My Blog My Blog

How the Eisenhower Matrix Can Keep Your Projects on Track [My Experience]

Project Management
February 19, 2025/by
How the Eisenhower Matrix Can Keep Your Projects on Track In my early days as a solopreneur, I often drowned in an endless list of tasks (more often than I’d like.) Every item on my to-do list felt urgent, and I was constantly pulled in different directions. Yet, by the end of each day, I felt like the most critical stuff remained unattended. To put it lightly, I was frustrated with this pattern. Desperate for a solution, I stumbled across the Eisenhower Matrix, which teaches prioritizing like a president. Once I adopted it, things started changing. Using the Eisenhower Matrix in my day-to-day task planning didn’t just help me get more organized: it transformed my decision-making process. Over time, prioritizing like a pro has become second nature. I’ve been using the matrix for every decision I make — from making marketing plans and prioritizing my finances to chalking out and working toward my long-term goals. To help you put chaos behind you as I did, grab this free Eisenhower Matrix template and get started right away. If you want to understand how it all works, I’ve compiled a detailed guide on using the Eisenhower Matrix for better prioritization and decision-making. Table of Contents What is the Eisenhower Matrix? The Benefits of Using an Eisenhower Matrix How to Use an Eisenhower Matrix The Eisenhower Matrix Template Eisenhower Matrix Examples for Marketers Tips for...
Read Full Story

Media Mix Modeling: What It Is and How to Use It [+ Examples]

Media Planning
February 17, 2025/by
Media Mix Modeling: What It Is and How to Use It I’ve worked in digital marketing for over ten years and always look for ways to improve my marketing analysis and reporting. Having worked in leading digital agencies and my own multi-channel agency, media mix modeling (MMM) is paramount in my work. I co-founded an SEO and PPC agency with Leigh Buttrey, and we are dedicated to multi-channel marketing. She runs PPC, I run SEO, and we both know our work impacts the other. We also work closely with internal teams who have many other channels within their marketing media kit. When it comes to marketing, I’m sure we can all agree that an omnichannel approach is best. The challenge? Well, that’s in the analysis. We all know buyers rarely convert thanks to one media, but which media drives results? Well, that’s where media mix modeling comes into play. In this article, I explore media mix modeling (MMM), starting with its definition, framework, and examples of MMM in action. I reached out to marketers, sales professionals, and business owners using MMM in their marketing analyses. They share real-life anecdotes and tips to help you feel confident about MMM. Let’s get started. Table of Contents What is media mix modeling? Media Mix Modeling in Marketing Media Mix Modeling Framework Media Mix Modeling Examples Tips for Using Media Mix Modeling If...
Read Full Story

My Tips for Designing Great Website Imagery [With Canva, HubSpot, + 3 More Tools]

Design
February 17, 2025/by
My Tips for Designing Great Website Imagery I‘ve been designing images for websites for about seven years now, so I’ve come across many tools that make the process simple. If you want to create or incorporate compelling images into your brand‘s website for the first time and you’re not sure how you're in luck. In this post, I'll share my tips and favorite tools for designing website imagery that will make your site stand out and delight your visitors. Table of Contents What is website imagery? Types of Website Imagery Tips for Creating Great Website Imagery How I Use Canva for Website Imagery 5 Website Imagery Tools What is website imagery? Website imagery pertains to any visual elements on a website, such as illustrations, photos, videos, or graphics. It enhances a website's quality, experience, appeal, share information, and delight visitors. Types of Website Imagery In addition to the types of images I mentioned above, other kinds of website imagery are: Logos It would be an understatement to say that logos are important to your website. I‘d argue they’re crucial to building brand recognition, trust, and credibility. Denim company Levi‘s includes its logo in its website’s banner, and no matter where you click or scroll, the logo remains a constant presence. Levi‘s logo lets me, as a consumer, know that the website I’m visiting is legitimate, so I can trust I'm purchasing from the correct brand. Source Infographics...
Read Full Story

What Is a Risk Assessment? My Tips and Best Practices [+ Free Template]

Business Tools
February 15, 2025/by
What Is a Risk Assessment? My Tips and Best Practices No matter what you do for a living, you deal with all kinds of risks daily — whether it’s operational hiccups, financial uncertainty, or potential reputation hits. But it’s the unexpected curveballs you don't see coming, like a sudden cybersecurity breach or equipment failure, that really shake things up. Trust me; I’ve been there. That’s where a risk assessment comes in. With it, I can spot, analyze, and prioritize risks before they turn into full-blown problems. I can get ahead of the game, so that when the unexpected strikes, I already have a plan in place to keep things under control. In this guide, I’ll share tips for running a risk assessment in five easy steps. I’ll also feature a customizable template to help you sharpen your decision-making. Table of Contents What is a risk assessment? Purpose and Benefits of Risk Assessments When should you conduct a risk assessment? Types of Risk Assessments How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Your Business Free Risk Assessment Template What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment is a step-by-step process used to identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential risks to a business’s operations, safety, or reputation. It helps businesses understand the threats they face and determine how best to manage or reduce those risks. The risk assessment process involves identifying hazards,...
Read Full Story

What Is Digital Content? I Asked Experts What to Expect From It in 2025 — Here’s What They Said

Content Planning
February 15, 2025/by
What Is Digital Content? I Asked Experts What to Expect From It in 2025 — Here’s What They Said Ok, this has to be one of the most meta projects I’ve worked on: a piece of digital content about digital content — but, hey, it’s an important one. From toddlers to senior citizens, everyone today wields a mobile device. So much of our lives are spent staring at screens that very few can say they don’t consume digital content, whether they call it that or not. No one knows this better than modern marketers, but for those of you new to the field or looking for a refresher on what actually falls under the umbrella of digital content, I’m here to break it down. I’ll also share what some industry thought leaders predict digital content will look like next year. Table of Contents What is digital content? Types of Digital Content Importance of Digital Content How to Create Great Digital Content Examples of Great Digital Content What will digital content look like in 2025? (According to Experts) What is digital content? Simply put, digital content is any type of media used to reach and connect with an audience that is created, hosted, and distributed through the internet. Many people, like artists, digital creators, journalists, and media organizations, create digital content simply because it’s their offering; it’s a new medium for them to express themselves and communicate with others. However, businesses,...
Read Full Story

9 Advertising Trends to Watch in 2025 [New Data + Expert Insights]

Advertising
February 12, 2025/by
9 Advertising Trends to Watch in 2025 Advertising is an ever-changing beast — with those on ad and marketing teams working hard to stay ahead of trends. In 2024, we saw the expansion of AI in all forms of content, the rise of personalization, and continued use of short-form video. In 2025, advertisers will need to stay on top of trends, or their ad money won’t go as far. In this article, I’ll discuss upcoming advertising trends and how you can leverage these stats to increase engagement, value, and sales. Table of Contents Digital Advertising Trends in 2025 Social Media Advertising Trends in 2025 Other Emerging Advertising Trends in 2025 Digital Advertising Trends in 2025 While ad spending is forecasted to slow in 2025, it’s still predicted to increase in all categories except print. Teams will likely carry more responsibility for ad performance as companies tighten their budgets in anticipation of a recession. Knowing and using the latest trends to your advantage can help you get more value out of the money you spend on advertising this year. 1. Artificial Intelligence “One in four marketers plan to leverage using AI to turn text into multi-modal campaigns.”—HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing report In 2024, the HubSpot State of Marketing report found that 40% of companies have hired dedicated AI experts to support their marketing teams. This year’s report indicates that we’re using AI more and more as marketers — for brainstorming,...
Read Full Story

Content Mills Don‘t Work — Here’s Why

Content Planning
February 10, 2025/by
Content Mills Don‘t Work — Here’s Why Content mills: the corner of the internet where everyone's promised the moon, but most people are left in the dark. Writers are offered an opportunity to be nurtured by editors, build their writing skills, and develop a professional portfolio. Companies are promised quality work that's delivered quickly for a minimal investment. I don't think anyone comes out a winner in 90% of these arrangements. I know I lost when I wrote for a content mill ten years ago. Now with a freelance writing career and a book deal to my name, I see my time writing for content mills as a hazing period meant to induct me into the industry. Do quality content mills exist? Theoretically, yes (though it‘s hard to find good reviews to back any single company up). Let’s examine content mills from the perspective of both the content mill writers and the companies looking to buy these articles. You'll probably be surprised at what you find. Table of Contents What are content mills? How Content Mills Work Content Mills You Might've Heard Of The Problem with Content Mills Content Mills: What to Do Instead What are content mills? Content mills, or content farms, are businesses that hire a large team of freelance writers and pay them generally low wages to produce an enormous amount of content for clients. Businesses sometimes order...
Read Full Story

How to Harness B2B Influencer Marketing to Grow Your Brand

Influencer Marketing
February 10, 2025/by
How to Harness B2B Influencer Marketing to Grow Your Brand One of my favorite examples of influence is in the 2004 film Mean Girls. When the girls at North Shore High School see “queen bee” Regina George wearing army pants and flip-flops, they decide to do the same. It’s absurd but also entirely realistic. Whether we admit it or not, no one is immune to the power of influence. We all have those we look up to and listen to, even if subconsciously. That’s why B2B influencer marketing is nothing to scoff at. When you hear the word “influencer,” it’s not uncommon to think beauty bloggers and Instagram models, but the professional space is also ripe with impactful voices that can help B2B brands build brand awareness, boost engagement, earn trust, and ultimately close more business. But where do you find them and get them on board? Let’s unpack everything you need to know to harness the power of B2B influencer marketing in 2025. Table of Contents What is B2B influencer marketing? How to Build a B2B Influencer Strategy Examples of Great B2B Influencer Marketing Tips for B2B Influencer Marketing Success What is B2B influencer marketing? B2B influencer marketing is when businesses that sell to other businesses collaborate with thought leaders and respected figures in their space to promote their products or services. It can take many different...
Read Full Story

The Psychology of Short-Form Content: Why We Love Bite-Sized Videos

Video Marketing
February 10, 2025/by
The Psychology of Short-Form Content: Why We Love Bite-Sized Videos Let me tell you the most challenging part of my job. Often, I will delete TikTok and Instagram from my phone because I can't help but waste time endlessly scrolling through these apps, watching dozens of short-form videos in one sitting. And I’m not the only one. According to HubSpot’s 2025 Marketing Trends Report, visual storytelling is the new norm. Short-form video content leads the way, with 29.18% of marketers identifying it as the most used format and 21.02% citing it as delivering the highest ROI. So, why are short-form videos so popular? Turns out there are a few reasons, one of which involved a bit of psychology. Let's get into it! Table of Contents What are short-form videos? Why are short-form videos so popular? Why Brands Should Use Short-Form Video Content What are short-form videos? Short-form videos are videos that are less than 60 seconds in duration. However, some marketers and content creators agree that short-form videos can be up to 3 minutes. But, if you want my opinion, I would stick to the 60-second rule. I take this stance because attention spans are getting shorter, but we'll get into that later. Anyway, short-form videos deliver information in a digestible, bite-size format so viewers can quickly watch and bookmark the content if they're on the go or watch it multiple times. And, if you’re...
Read Full Story

Beyond the Golden Arches: How Two McDonald’s Marketers Win Gen Z

Uncategorized
February 4, 2025/by
Beyond the Golden Arches: How Two McDonald’s Marketers Win Gen Z 90% of the U.S. population has eaten at a McDonald's over the past year. Whether a Big Mac is your drunk go-to, or you like to bribe your kids with Happy Meals on long car rides, the point holds: McDonald‘s is one of the most popular and long-lasting brands we’ve got. We all take it for granted. Except maybe we shouldn't. There‘s a reason McDonald’s ranks among the top 10 most magnetic brands for Gen Z — surpassing Sephora, NFL, and Starbucks. And it's not the nostalgia factor… At least, not entirely. To get to the bottom of this, I sat down with two experts — Anna Engel, Director of brand, content, and culture at McDonald‘s, and Nathaniel Gaynor, Brand marketing manager at McDonald’s — whose full-time job is to make McDonald’s cool to Gen Zers. Lesson 1: Marketing should be symbiotic. Engel thinks of campaign elements — whether it's a new food item, a digital campaign element, or a social media post — as “ingredients.” Of course she does. And what she loves about Gen Z is how they‘ve created a symbiotic relationship with McDonald’s campaign “ingredients”. Engel‘s team doesn’t just create content for Gen Z. Gen Z creates content for them, too. As Engel told me, Gen Zers often take brand ingredients and “create something new with them — that's what excites us and motivates us,” she says. “For instance, they might create a narrative...
Read Full Story