The Best of 2017

In true year-end fashion and as the final month of 2017 draws to a close, I'm getting a little reflective on this past year by looking back on some of the accomplishments I had for my creative marketing business. From an updated site to some exciting projects, there were times when I thought I would never get through some of them (but of course i did!!)  and now that we're just breaking into 2018, I can't help but highlight some of the "best of's" below with a few tips.

New Site:

This one was a looooooong time coming. Since going out on my own in 2014, I had been operating with a makeshift website I had on WordPress that I felt never truly reflected the work that I do. One of my goals for this year was to re-design the site highlighting all services, and so I did. I knew that if I didn't craft a very simple one myself on Squarespace (aka. basically something I can put together in a weekend and update quickly here and there), I would never get it done. My first step was to create two boards on Pinterest - one for logo ideas, the other for layout and design ideas. From there I designed the simple identity and overall look and feel of the site. I had a general idea of how I also wanted the navigation and general site structure to operate so then I picked out the closest template in Squarespace to get me the desired user experience and went to town with writing all new copy, listing all workshops and teaching I have done, linking to press, describing my process and also inputting all new photos. I also worked with my fave photographer & friend, Jennifer Lavelle, who took natural light lifestyle head shot images I am very happy with. These can be seen on my homepage and on the about page. All in all, this site didn't take too long to put together! I am a bit surprised I hadn't bit the bullet and done it sooner. For this next year, I wish to blog more often and update the site with some featured work.

Clients:

Around October of 2016 I was very fortunate to be connected to Billion Dollar Boy, a leading global influencer agency, by my dear friend Lisa (Big shout out to Lisa! Thank you!). At that time, BDB was seeking someone to work with them at the time to help execute a cool creative Coach campaign for the launch of Coach's new mascot, a tyrannosaurus rex named Rexy. I was brought on to help them out for the project which involved sourcing over 35 creatives to create original social media content around this mascot and share it on their channels (focusing on Instagram). I have since been really lucky to have been with them for just over a year now working on additional campaigns for things such as Lab Series for Men MAXCELLENENCE collection premier, Lab Series for Men PRO LS launch, The White Company on their influencer-based US campaign and store openings (both the 5th Ave location and The Short Hills Mall store) and most recently with Bobbi Brown for their Party Ready Holiday collection campaign. The wild west of influencer marketing has been really exciting to be a part of. What's so fascinating to me is how these large brands then use the influencers assets in their own internal and external marketing to truly drive sales. This could be from re-purposing images for an email marketing campaign to sharing content on company blogs - all while linking back to products featured and tracking appropriately. I also am so interested in how these creators are all so unique and individual in how they create and conceptualize content that is true to them while still answering the creative needs of the brand. Billion Dollar Boy is a really progressive and a unique company in this space I am so happy to be a part of (great team! great office! great clients!). Let me know if your business is considering influencer marketing!

Community:

While I'm no longer living directly in the city, I'm sad to say that gone are the days of working out of Neuehouse or Soho House. It's mainly me, working out of my house :) Working from home can get a little lonely, so I've made it my mission this past year to find some local groups of women in business here in New Jersey to network with and also be a bit social. It took a bit of crazy Googling to find some things that are the right fit. Two local organizations that have been really helpful to be a part of out here in Morris County have been the Tuesdays Together group from Rising Tide Society and the Lady Boss Book Club founded by Mallika Malhotra. Tuesdays Together is once a month meeting for creatives + entrepreneurs gather together for coffee and conversation. Each month there is a topic at hand for discussion (social media, email marketing, etc) and I actually love it because each time I go I always learn something new. The Lady Boss Book Club is unique in the fact that each month or two a new business book is selected and then talked about in a morning get together. I've only been once because of my work schedule, but I really enjoyed it, kept up with most of the readings and do hope to hit up more in 2018 (starting with this month and the selection of Danielle LaPorte's The Fire Starter Sessions. Anyone read it?!).

On another note, this past year I luckily found myself an advisory board (more of less) for my business. Myself, along with two other women, have gotten together to form this group to provide accountability to one another, have monthly check-ins, bounce ideas off of or just keep in touch with. It has been truly amazing to be able to talk to others about our businesses that a) aren't my clients and b) aren't my husband :) and help each other out.

Together with Cody McBurnett of Loki Loki Brand Identity Design and Colleen Star Koch of Rowan Coaching, we've dubbed this group the “Working Title Collective", and Cody has beautifully penned this blog post on how to start one of your own (and also give a bit more detail about what we do in ours). Being a part of this has definitely kept me motivated and moving forward, which is worth it's weight in gold.

It's onward and upward into 2018!!