Hi there! My name is Kyle. Welcome to my site. (Click here to say hello on Twitter)
Chances are, you got here because you found one of my marketing related posts. I love marketing, and I suspect you’re a fan of it too.
What this blog is about
The purpose of this blog is to provide tips, tools and strategies for serious marketers. More specifically, I want to help educate and empower those who are interested in learning and using marketing as a means to help build and grow a sustainable business model. You may be a business owner, non-profit executive, a department head or a new graduate. Regardless, if you’re serious about learning the art of marketing, this blog is for you.
You can expect a post from me every Tuesday. If you haven’t already, you’re going to want to sign up for my email list as these readers will get new tools, insights, content and first dibs on upcoming product launches.
Of course, I invite you to connect online too:
Top 11 Posts
If you’re looking for a place to start, here are the top 10 posts from the last year:
- How to Write a Strong Marketing Proposal
- Building your business on value, not pricing
- How to Calculate the Ideal Blog Post Length
- Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Give up on Your Goals
- The “Perfect Wife” Complex
- Celebrating Others Successes
- On leaving your job…
- Six Steps to Getting Unstuck
- Three keys to giving great feedback
- Three Quick Steps to a Zero Inbox
- Three Quick Steps to Eliminating To-do List Anxiety
About Me
I’m a marketing enthusiast: I sign up for new social media platforms early. I say yes to early adopter technologies so that I can see how it’s used. I’m an avid fan of new ideas, concepts and innovations. I believe that data is the primary driver of marketing, and if data is absent then, it’s a good theory will suffice. I love working with people who want to try new things and aren’t afraid of failing, and if we fail, then I’m a bigger fan of understanding why. I like launching new ideas and fighting for those who aren’t in a place to fight for themselves.
I love studying the culture in which we live and work. Of particular interest are cultures where a mix of people are required to work together; this is where complexity is at it’s finest. If done well, it can be complementary like fine wine, if not, you can create a toxic culture that can kill everything, including the very reason the group came together. Fascinating.
What I’ve Done
Over the past 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of being involved in the launch of many different startups; many of which are still thriving today:
- RELEVANT Books (Est. 2001-2006) – A forward thinking book publishing imprint that featured many authors who are now leading the Christian movement today: David Crowder, Chris Seay, Matthew Paul Turner, Margaret Feinberg, Erik Lokkesmoe, amongst many others.
- RELEVANTmagazine.com (Est. 2002) – A web-based content site dedicated to influencing and challenging Christian culture
- RELEVANT Magazine (Est. 2003) – A bi-monthly print magazine with the same purpose as the .com
- Halogen TV, now Pivot (Est. 2008) – A national cable television network that leveraged the TV platform to make the world a better place.
- Help-Portrait, Inc. (Est. 2009) – A global non-profit that inspires photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists to find people in need, take, print and deliver portraits
- The ROOTS Initiative (Est. 2014) – A non-profit that provides music and dance opportunities to underprivileged students.
In 1998, I ventured out my “normal” job and started the first of many businesses:
- 1998-2002 – Extreme Media – Web and print design that primarily served small business owners, startup entrepreneurs and the Christian music industry.
- 2006-2015 – Motiveight Marketing Group – A digital marketing agency. Our clients included small business owners, non-profits, publishing companies and events. This company took a two-year break and resumed in 2012.
- 2012 – Current – ROOTS Academy – Purchased and rebuilt a thriving music and dance academy dedicated to helping parents and students excel in the fine arts.
- 2015 – Current – Full Cycle Marketing – A digital marketing agency that services online marketers by helping them plan, launch and build sustainable online products, courses and services.
Personally
On the personal side, I’m a husband of 17 years to Kristy and the father to three: Savannah, Caleb & Daniel. I am a devoted follower of Christ and an active member of my local church, Church of the City. I own a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback that my grandfather drove off the lot. Unfortunately, it sits in my garage because it needs some work.
My Biography
I grew up in Bend, Ore., which is arguably one of the best small towns in the country. After graduating from George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. with a management major and music minor, I started my career at VoxCorp, publishers of 7ball and Release magazines, in 1997 as the online and distribution manager. I worked there for two years before venturing out as a freelance web designer under the d.b.a. of Extream Media (such a 90’s name). After a little over two years as an independent, my wife and I moved to Orlando, Fla. to help launch Relevant Media Group, RELEVANT Magazine and Relevant Books. There I served as the sales and marketing director from 2002 until 2006. From 2006-2010, I was the owner and lead consultant at Motiveight Marketing Group; an digital marketing agency that helped brands make meaningful and profitable connections to generation X and Y. In 2008, I took on the challenge of helping to form and launch a start-up national cable television network, Halogen TV. In 2010 we moved to Charlotte, NC to fulfil the Vice President of Marketing role permanently. In 2012, I was promoted to the Senior Vice President of marketing (consumer, digital and affiliate) for Halogen TV and INSP television—both were nationally distributed cable television networks with approximately 75 million combined households. Halogen was later sold to Participant Media in the Fall of 2012 and then relaunched as Pivot in the summer of 2013. On August 31, 2012, we closed on the purchase of ROOTS Academy and relocated back to Nashville (for the third time) in September 2012. Also in September, Motiveight was relaunched as a business development and marketing consulting company. In March 2015, I relaunched Motiveight as Full Cycle Marketing.
While the above mention the things I do, they aren’t what make me who I am. I am a husband to Kristy. In July 2007 I became the proud father of Savannah Grace. It took us five years to conceive, thanks to the very generous help of Dr. Mark Trollice from Fertility C.A.R.E. in Winter Park, FL. Our son, Caleb Douglas, arrived on January 9, 2009. Our third child, Daniel Noble, arrived on December 29, 2010. Finally, I am the son of Mike & Tina Chowning, and the brother of Charysse Hesse, who passed away on October 13, 2014 after a ten year battle with cancer.