How long have we been watching the systematic withering of print media? Each year more newspapers and bookstores seem to be closing across the country. Many print sources continue to migrate to their parallel, digital incarnation. So, what about advertising? Is print advertising dead (or dying)? It’s a fair question, but you might be surprised by the answer.

In Episode 80 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your hosts Catherine Campbell and her producer Natalie Pyles discuss what is becoming of print advertising in 2018. According to Statista.com, [ https://www.statista.com/statistics/267754/print-advertising-spending-in-the-us/ ] about $25 billion will be spent on print ads in 2018. It turns out that magazines are making an artistic comeback, of sorts.

Take note of recent magazine designs: They are high quality and beautiful. Magazines make wonderful gifts, and even though it costs a little more, they are often being produced in more environmentally friendly ways.

During this episode, we also talk about the benefits of browsing your local bookstore and taking note of which types of print ads are appearing in magazines in your industry. We discuss using some of your budget wisely to use print ads for some increased brand awareness. But just remember, they are not intended for lead generation. You can hear more in Episode 80. Join us!

And remember, we want to hear your thoughts, reviews and questions! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and subscribe for free to get new marketing episodes on the go! If you have a question for Catherine, email us: [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

LINK TO:

Marketing budget podcast episodes

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/51-lets-talk-money-small-business-marketing-budgets

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/53-how-to-market-your-small-business-for-100-per-month

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/54-marketing-with-1k-per-month-use-this-strategy

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/55-the-smbs-guide-to-a-10k-per-month-marketing-budget

https://www.brightplanning.com/content-marketing-packages/ (there’s a budget guideline section in that page)

In Episode 79 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your host Catherine Campbell and the producer Natalie Pyles discuss the art of pitching to media outlets. We talk about finding a story angle and explain the importance of knowing what you’re pitching. In this episode we also talk about choosing the appropriate type of media that matches the news that you want to deliver.

Also during Episode 79, we talk about doing your research, so you can specifically address the right contact at the organization. The outlet’s website should indicate whether you should include your pitch in the body of the email or as an attachment. We also encourage you to create tiers, so you can prioritize and identify your most ideal outlets based on your first, second and third choices. It’s also very helpful to stay organized. You can maintain a spreadsheet of the people you contacted, how you contacted them, and what day you should follow up. Learn about these and more tips during Episode 79 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast!

We want to hear your thoughts, reviews and questions! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and subscribe to get new marketing episodes on the go. Have a question for Catherine? Email us! [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Links:

Cision is a tool that will reach out to media outlets for you: https://cisn.co/2LSwhWO

Oprah’s Podcast: http://www.oprah.com/app/super-soul-sunday.html

Have you ever noticed that there are only a few formulas for car commercials? You’ve seen them over and over again. Many people simply tune them out or turn them off. We’re tired of seeing a car roll through an urban street or do donuts in a desert. Don’t make the same mistakes with your marketing campaigns.

In Episode 78 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, we showcase some masterful car commercials and discuss what they did right. You can note these effective techniques and potentially apply them to your industry. Join us to learn more!

We want to hear your thoughts, reviews and questions! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and subscribe to get new marketing episodes on the go. Have a question for Catherine? Email us! [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Dodge “God Made a Farmer” Superbowl 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mmok9e2Y3o

Toyota “The Family Tree” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWsqYpzsWRk

Volkswagon “Darth Vader” commercial Superbowl 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n6hf3adNqk

Bright Plannings’s Blog about humor in storytelling https://www.brightplanning.com/the-delicate-balance-of-humor-in-advertising/

We used to think of women as just one large subset of the population, but now we understand that this subset is actually made up of tinier segments that have significant buying power if we treat as unique individuals.

There has been an explosion of individuality and how people can express their individuality.

"There is such a fine line to walk when you’re saying, 'Look, we created this thing that’s just for women, or we’re recognizing that a lot of women are asking for these features in our product and we haven’t made it yet, so let’s make a separate product that’s targeted just for them, without making them feel like you’re forcing them to cross that line over into a product that’s just for them.”

Today we are talking about products or services that level the playing field for women. They’ve been a long time coming:

- co-working spaces

- investment services

- customized bras

- makeup that comes in more than five shades

- products that reflect women’s values: cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, extra sizes, etc.

Join us to hear more about new ways to market to women! Thanks for listening to the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast.

Links for this episode:

Good Things Brewing Co. - UK brewing company - https://www.goodthingsbrewing.co/

This company has nailed it. Their look is clean, fresh and gender-neutral.

M.M. LaFleur - clothing company - https://mmlafleur.com/

M.M. LaFleur stands for women being more important than the clothing they wear, but they saw a little bit of backlash when they tried to downplay the importance of high fashion in the workplace.

ModCloth - clothing company - https://www.modcloth.com/

This company makes clothing for all types of women and all body types without actually making too big a deal about it.

Dove - skincare company - https://www.dove.com/

Dove, as always, understands the variety of women and skin types they’re addressing in the marketplace.

“The Importance of Taking a Stand” episode - https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/32-a-psa-about-ethics-and-marketing

Welcome back for Season 2 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast! We shall resume with Episode 76, and for this season, your host Catherine Campbell is now joined by the producer Natalie Pyles! (Yes, Natalie and Jason are married, and they work together as podcast co-producers.)

In Episode 76, we introduce you to “The Toddler Principle” in marketing, which acknowledges customers as independent, unique forces while still maintaining authority over them and knowing what's best for them.

With the Toddler Principle, we (the business) give them confidence that we know who they are, without placing them into a narrow box. The objective is to find and hone the message that will resonate the best with your customers.

We also talk about “The Optometrist Principle,” in which you offer the customer two or three choices. And when you have three levels of a product or service and you tend to sell the middle option the most, we call that “The Goldilocks Principle.” Listen to learn more!

“It feels customized, and yet you (as the business owner) are still operating within a process that streamlines everything you have to offer, but it still feels customized for that particular person.”

Subscribe free in iTunes, so you never miss an episode release! And of course, always feel free to email us: [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/37-dont-assume-you-know-your-customers

https://soundcloud.com/brightplanning/40-the-ego-episode-marketing-with-quizzes

In Episode 75 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your host Catherine Campbell and the producer Jason Pyles talk about how to connect people to your ideas through marketing.

We discuss the four brand archetypes that seem to be the four best ways to distribute information to your audience. These four archetypes are The Scientist, The Giver, The Nanny, and The Spy.

The Scientist Brand Archetype is the kind of brand that presents new research and tests the status quo. The Giver Brand Archetype is generous in its contributions of education, knowledge, attention, and outward focus. The Nanny Brand Archetype takes care of people and establishes trust and authority through nurture. And the Spy Brand Archetype presents ideas in a secretive or confidential way, making the business’s messaging seem like an exclusive invitation. Join us to learn more!

Also in this episode, Catherine also mentions that we’re taking a short hiatus, so the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast will be returning once again in April! We hope you will join us again in April! Subscribe free in iTunes, so you never miss an episode release! And of course, always feel free to email us: [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Of all the duties that marketers take upon themselves, it seems like the most daunting job is writing blogs. In Episode 74 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your hosts Catherine Campbell and Jason Pyles discuss secrets for blogging prolifically and writing quickly!

We review the purpose of blogs. We also talk about some of the particulars of the blogging debate, such as word count. In this show, we discuss helpful tools like the content calendar and an “ideas notebook.” Jason even brings some of his blogging day job tips to the table and describes “spinning” and writing “Frankenstein blogs,” which of course, is essentially content curation. There is even a cautionary tale to remind us all to “surprise and delight,” as well as to under promise, overdeliver.

“If you struggle to write blog posts faster, here’s what you do: Skip the intro. Don’t write the intro first. Just start writing out what the core is that you want to say. Don’t worry about formatting it right now. Write out the body of your blog post. Then afterward, it’s so much easier to write the introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph because you’re able to pull from that body content.”

We also want to hear your thoughts, reviews and questions. Email us: [email protected]. Leave a review on iTunes and subscribe to get new marketing episodes on the go. Thanks for listening!

This week on the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, we received a question from an author named Rose. She asked for advice on continuing to remain engaged with her community while she’s in the creation period for several months between product releases. For those in a creative field (such as writing, painting etc.), there can be long pauses in traditional marketing messaging, so Rose wants to know what sort of posts she could do to continue to foster engagement during the “off season."

Rose writes: “I don't want to put a bunch of content about writing on my website or in my newsletter (I can do some about my writing process and whatnot). Some readers might be a little curious about my writing process, but because my audience isn't other writers so much as it is readers, that gets old. They aren't as interested in my knowledge on how to format a book or advertise on Amazon or cross post my social media as they are in what my next book is about. But it can take several months to a year to get a book out, so how do I keep my readers interested in the times between book releases? It gets tricky for me to balance my marketing time with my writing time and my commitments elsewhere for my day job.”

So, join your hosts Catherine Campbell and Jason Pyles as they discuss some solutions for Rose’s excellent question. We also want to hear your thoughts, reviews and more questions like Rose’s! Email us: [email protected]. Leave a review on iTunes and subscribe to get new marketing episodes on the go. Thanks for listening!

If you were to capture the “unicorn of marketing,” you would somehow gain an understanding of what your target audience wants and needs. What are your customers looking for? What do they want? What do they need? In Episode 72 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your hosts Catherine Campbell and the producer Jason Pyles discuss the benefits of using an “Empathy Map” to assist you with your content marketing.

A “customer avatar development sheet” or a “customer journey map” can help you get inside the head, so to speak, of your ideal or dream customer. The Empathy Map explores four important quadrants: what your customers think and feel, what your customers see, what they say and do, and what they hear.

During this episode, we will explain how to fill out and use this Empathy Map concept to your advantage. We encourage you to follow along and write down as many answers as you can. There’s no such thing as too much information, when you’re exploring what makes your ideal customers tick! These sort of insights will pay off for your business. Join us to learn more.

In Episode 71 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, your hosts Catherine Campbell and Jason Pyles discuss four questions that you can employ to learn about your audience, create your content and build your core message. This is sometimes called the “Customer Discovery Journey.”

We also talk about focusing outwardly on the customer, instead of making the common mistake of always reflecting back on your own company. “Enough about me … what do you think about me?”

During this episode, we ask the following questions, just to list a few: What is the end result that your ideal customer wants to achieve? What are the elements required to arrive at this end result? What can you give them, in terms of information, that will move them closer to their desired end result? Et al.

“What are the biggest fears your customers have that are preventing them from achieving their end result? This is what we typically call ‘the pain point.’ Ask yourself what you need to do in order to put their minds at ease and let them know, ‘Yes, this thing is OK. I don’t have to fear this transaction. This is going to be fine.’”

Next week in Episode 72 of the Bright Planning Marketing Podcast, we explore how you can take the four questions discussed in this episode and create a so-called Empathy Map! Join us!

We want to hear your thoughts, reviews and more questions! Leave a review on iTunes and subscribe to get new marketing episodes on the go. Have a question for Catherine? Email us!

[email protected]. Thanks for listening!