by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 29, 2019 | Branding, eMail Marketing, Social Media
It happens about the same time every year. We all get a barrage of emails and see a tsunami of ads, blog posts, and offers for a certain program that starts with a B. Affiliate marketers — even people we trusted! — were hawking their bonuses left and...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 29, 2019 | 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 | Jul 29, 2019 | 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 | Jul 29, 2019 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a partridge in a pear tree… Welcome to Day One of my 12 Days of Branding series. Each day — from now until Christmas* — you’ll be gifted with branding advice, case studies and more. If...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 29, 2019 | 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 | Jul 28, 2019 | Branding, Case Studies, Community & Relationships, Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research
Except for my client Rebecca Joseph (aka The Rabbi Chef), your goal is probably not to be the Next Food Network Star.
But there's a whole lot that celebrity chefs can teach us about working in a crowded marketplace. The successful ones truly excel at building their brands and growing their fan base. How do they do it? Here are five of their marketing strategies that you can (and should) adopt today:
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 28, 2019 | Branding
What I’m about to tell you might kill my business, but I have to say it: I’m done (yes, you can stick a fork in me). I’ve never wanted to build an empire — at least not one whose sole purpose was “bigger, better marketing.” And a...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 28, 2019 | Market Research
Recently, I wrote a post called It’s All About YOU. (That’s the page you might want to bookmark and visit later as it was made especially for our readers to share themselves and their questions — no expiration date!). Today, I address a question from Karen...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 27, 2019 | Branding, Storytelling
Do you look the same as your competitors? SOUND the same? You might find this hard to believe, but even with my branding background, I’ve had a blind spot about HOW to stand out from the crowd. Differentiation — that fancy word for your Unique Value...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 27, 2019 | 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 | Jul 27, 2019 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding, Writing Tips
Five Go~lden Rings! It’s Day 5 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 5 creative examples of how to tell your brand story. One of the easiest places to tell your story is the...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 27, 2019 | Marketing Strategies, Productivity
When I meet with a potential client, one of the questions I usually ask is, "What does your sales funnel look like?" The blank stares and nervous coughing I get in response would almost be funny. Except when I try to ask it another way, and I can still hear crickets. "Okay, then tell me about your sales process -- how do you get and nurture your leads?"
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 26, 2019 | Branding, Podcasts, Social Media
Mark Schaefer stopped in at the Word Café last week and we had a chance to talk recently about his new book, Return on Influence. Here are the highlights: Q: How did you decide to write this book? I have to be honest…I’ve been watching this whole Klout...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 26, 2019 | Marketing Strategies
You’ve got a product or service and you want people to buy it, right? First things first. Have you done your homework (e.g., written a plan)? Does your plan include a content strategy? If you’re like 90% of those I talk to, the answer is no. And guess...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 26, 2019 | 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 | Jul 26, 2019 | Branding, Case Studies
Here in the West, purple carrots aren't a commonly found in your local produce departments. In fact, you'll probably have to go out of your way, by searching for them at the fringes: places like your farmer's market or a specialty grocer.
There's a little vegetable stand near my house where I can find maybe 3 or 4 at any given time (mostly because there's a woman who comes in every morning and buys nearly all of them for herself). The shop owner literally can't keep enough of these guys on hand.
In short, these guys are special. Remarkable even. And they're almost certainly a topic of conversation when served to dinner guests. They're so special, they make the chef look special, too.
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 26, 2019 | Book Reviews, Branding, Podcasts
Karen Post, aka the Branding Diva, has a great new book called “Brand Turnaround: How Brands Gone Bad Returned to Glory…and the 7 Game Changers that Made the Difference.“ I spoke with her earlier this week on the Word Cafe podcast. Here are the highlights....
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 26, 2019 | 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 | Jul 25, 2019 | 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 | Jul 25, 2019 | Marketing Strategies
Everything is about relationships. (Marketing, too.) That extends to things we do after the sale. After all, it’s much easier to keep a client than to find a new one. If your client relationships aren’t as strong as you’d like them to be, it may be...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 25, 2019 | Features and Benefits, Storytelling, Writing Tips
Stories are food. Feed everyone and be willing to let them feed you, too. Remember humans love stories — it’s hardwired into how we learn and grow. Why did you start your business? That’s a story. Who are your best customers (and what makes them the best)? That’s...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 24, 2019 | Branding
Most people don’t know that my parents named me Christina. I changed my name to Téa in college (I’ll share why at the end of this post). Yes, it’s my legal name. Believe me, the IRS, the DMV and every government office between Los Angeles and Portland can verify...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 24, 2019 | Branding
We branding folk talk a lot about passion and purpose. In fact they’re two key elements you must figure out if you want to make sure your business has a fighting chance for success. Why? Because Passion is what gets your motor running. It sparks and fuels your...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 24, 2019 | 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 | Jul 23, 2019 | Branding
There, I said it. One of my deepest fears laid out for the whole world to see: I’m not really who you think I am. Mostly — like 99% of the time — I’m actually pretty confident. I know that I know my stuff. But every now and then something...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 23, 2019 | Book Reviews, Branding, Creativity
I recently spoke with Anita Campbell of SmallBizTrends.com and BizSugar.com and David Langton of Langton Cherubino Group — the co-authors of “Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design.” If you’d like...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 22, 2019 | 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 | Jul 22, 2019 | Branding, Case Studies, Writing Tips, Zeus Experiment
This is a guest post by Zeus This week I quadrupled sign-ups for my mailing list, and re-taught myself some valuable lessons: Trust yourself. Be original in voice. Put quality first. Tap into your existing community. Write what you know. Here’s what happened: My...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 22, 2019 | 12 Days of Branding, Branding
Nine Ladies Dancing! It’s Day 9 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’ve got 9 great videos for you. These are excellent examples of how you can use the strategy of...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 21, 2019 | Ideal Heroic Client, Market Research, Marketing Budget, Marketing Strategies
Question: My corporate training business has been doing well in the local markets where we live. But how to do we get national clients and expand our business? On a small budget of course. How can we get that kind of reach to potential corporate clients without...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 21, 2019 | 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 | Jul 20, 2019 | 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 | Jul 16, 2019 | Branding, Storytelling, Writing Tips
“Words, are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are our most potent forms of enchantment. Rich with the power to hurt or heal.” — Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Yes, words have a great deal of power. Here’s a short...
by Téa Silvestre Godfrey | Jul 12, 2019 | 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...
