In the fast-paced world of marketing, staying organized is not just a preference, but a necessity. With numerous campaigns, strategies, and projects constantly in motion, maintaining an organized office space can greatly enhance your efficiency and effectiveness as a marketing expert. Whether you're working remotely or in a physical office, these tips will help you create a workspace that fosters creativity, productivity, and success.

1. Clear the Clutter:
​Before you can truly organize your office, you need to declutter. Remove unnecessary items, old documents, and anything that doesn't serve a purpose. A clutter-free space provides mental clarity and allows you to focus on the tasks that matter most.

2. Invest in Smart Storage Solutions:
Incorporate storage solutions that align with your workflow. Use shelves, filing cabinets, and desk organizers to keep documents, supplies, and materials easily accessible and categorized. Labeling is key to quickly finding what you need, especially when deadlines are looming.

3. Digital Organization is Essential:
​A significant portion of a marketing expert's work happens on digital platforms. Create a well-structured digital filing system for your documents, images, and campaign assets. Utilize cloud storage and project management tools to collaborate seamlessly with team members and clients.

4. Prioritize Your Workspace Layout:
​Design your workspace to enhance productivity. Place your most-used items within arm's reach and keep distractions to a minimum. Consider ergonomic furniture and proper lighting to ensure comfort during long work hours.

5. Set Up Task-Specific Zones:
​Divide your office into zones based on different tasks or projects. For example, have a zone dedicated to content creation with all necessary tools, references, and inspiration at hand. This approach minimizes distractions and mental context switching.

6. Create a To-Do System:
​Develop a reliable system for tracking tasks and projects. Whether you prefer digital tools like task management apps or old-fashioned sticky notes, having a clear overview of your tasks will help you prioritize and stay on top of deadlines.

7. Plan for Inspiration:
​As a marketing expert, creativity is a cornerstone of your work. Dedicate a space for inspiration—a whiteboard for brainstorming, a pinboard for magazine clippings, or even a shelf for your favorite marketing books. Surround yourself with visual cues that ignite your creativity.

8. Implement Time Management Techniques:
​Effective time management is essential for marketing professionals. Use techniques like the Pomodoro Technique or time blocking to structure your workday. Allocate focused time for tasks and schedule breaks to recharge your mind.

9. Regularly Review and Reflect:
​Set aside time each week to review your progress, reevaluate your goals, and declutter your physical and digital spaces. Adjust your organization strategies as needed to optimize your workflow.

10. Embrace Minimalism:
​Less is often more. Avoid overloading your workspace with unnecessary decorations or excessive supplies. A clean and minimalist workspace promotes clarity of thought and reduces visual distractions.

In the dynamic world of marketing, an organized office becomes your command center—a place where you strategize, create, and collaborate effectively. By implementing these tips, you'll be better equipped to manage the demands of your role, deliver outstanding results, and maintain your sanity in the process. Remember, an organized space is a reflection of an organized mind—an invaluable asset for any marketing expert.

I have a magnet on my fridge that says "I don't expect everything handed to me, you can just set it down where ever" and I have those same vibes with the pre-made Reel templates on Instagram. They are super simple to use! You'll want to open these while on your phone because the template option doesn't show on a desktop.  

Click on the Reel to play it, after you've watched it once you should see text pop-up under the play button that says "Watch again on Instagram" - tap on that! Once it's open in Instagram, tap on the video again to open it in full-screen. 

You'll see a "Use as Template" option. Click on that! 

Then use the templated format by tapping on the + signs to add your media! 

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Ready for a break after the first round of holiday madness? Try these ideas! 

Hopefully these ideas help you relax and prepare for the rest of the holiday season! Enjoy! 

Not every business is running a sale for Black Friday (and Cyber Monday). And that's ok! However, that doesn't mean that you should stay quiet during this time! You should still be promoting your products and services. Here's why and how. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday get consumers in the spending MOOD. Take advantage of that by ensuring your products and services are being promoted on social media, via email and sms, and in stores. Stay in front of your audience during this seasonal spending time!

You might be surprised with how many people are NOT looking for a sale, especially with today's economy. A sale is great, but it's not the deciding factor. What is? Experience, quality, and service. Consumers want what they buy to COUNT, to be worth the money. This is great news for those who aren't offering sales on their products and services. But all of that means you need to really tout your benefit statements! Let your audience know exactly what they will get from your product/service and how you make their lives better.

Consumers might be watching Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but they still have other needs in their lives. Make sure you're still addressing those needs and staying in front of your audience! 

This is not the time to stay quiet! Instead of promote the benefits of your products and services and how you help meet your audiences' needs. 

Boo! OK settle down my little goblins. It’s time to overcome your fears of digital marketing and create a scary-good plan that’s sweeter than pumpkin spice.
​
Digital Marketing is a fear many business owners and entrepreneurs have when launching or growing their businesses. Not knowing where to start can keep you frozen in place. Well don’t worry, like a self-designated tour guide in a haunted house – or that one friend who doesn’t scream at jump scares – I’m going to take you through this scary process one step at a time. 

​I’ve curated an easy-to-follow list of steps you can take to get started with digital marketing. As you move through this list, you’ll start to feel more comfortable and confident. 

If you don’t do this first, I can guarantee that you’ll have to rework steps 2-6 over and over until you get it right. Finding out you’re creating content for the wrong audience or creating content that doesn’t convert, is a tough lesson to learn! And it costs you more time, money, and resources in the end. And honestly, that should scare you the most! So, stick with the order and you’ll come out on top.

Write down the answers to each of these questions. Don’t just think about the answers as you read this. Take the time to write down the answers so you have an actual plan when you’re done with this.

• Where are your customers/clients hanging out?
• What are your customers/clients watching on tv? Buying at stores? Going through in life?
• What would make your customers/clients laugh? What are they scared of? What are their goals? What are their obstacles?
• How will customers/clients buy from you? How can you make it easy for them? How will you process payments?
• What can your customers/clients get for free if they’re not ready to buy yet? What’s a sample or taste they can get of your services or products?
• What can you send to those who haven’t purchased yet, but are signed up for your email marketing/newsletter? Tips? Recipes? Advice? Encouragement? Downloads?
• What does the buying experience feel like to your customer/client? Would you enjoy going through this experience? How can you make it more enjoyable?  
• What will your order confirmation look like?
• What will your customers/clients get from you after they purchase from you? How can you ensure they feel good about their purchase?
• How will you ask for referrals and reviews?

​
​Thinking through these questions will you help you keep goals and priorities in mind as you continue down the list. 

Start with your website. This is your home base. Even if you sell on Amazon and Etsy, you need a website. NEVER rely on a 3rd party site 100% of the time for your sales. You should always be prepared for the bottom to drop out of 3rd party sites. I’m not telling you to not use them. I’m telling you to be ready for the winds to shift, because, my dear, they will. And it can ruin a small business.
​
If you think of your website as a foundation to your business, then you’ll understand that it needs to completely support you and help you reach your goals. You should include:

• Content that’s worth visiting (education, entertainment, encouragement).
• Lead generation forms (grab their contact info before they leave!).
• Information about your products and services and what their first step would be to get started with you.
• An “About Me” page that makes everyone fall in love with you and your company.

​Don’t forget Mobile & SEO:

• Build for the mobile experience first. 72% of those around the world use mobile ONLY and 90% use mobile along with desktop. Ummmm… that’s feeling kind of like it’s almost everyone and their roommate depending on a good mobile experience. Most website-building programs allow you to see what your pages looks like on a mobile phone and will allow you to adjust your design accordingly (without changing the desktop design).
  
• SEO (search engine optimization – how search engines find your site) is very important, but isn’t a hard-to-play game like it’s touted by SEO experts. SEO experts have tons of tricks to help you get search rankings while Google keeps saying “can you just follow best practices, please”. Why do they ask that? Because they’re constantly updating their algorithms to get rid of the tricksters and let the rest of us win. I was around in the early 2000s when a lot of websites got blacklisted and sandboxed and I’m here say … honey, just follow best practices. Start here. This guys is an expert and easy to understand. One more: I really liked this article, too.

Ok! Your foundation is built and ready for the world. Now it’s time to pave roads toward connection. These are all the ways you’re going to reach out and communicate with your audience. These roads are BUILT BY YOU and you control how often you’re communicating via these channels. Who’s going to hop on these roads you’re paving?
​
You audience can consist of:

• Those who are just now finding you and want to learn more
• Prospects who are on the fence
• Loyal customers who love you
• Those who purchased from you, but don’t keep you top of mind

Make sure you’re communicating to everyone! Different roads could have more of one audience than another, so pay to attention to what they respond to and where they are in your sales pipeline.

Roads toward connection could be:

• Email
• Text
• Groups on social media
• Business pages on social media
• In-person meet-ups

Remember these are roads that you’re building on your own. You choose what it looks like, what the experience is, if they walk alone or with you. Take time to think about the experience you want your audience to have.

While building your own road and experiences above, you also need to start reaching out to audiences in their own spaces. Join their conversations and meet them where they are.

Where are your prospects and customers online?

• Social media
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Presenting/networking
  • Networking organizations
  • Podcasts
  • Online interviews

It’s important to watch your prospects/customers, find out where they go for connection, and meet them there.

Send everyone back to your website (your foundation) where they can take an action with you. This is called a call to action and it’s sooooo important to growing your sales.

​Calls to action you can use:

• Buy from you
• Signup for newsletter/marketing emails/texts
• Read more information on your website 

Now that you’re putting yourself out there, it’s time to start creating more content. There are so many ways to provide education, entertainment, and encouragement without giving your products and services away for free. If you need ideas for content, I recommend you sign up for Inspire-Starter, a subscription services that gives you ideas every day via text and a monthly content planning worksheet to map out ideas and start creating!

Think about what kind of content you want to create for:

• Social media
• Website
• Articles
• Blog posts

​Re-use content as much as you can! Share your Reels on TikTok and your TikToks in a Reel. Use video for stories as well. Another great idea is to embed tiktok videos and Instagram posts in blog posts or on landing pages. This saves you time and allows you re-use great content.

Here’s the part that no one loves, but if you’ve been showing up online, on social media, and creating content, then this step is going to come easier to you than it would have before.

Set up an advertising account on the platforms you want to use. Most will try to give you an easy-to-navigate process. On the plus side, once you start advertising and spending money, many platforms will give you ad credit (ex. LinkedIn likes to give $50 to those getting started).

Start here:

• Google
• Facebook and Instagram
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

​Following these steps in order will help you get started with a solid foundation and build confidence along the way. Confidence is writing messaging, using new technology, and doing what it takes to meet your goals. 

I met Amy earlier this year and quickly fell in love with her vision, her constant hustle, and her hilarious personality. Amy M. Le is an award-winning, Amazon-bestselling author AND the founder of Quill Hawk Publishing. 

If you're ready to write you own book and you're not sure where to start. Or you've already written your first version and now you're wondering what to do next. The answer is = Quill Hawk Publishing. 

"Quill Hawk Publishing helps emerging writers indie-publish their work through a consultative approach." This means they walk you through the process and give you access to everyone you need to finish your book complete with illustration, publish it, create an audio version, and promote it.

Learn more about their services...

Amy is a Vietnam War survivor and Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) warrior.

She is the founder of Quill Hawk Publishing, a woman-owned, Asian American company that helps writers indie publish their books while amplifying diverse voices through storytelling. 

Amy grew up in Seattle and had a successful career at Microsoft and T-Mobile before pivoting to become a writer, publisher, and speaker.

She is the award-winning author of the Snow trilogy: Snow in Vietnam, Snow in Seattle, and Snow’s Kitchen. She is currently working on her phoenix series—three books showcasing the resilience of people who’ve survived deep trauma.

Amy also co-founded The Heart Community Collection , a resource for the CHD community, and sits on the board of the Vietnamese Boat People Podcast. Amy also serves as an officer for two writing organizations in Oklahoma.

When she is not writing or volunteering, Amy is experimenting in the kitchen or screaming at the TV while watching NFL games, UFC fights, or Formula 1 events.

I mean, can we talk about how fun she is???? 

​Who’s ready to just relax? (ME!) If you're like me during the summer, you are trying to get all of the fun things in before it starts getting darker at night, before school starts, before fall ... before it feels like all the fun went home for the rest of the year. If you’re also like me, then you’re probably looking for some time-saving hacks for social media content. I can help with that!

​One of the easiest summer hacks I have for digital marketing is the same one that I recommend for the holiday season as well (right after Christmas when you’re still in a daze but don’t want to be forgotten on the socials.). During the holidays we’re all extra busy – probably a little hungover, too – but still responsible for social media marketing and implementation.  

My big idea is actually quite simple (you’ll agree after you hear it). Go through your social posts from last year and look at what performed well. Share those posts again this year. There! Like I said, super simple!  

To get started, you can look at your insights from Facebook or whatever platform you’re wanting to use. That’s a bit harder route if you’re in a hurry. I recommend you start in your photo or video tabs on the Facebook business page. It’s much easier to scroll to content from last year this way. If you start on your wall it's going to take forever. Once you’re on the photo or video tab, start choosing which content you want to re-post. 

Use these ideas to re-introduce the content to your audience. 

1. Most Liked: “You guys loved this idea last year! Try it again this year.” Look through your photos and video to see which one had the most likes. Share it again!
2. Summary of top posts: “Here are 3 products/ideas/tips/services that were popular this time last year. Who else needed this?” Take content from a 2-5 posts and created a larger post around that theme. 
3. Discount Code: “Code XXXX was the most used discount code of the season! I’m going to open it up again for 24 hours!” If you had a discount code last year, promote it again this year, but only for a small amount of time.  
4. Popular Freebie: “Wow! Last August this was my number 1 freebie! Who wants to see it for themselves?!” Promote a freebie from last summer.  
5. Most-Asked Question: “The Number 1, most asked question I get in August is _____” If you have an older post that covers a popular subject, then make sure to post it again so your audience doesn't miss out this year.  

1. Click the “Share” and then “Share to page” option. This allows you to share the entire original post plus add extra text. 
2. Save the image to your desktop, copy the post text, and then post the entire thing again like it’s brand new.

​Both ideas will work in getting your content back in front of it’s intended audience. ​Hopefully these summer hacks will make your social media posting a little bit easier this month.

Coming up with Reel ideas leaving you with hot flashes? Stay cool and use these ideas ... 

We've picked out 11 fun, summery-sounding songs for your next TikTok video. The songs range from old-school classic to newer songs, guaranteed to pull in all age ranges! Plus, these are "business approved" so you don't need to worry about offending your audience.

Tip: If you want to use one of the songs, I'd recommend clicking on the "Grab the sound here" link while on your mobile device. This allows you to open the sound directly in your TikTok app so you can "Save as a favorite" and find it later when it's time to created your video.

Enjoy!

Grab the sound here.
​Check out this example...

Grab the sound here. 
Check out this example...

Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

Grab the sound here.
Check out this example... 

Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

​Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

​Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

​Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

​Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

​Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

Grab the sound here.
Check out this example...

Pretty please don’t try to buy social media followers. You’ll most likely get bots and inactive accounts who most definitely won’t be engaging with your posts.

It’s easy to get nervous about a small follower count when you’re first getting started, but before you start buying followers … ask yourself this question:

Would you rather have a lot of followers or would you rather make money?

Seems like an easy answer, right? Many brands think these two things go together 100% of the time, always. It’s true that follower counts help, but it’s not the only answer.

Remember this, when you start SPENDING MONEY to gain followers you’ll quickly learn it’s a LOSING GAME because most of those followers aren’t even real. EEK! And you can be “punished” for this, because when your high number of followers aren’t engaging with your posts, the algorithms will show someone else’s content before yours. Why? Because it looks like you’re not posting valuable content.

Instead, grow your followers the hard, time-consuming, organic way to ensure you have a REAL audience who’s going to engage with your brand and actually buy from you. It takes time and it takes work, but I promise it’s worth it.

Here are a few ways to get started in the right direction …

Website

There are a few things you can do on your website to gain followers.

1. Pop-up on website. Include a pop-up or call-out on your website that allows visitors to easily click a “follow” button. You can focus on one social platform at a time, so you don’t overwhelm them with options (once a user is overwhelmed, you’ll lose them). You can even set up rules on the backend of your pop-up that says “if someone saw the Facebook pop-up, serve the Instagram pop-up next” for example.

2. Play up Pinterest. Ensure your content is easy to pin on Pinterest by including a “pin it” button with your content. Make sure you have a great image to go with your content! Otherwise, your site visitors won’t have anything memorable to pin. You can also pin your own content on Pinterest as soon as you post it, just to get it into circulation on the platform.

3. Social share buttons. Make it super obvious that users can share articles, blogs, recipes, etc. on social media. Put the share buttons right in their faces on your site!

Social Media

Social media platforms obviously provide an ideal place for you to gain new followers. Here are a few ways to go about it.

4. Influencers and advocates. A great way to spread the word is to work with influencers and advocates. There are plenty out there you can pay to post about your products and services. I encourage you to get creative here and redefine who’s an influencer or advocate for you. Look closely at employees, clients, local celebrities, and other affordable or free options that may end up bringing in even better audiences.

5. Share posts from regular people. OMG us regular folks LOVE it when a brand shares our posts or highlights us and you know what? Our friends and family love it even more! They will share those types of posts until the end of time. Yes the images might not be professionally taken and the content might even have a typo. But it’s REAL and people love that stuff!

6. Cross-promote social channels. Remind your followers that you’re on multiple platforms. Make it worth their time but providing different types of content on different platforms. You don’t need to make every post different on each platform, but every so often throw in something special on each platform to make them slightly unique.

7. Engagement post. Create a post where you ask followers to tag a friend. This is a great way to get new eyes on your content!

8. Contests. Take your engagement post to the next level by running a contest. Ask your followers to tag a friend, like your post, and like your social page. Their friends can do the same to enter the contest.

9. Create a content series. Just like your favorite TV show that you want to tune into, you can do the same on social media. Create a series of posts that your audience will want to keep coming back for. Make sure to remind them to share with their friends and family.

10. Boost posts on Facebook. When you boost a post, you're placing your content in front of more eyes. Boosting allows you to target specific types of people. If they feel drawn to your brand, they will like/follow your page and hopefully purchase from you. 

Communications

We’ve covered your website and your social accounts. What about all other forms of communication you send out to prospects and current customers? Take a very close look at EVERYTHING you send out. It should have your social handles included!

11. Transactional messages. Look at all of your transactional messages. They should have your social media info included. This could be invoices, welcome email or letter, follow-up emails, invitations, etc.

12. Product labels and packaging. Include your social handles on all product labels and packaging. This is a “hot” customer – they just purchased from you and are excited. Use that momentum to turn them into a follower on social media as well!

13. Promotional displays. Do you have displays set up in retail stores or a booth at an event? Make sure your social handles are on display, too! If a potential customer doesn’t buy from you TODAY then make sure they have a way to connect with you before they leave. QR codes are great for this, too!

14. Share button in emails. If you’re providing tips, ideas, advice, recipes, etc. via email newsletters or promotional emails, make sure you also provide a way for the audience to share the ideas on social media.

15. Include social handles on business cards. You’re spending a lot of money on these business cards, make sure they can connect with you EVERYWHERE, not just via email and phone.

Keep in mind that growing an audience organically takes time. It can be frustrating to see low follower counts when you want to appear more “established” but you NEED to grow your audience the right way if you want long-term success.

Trust me when I say that “bot buying” (i.e., buying followers) will hurt you in the long run! All platforms go through and clean out bots and spam accounts every once in a while, when this happens many brands will lose hundreds or thousands of followers if they’ve been buying followers. Plus, like I said earlier - you will lose the algorithm battle when it looks like you have horrible content because you have horrible engagement because you are followed by bots and not real people who are eager to engage with you.