Ahem…is this thing on?

Hello world wide web. Welcome to my blog. After taking a seven-ish year break while I stay home with my boys, I am excited to share all the fun marketing stuff I am getting into these days.

First up, I launched Sarah Gilliam Media. This is my own little marketing brand I've been building since 2020 Covid-times. I am enjoying building my client base and refreashing my skills on all things marketing and public relations. What's changed? Well the online landscape is even more cluttered and chaotic and traditional media is even more condensned and scrappy. There are a ton of new tools, like AI, to learn and navigate but I'm down for change. I have to be in this industry.

This week it has been fun to get back event promotion and press releases. Oh yeh, baby. It feels like I am putting on my favorite hoodie that has been folded in my closet since last winter. I love planning events and finding unique and creative ways to spread the word.

I have enjoyed helping my longtime client (and mom friend!) Ona Armstrong with Firefly Valley Pottery spread the word about two cool upcoming events - Ornament Making Workshops and the Bountiful Bowls fundraiser. For promotions we did a combo of traditional and online marketing. My first step was to list each event with a clear description and eye-catching graphics on the Firefly Valley website. Ona did a few videos on her businesses Facebook page, showing her making the ceramic bowls for the fundraiser. Visuals still matter, y'all!

Secondly we drafted a concise press release about both events to shop out to online and print media outlets in the Asheville market. This release had a very timely and newsworthy hook due to Bountiful Bowls being a fundraiser for nutrition outreach. The longest government shutdown largely effected SNAP access in western North Carolina.

I'm thrilled to share that the Bountiful Bowls fundraiser has SOLD OUT and Ona's ornament workshops greatly increased sales from last year's events.

For bigger picture marketing, I leveraged these events as a way to introduce Firefly Valley Pottery to a few new (to me) websites that promote local happenings - AVL Today, Discover Asheville, Ashvegas, Explore Asheville and Romantic Asheville. We will continue to build relationships with these fellow small businesses that are part of the ever growing digital landscape.

What's next? I've started working my Mom and her many, many musical endeavors. We're currently promoting an upcoming gig in our hometown Thomasville, Georgia. She's reuniting with a high school classmate to play music in downtown Thomasville on Black Friday. I'm also very excited to help her celtic band based in Asheville to develop a Press Kit.

Stay tuned for updates on this exciting new project!