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SHOW and tell your story – video is the new marketing

April 18, 2012 by MaryHH

Video marketing is one the best ways to boost your online presence. Let me count the ways:

-Using video is 98 percent more likely to put you on the first page of searches. (ComScore / Forrester Research, 2011)

-Video on a web page increases response rates by an average of 45 percent. (ComScore / Forrester Research, 2011)

-When watched by visitors, video makes them 95 percent more likely to buy. (ComScore / Forrester Research, 2011)

PLUS, video can significantly boost your email marketing:

-Video in email marketing has been shown to increase click-through rates by over 96 percent. In response, the number of marketers planning to use video in email campaigns has increased 5x since 2009. (Implix 2010 Email Marketing Trends Survey)

-Forrester Research study showed video increased click-through rates by two to three times. (Forrester, 2010)

-In tests, marketing automation provider Eloqua found that video in an introductory email campaign led to a 75 percent reduction in subscriber opt-outs. (Eloqua, 2010)

Not using video as part of your overall marketing approach? Think again! Lights, camera, ACTION, small businesses!

Posted in Mary's Musings | Leave a Comment »

Owning our worth: discounts, deals and other ways we give ourselves away…

March 22, 2012 by MaryHH

In today’s world, it might feel tempting, even necessary, to offer discounts and deals in order to get business and land new clients. To be the lowest bidder on a project. But I have also learned how detrimental this can be to our businesses, our livelihoods and our spirits while damaging the very thing that we should hold sacred – our self worth.

Let me explain…

When a service-oriented small business routinely or unconsciously discounts its services, a chain reaction is set into motion that is difficult to undo. The work required is still the same. The expectations from the client are still the same. The cost of doing business is still the same.

And if you haven’t thought through your own marketing approach for the year and become crystal clear about the value of your time and expertise, little waves of resentment can start creeping into the discounted project.  You may realize that you’ve given a part of yourself away and it feels lousy. You may find yourself looking for shortcuts, feeling unmotivated, longing for the project to end.

This isn’t good for your clients. This isn’t good for business. This isn’t good for you.

Instead of saving your clients money at your own expense, here is what I suggest:

Continue Reading »

Posted in Love, Marketing 411, Marketing 911, Mary's Musings | 1 Comment »

Mary’s Musings for 2012

January 13, 2012 by MaryHH

Happy New Year!conscious marketing

I believe this year is about new beginnings, new ways of being in the world, and new ways of doing business. And I also believe this year is about endings – the end of doing things that don’t work, that don’t serve our highest good or that don’t support ourselves and others openly, positively and lovingly.

To me, 2012 is a time of spiritual transformation, deepening and evolving, both personally and professionally. With that, here are my top recommendations for living and working in truth, with integrity and for our collective well-being.

Let’s let our bright, beautiful and brilliant lights shine, inward and outward, shall we?!

1)      Speak your and hear others’ truths.
Giving and receiving clear counsel is an art form.  When we remember that no one is as smart as all of us, actively engaging in truth-telling and wisdom-sharing is as essential as breathing. This year, practice becoming more comfortable with giving your expert counsel to others. And open your own heart to receiving such counsel from your clients, vendors and peers. We all need a healthy dose candor, honesty and forthrightness from time to time, especially when it’s delivered with the intention of being open, collaborative and loving in our dealings with people.

2)      Breathe.
Speaking of breathing…in our complicated world of information overload, on-demand expectations and work/life overwhelm, it’s more important than ever to pause. Take a moment to breathe between transactions. Before speaking. Prior to reacting. In the heat of conflict. Or in advance of moving on to the next pressing thing. Filling our lungs with oxygen and our hearts with space can shift our perspective and soften our delivery. And we just may find that our whole day becomes that much freer and sweeter. Ahhh, exhale……

3)      Show it.
A picture’s worth a thousand words, to be sure. And your story is priceless. Start telling yours with video if you haven’t already. Not only will you drive your point home more quickly and succinctly, but you’ll be able to do so using your unique voice and your authentic perspective in a way that’s far more memorable and impressionable than with just words. These days, your overall effectiveness is based on how you tell AND show in each medium. Continue Reading »

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Scattering stars this holiday season and well into the new year…

December 7, 2011 by MaryHH

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust. -Rumi  

It’s been a full three years since I set out on the adventure of my lifetime thus far – becoming a mother, endeavoring to find my true north star, and launching my conscious communication company.

It’s been a road of ups and downs and all arounds. A journey of strength and fortitude and commitment. An exercise in patience, perseverance and faith. I have tested my resolve again and again. And here I am. Standing firm and ever true. Awake, aware and open. Entering my fourth year in business with some wins and some losses and with renewed hope for and allegiance to what I have created, learned, sought and fought for… Image

Working with companies and collaborators like Alpenglow Veterinary Specialty + Emergency Center, Creative Markings, Firefly Psychotherapy, Lyons Mane, Marc Hunter Woodworking, Open Design, Parallel Arts, Q Digital Studio, Rocky Mountain Veterinary Cardiology, St. Vrain Market, and Veterinary Emergency + Referral Center of Hawaii – and so many others like you — has enabled me to perfect my craft and creativity, hone my services and offerings, and further fortify my commitment to social, spiritual and environmental ideals. Continue Reading »

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Awaken your life purpose

December 3, 2011 by MaryHH

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-Howard Thurman

Finding what fuels us, what sings to us, what has meaning and signficance to our beings is as essential as oxygen.

We hear about it all the time from such passionate cultural icons as Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, President Barack Obama, Martha Beck, Dr. Christiane Northrup……and so many more.

These people tell us to find our purpose and get busy living it. Now. And that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to manifest your purpose as a way to make your living. There are numerous ways to do what you love and to make your life meaning-full and full-filling.

Here are some ideas: Continue Reading »

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What does unconditional love have to do with business?

October 6, 2011 by MaryHH

“Unconditional love is not so much about how we receive and endure each other, as it is about the deep vow to never, under any condition, stop bringing the flawed truth of who we are to each other.”
- Mark Nepo

In order for any of us to truly offer and experience unconditional love in our hearts and in our lives, we first must begin with ourselves.

Unconditional love doesn’t involve radically accepting anything and everything as okay. Instead, it’s about honesty, self-love and authenticity. It means showing up in the world each and every day with all of who we are, not shrinking or hiding or changing ourselves to fit the innumerable expectations and demands around us. Continue Reading »

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Consumers more critical of cause marketing

September 23, 2011 by MaryHH

Great article from Marketing Today - good stuff!

Posted in Marketing 411 | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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