i’ve recently been in a
project frenzy at my
house. My husband and I bought a
bit of a fixer, so most of our weekends are
spent back and forth to Home Depot and
completing so many home improvements
that I’m starting to think we should have
our own show on HGTV.
Last weekend as I was pulling in the
driveway, I caught a glimpse of my front
porch. How had I never noticed how
boring it was? I had spent all this time
hanging light fixtures, painting the walls,
and picking out furniture inside that I
never noticed how much work was
needed outside.
When you think about it, the front
door says a lot about a house. It’s the first
thing a neighbor notices when she is
walking her dog down the street. It’s the
first thing a guest sees when they come
to visit. It’s essentially my home’s first
impression, and it wasn’t giving a very
good one.
So, I decided to give the door a
bit of a facelift. I headed to Home
Depot (for the 1,000th time) and
picked out the perfect shade of
Kentucky blue paint, then went
to work. After the painting was
done, I added some adorable baby
Colorado blue spruce trees to some
barrel pots and hung a hydrangea
wreath on the door.
As I stepped back to admire my half-a-
days work, I couldn’t help but be proud
and excited. Before, my front door said,
“An old lady used to live here and it’s
even worse inside,” and now it says,
“Look how much fun we are! I bet you
can’t wait to see what’s inside!”
That change in message can mean
everything.
How is the message you’re putting out
r!
aftE
rE
bEfo
to the world reflecting on you? Does it
truly show how exciting or smart or
incredible you are? And how are you
getting that message across to your
customers? That, my friends, is marketing.
Yes, like the aisles at Home Depot, that
word can be daunting, but it’s really just
about figuring out how to better relay
your message to the world. In this issue,
you’ll learn about influencer marketing
(page 48) and content marketing (page
64) and ways to market your business on
a budget (page 40). So, whether your
marketing plan needs just a simple coat of
paint or a complete renovation, everything
you need is right here in these pages.
—KElly HEitz, Editor
folloW KElly
@PulseEditor
6
PULSE
■
July 2017
@isPaPulseEditor