Win a Marketing Makeover!

Calling all boring websites, clip art logos and bland brochures:

Win a MARKETING MAKEOVER worth over $10,000.
You’re in business, and you know the way you’re perceived is important. And while you’re careful to leave your house looking polished, your brand looks like it’s wearing sweatpants.

If your marketing needs a face-lift, you should enter our contest.

13thirtyone Design and Inkwell Marketing are accepting applicants for a Marketing Makeover that includes:

• Website design (four pages)
• Website content (four pages)
• Logo design
• Tag line creation
• Stationary design (letterhead and envelopes)
• Brochure design
• Brochure content
• Press release

The value? Dollar-wise: over ten grand. Reality-wise: a heckofa lot more. (We can’t put an exact number on increased confidence, perceived professionalism, and infinite new clients.)

Even if you don’t win the package, you could come in second and get 50% off a marketing service of your choice.

Does this sound like a good deal? Cool. Before you apply, read our application requirements and fine print.

Application requirements:
1. You’ve been in business for two years or longer.
2. You have current marketing materials you use to woo prospects and win clients. You are not pleased with these pieces. These should include (but are not limited to) logo, website, tag line, etc.
3. You want your brand to work harder for you.
4. No whining: you are willing to allow two professionals do their job. Simply: you hand over creative control. (No worries, you’re not going to get something you hate. We take client input very seriously, but in this case the idea is to give a makeover. We need freedom to do this.)
5. Before you apply, please view our web sites for our styles: www.13thirtyone.com and www.inkwell-marketing.com. It’s important that you like our aesthetic and writing style before you sign-on. Sure, this is a chance to win something FREE, but it’s pointless unless you’re happy with it.

RULES AND REGULATIONS (Otherwise known as fine print.) PLEASE READ.

• All entries must be received by 11:59pm Eastern time, December 18, 2009.
• Only one entry is accepted per business.
• All fields on the application must be completed in order for entries to be accepted.
• By submitting the application form you certify the following statement "I certify that I am the author of the material I am submitting to 13thirtyone Design and Inkwell Marketing. 13thirtyone Design, Inkwell Marketing, and their licensees may reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works and otherwise use the material for any purpose in any form and on any media. I agree to indemnify 13thirtyone Design and Inkwell Marketing for all damages and expenses that may be incurred in connection with the material."
• A grand prize and first place winner will be selected.
• Winners will be announced January 22, 2010 on the 13thirtyone Design and Inkwell Marketing blogs and newsletters.
• Grand Prize winner will receive a professional marketing package provided by sponsors 13thirtyone Design and Inkwell Marketing. First place winner will receive 50% discount on desired marketing project.
• Prizes do not include printing costs, domain name fees, or hosting costs. Unfortunately, eCommerce sites are not included.

Does everything sound kosher?

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION.

Positive Mental Attitude is Mandatory for Success.

I'm a fan of Jeffrey Gitomer: he's a great motivator, with a no B.S. attitude. I like that about him. Anyway, I know there's a lot going on in the world right now, but when it comes down to it, WE are in control of how we react (or don't react) to things. This video is a little reminder that with the right mental attitude, anything is possible. Enjoy!

Oh Seth Godin, I think you're great.

Happy Friday: another great Seth Godin video. (And, it so happens, a message to all those Twitter spammers--you're just annoying me, I'm not going to buy from you.)

Website Launch: Flavors of Italia

If you're ever in Stillwater, MN and want some caffeine, you should stop in at the Daily Grind Espresso Cafe. They offer up the finest coffee in town, AND a platform to do serious networking with entrepreneurs of all kinds. It's simply a hub for indie-business types, and it's where I met Barb Brandt and her daughter Molly.

Barb and Molly are two of the most adventurous people I've met: Barb is a travel-junkie and has been to so many places she could serve as U.S. ambassador to the world, and Molly has been to almost as many places, with a brief hiatus to become a fantastic chef and graduate from the CIA in record time. (By the way, that's Culinary Institute of America to all us laymen, not C.I.A. like spies and stuff.)

Well, I was sipping coffee when Barb and Molly told me about their latest project: setting up culinary-focused villa vacations in Tuscany. They needed a website and I was hooked. Hello people, we're talking about pampered vacations: Molly will cook for you, you'll have a personal English-speaking concierge named Giorgio, and Barb will make sure everything you need is taken care of on your stay.

I was thrilled when Barb and Molly asked me to do the writing for their site: when I was punching my computer keys, I literally traveled to Italy in my mind and took a virtual vacation (yes, I know I'm nuts). If you have time today, jump over to their site and take a mini-vacation as well. Better yet, book a real vacation: I know you won't be sorry!

Here's the address if you missed it: www.flavorsofitalia.com. And a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Website Launch: Kevin Weinstein Photography

It's been a crazy summer for me. As you've probably noticed, I've written nary a blog post and I apologize. On the good side of things, it's because I've been really busy. And today, I want to share with you one of the projects I've completed.

Introducing Kevin Weinstein Photography. Kevin is a wedding photojournalist based in Chicago, and his work is simply awesome. If I ever get married (still single fellas), he's definitely the number one candidate for photography.

Of course, I'm a writer. Things like coding and designing are WAY beyond my skill-set, and I'm proud to have worked with the FANTASTIC Deb Pang Davis of Cococello. If you're looking for design, I cannot recommend her highly enough: she's diligent, thorough, fun, and extremely talented. Also, be sure to check out her letterpress stationary as well at Coco Paperie.

This project spanned the country: from the Midwest to West Coast, and it was a blast. If you've ever read a good book or series (Harry Potter comes to mind), the end of this project brought on a twinge of melancholy. The process was exciting and fun, so the ending was a little sad: this collaboration left me wanting more.

Anyway, check out the pictures below, but a click-over is worth it: www.kevinweinstein.com.

Seth Godin's 10 Secrets of the Marketing Process.

If Seth Godin wasn't married, I'd marry him. But not in that lovey-dovey sort of way. More like the kids on the playground "if you love pickles so much, why don't you marry them" sort of way.

I love his outlook. I love his common-sense, insight, and advice.

I feel like I need to share this post with you. It's an old post (circa 2006). But, it's still relevant, it's still important. But, as you know, most great ideas stand the test of time. (Please note, this is verbatim Seth Godin. I did not write it. It's in a different font to indicate as much. In addition, here's another link to the original: link.)

Enjoy:

If my previous post confused you, it's because of the difference between tactics and innovation. Try these 10 ideas to get you started down the path of scientific marketing tactics:

1. Don’t run out of money. It always takes longer and costs more than you expect to spread your idea. You can budget for it or you can fail.

2. You won’t get it right the first time. Your campaign will need to be reinvented, adjusted or scrapped. Count on it.

3. Convenient choices are not often the best choices. Just because an agency, an asset or a bizdev deal are easy to do doesn’t mean that they are your best choice.

4. Irrational, strongly held beliefs of close advisors should be ignored. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like your logo.

5. If it makes you nervous, it’s probably a good idea. If you’re sure you’re right, you probably aren’t.

6. Focusing obsessively on one niche, one feature and one market is almost always a better idea than trying to satisfy everyone.

7. At some point, you’re either going to have to stick to your convictions or do what the market tells you. It’s hard to do both.

8. Compromise in marketing is almost always a bad idea. Extreme A could work. Extreme B could work. The average of A and B will almost never work.

9. Test, measure and optimize. Figure out what's working and do it more.

10. Read and learn. There are a million clues, case studies, books and proven tactics out there. You can't profitably ignore them until you know them, and you don't have the time or the money to make the same mistake someone else made last week. It's cheaper and faster to read about it than it is to do it.

Tribes

I'm reading Seth Godin's book, Tribes.

So far, I like it.

But....

I'm not that far into it.

For a book that has this much hype, I think a review is in order.

I'll post my thoughts when I finish.