Some of the best ideas are stolen (may I more politely say borrowed). 

Over 30 years ago I was a TV sales manager who called on businesses and ad agencies in Michigan. One agency founder had a fun title on his card, and I remembered that.  Fifteen years or so later, when I started my company, I decided I wanted to have some fun with our titles, as well.  Internally we all know what we do, but externally, we like to poke a little fun at the formal titles and let our experience and sunny outlook shape the language that distinguishes us. 

It's an attention getter and it’s on purpose. 

The same approach may not work in health care or finance.  It might not be great in city government, non-profit work, or in the legal profession.  But, in the world of advertising and marketing it’s a wonderful icebreaker.

And it’s intentional. 

A Different Look4Our Agency

In the past, some folks have questioned whether it comes across as unprofessional that we have a Quarterback, a Marketing Therapist, a Client Whisperer, or a Creative Alchemist.  It might do just that. People could prefer to know they are dealing with a Director of Operations, an Account Lead, or a Creative Director, but then again, they eventually figure it out and by then they are curious. 

If it does scare someone away, it probably wasn’t meant to be or wasn’t going to be a great fit for our team anyway.

It isn’t the only way we try to be unique or approach things differently, but in the universe of getting started in a business relationship, it presents an interesting calling card. We’ve done things this way for almost 14 years and it’s one of those special touches ­­that has become a habit and a part of our fabric. 

Recently as we onboarded four new employees, it gave us a chance to help them pick fun titles, stretch our creative brains, and remind everyone why it is we do what we do on our email signature and business cards.

Different is good. 

I thought so when I met the Big Cheese in 1992 and I know so now as an Advertising Czar.

‍

Fonts matter.  

So often in business a great deal of time is spent focusing on what we’re writing and that’s important. At the same time, it’s important to evaluate the appearance of what is written. Taking a closer look quietly makes a difference in the way copy is presented.  

I have three distinct perspectives from which I write business communications.

Intentionally, I have different signatures for each of three organizations in which I’m involved, and I use different fonts (and often colors) for each one. Sometimes when I am writing I find it helpful to present the emails in the style that represents that company’s branding or approach.  

So, I’d encourage you to think about the whole idea of evaluating the appearance of what you’ve written and understand why. Take the time to pause and double check tone, approach, and confirmation of clearly communicating your message.  

It’s not a multiple personality thing.  Don’t worry.  It’s a multiple font thing and it’s intentional.

Something2Think About

Recently I learned of a fellow business owner who wanted to start doing some advertising.  His company had been busy for years, but recently his business had slowed down significantly. The phones weren’t ringing. The orders for work had stopped.  Enter the “famine” phase of the feast-famine cycle in commerce.

Naturally, he thought this would be the perfect time to start advertising in an effort to return to the full-plate part of the feast-famine cycle.

How does this “cycle” happen?  We get busy.  We get accustomed to keeping a fast pace and aggressively provide a product or service people need or want. So, our focus is on getting the current work done and getting on to the next project.  We also feel secure with the volume of projects in the chute and those on which we’re currently working.

Business is good. Volume is up. We have peace about it all. UNTIL . . . we experience a work slowdown, things begin to get quiet, and occasionally come to a screeching halt.  

Shift This Mentality4Better Results

Unfortunately, this is the stage when the ad people are called. This is when you check on your Google campaigns, or nose around the sales department, if you have one. Well, when work slows down, and things get quiet, you may decide “it’s time to advertise” . . . it’s too late.  

You’ve allowed your hectic production pace to shield the reality that you must pay attention to the marketing funnel constantly.  No doubt you’ve probably put in huge amounts of time and effort to build your brand and your sales. That’s exactly why you need to maintain your on-going marketing spending to safeguard your company for the future. Waiting until times get bad, never works. Remember this: When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.

It's easier to dial something up than to start from scratch.  That’s always true.

Keep an eye on your marketing processes even when things are good and business is booming.  Reacting to a slowdown is just that – reacting.  Be ahead of that pattern and implement marketing and advertising best practices before you have a slowdown or critical need.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned . . . you can’t control when that next piece of business comes into your world.  But you can control the bold steps of marketing or advertising to capitalize on your success.

‍

And just like that, the holidays are already here! As you frantically hang the stockings with care or try to meet those 2022 goals before the new year, it's important to slow down this holiday season both in and out of the office. With these simple tips on how to unplug from work during the holidays, you'll be ready to enjoy the full experience of this season.

What does it mean to "unplug" from work?

There are different ways you can unplug from work, both literally and figuratively. Our recommendation is to start (literally) with technology.

While it may be tempting to peek at your computer and work emails as you take a break from gift wrapping, resist those urges! Leave your laptop in a safe place at home before you hit the highways for the holidays. Ditching the computer at home will remove your direct line to work responsibilities and clear your attention span for holiday fun and rest. Plus – maybe Santa will bring you fabulous gift to occupy your time.

Although unplugging could be extended to ALL technology, we understand the necessity of having your cell phone handy during the holidays for emergencies or those holiday pajama photos. However, you can still unplug from the work and personal social media platforms that you use on a daily basis. Challenge yourself this holiday season — no Facebooking, no Tweeting, no Instagramming — and especially no endless scrolling on TikTok!! What special holiday moment can you experience around you? If you're tempted to take a photo, try to save it on your camera or cell phone to post later. Those adorable family Christmas photos can wait until 2023!

Why should I do this?

Did you know that 38% of people say their stress increases during the holidays, and roughly half of holiday vacationers don't disconnect from work during their time off (American Psychological Association)? Constantly being in work mode can have a harmful impact on your creativity and productivity. The additional time you dedicate to work outside of rest hours can lead to prolonged exhaustion and create burnout – and nobody enjoys this experience!

There's a reason your brain feels so different during and after the holidays. A change in your daily routine stimulates the senses with new smells, feelings, sights, sounds, and tastes (especially when the smells are holiday cookies or Grandma's cooking). When you unplug from work mentally, your brain can rest from its usual routine and accelerate from sponging up all the holiday experiences. But even if your job doesn't require much mental strain or creativity (like an assembly line), your mind can still benefit from the change in the long run.

What are some examples of what I can do?

·      What concerns or worries enter your thoughts when you think about disconnecting from work during the holiday season?

·      Many people worry about not being able to disconnect from their colleagues or clients when they leave for holiday break. Our suggestion is to start with writing out solutions and a plan to address your concerns with your team before you all leave for the holidays. This way, you're leaving your teammates with an action plan to start smoothly in the new year.

·      This may require training employees or colleagues on certain aspects of your job, communicating your extra holiday vacation plans in advance to colleagues and clients, working ahead on certain projects, and creating temporary processes while you're away.

·      While this may seem like a lot of work up front, the idea is to create plans that help your team, your clients, and yourself so everyone can succeed.

Do these things before you leave:

·      Write down your list of concerns about what it means to disconnect from work.

·      Create a plan of solutions for each concern.

·      Bring in team members, employees, colleagues, and external resources to help with action steps on executing the plan.

·      Work ahead on projects or requests so that you return from the holidays to a milder workload.

·      Create temporary processes and communicate the processes to those who could be impacted by your extra time away during the holidays.

·      Set your out-of-office message, turn off email notifications, step back from your desk, and breathe. It will all be ok.

·      Keep your first day back at the office clear of meetings and commitments to allow time to catch up on emails and missed phone calls.

Do these things while you're gone:

Breathe. Drink a cup of hot chocolate. That's it! Feel the fuzzy reindeer socks on your feet. Hear that? It's holiday break. This is your time to step away from work and give yourself some space to be present and spend time with those you love.

However, if you are heading out for the holidays early and you're in a position where your team may need to reach you with questions, here are some helpful ways to handle incoming notifications while you're away (if you absolutely positively must answer):

·      If you are in a position where you must receive some work emails, set holiday break alerts on your email so that even if you don't check it every day, you can still stay aware of urgent issues.

·      Put your phone on airplane mode when you're away from work, so it won't distract you with unexpected calls or notifications.

·      Set recurring time blocks throughout your trip for digital detox time—after all, spending time with the people around you is part of what makes the holidays so valuable! Be sure to stick to these time blocks.

·      Create a new holiday tradition: food, activity, location, music, fun, chill time, etc. Experience something a little different than what you're used to during the holidays.

Do these things when you get back:

Coming back from holiday break can be the hard part, but it doesn't have to be.

• If possible, schedule an additional day off between traveling home and returning to work. This can be a day when you are home to unpack, catch up on laundry, or just take an extra 24 hours to rest. Holiday traffic can be a knock-out, after all.
• Make a plan on what is realistic to achieve the first day and first week back after the holidays. Perhaps include:

• Reading and responding to X number of emails or calls each day.
• Setting up meetings to touch base with your team or clients.
• Assessing how things went while you were gone and the next steps needed.

While it's crucial to success to take time away for yourself, it's just as important to plan how you will step back into work when you return. After all, you don't want to reverse the good things your holiday break brought you by trying to do too much when you come back to work!

‍

Some people must learn the hard way.  Sometimes I’m some people.

I recently estimated that I had written over 160 of these monthly B2Seeds.  Early on I emailed them from my Outlook.  For well over a decade, I used the tool Constant Contact, which was fine and got the job done.  Then about two years ago our company started util­izing­­ a Marketing Automation solution called Constant Contact's Lead Gen & CRM.

Since we made the move to Constant Contact's Lead Gen & CRM, building the right process got easier. Our marketing and business development efforts have been so much better since the switch. Now our emails are easier to share and track. We’ve also implemented a complete marketing platform that allows us to see if people are finding us through Google, these emails, social media, or some other avenue.  It’s also aided the company’s business development efforts.  The pieces just fit together.

Our clients hear from us more regularly and our potential clients are nurtured throughout their own marketing buying process.  You’ve heard of the painter whose house was never painted and the cobbler whose kids had no shoes? Well, with Constant Contact's Lead Gen & CRM our house is painted, our kids have shoes, and we have a dynamic and helpful marketing platform to support our sales efforts.

Investigate a Shift2Improve

We’re always looking for ways to improve.  

The changes we implemented at 5Points Creative led us to a better way to help our clients, too.  Some of them have benefited from what we’ve learned and boarded the Constant Contact's Lead Gen & CRM train.  It’s improved their marketing, added deeper analytics, and situated them for even more success. It can do the same for you and your company.

At 5Points Creative, it helps us track leads, prospects, and soon-to-be clients through their entire journey.  Knowing where they are in the decision cycle and assigning next step tasks, reporting, and accountability all help us on the sales side of our organization.  It’s a genuine win-win.

If you’re interested in learning more, we have an easy solution.  You can learn from us. No need for you to keep doing things the hard way.  We can talk through your specifics and then set up a demonstration so you can see how it could impact your business.

‍

What’s Content Marketing? Simply put, Content Marketing is the foundation for an entire marketing and communication strategy. Content Marketing helps your website rank on search engines, position you as a subject matter expert, build your stakeholder list and engagement level, and nurture leads, with the goal of converting customers. 

1. Position your company and its key players as thought leaders 

According to hootsuite.com, 81% of people use Instagram alone to research products and services. Establish expertise and credibility with your ideal customers through Content Marketing by providing the information they are looking for. You can answer their top questions, introduce your team members, and keep them interested in your products and services. Viewers who are engaged with and trust your message are more likely to be loyal customers.  

2. Generate new business leads  

When you’re putting the work into creating compelling Content Marketing, don’t forget to throw in a submission form! This powerful tool will not only help you build your subscriber list, but it will also provide you with powerful data about your subscribers. HubSpot discovered that 74% of marketers are currently using web forms for lead generation, and 49.7% of them claim it to be their highest converting lead generation tool. Viewers’ interests, buying habits, key demographics, and level of engagement can all be captured within their submissions. You’ll know the exact moment your cool lead turns warm when they subscribe to your list!  

3. Improve your search engine ranking 

Content Marketing provides dynamic content for your website which works to improve your SEO. This year 57% of marketing executives claimed on-page content was the most effective SEO tactic, according to Content Trainer, Jen Barrell. Furthermore, the use of the right keywords will help you attract your ideal audience to your site. When you’re attracting the right audience, you stand a much better chance of converting those leads to a customer.  

4. Provide social media content that drives traffic back to your website 

Content Marketing is a fantastic tool to share on social media! According to entrepreneur.com, around 97% of all Fortune 500 enterprises use at least one social media platform to foster positive communication. It can open conversations and provide great clickable content which will help to build engagement with your audience. If your Content Marketing is especially compelling, it could help turn your audience into your advocate when they share your information with their own field of influence! There’s nothing more valuable than a word-of-mouth referral. 

5. Built-in content for your e-Newsletters 

Get right in front of your subscribers with the information you want them to know with Content Marketing. It’s a valuable way to know who is engaged with your message and what information is the most valuable to your audience. Due to its content variety, The Washington Post typically has an open-rate of 30%, which is higher than the average 22% bench mark. It also helps to fill out your content calendar. You can rest easily knowing that you always have the right content when you start building your email campaigns. 

‍