Today we’d like to introduce you to Micaela S. Benn.
Hi Micaela, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today?
In April of 2020, as the global pandemic was rapidly sweeping every nation and unmasking political and social unrest, I felt sidelined. I took extreme measures to shelter in place while homeschooling my three-year old son, Mason, as social distancing became the norm. One way that I decided to voice my frustration was by co-facilitating virtual forums with members of my senior high school graduating class, and since attendees participated from homes as far ranging as from The Southeast to The Northeast and The Southwest, every classmate that dialed in was searching for a common sense of community and resolution.
Initially, conversations held virtually among the 20-30 former classmates were to discuss a book turned mini-series that was written and published by a fellow member of the Shaker Heights High School Class of 1998. This book, Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng, had spent 48-weeks on the New York Times Best-Seller List, and of course, we were all proud of her. At the time these discussions began, the mini-series was airing as a new release on Hulu. Our discussions were not to critique the book or mini-series, rather, to relate to our hometown some of the experiences that we had shared. The gravity of themes that were prominent in our community while growing up in Shaker Heights were certainly worthy of conversation.
The gatherings, I believed, were what a lot of us needed as a break away from parenting, adulting, and adapting to the newness of this unknown virus that was spreading across all nations. So, the Spring season began as a way to simply engage in dialogue among a group of people who shared a sense of community, about the anxiety and unknown state of living in a pandemic. In the end, though, those conversations soon redirected toward discussions on the present state of racism, stereotyping, and what each of us may offer to positively impact each person’s corner of the world.
What was particularly unsettling to me was the media coverage of protests held almost daily in Atlanta, just 15 miles from where I live in Gwinnett County, Georgia. This stirred a rage towards the senseless acts of murder that had recently occurred in Minneapolis, with George Floyd. The unsettling of my spirit persisted with the agony that was being experienced by the family of Ahmaud Aubery, whose murder in Brunswick, Georgia was sweeping headlines. The Black Community at-large in many countries was speaking out against the overall disgust with a system that was not extending the due process of law to punish offenders, and I wanted to take a stand, too.
It seemed inescapable, the reminder of how dire the need for change was. Sometimes, I would close my eyes and see flashes of the Wendy’s drive-thru located a few hundred feet from the corner of University Avenue and Pryor Rd. From April of 2019 until December of the same year, my partner and I had passed there nearly every week while we rehabbed an investment property. We had even stopped there a few times. Never did it occur to me that a man, Rayshard Brooks, would take his final breath there at the hands of police.
And if these visions weren’t bad enough, my heart was heavy about recounting one potentially fateful night that could have been my last. My mind replayed a night in 2003 when I lived in an apartment in Plymouth, Michigan, where I found myself opening the door after several moments of banging to a SWAT team. With automatic weapons drawn, I fearlessly addressed the police to let them know that they were knocking at the wrong door. They were looking for my neighbor to serve a search warrant for his arrest. Though that had occurred nearly 17 years before the unfortunate tragedy of Breyanna Taylor, I could clearly envision how differently things could have gone for me at age 23 because of the carelessness that was taken in Louisville, Kentucky.
At every turn, hope and faith seemed to wane in the balance with only glimpses of either offering solace. By June, I firmly stood in solidarity with all who were upset and ready to do something to vindicate the lost lives. I found a way to fulfill the urge to march, shout, or stand shoulder to shoulder at demonstrations in an alternate way, though. This, I felt, was a better way to align with my unique perspectives and parenting experiences. I decided to use my creativity to reach the youngest among us with messages that inspire awareness, inclusivity, and promote early literacy. After all, I reasoned that adults who are bigots and treat others unfairly tend to pass those traits along to their children. And if children were taught in the books that they read to be open to people whose cultural beliefs, traditions, and values differ from their own, then the next generation of children may be adequately prepared to treat each other with kindness, or at the very least, with respect.
To me, it seemed that the stars were aligning for something significant to happen. I could not ignore the timeliness of it all, either. First, the virtual reunion, brought on by my efforts to spark a dialogue about the series based on a book that partially addresses the history of race in Shaker Heights. This, juxtaposed against a country in turmoil about issues of race, and the resurgence of attention toward achieving balance on matters of race. My compulsion to do something profound to address the social and political distress of the Spring of 2020 resulted in the first draft of my manuscript for what would soon become my first independently published book, “Little Mr. Fix It Assists With The To-Do List.”
Writing and independently publishing a book was a step in the right direction to pivot skills that I had already been exercising for years as a content creator into a new medium. However, until this point, I had no direct experience with publishing children’s books. Naturally, I was eager to learn more about independent publishing, and to do so, I turned to a friend from my hometown who had already self-published a children’s book of her own. Once I spoke with this friend to get details, that prompted me to do more research and I immediately drew comparisons to the self-publishing process with project management roles that I held across 16 years of corporate experience as a Branding and Product Marketing professional.
Because of the similarities that I noted, I confidently proceeded with the administrative management and strategic marketing plans required of each stage of self-publishing without fear or hesitation. Within one week of that initial phone call, the friend who was so helpful at pointing me in the right direction remarked in a follow-up message that she had an opportunity for me. Apparently, the exchange of ideas during the part of our phone call that dealt specifically with marketing strategies is what led her to ask me to assist with the launch of her second book. Her book was scheduled to release toward the end of 2020, and by my timeline, mine would take between 3 and 7 months. It was clear that I would have the time if I pivoted out of what I was doing in an entrepreneurial capacity in the real estate realm, so I agreed to ensure that the next book in her series would release with clearer intentions. Within two weeks, I began the work of developing and implementing a digital marketing plan and content strategy to ensure the success of her book release.
Subsequently, it became more apparent that the function of marketing was one that children’s book authors were not skilled in, nor did they willingly embrace. To my surprise, I joined a few social media groups where children’s book authors network and share insights and learned that many of them had a love-hate relationship with marketing. With additional networking, I began to see how my background with branding, content marketing, and product management could potentially extend into marketing services and coaching to simplify the workload of children’s book authors. From my perspective, fulfilling this need among independent authors gave me a way to extend my mission of promoting diversity and early literacy throughout the children’s book genre to an even larger audience of readers. In response to the opportunities that were coming my way, I formed a boutique marketing agency, BrandStory Blvd, and accepted my first new client in August 2020. The name of the company changed in November of 2021 recently to Children’s Book Marketing Company, yet I firmly believe that by helping a community of diverse authors reach more families, that more children’s lives will be enriched with stories to entertain and equip them for social and emotional learning.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road to self-publishing my first book while also starting a consulting agency was challenging, but manageable. I observed up front that there are several steps to follow that may be overwhelming without the right systems. To follow a process flow that guaranteed the appropriate tasks were completed in the correct order, I counted on past leadership experiences in project management that brought multi-million dollar products and programs to market in the business-to-business industries that I had worked in previously.
In addition to establishing systems, I relied on my experiences managing large brand budgets to keep the costs of self-publishing under control. Independently publishing a children’s book can be expensive, yet without a budget the costs can be stifling. To address this issue, I treated the earliest stage of my author journey like a small business that was worthy of the organization and fiscal responsibility of a corporation much larger than mine. Once I had carefully evaluated the expenses to bring Little Mr. Fix It Assists With The To-Do List to life, I chose to fund production and marketing through the support of a crowdfunding campaign.
Little Mr. Fix It Assists With The To-Do List is a colorful, rhyming picture book for kids ages 3 to 8. The endearing story features a doting father, Mr. Jefferson, and his helpful son, Josiah, who spend the day together working through a list of household projects assigned by Mrs. Jefferson, who is a mother of three that works from home. By offering him a chance to use tools and be hands-on with the completion of simple household tasks, Josiah’s dad makes him feel included and shows him that being responsible starts at home. Josiah is proud to contribute in a meaningful way, and he is eager to learn from his dad, who is a skilled woodworker, so he wastes no time jumping right in to assist.
The crowdfunding campaign to support the book was held for 21 days on Kickstarter on December 10, 2020 (http://kck.st/37NWZf6). At that time, the book’s illustrations were underway and the illustrator, Erica N. Ramsey-Bowen, who is also a Metro Atlanta resident, was hard at work to complete the book by the end of January. With the help of 125 backers, the Kickstarter funding goal was surpassed and the campaign funded three days before it was scheduled to close. With the campaign funded, it closed on New Year’s Eve and I went into 2021 with the resources necessary to produce hard cover, digital versions of the children’s book, and to meet marketing and distribution expenses.
After the campaign funded, a series of unanticipated delays occurred. First, the illustrations took longer than the project timeline allotted, but I found this to be an asset to the project rather than a hindrance. The extension was welcomed because I am a proponent of the creative process. Plus, I knew that there were plenty of other responsibilities to meet during the time that lapsed. In addition to taking on more clients for one-on-one coaching, I designated more time to establishing the direction for complementary merchandise that would be released in support of the themes within the story and illustrations.
The ecosystem of the brand that is Little Mr. Fix It gained momentum during this period of creative intensity. The initial concept discussed between me and my illustrator were to create a line of stationery for kids to mimic what is utilized by the main characters in the story. This would give kids confidence by allowing them to practice reading skills and also give them the freedom to exercise their writing abilities in a parent-approved manner. The existing line of stationery and educational workbooks are available on the website, www.littlemrfixit.com, and the platform is managed like other ecommerce websites that focus extensively on branding and promotions.
The ideas kept coming, though, and I collaborated with a fellow children’s book author to create a series of videos for father and son crafts. These videos were inspired by illustrations from the book, and have been live on The Activity Author YouTube channel since the book launched and began pre-selling in June 2021 on Father’s Day Weekend. Beyond that, I also used this time waiting for illustrations to be complete by scoping, budgeting, and starting projects that include the development of learning games, educational workbooks, and a line of children’s bedroom décor. These supporting profit centers will release within the first 18 months of the book being available. Subsequently, plans are already underway for complementary merchandise to support each future title in the Little Mr. Fix It Book Series.
During the weeks that passed prior to completing illustrations, the synergy between Erica, my illustrator, and me, grew to be more dynamic in a way that defied logic. We are both looking forward to working together on the next 2 books in the series, which will release in 2023 and 2025.
Another challenge that I encountered was with book production. The printer that I chose is in China, and offers impressive quality printing at an affordable price. The communication and capabilities of the printer are why I was excited about working with them; however, I understood that selecting an overseas printer may be accompanied by other concerns. The delays experienced because of COVID-19 caused production to shut down twice. Then, limited energy consumption edicts required production in this province of China to operate at a fraction of full capacity for weeks. Plus, the extended time to ship goods by container shifted the arrival of the first shipment to push from early June 2021 to mid-August 2021.
The final delay was also related to COVID-19, but this one directly involved its impact on my family. We contracted The Delta Variant of the virus in mid-August. Ironically, this occurred during the same week that the shipment of books arrived. For the next four weeks, I was unable to package and fulfill orders, which were now to be sent to Kickstarter Backers, as well as requests secured during pre-sale and the most recent orders that were hitting the website.
Please tell us more about your business or organization. What should we know? What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for? What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud brand wise? What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
When I created Children’s Book Marketing Company, a boutique marketing agency, I envisioned providing support to children’s book authors who want to strategically use digital marketing to connect with readers and sell more books. By offering managed services, my team and I provide expertise that reassures them that they are connecting with the right communities of readers. Not all of our clients are interested in managed services, though. For this reason, I offer coaching. This is to build the confidence and establish the capabilities that children’s book authors need to reduce the stress of navigating digital communication channels, such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. Messaging is one of the most important components of marketing, so the coaching programs are customized for children’s book authors to be empowered to implement strategies that they can execute on their own or outsource to a virtual assistant.
One thing that sets Children’s Book Marketing Company apart is that it is not a publisher. Because of this, we are often referred children’s book authors who have received services from publishers. We are able to fill a gap in the market because publishers can generally complete the book and prepare them for distribution, but are not generally equipped to handle the on-going marketing needs of the author.
Something that the company takes pride in is working with authors to set the content marketing plans for communicating across digital platforms. Children’s Book Marketing Company shows our clients how to create and manage visually appealing social media profiles. This is one tool that helps with converting a contact into a sales opportunity, it attracts readers, and also builds trust to see content about the stories brought to life in relatable ways. I feel strongly that this is the ideal means of building the visibility that authors seek. I make time to gain understanding about the short and long-term goals of every author I work with by listening intently during monthly update calls. These calls are designated for clients who receive signature services that Children’s Book Marketing Company offers, as well as those that are members of our coaching programs.
Through Children’s Book Marketing Company, I have built a community of authors, collaborators, and influencers. To supplement the managed services and coaching that we offer, I share additional insights on a podcast that I launched in October 2020, just a few weeks after I entered the children’s book publishing space. Each episode of The Children’s Book Marketing Podcast is like a mini-masterclass, where I teach children’s book authors the critical considerations to incorporate into their marketing plans. The podcast is also my way of giving expert-level details for free about marketing strategies and systems that can give listeners access to more readers and more profits. The podcast streams on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and dozens of other free streaming services available online.
Over the past year, I have assisted clients whose visibility has grown in ways that lead to new business opportunities. In addition to helping children’s book authors use strategic marketing to sell more books, I also guide them in ways to build an ecosystem that extends their readers’ experiences beyond the book. I also make it possible for children’s book authors to exercise greater control over book production and distribution because I bring experience with supply chain management, in addition to marketing.
On the horizon are more opportunities to create linkage between talented individuals whose programs and skills will facilitate author success and advancement. Of primary interest to my team and I is positioning Children’s Book Marketing Company as an advocate for pursuing non-traditional distribution outlets and supplementary revenue streams that can ultimately create an empire that sustains itself with profits. Likewise, I extend to my community of children’s book authors the awareness of the vast possibilities through bulk sales to corporations, organizations, institutions, and libraries that may provide unexplored growth opportunities to children’s book authors that, at times, do not realize that innovative partnerships abound in this segment of literature.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least about our city?
Atlanta is a city that I enjoy so much that I’ve moved here twice! During the time that I pursued an undergraduate degree in marketing at The Ohio State University, I completed an internship in Norcross, Georgia during junior year. It was during Autumn of 2001 that I experienced life in Atlanta and became convinced that I could achieve my personal and professional goals here. Convinced that it would be a good fit, I applied to graduate programs in Atlanta, but decided to attend Michigan State University for the full-time MBA program, instead. I became a permanent resident of Georgia in 2015, and I do not envision relocating again.
For me, the supportive network of friends, family members, and former classmates is extremely valuable. Similarly, the spirit of entrepreneurship is an attraction that I have always been drawn to and derive a great deal of inspiration from. The myriad events for families with small children are part of what keeps me excited, too. As does the variety of places I can go for relaxing in nature and to indulge in self-care. By living just north of Atlanta, I can conveniently experience the best of urban, suburban, and rural life. I am always eager to visit farms for seasonal activities, bike the trails, but check out new local eateries and artistic experiences that abound inside and outside of The Perimeter.
Though most people complain about the traffic, it rarely impacts me because I work from home. I have been a full-time business owner since I left the corporate world in June 2018, that eliminates a morning or afternoon commute. The choice to become a mompreneur has enabled me to concentrate on being present with my family as a homeschool parent, while operating my company at a pace and with intentions that fit my terms and lifestyle design.
If there is anything that I would like to see improve it is the politics at the state and local levels. I believe that policies should be more inclusive for the good of all, not just the majority. As well, I would like to see city leaders take measures to re-position law enforcement toward being more empathetic toward racial and mental health matters. If the aftermath of the political and social unrest since early 2020 have been any indicator of what needs to change, I believe that work should be done to set higher standards for behavior that encourages respect and fairness; yet punishes the excessive use of force and racist practices that have gone unchecked for too long.
Contact Info:
- Email: support@littlemrfixit.com
- Website: www.littlemrfixit.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/micaelasbenn
- Apple The Children’s Book Marketing Podcast: https://bit.ly/CBMPapple
- TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeMKqdYf/
Image Credits
Marjoni Janee Photography
