And away we go...Say hello to the VMX blog
Inbound marketers finally get their shoes
Over and over and over again, we marketers and agency folks think about the story of the cobbler’s son. Like that poor shoeless little boy, we can’t seem to apply the everyday tricks and tools – the things that keep us fed – to help meet our own needs. As a creative professional, I write and design and develop all manner of marketing pieces for my clients each and every day. Some of them are even pretty good J
Why is it such a struggle to do that for myself? Once again, I say – with equal parts conviction and skepticism – that this will end! So here it goes …
Where to start?
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve found is that these days those shoes translate into a lot of different things. Should I focus on updating the website? How about creating a new brochure? Maybe sending out an email campaign? The options are dizzying.
A little over a year ago, we found religion in the form of Inbound Marketing. Given our societal shift towards self-directed online shopping and data-driven customer experiences it seems like a no-brainer … both today, and even more so in the future. After some initial research and discussions with clients and colleagues, we opted to join the HubSpot partner program.
As a platform, HubSpot offers all the tools one needs to drive business growth. We’re harnessing its power to help our clients generate leads and engage prospective new customers. Seemed only fitting that we apply those same tools to our own needs.
Most designers and marketing professionals have so much knowledge – best practices, process pitfalls, time-savers – kicking around in our heads that we’d happily give away to a friend or colleague if asked.
A new approach to new business
One of the key things that drew us to inbound marketing is the core focus on helping people … even before they start paying you. As a philosophy, it really resonated with us. Our core goal in each and every engagement has always been to provide value, and if you can do that for someone early in the buying process they’ll be more likely to come to you when they are ready to engage.
Most designers and marketing professionals have so much knowledge – best practices, process pitfalls, time-savers – kicking around in our heads that we’d happily give away to a friend or colleague if asked. So … why not offer that stuff up to prospective clients? Wouldn’t they be more prone to seek out our services when they actually have a need? Hey wait … isn’t that a cornerstone of the inbound methodology?
Well … Duh. And so begins this new blog.
Introducing the VisionMix blog
Having spent way too much time trying to identify the obvious solution to our self-marketing woes (and one we often suggest to our clients) we are pleased to announce the launch of this new blog. We are hoping to share insights and useful tips accrued over many long years and numerous war stories. With luck, we’ll even provide some value along the way.
Our plan is to touch on these core topic areas:
· Digital / inbound marketing strategies
· Purpose-driven design approaches
· Content strategies
· Industry trends
· Software reviews
· Project management best practices
There will likely be more to come as the prevailing winds of this crazy / exciting / frustrating industry carry us in new and different directions. We also have plans to develop various downloadable content offerings that we hope will prove useful to clients and colleagues alike.
Stay tuned.