From Childhood Staple to Grocery Store Favorite: Terranean Herbs & Spices

Tina and Jehona prepare za'atar to ship to an e-commerce customer.

I never thought I’d be able to tour Jasmine Bakery. I grew up going to Aladdin’s on an almost monthly basis, and the pita bread there was a family favorite—especially for my brother, who was the pickiest eater out of all of us. We’d bring a bag home, and it would disappear in about a day. Then our parents would “happen to be in the area” and grab another bag as a treat. On this tour, led by Terranean Herbs & Spices founder Tina Chamoun, I found out that the drawing on the bag is of her mother-in-law.

How and Why Content Marketing Can Help Your Business

Photo Credit: AllGo

Kalamazoo’s one-way streets almost deterred me from getting to the conference hotel, but I got used to them after the first day—with the added incentive of growing my food marketing and supply chain knowledge. Three food product booths lined a hotel lobby aisleway. There was an immediate, stark difference in their approaches. Two of the booths took a more hands-off approach, leaving samples out for folks and getting into shallow conversations about their products with passers-by. But at the third booth, which had comparatively the smallest crowd, I saw the booth staff talking to people for more than a couple seconds.

4 Brain Breaks for Better Writing

When you’re chasing deadlines, stepping away from your work is necessary, but it might seem nearly impossible. It can be even more difficult if it’s something you’re not used to doing, like writing for your small business. Sometimes the more time you spend away from your writing, the less you want to actually follow through… Continue reading 4 Brain Breaks for Better Writing

To Sell or To Tell: The Differences Between Copy and Content

I met Josh Womack when he presented at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator conference in 2016. He talked to us about how his background in comedy contributed to his career as a copywriter. While I don’t know where my notes are from that day, I do have his handout, which includes: “Unique about me: Short, Middle child,… Continue reading To Sell or To Tell: The Differences Between Copy and Content

Partner Spotlight: Getting Literary with Legacy Book Coaching & Consulting

Rebecca’s first Western Reserve Writers’ Conference at Cuyahoga County Public Library was the best iteration in 38 years—and Eryka Parker, who runs Legacy Book Coaching & Consulting, agrees. It’s where the two met six years ago, and they’ve been friends ever since. Eryka has coached dozens of authors through Legacy Book Coaching & Consulting, so… Continue reading Partner Spotlight: Getting Literary with Legacy Book Coaching & Consulting

What to Expect When Hiring a Content Marketer

When folks approach us to start an engagement, we try to explain our process in an easy-to-understand way. All of us learn differently, though. And we thought it might be worthwhile to have a reference point for folks to use whenever they need—as often as they need—for building connections with content marketers. These considerations are… Continue reading What to Expect When Hiring a Content Marketer

How to Use Semicolons

People seem to have this fear of semicolons as if they’re apparitions that only live within academic papers. They think they’re for run-on sentence aficionados. Semicolons stop people in their tracks when reading—just the author showing off. But they’re really not that scary…I promise. In fact, they’re the most underrated punctuation mark. It’s because of… Continue reading How to Use Semicolons

Partner Spotlight: Becoming an Entrepreneur with The Dalessandro Group

“I think we’ve actually met before,” I said to my then-mentor at a John Carroll networking event, referencing the woman he introduced me to: Gina Dalessandro of The Dalessandro Group. She nodded in agreement. When we reviewed our backgrounds, Gina and I had actually met multiple times before—as contractors for the same company (working on… Continue reading Partner Spotlight: Becoming an Entrepreneur with The Dalessandro Group

9 Things I Learned on the Seattle Coffee Culture Tour

I remember using the card catalog in the school library to find the books I needed. This was pre-Wikipedia, and when that launched in 2001, we pretty much had the answers to any question we could ever want to know at any time—except, not initially as accessible without smartphones. Sometimes, it’s nice to go back… Continue reading 9 Things I Learned on the Seattle Coffee Culture Tour

How to Write Kickass Blog Content

Most of my phone’s memory is dedicated to my extensive notes collection, peppered with forgotten to-do lists, poetry tidbits, weird overheard conversations, and full-blown stories. My latest entry chronicles items found on the side of the highway. I love writing, especially when it comes to recounting interesting things that have happened around me. While we… Continue reading How to Write Kickass Blog Content