What’s Your Theme Song?
Yes, I realize that they talked about this on Ally McBeal – but I don’t care. Music really does have magical powers.
How to pick the right song:
- You have to love it – instruments, melody, beat.
- Actually listen to all of the words and make sure they’re working for ya.
- Do you have a memory associated with the song? or the singer? Make sure it’s a good one.
- When you hear it, the smile and heart-uplift must be undeniable.
My song
I was invited to pick my song during grad school – and I had the answer in an instant. Believe it or not, once upon a time, I suffered from a horrid bout of anxiety. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t function. It sucked. My medicine was happy, safe, mindless, uplifting TV that didn’t disturb my freakish psyche in any way, shape or form.
Of course, I’m talking about Nick at Nite, that luscious retro gift from Nickelodeon. Today, if you watch Nick at Nite, you get old sitcoms from the 90′s which really disturbs me because I don’t think I’m that old. But when the whole shebang began, you saw: Happy Days, Newhart, Taxi, Dick Van Dyke…and, my girl, Mary Tyler Moore.
Mary. I love Mary. Cool apartment, great clothes, terrific friends, all of that sexual tension with Lou. She struck out on her own, you know? And she made her own way – no matter what people told her. She was a really good person and people loved her. She was industrious, silly, happening…and happy.
I eventually kicked the anxiety with yoga, diet and a severe attitude and life change. But I never kicked the Mary habit. Her theme song reminds me of all that I’ve accomplished, who I am and the gloriousness I’m about to unleash upon the world.
So that’s mine, what’s yours?
Image courtesy of ganatronic
Filed under How To | Tags: empowerment, entrepreneur, inspriation, Juile Roads, women, women business owner, Writing, Writing Roads | Comments (11)Did Shakespeare have an editor?
As I walked this morning, I was thinking about the book I was writing and the books other people have written (specifically Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book which is outstanding and masterful) – and the editing process that surrounds them. I pretty quickly made the leap to the copywriting work that I do – and the editing process that surrounds them.
In each case, the writer/artist begins with a pure moment of production unfettered by anyone esle’s opinions. Or does s/he? Are there thoughts always lingering in the back of the mind about what the editor, readers, customers, clients, boss wants? And if not, certainly the inner editor is there.
Many of us have been lucky, we’ve had those moments. Those beatific dips in the space-time continuum when the words gush in a direct beam from mind to paper (er, keyboard). And in those moments, the editorial thoughts are silent.
Which got me thinking about Shakespeare. He didn’t have an editor at Harper Collins breathing down his neck or telling him that the story would work better if only Juliet was hanging out of her window instead of standing on her balcony…right? Of course, he did have the Queen and the theater owners to contend with (yes, I saw Shakespeare in Love, too).
But imagine him before he actually became Shakespeare. For that matter, imagine us before we had bills to pay or dreams of fame and repute.
Is this what we should be striving for? Writing for the love of writing? Purely that?
Of course we should…
When I got to my computer, post-walk, I had an email directing me to Chris Brogan’s latest blog post (actually he wrote it yesterday but I only got it today because Feedburner sucks). In it, he urges us to “work backwards” – it’s a wonderfully inspiring article that supports the wackiness of my work life. He writes:
In the beginning, you might feel a bit uncertain. Try things out. Build secret labs. Run things by friends. Then, don’t listen to what they say. You think visionaries have safety nets and advisory boards and case studies?
Someone had to hunt the first mammoth.
That’s right, I thought. Someone, or some people, wrote before there were bosses and editors and clients and customers. When they wrote because they were called to create and share. Because they couldn’t resist.
So. Can we clear our minds, in whatever pursuit we’re engaged, and – essentially – go back?
Image courtesy of gadl
Filed under Critical Copywriting, How To | Tags: copywriter, copywriting, creative writing, fiction writing, Juile Roads, marketing writer, Writing, Writing Roads | Comments (5)Before the Good Stuff
Did you know that the original purpose of doing yoga postures was to prepare the body and mind for meditation? Yes, it’s true, the goal was never tight abs and a rockin’ ass.
Still, meditation does not come easy. For the vast majority of us, it never has. As we add more and more to our lives, it grows even harder. Just ask me.
I used to wake up every morning at 5am to practice yoga – or to lead it. I worked, studied and taught at the largest yoga center in the world…and it was still hard for me to just sit down and be still.
And then, I had children and built a business, and I forgot that meditation existed. The yoga stopped.
Until last week. Something happened and I pulled out my yoga mat and, AH!, did yoga. And then something else happened…This morning, after I finished my postures, my body literally pulled me down, gently closed my eyes and dropped me into a peaceful, restful state of meditation. Block cities were being built around me, a three year-old curled into my lotus lap. But it didn’t matter. I could have sat there all day.
If you must know, I (and several of my family members) have been trying for the last three years to make myself be still, even for one minute. It’s been an unattainable goal. And I realized this morning that it was because I had forgotten the critical step. That I couldn’t just jump from crazy life to meditation, but that I had to prepare my body first.
What I was struck by was that my writing process is the exact opposite. My writing focus, that lucious connection to muse, blasts from the most chaotic and harried of moments. There is no time of preparation. There is just life and then words. Yes, I’ve written that walking in the morning helps stir my brain and stimulate words, but even then my mind is swirling and then boom.
Ah, grasshopper…so maybe my preparation is the chaos? Perhaps there is some method to this madness? Perchance ‘no preparation’ is my gameplan. What’s yours?
Image by Joe Shlabotnik
Filed under Critical Copywriting, How To, The Business | Tags: copywriting, creative writing, how to write, Juile Roads, marketing writing, meditation, Writing, writing process, Writing Roads, yoga | Comments (3)portfolio redux
Anyone else ever get so busy taking care of clients that you hardly have time to take care of yourself? Case in point, it’s been over a year since I’ve updated my portfolio page. And, it’s finally here. Thanks, as always, to my prized designer, Leslie Tane, you can all now see a selected smattering of what Writing Roads has been doing for the last year. The Bonobo Kids site above is just a taste…
Oy, did I just refer to myself in the 3rd person? Listen people, I have 16 in-laws visiting us for a week…I have a really, really good excuse. Really, really.
Filed under Critical Copywriting, The Business | Tags: blog writing, Blogging, blogs, brochure copywriting, copywriter, copywriting, direct mail copywriting, Juile Roads, marketing writer, portfolio, website copywriting, Writing Roads | Comments (4)like your marketing collateral, part 1 (where we discuss what you need)
Enthusiasm, confidence and positive energy are contagious. That self-assured, happy person is who I want to be around – and it’s certainly who I want to work with. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t like working with depressed people who don’t really like what they do.
If you don’t like your marketing collateral, or even worse, if you are embarrassed by it, your sheepishness, your lack of aplomb and your general un-excitement will shine through and reflect on your business. When you tentatively hand over your business card or make excuses that your brochure is being redone or have to explain that soon your website will match the rest of your brand – it’s not so good. Potential clients may perceive your hesitation as a lack of interest in their product or service; they may perceive it as unprofessional.
But, before we can even begin talking about creating marketing collateral that you like, I think it is important to name which marketing pieces you should have. Here are the essentials according to moi:
1. Business Card. Make it double-sided. This card is important real estate – list services, benefits, testimonials, etc. on the back. Until there is a way for us to simply touch cell phones and have contact info instantly transferred, this is your contact vehicle.
2. Website. Websites are for people today what brochures were to people in the 90′s and earlier – only better. A web presence gives you a global presence, it gives the everyone total convenience and accessibility. Also, from the most basic to the supa-dupah, websites offer update-able (yes, I’m making up spelling) information, the opportunity for interaction, immediate communication and the wow factor.
3. Blog. If you didn’t know I was going to say that, then shame on you. Blogs are the ultimate marketing tool. You can have an ongoing conversation with your target market, find out just what your target market wants and add an infinite amount of information, value and integrity to your website, brand, reputation. Blog posts are everlasting advertisements for your business. And with keywords and search engines, they deliver qualified traffic (ie. people who are looking for you exactly) to your door blog.
4. Brochure. Not a bad idea. Some people do like to have something they can hold in their hands…and they don’t even seem to worry about the strain on the environment. Did I say that? Whoo, am I opinionated today.
Of course, this list is very basic. Depending on the organization, product, service or industry, this list could lengthen or shorten at will to include info or press packets, premiums, sell sheets, e-commerce stores, (highly targeted) direct mail and on and on.
UP NEXT: like your marketing collateral, part 2 (where we discuss how and what you’ve gotta do)…
Filed under Marketing, The Business | Tags: blog, brochure, copywriter, copywriting, direct mail, Juile Roads, Marketing, marketing collateral, marketing plan, sell sheets, website, Writing Roads | Comments (2)
