Angel Mills is the powerful woman behind Angel Mills Brand Strategy. Her company empowers cause driven brands to find and grow their unique voice through purposeful brand development, content creation, and promotional strategy education and support. I caught up with Angel as we discussed the key to consistent marketing and effective ways to grow online businesses.
Angel Mills, Founder of Angel Mills Brand Strategy
Tell us more about Angel Mills Brand Strategy. What inspired you to start it?
AM: “I started Angel Mills Brand Strategy at the end of last year. I was inspired to do so after a manager from a previous job came to me for marketing help with her small business. I realized that while I was helping her, I should just go ahead and start my own thing. I’d already been thinking about it for a while and the timing was perfect.
Angel Mills Brand Strategy is a marketing agency that helps cause-driven entrepreneurs develop their unique voice through client services and education. Now more than ever, consumers are caring more and more about where their products and services come from and the values of the folks who are providing them. I think that socially responsible marketing is a new and growing lane in the marketing realm and I’m very excited to be part of the industry at this time.”
In your opinion, what is the key to consistent marketing?
AM: “I think that consistency is definitely key to great marketing. As far as practices that I recommend for consistent marketing, I encourage folks to develop methods for planning and tracking goals and content creation. For example, I work with clients to set goals early and create and maintain monthly content calendars to plan when content will be created and when it will be deployed. This is a very important habit for businesses to incorporate if they want to maintain a consistent presence.”
I think what “growing your unique voice” means is finding that special point of rarity or synergy in your brand that connects you with your audience. Your brand is solving a problem for them and they’re rewarding you with payment so that you can continue providing that offering to them. The relationships is mutually beneficial.”
What do you love most about being a brand strategist?
AM: “I love being creative and coming up with different ideas, tactics, and strategies to connect entrepreneurs with their tribes! I also enjoy studying consumer behavior and learning about what motivates and drives people to make decisions.”
What are some effective ways to grow an online business?
AM: “Interestingly enough, I think that in order to effectively grow an online business, entrepreneurs have to connect with real people in real life. The internet is not a replacement for in-person interpersonal connection. Brands that are successful online build connections with consumers through experiential events, pop up shops, workshops, meet and greets, meetups, etc.”
How would you define success?
AM: “Success for me success is about options and access. The ability to grow, pivot, thrive, and empower others to do the same defines success for me.”
At what point in your life did you first learn about branding and marketing? What called you to take the next step?
AM: “I studied journalism in undergrad at Howard University. During my studies, I completed marketing and news reporting internships. I really enjoyed seeing how the two industries intersect, but wasn’t sure which one I wanted to delve into as a career. After finishing undergrad, I studied intercultural communication at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. I realized that I was very passionate about working with nonprofits and cause oriented entrepreneurs to help them craft messages that connect with their target audience and garner large scale media attention. Marketing affords me the flexibility and autonomy to the tell the stories that my community values.”
If you were magically given 3 more extra hours in a day, what would you do with them?
AM: “That’s easy, I would read. I love to read and I feel like I don’t have the time to do it as frequently as I would like.”
What do you like to do in your spare time?
AM: “Now that the weather has finally transitioned to spring and pretty much summer here in Atlanta, I’ve really been enjoying hiking and biking. Atlanta has a lush mixture of cityscapes and greenery that I love. There a bunch of parks and hiking trails less than 15 minutes from my home that I enjoy treading several times throughout the week.”
What motivates you and keeps you inspired in your work?
AM: “I want a successful tribe. I really enjoy connecting like-minded people. I’m always sending information and opportunities to my friends to help them reach their goals. I love getting calls or texts from friends when they tell me someone or something I’ve connected them to has turned into an opportunity for their success.”
About Angel Mills
“My passion lies in connecting people and solving problems through education and resource sharing. I constantly ask myself what information do I have to help others reach their goals. I love dissecting ideas and strategically working to figure out the best course of action for goal achievement.” – Angel Mills
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