5 Things to Share: December 2024

Dear LinkedIn Friends,

Are you in holiday mode yet? I'm fighting the urge to power down my computer and turn on Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase while I wrap presents. What about you?

?Speaking of wrapping things up, as we end the year, it's important to look back and see what we accomplished in 2024 so we can start 2025 off on a positive and productive note. So here's my holiday wrap-up sung to the tune of the ??12 days of Christmas.

?? At the end of 2024, I celebrated—

• 14 of the best clients ever
• $50,000 plus, raised for the IMTA
• 98 projects total
• 4 subcontractors hired
• 1255 project tasks completed (so far)
• 175 Zoom meetings
• 12,640 minutes of working to John Williams music
• 12.3K% growth for Log and Timber Solutions' social media
• 7% follower growth for Big Waves on X, Insta, and Facebook?
• 31 emails designed and sent for Perma-R Products
• SEO website improvements for Make Philanthropy Work
• And an unsweetened iced green tea from Starbucks to fuel it all. ??

What wins are you celebrating at the end of the year? As we look forward to the holidays and the year ahead, here are 5 Things to Share to inspire you and help you have your best year yet.?

1. The Sanctuary, an emotional father-son ad by Chevy
2. A Brand's Real Job is to Improve People's Lives
3. 7 Ways to Create Content that Educates, Entertains, & Engages
4. Unwrapping the Elements of a Successful Homepage
5. Building an Email List from Scratch

#1 The Sanctuary

No matter if you're a Chevy or Ford fan this emotional ad from Chevy is sure to choke you up and bring on the water works. When companies like Coca-Cola are using AI to product complete ads and getting backlash, ads like this feel like a breath of fresh air. What do you think?

#2 A Brand's Real Job is to Improve People's Lives

I love this sentiment in this recent Ad Age article, “A brand’s real job is to improve people’s lives. Advertising’s real job is to merit an invitation to share in someone’s life.”?

It challenges us to think about marketing on a more personal level and understand our customer's needs and how our product or service solves their problems or improves their daily lives.

#3 Seven Ways to Create Content that Educates, Entertains, & Engages

According to a the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report by Sprout Social “two-thirds of social users find ‘edutainment’ (content that educates and entertains) to be the most engaging of all brand content.” Here are seven ways to create content that educates, entertains, and engages.

#4 Unwrapping the Elements of a Successful Homepage

Whether you're updating, relaunching, or creating a brand-spanking new website HubSpot unwraps 12 Critical Elements Every Website Homepage Must Have from a headline to visuals to social proof.

#5 Building an Email List from Scratch

Here's another great article from HubSpot if you're scratching your head wondering how to build an email list without purchasing a list. It covers everything from pop-up forms and landing pages to choosing an email platform.

Please note that that Moonshine Design will be closed from December 21, 2024, to January 6, 2025. I'll be in merriment mode, creating memories with my girls and spending time with family and friends. If you're a current client, we've likely made arrangements already. If you'd like to get your projects on the calendar for 2025, schedule a discovery call here.

Wishing you and yours a very merry, healthy, and safe holiday season.

I help build brands. I love partnering with folks across the building materials, nonprofit, and consumer goods industries—big or small. My goal is to help you get the word out about your business so you can grow and further your mission.

Give Me a Holler

Sarah Spoelstra Moonshine Design Owner

Moonshine Design, Graphic Design, and Marketing for Log Home Contractors, the Building, Consumer Products, Toy, and Nonprofit Industries.

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