Mountainside Marketing Conference is thrilled to have Jenn dePaula from Mixtus Media as part of our 2019 faculty. While visiting with Jenn, I posed a few questions, and I think you’ll enjoy her answers.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Franklin, Tennessee with my husband of 13 years, Marcus; our 9-year-old son Isaac, and our two rescue mutts Louis and Lola. My husband is Brazilian and I’m Norwegian, so we call our son a Brawegian. 🙂

I was born and raised in Iowa, went to Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois to originally study classical voice (I was seriously toying with the idea of becoming an opera singer) but changed my major my junior year to Communication: Public Relations.

In 2000, I moved to Nashville because I was offered a job at a record label to serve as a publicist. I worked at two different record labels here in Nashville. Actually, I worked in the music industry for about 10 years as a publicist before I switched my focus to book marketing.

How long have you been involved with social media?

It’s interesting because, if I’m totally honest, I really stumbled into it. I started my company in 2005, focusing on publicity. By 2006, the traditional marketing and publicity landscape had dramatically changed. Print publications were going away, newspapers were laying people off left and right – it was a rather confusing and stressful time. I specifically remember having a conversation with a publicist friend who was afraid that our jobs were becoming irrelevant.

I decided then and there that I didn’t want to focus on what wasn’t working, but rather focus on what was working. And it was clear what that was: all things digital. Social media was in its very beginning stages in 2006. So, I decided to dig in and see how we could incorporate social media, blogs, and other digital resources into what we offered.

It’s funny, because back then people thought I was crazy for doing that. They thought, “How can you use social media? It’s a fad!”

But I went with my gut, and I’ve been doing it ever since!

Tell us about the origination of Mixtus Media.

Mixtus Media is actually the second “phase” of the company. We (meaning Marcus and I) started off as BookEnd Media, which offered affordable publicity services for independent musicians. As our reputation and success grew, we started getting calls from authors asking if we could help them as well. It had always been my dream to work with authors, so I jumped at the chance. I started to get more and more author clients, and I absolutely loved it!

In 2012, a very dear friend of ours, who is a marketing consultant, invited us to be a part of a seminar he was giving for creative firms. He talked about the importance of focus in who we work with. At the time, we were a bit all over the place, wanting to be everything for everyone. Marcus and I talked after that seminar and decided to focus on serving the author/book publishing community. The idea was to bring together our passion for social media, marketing, blogging, web design, etc., so they all work together to serve our clients.

The word Mixtus is actually Latin for “mix together.”

We wanted to bring together all things digital to work together for a powerful online presence for our clients. And that’s how Mixtus Media got started! Marcus and I work together full time (our desks actually face each other), and we are still married! 😉

What is your passion for helping writers with social media?

I know most people have mixed feelings about social media, but I love it. Through social media, I’ve been able to meet the most amazing authors from all over the world – Norway, Bali, Germany, India, Brazil, you name it. It’s been incredible.

But my focus is connecting with people that I want to connect with. I think that makes a big difference. Not only in making those connections more meaningful and relevant, but also with how we view social media as an entity.

My passion is rooted in a desire to help authors truly understand how to connect with other human beings – even if it’s through a computer screen. There isn’t a disconnect just because there’s a computer screen between us – there is still another human being that you’re able to connect with.

I’ve seen social media do amazing things, but I’ve also seen it do pretty awful things. But my goal is to help authors:

a) know how to use it effectively and in a genuine way

b) not get lost in the latest “fads” and become completely overwhelmed by it

c) use it as a way to connect with the people they want to connect with

Do you have a favorite platform for writers? What is it?

Yes! I love Instagram and Pinterest!! 🙂

Many of your resources for writers are free. How can writers take advantage of knowing what’s new and valuable?

There are changes happening every day – whether that be a new service, a new social media tool, a new way of doing this or that. It can be completely overwhelming. But a lot of that news is irrelevant to what authors are doing or is just added noise.

We try to keep our community updated with the information that is relevant to them and things that they should strongly consider adding to their marketing toolbox. We share that on our social media outlets, on our blog, and ultimately on our newsletter. All are free! 🙂

What would you like writers to know about Mixtus Media?

Marcus and I talk about this a lot. In a day and age where companies and people are out to take advantage of one another and make money off of them, it’s difficult to know who you can depend on and trust.

We have had several friends tell us, “You need to charge more for that! You could make so much more money!” But that isn’t our main goal. Yes, we want and need to make a living, but we aren’t out to be millionaires. Our passion and focus is to help authors.

We truly feel this is our calling and purpose. We have been gifted with these gifts, and we want to use them in a way that helps others and allows them to use their gifts and talents.

What I want writers to know about Mixtus Media is that we are passionate about what we do. We are very good at what we do, and we do our work with excellence. We are trustworthy, honest, and easy to work with. And we are fun. 🙂

Join us at the Mountainside Marketing conference January 18-22, 2019 to hear more from Jenn dePaula.

Hi, I’m Jenn dePaula! My husband, Marcus, and I are the founders of Mixtus Media, located in Franklin, TN.

I’ve been working with authors, musicians, and other creatives for over 13 years helping them find and connect with their ideal audience online.

I’ve worked with every type of author – from New York Times best selling authors to self-publishing authors starting from scratch – and I’ve loved every minute of it!

I got my start in the music industry working for Essential Records in 2000 serving as publicist, and in 2001 I was asked to join EMI CMG to serve as publicist. For five years I helped musicians take their career to new heights – and I actually have a platinum record to prove it!

In 2005 I decided to venture out on my own to start BookEnd Media, which was formed to serve the independent music and author communities. As the music and publishing landscapes changed and social media outlets became more and more prominent, we refocused the company, naming it Mixtus Media, to focus on helping our clients form a deeper and more powerful online presence.

I’m a 2000 graduate of Greenville University with a degree in Communication: Public Relations. In 2012 I was named “Outstanding Young Alumna” by Greenville University for my work in marketing and entrepreneurial ventures.