A very exciting thing happened to me today!

Fresh Look Event Management my event planning company has been nominated for the
Wedding Industry Experts 2013 Awards under Best Wedding Planner!
I would LOVE your help!

Please vote once every 24 hours until April 26, 2013

Thank you so much!!!

VOTE HERE: http://www.weddingindustryexperts.com/votes/sYkb8HJXV.html

This weekend I attending the Marketing Your Small Business Event hosted by Entrepreneur Mom Now Edmonton. I was delighted not only at what I learned from the panel but also from what I learned from other women and the continued networking on social media that followed.

If you have the opportunity to participate in an event that will help build you as a business woman, connect you with like minded people and get you involved in your community I strongly suggest you take advantage of what there is to offer!

Here are some of the fabulous pointers I learned from Saturdays Event (Details can be found here)

• You are a walking talking advertisement for your business
• Marketing is composed of product, place (online or storefront), price & promotion – Advertising falls under promotion but it is only a small piece of the whole puzzle.
• You want to have people talking about how fabulous you are rather than just yourself telling people how fabulous you are.
• Know who your target market is. Where do they go? What do they talk about? Make sure your product is placed where your target market will be. For example I’m a wedding planner – I want high end weddings so I need to place myself in high end cupcake stores, high end florists, high end bridal boutiques.
• Figure our your brand and what makes you stand out
• When planning on doing advertisements look at your budget for the whole year and determine where that money should be spent. This will allow you to determine where your funds should be spent and get the most return.
• If you are on twitter try to post 3 times a day – 9am, 1pm & 6pm. Sunday at 9pm also seems like a busy time to be on twitter.
• Twitter gives you automatic feedback on your content.
• Participate in TweetUps! There were ladies in the room that met only because of attending a tweet up!
• When sending a media release paste it into the body of the email do not attach it. You will have a better chance of it being viewed by the recipient this way.
• Before an event you should start promoting it 4-6 weeks in advance
• DON’T GIVE UP!
• For social media do calendar mapping – Figure out what you are going to post that will keep your audience engaged and map it on a calendar so you are consistent with your use of social media.
• Check out Make Something Edmonton Video
• Check out Capital Ideas YEG

The points do bounce a little over everything but overall each point is valid and should be considered. When you attend these events make sure to get involved because you can ask questions that directly relate to your business, brand and marketing.

Thank you to Entrepreneur Mom Now Edmonton for putting together such a fabulous event!

If you want to participate in their next event make sure to follow them on Facebook because that is how I learned about Marketing Your Small Business Event!

xoxo Jen

Are you a thank you note writer?

Tiny Prints 40% Off Thank You Cards!

If not, you should be. Thank you notes are a powerful way of expressing gratitude. They are the longest lasting way of saying “thank you” (OK, outside of giving someone a permanent tattoo in their sleep…but that never works).

Either way, you can get a great deal on stylish, personalized thank you notes from Tiny Prints today. They are selling all of their more than 1700 designs for 40% off…for less than 24 hours. The deal is only good from 10:00am Pacific Time today through 8:59am Pacific Time tomorrow.

They have perfect designs for graduates to say thanks, thanking people for Easter gifts, for kids, for parents, for business, for literally every occasion. And you get to personalize them by adding your own text, choosing your font, and even uploading your own pictures if you choose. So check them out now and use the promo code DEAL0404 to save 40%.

xoxo Jen

I have recently come across a FABULOUS boutique called Southern Swank and I have seriously fallen in love with their style and prices! Southern Swank offers affordable boutique style clothing that are styled fabulously so you can really visual how these items will look together. These are all the items you are seeing floating around pinterest but are unable to find them in stores. Make sure to follow them on facebook because they regularly post new items!

Get Connected with Southern Swank Boutique
website & facebook

Hot Mama’s Favourite Southern Swank Style:

Happy Shopping! xoxo Jen