Diving into Marketing Magic with Mike Holden On a Budget
Ever wondered what it takes to truly make a mark in the world of marketing? Today, we delve into the inspiring story of Mike Holden — a seasoned marketer who has seamlessly blended strategy with creativity to help businesses thrive. From his roots in music promotion to his current marketing leadership, Mike’s journey is filled with lessons for professionals and newcomers alike.
Meet Mike Holden: A Master of Marketing Strategy
Mike Holden’s career has been a fascinating blend of artistry and strategy. With extensive experience across various industries, he has developed a reputation for making bold, innovative marketing moves. Beyond his professional achievements, Mike’s journey has been enriched by his roles as a musician, writer, and mentor — elements that bring a unique perspective to his approach to marketing.
The Career Journey: From Grassroots Music to Strategic Marketing
Q: Could you share a bit about your career journey?
I’m not sure where the milestone was on this for me, but at some point, it became apparent that the strategic marketing plan you develop each year, though incredibly important, might be one of the easier things you do.
The real challenges come as the year starts rolling along and you start implementing the tactical marketing needed to meet those strategic objectives.
While a strategic plan can help guide you through the year, the real work is in the day-to-day activities and ensuring they match your strategic goals. Sometimes, as the year progresses, those goals change, or you might realize that things have shifted or that you were wrong.
So, you need to have tactical plans for shorter periods, like quarterly for example, that align with your strategic goals.
Tackling Marketing on a Budget
Q: How do you approach marketing with limited resources?
For Mike, budget constraints have often driven innovation.
Marketing on a budget is something I’ve done a lot of in my career because I’ve been with some nonprofits or have worked through challenging economic times where budgets were cut.
One of the most effective no-budget marketing tactics is email marketing. If you can find a way to collect email addresses from people or partner with others who have access to a list, you spend less money compared to running digital ads, print ads, etc.
Plus, you own that email address, so you don’t lose contact with someone like you do if they leave a social media channel. Most people keep an email address for quite a while, especially if it’s one they use personally rather than through a job that might change.
Email Marketing Expertise
Q: How can segmentation based on email interactions improve campaign effectiveness?
I’m a big fan of action-based segmentation in email marketing. That means looking at what people do with your emails and sending them messages based on those behaviors.
To use it most simply, you can focus on those who open an email, those who don’t, and those who click on something in your email. You can hit these three groups with entirely different follow-up messages.
You’ll talk to someone who clicked on something differently than you would to the group who didn’t open your email. One group completely missed your first message or wasn’t interested in it. At the same time, the other group was curious enough to open it and take action within that email. These two segments are at very different places in the buying process or customer journey, and you should address them differently.
A lot of the revenue dollars are found in slicing your audience into different segments and trying to move them one more step in your process.
The Art of Content Development
Q: What’s your secret to creating impactful content?
You’re rarely going to write something that speaks to everyone in your audience, so I find it helpful to picture a specific person that you’re writing for when you create a piece of content.
It really comes down to how you will solve a problem for them or make their life better in some way. Your message needs to meet them wherever they are in the buying process and move them toward some sort of call to action. Or, the purpose of your content might be to build trust with them so you’re the person they’ll eventually buy from when they’re ready
Adapting to Digital Transformation
Q: How do you navigate the ever-changing digital landscape?
There are always so many platforms and ways each of those changes over time. You have to experiment with them, whether it’s a new social media platform or some form of video or audio.
But some aspects of marketing remain constant. Messaging might look slightly different from platform to platform, but you still have to nail it.
Whatever you do, you must show your target audience how your selling will improve their lives or solve a problem. While a lot changes, some aspects of marketing remain critical across different mediums.
Mentorship and Career Growth
Q: What advice do you have for those starting their marketing careers?
You can take multiple paths when starting in marketing.
One is to get on a team with experienced marketers so you can learn from them and find a mentor.
Alternatively, you can get a job where you don’t have a big team, allowing you to be a jack-of-all-trades. In that situation, you might be free to try many things and develop your craft in multiple areas. Eventually, you might grow a team to work alongside you or find an area you enjoy and specialize in rather than doing many things.
My one piece of advice: learn to write, do it a lot, and get extremely good at it
Balancing Professional and Personal Life
Q: How do you maintain balance in your professional and personal life?
As a dad and husband, I find it helpful to work at places that understand the importance of life outside the job. You can ask about this during the interview process.
I currently work at a place where our CEO also has kids. It’s nice to work for someone who understands what it’s like to have emergencies pop up when you have young kids — whether it’s someone getting sick or needing to attend a school meeting.
It’s great to find a place where you’re judged on your results, not where or when you put in your time, as long as you put in the time and get the work done. Trust is essential, and it’s a two-way street.
Musical Endeavors
Q: What was the most rewarding and challenging aspect of your music career, and how did it shape your perspective as an artist?
Music was something I pursued as a career for a stretch of my life. I released two albums and played many shows around DC, and up and down areas of the East Coast. I juggled that with some freelance work and restaurant jobs for a while.
Eventually, I felt like I was doing the same thing repeatedly, playing shows in not-so-great venues because I needed to make money. I enjoy writing my music, but I often needed to play bars for cash, performing cover songs in rooms where not everyone was there for music. I wasn’t feeling it after a while. It didn’t feel very artistic and it made me not want to write music as often.
It’s the songwriting and performing of my material that I enjoy most, and I like doing that in rooms designed for music. I think I just got a bit fried by the whole process after several years of it and feeling that not a lot was changing for me.
Creating my own music is still something I like doing, but it’s not something I’m making a lot of time for in my life these days.
I learned a lot about marketing when I was trying to make a living playing music, as I got to see what it took to get people to buy your music, join your mailing list, come to a show, etc. There was a lot of grassroots marketing to be done.
I eventually leveraged my music marketing experience to land my first job in marketing, working in media relations for Wolf Trap, a performing arts organization in Northern Virginia.
Writing and Thought Leadership
Q: What inspires your writing, and how has it evolved to cater to non-marketers and small business owners?
For starters, I love to write. I’ve been doing it for decades, and it’s one of my favorite things. Often, I’ll think about a topic during the day, tweet about it, or jot it down, and later develop it into an article.
I write about things that come to mind, but as a marketer, I also experiment with writing to generate views and engagement. I think about popular topics or things people might search for, shaping my writing to get discovered.
I also write a lot about marketing basics because, over the years, many non-marketers have asked me questions about it. That’s a big motivation for my No Budget Marketing newsletter.
Most of my content isn’t for experienced marketers. It’s for small business owners or people with something to promote or a personal brand to grow who’ve asked me marketing questions. That’s who I increasingly picture as I write my newsletter each week.
Future Trends in Marketing
Q: What trends should marketers watch?
AI is at the top of the list. It’s something people should experiment with. You don’t have to see it as something that will replace you but as another team member or collaborator.
I think we’ll also continue to see things become unbundled or decentralized. Much marketing is happening with individual influencers or content creators rather than traditional media outlets.
Marketing has been in a transitional period since the rise of the Internet and the evolution of social media. There’s still much uncharted territory.
I see significant opportunities in crypto, live streaming, and community-based marketing, where you talk to people within the same common group. The future is up to our imagination, and innovators will thrive as the industry evolves rapidly.
But there’s also value in revisiting or reinventing traditional marketing methods like billboards, print, or snail mail. Opportunities are all around to push the envelope and do things that stand out. That’s especially important for people trying to create awareness on a small budget; being different might be what gets you there.
Final Thoughts: Advice for Aspiring Marketers
For those starting out, Mike offers simple but powerful advice:
Have fun. Marketing is a constantly evolving field. Embrace change, meet new people, and enjoy the journey.
Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I’m always excited to share insights and help others grow. If you’re interested in more practical advice, check out my No Budget Marketing newsletter, where I share tips for small businesses and personal branding.
Stay Tuned and Keep Growing
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Interviewer : Ahed Hatter
lcproduction1@outlook.com
