call last week, I asked Zeus for some feedback. I wanted to know what I might’ve done better or differently during our time together — something that could’ve possibly made a bigger difference to him and his marketing...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Marketing Budget, Working with Marketing Professionals
You’re at the crossroads. (And I totally feel your pain.) We both know there aren’t enough minutes in the day to finish up all that work on your plate. Clients are trying to track you down. And the emails and phone calls are coming in faster than you can...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | eMail Marketing, Zeus Experiment
A guest post by Zeus Yiamouyiannis. Is it possible for a Ph.D. in education (me) to take a half-day getting his website email up and going? (Drum roll…) Yes, it is. You’re kidding. I mean, c’mon, this should take a few minutes, right? Umm, not exactly. I know what you...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Marketing Strategies
Question: There are SO many resources, opportunities for learning, mentors, etc., how can I efficiently choose the marketing technique(s) that will most likely align with my business plans, goals and industry? How do I best allocate my limited resources (time/$) to...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Community & Relationships, Marketing Strategies
Have you ever tried to do something big? No, I mean, massively huge -- something even a little audacious?
If you haven't, you're missing out on one of the best adventure of your life.
But if you have, then you know you can't really pull off something enormous without the help of other people. Which is why my Entrepreneur's Manifesto calls you to "Collaborate in the Kitchen.
Here's a story about one woman who is doing just that...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Community & Relationships, Writing Tips
Your "Secret Sauce" is your personality. It's the flavor that you bring to everything you do. And it comes across in many ways -- your voice, your style and your sense of humor. When you interact with real-live human beings, your secret sauce is pretty evident. Most of the time, people can "get" who you are after just a few brief conversations.
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Creativity, Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research
When you’re really hungry, it’s easy to opt for fast-food. It’s cheap and it’s quick, and it gets the job done. But a Whopper isn’t beef bourguignon. There’s about a 2-hour difference in the time it takes to create them. The Whopper...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding, Case Studies
…Three French Hens! It’s Day 3 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment I give you three examples of small business brands with solid core values that know how to walk the...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding
8 Maids a-Milking It’s Day 8 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment we look at unexpected ways to build an impactful and memorable brand. You’ve heard the phrase, “Milking...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Case Studies, Ideal Heroic Client, Podcasts
Earlier this week, I talked with Abe and Rick of Ruzuku.com — an online platform created to make it “ridiculously easy” to teach better classes on the web. Ruzuku first came onto my radar when Abe posted this question on my “It’s All...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Creativity, eMail Marketing
Peanut Butter and Jelly. Two simple, timelessly appealing ingredients. Like most of us, you probably became a fan in childhood. Of the PB&J, I mean. I know it was the only thing my little brother would eat. Period. White bread, creamy peanut butter and grape jelly...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding
This past weekend I attended (via simulcast) Andrea Lee‘s Lasting Lead Generation event. It was three days of fabulous teaching, coaching and delivery of actionable content. And I gotta say, she really knows her stuff! One of the first exercises she had us do...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Market Research, Writing Tips
This is a guest post by Josh Pigford Did you know that online surveys don’t have to be boring? Gathering feedback is a necessary part of running a business, but the process doesn’t necessarily have to be dull. Instead, surveys can be fun, engaging...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Market Research, Working with Marketing Professionals
Stuck in research land again? Trying to get inside the mind of your Ideal Client? Maybe you’ve heard about this thing called a “focus group” and you thought, Yeah, that’s what we need to do! Mmmm. Perhaps. A focus group can be helpful. It can...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research, Marketing Budget, Marketing Strategies
This is a guest post by Jessica Oman of Write Ahead. Did you hear the one about the entrepreneur who hired bikini-clad models to market a delicious organic barbecue sauce to moms with young kids? …Didn’t think so. This is a typical example of what...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research, Marketing Strategies
Last month in the Digital Dining Room we focused on Market Research. Specifically, how the heck do you find out what your Ideal Client is ready and willing to pay for? Because there’s a difference between them needing and wanting something. Traditional business...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | eMail Marketing, Social Media
Last month, a couple of folks I know (yep…Carney folks!) were lamenting the fact that there seemed to be an unusual number of people unsubscribing — or, worse! complaining about SPAM — every time they sent an email to their lists. Feelings of panic,...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | eMail Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Storytelling
Julia leaned back in her chair and watched her laptop power-up. Coffee. It was 5:42 in the morning. And coffee was about the only coherent thought she could muster. She opened her Google calendar. What time is that appointment again? She had a 10:30 call with a...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Case Studies, Community & Relationships, eMail Marketing
Last month in the Digital Dining Room, the group’s mission was to create a welcome email that would help them get to know their subscribers on a deeper level. Here’s how we got them there: Step One: Brainstorm three questions they could ask a new...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Case Studies, eMail Marketing, Working with Marketing Professionals, Zeus Experiment
A guest post by Zeus Yiamouyiannis. What if, underneath it all, your carefully planned and wished-for life was nothing more than an adventurous experiment? Would that free you or strike terror into your heart? What if you were both the guinea pig and the dude in the...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Marketing Strategies
Advice for My (Much Earlier, More Naive) Entrepreneurial Self (Note: Much of this post first appeared on the Prosperity’s Kitchen website under the title, “An Open Letter to New Entrepreneurs.” I’ve modified the text somewhat.) Hey Girl,...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Case Studies, Marketing Strategies
Last month in the Digital Dining Room, the group’s mission was to identify their main business goal for the final quarter of the year and then to develop a content strategy to support it. Here’s how we got them there: Step One: Brainstorm ideas using a...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding
11 Pipers Piping! It’s Day 11 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment we look at what needs to happen in order to get people talking about your brand. If you know me at all, you know that...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Ideal Heroic Client
If you’ve ever been camping in bear country, you know the drill. Lock up your food. Keep your trash safely stowed. And for cryin-out-loud, don’t feed the bears! When it comes to your business, it’s also a wise idea to safeguard something...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Storytelling, Writing Tips
Did you know that your About Page is one of your website’s most important tools? For some of us, it’s probably one of THE most-visited pages on the entire site. And that’s because people want to know who they’re about to do business with. Are...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Creativity, Marketing Dish
“New mouth, New rules!” — The Doctor Worried that your marketing sounds a lot like everyone else’s? It happens. To the best of us! Usually because we’re too insecure to throw away those sales page blueprints and email templates and create...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Mar 30, 2025 | Branding, Marketing Strategies
Most of the advice out there about referrals is related to your customers (i.e., getting them to send you new ones.) In short, make them happy and they’ll want to tell their friends about you. But you can also get some fabulous referrals from your peers and...
