Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing Mentor and uses her 30 years of experience to help creative people and independent professionals market themselves to get the clients they want and grow their business. She busts some myths about marketing and explains why marketing is really about creating and cultivating relationships with the right kind of clients. She also shares why she thinks people go about marketing themselves backward and how to deal with the frustration of a prospect that’s “ignoring” you. Tune in to find out more from the Marketing Mentor, and find out what the three marketing tools are that will help you succeed.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:18] John introduces his guest for this episode — Ilise Benun.

[:57] What does Ilise do?

[1:28] Ilise’s clients aren’t necessarily all from the “creative” industry.

[4:43] Ilise explains more about what she does.

[7:08] How does Ilise help people bring their marketing efforts forward and update their strategies to suit the times?

[8:18] Ilise makes a distinction between content creation vs. interacting with actual prospects.

[10:01] How did Ilise get into the work that she does? She shares the story of her entrepreneurial journey.

[14:43] The myth about marketing is that it’s about bragging. The reality is that if you can share information about what you know that they don’t, then they come hungry to know how you can help them.

[15:22] Ilise helps business owners figure out who to market to, and how to do it.

[16:35] John and Ilise discuss her approach to cultivating clients.

[18:59] What’s frustrating for a lot of business owners is the silence of not hearing back from a potential client. Ilise explains how she helps her clients manage that.

[23:03] How does Ilise eliminate prospects who aren’t a fit for her?

[25:17] What's Ilise’s process with her clients?

[27:38] John and Ilise dive into the nuances of commercial art vs. fine art (B2B vs B2C).

[34:22] John shares a personal anecdote of his client who is an artist.

[37:34] Ilise explains why she thinks most people are doing marketing backward.

[39:29] What are the three marketing tools Ilise recommends for creative professionals?

[43:03] Get in touch with Ilise via her website.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor

Free 30 Min Session with Ilise Benun

Simplest Marketing Planner

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals

“Am I Ignoring Her?” by Ilise Benun

Abstract: The Art of Design, on Netflix

Kalika Antao