Blog Archive — Rough Draft Solutions

We are excited to welcome back our guest bloggers content strategist, Allison Spooner and tech enthusiast, Jesse Flores. In today’s blog post, they will explain the steps your business should take to create a customer persona. This is an important step to take to not only improve your business and marketing strategies, but to also truly get in touch with your customers needs.

We are confident Allison and Jesse will help you master the process of creating the perfect persona for your business! Read on!

PostedMay 10, 2016

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CategoriesCustomer Relations, Strategic Communication, Small Business Owner, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsExternal Communication, Customer Persona

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Are you still debating whether or not your business should have a blog? We think it’s time to make up your mind - and to start blogging!

Maybe you’re hesitant to start a blog because you think “No one will read it,” or “I have nothing to say…” Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this thinking. But you are wrong! We are fairly certain that you have a lot to share in your realm of expertise - and trust us, if it is unique, valuable content, people will read it!

Before I started working for Rough Draft Solutions, I had written one… maybe two blog posts ever. Now, I write one or two posts per week! Turning a blank screen into a page filled with high-quality, appealing, and informative content hasn’t been easy, but it has been beneficial to RDS, our clients, and myself as a professional.

After writing blogs on a consistent basis for almost a year, I have learned A TON about blogging. In part 1 of Business Blogging , I will cover the 6 things your company is missing out on by not blogging and what you need to do to get started. Writing blog posts consistently is not always an easy thing to do, but the benefits blogging brings to a business makes it worth it.

PostedMay 3, 2016

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CategoriesBlogging, Communication, Customer Relations, Trusted Partner, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsBlogging, Business blog, Strategic Communication, Customer Engagement

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Owning a business can offer the most rewarding and most stressful experiences of your life - sometimes all in the same day! There are days where you ask yourself, why did I wait so long to do this?! And others, where you wonder, what in the world was I thinking?! The beauty of business ownership is that it is a constant learning experience, and you have the power to make the experience what you want. You have the ability to positively influence others, to make a difference for your customers, and ultimately, make your dream job a reality.

While I am all about positivity and looking on the bright side, I also value being frank and realistic. I thought it may be helpful for other entrepreneurs or aspiring business owners to hear a peer’s perspective on the good, the bad, and the ugly of owning a business. Hopefully, we can lift one another up and remember that the hard days aren’t so bad, and the good days are worth working for!

PostedApril 26, 2016

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CategoriesBusiness Leadership, Getting Started, Small Business Owner, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsSmall Business Owner, Entrepreneurs, Trusted Partner

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Turning a blank page into a piece of engaging and sophisticated content is a tough task. There are some days where the amount of creativity spilling out of you is utterly ridiculous, and your swift typing fingers can hardly keep up with your ideas. And then there are days where you can’t seem to think of a solid concept, let alone write it down.

Being a writer for Rough Draft Solutions has been so much fun and such a blessing, but believe me - there are days where writer’s block gets the best of me, and I stare at my laptop for probably way too long. Every writer experiences writer’s block at some point, and each person handles it differently.

Before throwing in the towel or overstressing and freaking out that you can’t get over your writer’s block, here are some tips on ways you can cope, manage, and beat writer’s block when writing for your business. Some methods may work for you and some may not, but there are plenty of different efforts you can try to beat writer’s block and make creativity your friend again.

PostedApril 13, 2016

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CategoriesTips, Writing, Communication, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsWriter's Block, Writing, Writing tips, Food For Thought

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I know your secret… You don’t have a marketing department, and you’re kind of embarrassed about it.

It’s okay, I promise. You’re not alone. In fact, there are more businesses than you can imagine that don’t have a marketing department. These include businesses that employ as few as five people and companies with more than 500. And it’s not necessarily because they don’t want to have a marketing team. It’s simply a result of not having the resources to put one in place, not realizing the need, or more commonly, not realizing the opportunities you’re missing.

PostedApril 5, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesContent Marketing, Getting Started, Marketing, Small Business Owner, Rough Draft Solutions

Tagsmarketing, Small business, Strategic Communication

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Since grade school, we are taught to use “Well” instead of “Good,” “I’ instead of “Me,” and “May I” instead of “Can I.” When people correct us, does our grammar become perfect? Do we implement everything we’ve ever been corrected on? No, of course not.

As a young 8-year-old, I was a patient student and a sharp listener. While my classmates were fond of math and science, I was focused on perfecting every spelling test and became fascinated by the new world of commas. My class fell silent when we discussed grammar and spelling, but I was always eager to show off my knowledge. The teacher would finally ask, “Emily, where should the comma go?” “Before the conjunction,” I would say, keeping my reserved character, of course, so my friends wouldn’t think I was annoying.

PostedMarch 22, 2016

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CategoriesWriting, Communication, Trusted Partner, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsWriting, Grammar, Effective Communication, Professional Communication, Writing tips

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Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your voice? That somehow in the rush of it all, you’ve lost track of your unique ideas, opinions, or perspective? As a small business owner, a writer, and a consultant, I feel like somewhere along the way I got so caught up in “building a business” that I forgot that at the heart and soul of this business was one single person…. Me.

Uffda. Losing your voice as a writer is a hard thing to admit, but I think it is important that I do. To take ownership of Rough Draft Solutions, to get back on my own two feet, and to feel proud of what I am doing, I have some owning-up to do.

PostedMarch 16, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesCustomer Relations, Small Business Owner, Leadership, Rough Draft Solutions

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Tunnel vision, messy desks, overbooked schedules… Does that sound familiar as a business owner? Since starting my business I’ve found that I rarely have time to reflect on the whole journey. Because if I’m not working, I’m not making money, right?

But we all know the importance of reflection. So when 2nd Brain Collective reached out and asked if they could interview me on my experiences as a business owner and the world of marketing, I eagerly agreed. There have been many highs and lows in this experience, and I figured there wasn't a better time than now to take stock of the last two years. This new podcast is all about business and marketing in the digital age. Thanks 2BC for having me!

I highly encourage you to listen to the podcast (and all of the other interesting 2BC interviews!). I promise you'll learn something new about RDS and may even laugh. ;) And if you'd like, keep reading to discover more about how I started Rough Draft Solutions.

PostedMarch 9, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesBusiness Leadership, Getting Started, Small Business Owner, Leadership, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsPodcast Interview, Leadership, Small Business Owner, Lessons learned

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Before I get into the nitty gritty of this post, I have an important question for you.

Do you have a personal brand?

If you answered yes, great! Keep reading, I have included several powerful tools for you to ramp up your brand!

If you answered, no, I’ve got some earth-shattering news for you. You already have a brand, whether you know it or not. And if you aren’t actively managing it, your brand is most likely working against you, instead of for you. I know, I know. You don’t need one more thing to add to your to-do list. But trust me, personal branding needs to be on your list. If it isn’t, you could quickly lose control of your personal and professional identities and find yourself in the category of wishy-washy has-been.

PostedMarch 2, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesBusiness Leadership, Leadership, Networking, Tips, Personal Branding, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsPersonal branding, Leadership, Networking

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While incorporating video into our social strategy has been a major plus, it has been a learning process. There’s nothing like a significant spike in audience engagement to tell you you’re on the right track - or that you’ve been missing the boat in the past. Don’t get me wrong, we are pleased with our results! Our organic audience reach skyrocketed to over 5,000, and our engagement levels were the highest they’ve ever been organically. For a company page with a little over 200 likes, I’d say that’s pretty decent!

But like any new communication strategy, there are a few things we wish we would have done differently. So we’re spilling the beans on what we’ve learned from using video on Facebook in hopes that you can pick up some tips and avoid some of our rookie mistakes.

PostedFebruary 23, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesContent Marketing, Video, Social media, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsFacebook, Video, Video Tips, Social Media, Youtube

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How many advertisements do you think you come across in a day? A handful? A couple hundred? Try nearly 5,000! Each day you are inundated with thousands of ads and sometimes, you aren’t even aware of it. Companies attempt to gain customers by proving themselves through constant logo appearances, media, and advertisements. But let’s be honest, how well do those ads work on you? Not as well as they used to, right? So how do businesses break through to customers when they are swamped with so many messages?

PostedFebruary 18, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesContent Marketing, Marketing, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsContent Marketing, Marketing, Writing

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Many business owners want to showcase the products or services their company offers, but aren’t sure how. When you have a variety of offerings, it’s easy to create brochures that have too much information and are not that enticing. What you need is a marketing piece that is focused, easy-to-read, and compelling.

Your business needs a one-sheet (or a series of them!).

Keep reading to find out what exactly a one-sheet is, get the ultimate one-sheet checklist, and learn how you can use this tool productively for your business.

PostedFebruary 9, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesBrochures, Content Marketing, Marketing, Rough Draft Solutions, Featured

TagsOne-Sheet, Brochures, Marketing, Small Business Owner

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Today is an exciting day! We are hosting our very first guest bloggers! Allison Spooner and Jesse Flores are sharing with us how business isn’t just business. It’s personal. Their insight is on-point and vitally relevant to our efforts to support our clients in an authentic and valuable way in 2016.

So, who are the writers? Allison is a freelance, content wizard. She writes content that helps businesses in Lansing and beyond tell their stories, educate their customers, and promote their brands. Jesse is a startup junkie and tech enthusiast. His most recent endeavor is launching SuperWebPros, which builds Super Websites with Heroic Service for small businesses. Over the past year, we have enjoyed brainstorming with these two content and business gurus and are confident you will enjoy the insight they have for you.

PostedFebruary 3, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesBusiness Leadership, Customer Relations, Trusted Partner, Rough Draft Solutions

TagsCompany Communication, customer relationships, Business Goals, Personalized Business

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In the evolving world of content marketing, we continually need to refine how we communicate with and reach our customers. Here are a few content marketing trends you should consider as you refresh and plan for this year's blog posts, newsletters, and social media campaigns.

1. Sophisticated algorithms will force you to get serious about quality control

If your goal is to reach users with first-page search results this year, then it's about time you ditched the traditional SEO marketing strategy. The truth is, the game has changed. Google algorithms now evaluate content based on its value to readers who are searching for it. The focus on quality content means excessive keyword stuffing and backlinking won’t do you any good.

PostedJanuary 27, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesContent Marketing, Social Media, Rough Draft Solutions, Video

TagsMarketing trends, Content marketing, Content Marketing Trends, Blogging, Social media

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The purpose of your business’s website is to provide your customers with information about your company’s products, services, and brand, but is that all it should be doing? Your website has the power to entertain, educate, and delight your customers. Your business may be open 9 to 5, but your website is available to the public 24/7. Are you confident it is working for you? The key to ensuring your potential customers understand how you can help them and are interested enough to contact relies on one simple thing. Your website content.

Today we will explore how to write engaging website content that will captivate your customers and impact your business in a positive way.

PostedJanuary 20, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesWebsite content, Writing, Rough Draft Solutions, Strategic Communication

TagsWebsite content, Content marketing, writing

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Before hiring a new employee, there are dozens of factors to consider. Businesses want employees to have a positive attitude, strong loyalty, and compelling creativity. However, it is arguable that the number one asset companies are looking for in candidates is effective communication and writing skills. Why is this so necessary for the job market you may ask? Today, we will explain why your ability to write and communicate effectively in business will never be obsolete.

PostedJanuary 13, 2016

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CategoriesCustomer Relations, Writing, Rough Draft Solutions, Strategic Communication

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Staying on task isn’t exactly every business owners’ strong suit. You may have started your workday with the best of intentions, only to find that by the end of it, you didn’t accomplish anything on your list. And while it’s easy to blame outside distractions for the inability to focus, more times than not, a lack of a solid plan is the number one reason we fail to be productive.

The truth is, the secret to maximizing productivity isn’t complicated. It simply requires that you take a few simple steps to get organized and plan your day effectively.

PostedJanuary 5, 2016

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesFood for Thought, To Do Lists, Rough Draft Solutions, Business Leadership

TagsProductivity, Leadership

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One of the most frequent questions I have received in the last 12 months has been “How’s business?” And every time I have been lucky enough to say “Absolutely wonderful.” I have had to pinch myself a lot because I can’t believe the success we’ve had this year is real-life.

PostedDecember 21, 2015

AuthorAmanda Washburn

CategoriesBlogging, Small Business Owner, Rough Draft Solutions, Business Leadership

TagsRough Draft Solutions Team, 2015, Year in Review

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