We were lucky to catch up with Terrace Townsend recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Terrace thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

The pandemic has changed so much for the marketing industry and most businesses and marketers have now come to terms with the importance of keeping up with the latest digital marketing trends. These trends have been critical to the success of recent marketing campaigns.

Some of the biggest trends that I am seeing include: the growth in live content creation, email marketing is here to stay, and TikTok marketing is a great way to build a community.

Live Content Creation
While social media has increasingly played a major role in the way businesses market themselves online and boost their customer experience, live videos are becoming king. Going live on the social media platform of your choice is a great way to showcase your products in real time. This is especially beneficial for e-commerce businesses by giving customers a chance to preview products and build trust to encourage them to buy. Live videos are also a great way to showcase talent and expertise will engaging with your audience further building trust. This can lead to increased conversion rates.

Email Marketing
Yes social media is important and even text marketing is growing and contributing more to a company’s profitability, but email marketing while it may seem outdated, it is not going anywhere anytime soon. Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, yet it continues to be an essential part of the daily communication for consumers and businesses. According to an Email Statistics Report done in 2019 by the Radicati Group, the number of emails sent and received by consumers and businesses exceeded 293 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow over 347 billion by the end of 2023. Don’t count email marketing out just yet.

TikTok
TikTok is now one of the most popular social media channels and is growing rapidly with 1 billion active users. According to HubSpot Blog Research this is the number one platform that marketers have increased their budget for in 2022. The TikTok platform allows users to build a community through engaging and transparent content in a way that hasn’t been done on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am a serial entrepreneur and the owner of iShop Couture Inc. and L.I.C. Marketing Co. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to own a business, but growing up, I didn’t have the opportunity to see anyone I knew pursuing entrepreneurship. This caused me to doubt my ability to achieve this goal. While in college, I was exposed to many different people my age who were creating and starting businesses and projects, this gave me the courage I needed to finally take the leap. Surrounded by so much motivation, I realized…there would never be a perfect time to launch. My businesses have continued to evolve and grow since then.

iShop Couture Inc. is an e-commerce store that sells cosmetic products, custom shirts, women’s apparel, and more. My e-commerce company is centered around designing and crafting a life that is exclusive, successful, and custom to what inspires women and what makes them happy. Every initiative of iShop Couture Inc. is to promote the self-love and self-care of not only our customers, but women all over the world.

LIC Marketing Company is a digital marketing and creative agency. We create strategic, innovative, and sustainable startups & lifestyle brands. By getting to the root of client issues, we are able to provide solutions that guarantee real results. At LIC Marketing, we take the time to ask our clients the key questions and listen for the gaps.

I have a deep-rooted passion for events, all things beauty and fashion, business/branding, and I’m just a girls’ girl at heart, I have also created programs, products, and services to help other women to live purposeful, productive, and successful lifestyles.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I started my first business in college while working 2 part time jobs to make ends meet. From there I guess you can say I have always had a side hustle. It became a norm for me and I viewed it as having multiple streams of income, but what I eventually learned after graduating college and starting my full-time career, was that by having one foot in and one foot out I was doing both my full time career and my business a disservice. I wasn’t giving my best to either area and I was putting in just enough effort for others to say I was doing a good job. I always wanted to make the leap, but whenever the time would come I would allow fear to hold me back.

Fast forward to August of 2020, I was a new mom, COVID hit and due to so many losing their jobs and the nature of my marketing business, my clientele began to grow rapidly. I would walk around all day with my work computer and my business computer and eventually I was stretched so thin that I had to make a decision. I decided that it was now or never and I bet on myself.

The biggest milestone I think I faced was shifting my mindset to really think and move like a full time entrepreneur. There was no more safety net and I was now in a position to make the rules and call the shots. Once my mindset shifted both of my businesses saw an increase that allowed me to continue this journey and grow as a business woman.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been to create an experience around every interaction. Whether a product is purchased or someone opts into a service to ensure that their customer experience is one that makes them feel special and heard. My customers/clients work hard and they could choose to shop or work with anyone but they chose me. This strategy allowed me to build my marketing agency through word of mouth before I ever had a website or social media presence for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lifeincouture.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lifeincouture
• Facebook: facebook.com/terracecouture