Your Summer 2022 Membership Update

Welcome one and all to our Summer Membership Update of 2022.

That’s a massive welcome to all 205,000+ of you, DMI Members. 

Did you know that since our last Summer Update our Membership Community has grown by nearly 50K new members? 

That means that on average we are welcoming a whopping 4.1K+ new members every month. I mean that is just WOW!!!!

It’s good to see that in this crazy, scary world that DMI is a safe space for digital marketing professionals to come, learn, share and grow. In the latter half of this update, we explore how to overcome your fears and manifest some self-belief.

Membership with DMI turns a big FOUR years old this month and we would like to thank you all for your engagement and participation. Our membership offering continues to grow from strength to strength. I am delighted to announce that for the 3rd year in a row, we have been shortlisted for Membership Organization of the Year and for the 2nd year in a row we have been shortlisted for Best Podcast, by the awarding body Memcom. 

We have lots of lovely goodies to share with you, to celebrate this little milestone birthday.

CELEBRATING 4 YEARS OF MEMBERSHIP

First up is a brand new whitepaper. We conducted research with CMO’s across the world to find out what their mindset and focus is for 2022 and beyond. We hear how they view the digital marketing industry, our role as professionals in it, how we drive success to enhance brand awareness, growth and Return-On-Investment (ROI). We explore the potential for future changes and what you need to be doing to fill the gaps (including skills gaps) to rise to the challenge. Download the whitepaper here. 

Next Up, we have another free webinar for you folks -’ A Straight Talking Guide on Omnichannel Marketing Strategy’ on the 21st of July. Getting your Omnichannel Marketing Strategy right can be positively transformative. However, it can be challenging to understand and get right. So with this webinar, we’ll be providing you with the information and tools to create an omnichannel blueprint for your business. Register Here

If you’re not a POWER member, we have a treat for you! You can sign up and enjoy one month's power membership for free. You can explore the benefits that your POWER member colleagues and friends enjoy, and find a list of these benefits here. 

Discounts, Discounts, Discounts - You’ll see lots of discounts coming into your inboxes too, as we celebrate your membership by giving you the opportunity to sign up for programs, upgrade/renew your membership at reduced price. So if you were on the fence, or looking for a sign to upskill then now is the time, and check out your inbox.

We’ve also lots of interesting new articles, case studies and ebooks to keep your personal and professional skills up-to-date.

Here’s a few of my personal favorites:

• All Google Analytics 4 information and guidance. I know… it's nearly a year away, July 1, 2023 to be precise, and for some that feels like a lifetime away. However, here is your warning - you need to start preparing for it now!

Install it, configure it, play around with it. If you don’t then you’ll be missing data, and won’t be able to do data comparisons. The DMI will support you throughout this transition, providing you with information, guidance and updates - and here are a few places to start:

• The DMI Guide to GA4 
• A Guide to GA4 vs Universal Analytics 
• DMI Team Talk: What makes GA4 different?
• Webinar: GA4 Essentials - We had a whopping 11,000+ register for this webinar, joined by Chris Coomer from Neil Patel Digital.   

• How To Set Up An Ecommerce Business - An in-depth article which is supported by ebooks and webinars, guaranteed to get those considering moving their business online off to the right start. It also acts as a good little refresher for online aficionados who feel it wouldn’t hurt to reflect on back-to-basics.
• Walgreens: Convenient Healthcare for All - A lovely case study which looks at how a bricks and mortar pharmacy transformed into the online giant of today, whilst keeping customer experience core in its value and focus.

We have lots of great content coming including some special tools and guidance to support your career goals. So make sure you keep logging in - because we are adding at least 4 brand new pieces of content every single week.

HARNESS YOUR SUPERPOWER

I mentioned at the start of this update, that the world can be seen as a scary place. There are so many horrible things happening at the moment that being fearful can feel like the ‘new norm’ - if it's not Covid troubling you, then maybe it’s watching the rise of gun crime, or the rowing back of human rights, the war in Ukraine, global warming, rising inflation, the impending global recession, or maybe you just feel at a crappy place in your own life right now. 

Now the purpose of this section is not to depress you! But to acknowledge the power of fear. 

Fear can be an overwhelming, debilitating and frustrating force. For one’s own mind to have the power to stop them in their tracks, to impede you from moving forward in your own life and career. It’s mind-blowing. 

If you are as invested as I am in the Netflix documentary, ‘Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey’, you’ll have watched how fear, a fear of not being good enough, led people to give up their property, businesses, to follow blindly and unquestionably, even in the face of doubt. Fear can have life altering consequences and effects. 

But we do all have a super power within us that when wrestled and harnessed, can be used to inhibit, suppress and even overcome fear - Confidence in One’s Self.

Easier said than done, right? 

But there are a few easy things you can do, to harness your confidence, and manifest some self-belief.

1. Don’t self-deprecate: By using statements or language that downplay your qualities and achievements, you may feel you are making yourself more likeable and charming. However, you are in fact giving yourself a negative self-evaluation. So I ask you to consider two questions:

• Do you believe that being self-deprecating leaves the impression you desire with those you are conversing with? and,
• What impact do you feel, minimising your feelings, accomplishments and qualities are having on yourself?

“Once you embrace your value, talents and strengths it neutralizes when others think less of you.” Rob Liano

2. Mind your language!: The power of words, written and verbal, cannot be underestimated. 

Do you find yourself using phrases such as: “Maybe we should” or “I think this could” or “I just wanted to reach out” or “I hate/I’m sorry to bother you, but”  

Do you notice the words that soften, and therefore weaken the sentence? You must be more assertive when speaking and writing. 

Formulating articulate and confident responses help you to lay out the facts, maintain control of a conversation/situation, won’t undermine your authority and will instil trust and confidence in your abilities.

Have you ever said the following “what if we tried xxx?” Here’s a few questions to ask yourself before using a phrase like this:

• If this is your opinion or expertise, why are you phrasing it as a question? 
• Do you not feel that your observations, ideas or inputs are not valuable, unless they are validated by others? 
• Are you happy to hand over the ownership of your beliefs to someone else? 

Now try framing it as a statement … If we try xxxx! This feels stronger, more definitive.

3. Lean In: I am particularly referencing two specific areas (1) Your Instinct and (2) Your Anxiety. So what do I mean by lean in? Here we go:

Your Instinct - The main message here is to stop overthinking and to trust your intuition. Following your intuition will keep you on your path and empower you to take action and make choices, setting you apart from others.

For those of an analytical mindset, this may be difficult for you, but in this I bring you this comforting fact. Your instincts - don’t only stem from your knowledge, or acumen but also from your core values, so regardless of the outcome - you can have confidence and reassurance that you made the right decision for you, at that time with the information you had to hand.

Your Anxiety - Here I mean lean into your vulnerabilities. If you stay in your comfort zones then how will your level of confidence ever grow? 

You don’t need to jump into the deep end, but you can do small things to take you outside of your comfort zone, and do the things that make you feel ever so slightly uncomfortable. In doing so, you are gaining experience and putting yourself in new situations to allow your confidence to grow. 

So for example, if you don’t like public speaking, set yourself some small tasks and goals. For example your task could be to stop telling yourself that you can’t do it, and your goal could be to speak up at your next work meeting. A little nervous energy can be good for the soul and keep focussed on that euphoric feeling you’ll have when you achieve your goal.

Psst…. A little secret, people champion and cheer for those that step outside their comfort zone, so you have a receptive audience. 

4. Practice Makes Perfect: I know, it seems incredulous that we have to practice being confident, but to truly learn to be confident you need to accept that YOU are the main character in your own life. It's important to appreciate who you are and embrace your qualities - which may involve retraining your brain - a bit of positive reinforcement, so to speak. 

• Practice how to present your posture and body language i.e. sit up straight, stand tall, make eye contact and square your shoulders. Haven’t you noticed that confident people seem to fill the room.
• Practice taking credit for your achievements - accept the recognition, not only does it spread the word about your accomplishments, but it makes you feel good too.
• Practice how you articulate yourself. Read back your written communications, sense checking that you have written strong straight-forward sentences. Run your sentence through your head before you verbalize yourself, even jot down a few key words to provide you with guidance and support. If it’s available to you, join a group that you can practice speaking in front of, that can offer constructive feedback and pressure free opportunities to present publicly. 

5. Career Confidence: Do you know what your career goals are? 

If not, don’t worry I have the main one covered for you.

One of your goals should be job satisfaction - if you enjoy your job then you will thrive, have a confident and positive outlook and improve your chances of career progression and development. 

Your work experiences and your self-esteem are interlinked. Your work is probably a central part of your life. For some it’s been your chosen vocation for others you may just have fallen into, but either way, your work environment, experience and satisfaction is closely linked to your self-identity. Therefore it hugely influences your career confidence. 

To ensure that your work life is satisfying, make sure that you are always striving to improve your work life - that can be by upskilling, by being on a structured career development track, receiving recognition, rewards - such as promotion and salary increases and sometimes by switching employers. 

If you are planning on changing jobs, then check out our jobs board.

6. Find Yourself a Mentor / Community - A mentor can help you learn and grow, set achievable goals, and can help you seek out opportunities to give your confidence a boost. The other avenue that is available to you is the DMI community forum, this is a dedicated space where you can connect and get empowered by and with like minded individuals. 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear.” Nelson Mandela

YOUR COMMUNITY

Have you visited the community forum lately? 

We’ve been working away to support and enhance the forum as a powerful source of knowledge, opinion and debate, and it’s now a feature of our DMI PRO program. We’ll also be integrating the community forum shortly into our Strategy and Planning and Search Specialisms - but we’ve got some great threads going on topics such as Key Social Platforms, Email Marketing Tools & Strategy, and Creating and Curating Content.

Connect and Collaborate, and drop in today!

Wishing you all a lovely, warm and bright summer, and I look forward to seeing many of you at our July 21st Webinar. 

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]