Creator's Block

If there's one thing most marketing professionals -- creative or otherwise -- can agree upon, it's that meetings are often terrible for productivity, but remain a very necessary evil.

On paper, meetings should bring people together, provide opportunities to align expectations, and move projects or initiatives forward. Still many of us avoid them -- or, at the very least, we consider many of them to be a nuisance. And we'll drag our feet and whine about how we wish were still at our desks, getting "actual work" done.

But why? 

That was what we attempted to get to the bottom of in this episode -- but our carefully outlined conversation took an interesting turn. 

We started with the usual beats of noting the key differences between meaningful meetings with too many people vs. meetings that should be meaningful, but are simply not run well. 

Then, as we dove deeper (and moved away from our original outline for the episode), we started uncovering some interesting truths around what we do and do not control, when it comes to our own schedule. Because as easy as it is to play the victim -- throwing up our hands and shouting, "Ugh, stupid freaking meetings are killing my productivity!" -- how often are meetings the real problem?

How do we learn to identify the moments when we should be pointing the finger at ourselves instead?

Enjoy!

• How to run an effective meeting.
• The 3 components of a successful meeting agenda (according to Liz).
• The curse of the one hour meeting.
• When is lost productivity the fault of the meeting or the fault of our own accountability?
• Marketers vs. creatives: How easy is it to work in short bursts?
• The importance of knowing when to advocate for yourself and your schedule.
• Tips for setting boundaries with your calendar.

• A Primer to the Pomodoro Technique (LifeHacker)
• The State of Remote Work (Owl Labs -- and Jessie-Lee's big project!)

First, subscribe to Creator's Block on Apple Podcasts. Second, have a question or an idea for a future episode of the podcast? Let us know! 

• Creator's Block: Twitter, Instagram
• Jessie-Lee: Twitter, Instagram
• Marcella: Twitter, Instagram
• Liz: Twitter, Instagram

Or, you can leave us a comment below! Until next week...

Jessie-Lee and I are back this week, fresh off HubSpot's #INBOUND17 conference in Boston. We spent three full days with 21,400+ of our closest friends in the INBOUND community, learning and getting inspired -- so needless to say, we're a little tuckered.

But we're not too tired to talk about our biggest takeaways.

Prior to this year, Jessie-Lee and I had both been to INBOUND more than a handful of times as part of the Quintain team -- this year, however, was distinctly different. 

Not only was the tone of this year's conference a departure from previous years, we were there as new members of the IMPACT family. (Oh, and we were named HubSpot's Partner Agency of the Year, which is kind of a big deal.)

We didn't go the ho-hum route, passively attending sessions to get a few tactical takeaways to start using back at home.

We worked. We did live website throwdowns. We were moved by incredible speakers. We crushed some of our personal, big, audacious goals -- and now realize we need new ones. We gained perspective. Most of all, we learned we don't just want to grow for the sake of it -- we want to grow to be better.

Enjoy!

• Big themes of diversity, inclusion, and positivity.
• Jessie-Lee went to INBOUND to learn... and came home with a mattress.
• Moving beyond the marketing trope of "authenticity" to a new level of self-awareness.
• The importance of growing better, not just bigger.
• How, if you want to stand out, you have to be okay with not fitting in.
• My INBOUND session wasn't a complete bomb.
• That one time I embarassed myself in front of Dharmesh at INBOUND Rocks.
• What we loved the most about INBOUND this year.
• ...and more!

• HubSpot product announcements at #INBOUND17
• Live at INBOUND, The IMPACT Show with Bob and Nick
• "Lady Gaga and Elton John's Amazon Echo"
• What Is a Content Style Guide? (+ Free Content Style Guide Template)
• Resources from my INBOUND talk on Content Style Guides
• IMPACT website throwdowns
• "Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging" by Brené Brown
• Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah's #INBOUND17 keynote

First, subscribe to Creator's Block on Apple Podcasts. Second, have a question or an idea for a future episode of the podcast? Let us know! 

• Creator's Block: Twitter, Instagram
• Jessie-Lee: Twitter, Instagram
• Marcella: Twitter, Instagram
• Liz: Twitter, Instagram

Or, you can leave us a comment below! Until next week...

I love working at an agency. (Lucky for me, the agency I work at rocks.)

In fact, I made a joke with someone the other day that I didn't choose the agency life; "the agency life chose me." Each day presents new challenges and opportunities to learn and push myself to solve complex problems. As someone who gets bored easily, this kind of dynamic environment is critical to my professional happiness -- I couldn't imagine it any other way.

But here's the thing about working at an agency -- while it's great for marketing creatives who want to dive right in and get their feet wet in an energetic, fast-paced environment, it's not for everyone. 

No matter what style of creative you are -- designer, website developer, writer, editor, etc. -- agencies will always ask more of you (from a skill sets perspective) than the creative projects in your portfolio.

Given that Marcella, Jessie-Lee, and I have all been in the agency world for a long time, we're spending this episode sharing our experiences, as well as the skills that all marketing creatives should possess -- or want to improve upon -- if they want to thrive at an agency.

Just over a year ago, Jessie-Lee Nichols (a designer) and I (a content creator) launched the Creator's Block podcast with a single goal in mind -- we wanted to blog less. Desperately. Little did we know that our concerted effort to be lazy and spend less time in front of the keyboard would turn into an always insightful, but often hilarious labor of love.

Week after week, Jessie-Lee and I would "pull back the curtain" on inbound marketing, content, and design, leveraging our marketing world "odd couple" perspectives to provide unique insights for entrepreneurs and marketers.

We staged interventions. We philosophized. We answered questions. We debated. We ranted. We raved. 

Of course, nothing stays the same forever -- and big changes were on the horizon. In fact, with the exception of a "very special episode" back in August that focused on how that kind of change impacts us, there hasn't been a new, full episode of the once-weekly podcast since April.

Well, until today, that is.

Jessie-Lee and I have been reunited as co-hosts, since she joined the IMPACT team earlier this month -- hooray! But this time around, we're adding a new, bright voice to the mix from the IMPACT design team... Marcella Jalbert. 

Not only that, while we still encourage marketers and entrepreneurs to join in on the fun, we're back with a new mission:

We're targeting marketing creatives just like us -- designers, developers, content creators, and everyone in between -- and talking about doing the work, big ideas, and agency life.

We know there are a lot of people out there who made the decision to create for others as a career, and not themselves. And with that comes unique challenges that are often overlooked in the marketing world.

So, grab a coffee and a pair of earbuds -- we're excited to share the new (and improved) Creator's Block podcast with you! 

Now, let's jump right in with this week's episode... 

It all started so innocently. An idea. A strategy. A creative brief. A meeting to align expectations. You know you're talented, and you thought you had this project in the bag, right? You slave away, creating something magnificent from scratch to bring someone else's vision to life... or so you thought.

You send over your files, and you wait. And wait. Hrm, you should have heard something by now. Oh no. There it is. A message for you with those four dreaded words:

"Hey... can we talk?"

You can tell by their tone -- and their distinct lack of effusive praise for your work -- that this is not going to be a great discussion. More than likely, you're going to have to start everything over.

We've all been there. Heck, Marcella and I were there last Thursday night at 6 p.m., and  with her experience, Jessie-Lee is no stranger to those tough conversations either.

But why does happen? And how do you handle those challenging moments where your clients and your colleagues are relying on you to get a creative project back on track?

• Getting to know our new Creator's Block co-host, Marcella! 
• Mismatched expectations as the common culprit behind failed projects.
• Why asking clarifying questions is a skill every creative needs to have.
• How we handle the crushing defeat of having our "design babies" rejected.
• The unexpected consequences of a creative project going off the rails.
• What it means to create for yourself vs. creating for others.
• How to handle feedback from clients that is... less than helpful.
• The importance of trust in the creative process.
• How fear can inspire and cripple creatives.
• Broken project timelines... broken dreams.

And this guy:

• IMPACT Live '17 recap & IMPACT Live '18 Registration
• CONNECT (Marcella's acapella group)
• IMPACT's MarketHer podcast
• DiSC Assessment
• Creator's Block #39: How to Thrive When Change Happens

First, subscribe to Creator's Block on Apple Podcasts. Second, have a question or an idea for a future episode of the podcast? Let us know! 

• Creator's Block: Instagram
• Jessie-Lee: Twitter, Instagram
• Marcella: Twitter, Instagram
• Liz: Twitter, Instagram

Or, you can leave us a comment below! Until next week...

For long-time listeners of the Creator's Block podcast, you know it's been awhile since I've stepped into the recording studio to "pull back the curtain on inbound, content, design and agency life" for all of the creatives and content creators out there. 

The podcast is still undergoing a bit of a virtual face-lift, so we won't back on a regular basis for another few weeks. But in the interim, I've invited two guests to join me for a special edition of Creator's Block -- Kathleen Booth, our very own VP of Strategy, and Jessie-Lee Nichols, Marketing Manager at Link Labs.

Given the events of the past few months, we're dedicating this week's episode to the big, hairy (and often scary) elephant in the room... 

Change. 

It doesn't matter what your job title is or how long you've been in the game, we all know that nothing stays the same forever. Of course, sometimes changes are welcome -- a new promotion, for example. But they aren't always. 

So, how do you go with the flow and not reach for the panic button when the unexpected happens? Tune into this episode of Creator's Block to find out!

• A recap of the Quintain and IMPACT merger
• What really happens when two new groups of people need to work together
• Finding a "new normal" when it comes to time management
• How inbound marketing is changing and impacting the industry
• What happens when you become a new mom and get a new job
• Why "failure" is a sought after trait in entrepreneurs
• What entrepreneurs have in common with Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker
• How the biggest changes often yield the best new chapters in life
• Why being uncomfortable and scared is when real growth occurs
• Our advice for those undergoing change in their own lives
• ...and more!

• Quintain and Impact Joined Forces: Here's Why (& the Lesson for All)
• Remote Work: The 10 Biggest Misconceptions
• 6 Rules to Live by When You Work in an Office but Have Remote Team Members

Creator's Block will be back on a full-time basis soon! Until then, however, drop me a line in the comments. I'd love to hear your experiences with managing life's curveballs -- both in the office and at home. 

The internet is full of design tips and tricks for the typical layperson. After all, this is the kind of information that helps us to learn and develop new skills – and design is a skill like any other. It demands time, training and experience.

Yet most of these posts seek to simplify design down to a few bulleted lists, and to give birth to easy do-it-yourself (DIY) design.

The question, though, is whether or not your average Joe should be designing graphics and content themselves, or whether they – and their brand – are better off seeking professional help.

Liz and I focused this week's talk on when you should and when you should not try to do it yourself when it comes to design work. At the risk of sounding like a total design snob, I made it clear that there is a time and a place for DIY design, but it is very limited, and very much dependent on the preexisting skills and experience of the DIYer.

Tune in to hear our feelings on this week's topic!

• What is the right time and place for DIY design?
• What is the benefit to using DIY design platforms?
• When is DIY design not the right choice, and when do you need a professional?
• How can a DIY design culture improve communication between marketers and creatives?
• How do we address the misunderstanding of how complex design work really is?
• What are a few DIY tools that our team relies on?
• What are the core functions of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign?

• Design Apps: Canva and Adobe Spark
• Stock Resources: Unsplash and Death to Stock
• "Is Design Mostly Dead? DIY Platforms vs. Hiring a Pro" by Joseph Kalinowski
• Ikea's sassy advertisement, in response to Balenciaga's $2,145 blue bag
• Heineken's #OpenYourWorld ad campaign

What did you think of this episode? Is there another topic or question you want us to take on? Or do you just want to say hi? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CreatorsBlockHQ or using the hashtag #creatorsblockparty. You can say hi to me at @shelbstheging and Liz at @naptownpint. You can also join us in the Creator's Block Podcast group on Facebook, where you can ask questions and get inspired.

And don't forget - whether you love us or hate us - we would really appreciate you reviewing our podcast on iTunes! 

…until next week! 

Not long ago, Pepsi came under fire for a television advertisement, featuring Kendall Jenner, and for good reason. To put it mildly, the soda giant stumbled in their attempt to leverage a political conversation to sell soda, and it fell flat with consumers. 

(Heck, they even got parodied by SNL.)

So, this week, Shelby and I discuss what went wrong with that ad and what marketers can learn from it, as well as how businesses can effectively "newsjack" for their own marketing, without becoming a social media - and late night television - punchline.

• What went wrong with the Pepsi ad?
• Should politics play a role in advertising?
• What brands have gotten it right?
• How do you implement a newsjacking strategy if you don't do traditional advertising?
• How have we done like work for clients? 

• DiGiorno Pizza Live Tweets the Sound of Music Live
• How Oreo Won the Marketing Super Bowl with a Timely Blackout Ad on Twitter
• Charmin: "Don't forget to look down before your speech."
• KITKAT: "We don't bend. We #break."
• Norwegian Air: "Brad is single."

What did you think of this episode? Is there another topic or question you want us to take on? Or do you just want to say hi? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CreatorsBlockHQ or using the hashtag #creatorsblockparty. You can say hi to me at @naptownpint and Shelby at @shelbstheging. You can also join us in the Creator's Block Podcast group on Facebook, where you can ask questions and get inspired.

And don't forget - whether you love us or hate us - we would really appreciate you reviewing our podcast on iTunes! 

…until next week! 

Creator's Block co-host Liz Murphy is away this week, so I had a very special guest join me on this week's episode – previous Creator's Block co-host Jessie-Lee Nichols!

(cue raucous applause and cheering)

So essentially, while the word nerd is away, the designers will play!

In this week's episode, Jessie-Lee and I bring back the topic of brand style guides in order to dive into what goes into a successful visual style guide – it's more than just logos. We also go over why we use them in the first place, how we get buy-in from our teammates and how we build them out. Plus, I get a little peek into Jessie-Lee's new life as an in-house marketing manager, and how this has driven her to start building out a brand style guide for her company.

Listen in to hear what we have to say, and to hear Jessie-Lee's wonderful voice again!

• Jessie-Lee's experiences working in an agency versus working in-house
• What pains and issues can a visual brand style guide solve?
• Why does your business need visual brand style guides?
• Why does not having visual brand style guides suck for you and your business?
• How can you improve brand consistency and collaboration with visual brand style guides?
• What are the elements that go into a visual brand style guide?
• What rules and items are necessary in a style guide, and what are nice-to-haves?
• What tools can you use to build and share your brand style guides?

• Where to find Jessie-Lee: @jhyphenl
• Creator's Block Episode 5: Why You Need Brand Style Guides (and How to Make Them)
• Sony World Photography Awards 2017 (#12 and #3 were our favorites)
• DDC (Draplin Design Company) Hardware typeface

What did you think of this episode? Is there another topic or question you want us to take on? Or do you just want to say hi? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CreatorsBlockHQ or using the hashtag #creatorsblockparty. You can say hi to me at @shelbstheging and Liz at @naptownpint. You can also join us in the Creator's Block Podcast group on Facebook, where you can ask questions and get inspired.

And don't forget - whether you love us or hate us - we would really appreciate you reviewing our podcast on iTunes! 

…until next week!

We're back with another episode to help you unlock your business' blogging potential. This week, we're pulling back the curtain on"how the sausage gets made" - more specifically, the physical act of organizing a blogging strategy and actually getting them written.

This topic is important, because so many people don't talk about it. They'll wax poetic about developing the right strategy around blog topics, bringing in contributors and the value of having a strong promotion strategy, but there isn't much out there on how to actually create a blogging process that is sustainable and scalable - the latter, if needed.

So tune in as I take Shelby through how we create blogs for clients, and what processes may (or may not) be well-suited to your organization. There's a bit of tough love thrown in for good measure - as I've said before, content doesn't just appear from the sky - but I think we all came out better for it. Enjoy!

• What is the first and most fundamental step you should take before starting a blog?
• Should you have someone dedicated to blogging oversight, or can you go at it alone?
• How and when should you create a content calendar?
• What are the three blog processes we use for our clients, and what are the pros and cons of each?
• Where do most businesses tend to go wrong with blogging?

• Liz took a spin on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU, talking about Maryland beer
• Seth Godin on the HubSpot Growth Show
• Creator's Block, Episode 25: Finding the Time to Blog (and the Right Topics)
• The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks by Google

What did you think of this episode? Is there another topic or question you want us to take on? Or do you just want to say hi? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CreatorsBlockHQ or using the hashtag #creatorsblockparty. You can say hi to me at @naptownpint and Shelby at @shelbstheging. You can also join us in the Creator's Block Podcast group on Facebook, where you can ask questions and get inspired.

And don't forget - whether you love us or hate us - we would really appreciate you reviewing our podcast on iTunes! 

…until next week! 

As a designer who's worked almost exclusively for a marketing agency, I've noticed the divide that exists between designers who work freelance and those that work within larger firms. We are so much alike, yet our experiences can vary so widely since there are pros and cons to each path.

Even when I started out, the decision was whether to work for an agency – or perhaps internally within a company's own marketing department – or to head out on my own as a freelancer. And it begs the question, which is better, the freelance design life, or designing within an agency?

This week, Liz let me nerd out over design things with Joe Barsin, an Annapolitan freelance graphic designer whose work many Maryland locals will recognize under the Citizen Pride brand. He also brought us some awesome stickers, because he's just that cool.

With promptings from Liz, Joe and I talked about our own experiences in the agency and freelance worlds, and we discussed how Joe has managed projects as both a freelancer as well as creative director working with freelancers.

Check out the podcast below, and definitely check out Joe's design work!   

• Working as a freelancer versus working in an agency: which is better?
• Do you need a freelancer, or do you need an agency?
• How do we overcome the stigma against the term "freelance"?
• What keeps our creativity flowing and inspires us, whether we're freelance or in agencies?
• How do you manage freelance designers?
• As a freelancer, how do you collaborate with creative directors?
• How do you let go and delegate to freelancers?

• Where to find Joe: JEB Design and Citizen Pride
• Artificial Intelligence article: "Why Cosabella replaced its agency with AI and will never go back to humans"
• Tsunami mural in Annapolis
• Creator's Block Episode 13: How to Give Better Feedback
• Shelby's "7 Things a Graphic Designer Isn't" blog post
• Annapolis Film Festival
• American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC
• The Baltimore Museum of Industry
• Maryland Historical Society
• The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore

What did you think of this episode? Is there another topic or question you want us to take on? Or do you just want to say hi? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CreatorsBlockHQ or using the hashtag #creatorsblockparty. You can say hi to me at @shelbstheging and Liz at @naptownpint. You can also join us in the Creator's Block Podcast group on Facebook, where you can ask questions and get inspired.

And don't forget - whether you love us or hate us - we would really appreciate you reviewing our podcast on iTunes! 

…until next week!