What is Marketing Really?
Episode 540: Show Notes
We run ads for everything under the sun, and we have for a long time. Something we did very early on was make a conscious decision to not look at the comments on ads because sometimes there are just troll-type comments, and we don’t need to leave our headspace there. Funnily enough, Abagail’s husband is our ad comment moderator, so it is very rare for us to see a negative comment. But, for some reason, the other day, Emylee was scrolling one of our new Creative Template Shop ads, which is so beautiful and cute. The ad contains our slogan which we have been using for over a year. Emylee was compelled to look at the comment, which was along the lines of, “Oh, so that’s all that marketing is, is beautiful graphics? That's not all that marketing is, so it’s weird that you say that.” The specifics of the comment aren’t that important, but we do want to have a conversation not only about what marketing is, but what marketing means to two visual artists, and why we have our Creative Template Shop slogan, which was very intentional. We believe that it’s something that really makes our business stand out from anything else that we see out there.
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The Crux of Marketing
As someone who has a huge range of experience in the world of marketing, Abagail knows that marketing is not just about graphics. Having said that, graphics and design serve important functions when it comes to telling your brand story. It's not just visual; it’s about the copy and the intention behind it all. So, even with the Creative Template Shop, we are giving you so much more than just graphics. Importantly, marketing is about the intention behind every decision you are making. There is a reason you have chosen to post a certain picture at a certain time, and all of this is underpinned by an overarching strategy. This is what marketing is all about. Lines get increasingly blurred when it comes to distinguishing between marketing and influencing. When you are influencing somebody, you are not necessarily marketing your company, but you are marketing your own brand. This is confusing, and as the terms in these spaces continually become abstracted from their meaning, it becomes harder and harder to make sense of things.
Reclaiming Marketing to Make it Work for You
So, what can marketing do for you, and how can you reclaim it and be more intentional about it? You have to learn how to marry beautiful graphics and design with layers of intent and strategy. When you are starting out, you don’t have to have everything ready all at once, but if you do not think that brand cohesion influences your growth, you need to rethink this mindset. It goes far beyond beautiful graphics because let's be real, taste is subjective. However, people need to know that there is a common thread. As humans, we are drawn to categorization, so seeing a cohesive brand helps us to better understand how and where a company or product can fit into our lives. Even if you are not using social media to grow your brand, people are still using these platforms to make decisions about who you will be in their lives. For us, when we make hires, we always look at someone’s social media profiles. We are simply looking for someone who understands what it means to represent themselves in a way that makes sense. This is not to say that you have to present yourself in an inauthentic way. You do not have to be super feminine or overly polished to be recognized. What's important is that your content is distinctly you. So, even if someone saw a picture out of the context of your feed, they could immediately recognize it as yours because of how strong your brand signature is.
Why We Built The Creative Template Shop
Why did we decide to build the Creative Template Shop to be your marketing department, and what do we mean when we say that? At our core, we are teachers who love sharing what we know. We also saw that there was a niche to help companies that were pouring so much energy into their branding. So, we thought about how we could marry beautiful design (which we know like the back of our hands) and a product that helps customers cut down on all of the draining decision-making related to marketing. We have spent the last 15 months designing a product that begins all the way at the funnel, right to wowing your clients at the end. We want to take the weight off your shoulders so you can focus on why you started your business in your first place. Everything that we add has a purpose and will only make your life easier. So many other template shops only focus on one type of template, but not us! We allow for customization, or you can just use our templates as they are. The decision is totally up to you.
What You Didn’t Know You Get with a Creative Template Shop Membership
We also go one step further. We don’t just give you graphics and brand continuity, we also give you copy suggestions for every template. We’ve spent so much time deconstructing what works, and we give you the information about where to put what on a template. Before we had the shop, Emylee would find templates from all these different places, and then would constantly have to be making adjustments to ensure continuity. Even though Abagail, as a trained designer, could have created this all from scratch, it just wasn’t the best use of her time because it’s not the part that makes the money! If you are a member of the shop, we will pick a theme for you every month, and in doing so, we will guide your focus, so you don’t have to make that decision. Something else we don’t often talk about is the weekly email you get when you are a member that explains the strategy behind the decision we have made for you so that you will have more context for the template and how you can best use it. Basically, we are just obsessed with the shop, and we want you to be as obsessed as we are. So, if you are interested in joining, you can totally buy things once-off, but quite honestly, it is infinitely cheaper if you sign up for a $47 monthly membership.
Quote This
We want you to automate as much of your marketing as possible, as much of your client process as possible, so that you can focus more on doing what you’re best at, which is why you started your business in the first place.
Highlights
The Crux of Marketing. [0:01:56.1]
Reclaiming Marketing to Make it Work for You. [0:10:46.1]
Why We Built The Creative Template Shop. [0:19:00.1]
What You Didn’t Know You Get with a Creative Template Shop Membership. [0:26:00.1]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Marketing, Intention, Influence, Brand Cohesion, Design, Templates, Saving Time, Small Business, Social Media, Creative Template Shop
