Posted on by Camellia's Cottage · 4 Comments

Walk the Path of Gratitude…

Hello,

I hope you’re doing wonderfully well as we transition from Fall to Winter Holiday Season! No matter where I am- woodland, backroads, seaside or urban, it’s an important exercise for me to Walk the Path of Gratitude. Gratitude is the great attitude adjustment for me.​
. I’m thankful for a holiday dedicated to gratitude, a time to express it among family and friends. Which I thoroughly enjoyed. As Thanksgiving comes to a golden close, let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude for you here in my happy place!
I’m grateful for your kind and encouraging words. I love sharing with you. Your comments lift my spirits when they need it, you make me laugh and laugh with me. Perhaps most important- what you say and do make me Think. Think in new and different ways, think more deeply and thoughtfully.
I’m thankful for the cheerleaders (never discount these folks because they make our day and also count toward engagement which is the best!) I’m grateful for your support. Those who’ve coached me or allowed me to support them in some way.

I truly enjoy having a supporting role. It is in that supporting role that I write my newsletter, post on social media and have created my course. Those who are currently in my course are a huge inspiration to me! I’m so grateful you’ve taken a chance on me and what I’m sharing with you! You All inspire me!

Before this gets too long and drawn out- I’m grateful that you show up in inspiring ways. You all have different talents and gifts. Here’s what I think about that.
.If you have something exquisitely unique- don’t hide it away collecting dust. Share it with others who need you.

You never know who you may inspire to go a bit farther, to keep on trying, to start showing up with their own beautiful remarkable gifts.

Love y’all, Brenda

If you need help sharing your exquisitely unique gifts or talents- I’d love to help! My online course is available at launch price until January 2023. *If you know someone who may enjoy this blog or may want to ‘Grow and Learn’ Feel Free to pass this along! January is considered the Best Month to Learn and Grow!

*For those who are currently taking the course or have finished, there are several new segments added! The course is being updated right now!

I’m Brenda Wyatt- Creator of ‘Be Unforgettable’ online marketing course- if you or someone you may know think this could help you- Click here for ‘Be Unforgettable’ Beginner’s Guide to Visual Marketing:

https://camellia-s-cottage-blog.mykajabi.com/about-course: Walk the Path of Gratitude…

all the best! Follow me on Instagram @brendawyatt_ for more tips on marketing!

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage

What is Visual Marketing? The Art of Visual Story and more..

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Hello!

If you’re new here, so thankful to have you with us! As you may have noticed the seasons are definitely changing! And what that means is that we are entering Fall and Winter Holiday Season! New Colors, New Designs. New Images. New Content to Write. New Marketing efforts! Did I hear a groan? Yes, I know. And I also know this- Visual Marketing is the best way to do it all!

The question recently was asked- What is Visual Marketing? Well, the short answer is that Visual Marketing is the Art of Visual Storytelling. Your Brand Colors. Your Products and Images. Your Designs. The way you Market what you offer. Your Written Content all add up to a Visual Story that has an energy that only you can offer! It takes all 5 of those components! Is this new? Not really, it’s just that if you focus on just one aspect, you may not be getting the word out there in a way that makes folks want to make a decision or purchase your products. Remember the statistics- 600% recall what they See! 20% recall of what they Read! 300% will make a Purchasing Decision with Visual plus Compelling Content! (there’s the sweet spot!) And that blend is known as Visual Marketing! Visual Storytelling is the best way to sell your Products and Services! Let me give you an example:

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Let me tell you a story: .Marc and Robert lived in Paris and had been friends from childhood. Both had a brilliant creative parent. . Marc’s father was a famous glassmaker who crafted jewelry, vases, chandeliers and even glass hood ornaments- for very expensive cars.. .Robert’s mother was a famous fashion designer- beautiful soft and feminine clothing. .Marc’s father was Rene Lalique, yes of the famous Lalique Glass. .Robert’s mother was a famous fashion designer- beautiful soft and feminine clothing. .Marc’s father was Rene Lalique, yes of the famous Lalique Glass. Robert’s mother was Nina Ricci. .Nina Ricci and her son Robert decided that a signature fragrance would be added to the fashion design business. Robert would be in charge. The scent would go on to be one of the top 5 fragrances in the 20th century. World War 2 had ended. Folks were getting married in record numbers. This fragrance would be worn by countless brides and beautiful ladies. The blend of roses, iris, gardenias and carnations won their hearts. Grooms were ready for peace and hope. .Robert hired his friends Rene and Marc to design the fragrance bottle- they designed the top with 2 doves and a rising sun as a sign of peace. The box which housed the parfum was a soft yellow trimmed with pure white. . The name of the fragrance is L’ Air du Temps (love fills the air) and was worn as a sign of Hope. It was released in 1948. .This fragrance was still highly prized and worn by those same war brides and their daughters… so what sold the fragrance? . The colors? The bottle design? The way it was displayed? The Name? the creative Blend? the Story? . I sold it. It was all of the above. That’s what visual marketing is! .It’s that amazing blend of color, design, beautiful images and thoughtful displays and oh my yes- the Unforgettable Story!

That’s the Power of Visual Marketing- it’s the art of Visual Storytelling with Color Values, Good Design, Wonderful Images, Compelling Written Content and Basic Marketing Principles.

As you plan your posts- remember to tell those Stories! Use Color to speak their language. Use great images, be aware of the lighting you use. Make sure you aren’t using too many templates and collages, they often confuse the eye with too many images to focus on. If you use a lot of colorful images, be sure to add space- my favorite way to do this is to add White Space as a Quote with simple Fonts! Also, it’s worth noting now that the best holiday prices are before Black Friday- so plan those discounts now!.

I hope your upcoming Seasonal and Holiday Marketing efforts are now in the planning stage and you’ve got some great ideas to showcase your products and services! And while you’re at it- go ahead and plan those Holiday Gift Guides! I can’t wait to see the images you share, the colors you choose and those amazing stories I’m sure to read! All the Best.

Love y’all, Brenda

Creator of ‘Be Unforgettable’ Online Marketing Course

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage

Everyday won’t be Your Favorite Day…

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Hello!

I hope your week is going well! Can you feel the shift in seasons yet? When the temperature dips a few degrees, I think- Oh, it’s almost here!’ Fall is one of my favorite seasons. So is Spring. Yet, not every day of those seasons turns out to my ‘Favorite Day’. I read an article in Inc. com by Joe Procopio entitled ‘This is What Startup Burnout Looks Like’

Am I Burnt Out, no, I’m not, yet I have experienced these things. What Joe talked about was profound and true. He said:

It had stopped being fun a while ago… Not Everyday is Going to Be Your Favorite.’ Joe Procopio

If you have a business or are dreaming of one. This will always be true. Mr. Procopio continued his story. One thing he said made so much sense.

‘After every success, big or small, in business or otherwise, there’s an immediate period of letdown equal in proportion to the magnitude of the work it took to get there.’ Joe Procopio (emphasis is mine)

It took a year to create my online course– even though folks ‘who knew’ said it would only take 90 days! Nope. I had to learn more technology than I ever thought it would take. I’m a Plodder when it comes to something I believe in! And believe in my course? I certainly do! I also know my ‘Why’. I love small businesses, artists and creatives. With 30+ years in Retail, doing everything from running my own shop, selling at wholesale, working with trunk shows and with large corporate stores in fashion, fragrance and even Home and Garden Shops- I Knew I had Knowledge to share.

Then, came launch time… the success of an actual finished course was followed by the dread of getting it off the ground. I had a plan. And the plans couldn’t begin until I started posting about the Course! I am thrilled some folks agreed to become Founding Members and the first ones through were testers. Incredibly helpful people, I’ll be forever grateful to them! For the time they’ve taken and tips they’ve given me to make it even better going forward. Still, that part was harder than I had expected. Why? Because, I had focused so long and hard to get it written, videoed, uploaded and the framework it takes to develop an online course- when it was done? It felt sort of like a letdown.

And, this- We count the cost of doing business in terms of the outlay of cash it takes to do business. That’s a Known. What is almost never counted in the cost is the mindset, the emotions, the errors, the commitment, the underlying feeling of doubt- even the ‘heart and soul’ it takes to keep things going. Truth? That’s part of the real Cost of doing business.

What about you?

  • Have you created a painting, a piece of jewelry, a course or created something else you’ve invested your heart in? Then, thought –
  • I’m not liking what I have to do now? To put myself out there.
  • Or Doubts arise. I’m too old, who will listen to me? I’m too young, I don’t have enough experience. U don’t have enough followers. Then…
  • Letdown occurs. This is what I’ve been struggling with? Is this all it is?

Now that my course has Students going through, it’s a thrill. Still, my course is just now in Launch. As I was about to launch, I knew the drill- the first order of business was to get my mindset in the right place!

Then, I was asked to participate in a pilot program- basically about Mindset. This was extremely important for me. One suggestion was to make a Vision Board, something I hadn’t done in years. Was the board about my goals for my course- actually there was only one portion on the board about that. Most of the rest? was about creating jobs. Yes, you read that right! Add in a few were personal dreams. And one was to make sure-

I surrounded my inner circle with Balcony People (another time, another newsletter). I also went back through some updated segments of an Online Course I began in 2019. And! I stepped up how many podcasts, newsletters, masterclasses I took. In case you’re wondering, I truly believe in Online Learning, Podcasts and more!

Why? because I get to share some of that with you! This week, I realized some things I could do to define myself better as a whole and not just part of what I do. I hope you’ll do that too.

Finally, Joe Procopio says: ‘..I was free of the remorse of tying my self-worth (to his business). ‘…I was now doing it for the reasons I started doing it in the first place… and to launch that rocket as high as it would go.’

What great advice! We aren’t Human Doings- We are Human Beings after all. If you’re struggling now, go back to your ‘why’ and make a list of your ‘reasons’.

It might not be your favorite day everyday- yet I can attest to the fact that the Favorite Days are there and if you know and see the Letdown Days creeping up on you? You’ll be better at picking yourself up, dusting off your list of the ‘whys’ and ‘the reasons’. After all, those are your best tour guides.

Love y’all Brenda

I hope you’ll take time to check out online learning while you’re doing your unique kind of business, and of course, I hope you’ll take a look at my Online Course –

Be Unforgettable Beginner’s Guide to Visual Marketinghttps://camellia-s-cottage-blog.mykajabi.com/about-course I’d love to have you there!

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage · 11 Comments

7 Easy Marketing Tips…

Working on my newsletter a few weeks ago, I realized I wanted to share part of it with you! It’s the short version of 7 Easy Marketing Tips. No one knows your business better than you do. Yet, most don’t really like the marketing part of business. Okay, this isn’t one of the 7 Tips yet may be the most important thing- Change your Mind from ‘seller’ to Becoming a Trusted Resource. How? Here’s 7 Easy Ways:

  1. Put together Gift Guides, not just seasonally or for holidays. These really work all year round. You can get started with Mother’s Day which is in a few weeks in the U.S.
  2. Offer Ideas- all. the. time. Let’s say you sell perishable flowers, offer ideas for extending blooms or a pretty vintage container. I sold fashion on straight commission for years, yet I walked my customer over to the shoe or accessory department and made a few ideas before turning her over to an associate there. This really works!
  3. Offer Gift Certificates. Product or Service based businesses should offer these year round. If someone has come to your site and looked around? Well, you could always make sure they know you offer Gift Certificates.
  4. When I worked for international fragrance companies, we offered a Gift with Purchase at holidays, yet we always added samples– all. year. round. Now what does that mean for other things? Well, if you’re a baker: Offer a simple recipe for compound butter or easy frosting. I know artists who have notecards with a print of their art. Often, these are inserted in with the purchase or used for…
  5. Stay in Touch with your existing customers! A simple note or email- ‘just checking in’ or ‘so good to have seen you’, a sincere ‘thinking of you’ goes a long way to building that personalized shopping experience. Which brings me to this:
  6. Provide Value. What does that mean? It really means- ‘Add Convenience.’ A length of ribbon, a small gift tag, simple gift wrap or a tiny surprise that adds joy to the shopping experience.
  7. The All Important 5 B’s – Be Memorable. Be Consistent. Be Informative. Be Kind. Be Grateful. Let’s face it everyone wants information and inspiration yet, ‘Thank You’ goes a long way, no matter what you do, create or sell!

Hope this help if you are marketing…anything! Love y’all, Brenda

*My gift to you is a free newsletter! If you think this is something you could use, email me at brenda@brenda-wyatt.com I’ll be glad to add you to my list! And! What do I market? Well, after 30+ years as a Retail Specialist, I’m offering an online course all about Visual Marketing, if you think this is something use, I’d love to have you join. I’m so grateful you’re here and it’s impressive when anyone writes a blog, builds a small business or offers great services! You will have lifetime access to it, even as it’s updated. It’s 5 mini courses in one course and you can find it through this link; https://camellia-s-cottage-blog.mykajabi.com/about-course-copy-1-ed7ee1ac-4438-4133-968b-ffee43106f2b The Name of it is: Be Unforgettable- Beginner’s Guide to Visual Marketing