Navigating New Paths and Lessons Learned

Hi friends!

Happy hump day! It’s extra exciting for me because we leave for a mini vacation tomorrow! We've kept a low profile this summer to minimize stress, but we made a last-minute change of plans, along with a side of nostalgia. Generally, vacations are stressful when you’re dealing with three little ones—sunscreen, hair, sand everywhere—all of it. However, I realized that this is my last "year" or "summer" with all three kids at home. My eldest child starts Kindergarten next Wednesday. Next stinking week—I can’t believe it. This is the point where I’d normally go down the path of describing how my fierce, tiny firstborn was early (impatient) and not even 5 lbs when she arrived. However, you are here for my career journey, so I’ll save that for my personal blog!

Feel free to follow my personal journey at www.owlwithanmtomyers.com.

Last week, I spoke about my experience in the corporate world and how my life has changed since shifting to creative work. To clarify, there is nothing wrong with working in Corporate America. I learned so many skills and became who I am as an FTE. I just knew something was missing for me—the piece about being myself, expressing myself, and using my creativity through my work. There is something to be said about a consistent paycheck. However, I grew up around strong, independent people who raised kids while getting scrappy and chasing their dreams. It would be weird if I didn’t. When it came down to it, I couldn’t see the bottom of my inbox. It was an endless pit, and I didn’t see a way out. And to add insult to injury… it turns out you get happiness in return. I only wish I had known that sooner.

I have learned an extraordinary amount of industry and technical terms since I started working with Vicar Creative. The way AI is changing things in marketing is really neat to witness in real-time. It’s hitting all industries with a bang and making things more streamlined, organized, and in many ways—obtainable. I am learning how marketing funnels are built in Hubspot, managing website domains, social media algorithms, and realizing that "organic" is not just a term used for food! There’s organic marketing and organic impressions. I know how to do a social audit, a website audit, and get a general feel for the level of marketing expertise a company has. I even learned that a Widow isn’t just a woman—it's also when you leave one word hanging at the end of a sentence. There are SO many kinds of digital marketing, from sizzle reels to flipbooks, which are apparently called Carrousel (at least on LinkedIn). Not all social media outlets are created equal for different ICPs.

Ad spend is money per eyeball. CPC is the cost-per-click. The more money you put into advertising, the more people your ad reaches, and the more business your sales team should theoretically be able to close. Ad spend is different from a marketing budget and knowing which questions to ask when is where the money is at (pun intended??). A company’s brand is essentially its reputation and culture/personality mushed together. Did you know you have to pay to use fonts, colors, and images?! At this moment, I’m feeling like there’s so much that goes into marketing a business that I’d rather pay someone else to do it wink.

We signed and began working with our first client. That has been a really cool experience. It’s also extremely humbling to be learning new things every day. I’m grateful for this outlet and the opportunity to share it with you all! carrousel

Until next week,

M

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