Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alycia Yerves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alycia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
Before I opened my own business in 2017, I had spent over 15 years working behind the scenes in the marketing departments of a few awesome theaters in New Jersey. It was always a whirlwind of creativity, personalities, excitement, and at many, many times: STRESS. But it would be impossible to overstate how much I learned back in my theater days.
One big thing that so many people don’t realize? Just how much STUFF happens behind the curtain that the average audience member never sees. The late nights, the countless rehearsals, the meticulous planning, and the endless efforts to bring a show to life, whether it runs for months or just one night. And that’s something that I think is important for entrepreneurs to remember, too. So many people will never understand how hard you’ve worked, and everything that has gone into you launching your new product, or opening your new location, or acquiring that new client. Only you know all the tiny little details that took place behind the curtain that have led to you bringing your “show” to life. Give yourself a standing ovation, because you have worked so incredibly hard!
I’ve also taken tons of inspiration from the art of marketing a show or event, and have learned to apply it to truly anything and everything I want to promote — for my own business or for that of my clients. Whether it’s a product, a service, or even an idea, in many ways I treat it like a production of a big show by swapping out theatrical components for their small biz counterparts. For example, when our theater would announce its upcoming season but the tickets weren’t on sale yet, we might be posting reminders on social media about ‘saving the date’ or things like that. This could be translated into small business use by creating reminder graphics in Canva, or even creating a waitlist opt-in form for collecting emails from folks who are interested in something you’ve got coming up so that you can contact them when they’re able to sign up (aka, “buy tickets to the show”). Another fun thing from the theater world was the day we’d publish the cast announcement and headshots; so, maybe that could translate into you sharing photos of yourself and/or your team who are working hard to create your product / event / service, etc. Maybe a theater’s footage of sets or costumes being constructed could translate into you sharing work-in-progress updates as a peek behind the scenes of you creating / designing / packaging / building your products to generate that buzz.
Another invaluable lesson I learned from my theater days was the power of “working backwards” when it comes to marketing and promotional timelines. We would start with the important dates—the ticket onsale dates, the date of first preview, the opening night party, the closing weekend, etc—and then work backwards from them to meticulously plan a lengthy runway to build anticipation and repetition in our promotion and messaging. Everyone is busy, so potential ticket-buyers (i.e., your potential clients) need lots of reminders about your show (i.e., your product). Working backwards allows you to continually build up impressions of your message and create excitement.
I also discovered that my “normal” day-to-day in the theater world was actually fascinating to others. The celebrity sightings, the behind-the-scenes hubbub, the front row seat I had to the process of putting up a production—it was truly interesting. I remember one time, it was a particularly busy and noisy day in the theater offices and I wanted some peace and quiet on my lunch break. I decided to go sit on the steps in the balcony of the big old theater to eat my sandwich and watch soundcheck for that night’s artist, Elvis Costello. There were a few dozen other folks milling around — light & sound technicians, stage crew, ushers, maintenance, etc. To me, it was just another day at the theater, just another tuna sandwich. But when I posted a pic of my lunch view that day, it blew up and really made me see the power of showcasing the behind-the-scenes magic, the process, and the stories that make things come alive. I use that same idea now, in my business, and when I help my clients with their content strategy, websites, or branding.
The many years I spent working in the arts industry before I leaped into entrepreneurship continue to inspire me every day. They fuel my creativity, infuse my offerings with that special touch of theatrical magic, and remind me to always think outside the proscenium arch.
Alycia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Oh, yeah… I forgot to say:👋 Hi! I’m Alycia Yerves.
marketer. designer. educator. nacho enthusiast. (more on that later)
I’m the founder of Alycia Yerves Creative, an award-winning marketing/design agency based on the Jersey shore.
I work with business owners to make your brand uniquely your own. I’m there for ya as your biz fairy godmother behind the scenes, helping tell your story and sprinkling that little extra bit of glitter to help you look your best. I believe you are your brand, and you are what makes you business what it is. I want to get to know YOU and create custom solutions so that you can get the results you need, and the reactions you want, from the people you want to reach.
Something I’m known for is incorporating the personality of the business owner into the finished product of anything I create, so that it truly feels like an extension of who you are. Whether that is designing a brand identity, a website, or a content strategy — I want you to be able to look at it and say, “Wow. This feels like me!”
Check out my Google reviews, people say I’m pretty good at it :-)
I’ve also had very curly, knotty hair my whole life so I’m an expert detangler for the business knots in your head, too. Let’s do a braindump and help you feel a little smoother about what’s ahead!
My ideal clients are kind, free-spirited, open-minded, creative entrepreneurs in the health/wellness, retail, or arts/entertainment industries. I love colorful stuff, 80s music, and nachos. You don’t have to love those things too, but “it’d be a lot cooler if you did” 😉
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
When I first opened my business, I struggled with my content and messaging and I felt the urge to be very formal in everything I wrote or posted. While I was confident in my skill set and the work I was producing, I was still a newbie business owner, out on my own, and constantly felt like I had to prove how “professional” I was. I would write social media captions and respond to project inquiries in this weirdly corporate manner and tone that was soooooo unlike me and so blah. It wasn’t how I talk, or look, or AM. And it felt so boxy and structured and conforming. It was frustrating!
But then one day I realized that I was always encouraging my clients and audience to be themselves in their marketing and messaging — but I wasn’t doing it myself. Talk about an “AHA moment”. Why are we afraid of having fun in business? Why can’t we color outside the lines like in kindergarten? That was when everything changed and I decided to just be me.
When I started to embrace this idea in my marketing — my photos became less staged and polished, my copy became more conversational, and I just allowed myself to play. Which is why my bio line now reads: “Marketer. Designer. Educator. Nacho Enthusiast”. I regularly get DM’s and emails that read: “You had me at ‘nachos’.” My most-mentioned quirky marketing attention grabber has landed me many clients.
My main point here is, by trying to appeal to EVERYONE – I wasn’t standing out. Because if you’re posting and writing and acting like someone you’re not… isn’t that a form of false advertising? You don’t want to be doing that, right? Your content and messaging should attract the right people, and repel the wrong people. When you try to speak to everyone, you’re speaking to no one— because you’re not for everyone, and that’s a good thing. So many of us fall victim to the idea that making your content general and “fine” will capture more people. But when you get specific with your content and messaging, you grab the attention of more of the right people you’re looking to connect with. You don’t have to follow some cookie cutter approach when it comes to marketing. Why be like everyone else? That’s so boring. You can go your own way, be yourself, and grow your brand. You don’t have to abide by outdated business traditions and what you think you SHOULD be doing. Don’t “should” all over yourself.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My marketing reputation began taking shape early on in my theater days. I was very fortunate to be building professional connections and recommendations long before I even dreamed of launching my own business. Many of my first paying clients were those familiar faces from that world, and that trend continues to this day. I was even able to work on the design of the Broadway cast album of the Tony-nominated musical, “Be More Chill”, partially due to my reputation and relationships from my previous career. I am extremely proud of that.
Or sometimes when someone’s searching for creative inspiration or needing someone to bounce ideas off of, I’ll get emails like, “So-and-so said I should talk to you about this.” I’m so grateful for those referrals and it’s another way that the power of word-of-mouth (and Google reviews) has really come through for me as a business owner. Most of my clients find me through past clients who were happy with my work.
But mainly, I think it’s that I’ve found that I have a knack for understanding who the business owner truly is. And I make sure their authentic self shines through in every element of what we create together. They see themselves reflected in the final product, and that has often led to other folks reaching out to me because they’d like to have the same experience. It makes me so happy when I hear that.
If you’re reading this and feeling inspired to add some sparkle to your biz, I’d love to chat… let’s do a virtual nacho date!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alyciayerves.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyciayervescreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlyciaYervesCreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyciayerves/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alyciayervescreative
- Other: my freebies and other important links are here: https://linktr.ee/alyciayervescreative