The Marketing Mentor Podcast

In the final installment of the "Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast Series," Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Meena Kothandaraman and Zarla Ludin of twig+fish about their workshop, Designing (N)credible Research Studies at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, business and marketing professionals to be held Oct. 26-28, 2016 in Charleston SC. Details about this and 2 other pre-conference workshops here: https://2016.revolveconference.com/workshops/

In the 4th installment of the "Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast Series," Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Aaron Irizarry, Director of User Experience at Nasdaq, about his topic, Hold Fast: Managing Design Teams When Projects Go Sideways, at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, business and marketing professionals to be held Oct. 27-28, 2016 in Charleston SC. See you there! Details here: http://revolveconference.com

This episode is #8 in the popular series of chatty (but always meaty) conversations between Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and time lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern of BuildaBetterPhotograph.com. This one is about the mindset and tactics required to be a satisfied, self-employed creative person and focuses in on client communication skills, especially how to figure out the right thing to say, in real time and in writing. If you like what you hear, sign up for the free marketing ecourse here.

In the 3rd installment of the "Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast Series," Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Robert Prioleau, Founding Partner and the Strategy Director for Blue Ion, a brand experience agency based in Charleston, SC. Robert will be speaking on how to sell when you hate selling at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, business and marketing professionals to be held Oct. 27-28, 2016 in Charleston SC. Details here: http://revolveconference.com

Ilise Benun chats with Terri Trespicio and Paula Rizzo, the brains behind Lights Camera Expert, who can't help but share what they know about what it takes to get the media's attention and whether you need to have a book to get on TV. If you like what you hear, sign up here for their free 3-part course, "How to Be a Media Magnet."

In this episode, Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Paul Parreira of Company Cue about the evolution of content marketing, the changing expectations of consumers and new gigs for content writers. If you like what you hear, sign up for Ilise's Quick Tips here.

In the second installment of the "Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast Series," Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Ahava Leibtag, founder of Aha Media Group, who will be speaking on how to navigate challenging content strategy conversations at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, business and marketing professionals to be held Oct. 27-28, 2016 in Charleston SC. Details here: http://revolveconference.com

This is the 4th of 5 live interviews from the HOWDesignLive@SCAD Lecture Series 2016 where Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com is joined by Lana Rigsby and Thomas Hull of Rigsby Hull, a Houston-based design firm honored internationally for design that pairs verbal intelligence with restrained, elegant expression. They share their process for projects where the deliverable is nothing tangible but instead a simple conversation, the fruit of their thinking and research. Includes special guest appearances by Steff Geissbuhler and Joseph DiGioia. Watch the video version here and the rest of the series on SCAD's virtual lecture hall.

Here's #7 in a series of chatty (but meaty) conversations between Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and time lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern of BuildaBetterPhotograph.com. In this episode, Stern gives an update on the prospect he's been stalking for the project of a lifetime and a novel way of thinking about value-based pricing and bartering. If you like what you hear, sign up for the free marketing ecourse here

In the first installment of the "Revolve Conference Speaker Podcast Series," Ilise Benun, of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Rivers Pearce, Director of Marketing at Boomtown, who will be speaking on Marketing Technology for Agencies & Small Business at The Revolve Conference, a gathering of design, business and marketing professionals to be held Oct. 27-28, 2016 in Charleston SC. Details here: http://revolveconference.com

Here's the next in a series of ongoing conversations between me, Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and time lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern of BuildaBetterPhotograph.com. In this episode, he shares 2 stories in which he heard about a project that would be perfect for him, proceeded to "insert himself into the conversation" and already secured one of the projects. There's a lot to learn here, but listen especially for his attitude. If you like what you hear, sign up for my new free ecourse here.

In the latest podcast, Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com chats with Steve Maurer, a copywriter in the vertical B2B Industrial Manufacturing niche, about the changes he's making to his business, based on Ilise's new program, AWAI's Simplest Guide to Pricing Copy Projects. Steve also took what he learned and created worksheets to figure out his monthly expenses and minimum hourly rate. As a special bonus for podcast listeners, download the worksheets here.

Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com talks with Cassie Boorn of Maker Mentors, an online community for creative professionals, about how she knew when it was time to quit her job and launch her business and what attendees will learn when they sign up for the 2nd Build a Better Business Conference, an online event happening April 20-21, 2016 at MakerMentors.org.

This podcast episode is a little different: Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com is joined by Meena Kothandaraman of Twig + Fish and Ben Callahan of Sparkbox for a quick rehearsal/overview of Keeping it Human, a brand new presentation they've collaborated on for ConvergeSE in Columbia, SC, April 2016.

This is the 3rd live interview from the HOWDesignLive@SCAD Lecture Series 2016 with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and #HOWLive 2016 Opening Keynote speaker, author and filmmaker, Tiffany Shlain. She shares nuggets about her creative process, especially why she chose film as her creative medium and how she scales and maximizes her creativity. Watch the video version here and the rest of the series on SCAD's virtual lecture hall. More inspiration at HOWDesignLive.com and SCAD.edu

In this conversation with writer, Lori Ferguson, Ilise Benun teases out the details of what Lori did and said for 18 months, until her ideal prospect was ready to give her a big project. Plus, which marketing tools she's using to build a strong, portable business that will allow her to spend half the year on a Caribbean island! If you like what you hear, sign up for Ilise's free mentoring session here.

This is the 2nd live interview from the HOWDesignLive@SCAD Lecture Series 2016 with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and #HOWLive 2015 speaker, Jason Fried, Co-Founder of Basecamp and author of 3 books including, "Rework," and "Remote." Lots of inspiring ideas about how to use your creativity to build a business that lasts, plus a little rant on the importance of sleep. Watch the video version here and the rest of the series on SCAD's virtual lecture hall. More inspiration at HOWDesignLive.com and SCAD.edu

If you are a mid-career creative pro with a solid portfolio and lots of experience but you still struggle with pricing, you're not alone and this podcast is for you. Time lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern ofBuildaBetterPhotograph.com, chats with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com about how you may be undermining your success. He also shares the worst thing to have in your head when you talk to a new prospect. If you like what you hear, sign up for Ilise's new free ecourse here.

This is a live interview from the HOWDesignLive@SCAD Lecture Series 2016 with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and #HOWLive speaker, Matthew Manos of Founder of verynice.co, author of, "How to Give Half Your Work Away for Free" and recently named one of "Seven Millennials Changing the World." Lots of inspiring ideas about building on his foundation and using his creativity to do something meaningful! More inspiration at HOWDesignLive.com and SCAD.edu

If your unpredictable income makes your life a roller coaster, you're not alone. In today's podcast interview, Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com talks with freelance marketing strategist, Dianna Huff, about her new guide, Cashflow for Freelancers, in which she shares what she's learned about evening out her own cash flow. And if you like what you hear, sign up for Ilise's new free ecourse here.

What the heck is digital marketing? Is it online marketing? Is it Internet marketing? Is it a moving target? That's the question I tackled with David Bain of Digital Marketing Radio. We talked especially about podcasting, live audio and video broadcasting. if you've been thinking of starting your own show, this is a great episode for you. And if you like what you hear, be sure to write a review and sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

The new year is upon us so it's time to reflect on what worked, and especially on what didn't work, so we can improve it. In this year-end podcast, Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com is joined by time-lapse filmmaker, Michael e. Stern, of BuildaBetterPhotograph.com to share mistakes made and lessons learned regarding excited clients, partnerships, contracts and more. If your goal for 2016 is to get better clients with bigger budgets, check out the 30 Minutes a Day Marketing Plan for Creative Professionals.

There has been a ton of interest in Package Pricing for creative services but some confusion amongst other pricing strategies, like tiered-pricing and the trendy "productizing." In this podcast interview Jason Blumer, of BlumerCPAs.com, and Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com, sort out and clarify these strategies so you can use them to gain more control over your life. Isn't that the point? Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips.

Laurie Millotte used to worry that she was undercharging. Other times she worried that she might be overcharging. Even when clients hired her, she never really knew if she had come up with the right price for her creative services. Then she started offering packages and it changed the way she does business. In this podcast, she shares with Marketing Mentor, Ilise Benun, how she packages her design services and how she sells the packages to her clients, even her "crazy package." Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips.

If you're selling big-ticket services and want to connect directly with your best prospects, the phone is an effective marketing tool, if you know how to give good phone. Michael e. Stern generously shares his proven techniques in his 3rd podcast/interview with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips here.

How do you reach a wide audience when you don't have thousands of raving fans? In my latest interview, music entrepreneur, Budi Voogt, explains exactly how he gets wide exposure for his talented musicians and how commercial artists and other creative professionals can adapt these strategies to reach a larger audience to find better clients. Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips here.

As a right brainer in a left brain world, Michael e. Stern has learned a lot in his 36 years in business about how to price his creative services. In his 2nd podcast/interview with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com he shares his 3 best pricing strategies, including what he calls the "J.B. factor" and many other pearls of wisdom. Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips here.

What are corporate in house design managers looking for in the freelancers they hire? Andy Epstein, author of The Corporate Creative, answers that question and many others in the latest podcast interview with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com. Find out where the growth is and which skills will set you apart. Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

From surviving to thriving as a creative professional -- that's the path Michael E. Stern walked the past 35 years as a photographer. It's taken him time, but he's found the niche that fits him like a "fur-lined" glove -- construction time-lapse films -- and gives him the freedom many can only dream of. You can hear that freedom in the sound of his voice as he talks with Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com about the strength of his positioning. Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips here.

Cynthia Sterling of Sterling Creativeworks talks with Marketing Mentor, Ilise Benun, about how she chose the wine and spirits niche in 2011 when reinventing her business. She also shares how the resulting clarity has freed her to pursue (and secure as clients) the top multi-brand marketers in the category. Learn about her at SterlingCreativeworks.com and Sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

In this interview with the Small Business Advocate, Jim Blasingame, Ilise Benun debates what exactly is a niche and how to go about choosing one. If you're struggling with your niche, download the free worksheet "Is Your Market Viable," excerpted from The Pick a Niche Kit, http://bit.ly/ViableMarket

For this special "Pick a Niche" podcast, Ilise Benun is joined by Tomas Fransson of FlauntMyDesign.com and Scarlett Rugers to talk about Scarlett's success in the book design niche. Want more? Sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

Copywriter & Marketing Strategist, Amy Posner, describes in exquisite detail the 9-step direct outreach approach (avec chocolat) with has so far yielded a 16% response PLUS a dream client. Learn about her at amyposner.com and Sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor. The transcript of this interview is also included in the 30 Minutes a Day Marketing Plan for Creative Professionals.

Ilise Benun talks with Jenny Poff, founder of the national accountability group, The Designers Roundtable, about the inaugural Designer's Retreat, an event unlike any other, designed for creative professionals by creative professionals.

Designer, Robin Ridley, describes how she decided to focus on the animal welfare and vegan markets and the steps she took to determine the viability of these markets. Learn about Robin at parfaitstudio.com and Sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor. The transcript of this interview is also included in the Pick a Niche Kit.

In Episode 5 of the #HOWLive 2015 Speaker Podcast Series, Ilise Benun, HDL Partner for the Creative Business program and founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews communications strategist and writer, Doug Dolan, on his HDL 2015 topic, "There Will Be Words: How To Get Designers And Writers On The Same Page." Details here www.howdesignlive.com.

In Episode 4 of the #HOWLive 2015 Speaker Podcast Series, Ilise Benun, HDL Partner for the Creative Business program and founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, interviews Janine Vangool, Publisher, Editor and Designer, UPPERCASE magazine on her HDL 2015 topic, "What I Learned From Design Clients Led to My "Retirement"... And Launched A Whole New Career." Find out more about Janine and UPPERCASE at http://uppercasemagazine.com.

In Episode 3 of the 2015 HOW Design Live Speaker Podcast Series, Ilise Benun, Partner for HDL's "Creative Business" program, interviews poet and creative coach, Mark McGuiness, on his topic, "How to Handle Rejection & Criticism as a Creative." In this podcast, he explains why he believes creatives have trouble with criticism and what we can do about it. Find out more about Mark at http://lateralaction.com/. Details here www.howdesignlive.com.

Ilise Benun joins Jim Blasingame at Small Business Advocate to talk about why packaging your services has many advantages for you and your clients. For more, check out the Package Pricing Bundle.

In Episode 2 of the 2015 HOW Design Live Speaker Podcast Series, Ilise Benun, Partner for HDL's "Creative Business" program, interviews Rob Harr, VP of Sparkbox, on his topic, "How to Make Hourly Pricing Work." He explains why he thinks creatives have such a hard time with pricing and how his firm keeps cash flowing and clients paying on a weekly basis! Details here www.howdesignlive.com.

In this podcast interview with Ilise Benun, Programming Partner for the "Creative Business" program of HOW Design Live 2015, Aaron Draplin gives a taste of his topic. Officially entitled, "Tall Tales From a Large Man," he thinks of it as "graphic treasures from the American underbelly" and he'll talk about mining the world for what he sees as a resource that's going to be gone soon. "I hope to open the eyes of people into a world of dead ghosts. I show examples and tell you where to go – it's dangerous and fun. Then I show how I use it in my work."

In this podcast, Nathan Powell of Nusii Proposal Software interviews Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor and creator of the Designer's Proposal Bundle series. They discuss the 4 types of proposals, what exactly should be in a winning proposal and what it really means when a proposal is about the client's project and not about you! Plus, much more, of course. The transcript of this interview is also included in the 30 Minutes a Day Marketing Plan for Creative Professionals.

In today's podcast, Ilise rehearses the introduction for her upcoming CreativeLive course, Command the Fees You Deserve. This course, presented by Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com, will help you enjoy greater stability and security by finding the right niche, marketing and pricing your work, and sifting good clients from bad ones.

Listen to find out how Jen Neal's Toronto-based firm, K9 Strategy & Design, has evolved since we last talked in 2011. She shares details on their rebranding and how their involvement in the supposedly dying publishing industry has led them to a leadership level in the industry and which marketing tools they use to get there. If you need a plan to get anywhere near this, check out the Enhanced Marketing Plan + eCalendar for Creative Professionals.

This podcast collage is a sneak peek at the brand new Enhanced version of the Marketing Plan + eCalendar for 2015. You'll hear clips from 3 interviews between Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com and creative professionals who are practicing what I preach and it's working! They are targeting their markets and finding better clients! If you want a plan to follow, check out the 2015 Marketing Plan in the Marketing Mentor Shop.

This podcast is a little different than usual – it's a sneak peek at the brand new Package Pricing Bundle, the newest product in the Marketing Mentor Toolbox. You'll hear clips from 4 interviews with creative professionals who so generously shared the creative pricing strategies they're using to take more control over their business and grow! Find the Package Pricing Bundle here.

Packaging creative services is all the rage these days, but it's more than a trend. It's actually allowing creative professionals to take control of their work life, raise their prices and save time on estimates and proposals. In this podcast, excerpted from Marketing Mentor's new product, The Package Pricing Bundle, Ilise Benun interviews web copywriter, Alyssa Martin, about how her copywriting packages "sell out."

I recently joined Jake Jorgovan to discuss the biggest mistake new freelancers make when telling people what they do. Listen to learn a better way...

Ilise Benun joins Jim Blasingame of Small Business Advocate to reveal two more critical questions to ask yourself before you become a small business owner.

Ilise Benun joins Jim Blasingame of Small Business Advocate to talk about why most of us start our small businesses, and to reveal a very important question to ask ourselves when we do.