Channel the Saran Wrap

The only problem with it is that it’s not environmentally friendly, so don’t channel that part of the Saran Wrap™, but grab hold of everything else and apply it to your writing, online, blogging and social media efforts.

Saran Wrap™ is:

1. Transparent. If you aren’t transparent, you’re hiding something, which makes you untrustworthy…people want to connect with people, not businesses, NOT smoke screens.Transparency is about being really genuine - don’t just be a car salesman, be a car salesman who loves sandwiches, tennis, his kids and the novel you’ve been writing for the last year.

2. Clear. Be clear about your mission, your goals, your industry, your philosophy, your blog topic, the scope of what you do. Clarity is about your own personal understanding and connection to your professional life and plan. If you aren’t clear, you’re confused, disorganized and ineffective - things that will negatively effect your productivity, overall business, relationships, etc.

3. Sticky. If folks just breeze on through your blog, website, store - you haven’t really gotten anywhere. You want to stick to them, you want them to stick to you, you want them to subscribe, bookmark, buy, sign-up, return, remember you. The point is to build a long relationship and have it expand over time.

4. Connected. Ever notice how it’s very difficult to get just a little bit of Saran Wrap™ off the roll? The wrap is so connected to itself, like brothers in arms, a VERY tight network. Use this in two ways: 1) build your own network via your blog and your social networks and, 2) encourage this network to tell their own networks about you as well.

5. Become ‘the’ word to the extent that people think your name represents the entire industry - think Kleenex™ here. Saran Wrap™ is a registered trademark brand name, the product is actually plastic wrap. Word of mouth and a good product has made them the industry leader, standard and mascot.

6. Tools. One box, all you need. Saran Wrap™ has the container, the wrap, the cardboard tube that keeps the wrap in check, the metal teeth to cut the wrap. Have all of the tools people need at the ready. Make it easy for them to contact you, purchase your product or service, use your product or service, tell their friends about their contact or service, etc.

Don’t pick the G.I. Joe action figure

Image courtesy of Destro

We have a toy philosophy for our kids that basically states: go open ended.

But, back to the toys. If you give kids a G.I. Joe action figure, you’ve basically defined for them the who, what, how and why of the toy. I mean where do they really have to go with it?

Juxtapose that with a wooden block. A wooden block can be anything. A dog, a car, a mountain…could even be G.I. Joe.

A static, brochure website is the equivalent of the G.I. Joe toy. Basically, it is what it is. You can change up your content or your images (if you have an easy to navigate content management system (CMS))…but to really expand it any way, you’d have to pay big bucks to a designer or coder. Just like you’d have to buy G.I. Joe’s new uber-tank to expand his outfit and capabilities.

But, the blog is the wooden block. It’s designed to be anything you want, anything you can imagine - and it’s made to grow by:

• the blogger him/herself
• the theme
• the blogging software
• the blog posts
• the plug-ins
• the widgets
• the links
• the readers
• the subscribers
• the sponsors
• the writer’s growing expertise
• the industry’s transformation
• the traffic
• the comments
• the search engine ranking
• the inquiries
• the relationships
• the technological advances
• the infinite possibilities…

Which one do you want??? Just askin’…

You get to choose what happens next

Do you remember those books? You started reading and then came to a point where you could:

1. Go up the ladder.
2. Climb down the hole.

Whichever choice you picked offered new choices, and so on and so forth. It was exciting because one physical book actually contained several stories. The number of possible stories was ultimately fixed, however - let’s say limited to 50 different variations that you could take.

But, that was the 80’s.

Today, I open up Firefox and I start reading my daily feeds. That first post contains about 5 links, and it all begins. I click on a link, read that article which contains other links. The machine is set in motion and there is no way of knowing where it will take me, what I’ll find. And, there is no fixed number of stories. I suppose some MIT scholar could give us some idea…but it’s a big number. Huge, incomprehensible to the likes of me.

It speaks to me of potential and opportunity as a writer, as a speaker, as a consultant, as a person. It reminds me that the possibilities are endless and that I can create whatever I want in my work and in my life. Exactly the sentiment I’m riding as I burst into this new year.

And…you?

Ghostwriting blogs: at what cost?

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about how important it is to be authentic in social media (including blogs). I’m even in the midst of writing an ebook on the subject with my good friend, Ron Miller. And, yet, I’m on the deep end of a controversial debate about blogging itself.

The debate looks like this: is it okay to have someone else write your blog? And it sounds just plain UGLY.

I’ve got to say I ride the fence, see both sides, struggle intensely and feel many things when this gets discussed. But, if I had to choose, I’d say it’s okay (and I have some guidelines that I follow).

Side ONE

I absolutely ghostwrite blogs for certain clients, I’m proud of my work and I feel good about the services I offer. My reasons for doing so:

1. I love blogging and think it is an incredible and beneficial practice that everyone should have the option to enjoy.

2. Some people seriously can’t write. Why is it that writing is taken for granted and design isn’t? Is it because we all learned how to read and write in the 1st grade, but only some people learned graphic/web design. There is a difference between being able to literally write letters and being able to write skillful copy or prose. The ‘I can write, so I’m a writer‘ assumption is inherently flawed.

3. I don’t think a writing inability should exclude a person from the power and joy of blogging.

4. Time. Many people want to focus on their business and don’t have the time to write their blog. The number one reason for blog failure is time and commitment.

5. As best as I can, I approach blog ghostwriting like I approach all marketing writing: I listen to my client’s voice, personality, passions, business mission/goals/philosophy. I do market research and immerse myself in their industry. We talk regularly so that the blog really is theirs, I’m just the writing vehicle. (Disclaimer: This last part does not always happen, but it is always my goal to educate the client about its importance and then move in that direction).

6. I love blog writing - it is my all time favorite writing platform, so the work gives me great (and steady) work that I simply adore.

7. I wonder if there are two levels of blogging - or maybe a million, maybe there are as many levels as there are bloggers. The level is determined by the desired result. Are you looking to showcase a portfolio, write, hear your voice, connect with others, sell something, document a process, establish yourself as an expert, be public, be private, build a business, offer services…?

In some of these scenarios, it makes no sense, and in effect, would be detrimental to have someone else blog for you, in others…not so much. Can an architect document their process for a project with pictures, plans, etc. but have me write the accompanying text so that it sounds good? Can they tell me their philosophies and have me create copy that will be readable so that they can widen the net they cast? I’m going to say yes.

Side TWO

1. I understand the other side. The side that says that any blog value will be lost when the owner is not the author. I get it because it is all too true for my own blog. No one else could write this blog for me and get the same results (most definitively, because I’m a writer - so it would just be wrong. But if I was a prize-winning baker that was dyslexic? Different story).

2. This scenario was pitched to me: what if someone came up to one of your clients at a cocktail party or networking event and started talking to them about a blog post and they had no idea what they’d said (really, what I’d written). Of course, I see that this poses a problem. If someone writes your blog for you, you need to read it - and, as I mentioned in #5 above, it’s best if you are involved in the ideas and philosophies that stand behind the blog.

3. But, just two days ago, someone started talking to me about something that I wrote and it took me (someone literally married to and consumed by this url) a bit of discussion before I could locate the exact post they were talking about. It’s not out of the question that a blogger might need some time and help to identify each of their posts.

4. Back to #7 above, I think there are so many different kinds of blogs - some would be decidedly wrecked if they were written by someone else.

5. There’s also an honesty issue at play here…I know and understand that some people, if they found out that a blog they read was written by someone else, would feel lied to - that the blog was misrepresented. One of my clients insisted that we be transparent about the fact that I wrote for her - and the whys and hows - it was quite interesting, not to mention fun, to be a tag team visible to the world.

Wow - I’m rereading this and seeing that I’m heavy handed on the ‘it’s okay to ghostwrite a blog’ side…maybe it’s because I feel good about the how and why I do it. I’m not just filling someone’s blog with salesy, impersonal ‘crap’ (’scuse my French)…see how there are so many levels to this debate?

I know that a lot of you feel very differently and quite strongly about this topic - so let’s hear it! Because on this blog, there is plenty of room for discussion…we’re looking at the world through multi-lensed (and rose-colored) glasses ’round here.

FYI, for the record, I do not think it’s okay for a ghostwriter to write someone’s social media (Twitter, for example) conversations or to respond to blog comments (though if a client really can NOT write, I will edit the text). I know there has been a lot of conversation about how you can draw a line here, but I think it’s simple - a post is an article, a conversation or content posted on a social media site or as a comment on another blog is different. Regardless, this post is about ghostwriting blogs.

Update: I love what Alisa Bowman added to the conversation below in the comments. She is a ghostwriter and she puts this soooo well:

“I see it as an exchange of skills: One person has the idea (ideal world) and I have the skills (way of putting that idea on paper).”

What comes first? The social networking or the egg?

And by ‘egg,’ I mean ‘blog.’

Beth Harte and Geoff Livingston recently wrote a great article about weeding out the ‘carpetbagger’ social media experts. In their list of 25 things to watch out for, I agreed wholeheartedly with 22 of them - and feel quite strongly about the three I disagree with.

The first point: ‘First recommendation is to blog’ is tackled below - the other two (blog ghostwriting and personal branding) are coming soon.

I can see why it might not always be the right first step for every single person or company. But, I have a hard time swallowing the notion that blogging first might be a misstep for most people - or that its suggestion would make the suggester a ‘carpetbagger.’ I started with my blog and then walked onto the social media scene, and my chosen order was highly beneficial for me, both personally and professionally. Here’s why:

1. Slow, steady, safe pace. My blog gave me a quiet place to watch my ideas develop and be instantly published. At first, no one was even looking, then readers started to show up, then their comments arrived. I had time to find my voice and learn how to respond to people in this medium. If you haven’t noticed, social media happens fast - especially on Twitter - and jumping into the networking madness before I really knew myself online (or how ‘online’ worked) was not the best choice for me.

2. Reason to interact. When you first start reaching out on social networks, sharing your blog content is a great way to introduce yourself (and I don’t mean in a pushy, salesy way) - but it does give you something to say. Having written your posts, you’ve obviously formulated your own opinions on topics that you will now feel confident discussing. Also, as a blogger, you have a healthy dose of appreciation for the other bloggers out there and it’s something you have in common (writing, tech, design, functionality, etc.) to connect about.

3. Portfolio, calling card, resume. Your blog is all of these things - so when people check out your Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, (etc.) page or bio, they have a clickable link that immediately provides an in-depth look into who you are and what you do. When I go to someone’s Twitter bio, for example, and there is no site/blog listed, I have virtually nowhere to go - no way to connect, forge a relationship or network. In this scenario, there is only a small amount of information available that tells me what this person can do for me and what I can do for them. Personally, when I network, I want all of my talents and skills visible to maximize my connection possibilities.

4. Blogs, by definition, expand our ability to be found online. My blog is part of my social networking world. Before I even set foot onto a social networking site, I had built a community around my blog. Then, my blog and my social networking sites blended, merged and grew together - and they continue to do so. In fact, both my blog and my social networks feed each other via organic searches, as well as word of mouth. (people find my blog and then come to follow me on Twitter and vice versa).

A blog is a brilliant way to establish an online presence by letting the world know all about you and your thoughts on everything connected to your industry and area of expertise.

5. Blog as listening tool. I don’t care what your business is - you have to listen to clients, customers, colleagues, peers, the world to succeed. Otherwise you won’t know what they want, why they want it or how you can give it to them. Blogs are a great listening tool because you can ask questions, listen to comments and watch your stat diagnostics (what people are searching for and reading). Of course, social media is a great listening tool as well (would never suggest otherwise).

6. Freedom and ownership. With so many rules and guidelines, blogs allow you to publish, to own, to think your thoughts and explore without being at the whim of a publisher. Your own real estate is always a great place to start…didn’t Madonna start off by singing and dancing around the house in her underwear? Certainly not on the world stage.

And, at the end of the day, I love blogs because they allow for so many different opinions - no one has to be right or wrong, but the arguments can and should be heard and discussed.

What did you do first? Blog or social networking?

Do you feel strongly that one or the other should happen first?

Poor John Grogan: he had no blog

Warning: spoiler alert, though, come on, it’s obvious.

On Christmas afternoon, I went to see Marley & Me, the screen adaptation of John Grogan’s memoir about his insane yellow lab and his life as a journalist. I loved the book, loved the writing, loved his dog (because I love mine.)

But, as I watched, I got stuck on something non-doggish. Grogan, who started as a reporter, was soon pigeonholed as a columnist - because he was really good at it. And, it, in this case was humorously documenting his life, his dog, his family and his community on a ongoing, regular basis to a wide, growing and devoted audience.

At one point, he left his column to try to be a reporter, again. But, he couldn’t take himself out of his articles. He pitched a column again. At home, he had an album full of his columns, cut out from the paper and pasted in…

And all I could think about was that he was a born blogger.

Ninety-nine percent of my tears were because the dog died (that’s the spoiler, but not really, it’s obvious and was in the book). There were so many tears because I’ve lost a yellow lab and it was like losing an arm - and because I do my best crying during movies.

The remaining percent of the tears goes to the tragedy of  John Grogan not having a blog during the beginning of his journey as a writer. Let me repub this part:

Humorously documenting his life, his dog, his family and his community on a ongoing, regular basis to a wide, growing and devoted audience.

Thankfully, blogs were eventually created…thankfully, John Grogan has his own blog today. I came right home to find it, and I was correct: he’s really good at it.

The best darn poets…

What started as a gift to all of you, quickly became a gift to me…your incredible poems, your spreading the word, the kind things you said about me (even if they were inspired by your desire to win), the gifts and prizes that you offered…

I just can’t thank you all enough - readers, writers, prize givers, Twitterers, Facebookers…members of my very much loved community.

There were 50 entries! And 10 prizes (2 from me as the grand prize) offered…truly amazing.

You are all winners, and you all win my love and affection. Picking actual prize winners was VERY hard (it’s taken me 5 hours - yes, I have issues), but here they are, starting with the last prize offered and working up to the popcorn popper & Writing Roads Blog feature from me:

1. Best Blessing Counter: Ron Miller (because he knows what’s important…)

Prize: Cindy Hartman’s inventory consult!

2. Best MomForce poem: Deb on the Rocks (because she’s really feeling the MomForce!!!)

Prize: A spot in Jessica Smith’s Inner Circle!

3. Most photogenic poem: Sid Parham (because he wove in the most incredible Twitter snapshots)

Prize: Gorgeous Lanny McDowell print!

4. Most unrealized poem: Annette Fix (because she thinks she can’t, but I know she can…and she did show up!)

Prize: J.Sewell Perkins coaching consult!

5. Most foodalicious poem: Turtle (you had me at ‘dipped in heavy cream’)

Prize: Carol McManus’s Table Talk Cookbook!

6. Most spiritual poem: Dyana Valentine (because divining rods and social media inspiration are right up my alley - and I know what it feels like to wake up like that and rush to the computer!)

Prize: TarotByArwen reading!

7. Most busy, time-starved poem: Susan Gibbs (seriously, who only has time for that measly little poem? Sheesh!)

Prize: Virtual assisting by TraceyTarrant!

8. Most Feminist poem: Gwen Bell (Um, hello? Anything ‘Madonna’ had to win this category.)

Prize: Debra Snider’s novel, A Merger of Equals

9. Absolute BEST poem: Ann Davis (Sister, you win because that poem is a true journey from blah to WOW - that you followed your inspiration and found happiness thrills me to the bone. That writing was part of the trail lights me on fire. Not to mention your wish to spread love and goodness everywhere…)

Prize: The BEST popcorn popper EVER and a feature on this blog loaded with tons of social media love.

I will do my very best to get the winner’s names to the prize-givers, but there are links abound on this page - so feel free to nudge each other. Winners - you will receive your prize directly from the givers…not from me!

Thank YOU! Happy holidays and humongous blessings for a new year filled with abundance, peace, safety, laughter, kindness…and the written word.

When you are so 2009 & your web copy is so 1987

One of my clients, whom I’m teaching how to blog, asked the other day about my first blog post. Here’s a snippet:

As a writer without a blog, I’ve been like a butcher without a taste for meat, a dog trainer without a dog, a rockstar without a microphone….

And, as I read those words (and had a good chuckle), I realized that something was missing again. This time, the missing piece is up-to-date, umm, updates on my static pages.

When was the last time you read through your website?

Mine had been virtually ignored for a long, long time. All of my attention has been on my blog, but guess what? My site’s homepage is the #2 referrer to my blog. What’s on there is important - it is, of course, where people go to find out more, discover what’s in it for them and how they can use me to make their lives better…

Things to do when revising your static website copy:

1. Personalize. Could your website belong to anyone in your industry? My old homepage was very generic, talking about ‘results-magnetized copy’ and being ‘a full-service copywriting and marketing company’ - it didn’t stand out at all. I was noticeably absent. Where was my personal brand?

2. Accuracy. When I first wrote my site (yes, this was the first time I’ve revised since I originally wrote the site, cough, cough, oy vey), I concentrated on different services than I offer today. My company, skills and knowledge have grown dramatically and, while this was all documented on my blog, it wasn’t reflected on the rest of my site.

3. Blog Ties. In case you haven’t noticed, I love blogs. This is where I let it all out and where you really get to know me. So, here’s what I did: on my homepage, instead of linking to static info about my services, I linked my main services: Writing, Consulting, Speaking and Mentoring to blog posts where I discuss these bits about myself and my business…might change them at any point if I write something I like more…

4. Write what you want. What do you want your business to look like? Put it on your site. Ever seen the tagline, Write where you want to go???? That’s what I meant. Take action with your words, make it happen. Your website (and blog) are your very own real estate - the rules are your own, the sky is the limit. This is what I help my clients do because it’s what I’ve learned to do for myself.

Check out the new copy by clicking on the typewriter key navigation above…specifically, the ‘H’ for home and the ‘S’ for services. And, if you change your site, let me know - I’d love to see how you grab this bull by the horns…

This blog is twitterfied

Really? You still aren’t convinced that Twitter is an incredible tool for business growth?

As of today, Twitter sends me 31% of my traffic. 31%. That’s darn near one third.

Yesterday, it was 28%…it’s a growing trend. And it’s in direct correlation to how I use it.

1. The writing. When I tell people about Twitter, I always bring up the movie A River Runs Through It. Do you remember how the narrator, Norman McLean, would bring his father a page of writing, only to have his dad send him back to make it shorter, to do it again? Eventually, he’d whittle that full page down to a scant paragraph: succinct, pure, direct, on message.

This is the opportunity that Twitter affords us. Take it. Have fun with it, use it to become a better writer.

And, proofread. Yes, you’ll be somewhat creative in your spellings and abbreviations - but make those purposeful and clean up any accidentals. Read your tweets out loud - make sure they make sense!

2. Connect, connect, connect. I DM (send a private Direct Message) every single person* that follows me. Yes, this is time consuming - but the purpose of Twitter is to connect. How can I not do that if I don’t look at this new person, find something about them that I can relate to (picture, bio, site, blog, recent tweet content). This first contact, for me, is where the relationship starts…and aren’t first impressions everything?

3. Listen. Stop in and just listen to what people are tweeting. What can you add? How can you help? What can you learn about the world in this moment?

4. Give. Be generous. What do you have to offer to your community? Retweet good tweets. Celebrate your followers’ accomplishments. There IS enough for us all.

5. Be Authenic. Who are you? Show people what makes you, you. And remember: you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people, all of the time. So get over it and be you - attract those that will appreciate you (and even some that won’t!). But don’t change yourself for anyone…that will only bite you on the tush later (because it’s lying and that’s what lies do.)

6. Seize every opportunity. Seriously, grab it by the horns. There are opportunities popping up all over Twitter every second. What do you do with them? I explore them. I smell them. I squeeze them. And I pick them when they’re ripe.

*If the person that follows me is clearly a spammer (posting only links to themselves or promising money or sex), I block them which lets Twitter know that they are bad news!

Now, go! Tweet, connect and prosper!

Talking Roads

I am the little sister to two big brothers…who kind of tortured me (okay, in equal parts to how much I tortured them) while we were growing up. Teasing was their weapon of choice - and they preyed on my knack for verbalism, ie. talking a lot. Apparently, I was am loud, too. This was their favorite routine:

Jon: THIS IS JULIE YELLING!

Steve: THIS IS JULIE TALKING REALLY LOUD!

JON: THIS IS JULIE TALKING IN A NORMAL VOICE!

STEVE: This is Julie whispering!

jon: and this is julie not even talking at all!

Yes, sports fans, it’s a miracle that I grew up to be a communicator. But, I did. An educator and teacher, a writer and a public speaker, no less.

Ever the writer, in my past life, I was also a yoga teacher and workshop leader at Kripalu Center, the largest yoga retreat center in the world. I’ve presented independently to audiences as big as 2,000 at schools across the northeast. When I’m talking about my passions, I light up.

Those of you who know me do know that I’m not one to go heavy on the cheese, but when I speak to people about my passions, I tingle, I feel more alive than I knew I could feel. I am full to burst.

This is why I love to blog…it’s an extension of speaking for me. It virtually combines my devotion to writing and speaking.

And, it’s why I’ve taken this show on the road. I’m speaking (out-loud & off-blog) about writing, blogging and using social media to network and grow your business…authentically.

Why am I so passionate about writing, blogging and social media?

• Because learning these tools to grow my business has changed my life in ways that I never could have imagined. My mind, my skills, my personal and business connections, my aptitude for self-development & learning, my wallet, my quality of life, my happiness levels, my delight with life, my ability to be part of my family…they all grow every day as a result.
• Because to me, writing, blogging and social media breed, maximize and require authenticity. Without it, you will fail - social media is built that way. I help people find their authentic voice.

Why am I telling you this?

Because without sharing - the cycle, development, growth and joy deflate, stagnate, stop. By definition, this internet, and all it brings, thrives on the sharing of information.

How we can do it?

I am available to help, guide, inspire and catapult you through:

• Conferences
• Workshops
• Guest speaking
• Teleseminars
• Podcasts
• Blog/Article interviews
• Private consulting (individual, company, groups)

Let’s do it.

I look forward to hearing from you via email or 413.281.6013.