The second week of my portfolio project is nearly at an end! Here’s what I’ve done overall so far:
- Identified three local businesses on which to focus my attention: The Monk’s Cellar, Infusion Taphouse, and DarkHeart Brewing.
- Performed an analysis of each company’s digital marketing, broken down their outreach, and identified areas for improvement in this blog post.
- Sent a customized offer of service to two of the companies from my analysis post.
- Explored Mailchimp’s service and detailed how to use their templates for marketing emails, which I’ve documented here.
- Read up on copywriting tips and covered the topic in a blog post.
How I Did It
This week has been a challenge. The limited free time following an out-of-state trip meant that I had a very short amount of time to dedicate to my marketing project.
In order to best leverage the time I did have, I was sure to shut out all possible distractions: I shut down all personal social media windows and apps, placed my phone face down on a shelf 10 feet from my workspace, and I wore headphone to help myself focus on the tasks at hand.
Consistently, I spend around 3 hours each evening after work and as much as 8 hours each Saturday working on tasks related to the project. Being out of town this Saturday, I only put in a quarter of the normal time.
I have kept track of tasks I need to complete by a combination of a digital calendar on my phone and a physical notebook I keep on my desk (my primary workspace for this project).
What I’ve Learned So Far
I’ve thrown myself straight into the deep end with this project and, though treading water at first, I am swiftly gaining the skills to stay afloat and to hold my breath long enough for a deep dive.
I don’t have any direct experience with marketing prior to beginning this project. Now I have learned the basic structure of a marketing funnel, how to create a marketing email, write much more effective copy, make an offer of service to a prospective customer, and recognize and address ineffective social media marketing.
What’s Next
Next week is Week 3 of the Portfolio Project and it’s where things kick into high gear:
I will begin by learning more about Mailchimp’s capabilities; this will be something I continue throughout the week in addition to the rest of my tasks. I will also continue absorbing good copywriting habits and demonstrate my understanding of them by writing prospective outreach posts for each of the major digital outreach avenues (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email). In conjunction with this, I will be creating a list of offers for the company’s products and promotions aimed at increasing customer social media engagement and publicity.
All of this will be documented via video tutorials and blog posts that detail what I’ve learned and how they are effective tools for the marketing campaign. I couldn’t be more excited about adding to my set of skills, and this week is going to stretch me and test me in that regard like no other week.