When you work from home and there are distractions around every corner, you’re going to be on the lookout for the super easy marketing tips that are going to provide even an ounce of solace to your workday. Working from home and for yourself presents so many challenges.
*Case in point – I just dropped my iPad and it scared my cat so badly that he tried to climb up the window he was sunbathing in and ripped the screen wide open only to fall out. He was hanging there in his best Tom Cruise, Kitten Impossible pose waiting for me to save him. Does anyone have any advice on repairing screens? Lord, grant me the strength…
Marketing myself is one of the areas where I find myself consistently behind which is not only embarrassing (because I am in the business of marketing) but also super frustrating (because, again, that’s my business). I spend my time marketing others but don’t set aside a lot of time for myself.
Do as I say, not as I do.
When you spend all day marketing other people and their dreams, it slowly becomes less of a priority to market your own. I don’t know about you, but there have been times when I’ve found myself making dinner with my MacBook next to the stove trying to squeeze in just a little extra design time while sauteing a few veggies and whatever else I have going on. (At this point, I don’t even know what I eat. It might not even be food anymore. I may be on the liquid Pinot diet. Some may see this as extreme dedication and a stellar work ethic. Others? Pure insanity. I like to think it’s a balance of both.
While Grocery shopping one weekend (the absolute bane of my existence) I caught myself responding to emails while waiting to checkout. What the heck was I doing? It was a Sunday. Get a grip, Vanessa. I could literally feel my blood pressure rising and considered ditching my groceries (but I’m not that person. I’m the person who returns other people’s carts in the parking lot). When I got back to my car, I started thinking just how crazy I had been. Go figure, the world was still spinning even though the email was in my drafts. Crazy how the world still goes about its business even though you didn’t get what you wanted, right?
In the midst of all my lunacy and some serious work on putting away the tech at certain hours, clearly defining my hours, and really laying down the law with myself about when and where I can use my own phone (no more phone in the bathroom, come on Vanessa, eeww); I have found some ways to cope with the more minor stresses that come with working for myself and wanted to share how I made it easier to market my own business while still being able to do everything I do well to market others on a daily basis.
Some super simple ways to keep your business fresh and in the game for 2022 are listed below. Trust that any advice I delve out, I do myself – and when you see that I’m not doing these things, don’t hesitate to call my quasi-lazy butt out on it. I encourage this. I can already see where I have forgotten to do a few. (Face-palm-super smack!)
Super Easy Marketing Tips to Get you Through 2022
1. Include your logo (preferably your watermark) on everything you print or create digitally. If you had your logos created by a designer, it likely came with a brand book or PDF guideline outlining when and where, and how to use each logo. Always reference the guidelines so you know the best way to use each logo/icon/watermark so you are getting the most out of your brand.
*Not sure about your branding guidelines and what you may need? Check out this post here for a little more insight or download our easy-to-use interactive Brand Awareness Guide to help you with the process.
2. Make sure you have a PNG of your logo and other logo file types (watermark, alternates, etc). A PNG has a transparent background and is best for overlaying photos and solid color backgrounds.
3. If you haven’t already, work on developing your brand voice. This is how you will speak and write in a way that aligns with how you want people to FEEL about your brand. This is super easy to do because many of our brands are simply “us.” Write now I am writing to you as myself but on behalf of my brand. My brand and I are one. Perhaps I should have thought of this when I was naming my company, however, I didn’t want my company name to be my name because I didn’t like the way my name flowed.
Like these graphics? They take a minute or two to design and cost nothing if you use Canva? Sign up for your free Canva account here!
*Sidebar – I was always told I had a movie-star name… Vanessa Valarese. I don’t hear it. But I also don’t like the way it sounds with anything to do with design which is why I came up with a business name. I spent 5 years building a brand around New Love Design, however, do you think my business would be better suited if represented by my own name? Let me know in the comments below!
4. Have you chosen your brand colors? Let’s be sure they are cohesive. You can use this cool tool right here; https://javier.xyz/cohesive-colors/ to help choose colors that work well together for you and your brand personality.
5. This may be tough, but practice restraint and embrace white space both on your website/digitally and in print. White space is a good thing, my friend!
6. IMPORTANT: Contact info should be in both the header and footer of your website. When visiting your website, people are going to want to be able to locate you via email, phone, or chat instantly. We live in an instant gratification world. Make it simple for them to get to you before they move on to someone else who understood the assignment.
7. Decide on do’s and don’t’s for how you and others should use your logo. This links back to No. 1, however, if a brand book or PDF Guideline was not given, this should be a conversation amongst your team. Place this into a PDF or Canva presentation for all persons who design with your logo to reference. It’s important that everyone be on the same page.
Here is an example of a Guideline setup I did for a client:
Spectra Salon and Spa Brand Guidelines by newlovedesignco8. If you don’t have one already, request a vector file of your logo from your designer. This can and should be used in most print work.
9. Take a peek at your website at least once a week to check for broken links, responsiveness, errors in wording, or any signs that may need adjusting or improvement. Your website is a reflection of your services and needs to be just as amazing as you are.
10. Hand your business cards out like it’s your job. The more they circulate, the more your name because recognizable. Tack them to free bulletin boards, drop them in business card bowls offering free lunches, and leave them at your hair salon or grocery store bulletin. Anywhere that you see a place with a bulletin, tack it up.
11. Google yourself – make sure your hours, contact info, address, etc. are consistent everywhere they pop up. Don’t have a “Google Business” Account? It’s easy and free to set up and is free marketing. Set one up here.
12. Before sending anything in for a final print, ask for a test copy. This should be a physical copy that you will likely want to see first hand so if you can find a local printer, that would be great. Seeing things on screen vs. in person is always going to be different. You want to see what your client is going to see. Most printers will do this for you. If you encounter a printer who is hesitant or a bit rude about it, find a new printer. You want to develop a relationship with your printer that is based on a foundation of respect. There’s no room for attitude from either side.
13. It’s essential to make navigating your website as easy as possible. Standard menu names and layouts are in practice for a reason. Playing around with fancy slide-outs and hidden menus that appear after a few seconds are really cool, but they tend to not always function with every browser. Keep it simple unless you are a coding genius who can overcome all the obstacles each browser is likely going to throw at you.
14. Link your contact page on multiple pages throughout your website. We want contacting you to be SO SIMPLE it hurts. Using a ReCaptcha is also ao great idea to weed out spam.
15. Last but not least, and oh so important (get ready to pop that anxiety med my introvert, friends); get involved in your community in any way that will help position you as an expert and/or create a positive affiliation for you and your company. This is going to increase your networking potential tenfold and open you up to new opportunities. Yes, you have to socialize and be nice.
How are we feeling about these last 15 tips to ease your way into marketing yourself for 2022? Any questions or even any input on what has been helping you through, I’d love to hear! Let me know in the comments below!
