Would You Like to Do MORE of the Work You Love?
::Attention: Intercultural, Diversity & International Education Professionals -
- Are you frustrated because you KNOW that you have solutions that people need – in the form of training programs, information, research, and facilitation methods – if only people knew what you had to offer?
- Do you feel like you don’t know where to begin with “marketing” these solutions?
- Do you tend to focus on what you do best and let the marketing of your program or services simply “happen,” through word of mouth or referrals?
- Do you struggle to attract enough participants to your programs or clients to your services?
photo credit: iwona_kellie
You are not alone!
Most of us would rather focus our time and energy on doing the intercultural work we love. The work that fuels us. That we’re good at. I think it’s safe to say that, for most of us, marketing isn’t included in “the work we love.” (It sure wasn’t for me.)
But what happens when we don’t make marketing ourselves, our program or our business a priority? We try a little of this, and a little of that. The result? A whole lot of frustration. Very little doing what we love.
What if you could:
- Learn the inside scoop on how to communicate the value of the work you do to the people who need it most
- Implement marketing strategies that you know will be effective
- Spend less time marketing what you love and more time doing what you love
What if you could do the all this without taking days off work, leaving your family or traveling out of town?
Introducing the “Bridging the Marketing Gap” Telecourse
::We passionately believe that the world needs the valuable knowledge and skills that intercultural, diversity, and international education professionals offer. Our expertise and experience can help the challenging issues of our time. But in order to significantly impact our world, the world needs to know what we have to offer. We need to learn to proactively market ourselves in timely and effective ways.
That’s why Candice Hughes, Ann Marie Lei, and I (Cate Brubaker) have teamed up to offer a 6-week telecourse that can help you more effectively promote the services, programs, and ideas you should be sharing with the world. It’s called Bridging the Marketing Gap: Getting Intercultural Solutions to the Right People at the Right Time to Make a Real Contribution.
Candice and Ann Marie are the instructors for Bridging the Marketing Gap. I’m organizing this big experiment (and I also run this website).
I’ve gotten to know Ann Marie and Candice through our work promoting the SIETAR-USA conference, and by participating in their very popular SIETAR-USA pre-conference master class on marketing.
What I appreciate most about Candice and Ann Marie is that they each contribute a unique piece of the marketing puzzle. Ann Marie brings several years experience as a marketer for Nike. Candice’s psychology background enables her to coach us in uncovering the emotional aspect of marketing. Both know the intercultural, diversity and international education field, language, and perspectives.
(By the way, you can read their full bios at the end of this page.)
“Candice and Ann Marie made the [marketing] process do-able!” – SIETAR-USA Workshop Participant
What’s in the Course?
::In this 6-session telecourse conducted over 6 weeks, you will be introduced to the principles of successful marketing. You will also have the opportunity to apply them to your own marketing plans. At the end of this telecourse, you will have a clear roadmap for creating a marketing plan that will attract more of the intercultural work you want to do.
The framework and content for this course are adapted from the work of Marketing Expert Robert Middleton, and customized for the intercultural field. Topics covered in this course include:
- understanding the “game” of marketing
- developing an expansive marketing mindset
- creating your unique marketing message
- identifying the most effective marketing strategies to reach the audiences who can best benefit from what you have to offer
You will also have the opportunity to craft a compelling marketing message, outline specific marketing strategies, and receive individual mini-coaching during the weekly calls.
“[The workshop] was very practical and got synapses firing about how to move forward.” -SIETAR-USA Workshop Participant
Session 1: Marketing Ball – The Game of Marketing
Knowing where you start determines where you will be going.Prior to the first session, you will complete a marketing scorecard, which will help you identify what you need to successfully market yourself as an intercultural expert. Using the analogy of the American game of baseball, the “rules” will be explained in terms of the bases to be covered and the critical marketing tasks that take place at each base. We will close out this first session by focusing on the five types of marketing contacts that can help you get through the first steps of the marketing process from home plate to second base.
Session 2: Marketing Mindsets – The Inner Game of Marketing
Don’t believe everything you think!The power of the marketing mindset cannot be overlooked if you want to effectively market yourself, your services or your program. What we think about ourselves and what we offer has been proven to be directly linked to the marketing messages, overt and covert, that we send to potential clients and stakeholders. In other words, we are often our own worst enemy as we allow these mindsets to limit or undermine the marketing message we are trying to convey.
In this session, you will participate in a process of analyzing the types of mindset messages you currently experience or use and how they are impacting your marketing effectiveness. You will then be encouraged to confront your existing mindset by creating and practicing a turnabout message that will lead you into the direction of creating more effective marketing messages for yourself.
Session 3: Marketing Syntax – The Language of Marketing
Empowering marketing mindsets fuel powerful marketing messages.What and how we communicate about ourselves and the work we do (or want to do) is critical to reaching new clients, influencing stakeholders, and obtaining new opportunities. We have all met the person whose message about their invaluable service or product is so compelling that you can’t not purchase what they’re selling. How do they do this? By understanding that marketing is good communication, based on clear, structured use of language, and includes key points that will resonate with the people who need what you have to offer.
In this session, the core structure of compelling marketing messages will be explained and a formula provided for creating your own message (frequently known as an “audio logo” or the “short elevator speech.”)
Session 4: Core Marketing Message & Information – The Value & Currency of Marketing
Getting the word out to the world!
Earlier in the course you’ll have generated a list of potential contacts. In this session we’ll pull out that list and really consider how your intercultural, diversity or international education expertise can provide value to the work that each of your contacts do. We will focus on 3 critical types of information:
- Questions that need to be addressed in your marketing message that helps prospective clients know without a doubt that you are the expert they need.
- The variety of communication formats and channels that can be used to craft and share your marketing message.
- The crafting of a one-page document that provides a compelling overview of the services and programs that you offer.
Session 5: Marketing Strategies – The How-To of Marketing
One-size-fits all: ok for cheap t-shirts, not ok for marketing.
Run through your list of potential contacts and you’ll quickly realize that a one-size-fits-all approach to reaching them simply won’t work. Your marketing efforts will be more effective if you communicate with your potential contacts the way they want to be communicated with. In this session, we will describe some proven ways to reach potential clients with different types of marketing strategies. Examples include social media, public speaking, and brochures, just to name a few.
Session 6: Marketing Action Plans – The Structure of Marketing
Creating your marketing roadmap.
In this final session you will learn how to combine the core marketing functions covered in the previous 5 classes into a successful marketing roadmap for yourself, your program or your business. Get ready to do more of the work you love!
A Little More About Ann Marie and Candice
Ann Marie Lei is an independent consultant and teacher, with an extensive background in marketing communications and intercultural relations. She worked in international advertising and marketing communication roles at Nike, Inc. for many years, and has continued to study marketing principles and apply them to her consulting business since 1999. As an advisor to the SIETAR-USA board, Ann Marie has helped lead the rebranding of the organization, as well as the annual conference marketing efforts. In 2007 she participated in Robert Middleton’s Action Plan Marketing Coaches Certification Program, with the intention of bringing his marketing principles to her colleagues in the intercultural field—to help all of us raise the visibility, credibility, profitability and impact of our individual practices and, ultimately, of the field itself.
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Candice A.Hughes, Ph.D., President, Bridging Cultures Inc., is a school psychologist, licensed professional counselor, assistant professor, and intercultural trainer who has lived and worked internationally. She supports individuals and families with cultural transition and schooling issues and helps to make school communities more responsive to the needs of culturally diverse students and their families. Candice has learned the value of having a clear professional mission statement, a concise “elevator” speech about her work, widespread yet focused professional networking, and timely interviews by reporters for publications with a wide circulation. She also knows that the work of marketing oneself is never done due to continuous technological advances and multiplying opportunities for making connections! Candice currently is in her second term as a board member of SIETAR-USA and is responsible for marketing and public relations for the organization.
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A Telecourse? Really?
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Yes! A telecourse is simply a course taught via the telephone. If you’re not familiar with telecourses, it may seem like a weird way to learn. But it’s not. It’s a really cool location-independent way to participate in professional development. Unlike a webinar, you’re not chained to your computer in order to participate. If you have a phone or Skype, you can join the call.
What’s more, after each live class you’ll receive an email with a recording of the session, handouts, and extra online resources. So if you’re suddenly booked into a meeting or need to pick up your daughter from basketball practice and can’t join a live call, you can listen to the recording on your computer, smart phone, or iPod at your convenience. The handouts and resources are available on the Bridging the Marketing Gap course page for you to download when it works for you. That’s the beauty of a telecourse.
Experience a Session Right Now
::::Why not take this telecourse for a spin? Just click on the arrow below to hear the free 60-minute call Ann Marie and Candice offered about “marketing language.” Click on the arrow below to listen to it!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ann Marie and Candice also offered a handout to help teleclass participants create their “Audio Logo”: BridgingTheMarketingGapFreeSessionHandout (pdf)
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Here’s What You Need to Know to Participate
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1. We’re limiting the enrollment of this first go-around to only 15 students. This way, you’ll have more of an opportunity during the weekly calls to receive individual mini-coaching from Ann Marie and Candice, get to know the course participants, share your marketing triumphs and challenges with the group, and ask all the questions you want.
2. Bridging the Marketing Gap will be held every Wednesday from October 6 to November 10 @2pm Pacific/3pm Mountain/4pm Central/5pm Eastern. (Not in the U.S.? Check the time zone converter to see when the session will take place in your time zone.) There are 6 sessions total.
Even if you can’t make all of the live Wednesday calls, it’s still worthwhile to register for the course. Because it’s a telecourse, you’ll still receive each week’s call recordings, handouts, and extra resources to peruse when it’s convenient for you.
3. Since this is our first time offering a telecourse, you have the one-time opportunity join Bridging the Marketing Gap at the special “charter member” price of only $97. Yes, that’s for the entire 6-session course, including 2 delightful instructors, call recordings, weekly handouts, and bonus resources. That’s only $16 per class. (We won’t be able to offer this class for this low a price again.)
If you participate now, you’ll get 6 weeks with Candice and Ann Marie for less than half the price of what one individual coaching session would typically cost!
“[The workshop] was very congenial and felt like it created an excellent support network.” – SIETAR-USA Workshop Participant
Our Guarantee
::We know this course will help you increase your marketing skills so you can do more of the work you love. But if after participating in the calls and applying the strategies you learn in the course you aren’t completely satisfied, we will be refund you in full for the course. So there’s no risk to you if you sign up for the course because of our money back guarantee.
In Summary:
::1. Ann Marie and Candice’s 6-week Bridging the Marketing Gap telecourse begins on Wednesday, October 6. Because this is the first time we’re offering this telecourse, we’re only taking 15 participants.
2. If you register now as the charter member rate, you’ll receive:
- 6 live calls with Ann Marie and Candice
- recordings of each call
- handouts that correspond to each week’s topic
- bonus web resources
- opportunity for live mini-coaching
All for $97. That’s less than half of what one individual coaching session typically costs!
3. We got great feedback from the free call we did in August (scroll up the page to listen to it!) and we’re really excited to start this telecourse at the end of the month. We hope you’ll join us!
Are you in?
:Great! We look forward to having you in the course. All you need to do now is complete these two easy steps:
1. Register so we can send you the course details.
2. Click on that large button to to reserve your spot at the charter member price.
You’ll be taken to a secure PayPal page where you can fill out your billing information and submit your order.
P.S. If you miss this opportunity to participate in Candice and Ann Marie’s course at the low charter member rate, it will still be a great value the next time we offer it at the regular rate. I don’t know yet how much future courses will cost, but I do know that the $97 charter member rate is a steal, especially since enrollment is limited to 15 students!
