Dear ,

 

Spring has blown into New York City in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

While I didn’t make it to Brooklyn on Saturday, I stopped to appreciate the pink Cherry Blossoms weighing down the branches of an uptown tree.

In part, I think that I’m seeing New York City anew in its bright spring sunlight since we spent last week in Chicago.

 

To our surprise, it was one of our best trips to Chicago (and we love the Windy City!)

The secret:

Spending time with family, friends and colleagues! (Note: This one of the top 5 regrets of the dying! Keep reading to see why.)

Among the highlights were:

• Attending a Passover seder with my husband’s cousins that included 50+ attendees spanning 4 generations,

• Making Easter dinner for my friends with my husband. We cooked lemon chicken, sweet potatoes, and snap peas along with my mother’s  fruit compote.

• Seeing content marketing friends and colleagues. Andy Crestodina introduced us to Margie’s Candies, an old fashioned ice cream parlour and Gini Dietrich showed us Wrigleyville, a thriving neighborhood around Wrigley Field, home to the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Key to real life get together success:

Planning ahead and being flexible.

In today’s marketing environment, customer experience makes your brand and business stand out. Further, consumers want a seamless experience across channels, online and offline.

 

Real life connections and get togethers solidify these relationships.

 

And I’m not the only one who believes this: So does Content Marketing Institute!

 

Led by Monina Wagner under Cathy Mc Philips’s marketing guidance, the folks at CMI are expanding their community beyond live conferences and their weekly Twitter chat. (Here’s the full description of CMI’s community plans.)

 

In addition to a Slack Channel and a LinkedIn Group, Monina is planning live events and a bi-monthly book club. (BTW: If you’re in the New York metro area and interested in participating, drop me a line.)

 

Since both my husband and I lived in Chicago earlier in our lives, visiting the city usually doesn’t feel like a vacation. Those of you who spend your vacation visiting family get what I mean.

 

Don’t get me wrong--we love spending time in Chicago. Further if we didn’t live in New York, Chicago would be our next choice of places to live in the US.

 

Why did it feel like a vacation?
We unplugged and didn’t worry about email or social media.

 

Nor did we do any work. My husband often kids that no one’s tombstone ever says “I wished that I had spent more time at the office!”

 

Instead we focused on being with our family and friends. While I admit that at times I felt the “I should do X” about pending deadlines, the break was worth it.

 

Yes, it took me a couple of days to get back into the work routine but having a real break made me feel re-energized and gave me new insights into my work and my life.

 

What does this mean for you and your marketing?
A lot!  You need time to do the things outside of your job to feel fulfilled.  

 

Interestingly, the fulfillment our trip brought reminded me of Bronnie Ware’s moving book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. (BTW: While it may sound depressing, the book provides inspiration for improving your life.)

As a nurse providing end-of-life care to dying people, Ware found that their regrets focused on 5 recurring themes.

1. Living a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. Not working so hard.

3. Expressing my feelings.

4. Staying in touch with friends.

5. Letting myself be happier.

In terms of your marketing, consider how you can get out and connect with your community during the warm months ahead. At least those of you who live in the northern hemisphere.  

 

Hope that you have a good week.

Click here to get this and previous AMG newsletters on the Web.

 

Even better, these 10 tactics with their examples and related tips will help you keep your road-tested content visible over time. TRANSLATION: Less budget and resources needed to improve results!

 

 

RELATED READING:

• Content Idea Generation

• 5 Types of Content Every Marketer Needs

• The Secret To Headlines That Attract Readers

RELATED READING:

• Social Media Definition

• One Page Social Media Strategy

   

Heidi Cohen was named one of the Top 30 Marketing Influencers by ExoB2B based on analysis by Onalytica.

The fine print: