June 2023 is the first month where I feel like things are finally "back to normal". Companies are looking to invest in marketing efforts again, leads are actively asking for proposals, and different opportunities are popping up here and there.
Overall, that's great news. But it's also the best time to really think about where I want my business to go and be selective in what I take up and do. This month, I have not only continued to invest in things that have proven to work in the past 2.5 years but also taken new steps to create a new path for attaining a new business vision.
1) Invest in partnerships
I have never believed in one-off KOL/influencer engagements. The impact of having your brand associated with an ambassador once is minimal. It's hard to grow trust, the relationship is shallow, and neither of the participants' audiences care enough to recall. Therefore, although I'm open to working with different organizations, I stick with the ones that truly click.
Green Tomato Academy is one of those partners. We've only met in person twice, but there was so much commonality between our beliefs, vision, and preferences. It's my pleasure to be involved and recognized as their instructor and to host their very first content marketing-related online seminar in June.
What I particularly enjoy is that they value "post-match" reviews as much as I do. We align on our goals and assess results straight after the seminar is done. It was such a boost for me to hear that the insights I've shared in the hour-long seminar were completely new to the audience. Given that there are so many AI workshops happening, it means a lot to receive that feedback. What's amazing is that this is just the first step – I will be hosting a 6-hour workshop on AI with them in the upcoming month! And I promise there's more exciting things to come.
2) Continue to educate others
The Cocoon Foundation is another partner that I value a lot. I've been their mentor for various programs in the past 2.5 years and will continue to contribute in the future. This month, we visited Chiu Lut Sau Memorial Secondary School, and the experience was amazing. The students were highly engaged in my sharing, and I was honored to see so many of them stay behind to ask me questions that were highly important and personal to them.
3) Explore new clients and work opportunities
Last but not least, I've been super busy this month. I was working overtime for several days, finishing a large handful of content creation for new clients. To be honest, I haven't been creating so much content (apart from for my own business) for a fairly long time. In the first year, all of the content execution was delegated to my teamlancing members. This year, with the introduction of AI, there was a lot of test-and-learn that I wanted to experiment with myself.
Apart from client work, it's also my very first time to apply for tenders on my own. When I was a full-time content director, I had account managers go through submission forms, and all I had to do was generate the overview of the content plan and have content creators fill in the blanks. But as a solopreneur now, all the work falls on me. To be honest, it is quite demanding – however, having the opportunity to submit my ideas to big organizations is evidence that my business is growing and gaining a new level of recognition.
And with this month's revelation, I am reminded once again of the true value and what I love to do the most within the realm of content marketing, which is consultation and strategy. Hence, I have released the all-new Fractional CMO service and have already pitched it to a potential client. This is going to open completely new doors for me, as it would be a level up on a personal level and a new revenue stream for the business. Hopefully, next month, I would be able to share some good news and have attained a more varied range of clients!
- Joyce
