Ink & Key

➡ 1. Get a website that works.

Work with me and one of our web designers to write and create a new website for you or give your current site a makeover.
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We help businesses build, launch, and grow standout brands so you can:
⦿ be the brand people think of first
⦿ attract people you love to serve
⦿ and win repeat business and referrals Get a name and a logo.

Interact with the IK Branding Team in our unique mini-crowdsourcing experience and create a name and tagline that will be the foundation of your brand. From there, develop your brand even

more with Kara, our lead graphic designer, and create a fantastic logo and a brand style guide.

Whether you need a name, tagline, logo, brand style guide, business cards, social media headers, letterhead, or packaging design, we’ve got you covered.

➡ 2. If your message is unclear, your site visitors will look elsewhere. We will write and design a website that clearly presents what you offer, how it improves the lives of your clients, and how they can get it.

Whether you need a simple 3-page site or a complex e-commerce site with advanced functionality, we've got you covered.

➡ 3. Get a plan and get out there.

Work with us to develop a step-by-step strategy to connect you with customers and grow your business. Once we have a plan, you'll decide what you want to do yourself, and what you'd like us to do. We'll help you deliver your message in the way it makes the most sense for you and your brand.

Whether you need social media management, blog writing, lead funnels, landing pages, email campaigns, ads, or SEO, we've got you covered.

► To get a name now, just fill out our questionnaire and make your payment.

✉ Contact me here on Facebook or through my website to learn more or to schedule a free phone consultation. ✆e.

06/15/2026

No one ever drifts lazily out of a holding pattern. Ask me how I know this.

I've been in holding patterns before. Even if that pattern began as a good thing, eventually, if you want to move on, that holding pattern absolutely has to be interrupted. Either you have to interrupt it or someone else has to interrupt it for you.

Picture an airplane going up and down the same runway, but never taking off, or circling the airport, but never coming in for a landing.

If you know deep down that you're stuck, there might be something holding you back from interrupting that holding pattern.

But argh, most of us (me, it's me) tend to hang on to what's familiar and comfortable, even if it's not what's best for us. Taking action is hard. Moving toward the unknown is scary because what we know feels safer.

If you're feeling stuck, ask yourself and someone you trust if it might be time to take off or land the plane.

Almost every success story I've ever heard includes a holding pattern that was interrupted right before the breakthrough.

But you know what? I don't hear as many stories about the transition time between the holding pattern and the breakthrough. Usually, the breakthrough isn't immediate. There's going to be a time of waiting, when you might feel hidden and tired because you're building new muscles so you can step into the new and unfamiliar next thing.

Tell me about your breakthrough, your success, but especially share any wisdom you might have about that transition time in the middle.

06/12/2026

When people visit your website, are they ready to buy today? Maybe.

Or maybe they're checking you out after seeing one of your social posts.
Maybe someone referred them. Maybe they clicked an ad.
Maybe they asked their favorite AI tool for a recommendation.
Maybe they searched for X-Y-Z-near-me and found you on the map.
Maybe they're in a TAKE MY MONEY mood, ready to solve their problem, like now.

Visitors arrive with different levels of awareness, trust, and urgency.

Some just found you, some are shopping around, and some are ready to go!
If your website only speaks to one of those groups, you may be losing the others.

Your website needs words that:
*Help curious visitors learn more
*Give interested prospects reasons to trust you
*Make it easy for buyers to take the next step

Think about the last thing you bought, big or small. Can you point back to the words you read right before you decided to buy?

Wearing muumuus with some of the illustrious members of The No Agenda Dinner Club. This particular evening, we were ready to buy burgers at Market on Main.

06/05/2026

My vision is getting BETTER.

I finally made an appointment at LensCrafters to get an updated prescription so I could get new glasses and sunglasses. Last time, I got my prescription and then ordered from Warby Parker. Great experience.

I learned that one of the reasons I'm taking my glasses off a lot these days is because my vision is improving. 🎉 Maybe all the crunchy stuff, supplements, and saying things like "I'm aging backwards" are actually helping!

I was planning to do the Warby Parker thing again, but after spending time last week doing all the virtual try-ons, I was feeling decision fatigue. Just the thought of going home and making a decision all by myself about my glasses was overwhelming, plus it was one more thing on my to-do list.

So I started trying on frames after my exam, and asked the associate if he was opinionated and decisive. He said absolutely, and I said YAY!

I told him I wanted to make a fast decision and be out of there in 15 minutes. He grabbed the best possibilities for me, and as I tried them on one by one, he made faces and little noises (hmmm, mmmm, oooh) to express his opinion. 🤓 I told him not to hold back, and he didn't! Another associate got involved too and backed him up, sharing details about what did and didn't work for the shape and size of my face, my skin tone, and my hair color. It was an awesome experience.

I was thrilled to be walking out of there in 15 minutes. Yes, I was happy about the new glasses and sunglasses, but I was even happier that someone helped me make the decisions I needed to make so I could move on to other things.

Don't you think most of the time, people just want help making decisions? I get to work with a lot of brilliant people. Their brains are chock full of information, expertise, and knowledge. They need help sorting through it with another human who will give them confidence about the decision in front of them.

When someone tells me their brain is full of ideas, but they can't land on a message, I get it. They don't need more information. They need someone decisive sitting next to them saying "this one, not that one."

Are you a decide-on-the-spot person, or a go-home-and-overthink-it person? What sort of decisions are the hardest for you to make?

06/02/2026

If you are not coming to the Columbia Chamber Gather and Grow event tomorrow morning, why not?? I have props, people. You might get to be one of my volunteers.🦩 🎳 🎈

Get to bed early tonight so you'll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow and ready for the workshop. Learn cool stuff and start writing 5 soundbites to make your business unforgettable. 💰

When: 8:00 AM, Wednesday, June 3
Where: R2I2. 763 Fashion Dr. (up the escalator and to the left)
Why: Muffins. Coffee. Workshop. Props. FOMO is real.

05/29/2026

"Chase what gives you energy." - Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas

FYI: This is my dining room wall when I practice for workshops. Workshops give me energy, so I've been chasing them!

I'll be using my Apple Pencil and iPad during part of my StoryBrand workshop at the Columbia Chamber Gather and Grow next week! (Locals: Wednesday, June 3, 8:00 AM, R2I2, 763 Fashion Drive. Registration link in the first comment. Be there or be square. 😁 )

Practicing the live drawing part has been energizing, too. It's taking me back to how I drew ALL the time as a kid, how I taught art at a special-needs camp, and how I continually drew pictures on the chalkboard and on all the papers I graded as an elementary school teacher.

Send me a DM if you want to chat about a free workshop for your organization. Put a .com behind my first and last name to visit my workshop website and get more info if you'd like to book a private workshop.

What energizes you? Are you chasing it?

05/28/2026

Show your work.

Teachers always say this, but I still forget, so stay tuned for more Show & Tell posts.

Dr. Claudine Kubesh came to us to talk about rebranding her medical practice. We started by working through options for the new name, and the process took off from there.

Seattle Functional Health is now Santé Lifestyle MD. Tah-dah! 🪄

Swipe through for some before and after images, then go visit her gorgeous new website.

Here's some of what we did and are continuing to do:

Overall plan + ongoing strategy
Naming
Brand design + logo
Brand message + messaging playbook
Website copywriting
Offer design
Website design
Ad campaigns
Webinar, email, and social media marketing
StoryBrand messaging campaign

If you don't tell people what you do, they'll never know.

If your marketing feels scattered, scheduling a free call with me is the right decision.

05/22/2026

All the social posts in my head will have to wait until next week since right now I’m about 5 feet from the ocean. 🥰🏖️ Here’s an unfinished thought that will have to do for now.

“Don’t patronize me.” This is what I’ve told Claude before. I might have said please, but anyway, last week Claude laughed at me!

I uploaded the wrong screenshot and Claude’s correction started with “Ha!! You (insert my mistake here)! And then proceeded to tell me what to do.

Emotionally just wasn’t sure how to process that. 😅 Has Claude ever low key made fun of you??

05/14/2026

Columbia, SC area people, save the date! Tell your friends! Let's goooo!

Date: Wednesday, June 3
Time: 8 to 9 AM
Location: R2I2 Conference Center (up the escalator and to the left!)
Event: Columbia Chamber Gather and Grow
Topic: Say it So People Get It
Speaker: MEEEEEEE 😁

Okay, you know how I charge ONE MILLION DOLLARS to teach private messaging workshops?

This messaging workshop is a FREE Columbia Chamber event. The past 3 workshops I've coached at in Nashville are 2 full days, so we won't cover everything, but I promise, in our 30 minutes together, you will get an excellent overview and even some time to start creating your own short, simple, repeatable message designed to attract your ideal buyers.

Hop on over to the Columbia Chamber website to register.

Also, I may even bring a bowling ball or two. You have to show up to find out!

05/12/2026

A Story. A New Offer. An Ask.

Know a small medical, health, or wellness business? Send them on over!

05/07/2026

Here we go! It’s a full house here for the 3rd sold-out StoryBrand Your Business Live workshop in Nashville!

Day 1: Donald Miller is kicking off the day by talking about the massive cognitive load that customers have to take on in order to understand what we do.

Have you ever thought about the cognitive load of the words on your website?

Schedule a free call with me and I’ll audit your website and give you some tips on how to decrease the cognitive load of your site.

Why would you want to do this?

Ummm, why wouldn’t you?

When you lower the cognitive load of the words you use, you make it easier for your buyers to give you money.

The next workshop is September 1-2. Reserve your spot before it sells out, or if you don’t want to wait, let’s talk.

inkandkey(dot com)>schedule a call

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Nashville, TN
37201-37250

Website

https://www.inkandkey.com/

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