Pretty Girl Karma

Surprisingly, this post applies to my male readers too – and to people that don’t consider themselves to be pretty (you really are, like it or not).

Writers, freelancers, work from homers – whoever you may be. At some point in your illustrious career, some lovely person has said this to you, “That’s so cool that you work from home! You can just wear your pajamas all day and no one will care or see you!”

Uh huh. It’s true. We could do that. And some days, I’m sure we all do.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and proclaim, superficiality be damned, that what we wear, how we costume ourselves, really does matter. It affects what we think about ourselves, how we act, how we talk, what we say, what actions we take.

When I dress in sweats and running shoes, I’m casual, I slump – sometimes when I look from the work I’m doing on my computer down to my clothes and back up again, it occurs to me that I’m maybe I’m only ‘playing’ writer.

So, I don’t do that anymore. Because when I wear jeans that fit in all the right places, my good bra that erases 3. 5 years of pregnancy and nursing with a single clasp, a beautiful and stain-free sweater and shoes that make me almost as tall as most other people who are on the shorter side of average height – then, I feel it when I’m sitting in this chair.

I’m confident, I’m worthy, I’m an adult, I’m a professional. I’m in touch with my power source. I own it. You can see it in the way I hold myself, in the way I walk, in the way I am and in the way I do. I dare say it’s my pretty girl karma. Because what I put out, comes right back at me – respect, value, compensation for what I’m worth, hotness, good people, great projects.

And in this case, karma is not a bitch. (Unless you piss her off.)

This post is dedicated to the FANTASTIC Kelly Diels who, when I told her that I dressed hot for the big Dragon Tattoo Blog Hunt launch yesterday even though no one saw me all day, remarked, ‘Of course…pretty girl karma’ without skipping a beat – and sparked my brain and ignited this post. Kelly gets it and just so you know, Kelly always looks hot and always shows plenty of Cleavage. I love her to bits.

What about you? Do you have power clothes? A power look? Are you affected by your threads? How?

Image credit: AlyssssylA

What’s security anyway?

I got a phone call yesterday afternoon. Well, first I got a message via LinkedIn requesting the call, then I got the call.

It was from a recruiter. Offering a very (very) high paid job at a company in Boston. For those of you who read this blog regularly and saw yesterday’s post, you can join me in a good laugh here: the position was to create and manage the social media department – wait for it – for a PR firm.

I know. As an old friend used to say, you just can’t make this stuff up.

It turned out that the job wasn’t right for me, the company’s looking for someone with strong social media experience and hands-on programming experience (HTML, Javascript, AJAX, XML, etc.) Which would be like asking me if I could write and do chemistry…which I couldn’t, can’t and, quite frankly, won’t. (If this is YOU, let me know and I’ll guide you right to this recruiter!!! And don’t let the Boston thing scare you, they’re even willing to pay for relo.)

Even though that particular job wasn’t for me, we got to talking – and said recruiter was very excited about what it is that I do, how I do it and why I do it. To be honest, I was excited about my answers too. And this confirmed that it would be sorta hard to woo me away from my present situation – owning my own company, being my own boss, freelancing and the randomness that comes with it.

Let’s be honest.

An actual job has some things going for it: a steady paycheck, health insurance, VACATION TIME, SICK TIME               sorry – I’m back, I think I just fainted for a minute there.

But, and it’s a big BUT – how secure would this job really be? As it stands, my success is entirely dependent on me. It’s a lot of pressure, but at least it’s mine. I do well when I work hard, seize opportunity, smear my gumption all over people…and things like that. I do poorly when I don’t do those things. And I have no one to blame but myself. Really. Even if I get screwed over or let down by a client, it’s up to me whether I cry about it and sling responsibility (and we all deserve at least 5 minutes of this) or whether I just get up and go find another one, a better one. Companies fold all the time or it’s just not a good fit or…there are so many things that could make this opportunity crumble.*

So, what I told her was, “Of course, I’ll send my resume, but:

• I’d be more interest in working as a contractor,
• Or as a consultant,
• Or on a special project for a few weeks to several months,
• And I’d need to telecommute,
• But I’d be happy to travel in on a regular basis.”

I’m not closing any doors. If a job-job came along that was just perfect (and had a sizable signing bonus), I would heavily consider it. As always, there is no definitive path…but there’s a helluva lot of excitement and possibility.

What about you? If you had your choice, would you go it alone or pull your chair up to a cubicle?

*I’m really not a pessimist. The other night, a loud truck with flashing lights woke me up in the middle of the night – my first and only thought was, why are they cleaning the streets at this hour? When, in fact and of course, it was a snowplow and we were in the middle of a snowstorm on March 1st. I think this is a sign of my deeply embedded optimism. (Which is why, for now, I’m putting my chips on Writing Roads.)

Image credit: Lokner

When old media and new media play together in the sandbox

‘This is a very simply game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes…it rains.” Bull Durham

As I see it, one of my roles on this blog is, for lack of better words, to play the fool. For you that is. In other words, I’m taking one for the team. I’ve said time and time again that I’ve wished, both when I was starting out and still as I find my way, that I had someone like me who I could ask for advice or learn from. But I didn’t when I was starting and I frequently forget to ask for help now…so here I am as a result, sometimes doing it right, sometimes doing it wrong, sometimes…just doing it.

And last week, I did something wrong. So I’m here to tell you about it so that you, hopefully, don’t do it wrong if the opportunity should present itself.

Swimming around the freelancers’ pool

Freelancing has placed me in wide variety of situations at this point, I’m assuming you could say the same. By definition, we get thrown into all matter of circumstances where we may or may not have any clue how to act or be or do. Over our heads, soaked to our ankles, blowing bubbles, treading water or swimming speedily through the course – sometimes within a span of 5 minutes. Right?

Currently, I’m working on a massive project with a sizable team, we’ve got a little bit of every role you could imagine. Specific to my ‘doing it wrong’, we have two publicists. They’re Big deals. (It was suggested that I add the capital ‘B’).  One of them is French – and I imagine her sitting at a huge mahogany desk with a toy poodle on her lap and a long, thin cigarette hanging off of a long porcelain cigarette holder between her long thin fingers. Her hair is piled on top of her head and she’s wearing Chanel. But I have no idea if that is even a little bit true.

Anyway, I pissed her off.

You see, on a regular basis, the publicists send out emails to the team alerting us to news breaks or product mentions. And I, in my blind ignorance and bloggy haze of ‘we’re all in this together’, figured they were just letting us know whenever we were featured in the media. Since I’m running the social media campaign, I’ve engaged many listening tools – effectively holding my trusty stethoscope up to the internet – so that I know every time we ‘appear’ online. Obviously, then, I thought I should contribute to these emails as well. You know – one for all and all for…

Oops.

I got told off…and how (and quickly) for this gaff. Those press breaks they were sending were gigs the publicists themselves had landed. The break is there metric for their work for the client. Had I secured the mention I just emailed? (she asked). Um…nooooo, not so much. I just thought we were all spreading the good news. It turns out, we weren’t. Not even a little bit.

All worked out fine, I apologized, I never did it again, I returned to my corner to do my job. And I learned some things, which makes it all worth it in the end:

1. Now that I know why what I did wasn’t okay, it seems blaringly, glaringly obvious.
2. This is true of most lessons learned, except maybe those gleaned from a calculus textbook.
3. When entering a new situation, take a good look around and identify things that might not be familiar.
4. Find someone, either within the fray or without, that is familiar with those things.
5. If you feel like doing a certain something that is out of your general knowledge area, ask this someone for guidance: Run it by them first.
6. Keep your wits about you – did you just break a cardinal rule? ruin a business? step over a cultural line? threaten someone’s place on the totem pole? Put your mistake in perspective.
7. Life is very interesting when the old media and the new media play together in the sandbox.
8. My skin is getting thicker. Once upon a time I might have been mortified or at least obsessed about my faux pas. This time I said ‘whoops!’, laughed and moved right along.
9. What’s next? (Thank you, President Bartlett). The only way out of an error is forward. Fix it, change your behavior, don’t do it again.
10. When you have the best readers in the world, it isn’t that hard to tell them about the times when you’re stupid.
11. I really do love to share. It’s how I got myself into this mess…and it’s how I’m getting myself out.

Image credit: Banalities

Want to be a Better Writer? Get Your Ego Out of the Way (copyblogger)

Raise your hand if you’re a writer.

Now, raise your hand if you have a nice-sized ego.

And now, raise your hand if you lied on that last one and kept your hand down.

The thing is, writing and a big ego kind of go hand in hand. And if you haven’t quit, gone crazy, or offed yourself yet — which I know you haven’t because you were just raising your hand — then like it or not, you have a big ego.

How do I know this? Well…

To read the rest of this post, hop on over to Copyblogger where, I’m pleased as punch to share, I am now a regular contributor…

And I hope you don’t mind me making you click to read the rest, but this post (and I’m guessing all of the posts I put on Copyblogger) are also posts that I’ll want to share with you – AND (I’m hoping you know this already) it is bad, bad blogging behavior to reprint the whole article in duplicate here. Copyblogger owns it now…

The writer’s dependency…can we cut the ties that bind us?

Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another – Madonna

And here we are, eh? The freelancing community has a knack for getting tied up in knots, literally, in our dependency upon others. The strings that move our fingers over our keyboards, our deposits into the bank, the corners of our mouths up and down – they all lead to our clients. And the economy and the market and…you get the picture.

Writers depend on publishers, printers, readers, reviewers…did I mention publishers? I know, I know -  this is all changing. We have blogs, we have self-publishing, we have the Kindle. But still – is it really true? Can we be independent? Can our pleasure be found through our own permission?

It makes me have to ask the most basic question. Can you be a writer without readers? Yes, but you might just starve. I’d venture to say that we do need something. We need people.

Are we poor?

I can list many ways that we are rich, aka, independent:

• We set our own hours
• We choose our niche
• We handpick our clients
• We set our own fees
• We write our own blogs
• We write about what we want to write about
• We build great writer communities

But back to the question, ‘are we poor?’ I’m thinking this isn’t an either/or situation. It’s more like an every other minute, hour or day situation. Right? I mean, how often does your reply change? Because the above riches are still dependent on other people.

So what’s the answer?

If you’re attached to people that say no, people that don’t have a lot of money, people that don’t share your vision, people that think there’s only one way, people that are insecure, people that don’t challenge themselves or you – then, yep! You’ll be poor.

The answer, then, is to surround ourselves with the right people. The people with the energy, the insight, the capacity to take risks, that are secure enough to shout about you from their own rooftops, the people that want success for all – and are brilliant enough to see that your success is actually their success. The people who love life…and can’t wait for what’s next.

Find these people. If we can’t cut the ties that bind us – because our writing needs to be read – then take them and fasten yourself to objects that are moving FORWARD and UP. Just like you.

Image credit: Hollywood Celebrity Pictures

The build-up is scarier than the fall.

It’s true that I spent the first 17 years of my life in a protected, little suburb in St. Louis, and that I was relatively shielded from urban life, or drama that extended beyond boyfriends, new cars and English papers. But, it’s also true that there were some special things about my ‘hood, things that I wouldn’t have found beyond the granite gates that fenced us in.

One of those things was the community pool – accessible to all (though not free). And we’re not talking about a little dinky pool. It was, and still is, an Olympic-sized pool with an Olympic-sized diving tank complete with regulation diving boards and platforms. Yes, platforms – because you do not want to stand on 18 inches of skinny diving board when you’re above a pool of water that looks to be about the size of your bathtub because you are so far away from it. I’m just sayin’.

Let’s put this into perspective:

• The low diving board is 1 meter high.
• The high diving board is 3 meters high.
• The first platform is 5 meters high.
• The second platform is 7.5 meters high.
• The third, and highest, platform is 10 meters high. (which is really very, very high)

I spent my summers (before and after camp) at this pool. And, as afraid of heights as I’ve always been, I did jump off those platforms. Once.

I wanted to. I needed to. I knew it was something I had to do because when I thought about not jumping, it didn’t feel right in my body. I knew that I was being manhandled by my fear in the not jumping – and that just wasn’t who I was, (isn’t who I am). But the fear was strong. I remember the stories that flared up in my brain. If I climb up that ladder and jump, my terror told me, then:

• I won’t have the option of turning around and climbing back down.
• I’ll be trapped.
• I’ll have no control.
• I’ll freeze.
• I’ll panic.
• I’ll be all alone.
• No one will help me.
• I’ll look like a fool.
• I’ll cry.
• I’ll slip.
• I’ll fall.
• I’ll die.

These thoughts were mean. I tortured myself with them, they tortured me by refusing to be quiet.

And then, I’m guessing with the cajoling of friends or because I was only 10 years old or because I tapped into the part of me that refuses to fail or because of all of the above, I climbed up (and up and up and up) the ladder and I jumped off.

I didn’t love the jump, and I didn’t ever do it again – but, I did it once, and I survived. And it was no where near as bad as my imaginings. None of them came true. Well, almost none of them. I was, in fact, alone…but that turned out to be okay. Like I was supposed to be alone when I jumped from this great height when, after all, the build-up of fear had also been created and endured a la solo.

And in that moment, I started to learn that the build-up is so much scarier than the actual jump.

It’s a lesson that’s hard to remember when you’re in the before/build-up phase. But when it can be recalled, it’s wonderfully comforting. Like gaping at 100 flights of stairs…and then looking over and seeing a sign for an elevator.

I wish I could send an ‘elevator’ of help to Haiti. I know times are hard for people all over the world right now, but if you have anything to spare, please text “haiti” to 90999 and make a donation to the Red Cross’s relief efforts. You can also make a donation via their website. May the pain and suffering of these people somehow be eased by the care and support of people everywhere…

Three other charities that are working to help Haiti:

Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam America
Yéle Haiti

Creating proposals that get you the job and are just generally awesome.

So, yesterday we were talking about the niche. But niche or not, when you want to get clients, you have to show them what’s on offer and make your case. Enter, the proposal. Imagine a sturdy, stunning document that you have at the ready to not only dazzle people with – but to show them that you mean business and that you’re professional.

Here are my elements for a successful, sensational, first-class proposal:

• Context. Set the stage, give stats, set up the problem(s) that you are going to solve. What’s the state of the union in the world of underwater basket weaving? Give your view.
• Why. Why does the problem need to be solved? Why is your solution the right one? Why is the reader missing out if they don’t solve it?
• Offerings. What are YOU going to do, how are YOU going to solve this problem for them. Tell them exactly and clearly what you will do for them.
• Prices. Get to the good stuff or get off the stage. You can tell me all about the world’s best toaster, but if it costs $1000, I’m outta here – so simply tell me the price so I can decide if I’m in or if I’m going to just eat cold bread.
• Who are you? Give the background about yourself and/or your company, show that you’ve got the goods. And don’t write your life story – only include information that is pertinent to this proposal. They only care that you’re good, have credentials and aren’t crazy. They don’t care that you once won a pie eating contest (unless you’re pitching Hostess).
• Who do other people think you are? This is the place for testimonials and/or stats and results from your previous work to date. Humans are pack animals, so if we see that other people think you’re stupendifying, we’ll assume that it’s true.
• Case study. Walk the reader through a real life example of what it’s like to work with you. Let them live life with you for a few bullet points.
• Portfolio. Show us what you’ve accomplished and show it proudly. Links, screen shots, you name it.
• Length. We all struggle with the Goldilocks syndrome here – looking to get it just right. Here’s the thing: it needs to be full and complete, you’ve got some ground to cover. So can you do that in a way that doesn’t look like you’re writing the great American novel? Big fonts, headlines, sub-headlines, pictures, different layouts and bullet points all help here. Make it easy for the potential client to get in, get the info they need and get out. Don’t make them feel like they have to read every word – because they won’t and they’ll be annoyed by the assumption that they should.
• Proofread. I couldn’t not say this. I know you will – for typos and content clarity. Tricks: 1) read it out loud as our minds like to make misspelled words look right, and 2) give it to a different and fresher pair of eyes to read through as well.
• Make it purty. If you’re still using a PC, you’re kind of screwed here. I kid, I kid. But seriously, creating a presentation in Keynote (via Apple’s iWork program) is the equivalent of giving a 3 year old one of those painting books where you rub a wet paint brush over the paper and the Mona Lisa appears. In other words, a good design/presentation program even makes someone artistically challenged, like me, look brilliant. Find a computer program that formats and designs beautifully, OR hire a designer to do this part for you. It’s worth it. (and I know a few, so just ask me). And, if you aren’t a writer, hire a writer to write the proposal for you (I know a few of those as well). Because remember: people really do judge you by your looks. It’s a shallow, shallow world out there.

…but hopefully that means someone will pluck your proposal out of the ankle deep waters.

Have some additional proposal tips, favorite design platforms? Please, by all means, add them in the comments below…

Image credit: Derek Purdy

Time to hitch this horse to a niche.

For a long time now, I haven’t niche myself. I intuited, assumed and experienced the fact that the wider I cast my net, the greater the number of fish I could possibly, and did ultimately, catch.

You’ll notice that this goes against what most people will tell you to do. As a matter of fact, it goes against what I tell you to do in my eBook (How to Become a Successful Copywriter). But that’s because I subscribe to the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t f*ck with it’ school of thought. And for me, it wasn’t broke. Wasn’t. Past tense.

Raise your hand if this fun little recession we’re having has taken you down a notch (or is just bumming you out severely or is even just reducing the number of massages you can get each week). My hands are raised, too. I actually just heard that the average business took a 40-50% hit in 2009. Which made me feel good for a nanosecond because that statistic shouted, ‘It’s not you! It’s the Cheney, Rove, Bush trifecta’s!’ at me.

But still and of course, after I reviewed my year-end numbers, I ate some ice cream (best stuff ever), moped for a few minutes and then sat down to figure out how I was going to fix this situation. Which is when it hit me. While I can write about anything and while I enjoy the variety, I think it’s time to hitch to a niche.

I’ve got it all picked out, came upon it by working with a client within it…will tell you about it soon. But, here are some things to think about if you’re going to go the niched route.

• Find people within the niche that you can talk to – get an insider’s view about what’s needed
• Then, figure out how you can give them what they need and want
• Pick something that you like and where your interest will be held
• Research and see who else is working within this niche and how they’re doing it
• Then figure out how to do it better
• Tell everyone you know what you’re doing because many of them will say, ‘Hey! I know someone who would be perfect for you to talk to!’ And we all know that a direct introduction and personal connection is KEY.
• Create a proposal, something pretty that: 1) answers questions, 2) provides total information, 3) makes people want you 4) is the perfect response to, ‘Can you send me something to look at?’ (post on how to create a fab proposal is HERE)
• Even if you niche, don’t ditch the broader scope completely…no need to shut doors, burn bridges, close windows (anyone besides me want me to stop rhyming?)

Loving the plaque in the picture up above as it is beyond apropos. It tells us that ‘…this was a meeting place for pioneers that tied their horses to the hitching rail while conducting business…’ and that they were, ‘…hardy and foresighted pioneers…’

Huh, just like you and me.

Image credit: stuttermonkey

If you try to do it all yourself, I bet you’ll fall over

I just got off the phone with a friend. She was telling me about her morning. Like me, she’s a freelancer, but of graphic design. This morning, before she even opened Photoshop, she did her bookkeeping, went to the bank and the post office, cleaned her office, fixed the leaky faucet in her bathroom, booked plane tickets for an upcoming conference and worked on a video segment she’s trying to edit to put on her blog.

Did you forget what it is that she actually does for a living? I almost did – and I’ve known her for years.

It all boils down to this: If you’re going to be a graphic designer, be a graphic designer. If you’re going to be a plumber, be a plumber. If you’re going to be a writer, be a writer. Don’t be a graphic designer – and a bookkeeper, a plumber, a travel agent, an administrative assistant and a videographer. It’s just not an effective use of your time.

And it reminds me of an interview that I did for journalist Marilee Crocker not too long ago – and that I’ve tweaked and pasted in below…

Note: Before I get mauled for suggesting that you don’t try to be as self-sufficient as hell in this economy, hear me out. The issue of outsourcing work is vitally important to understand and explore – as a businessperson and as a person in general.

What gets in our way when it comes to outsourcing? Why do we hold back (if we do)?

We are fantastic multi-taskers, and we’ve been socialized to think we need to do it all. As if getting help or outsourcing is somehow lazy, representative of us shirking our duties and a sure sign of failure. For women in particular, I’d say, ‘SuperWoman complex anyone?’ It’s outdated, but deeply ingrained that we will watch the mothership – both at home and at the office (and manage each one magnificently) – no matter what.

So…why is it so important for us to outsource?

It’s important because if we can give some of the work away, we will open ourselves up to more greatness: more time for creativity, more time to grow the business, more opportunity to spend our time in the places where we’re most needed, where we shine, where our passion is. In the end, it provides more work/life effectiveness, severely reduces stress and increases productivity. Which all equals happiness and fulfillment and success.

What can help us get over it?

Talking to other people and getting strength from each other as we march into uncharted territory is always supportive. Share well – and this includes sharing success stories and encouragement. I think it also helps to hire people you respect and feel good about as your outsourcers/contractors. This way, you aren’t just relieving your full plate, you’re simultaneously supporting another ‘good guy’ in their work.

Why should we? How is the reluctance to outsource holding us back?

It’s interesting to examine what we readily outsource (putting on a new roof) and what we tend to cling to (writing our own marketing materials). Why should we outsource as much as possible? Because why should you spend 40 hours a month balancing your books, when you could hire a bookkeeper that can do it in 10 while you design this winter’s fashion line? We think we can’t afford to pay the bookkeeper for those 10 hours, but can we afford to give up the 40 hours of our own? We’re paying for that lost time as well. Not to mention that if you’re a fashion designer, those 40 hours spent with your finances promise little more than frustration, boredom, stress and confusion. What’s the payoff? Who wins?

Ultimately, this is about letting ourselves off the hook – giving ourselves the freedom to achieve what we desire.

Image credit: antwerpenR

Check out the latest interview on The Daily Norm: Banker White, Filmmaker, Artist & Activist

Turning the Writing Switch On

Guest post by Ron Miller my trusty sidekick, partner at SocMedia101, virtual office mate and all around terrific dude. Oh and he’s a phenomenal, award winning tech journalist to boot. (You know how you can tell that I didn’t write this? Because I haven’t been on a vacation in three and half years. So there.)

I just returned from vacation and there was a little part of me that was afraid I would forget how to write. Absurd I know, especially after more than 20 years in the business, but I was writing so much before I left, and I was in a groove. I was also seriously burning out and needed a break, but part of me worried that when I stopped writing that maybe I wouldn’t be able to find my groove again.

Shedding the Brain Fuzz

When I first got back on Wednesday, I wasn’t really ready to write, so I did all of the post-vacation chores. I went through the pile of email, listened to the collection of voice mail and sifted through the 2500 emails that were waiting for me. On Thursday, I needed to get serious. I sat down at my computer, and I didn’t feel like writing. My brain was fuzzy. The ideas weren’t there, then something caught my eye in Twitter as it always does. Mmm…Microsoft made a deal with Nokia. It got me thinking about how active Microsoft has been and I sat down and very quickly wrote a post for my DaniWeb TechTreasures blog called Microsoft Strategy Report Card. Slowly getting back into it.

Next, I owed a post to somedia101.com, the blog Julie and I started together earlier this year. I had been kicking around an idea about how Facebook was a great way to stay in touch on the road. I opened up a blank document in Google Reader and very quickly wrote Facebook Replaces Post Cards from the Road.

And just like that the Writing Switch had been turned back to the On position.

Like Riding a Bike

Today I posted two more posts: one for DaniWeb and one for Socmedia101.com. As I monitored Twitter and slogged my way through Google Reader I was once again flooded with ideas. It was as though I had never left. It’s so cliche, but it was like riding a bike. It was a silly fear, I know. It’s not likely I would forget how to write.

It’s part of the core of who I am and what I do, but it felt so good when I heard that click and I knew I was back.

Image credit: The Giant Vermin