Here is a synopsis of the marketing plan I created for my work at the Michael Feliz State Farm Agency:

Purpose.
The purpose of my marketing efforts is to drive new business into the agency. By consistently going to new places and meeting new people, I will build business and personal relationships that ensure continued success.

Target Market.
My primary targets are sources that will generate a continuous flow of prospects, and locations that contain large numbers of marketable prospects. A huge benefit of car insurance marketing is that almost everybody is an interested prospect. The main targets are:

1. Car Dealerships
2. Mortgage Companies
3. Realtors
4. College Students
5. Regular People

Niche.
Unlike other agencies, the Michael Feliz Agency knows the clients and the community, inside and out. Our new agency will be built with personal connections and relationships, which is great at a time when advertising is everywhere, all the time.

Competitive Advantage.
State Farm offers the benefit of 24/7 “good neighbor” service. Our agency, in particular, will stand out from its competitors by offering a more personal touch. I will know the people at the local dealerships, mortgage companies, real estate agencies, etc. I will use networking and personal advertising to expand our customer base.

Identity.
The Michael Feliz State Farm Agency will be recognized as a friend of the local community. We will be perceived as good neighbors that help people with their insurance and financial needs. I will be perceived as a spokesman that guides the city to take advantage of our services.

Weapons.
I will use networking and public relations to boost our brand awareness and bring in new business. I will also utilize my web and graphic design knowledge to benefit our agency on a discounted, freelance basis. When our agency can afford it, I will also lead an online marketing attack that brings our agency to the forefront of the Internet’s local prospect market.

I’ve planned it for a while, and it’s about to happen.

Let’s take a look at the industry. Baltimore’s hip hop scene is far from fantastic, although the talent is phenomenal.

What’s the problem? Although the Mid Atlantic is home to some of the greatest MC’s of our time, poor marketing is ruining the business. What Baltimore rap artists have a major record deal, and albums dropping?

B Rich launched a major label CD, but who’s heard from him since? Bossman had a major record deal with So So Def that fell through the cracks, and D.O.G. is signed but has not dropped much of anything.

The company, Raw Street Music, will be the ultimate marketing tool for the local, underground hip hop artist. Eventually, it will be international. Artists will be able to post articles and press releases about their albums, mixtapes, lyrics, etc. A newsletter, called the Raw Street Journal, will the ultimate source for the local underground rap fan, artist, producer, and agent. We will also offer web, consulting, printing, design, writing, and other services.

Right now, I’m working on building a portfolio in this industry. If you are somebody in the hip hop industry that needs a web site or graphic design, contact me, and I’ll give you a great deal. If you know someone that could benefit from my services, I’m offering 10-25% commissions for referrals in this industry.

On November 22, I included an offer on my blog, which stated that anyone that purchases my Master Design solution (for a limited time) will have free web hosting and domain registration for the first year.

THIS OFFER ENDS MIDNIGHT, NEW YEARS DAY! January 1, 2008!

This is a $260 web site savings. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Call my cell phone at (410) 868.7773, and I’ll give you the ultimate web solution today.

I just launched my new personal MySpace page. It’s a flash template. I usually don’t mess with flash because of it’s poor search engine performance, but I’m using this site to market to local MySpace users. Therefore, I won’t have to rely on search engine rankings.

You can view the new MySpace page here.

Today, I created and launched SEOcyclopedia.com, a wiki reference to Search Engine Optimization terms, tips, and tricks.

I had a 12-hour deadline when I started the project, so it’s not my best work. I plan on turning it into a Joomla site, keeping the wiki, and integrating a forum and some other cool features.

You can view the current site at www.seocyclopedia.com.

Today, for my Business Writing class, I designed a 11″ * 17″ print advertisement for a fake Burger King product line, FireFries.

I added it to my Portfolio. You can view the dummy print advertisement here.

This week, for Digital Technologies class, I am creating a wiki about search engine optimization and marketing. It will allow anyone to join, share, write, and edit content relating to SEO. It will serve as an encyclopedia, handbook, and community for Internet marketing.

This site will be up and running Wednesday, November 28, at the latest. You can (or will be able to) view it at SEOcyclopedia.com.

For my Business Writing class, I’m designing a poster to advertise a fake food. Although it is not a real advertisement, it will give prospective clients an idea of my skill level when designing ad graphics and posters.

I’ll post the ad tomorrow, at the latest. If you are interested in ad design services, you can view more works in my portfolio, and contact me for more information.

So, you’re looking for a web site?

Odds are, you considered it. They say that if you want to get something done right, you do it yourself. Use this survey to determine whether or not you’re capable of designing your own web site.

Are you good at graphic design?
If you want a professional web site, text and tables just don’t cut it. A picture is worth 100 words. You’re layout needs to possess excellence in beauty and design. If you’re not a wizard in Photoshop, Imageready, Freehand, and Fireworks…good luck. You’ll need it.

Do you have the latest software?
Unless you are an absolutely brilliant web coder, you will need more than Notepad to get the job done. One of the top web design tools is Microsoft Frontpage, which is a tool that I will never, ever, recommend. What do you need? The latest version of Adobe’s web and graphic suites, most likely. Oh, and you have to know how to use it.

Do you know how to create beautiful templates?
HTML is dead. R.I.P. If you want to create a professional web site that loads quickly, looks great, and performs well in search engines, it better be CSS/XHTML, and up to Web 2.0 standards. Stay away from tables! Don’t even mention frames. Those web sites were never alive in the first place to be dead. To make a great template, you should make your graphics in Photoshop, make your graphical layout in Fireworks, and make your CSS template in Dreamweaver. It’s never more simple than that, although it often is much more complicated.

Do you know how to make it work?
Do you know how to integrate CSS, XHTML, Flash, images, text, forms, multimedia, and even content management systems in your web site? If you don’t, leave it to the pros.

If you are interested in a web site but do not have the technical skills to do it yourself, feel free to contact me at any time for a consultation.

Within the upcoming weeks, I’m expecting to design a top-quality web site for the Baltimore-Harford District of the United Methodist Church.

Once we agree on the terms of the project, I’ll post more info about it.