A Quick Recap of My Last Year......

This month marks a year since I’ve been out on my own……and it has been a crazy, fun, busy, stressful, anxiety-inducing, mentally stimulating, incredible year. I have gotten to do some really fun things with the clients I work with. So I thought I’d take a minute to list them all out. Not only to answer the question I get from friends of “what do you even do” but also for myself to help me remember and just get it all down on paper. So here goes. 

-          Paid Search (SEM, Google AdWords, Bing, Yahoo) – National

-          Multi-Market Super Bowl Ad

-          Multi-Market Home Page Take Overs

-          Pandora buy

-          Managed a complete website redesign project (B2B / Transportation Category)

-          NPR

-          Online Display – Retargeting (multi-market across the Country)

-          Online Display – Site Specific, Contextual, Behavioral (multi-market across the Country)

-          Online Display – International planning (Soon to be executed!!!)

-          Online Display – IP-Specific Targeted campaign

-          Paid Facebook Ads

-          Outdoor – Standard Bulletins

-          Outdoor – Transit Advertising

-          Outdoor – Downtown / High Pedestrian Digital (investigated)

-          Spot TV – Multi-Market buys

-          Print – Major dailies & Community Weeklies

-          E-mail Marketing & Content direction

-          Google Analytics implementation & tracking

-          Managed a complete website build-out & content writing (locally-based small business)

-          Board member for our local Children’s Theatre

-          Proposal writing

-          Collateral development directing

-          Competitive analyses

-          Market deep dives for market insights/media placements

-          Video testimonial project management & scripting & producing

What’s fun about this is it’s for clients of all sizes. I work with a few that do the multi-market, larger buys and some that are small local startups. 

I enjoy the flexibility and getting out in the community more. What a great experience. One I'll never regret - no matter where it leads. 

Why Growth Is Not So Scary

I hear it - actually, I say it, too - "growth can be a scary thing." But, I've decided it shouldn't be so scary. Over the past year, I've had the good fortune of growing. And I have had my ups and downs with managing it, not gonna lie. But if I decide that growth is scary, I won't push for it.

And if you don't grow, I believe you can easily become complacent in what you do. And if you become complacent in what you do - you're not passionate about it. And if you're not passionate about it, you won't do a good job. And if you don't do a good job, you can lose business. And then all of a sudden you wish you were growing but you can't and it's too late. Or it becomes harder to grow. Are you with me on this?

So growth can't be scary. Sure. It can add some pressure. It can make you busier than you anticipated.

But I have decided I won't be scared of growth and here's why:

It gives me new experiences to apply in other areas. Thus bringing better ideas and new ideas to clients.  Whether it's new things someone has asked me to look into - or something I read about and see that may be applicable for others. Or something that completely bombs and needs adjustments for it to do well elsewhere. It's the opportunity to do things you don't normally do that provide better recommendations and opportunities for clients.

It takes me outside my comfort zone. It is easy to recommend and push for what you know. But in this age of change and ideas, it's imperative to be trying new things. And if you don't reach outside your comfort zone, you'll never be comfortable out there. If everything was fun and easy, there would be no such thing as a comfort zone, because, well - it would all be a comfort zone. Which would be so boring. So monotonous. So routine. Maybe that works for some. Not so much for me.

It allows me to make mistakes. And then I have the opportunity to realize that it's OK. I mean, you don't want to make the same mistake over and over - but everyone makes mistakes. And somehow it's not the end of the world. And sometimes you need to remind yourself of that. Not to mention the fact that - you learn new and different and often better ways to do things because of those mistakes.

It forces me to work harder and smarter. Because of all those mistakes I make. And all those things I learn of and from that space outside my comfort zone. Are you sensing how all these tie together yet? Because they do.

Practice makes perfect. Look. No one is perfect (don't tell anyone) - but if you don't keep growing, you don't keep practicing. And who doesn't want to be the best at what they do? You don't get there without practice. And I want to be the best at what I do.

The thrill of the chase. And let's face it - we all love the thrill of the chase. Don't we? There's something about that competitive nature that comes with the growth or possibility of the growth that is exciting.  The reward at the end of the tunnel in getting there that provides a validation to everything you're working towards. You can't win them all. I tell my daughter on a regular basis you have to lose some to appreciate winning more. No one likes to lose (especially  not me - those of you who know me well can attest to that) - but losing is a part of life. And if you can embrace it and handle it with grace, it could turn into other opportunities elsewhere. That could be a completely separate blog post. Maybe in 6 - 8 months I'll expand on that.

So. I will continue to work towards growth. And all that comes with it. Good and bad.

Because - growth is not scary. 

8 Months? Really?

Am I the only one who has ever created a blog with the best intentions of updating it regularly and then fell flat on my face?

This is why I did not email it out to all my friends and family (although I did put a link to it on my LinkedIn profile). And since I'm one of the lucky few (if you call few 10,000,000 people) who have one of the top viewed profiles, I bet there are a lot of disappointed people out there.

So. Here's the deal.

I promise to write a little more often. For now. While I have ideas.

But I've been busy. Really busy, and I intend to tell you about it soon. But if I told you about it in this blog post, well, then that would be it, wouldn't it?

That's it for now. Gonna leave you hanging.

Check back in soon and I will fill you in!

Big Data or Big Mess?

I'm reading a lot lately about "big data." And this is really a result of all the data that is available out there on users. And the ability to really role up all the channels into analytics that report on everything, not just pieces where you have to pull reports for separate sources and then put it together. Data that most of these users have put out there on themselves (even without knowing it), that can be collected and then mined and analyzed further down the proverbial 'purchase funnel'. The desire for more. If we know this, shouldn't we be able to know that? Why did this person pick red shoes instead of blue shoes? Why a kitten heel instead of stilettos?

And as an advertiser, this information is great because it really allows for a more targeted message. We're moving away from the A18 - 34 demo or the W25 - 54 demo as a result of all this data. We're moving towards a personified demo with psychographic data mixed in with the demographic data. And the net result of this should create a higher ROI because we're getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Right? Maybe.

It likely depends, and may or may not even be worth the extra expenditure one might spend on the data and the extra targeting and the dynamic creative in the long run. Are all those added expenditures catapulting the CPA to a point where the return is marginalized? The important piece here is to think about why you're doing - well, anything. Why are you targeting these people? Why are you narrowing it down to the level you're narrowing it down to? Is it worth the expense? How will we benefit from this?

I tweeted this out the other day, because I thought it was a great quote from an article I was reading:

"If the data you're reporting on can't lead to action, it's usually best not to bother." -  http://t.co/LPxvgUsT

The key takeaway is making sure what you're reporting on is really what you care about and what is going to most impact your bottom line. Not just be filler charts for your next investors meeting or board of advisors meeting.

It doesn't matter what you say - it matters what is heard

I heard this bit from someone I've been getting to know over the past several months as I go through this venture.

Remember my post about what makes someone smart? Well, he was not one of those mentioned in that post, but so far I've agreed with everything he's said, and therefore, he's smart. Right?

So. Moving on.

The frame of reference for this matters little. But it was during a semantics, lack of communication "you're both saying the same thing" kind of conversation.

And this friend says to me (because I was trying to argue that I was right to be frustrated while at the same time talking myself out of being frustrated):


It doesn't matter what you say - it matters what is heard.

So Anne reads that to mean: it is your fault if he heard it wrong. It means you didn't say it right. Now, that's not really what it means, but at the time, that's what I thought. But I got the point.

I am all about keeping things moving and finding next steps and getting to the point. But if the conversation is going through circles, clearly the parties are not saying the same thing - whether they think they are or not. So, I've decided to start thinking about that during conversations / discussions. And figuring out how I can tweak my responses and questions to keep things moving.

Afterall, if things aren't moving, things aren't happening.

You're never REALLY you're own boss....

A lot of people have asked me if I'm enjoying being my own boss. And doing whatever I want. Yes, I am enjoying the flexibility and the time with the kids.

But the truth is, I'm not my own boss. Yes. I am 'on my own' and 'doing my own thing' and 'doing freelance/contract work'...but I still have people to answer to and clients to work with. And if I don't work to keep them happy, they will find someone else who will.

And it makes me realize - you're never really you're own boss. You're generally always working for someone else. Even when you own your own company. Because if you don't keep other people happy, you won't have a business.

Plain and simple.

New Google AdWords tool......

Earlier this week, I read this article regarding a new Google AdWords tool being introduced.

This tool is said provide a more in-depth analysis than what was previously provided in the impression share report.

Can't wait to see the results on this one. Two people who have commented on this article from its original source hit my sentiments:

- Another way for Google to make more money.

- It will be great to see the competitors bidding, but they'll also get to see the information on your business as well.

At this time, it doesn't reveal any of the bidding strategies of other competitors, but you can't help but wonder at what point you start layering the insights that Google makes available on top of each other and that could potentially start exposing those little 'secrets'......