They're buying into instructor's marketing acumen

By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau

Mindy Weinstein was surprised recently to find her name on a Digital Summit promotion listing “Women Marketers Not to Miss.” But maybe her lofty status is the result of making sure she doesn’t miss any breaking news in the industry.

“I have to read all the time,” she said. “I can’t get in front of 200 people at a workshop and have someone raise their hand and say, ‘The Google update happened this morning,’ and I say, ‘Whaaaaat?’”

Weinstein, who joined the Colangelo College of Business (CCOB) full-time faculty for the 2018-19 Grand Canyon University academic year after two years as an adjunct, isn’t in demand solely for her speaking skills. She also owns her own digital marketing company, Market Mindshift, and is making news as a writer as well.

Search Engine Journal has published her column since 2015, and her piece titled “A Technical SEO Checklist for the Non-Technical Marketer” received the website’s Highest Page Views award for a recent month. It was viewed more than 9,000 times, according to the website.

It was a classic case of using your expertise and not overthinking it.

“I didn’t know what to write,” she said. “I had my deadline, and I thought, ‘Well, OK, what do I know off the top of my head?’ The reason I get asked to these conferences is that I explain some very technical terms to a nontechnical audience. That’s my thing. So I put it all out there, and people gobbled it up.”

A sampling of her work for Search Engine Journal and another publication that features her work, Street Fight Magazine:

Her written accomplishments aren’t limited to the digital side. She also has co-authored with Deborah McNaughton two books on personal finances, “Rich and Thin: How to Slim Down, Shrink Debt, and Turn Calories Into Cash” and “Money Trouble: Surviving Your Financial Crisis.”

But it was Weinstein’s impact as a presenter at industry workshops that helped create those opportunities.

“I always tell the students that it is all about who you know,” she said. “I know it’s a cliché, but that’s huge. I mean, some of the jobs I’ve gotten are because I knew someone. I didn’t apply, I was asked.”

Talk about pressure: She worked for a large search-optimization company with clients such as Facebook and The Weather Channel, and she also did training for industry professionals – 30 people, eight hours a day, five days a week. They would have complex questions, and she had to have the right answer. Faulty advice could have crashed their website.

She did all that even though she insists she’s an introvert.

“I have no issue with public speaking at all because I know my subject and I’ve been doing it for so long. I give my students a lot of public speaking tips. They’re often nervous being in front of class, and I always tell them it’s practice. The more you practice, the better you are.”

Weinstein and her husband, Mike, have lived in Arizona for 18 years. They have two sons – Quentin, 12, and Bryson, 9.

She is teaching four classes at GCU, including two “Principles of Marketing” courses and two “Promotions and Advertising” courses, and is set to start teaching a new Digital Marketing class in the spring semester.

She urges students to read, read, read, just like she does. She even brings in industry journals to make sure they’re looking at the right material.

“Marketing changes all the time … all the time,” she said.

The biggest trend? Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“That’s all over everything,” she said. “It’s getting so specific on how you can target someone. From a marketing perspective, it’s exciting. From a consumer perspective, sometimes it’s a little terrifying. You can get so personalized, so targeted, get directly to that person, get the message when they need the message, and convert them.”

Bringing in someone of Weinstein’s caliber is hardly new in CCOB. Dr. Randy Gibb, the college’s dean, makes it a hiring practice to find industry experts.

“Mindy has brought so much to our college and marketing program – she helps us go to the next level with her industry experience, network, and expertise,” he said. “Mindy is the perfect instructor for our Colangelo College of Business, loves to teach, owns her own business, and is personally involved helping our students get great jobs.”

Weinstein recently did a LinkedIn workshop that packed the lecture hall, but she shares more than her own expertise. She also brings in prominent local executives as guest speakers.

Her impression of GCU?

“I love it,” she said. “It’s actually been everything I thought it would be and more.”

From the looks of things, a lot of people are saying the same thing about her work.

Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or [email protected].