In the past week, we have been organising media interviews for a financial services firm. Our inhouse PR expert is very talented and well-connected, and has organised more than 13 interviews for an international money markets expert. The thing is, this was done, all without using their media kit. Why? Because it is a bit out of date and doesn't represent the company and how forward thinking the company really is.

This got me thinking. What should go in a press kit (or media kit) in 2012? Are local companies in Atlanta and Georgia for that matter, ensuring that their media kits are up to date? Do they really know how to make a media kit stand out from the crowd? Is there someone in Atlanta helping them with their media kits?

Here are some things you should be considering;

I have tossed and turned throughout the night deciding how much I should share on what I am doing with my business on this blog.

There are many reasons for this; namely, is that I don't want to give too much away in case, heaven forbid, someone copies.

But I have this blog, which many wonderful people read, and it's very real. It tells it how it is. If you read the blog daily, you would pretty much know who I am, what I think about business and be getting a fair share of stories that may or may not relate to your own small business experiences.

Last week, I talked on how to get your business to the next level. Well, I am there. I have had enough holidays, and I am completely and utterly committed to taking my business to the next level. My enthusiasm for Marketing Eye and what it has to offer is contagious. I know this because every meeting I have of late, people make comment.

Marketing Eye is successful in Australia. I am proud of its accomplishments and what it provides the businesses we work with. We are innovative to a point, that many of our competitors copy our website word for word, our service offering and as much as they can - our spiel. But they are never going to be us as we will always be the innovator, the thought-leader and the risk taker.

Ok. Maybe it's not for everyone. But for most women, it is something that although it doesn't happen often, it can be the best thing that happens to you.

As a woman with a fairly robust exterior, that to the outside world is fully focused on business, my principals and the people I care about, I am largely seen as a confident woman with the world at my feet.

I am officially in love! Seriously. Pinterest.com is by far my favourite social media network - ever. I can sit there all day long looking at the art on my Pinterest.com pinboard and still never get bored. It is like being in the most extraordinary gallery, that transcends anything you have ever experienced before. And, there is something for everyone.

Making Hitwise's Top 10 Social Network list beating Linkedin and Google is no easy feat for this unassuming social media platform that is the newest social media platform in town.

It is the best platform for business today particularly small business - especially if you are a visual person and your small business clients are visual people too.

per·fect/ˈpərfikt/

Adjective: Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

Verb:  Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.

Noun:  The perfect tense.

Nobody is perfect. I know. I have worked hard to be more 'perfect' in so many ways and have learnt the hard way that that is not possible. No situation in life is perfect. It can be good or even great, but not perfect. No human being is perfect. No house is perfect. No business is perfect. No animal is perfect. No holiday is perfect. No experience in life is perfect.

Perfect is not attainable, but being better is. Improving your status quo through dedication, perseverance, focus, compromise and a big picture view, can help you get your world closer to 'perfect', but don't be disappointed that you never get there.

In every businesses life, there comes a time when you decide whether the business has 'legs' to grow further.

Marketing Eye has hit this point many times and each time we have done a situation analysis and made business decisions on where to go. Right now, we are in expansion mode with the US market firmly in our sights, targeting places such as Atlanta.

If you are in this position, think about what your Big Hairy Audacious Goal is and work out how realistic it is given your current resources and capabilities. Things to consider include;

Expand into new markets

Ending any relationship is difficult and it creates emotions that most of us don't know exist.

But at the end of any relationship whether it is with a supplier, client, employee, friend or partner, is really the beginning of something new and exciting. It just sometimes takes people longer to get over the last relationship than needed.

"Oh, they're just the tech geek in the office. They fix things".

The rise of the tech geek in the world of marketing has been fast and furious. In fact, they have become more important to marketing than marketers themselves. How the world has changed!

Saturday night I attended a 30th birthday party for a dear friend of mine. The theme was nautical. After weeks of racking my brain as to what to wear, my friend and I ended up settling on being Boat Captains.

We had only one hour to spare on Saturday to put a costume together, so we headed to a costume shop and purchased a hat. Cheaper than renting it we decided.

As a marketer with 20 years experience, I am always trying to figure out the psychology behind why a client picks one logo over another, or one way of doing things over another.

Sometimes, they have insight that perhaps marketers do not. Mostly, they just like a particular colour, font style, identity mark or a way of doing things that may not quite be up with the times.

I was thinking... when you have stars in your eyes, anything is possible. In every aspect of your life, if you walk around with stars in your eyes, it opens the world to possibility beyond anything you can ever imagine. While this is contrary to what most people believe on the topic of people who have 'stars in their eyes', there is some justification for what is popular opinion. 

Dreamers are something that like entrepreneurs, should be applauded. They make our world much more interesting. Every great idea started with someone dreaming it. But there is a difference from being a dreamer to being someone who has the ability to be successful.

What is the value of writing content? If content is king... how is this defined? When content is written well and tells a story or a message that people resonate with, it is KING. But what happens when it doesn't. When content falls prey to audience misconception or to a swing in favour because your opinion or comments differ from the opinions of your audience?

Olympic swimmer, Stephanie Rice, was innocently tweeting backwards and forwards to a friend and used a word that may be seen as deogratory to people who are homosexual, and all of a sudden she was 'on the nose'. Ousted. Gone.

In Kyle Sandilands latest rants, he said one thing that went a little too far, and all of a sudden, he too has fallen prey to the swing of the public and more importantly, the sponsors who subsidise his wages.

Content management, whether it is in the written form or through a media platform like radio, television, podcasts, webinars, youtube or any other media of this type, needs to be managed.

The written form for small businesses covers custom publishing, custom media, customer media, customer publishing, member media, private media, branded content, corporate media, corporate publishing, branded media, your website, your direct marketing campaigns, blogs, landing pages and more.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

What content marketing is not... is it does not 'sell' in a direct manner. It is un-interrupted marketing. It provides knowledge and explanation driving customer and prospect loyalty.

This marketing blog is a clear example of how content can work for an organisation. It provides information on 'real life' small business operations whether it be how we work with customers, marketing, employees, mentors, finance or expansion. It travels through the daily grind of being an entrepreneur and dealing with real emotions that at times goes up and down according to how the week flows. It is often raw with experiences or up-beat with positivity. The marketing blog uses examples of people that I interact with in business and in life and it cover how your personal life influences your business life.

How can you improve your content marketing immediately?

"Develop case studies and put them online, write a blog, use mobile enabled web outreach with website landing pages, video, advanced search engine optimisation, digital content and be sure to measure through analytics the results. How long are people reading your content? What is more popular?

Hiring a professional writer or a journalist to help you develop content that is readable will be beneficial to any business who is choosing to produce high quality content.

IN TODAY'S COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT... IF YOU ARE NOT CONTENT MARKETING, YOU ARE NOT MARKETING. THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN DO THIS BETTER.

Mellissah Smith, in Atlanta. 

My high school friend rung me last week as I was driving out to Palm Beach and asked if I could be a business mentor to her. She was happy to pay me market rate, and would require a few hours of my time a month. It needed to be in a business environment and she would like me to be hard on her.

The latter... very easy for me as I am a seasoned professional on being hard on people when they need a kick up the bum or a little push in the right direction.

Then, today, my mentor rung me. Not to give me a kick up the bum, but to ask me how I am going. As I explained the latest developments in my business and a little update on my personal life, I was able to hear out loud what my dreams are for my business and how I planned to execute them. I couldn't very well just give him an overarching view like I can with my employees. He wanted to know exactly how I am going to make it happen. Am I going to enough meetings with the right people? Have I done enough research? Is it financially viable? Have I run it past some other people we mutually know that are very smart in business? What do I want the outcome to be? Do I realise how much work is involved?

It takes just 30 seconds for someone to have an impression of you. And... they say first impressions count.

Since light travels faster than sound, you are always seen before you are heard. It's the quick impression someone has of you that can be the lasting one.

It has caught me by surprise. Who would have guessed? I wasn't expecting anything, not even a rose.

Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and arrows, and piercing hearts . He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows.

The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.

Today is Valentine's Day. It's a day that holds so much expectation for so many people around the world, particularly those who are young. It's a day that every girl/woman wants someone (anyone) to say to them they are special... usually in the form of a card, roses or a gift. The day is so full of expectations, that I am sure many people end up not savouring the day and enjoying it for what it is, but instead having disagreements like the young couple in the park this morning with the guy following a beautiful girl in tears with a bunch of roses.

Yesterday I wrote a blog about the 5 things women should do to be more successful in business. Thousands of people read it - even though it was on a Sunday. Thanks :) I am chuffed.

It got me thinking... what should men do. Now, I am no expert, so these tips are only a singular point of view, but something that perhaps should be considered. What do you think?

10 Things A Man Should Do To Be More Successful

I am doing what many people like to do on a rainy day... laying in bed reading.

With a bookshelf full of every book genre imaginable, I am working my way through Small Giants - Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham. My good friend Kingsley Smith (from Kingsley's restaurants fame) gave it to me to read and I can't seem to put it down. Luckily for me, its raining outside and last night I celebrated a friends birthday, so I am little bit weary.

As I read, I am getting more and more inspired. It is encouraging me think beyond  what I am reading and imagining the lives of other business women around the world and what makes one more successful than the other or for that matter, more happier than the person next to them.

Today, I couldn't wait to get to work. I work up at 4am, desperate for the sun to come out so that it would be a sane time to go to work.

I am inspired. Work is fantastic. Life is falling into place and things are getting done. It's amazing what 24 hours can do. Another day, a new outlook.

Sometimes when you have been staring at the same document for days or doing the same things over and over again, its hard to have a fresh perspective.

It may take some time away from what you are doing to have a 'new outlook' or perhaps it means showing someone else your work.

If you have goals and you want to reach them, then its important to stay on track. Try new paths, but when they are obviously leading you in the wrong direction, switch. Don't waste time. Make the cold hard decisions that need to be made and revisit your business plan or your marketing plan to make sure everything still leads in the same direction.

Some tips on how to keep on track:

1.  Ensure your plan is written down in hard copy. We are all about soft copies these days, that sometimes a hard copy is the reminder we need to ensure that we follow things through.
2.  Ask others to make you accountable. It may be other members of your team, your board of directors or your family and friends.
3.  Change paths if the path you are on isn't going to work.
4.  Make decisions and don't be afraid of failure.
5.  Engage with everyone around you and get their buy-in.

As one door closed late last week, another opened minutes later.

I sat on the beach, looking out at the stars and soaking up a warm summers night in Palm Beach. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I had had a run of bad luck. Fortunately, not in business. It was more little things like parking fines and delayed flights. Things that don't matter too much but all together seem like a big deal. I also had the anniversary of my father's passing, which is never a great time for anyone.

But sitting on that beach, I had a moment of clarity. And then everything changed.

Do your friends say the same things to you over and over again, and you shrug it off thinking they have no idea?

Have you had the same type of relationships over and over again, only to find that they keep ending the same?

Do you keep on getting the same outcome out of life and still find yourself sitting there on a Sunday night lonely?

The Superbowl is on and most of America is glued to their television screens. Madonna's performance was one of her best yet and the game is as thrilling as ever.

You have a problem with a client. They are unhappy and want to be attended to immediately. Do you take 10 minutes and ring the client or do you watch the superbowl knowing that 10 minutes out of the superbowl won't change your experience that much but what the heck... it's the superbowl?

That is the question. I know someone who chose the Superbowl and lost what could possibly be the most valuable client they ever had. Amazing where some people's priorities lie.

Millissah Smith, Atlanta. 

In any relationship, to spend time caring about another individual and sometimes sacrificing your own immediate wants, is the traits of a good person.

It could be a friend, a loved one, family, a client, a supplier or a member of your team.

When you watch relationships going on around you and you see people who genuinely care about others, its always a warm feeling. It doesn't even have to be about you.

I am serious.

I don't know about you, but my year started fairly ordinary. I had the worse New Years' Eve I can remember for some years, and then the next few days followed suit. It just kept on going on. I was in unfamiliar terriority so I couldn't really vent my frustration or the fact that I had a strong distaste for the continual negative elements that kept creeping into what had been a 'perfect' life.  In fact, I cannot say whether or not I have had a worse start to a year before and given that I tend to put so much hope in starting a new year - it was a tad disappointing. Actually, it felt quite soul destroying and as a fairly positive person, that's saying something.

We all have expectations and big occasions like New Years' Eve don't help. Isn't that the date for the most suicides and I am sure it is the same date that sends people to Xanax or whatever their choice of anti-depression drugs might be? To me, it is suppose to be about a fresh start to the year and full of positivity. Unfortunately it wasn't the case and as much as I willed for good fortune and happiness to surround me, it did not occur quite like I would have wanted it to. I had such high expectations that fell apart fairly fast and furious over the new year but to sit here and continually complain would not be conducive to anyone or anything. After all, there are people starving in the world and I am worried about my expectations not being met on an occasion which is just a great excuse to drink too much champagne and surround yourself with people that you may not ever see again or may only see again next year.

Instead of having a 'fresh start to 2012', I was bombarded with a failing in circumstances and my expectations of what life should be and how others should behave fell down quick smart.

When you are a small business, it is hard to find money just to pay the bills most of the time, let alone invest in team bonding or outsourced employee development.

I know that in the first couple of years of business, other than some hands on training from moi, my team received little if any outside training to develop their skills and capabilities as marketing consultants.

They were expected (sadly, this was the case) to research and find their own path to developing their careers as marketing consultants and were expected to use market research and the Internet as resources to learn about small businesses and the challenges they go through on a day to day basis.

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I can't sleep. Too much is going through my mind. I toss and turn all night long and wake up in the wee hours desperate to fall back asleep again, but not able to because I am thinking too much.

It's a problem that many small business owners face time and time again. I am no different.

What does your overarching marketing view look like? Have you written it down? Have you communicated it to your team? Do you have tactical marketing activities around your marketing strategy?

My view yesterday was pretty fantastic if you ask me. I was sitting on the couch overlooking one of Australia's most breathtaking views of Palm Beach pondering Marketing Eye's 2012 overarching marketing strategy.

Others might think that if you were sitting looking at the view (as in the picture) you might not be thinking about marketing, and more about how stunningly beautiful the view is, but when you are a small business owner and your business is 'your life', it makes perfect sense to take the opportunity to not only absorb your surroundings, but also, think clearly about your small business.

We are about to hit February - already! Time is flying and there is no time like the present to make sure your small business is in order. The cricket is mid-way. The tennis is over. Australia Day has been and gone. Everyone  is back in the office. Now, there are no excuses to not have your small business marketing program in order.

If you have not already done it - have a 'think tank' or 'marketing workshop' with your team and key stakeholders. Speak to your suppliers and ask them how they would improve your business in today's everchanging market.

Put a marketing strategy in place and get buy-in from your entire team. Video yourself talking about the company vision for everyone to see. Set up an intranet that has 'everything that is marketing' on it from what your brand stands for, your company culture, 2012 marketing activities, press releases and media stories and lead generation campaigns. Be more transparent and engage all your team on a level that they have not experienced before.

Change your view and I am sure your team and clients will change theirs too! It's business critical to your success in 2012.
Mellissah Smith, Atlanta