Category: a slice of STRATEGY

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Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Behind the Scenes of Red Slice: Reinvention + Renewal (Part 3)

Posted on by Maria Ross

Previously in Part 2 of the Red Slice origin story… 

My entrepreneurial journey – and my life-  came screeching to a halt when I almost died from a ruptured brain aneurysm.  There are just some crises you can’t build into your business plan! But, guess what? The sky didn’t fall. In fact, it opened up to a whole new way of living and doing business that would change me forever – and can hopefully change you for the better, too. 

If you missed Part 1, you can read it here. 

If you missed Part 2, please check it out here. 

Get ready for Part 3! 

GETTING BACK INTO THE GAME 

OK, so I’d survived a ruptured brain aneurysm. It was amazing to me how quickly people can rally around you after a crisis and pick up the slack.  Armed with moxie, and a healthy dose of ignorance about the severity of it all, I thought I’d be back to work in seven weeks, when in reality, it took many months to focus on healing, recovery and therapy.  

I had to overcome quite a few cognitive deficits: information overwhelm, prioritization, short-term memory, even vocabulary recall. All perfectly normal after-effects–and all skills I needed to do my work. 

In addition, I lacked confidence to jump back into my life again. My hair had been shaved off, my eyesight was temporarily impaired and I was still regaining my strength. My husband, God love him, was my rock through it all. But he was not going to be able to jump-start me back to work. 

Finally, after about six months (which is a miraculous timeframe for this type of injury), I was ready to dip my toe back into work and rebuild my business. But how to do it? 

Networking again played a key role. The connections I’d worked so hard to build, both professionally and personally, saved me. I had to get comfortable asking for help–and see it as a sign of strength and resourcefulness, not weakness. People wanted to help. So I asked people to drive me places, accompany me to events, and get me back out there. I decided that if I started acting brave, maybe I’d start feeling brave–and I needed cheerleading and support or I’d lose my nerve all together. Had I not spent the time to build and nurture that community, before I needed it, I’d have been in a world of pain. 

And soon, my network spread the word that I was back in the game and ready for action again. 

LESSON ONE: Build your community and tribe before you need it. Tend to it. Nurture it. If you start only when you need it, it’s already too late. (Tweet!) 

 A NEW APPROACH, BUSINESS MODEL + SUCCESS 

Fast forwarding through recovery, I started the difficult task of embracing the New Me. My brain now worked overtime on tasks that had once come easy to me so I had to adapt and find new strategies. What would this mean to my work, which was all about my IP and executive brain functions? My therapists suggested choosing a simple,  structured project to start.   

Which I did not heed. My first project back was unstructured and complicated. I cried daily.  

But I got through it and gained confidence back in the process. Networking continued to help me get my name back out there. I ran a few workshops with a colleague. I started blogging and guest writing articles again. And slowly but surely, folks realized Red Slice was back. 

During this “gentle” time of figuring things out and taking on limited clients, I finally got serious about writing a book, a dream I’d had since I was a little girl. Having this time to chase long-procrastinated dreams was a gift. I’m not sure I would have otherwise taken the time. 

Soon, I published my first book and started booking more business. Client work was still a struggle, but I surrounded myself with understanding partners who helped me with some of my deficits on the back end.  

In the next two years, I took on some big projects. At one point, I had a dream project with a software company…and simultaneously, a hellacious project with another big company. I finally realized that my passion was for the early strategic phase, where I could ferret out big insights and package them into an amazing brand strategy and story. 

The rest of the project, however, was less fun.  I basically functioned as a project manager, overseeing implementation. This phase made me want to poke my eyes out.  

A wise coach gave me permission. She said, “If you don’t like doing that work, Maria, stop doing it!” And that was it. I was free! I revamped my messaging, repackaged my offerings to just focus on brand strategy and upped my rates.  I was happy to give client’s a firm foundation and then refer out the tactical work so I could move on. 

It was scary to narrow my focus to attract the right clients and do the work I love.  But, hey, it was advice I’d been giving my clients all this time–I just hadn’t followed it myself! 

And guess what happened? More of the right clients came to my door, I was happier, more relaxed and working from my heart.  

Life’s too short to do work you hate. And it’s downright insane if you as an entrepreneur are the one deciding which work you do! 

LESSON TWO: Don’t be afraid to focus, reinvent and make your business work for YOU (Tweet!) 

BETTER PRIORITIZATION…ON AND OFF THE FIELD 

This life-changing event not only transformed my work but my life. I was no longer the same person I was before the aneurysm. I couldn’t possibly be. 

It wasn’t just having a “near-death experience” or even the psychological and cognitive changes that occurred due to the injury. Powerful lessons punched me dead in the face so there was no way I couldn’t pay attention. 

I had always wanted my work to be more meaningful and now I had the chance to change lives. After much cajoling from others, I was finally ready to share my experience and lessons learned through a book. It was my heart’s mission and responsibility to take my amazing recovery and help others who were not so lucky. I wrote Rebooting My Brain in late 2011 and suddenly found myself playing the role of brain injury awareness advocate, speaking and volunteering to represent the patient point of view. 

My cognitive challenges forced me to make significant work (and life) changes. I had no choice but to learn how to better focus on one thing at a time, stay present, and go easy on myself. My fatigue and overwhelm would not allow for manic multitasking and overscheduling anymore. 

Wow. “Be present.” “Focus.” “Leave breathing room in your schedule.” 

Not a bad way to live, let alone work, eh? 

All of these changes led to a flourishing business once again.  I built a solid reputation, enjoyed national media appearances, and published more books. And I even found a way, despite the high-risk due to my health issues, to have my first child at 41 years old, a beautiful baby boy.   

So where are things right now? 

Life is full.  Somehow, someway, I managed to accomplish many of the goals I had set for myself way back when. I just got to them through a slightly delayed and circuitous route than expected!  

Every day, I’m still learning and growing. I’ve added MOMENTUM, an exclusive coaching program to my offerings (Check it out! It starts October 6!), and am working on my next book. And I’m enjoying every precious moment with my husband, son, family and friends. 

If only I could go back and tell that eager beaver to just relax. Everything you want can fall into place eventually, no matter what curveballs life throws at you.  

I’ve learned that if you focus on your strengths, rather than defining yourself by your weaknesses, you can find creative ways to get to your goals in the end. 

LESSON THREE: Despite setbacks, focus on your strengths + find new ways to your goals (Tweet!) 

Did you enjoy my origin story? What was the most valuable lesson you can apply to your own life and work? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page  and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know! 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Behind the Scenes of Red Slice: Business Grows…and Crisis Strikes (Part 2)

Posted on by Maria Ross

Previously in Part 1 of the Red Slice origin story…  

After leaving the security of corporate comfort, I embarked on my consulting business in my new home city of Seattle. Savvy, authentic networking and a rock-solid brand strategy accelerated my early growth, resulting in wonderfully interesting small business clients and a lucrative corporate gig.  

If you missed Part 1, including my three powerful lessons learned, read it here. 

Get ready for Part 2!  

SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH EXPERTS 

Having always been surrounded by structure and process, the free-fall of entrepreneurship felt like fumbling around in the dark–every day. Quickly, I tried to get my legal and financial ducks in a row. Do I need to register as an S-Corp or LLC? What kinds of taxes do I need to pay? How do I manage my invoices and expenses? Ugh.

A new lawyer friend hooked me up with her firm for invaluable legal advice that should have cost thousands but didn’t and so I got the right counsel on risks and requirements I didn’t even know about. They developed my contracts at a bargain price and I filed for an LLC by downloading a free PDF online called, “How to File for a Washington LLC.” The paperwork. The tax requirements. The fees. It was all so damn confusing.   

I promptly hired an accountant to help me with everything financial. Nothing fancy, she helped me set up my first QuickBooks and educated me almost weekly on what I needed to know. It felt like every day, I came up with more questions on how this whole “business ownership” thing worked. And I majored in business!  

LESSON ONE: No one is an island, nor an expert in everything. Stop trying to be a hero and ask for help from experts who know better. (Tweet!)

PRICING RIGHT 

Nothing paralyzes new business owners like pricing. I knew what similar consultants charged for my corporate client base, and I was comfortable with that rate because those clients have budget. But for my second client segment, small businesses and entrepreneurs, it was a different story. I had to figure out how to serve them with offerings that would still give me a healthy profit for my expertise and time. 

I admit I didn’t do a very good job of this at first. At the time, my business model was that of a virtual agency. I would hire subcontractors to help me complete all aspects of a brand project. But I was horrible at project cost estimation and factoring in their rates, as well as the right markup. So once again, I turned to others: Experienced consultants who generously shared their spreadsheets with me; Partners who educated me on this new (to me) market; Ideal clients, who openly shared their budget realities with me.  

It took me awhile to land on the right rates and project proposals. I seemed to underestimate how long everything would take me and then never billed those extra hours to the client. Many of my subcontractors made more money than I did from my projects! My nagging self-doubt made me undervalue my expertise and give too much away. I mean, I loved this stuff. It came easy for me, as I’d been doing it for close to 15 years at the time.   

I had to learn that value is not about physical time and effort, but the results the client ultimately reaps. What is the impact on their business? My work often results in clients’ increasing their sales and/or saving thousands of dollars in wasted time and effort, not to mention softer benefits such as strategic alignment, message clarity, market awareness, and re-igniting their passion–surely this meaningful work should be valued accordingly. It was a tough lesson to learn, but I’m so glad I did. 

LESSON TWO: Your expertise is valuable. Even if it comes easy to you. If someone else needs it to move forward, you have the right to be compensated well for it (Tweet!)

THE BRAND BUILDS… AND THEN CRISIS HITS 

There I was, cranking away on my big corporate client and talking to others. It was big impact work that paid well, but I really fell in love with small business entrepreneurs. I had always enjoyed the San Francisco start-up vibe and many of these folks had that same drive–but for work that also fed their souls. The boutique owner. The cupcake shop. The jewelry designer. The life coach. The leadership consultant. The photographer. They all inspired me! I longed to find a way to make this client segment more profitable in some way.  In the meantime, I was making a name for myself, attending networking events, writing online articles and doing a few (unpaid) speaking engagements.  I started an email newsletter, and began blogging regularly. People began to recognize my brand! Sure, I had to write many proposals for work that never went anywhere, but the point was that Red Slice was gaining traction. 

Added to this new business, I was still trying to do it all: yoga, acting, making new friends, seeing the sights of my new home city, writing freelance wine articles. We were brand-new, first-time homeowners and just adopted a dog. I clearly remember confiding to my bestie, a coach for women entrepreneurs: “It’s all great stuff, but I just feel more overwhelmed and stressed than ever!” And she said, “Maria, you thrive on change but I think even you have hit your limit. Then she shared this gem… 

LESSON THREE: “You can do it all but you don’t have to do it all RIGHT NOW!” (Tweet!)

But by then, it was too late. It all came crashing down. 

After a theatre audition, I was struck by a blinding, sudden headache that was like a drill boring into my skull. My neck and back muscles seized up, nausea flooded me and I had no idea what was happening. After collecting myself, I promptly made a doctor’s appointment. He chalked it up to all the stress and advised me to monitor my blood pressure daily, do physical therapy, yoga and acupuncture and report back to him in about a month. 

Did I pull back? No. Silly, right? The yoga, acupuncture and PT just became more to-do’s on my list. I suffered from a few debilitating migraines over the next month and planned to go see the doctor again – when I had time.  And then, I collapsed, unconscious on the bathroom floor. Luckily, my husband saved my life by calling 911. Or I’d be dead. 

A ruptured brain aneurysm had brought all my business–and life–plans to halt.  

I won’t bore you with the details, as a) I wrote a book about this and b) spoiler alert: I survived.  What I will say is that some sort of crisis WILL hit your life or your business; something random for which you can never, ever prepare.  

It happened to me. Even though clients needed deliverables and my task list was not complete. Even though I thought it was ALL SO IMPORTANT.  

And guess what? The sky didn’t fall.   

The sky actually opened up. It opened up a whole new way of living, relating and doing my work in the world – and you can learn to do the same.  

Tune in for Part Three to learn how I revved up my business again and then reinvented it to better suit my life…right here!

Like this origin story so far? What major setbacks has your business faced? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page  and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know! 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Behind the Scenes: How I Started My Business (Part 1)

Posted on by Maria Ross

How My Business Got Started: Valuable Lessons for You!

Starting a business is not easy. Maintaining it for over nine years (gasp!) can be downright unbelievable. People always ask me, “How did you start?”

Recently, I cleared out some old folders and came across every yearly plan from 2008 on. As one does when decluttering, I got lost in nostalgia, chuckling to myself about all the things I thought I knew – and how far I’d come. 

Inspired, I decided to share with you a three-part look at THE RED SLICE ORIGIN STORY and the valuable lessons that can also help your business grow. Full credit for this idea goes to my friend, Melissa Cassera, who recently published a spine-tingling blog mini-series about her business start.  

Please sit back, grab some popcorn (or a lovely Cabernet) and learn from my entrepreneurial adventure! 

THE SEEDS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ARE SOWN 

2006. Newly married, I was living in San Francisco and directing global marketing campaigns for a billion-dollar software company. Corporate life was all I’d ever known, working at a big consulting firm, a small ad agency, and a multinational entertainment powerhouse. In 1999, I’d come to SF to chase the dot.com dream and did my first stint at a (failed) startup, which was the riskiest thing I’d ever done. But I was still working for someone else for a steady paycheck and full benefits and had never known life without such security. 

My creative urges had led me back into acting and writing, alongside my day job. I landed (unpaid) gigs writing food and wine articles (yum) for local magazines and websites, and soon began my own blog. I wanted to write about many things: theatre, business, culture, marketing, wine, food, film…there were so many facets to my personality. I named this personal blog Red Slice, to represent this redhead’s many “slices” of interest. It was liberating to express my creativity again. Like I had come home to myself.  

Right before I got married, I left my big global firm to be a marketing director for a smaller software company. My amazing team and I remain great friends to this day. But the company itself left a bit to be desired. I was restless. 

In 2007, we moved to Seattle for my husband’s job. By then, you must understand, I had lived through three layoffs during the tech bust. I no longer viewed “working for someone else” as the secure proposition I once did. Rocked by my experiences, I expanded my career thinking. I was also getting older and really fed up with corporate political B.S. Most of my time and energy was spent on bureaucratic B.S, rather than doing actual good work. 

I flirted with consulting and daydreamed about working with clients I liked, doing work I loved. While I’d done freelance consulting between layoffs, permanent entrepreneurship was not in my blood. My two grandfathers, both Italian immigrants, had owned businesses at one stage or another, but my dad had sailed steady, loving his decades-long engineering career with the same firm. Stability was everything to me. 

Luckily, my small software company kindly allowed me to work from Seattle. As this extrovert adjusted to working on my own, setting (mostly) my own hours, an addiction formed. A freedom addiction. 

LESSON #1: Leading a life where you call the shots and every ounce of work you do benefits YOU is positively addictive. There is no freedom quite like entrepreneurial freedom, even though you’re working harder than you ever have in your life. (TWEET!) 

For fun in my off-hours, I built a crappy little consulting website in GoDaddy and, naturally, called it Red Slice. I liked the name: It stood out from the crowd, intrigued people and also had a double meaning of helping my clients’ brands stand out, like anything “red” often does. I would offer clients “slices” of services to fit their needs.  

Then, fate gave me a big push. In early 2008, my company laid off the entire marketing department in prep for a sale. The day we got the final notice, I flipped the switch on the crappy website and sent an email to everyone I knew: Red Slice, the marketing and brand consultancy was born! 

NAILING MY BRAND, FINDING MY VOICE 

While the visuals were horrendous, I focused more on the brand strategy and the messaging, naturally! I wanted a fresh, focused, innovative brand and to offer my full breadth of skills earned from many years in communications, branding and marketing.  I got to say what I wanted to say, in my own sassy voice, without corporate jargon. #Freedom.

A treasured agency contact from my corporate days offered to design me a better website for free, and his team came up with the fruit imagery you see today.  While my website has evolved since then, they nailed it on their very first design because I had done a great job of articulating my brand strategy, value and vibe before they even got started. Some old corporate colleagues scoffed that clients “wouldn’t take me seriously” if I mentioned my writing and acting on my business website. I doubted myself, but bravely stood my ground: I wanted my brand to showcase my unique blend of practical business savvy and playful creativity.  

LESSON #2: Nail down your brand strategy before you even think about a logo, website or marketing tactics – unless you like wasting hours of time, burning piles of money (TWEET!)  

NETWORKING PAYS OFF 

Lacking any sort of professional Seattle network, I joined a Ladies Who Launch incubator. There, I met a ton of cool, smart women, including Melody, the woman who’d become a dear friend, brainstorming partner and personal escort into the world of independent business owners – a client base I’d never even considered.  She got me my very first small client! 

I asked friends to introduce me to folks they knew in Seattle and met them on coffee blind dates. I networked like crazy with the few other contacts I DID have, and it got me into meetings to eventually become a subcontractor for a consulting firm doing work at Microsoft. So two months into my new venture, I had a super fun small business client and a large, well-paying corporate client.  

LESSON #3: Networking is your biggest business booster and it doesn’t have to be icky. It should be part of any marketing plan. Network with people you genuinely like and who knows what doors will open (TWEET!) 

I quickly realized that the large project put me right back into corporate bureaucracy again so I began exploring the small business community. It was like discovering this wonderful subculture I never knew existed when I was in my corporate bubble.  

But that exploration came to a screeching halt when, just eight months into my new business, crisis struck.  

Nothing would ever be the same… 

Tune in for Part Two to learn what nearly crushed me and my business for good..right here!

Like this origin story? How did your business start out? Tweet me @redslice or comment on my Facebook page  and use #BIZORIGIN to let me know! 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Why Empathy is Good for Business + How to Show It

Posted on by Maria Ross

Empathy is good for business! It's just as important as all the marketing tips, hr advice, and other business advice out there. Click through if you'd like to add more empathy to your work!

When you think of the personality traits of a successful business owner, what do you picture?

Tenacious? Hard-working? Creative?

Sure! A little tenacity never hurt anyone. But what if I told you the most important quality a business owner can have is … empathy?

4 reasons empathy is good for business

  1. Empathy increases the know/like/trust factor

Let’s say you can’t throw anything out and you’re suffocated by your clutter. You decided it’s finally time to hire a professional organizer.

Who are you more likely to connect with, relate to, and ultimately hire:

* the person who tells you that five years ago they too had drawers overflowing with old t-shirts?

* the person who’s somehow “naturally organized”?

* The person who doesn’t tell you anything about themselves or their background?

I bet you connected with the person who knows your struggle, didn’t you? It’s human nature! We’re more likely to know, like, and trust people who are similar to us. And – as I’m sure you know – we’re more likely to buy from people we know, like, and trust.

Here’s a great example of a blogger showing us how to break bad habits by sharing the bad habits she struggled with!

2. Empathy shows that you walk the walk

If you can show your clients that you’ve been where they are, found a solution, and emerged triumphantly, you’re modeling success.

You’re demonstrating that you’re empathetic to their struggles and you’ve made specific changes to overcome those struggles. You’re living proof that they don’t have to stay stuck! Living proof makes for pretty convincing marketing.

3. Empathy helps your clients be more vulnerable with you

When you show your clients you understand them, you’re helping them feel safe. You’re showing them that they can be honest and vulnerable with you. When you say “I get it. I used to be overwhelmed by social media too,” you’re making it easier for your clients to open up to you.

And the more they open up to you, the more you can help them, and the better their results will be.

4. Data without empathy is meaningless

These days it’s pretty easy to look at your analytics and see which blog posts your clients read, which tweets they liked, and how many people watched your video. But if you don’t understand why they read that blog post or what problem you helped them solve, that data is useless.

We all just want to feel understood and supported. Leading with empathy makes that possible. Share on X

How can you make empathy good for your business?

Share your backstory

What have you struggled with? What hurdles have you overcome in your business? And how does this make you uniquely well-qualified to help us overcome something similar?

Maybe you overcame stage fright; maybe you undercharged for years. Perhaps you mismanaged your team and lost a big account or had self-limiting beliefs that held you back for years.

Whatever your backstory is: share it. Help us know, like, and trust you. Show us how you can help us overcome what we’re struggling with.

Share examples of people or situations for which you feel empathy 

You can also look to current events or public figures who are experiencing something with which you empathize.

For example, if you’re a financial adviser you could say, “When I heard about Johnny Depp declaring bankruptcy I thought, ‘Ugh. I know how that feels.’” Then you share the story of how you struggled with credit card debt in your early twenties and how you righted that ship to make healthy money management your life’s calling.

If you’re a life coach you could say “When Emma Stone talked about navigating her career while managing an anxiety disorder, I wanted to raise my hand and shout “Me, too!” And then you can share how you changed your workday, workload, or daily habits to get past this hurdle.

Anticipate where they might get stuck

If you’ve been in business for a while, you probably already know where your clients freeze up or give up. You know they’re nervous about being on camera or intimidated by downloading new software. You know which excuses they’ll pull out.

Show them you understand them and you’ve got their back! This can be as easy as using phrases like “You might be thinking ___________” or “I know you’re probably worried that ____________”. Then explain why that reasoning or excuse doesn’t apply here.  Or just assure them that they’ve got this and it’s not as hard as it seems!

My friend Sarah spent years working as a teacher and now creates and sells online courses. Every module of every course includes a ‘Where you might get stuck’ section where she addresses common hurdles!

If you don’t know what your people are struggling with or how you can help, ASK

None of these methods will help you if you don’t understand your people. If you don’t know what they’re struggling with, it’s hard to empathize, right?

Luckily, there are tons of ways to figure this out.

  • Invite someone who’s an ideal client out for coffee
  • Request a Zoom chat
  • Simply ask your social media followers “What are you struggling with at the moment?”
  • Create a survey and ask your blog readers and newsletter subscribers to fill it out. Make sure to clarify that their answers will help you create things that are more helpful and useful!

For more research and strategies on why empathy is great for business, check out The Empathy Edge podcast and book!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Content Marketing Success. Part 3: Tips and Tricks to Make Content Marketing Easier

Posted on by Maria Ross

Enjoy this special three-part series on how to find Content Marketing success! If you missed it, head back to check out Part 1 and Part 2.

You’re all bought into that content marketing is the right way to attract the right clients and customers, showcase your expertise and build a long-term relationship.

Fabulous. Now, how the heck can you possibly get it all done?

Boost your brand with content marketing. But be super smart + efficient about it!  (Tweet this!)

Here are some of my favorite best practices and tools ensure you can be efficient and more importantly, effective, with your content marketing efforts. 

  1. Make Content Shareable: No use creating all that luscious content if folks don’t do some of the sharing for you, right?
  • Use Forward to a Friend or Social Share Buttons on your website and emails.
  • Pre-write posts to share. My favorite tool is ClicktoTweet to enable your audience to share with the click of a button.
  1. Use Images and Infographics: Two very important data points for you:

When people hear information, they are likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later. (LifeLearn, 2015)

Visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. (Buffer, 2014)

  • Use Free Images: Here are some of my fave free image resources. Be sure to add a photo credit, depending on rights agreement and terms.

Unsplash

500px

Flickr Creative Commons

  • Optimize Images for Each Social Network: Each network has its own size requirements so make your image comes out crisp and clear otherwise, there’s no point. Bookmark this Page! It’s an always- updated image sizing guide for every social network. How can you resize for all the right dimensions if you’re not a designer? Easy….use these free image editing tools:

Canva: Get every template you need, pre-sized and with compelling imagery. They have templates you can use or you can upload your own images.

PicMonkey: Re-size images to any size you like and add eye-catching banners, effects, titles, etc.

Milanote is a tool for organizing creative projects into beautiful visual boards. By design, it feels a lot like working on the wall in a creative studio – visual, tactile and sometimes a bit messy – Milanote is a great fit for designers who work in teams remotely.

  1. Batch And Pre-Schedule Content: Be super efficient by cranking out a bunch of content, whether blogs, videos or podcasts, all in one sitting, maybe for the next month or even six months and scheduling it to publish over the long haul. Many successful bloggers operate this way.
  • Pre-schedule content delivery in advance so you can set it and forget it:
    • Blogs: WordPress https://wordpress.org/ enables scheduling posts in advance
    • Email Platform: All of them have the ability to schedule in advance
    • Social media: Popular scheduling tools include Hootsuite, Buffer, Meet Edgar, and you can use Tailwind specifically for Pinterest and Instagram
    • One caveat: If pre-scheduling to a Facebook brand page, only use Facebook’s native scheduler, not a third-party tool. Otherwise, the Facebook algorithm will not show the post to as many of your fans.
  1. But…Set Aside Weekly Time For Live Engagement: You can’t just quite “set it and forget it.” Remember, social media is SOCIAL so make sure you are active within the platform
  • Schedule 15 minutes per day to dip into social networks and interact, even if you pre-schedule content.
  • Follow proper etiquette for each network. They all have their own rules so make sure you know what you’re doing. This is a great book on that.
  • Respond to comments, give shout-outs, thank people, share valuable content from other trusted sources, promote complementary businesses or organizations if applicable
  1. Recycle and Reuse: You’ve put so much into your content. As your audience grows, many of them may not have seen your earlier stuff–or frankly, they may not remember it. Plus, people like to consume content differently. Avoid reinventing the wheel and repurpose what you have.
  • Spruce up old content for use again
  • Repackage into other forms: A blog post becomes a media pitch; an article becomes a podcast or video. A series of blog posts becomes a free guide.
  • Find at least three uses for every piece of content
  1. Gather Continuous Feedback: Keep polling and interacting with your audience to figure out what they want and need. Do they want to see more of a certain topic? Do they have questions? Use this info to keep delighting them.
  • Monitor social media for questions, comments
  • Provide mechanism to solicit content ideas
  • Ask clients about your content efforts when they come in for appointment
  • Poll your audience annually

How Can I Get It All Done?!

  • Create a plan so it’s easier to divide the workload. This is why an editorial calendar is super useful.
  • Hire a full or part-time content marketing manager
  • Hire a skilled freelancer on Upwork,  Fiverr, or Airtasker
  • Hire a virtual assistant specializing in content marketing/social media from somewhere like Worldwide 101.
  • Contact a local college or university and bring on an intern who is studying marketing, communications or journalism to build the plan and execute the content. You may be able to do this in exchange for course credit rather than pay!

Remember the most important tip: Have Fun!

This is your opportunity to showcase your unique brand personality and voice. Get creative! If you’ve never done video before, experiment with simply using your phone. If you’re a closet artist or photographer, create and capture unique images. The more you can have fun when creating content marketing, the more engaging the content will be to delight your clients, as well as attract new ones.

Missed the entire series? Check out Part 1 and Part 2.

BONUS!  Download this delicious free Content Marketing Cheat Sheet that outlines everything we’ve covered in this three-part series.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Content Marketing Success. Part 2: What Content to Create?

Posted on by Maria Ross

Enjoy this special three-part series on how to find Content Marketing success! You can read Part 1 right here. And Part 3 here.

Great! You’ve created your Content Marketing strategy as discussed last time and you’re ready to create some mind-blowing content to delight your ideal audience.

Only you can’t think of anything to talk about.

Maybe you think your business is not sexy enough: How creative can you get when talking about accounting services, you think to yourself? Or maybe you think writing is just not your “thing.”

Relax. You are the expert in your field and this didn’t happen overnight. You have years of rich wisdom and important information to share with your audience.

‘Oh, everyone knows that.’ No, they don’t. Share your wisdom!  (Tweet this!)

Content marketing comes in many forms: videos, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, emails, social media posts, free guides, tip sheets and more.

In your content marketing strategy, you determined in which vehicles you want to invest. Maybe you love to write or hate being on camera. Maybe your audience adores podcasts and you love donning headphones and interviewing people. Pick what works for you and your target audience. Remember to only choose one or two things and do them really, really well rather than try to create everything under the sun!

You still need topics and ideas, though. So how do you determine what you should talk about? 

First and foremost, survey your clients. I can’t believe how many business owners miss this obvious source of delicious information. What do they want or need? If you don’t have customers yet, find your ideal customers and interview them.

You’ll get oodles of content ideas. No topic is too basic. Remember that your “basics” could be mind-blowing insights for your audience.

Here are six more content ideas to get your brain in gear:

  1. Answer common questions you get all the time.
  2. Comment on hot trends or current news and give your professional take.
  3. Share important advice you know your clients or customers need to know. Even if they don’t know they need to know it!
  4. Interview other experts that may be of interest.
  5. Curate, don’t just create! You don’t have to create everything from scratch. You are also a trusted curator. Share interesting articles, community events, links to great resources.
  6. Poke around on social media or do Google searches and see what questions people are asking and for what they are searching.

Now you should have at least a page, if not more, of content topics. Enough to fill up the entire year. Build an editorial calendar and slot in the topics by date to keep yourself organized. This way, when you’re not feeling the inspirational buzz, you can just look at your calendar and instantly start creating, rather than staring at a blank page for too long.

In Part 3 of this series, I’ll show you my favorite tips and time-saving tricks to make content marketing fun, effective and efficient so it won’t consume your time and life.

In the meantime, download my delicious  free Content Marketing Cheat Sheet with tips, tricks, and best practices to attract new fans and convert more sales.

Some past posts that may be of interest as you come up with content ideas:

3 Tips to Make Blogging Easier

7 Simple and Stunning Blog Post Ideas to Keep Your Ideas Flowing (this can apply to blogs, videos, podcasts, eBooks….the works!)

5 Inspirations to Spice Up Your Content Marketing

Want to better define your ideal audience so you can understand what content they need and how and where they want it? You’ll love my Brand Bootcamp digital course – self-paced and stress-free!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Content Marketing Success. Part 1: Create A Sensible Strategy

Posted on by Maria Ross

Ready for a free mini-course on this blog? This is Part 1 of three-part series on how to master content marketing, create the right content, and manage it with ease. Oh, and a goodie for you at the end: A free Content Marketing cheat sheet full of tips, strategies and best practices. Delicious! 

Sales has changed. You don’t just pitch your offering cold and shout “Buy Now!”  Unless you have an infomercial. And then it better be damn good!

Most of you offer creative, value-based work to discerning audiences who are not buying solely based on price, whether you put on events, sell cheese, write books, design websites or coach executives.

These audiences greatly differ, but they all expect you to take them out on a first date and court them before they invest in you. You must prove your value and expertise before anyone spends a dime.

Enter CONTENT MARKETING. 

I’ve talked about content marketing before and it’s not even close to new (remember free DVD’s and brochures if you “call right now?”) but technology has expanded the ways in which content can be created, delivered and consumed.

Good, consistent content will boost your visibility, attract your ideal customers and make your brand irresistible over time.

#Contentmarketing helps you woo your audience before you ask for marriage! @redslice Share on X

Content marketing helps you woo your audience before you ask for marriage!  (Tweet this!)

But where to start? And how do you do it right?

In this three-part series, I’m going to share how you can make good content an effortless and integral part of your brand-boosting efforts.

Part 1: How to Create a Sensible Content Marketing Strategy

Before going on any trip, you need a map to get you there. Don’t just dive into tactics without a strategy.

First, as always, start with your brand strategy and story. Clearly determine your audience, your value, and your personality. Then build your content marketing strategy based on that.

A content marketing strategy lives above any specific vehicles, topics or dates. It should drive all of your efforts.

The strategy includes:

  • What are my content marketing objectives?
  • What does my audience want? What do they need to know?
  • What will I create?
  • Will I have monthly themes and seasonal topics?
  • Which vehicles will I use? What does my audience want AND what do I enjoy creating?
  • How will I measure success?

Taking a step back before you start cranking out blogs, videos and newsletters to answer these questions will guide your efforts for the rest of the year.

A word of caution as you plan: Don’t go overboard! Are you really going to write a daily blog, post three times a day on Instagram, film a video every week and whatever else you dream up? I get it, marketing is fun, but you still have to do your actual work and sleep, eat, spend time with your family, etc. Start small. Make it doable.

You want to make this easier on yourself, right? Take a few hours to unplug, pour yourself a latte and craft your content marketing strategy.

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll tackle how to come up with brilliant content ideas and topics.

In the meantime, download my delicious free Content Marketing Cheat Sheet with tips, tricks, and best practices to attract new fans and convert more sales.

Some past posts that may be of interest as you build your strategy:

The ABC’s of Good Content Marketing

The Art of Seduction: 5 Ways to Woo Your Audience With Good Content

Want to dive even deeper on how to actually create great content and attract more customers, visibility and sales? You’ll love the MOMENTUM Pro digital course – self-paced and stress-free!

Image Credit via Réginald Sion

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Good vs. Bad Customer Friction

Posted on by Maria Ross

Your organization, business or work will induce friction. Accept that.

Friction is anything that makes a client or customer unhappy or prevents them from fully getting value from your work.

Some people will embrace what you have to offer. Others will reject it. But, inevitably, some humans who find barriers to consuming, accepting, buying, and supporting your work. They will hit bumps in the road rather than have a smooth, seamless, happy experience with your work.

The trick is to judge good friction versus bad friction so you know which is worth removing….and which is not.   (Tweet This!)

Good friction–the kind you can improve upon, tweak, clarify or change to better serve people–looks like this:

  • “It’s not clear from your website what you do or if this solves my problem”
  • “The bottle pour spout is too big and makes too much come out all at once.
  • “The instructions were confusing so I didn’t use the product.”
  • “I thought you were delivering x, y or z but you never wrote anything down.”
  • “The course did not deliver what you promised on the sales page”
  • ‘Your website typos give me the impression you’re not professional.”
  • “Your customer service rep never responded to my multiple emails.”
  • “You were late to all our meetings.”

Bad friction–the kind that you can politely address but still stand your ground–looks like this:

  • “I want my money back for the course because I didn’t have time to do the work.” (That’s on you, not us)
  • “I’m not your target audience and would never buy your product but I’m offended by your social media posts.” (Sorry about that, but we’re serving our tribe, not you.)
  • “Your work was useless. Of course, I never implemented your recommendations but, still, you didn’t do good work.” (Really? I delivered solid, expert advice. How do you know it’s not good unless you take action?)
  • “Your work/art/book/song/brand/message sucks!” (Not everyone has to like what I do. Are you my target audience? If you give me something tangible to respond to perhaps I can improve it.)

Good friction is a valid criticism that can help you improve and bring you closer to a customer. It helps you improve, refine and clarify things to make it easier for people to love you. You can address this kind of friction and pave a smooth path to adoption and adoration.

Bad friction is just noise, excuses, and whining. If people are not willing to put in the time, implement your advice or thoughtfully judge your work, it is not friction you should worry about removing. Because that kind of friction is not real.

Before you spend cycles acting on customer or client friction, make sure you know which kind of friction it is.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Why Lack of Empathy Will Destroy Your Brand

Posted on by Maria Ross

You’ve probably heard all the outrage over how United Airlines forcibly removed a doctor from his seat, injuring him, simply because they needed his seat to accommodate a crew transfer.

This is straight out of PR brand crisis hell. David Dao, the victim, is a doctor, grandparent, and Asian-American. The police dragged him from his seat when he refused to get up, broke his nose and caused a “severe concussion,” according to Dao’s lawyer.

United’s CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized profusely and publicly, taking full responsibility for the airline’s behavior. They are reviewing and changing policies to earn back customer trust.

The brand damage is bad. But like any virtual monopoly, we’ll probably have little choice but to have to fly United again. Their stock price took a devastating hit but has since rebounded (as of this blog post writing).

The good news is that there have been Congressional hearings about the airline’s behavior and air passenger rights. Other airlines like Southwest and Alaska are proactively reviewing their own policies to avoid any issues in the future. Dr. Dao has received a hefty settlement for his pain and suffering (good for him, I say, poor man.)

@United showed us how lack of empathy destroys your #brand via @redslice #PR #values Share on X

If you make policies that only serve your interests and do not think about how they impact your customers, you will lose. United put their own needs above a paying passenger with no thought to this person’s schedule, convenience or feelings.

All United had to do was create a fair, compassionate policy to accommodate their customers and crew. I’ve always thought overbooking as a practice was nonsense (but admittedly, I don’t understand the financials). But then, to add fuel to the fire, you had airline personnel on the front lines making all of these bad decisions instead of being empowered and inspired to come up with a more empathetic, creative solution.

My own family has issues with United recently, flying home from London Heathrow. My husband has airline status which gives him access to their worldwide lounges. He and I tried to get into the lounge at Heathrow with our three year-old but were told he was only allowed one guest with his current status.  Even though our son was only three, he’d have to pay full price for an extra pass. Really? What are we supposed to do, leave our kid outside? Maybe they don’t want whole families coming in on one pass, but I doubt many parents with six kids were trying to “game the system.” We were livid. Did they not understand how often my husband flies their airline, away from his own family? Why can’t you create a policy that says any child is only charged $10 or something?

Absolutely no empathy.

CEO Oscar Munoz has said, “This is a turning point for United. For the last three weeks, I have spent every day thinking about how we got here.”

Really? You don’t know how you got here? I’m calling BS. Have you even flown a commercial airline as a paying passenger in the last decade? We got here through consolidation, lack of competition, squeezing customers for more money and fees while offering them less, shrinking their legroom and generally making the flying experience horrific.

I know. I fly a lot. And back in the mid-nineties, I flew United weekly in my management consulting job – and loved how they treated me with kindness and respect. Wow, how far they’ve fallen.

Empathy has to be baked into the brand values and DNA of a company. 

If you're not using company values as useful tools to RUN your company, you've failed @redslice #United #brand Share on X

Values shape what policies to put in place and which people to hire.

Until companies figure out that brand starts from the inside out and that it all has to start with customer empathy, they will never learn.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to Create a Simple Marketing Plan That Brings You Joy

Posted on by Maria Ross

Do you want a simple marketing plan that actually works? If you're looking for easy marketing tips that won't overwhelm you, click through for marketing advice from an expert!

Are you narrowing your eyes at the title of this blog post, thinking “There’s no such thing as a simple marketing plan, Maria”?

If every marketing plan you’ve ever tried has made you feel overwhelmed, allow me to explain simple marketing via a story about milk and pasta.

Picture this:  Your husband opens the refrigerator and removes a carton of milk. He asks, “How long has this been in here?” and you shrug.

He opens the carton, takes a big whiff, and recoils in disgust. You think he might actually start crying.

“Ugh! I think this milk has gone off! Here, smell it.”

Are you kidding me? You have very clearly shown that what awaits me is horrific. With that ringing endorsement, no thank you. I’ll pass.

But…

You’re in a restaurant with your bestie and, upon tucking into her gorgeous pasta dish, she rolls her eyes in ecstasy and moans in a very inappropriate way.

“Oh my gosh! You have got to take a bite of this. It’s amazing!”

With that kind of enthusiasm, hell yes. Of course, you take a bite. And enter into blissful euphoria yourself.

Whether people are trying to persuade you to take a whiff, try a bite, or buy that must-have new product, their excitement or disgust is what will–or won’t–sell you.

Now imagine if you asked the store owner if the milk they sell is good. And they said, “It’s okay, I guess.”

Or if the head chef said, “Here’s your meal. It’s no big deal. Maybe you’ll like it, maybe you won’t.”

If makers and sellers don’t talk about their own work with passion…or worse, talk about it with disinterest or disgust…are you going to be convinced to buy from them? 

If you hate marketing your “thing” and don’t promote it with passion…or worse, talk about it with disinterest, that’s exactly what you’re doing to your prospective clients, fans or customers.

To find more joy in promoting your work, simplify your marketing plan. Share on X

It’s the overwhelm that’s killing you.  You’re trying to do everything and doing it all…badly. And you think they can fool people by plastering on a sweet smile and phoning it in.

Not only can people tell your heart’s not in it, but you probably aren’t consistent and effective with your marketing efforts. If you hate blogging, will you really commit to doing it on a regular basis? Heck no.

Relax. You don’t have to be everywhere. In fact, you CAN’T be everywhere.

Here’s my simple marketing plan for you

Consider two factors:

  1. What do I enjoy doing? My joy.
  1. Where is my target audience? My tribe.

Seriously. That’s it.  This intersection of your joy and your tribe will give you your marketing plan. And the great news is that if your target audience plays in several places, you have a choice.

You may be crystal clear about #1 but if you’re clueless about #2? Ask them where they like to hang out and how they like to get new information about work like yours!

To simplify your plan and find your joy…and your tribe…please download this handy dandy little free worksheet I made for you (it’s actually a Sneak Peek Playbook from my powerful coaching program, MOMENTUM, so enjoy the free taste!)

It’s yours for free. My gift. Because this issue is killing you and I want you to love marketing your work, not detest it.

Try it. Seriously.