If you’ve been stumbling around the internet trying to compile resources for learning how to market your creative business, I’ve got you covered. I’ve compiled 101 FREE blog posts, videos and downloads that’ll make promoting your business a lot easier.
Basics
1. Do You Really Need to Spend Time on Marketing?: If you’re wondering whether or not you really need to invest big chunks of time on marketing, read this post.
2. Why You Need a Marketing Plan + Basic Steps to Put One Together: If you know that you need help with marketing but you don’t know where to start, this post will help.
3. Find Your Great Big Why: If you don’t know why you do what you do, every part of the marketing process is going to feel like a struggle. Kris helps you figure it all out in this post.
Target Market and Ideal Customer
4. How to REALLY Find Your Target Market: Have you heard the term ‘target market’ but still don’t know how to figure out who your target market is? This post is for you.
5. How to Easily Get to Know Your Ideal Customer: Still trying to figure out how to connect with your ideal customer? This post includes a valuable shortcut.
6. 7 Tactics to Help You Get to Know Your Ideal Customer: More strategies to get to know your ideal customer.
7. How to Define Your Target Audience and Why You Need To: This post walks you through the step by step process of defining your target market.
8. Are You Selling to the Wrong People?: If you’re struggling to sell your products, it might be that you haven’t gotten them in front of the right people.
9. How to Position Your Product to Sell: If you have a great product but it’s not selling, you need to watch this video.
10. How to Create a Deep Connection with Your Prospects and Customers: If you feel like a lack of connection is your problem, read this post.
11. What if My Customers Aren’t All the Same? How Do I Appeal to Multiple Targets?: If you’re asking these questions, you need to read this today.
12. The Psychology of Your Customers: Learn about the different types of customers visiting your website.
Website Design and Branding
13. The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Website: This is the BEST website planning resource I’ve ever found. It’s by the lovely Amanda Creek.
14. No You Can’t Just Use Your Favorite Colors On Your Website!: If you’re in the process of choosing your brand colors, you need to read this post.
15. How To Plan Your Website Using Wireframes: Another information-packed post by Amanda Creek that will make designing your website much easier.
16. Moving from WordPress.com to WordPress.org: It’s important to own your website. If you’re thinking about moving from the free WordPress platform to owning your site, this post will help.
17. 6 Key Elements of a Perfect Logo: If you’re currently designing (or redesigning) your logo, you should check this out.
18. 5 Types of Logos to Incorporate in Your Brand: Another helpful post on logos.
19. How to Utilize an Inspiration Board to Design a Consistent Brand: This is a super fun part of the branding and designing process.
20. How to Choose a Color Scheme When You’re Not a Designer: Feeling overwhelmed with all the color options? Read this post to help you make the best decision for your brand.
21. Five Tips for Improving the User Experience on Your Website: Your website is your online home and you want it to be as user-friendly as possible.
22. What You’re Paying for When You Hire a Designer: Thinking about hiring a website designer? Read this.
23. 10 Things About Your Site That Will Make Me Cringe: If you have a high bounce rate, you might be making one of these mistakes.
24. 10 Commandments of Business Card Design: Read this post before designing your business cards.
Blogging
25. 52 Blog Post Topics for Creative Entrepreneurs: Fill up your content calendar with these ideas.
26. Quick and Powerful Ways to Improve Your Blog: Four creative entrepreneurs share tips on improving your blog.
27. A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Blog: If you want to start a blog but you have absolutely no idea where to begin, check this out.
28. 50 More No-Fluff, Content-Rich Blog Post Ideas: Even more ideas to help you fill up your content calendar.
29. 30 Ways to Look Like a Blogging Pro (And, Not a Newbie): Afraid that you’re giving off that newbie vibe? Read this post to learn how to become a blogging pro.
30. How to Develop Your Blogging Voice: If your blog posts lack that oomph of personality, check out this post for tips.
31. 10 Most Frequently Asked Blogging Questions Answered: Have a question about blogging? You’ll probably find your answer in this post.
32. Is Blogging Dying?: Mayi Carles answers the question that lots of entrepreneurs are currently asking.
33. You’re Not too Busy to Blog: Why you should stop making excuses and get to work.
34. What to Do When Blogging Feels Like Pulling Teeth: Have you skipped your last couple of blog posts because it’s no longer fun? Read this.
35. 8 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself for Blogging Success: You need a solid blogging foundation to succeed.
Email Marketing
36. Your Step-by-Step Email Marketing Strategy Guide: It includes a free checklist!
37. The Email that Always Generates Sales: Use this email marketing idea to make money today.
38. How and Why to Create a Free Resource Library as Your Opt-In Freebie: If you’re a service-based entrepreneur trying to figure out your email opt-in freebie, check this post out.
39. 10 Clever Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your Email List: Wondering how to use social media to get more email subscribers? Look no further.
40. 10 Ways to Get Better at Email Marketing: This is great for newbies and beyond.
41. How I Grew My Email List To 5,000 Subscribers In 6 Months: Such an inspiring example of how you can grow your email list faster than you think.
42. Are You Overthinking Your Email Campaigns?: Email marketing isn’t rocket science.
43. 6 Strategic Ways to Actually Make Money with Your Email List: Wondering how to convert your email subscribers into customers? Read this post.
Copywriting
44. Your Writing Process Matters. Stop the Cage Match: If you try to do every writing step (outlining, writing the rough draft, editing, revising, publishing) at once, you need to read this.
45. The Ultimate Copy Checklist: 51 Questions to Optimize Every Element of Your Online Copy: Such a great resource for copywriting.
46. Five Well-Written Copywriting Examples: If you feel like you need some real life examples of well-written copy, you’ll find them here.
47. Make This One Change to Inject Sizzle Into Your Writing: Instead of trying to change everything about your writing, make this one change and see immediate results.
48. What It Means To Find Your Voice: You’ve probably heard the writing advice that you need to ‘find your voice.’ What does that really mean? Found out here.
49. The Shocking Truth About Writer’s Block: You might not want to hear this but you need to hear this.
50. How to Stop Writing With a Stick Up Your Ass: I mean…this title pretty much says it all.
51. Better to Be a Mouse With a Backbone, Than a Lion With No Spine: On Writing Voice: One of my favorite bloggers of all time.
52. How to Immediately Become a More Productive (and Better) Writer: This will help in all areas of your business.
53. How to Use the ‘Rule of Three’ to Create Engaging Content: It’s all about quality over quantity.
54. Help! My Elevator Pitch is Falling (Seriously) Flat Chested: Ashley does it again with this witty (and super helpful) post.
Video
55. 10 Tips to Improve Your Videos When You’re First Starting Out: If you’re new to video, this post will help you improve immediately.
56. Why You Should Use Video to Promote Your Business: If you’ve been thinking about adding video to your marketing to-do list, this will help push you over the edge.
Social Media
57. 10 Tips to Double Your Instagram Followers in 30 Days: Grow your following on Instagram with these tips.
58. How to Make the 2016 Instagram Algorithm Changes Work for Your Biz: Worried that changes to Instagram will derail your marketing goals? Check out this post to make sure that doesn’t happen.
59. 5 Mistakes You’re Making on Instagram and How to Fix Them: Read this post to avoid Instagram blunders.
60. 100 Creatives to Follow on Instagram: Artists, Writers, Photographers, Crafters, Designers: Looking for other creatives to follow on Instagram? Look no further.
61. 6 Hashtags for Sharing Creative Work on Instagram: Wondering what hashtags you should be using? Danielle provides some great ideas.
62. 5 Steps to Getting Started on Periscope: Periscope is a great platform to connect with your audience in a raw and authentic way. Get started today.
63. How to Use Facebook to Market Your Creative Business: Why you should NOT delete your Facebook page and how to use it to promote your business.
64. How to Make Your Etsy Shop More Pin Friendly: If you sell on Etsy, you should make sure that browsers can easily pin your items.
65. The 7 Essential Elements of Effective Social Media Marketing: A must-read on social media.
66. 10 Social Media Don’ts: You don’t want to be making these mistakes on social media.
Photography
67. Product Photography for Beginners: Feel like the main reason you’re not selling much is because your product photos need work? Check out this helpful video on Etsy.
68. What Kind of Photographer Are You?: Figuring out what kind of photographer you are will help you become a better photographer. (And, quizzes are so much fun!)
69. 21-Day Photography Challenge: Improve your product photos with this 21-day challenge.
70. 20 Must Have Photos For Your Creative Business: Pick a day to batch these must-have photos and then you’ll have lots to choose from for your blog and social media platforms.
71. Four Ways to Organize Your Blog Images Fast: Do you have to wade through hundreds of pictures to find the right ones for your blog and social media? Get organized with this post.
72. DIY Photo Light Box: If you don’t have great sources of natural light or need to take your product photos in the evening, you might want to make a light box.
73. My Favorite Photo Props and Top 10 Places to Buy Them: If you’re looking to build a ‘prop library’ for your product and social media photos, you’ll get lots of ideas in this post.
74. Ten Holiday Photos To Take For Your Business: If you’re a product-based business, the holidays are probably one of your busiest seasons. Prepare early by taking these must-have holiday photos.
75. Death to the Stock Photo: A great place to get FREE stock photography if you’re in a pinch.
Creative Marketing Ideas
76. 21 Creative Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Business: If you’re in a marketing rut, check out this post for creative ways to promote your creative business.
77. How to Self-Promote Without Feeling Pucky or Being Annoying (20 Ideas Up For Grabs): Mayi Carles shares 20 marketing ideas that actually feel good!
78. 5 Tips for Landing Your First Speaking Engagement: Speaking is a great way to get your name in front of large groups of people. This post will help you land your first gig.
79. 12 Tips to Bring The House Down at Your Next Speaking Engagement: Once you land your first (or next) speaking engagement, you want to make the most of that opportunity.
80. How to Achieve Expert Status by Getting Published on a Major Website: If you’ve been wondering how you can get BIG websites to feature or publish your work, read this post.
81. How to Use Bonuses to Turn More People Into Customers: I’m a huge fan of bonuses. This post will show you how to use them to make more money.
82. Why Before and After Pictures Convert So Well: Have a business that before and after pictures can work for? This is why you should be using them.
83. How to Increase Sales by 300% with a Persuasive Guarantee: Along with 39 scripts that you can copy today.
Customer Service
84. How to Turn Down a Customer or Client Politely: Worried that if you say no to a customer that she’ll be gone forever or talk bad about you? Read this post to make sure that doesn’t happen.
85. 5 Tips for Improving Client Communication: The better your customer service, the more likely you’ll get referrals.
86. What You Can Learn From My Poor Customer Service Experiences: You don’t want to repeat these customer service mistakes.
87. Why You Should Go the Extra Mile For Your Clients: You want to make your clients feel like VIPs.
SEO
88. 7 Steps to Optimize Images on Your Website: If you’re not considering your images apart of your SEO plan, you need to start now.
89. What Is a Meta-Description and How to Write One: This post goes through some SEO basics that everyone should know.
90. What Is a Title Tag and How to Write One: Another must-read on SEO.
91. How to Use and Research Keywords: Keywords are the basis of SEO.
92. Basic Etsy SEO: Danielle from The Merriweather Council knows her stuff when it comes to Etsy. Want to get found selling on Etsy? Read this.
93. 3 Etsy SEO Myths: If you’re selling on Etsy, you need to check this out.
94. Why I Don’t Care About SEO: Should you really put time and effort into SEO? Find out here.
Pricing
95. How Your Prices Affect Your Business More Than You Think: You may not realize it, but pricing is a HUGE part of marketing. Make sure you’re doing it right.
96. Why You Can’t Charge What Your Products Are Worth: If you know that your products are worth much more than you’re currently charging but you feel like you can’t raise your prices, you need to read this today.
97. Your Guide to Pricing Information Products with Moxie and Confidence: Information products are one of the hardest types of products to price because you don’t have a base cost (of time and materials), but this video will make it easier.
98. Do Lower Prices Lead to More Sales?: If you’re thinking about lowering your prices to increase your sales, read this first.
Marketing Mistakes
99. 10 Reasons Your Marketing Efforts Aren’t Working: If you want to drown in a gallon of mint chocolate chip because your marketing efforts aren’t paying off, this post if for you.
100. The 10 Marketing Mistakes You Need to Stop Making Immediately: Learn how to stop doing the things that are turning off your target market.
101. Stop Wasting Your Marketing Budget on This: If you’re spending most of your marketing budget on this, you’re making a big mistake.
You look SOOOOOO cute on this picture OMG! And this resource. I LOVEEE IT! This is been bookmarked right now to play with it this weekend 🙂
THANK YOU. You sure know how to make a girl feel good. 🙂
Thank you so much! Will be sharing this.
You’re so welcome! Thanks for sharing.
That’s what we’ve all been waiting for! Great posting!
This is awesome! Thanks so much for pulling all this info together so it’s in one place. I love having the freedom of running my own business and coaching and leading retreats and I know that value of what I offer but sometimes I forget that I have to share that information and not just keep it in my head. Great resources and love the blog. Thanks again!
You’re so welcome! Yes…Cathy you definitely need to share what’s in you head with all of us. 🙂
Well, I’m just gonna go ahead and block out my entire afternoon. Thanks, this is great!
Hahahahaha…..YES!
Thanks for including my posts in your resource list!
Of course! Thanks for writing such amazing blog posts. 🙂
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
How amazing is this? Can’t wait to get off work and start going through this!
You’re so very welcome! 🙂
Awesome list April! I’m going to be sharing a lot of these with my clients. Love, love, love your photo on the post. You are super cute! 🙂
Dana Lynn Thompson recently posted..One simple way to help your body deal with stress
YAY! Thanks for sharing with your clients. (And, thanks for the compliment…that makes my day!)
My tabs have miraculously multiplied in the matter of seconds! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing some of my recent posts, but more importantly thank you for putting this whole thing together. I’m definitely bookmarking some of these (like the ones to up my customer service because I’d love to make it the most luxurious thing ever), and the posts about guest posting (because we both know I need to be doing that!).
You’re the best, April!
Amanda Creek recently posted..Still in your jammies? You need to meet five of my fave business bloggers.
Hahahahahahaha…you know you’ve done a good job with a resource list when tabs are being multiplied. 🙂
Of course I had to include your posts…they’re AMAZING!
Yes, you are definitely very pretty on this picture 🙂 it’s the first thing I noticed when reading your post. Thanks for this great list, I am sure it took a long time to wrap it up, but SO worth it !!!
Thanks Eve! Glad you’re liking the post. 🙂
So… much… to… read…!!! Thanks so much April. This is an amazing list!
Hahahaha…YES! You’re very welcome.
Wow! What an awesome list! Thank you April! <3
Thanks for this list April. I am looking forward to spending some time with it over the next few days. Hope you are winning your fight too. : )
Wow! Jack pot! Thank you for this great list of resources – I’ve got my weekend cut out for me going through these! 🙂 Love the photo of you, too!
Erika Swafford recently posted..No-cost Lighting Secrets – Made in the Shade
Oh gosh, that’s a through, long list! Bookmarked 🙂
Glad to see some of the familiar names on the list!
Here’s a few additional resources I recommend:
Marketing:
– 102 Marketing Questions For People Who Don’t Speak Marketing: http://ittybiz.com/small-business-marketing-questions/ – questions you can answer to craft a compelling marketing message
– How to Create Content for Multiple Audiences: http://www.bthinkforward.com/content-for-multiple-audiences/ – a different take on the topic you already posted above 🙂
Design (my own articles, because that’s what I do and teach):
– How to DIY your branding: http://neladunato.com/blog/guide-to-diy-branding/ – what is branding, what are the components of your brand, and what you can easily do yourself
– Beginner’s Guide to Visual Design Services: http://neladunato.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-visual-design-services/ – for those who have no idea what they need and what all this fancy design terminology means, it’s a pretty comprehensive resource.
– How branding affects your pricing: http://neladunato.com/blog/is-your-business-a-bargain-bin-brand/ – if you want to sell your crafts at a premium price, your brand has to pull the weight
Email marketing:
– The $1,000 Email Script: http://www.marketyourcreativity.com/2015/09/the-1000-email-script/ – great for product sellers (not so much for services)
– 9 email marketing wins that take less than an hour: http://nathanbarry.com/email-marketing-hacks/ – for those who are only beginning to build their list, but also a few advanced tips
Blogging:
– Discover Hundreds of Post Ideas for Your Blog with Mind Mapping: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/12/14/discover-hundreds-of-post-ideas-for-your-blog-with-mind-mapping/ – a great way to expand on a topic and find many, many related blog topics quickly
– The Only 6 Posts Worth Writing (and How to Totally Nail Each One): https://smartblogger.com/posts-worth-writing/
I hope others will find this helpful as well! 🙂
Nela Dunato recently posted..15 ways to infuse creativity into your boring business tasks
You know what’s frustrating? Trying to do anything on this list without knowing the big WHY. This year, I found my big why. And now when I read these articles and listen to the videos, there’s a “there” there to apply it to. It’s a totally different animal.
Thanks for compiling this. I’m working through it all from the beginning again. And Marketing for Creatives is also a wonderful resource every entrepreneur should have. Thanks for doing all this work.
Thanks for this awesome list, April! I has pretty much everything I ever wondered about business. Hope you have a lovely day!
Holy Cow, April!!! Talk about value in a blog post!! You are amazing, and thank you so much for writing this incredible post. I’m so glad I found you! You have helped me so, so much.
Pattymac recently posted..Build Your Own Knitbox
Wahoo!!! Great resources + all in one spot = happy entrepreneurs! Loving it . 🙂
Trish recently posted..Backstage Pass|Tour of My Jewelry Office
Wow, this is such a great list! Thanks for putting this together! And thanks for including my questions for blogging success post! I appreciate it 🙂
This is so awesome and thank you very much for sharing! I really needed this.
Thanks for including The White Corner Creative in your list! Will be sharing!
Melissa recently posted..How to Plan Your Feed + A Free Instagram Planner
Wow, this is so helpful, April! Thank you!
Great list… two more resources that I think would be a good add – https://new.soldsie.com/blog/8-easy-ways-to-build-a-following-on-instagram/ and http://okdork.com/2014/04/02/how-you-can-create-content-that-generates-40000-targeted-visitors/ (oldie but goodie and relevant still for content creators)
I don’t think I ever thanked you for featuring so many of my SEO posts! So THANK YOU! I’m so glad you found them helpful. I’m honored to be included in such an amazing list of resources 🙂