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.

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).”

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!

Top 7 reasons NOT to stop marketing during a recession

1. Because your competitors will. The knee jerk reaction to the recession is to cut advertising. The classic example from the Great Depression is Ford and Chevrolet. Ford was outselling Chevrolet considerably at the outset of the Depression. Ford reduced advertising when the economy plunged while Chevrolet moved along with an aggressive marketing plan - and they virtually switched positions within the marketplace.

2. Because a market presence is essential. Companies that disappear from the public eye realize a negative outcome with current customers - it’s a sign to the customer that the company is weak and unstable. The absence breeds fear and distrust in their minds. Many businesses pull funding from ‘non-essential’ expenses and make the mistake that marketing is one of them. But, if you aren’t being ’seen’ by potential customers, where is the business going to come from? How will it grow? What does it say about the state of your business?

3. Recession does not equal complete business failure or dissolution. People still spent money during the Great Depression (and through every economic recession this country has experienced). How will they know to spend money with you? As we all know from Marketing 101, people buy products because, among other reasons, they like the image and message behind a product - and marketing is your mouthpiece.

The businesses that boomed during the 1930’s did so for one reason and one reason only: the did not reduce, and many expanded, their advertising efforts. Proctor & Gamble is a great example of a company that increased ad spending throughout the Great Depression, and every recession since, and has seen consistent revenue increases as a result.

4. During an economic downturn, people are desperately looking for security, safety, savings, deals, good things, distractions. Figure out how your company, services, products and your message can communicate and deliver these things. Be part of the solution - this is an opportunity.

Look at the movie industry. The last few weeks have brought record numbers for big screen openings; people are spending money at the movies. Consider the reasons why. Connect to those reasons with your marketing message.

5. Think about another scenario when a business might not have a lot of money but needs to build the business. During the beginning or start-up phase of any business - when funds are likely low - marketing and promotion is key. No one can hire you or use your goods and services if they don’t know who or why you exist.

6. The recession will end. And the best place for you to be at that point is still in the game. Still working, having been creative, having learned - and still operating and visible. Imagine the message you’ll send to customers as we pull out of the downturn.

7. You have your own mind. Apparently, the companies that fared the best during the Great Depression are those that paid absolutely no mind to it. They charged ahead, believing in their product, understanding that their customers still needed them. Fake it till you make it? Perhaps. I prefer to think it’s a matter of attitude, optimism and fortitude.

writer as incubator, writer as huckleberry bush

I live in the middle of a vast huckleberry forest. Very much like blueberries, huckleberries grow on small bushes, wildly…and last summer, like wildfire. Their fruit is a deep, almost black, purple - the berries either explode in your mouth with sweetness, are just full of normal berry-ness or taste bitter and sour, some of them big, some very small. They grow in clumps.

And, I’m intrigued by their entire life cycle because every fall when the berries are long gone, and we’re busy praying they come back next summer, the branches of their bushes change from brown to a deep purpley red. Like the juice of the fruit to come is building up in the plants’ veins, curing and growing - like in an incubator - and waiting to erupt.

I spoke to a woman a few months ago and when I asked her what she did for work, she told me she was in the incubation business. “Me too!” I exclaimed.

“Really!” she said - thrilled to know that I was of the same ilk. “What industry?”

“I’m a writer,” I said. “So, I guess I my incubation industry is ideas…”

She laughed and said that only a writer could come up with that analogy - she is literally in the business incubation world which as far as I can tell is like Start Up heaven meets Think Tank central.

So I had to concede that I wasn’t in her incubation business - but I know that I’m in my own.

Articles, posts, stories, novels, (yes, even poems) rush into my body on a regular basis - written. I learned quickly and the hard way that if I don’t get up and write them down immediately, they will be gone (which is why I’m writing this at 5 a.m.) My incubator burns a little hot.

The image of the incubating huckleberry plant holds true for this writer…only my skin doesn’t give me away like the berry’s bark. If it did, everytime you’d see me? I’d have words, some that explode in your mouth with sweetness, some just normal, some bitter and sour, some of them big, some very small, growing in clumps and streaming through my veins.

how do you blog? blogging checks and balances

I was working with a client who I do marketing, blog and writing consulting for, and we were working on her blog writing strategy when she asked me, ‘But what are the rules for blogging?’

She’s a life coach with an incredible family story who is working on a blog about/surrounding her upcoming book about coaching.

It’s important to note that we had already had an involved conversation about how she could find a voice that was conversational, not preachey, yet still full of power and information. (I couldn’t understand why that was confusing and difficult.) But seriously, my advice to her on this point was to find the person to write to that makes her feel really good, that loves/likes her unconditionally, whose relationship holds no negative emotional charge (meaning do NOT pick your spouse or your mother), who supports her, who’s a huge fan, who also calls her on her shit, who brings out her most incredible self. She has to pick that ‘you’ that she’ll be writing to. For the sake of this post and to avoid confusion, let’s call her ‘Jane’.

So, when she asked me about the rules, I told her, ‘You need checks and balances.’

As I see it, she has 4 perspectives tugging at her pen. She can’t, and shouldn’t, keep them equally balanced at all times, but her goal is to make sure that no matter what she writes, each of these corners is okay, taken care of, considered.

Here’s the plan:

• Make 4 cards, one for each perspective. In this case: 1. Jane. 2. Book Mission. 3. Personal Life and Family. 4. Coaching Work.
• Under each heading, write the definition of each perspective, the gist of what each perspective stands for, perhaps their boundaries. (Examples below)
• Tape them up in front of your computer.
• As you write, remember each perspective and make sure they’re okay with what you’re writing, that you meet each of their standards and requirements.

Here’s an idea of what those cards look like, all flushed out -

1. Jane: Confidence, energy, humor, total support, real connection, authenticity, acceptance.
2. Book Mission: to help people with life in general, decisions, challenges, time management, relationships, balance, etc.
3. Life: children, husband, safety, personal boundaries (ie. Little Rosie doesn’t want her middle school drama plastered all over her mom’s blog, but the realtime negotiations of curfews or friend choices is fair game.)
4. Coaching: Coaching Philosophies, mantras, lamposts, rules, ethics.

If you really need reigning in, you can add photos to each card to hold you accountable.

What do you think? Any other ideas on staying on track, on topic, on mission, on post, on blog…???

the importance of having promotional materials at the ready

What if Dell announced their amazing new laptop computers, got people highly excited, but then, when we all said, ‘So let’s see it!’ They said, ‘Okay, hold on a sec, we have to build them first…’

Not good, right? Perhaps you’d even walk away and head over to Apple because their computers were ready and available for viewing and purchase. (Amongst other reasons. Sorry , couldn’t help that, it just slipped out.)

So, that’s an extreme example, but I like to make a point.

And here’s my tip for the day (stretch on over here with me, if you will). As a marketer, business owner, freelancer, product pusher, service seller or whatever you are: before you start making calls to people about your product, you must have your promo package in place:

• Standard copy (one page and one paragraph)
• photos, logos, images
• press releases
• links, urls
• live, working web sites, blogs, pages
• print collateral (biz cards, brochures, etc.)
• partner info (if you have any)

As a matter of course, if you have these things ready, you can send them instantly to waiting prospects who won’t have time to look at your competitors because you’ll be right there in front of them. Being prepared ensures that the time - from the moment you make contact to the moment you deliver the goods - is only a matter of seconds. And timing is ever so often the factor that closes the deal.

But, really. Doesn’t this apply to most aspects of our professional lives?

my un-epiphany: calendar for the freelancer

I’m staring at a blank calendar - seriously attempting to fit my daily life as a freelance copywriter into these solid, inflexible, militant spaces.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this…but, I have to. After my post last week where I pondered the ability of a calendar to boost my productivity, and I both encouraged you, my readers, to do the same and then said I would lead the charge, after all of that, and a lot of soul and brain searching…I’ve decided that I can’t wedge my work life into a strict schedule.
At least not by the end of today.

I already have many, many meetings placed randomly throughout every day over the next 3 weeks. And, like Ron Miller said so well in his diatribe explaining why he couldn’t and wouldn’t do this scheduling thing with me, we really are at the whims of our clients.

If a prospective client contacted me and asked for a meeting on Tuesday at 3:00, would I really say, ‘No. Sorry, I do research every Tuesday from 3-4:00′??? No, I would not. Now, I do see the other side of this. I could say, ‘I’m sorry, I already have a meeting schedule at that time, but I could meet at X, Y or Z on Wednesday.’

But, I have a few other points (that don’t have other sides):

• My muse writes when she wants to and I’m positive she won’t be okay with ‘making it happen’ from 10-12:00 every day.
• If I’m on a roll, I can’t just stop because my schedule tells me too. That’s just plain bad writing practice.
• Just a scenario: I’m working on a project A (as scheduled), when I get an email that gives me a huge lead for project B - it’s time-sensitive and ground-breaking. Project A can officially wait; project B needs me.

So…

There is still a small part of me that thinks I should create this new schedule and begin following it as soon as my current un-scheduled schedule has been filtered in to the strict flow because I said I would and I do have hope. And then, there is a large part of me that feels like a cad, a loser and a wuss for hyping you up and then bowing out so ungracefully.

But, as I’ve struggled with this for the last 4, long, internet-empty days in Vermont, my urge to let my work life follow the fancy of my creative strides is far too strong…and I just can’t fight with my muse - she’s way too good to me and way too valuable.

scheduling the freelance writer’s day

My family is currently marinating in an incredibly structured schedule. It includes meals, naps, errands, cleaning, dates - the whole shebang all carefully mapped out. At first it freaked me out, whatever happened to just letting things happen, right? Not really…

We’ve been at it now for about 2 weeks, and I can’t begin to tell you what a difference it has made in our lives. All four of us have entered some sort of rhythmically syncopated, ulterior universe that is lulling us all into, well, a happy place.

So, all of this order and ease, got me thinking - the daily life of a Freelancer is somewhat similar to the daily life of a house with two 2 year-olds and two 85lb. dogs. They both include:

• an extraordinary amount of work
• frequent distractions
• multi-tasking
• incessant demands from needy customers
• messes
• successes
• things that beep, whir, bark, whine and blink at you
• undulating energy levels
• and, total exhaustion.

So, why shouldn’t a structured calendar also transform my life as a freelancer? Think of all the time that will not be wasted because I’m efficiently shuffled from one task to the next. I already succeeded in turning off my social media while I was writing a project, this seems like the logical next step.

I’m going to make my calendar now…and then I’m thinking about a one week challenge - to really see if this raises the bar on my productivity. Yes, I will schedule Twitter breaks throughout the day. And, yes, I’m hoping I don’t have to hire an office mom to make this work.

Anyone want to join me in this endeavor?

UPDATE: I’ve had a fantastic response to this challenge, brave souls, each and every one of you! I’m away for the long weekend, so here’s what I propose: take the weekend to work on your calendar. I’ll post mine here by Tuesday and we’ll begin on Wednesday morning. I’ll also send you all an email to remind you, bust on you, and even, possibly inspire you. Thanks for your patience on the start date, I have to go to Vermont, my family is making me take a vacation.

Can’t wait to see how we all do and what we find…