Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Author: Bridget Willard

  • A Case Study: Marketing Consulting with Jocelyn Mozak

    From time to time, a case study becomes a good way to reflect on results for both you and your current and potential clients. This is my first for one of my very good friends and I’m proud that she’s also a client.

    https://twitter.com/JocelynMozak/status/1084120768240181248

    The Client

    I met Jocelyn Mozak of Mozak Design at WordCamp Seattle last year. Her Portland, Oregon based business is going well and she often presents and coaches on systems and processes that help other businesses. However, she wanted to build up her brand awareness about her coaching program and training for speakers and wasn’t sure how that could happen with Twitter.

    The Challenge

    Jocelyn was all-in on Facebook. That’s where her tribe was. That’s where her clients were. That’s all she focused upon. But after sitting down at an impromptu lesson I gave to Robby of Beaver Builder at WordCamp Seattle 2018, she was in.

    I could sense her excitement and that was contagious.

    She DMd me. I invoiced her. Caldendly appointments were made. Once the Zoom call began, I had a chance to change her mind about Twitter. People who know me know how much I believe in it as a tool.

    https://twitter.com/JocelynMozak/status/1062393906279649280

    The Consultation

    The first call was the test. Test of the coach on the consultant. Could her audience really be elsewhere except her beloved Facebook? How could she connect with people who might like her coaching services? Once I began to teach her about lists, however; I think she saw the way she could grow her influence.

    One of the things I enjoy (I know, it’s supposed to be about the client) is that during a consultation I can give specific rather than generic examples. So, for this call, I suggested that she create a list of WordCamp speakers starting with those slated to speak at WCUS. This allows her to spend time engaging with her peers in the speaking world and continue to build those lists. Since she is an avid speaker at a variety of conferences, the light bulb went on and she went to work.

    Look at those lists!

    After that, we briefly discussed hashtags and their purpose as well. I’ve personally seen her engage more on Twitter in our circle of friends and watch people tag her to get their attention.

    The Second Call

    Okay, Bridget. If you can do that for Twitter, what about LinkedIn. (Quote for dramatization).

    Yep. We set up another call over Zoom (she likes to record them) and we went through specific use cases on why she should be there.

    Who is her audience? Women leveling up their careers and speaking engagements.
    Where do those people spend their time? LinkedIn.

    It made perfect sense.

    The Results

    I’m stoked with the results. I knew Jocelyn was sitting on a gold mine.

    Twitter:

    Jocelyn tweeted only 17 times in October with 1,880 impressions. In November that number went up to 220 with 40,200 impressions. December was 276 tweets and 48,300 impressions. I’d say those are impressive results.

    LinkedIn:

    After Jocelyn put our plan into action for LinkedIn, the more professional network, she’s had a 60% increase in profile visits.

    Look at that increase!

    Google Analytics

    Google Analytics is the ultimate in metrics. The whole point of social media is to build brand awareness so that people will visit your site. I love that her traffic has dramatically increased from Twitter (54%) and LinkedIn (2000%).

    Love the green numbers!

    The ultimate result, to me as a consultant and teacher, is her newfound excitement for platforms that can help her build her own coaching business to a new level.

    Bridget’s Twitter coaching has been transformational. I used to use Facebook exclusively and avoided Twitter at all cost. After a single session with Bridget I understood exactly how to wrangle Twitter and make it work for my business. Now Twitter is a key part of my social media marketing. I’m building relationships and growing my online visibility. I even, I dare say, prefer it to Facebook somedays!

    [caldera_form id=”CF59e795482d092″]

  • Psychological Pairing: Forget Motivation – Actually Get Stuff Done

    Motivation is constantly being chased by apathy and rarely wins the race. So? How do I get stuff done? Psychological Pairing.

    What is Psychological Pairing?

    “In relation to psychology, pair by association is the action of associating a stimulus with an arbitrary idea or object, eliciting a response, usually emotional. This is done by repeatedly pairing the stimulus with the arbitrary object.” Wikipedia

    Motivation isn’t tangible. It’s allusive. It hides from you. Motivation is too hard to nail down. So what do you do?

    Basically, I bribe myself.

    Eat the Frog

    One of the sayings in productivity is to “eat the frog.” This means that you do the one thing you don’t want to do first. Everything after that tastes good. Having spent 30 years doing secretarial work, this is how I’ve lived my life. I still do it.

    So, you eat the frog. Now what?

    Set Limits

    It’s so easy to get distracted working at or from home. As I write this post, I’m a bit down so I’m in bed. This is a rule I generally don’t break. I have a desk in my living room (no TV in there). That is where I work. When I get up from my desk, I am done working.

    Limits help set expectations for yourself and for your friends and family. This especially helps if you have people living with you like family or roommates.

    Work like an employee. Block out your time. Take scheduled breaks. Write down what you’ve done. Make a task list but put it in your calendar. Tasks take time. If you don’t understand how much time you’re spending, you will underbid projects and overtax yourself. But that’s another blog post.

    “Work From a Calendar: I have recently picked this one up: to work from a calendar instead of a to-do list. What I find useful is that a calendar forces me to rethink my work from tasks to time units. It is a small change, but it increases the chance of getting things done.” Ye Chen

    Reward Yourself

    Okay. This isn’t about time management. But it is. So, essentially, psychological pairing is about doing something you don’t like doing and then rewarding yourself with something you do like.

    [bctt tweet=”To motivate yourself, pair a task with a reward. Small task, small reward. Build. Do. Accomplish. It’s that simple.” username=”BridgetMWillard”]

    For example, after my husband passed away, I needed to donate his clothing. It was overwhelming emotionally and physically. So I decided I could fill two plastic bags and then take it to Goodwill. Each time I took those donations to Goodwill, I went to In-N-Out for lunch. I treated myself for doing something I didn’t want to do.

    It doesn’t have to be that dramatic. Write a blog post, watch a movie. Do two hours of client work, have a cup of tea. Send a proposal, go for a walk.

    The key to psychological pairing is that you are self-aware enough to know what motivates you and that you break down the tasks. Achievable. Do it. Write it down. Rinse and repeat.

    Happy working my friends.

  • Marketing Isn’t About Tools – It’s About Psychology

    Marketing tools are simply that — tools. When you overly rely upon automation to replace human connection you will always fail, regardless of how slick the tool is.

    Marketing is about relationships. Relationships take time. No CRM or auto dialer will change that for you.

    A brand needs to be relatable. As your customer base relates, they develop affinity to the brand. Affinity leads to loyalty. Loyalty leads to sales.

  • Social Media 101 for Small Business

    Your small business has a website. Great. Now what? Use social media and be human to create online relationships the way you would in person.

    Once you have a great website for your business, or a client’s business, it’s time to get it out there. No longer is the Internet a Field of Dreams where people just show up. Using Social Media can help grow your brand awareness and show customers how engaged with them you are.

    I had the distinct opportunity to be part of Beginner Day at WordCamp Los Angeles again in 2018 to help small businesses maximize the use of their time on social media. It’s only 24 minutes long.

    Watch the Video

    Do you have questions?

    Just as I did in the video, if you leave a comment here with a question, I’ll be happy to give you specific advice.

  • You have email subscribers. Now what?

    Congrats. You have email subscribers. Now, what do you do? Do you have a nurture or drip campaign setup? You need Amy.

    You can have all the leads come to your MailChimp but if you don’t do anything with those emails, what’s the point?

    [bctt tweet=”A lot of businesses have the free opt-in offer, but then they don’t follow up with those people. The best way is with a drip email campaign. @GenuineAmyHall ” username=”BridgetMWillard”]

    Get Professional MailChimp Help

    Why be frustrated? Amy Hall is a certified MailChimp Expert and Partner. She’s also a WordCamp Speaker and one of my best friends.

    Do you need to know more?

    How about that she builds WordPress websites?

    How about that she teaches WordPress?

    She doesn’t toot her own horn — at all.

    So I am.

    Go to her website. Talk to her.*

    You won’t be sorry.

    Amy Hall on WPblab Episode 97: WordPress Plugins – Building Your Mailing Lists

    *not an affiliate link.