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What's Brewing Halloween looked a little different when I was growing up. There were no elaborate costumes ordered three months ahead of time. No trunk-or-treat every night for two weeks. No matching family costumes staged for Instagram. One year, I was a gypsy, and my Aunt Betty let me pile on what felt like every piece of costume jewelry she owned. Another year, we went to Middleton and bought one of those costumes in a box. You know the ones. A plastic apron that looked li

There is one very quick way to make me lose every cool point I have. Put me in water where I can't touch the bottom. That's it. I can be perfectly fine one second. Then my foot reaches down and finds... Nothing. And apparently my body immediately decides: THIS IS HOW WE DIE. What's Brewing When I was little, I almost drowned at Grand Valley Lakes. The strange thing is, I don't remember it. I've been told about it, so I don't know if hearing the story created the fear or if so

You can have a great business, a solid reputation, and a service people genuinely need. Yet somehow, your latest promotion brings in nothing but silence. Frustrating? Absolutely. However, before you blame social media, your competition, or the economy, take a closer look at what you're offering. Here's something many small business owners overlook: Customers don't buy something simply because you're selling it. They buy because they see a reason to choose it. A strong offer d

The first In N Out Burger I ever ate was in the back of a limousine in Las Vegas. Which makes it sound WAY fancier than it was. Let me explain. Years ago, when our oldest was two, we took a trip to Las Vegas. Now, Las Vegas with a two year old is an interesting vacation choice. There are approximately 4,732 things to do in Las Vegas. About six of them involve a two year old. What's Brewing We were staying at an Indian themed resort, and the food was Indian food. Butter chicke

II once took over a business where the previous manager had been stealing from customers. There’s a fun first day on the job. This was years ago, long before Kemp Marketing. I worked for a finance company, and they asked me to take over an office in Lexington. I thought I was taking over an office. Turns out, I was taking over a reputation. And not a good one. What's Brewing in Reputation Managment Once I got settled in, I started looking through the accounts. Something felt

One of the best movies I have ever seen is Get Low. It is loosely base on a true story! It stars Robert Duvall as Felix Bush, an old man who has spent years living alone in the Tennessee woods. Felix decides he wants to have his funeral. Except he wants to be there for it. He wants people to come while he is still alive. He wants to hear the stories. He wants to know what people would say about him if he were dead. It sounds a little crazy. But I have always thought there was

What's Brewing When I was little, I thought my Aunt Betty was the richest woman in the world. I had proof. My definition of rich was right there in her kitchen. Sitting on top of the refrigerator. I'll come back to that. Growing up, I don't really remember what we ate for breakfast. I remember supper. Beans were the meat. Cornbread. Fried potatoes. And sometimes peach cobbler or fried pies. But breakfast? I got nothing. I know we had cereal from time to time, but apparently n

My little sister got into a fight. When we were kids, everybody came to our house on the weekends because we had a big open yard. It was the neighborhood gathering place before kids had phones, schedules, or much supervision. Then a new girl moved in nearby. She was a couple of years older than me, and I remember thinking she was so pretty. I cannot, for the life of me, remember what happened between her and my little sister. But one day, my sister tucked her ring finger behi

You can be great at what you do and still be almost invisible. It happens all the time. A local business spends years learning its craft, caring for customers, building a solid reputation, and doing good work. Yet when someone searches online for that service, another company shows up first. Usually, that does not mean the other business is better. It means they are easier to find. That is why September at Kemp Marketing is all about visibility and authority. If you want cust

Choosing a digital marketing agency can feel a little like hiring a contractor when you do not know much about construction. Everybody has a website. Everybody has a list of services. Everybody says they can help you grow. The hard part is figuring out who actually understands your business, who will communicate clearly, and who is going to spend your money like it matters. Because it does. For a small business, marketing is not Monopoly money. Every dollar has to make sense.

There comes a point in almost every growing business when marketing starts feeling like one more plate you are trying not to drop. You know you need to post. You know your website probably needs work. You have been meaning to ask for more reviews. You are pretty sure Google matters. You may even have a folder full of half-finished ideas, Canva graphics, email drafts, and things you were definitely going to get to “next week.” The question is not whether marketing matters. The

I tried the college thing for about one semester. It didn’t work for me. At the time, that felt like a pretty big deal. It seemed like everyone else had a plan. People were going to school, choosing careers, and moving forward. I was trying to figure out where I fit. Then I saw an ad in the newspaper for a nursing home that would train you to become a CNA. Everyone I knew who wanted to work in healthcare seemed to be going to school for nursing, so I thought maybe this was my

Nobody handed you a marketing textbook when you started your business. You probably learned how to do the work, take care of customers, send invoices, solve problems, and keep the doors open. Then, somewhere along the way, somebody told you that you also needed a website, social media, SEO, email marketing, a funnel, reviews, Google, video, and apparently seventeen new pieces of content before lunch. Welcome to small business marketing. The good news is that marketing does no

What's Brewing It's a Saturday night in a tiny town in West Tennessee. The longest car you can imagine pulls into Patterson's Grocery in Middleton. We walked out carrying what looked like a small refrigerator. Nope. It was a VCR. If you're under 35, we used to rent the VCR before we rented the movie. Those things weighed about 175 pounds, had enough buttons to launch a spaceship, and took two people to carry it. Then came the real battle, hooking it up to a TV the size of my

What’s Brewing? Back-to-school season always makes me think about Cam’s senior year. We homeschooled, but she went to the academy two days a week for a few classes because I am self-aware enough to admit I am not 100% sure of my teaching skills in every subject. On the first day of her senior year, I gave her the speech. “Let’s make this a great year. No calls from the school. It is your senior year. You are almost done.” Cam absolutely hated school. So naturally, on the thir

What's Brewing I'm standing outside a little inn in Texas, coffee in one hand and suitcase in the other, waiting on my Uber. A white four door pickup pulled into the parking lot. I looked down at my phone to make sure it was the right ride because that wasn't exactly what I expected to see. I just read Ford truck so Im expecting this massive West TN truck I guess. The window rolled down. "Brandy?" I smiled, climbed in, and we headed toward Hobby Airport. For the next 45 minu

If you’ve been running a business for a few years, you know that marketing is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. But let’s be honest - finding the right dedicated marketing agency can feel like dating in your 40s: you want someone reliable, effective, and who won’t ghost you after a few months. Especially if you’re in home services or trades like plumbing, HVAC, or roofing, your marketing needs are unique. So, how do you pick the perfect partner to help your business

If you think marketing is just about throwing some ads online and hoping for the best, you’re in for a surprise. Effective marketing strategies are the backbone of any thriving business, especially for those in home services and trades. Whether you’re running a plumbing company, HVAC service, or roofing business, smart marketing can be the difference between a slow month and a booming one. Let me walk you through some practical, no-nonsense approaches that actually work. Why

Email marketing is often seen as the dusty old relic of digital marketing, but let me tell you - it’s far from dead. In fact, when done right, email can be one of the most powerful tools to drive engagement and build lasting relationships with your customers. If you’re running a business in home services or trades, like plumbing, HVAC, or roofing, and you think email is just for spammy newsletters, think again. I’m here to walk you through some practical, no-nonsense email en

If you think SEO is just a fancy acronym for something only tech geeks care about, think again. For businesses in home services and trades—like plumbing, HVAC, lawn care, electrical, painting, and roofing—SEO strategies are the secret sauce to getting noticed online. You’ve been around for a while, you’ve got a solid team, but your website traffic? Meh. Let’s fix that. Why SEO Strategies Matter More Than You Think You might be wondering why you should bother with SEO strategi