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?

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.

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!

Trees that make a difference and change the way we remember

Trees Instead, founded and run by Daniel Diaz (Civil Engineer) & Pablo G. Martinez (business grad), is a fantastic business that’s doing good in the world, one tree at a time, by planting trees as memorials, honorariums and gifts. I’m continually impressed by their work and generosity. And, since I found them on twitter, I became even more intrigued by the web and social media slant of their business - so I asked for an interview, and of course, they obliged. Here ’tis.

Writing Roads: How did you get started? What was your inspiration, motivation, raison d’etre?

Trees Instead: In 2001, a dear friend of ours passed away after a long battle with cancer. At his funeral, the family made the request to donate money to the American cancer society in lieu of Flowers. Instead, we decided to make a picture slide of all the good times we had with him. We noticed that our best memory was a camping trip we all did to a national park while in college. We called the park and had a tree planted there in his memory; we then made a certificate and give it to his Mother…she loved it. Then the funeral director who was present at that time asked us if we could do one for another family…the rest is HISTORY.

We noticed that the available services for memorial tree planting were very impersonal, so we did some research and made our business plan with the mission to have a service that would be elegant, original and sustainable. We put our savings in and 100,000+ trees later - here we are! We now plant trees in all 50 states, Canada, The Amazon & Israel.

Writing Roads: How do you use social media for your business? How do you use your blog? (I know blogs are part of soc med, but I just wanted to make sure you talked about both…)

Trees Instead: We are in the business of making green trendy & thoughtful, to position our service/product as a unique experience for both sender & receiver. We’ve found that social media is the best way to let people know about us. There are many tree planting companies, and they are in it for many reasons we are - the “end result of the service,” the satisfaction of going green & doing it in an elegant & original way. Blogs & social media engines like Facebook & Twitter allow us to get in touch with the people on a one by one basis and have a long term relationship that will end up with us positioning our service in their minds.

Writing Roads: Any thoughts on the importance of content to your business? (The writing in particular…)

Trees Instead: Well there is an ongoing debate about global warming and the need for sustainable living. We like to stay out of the debate. The extremists & alarmists about global warming are not doing any good for their own cause and those who think nothing is wrong are in lala land.  A business like ours enjoys the balance of doing good actions for the environment while facing one absolute truth: “Sustainable living is good for the wallet, the earth & future generations…. No matter what.”

Writing Roads: Do you have an opinion on the difference (benefits, hardships) of running a nonprofit web business as opposed to a for profit biz?

Trees Instead: We’re a not-for-profit because we like the freedom of decision we have with an LLC - there’s little bureaucracy. Nevertheless, we use our income not only to plant trees, but to find ways to make sustainable reforestation projects in developing countries. I admire organizations like the Arbor Day Foundation or American Forests, but I don’t want the government, a board, nor powerful activists telling us how to act, what to believe ad how to live our dream. We do miss the grants and goodies available to non-profits, yet we don’t want to be huge, just big enough to matter.

Writing Roads: Anything I missed that you want to say?

Trees Instead: Well, we really appreciate your generosity. Also, we like to support any group or cause that makes sense - our only enemies are ignorance & narrow minded people. Daniel is on the liberal side of things and Pablo is the Conservative, yet, we don’t let media or agendas dictate common sense.

Keep up the good work, Daniel and Pablo - knowing people like you exist in the world helps me sleep better at night…Thanks!!!

Who’s got your back?

I went to high school with one of my brothers, Steve, who is just two years older than me. Here’s a classic scenario from those good old days at Clayton High: I’m standing at my locker - talking, flirting, what have you with some boy that had trouble written all over his face (and body) - and from out of nowhere, Steve appears.

“What’s going on here?” He would bellow. “Are you okay? Is he bothering you?”

I’m not kidding.

He drove me crazy and the boys away. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized this protection wasn’t actually a bad thing. I mean, what a concept? Someone watching out for you, able to swoop in just when you need them…hmmm, sounds oddly like a comic book I read somewhere…

How does it translate to being a freelance copywriter? Who’s got your back in the social media realm? The answer really speaks to the beauty of networking and being a genuine part of the conversation.

Because of social media, there are actual places you can go to be around people that understand your situation - like a local writer or tech listserve, a mom’s network such as Mom Bloggers Club or your own blog that builds community with conversation, comments and subscriptions/feeds. You can also cast your net somewhere like Twitter where word of mouth is fast and the conversation is faster. My experience with all of these examples is that most of the people using them are incredibly helpful, supportive and there to connect.

These people will help you navigate new proposals, pricing, finding the perfect word, tech breakdowns…and you’ll do the same for them.

When you participate in any networking group, online or off, you build relationships, and you make an impression. The quality of your relationships will span the range. There will be those you won’t get along with at all. Some people will actually become really good friends, trusted colleagues. And, you’ll find everything in between - acquaintances, fast & powerful encounters, steady contacts. As do most experiences, it’s got the makings of the classic bell curve.

Strong connections will be made with the most unlikely characters because the usual filters (class, clothes, environment, location, culture, etc.) aren’t present. No one is to be discounted (unless they behave badly) because you can’t predict where the jewels will be found.

Pay attention to the people that become the really good friends, the trusted colleagues, because they’re the ones that have your back. They’ll notice a typo in your last post, they’ll tell you what ‘LMAO’ means, they’ll be there if you need to share really bad news or really good news, they’re supportive - they’re real because you’ve been real with them. And, it’s likely, if required, they’ll show up at your locker and by your side.

Is Twitter just a big chatroom?

Decidedly no. Twitter is not a chatroom. You all know that I’m a huge fan of Twitter (I talk about it enough, right?) So, today, I’m going to let some of my Twitter-colleagues tell you why it is so incredibly useful and hopefully debunk the Twitter=chatroom myth.

Is Twitter just a big chatroom?

Kelby Carr (@Typeamom): Twitter is different than a chat room in the sense that you have essentially no limit to the number of people in the room. A chat site typically has rooms or divisions or affinity groups. Twitter is more stream of consciousness. There are also tentacles you’d never experience in a chat room. For instance, I tweet a question and 10 of my followers RT (retweet) it, and then the number of people I can reach with my question is vast. The reach and speed of response is dizzying.

Aronado Placencia (@Aronado) Twitter is a Donkey with wings. If the Donkey likes you, you can leverage it to do anything and reach amazing people who can change your life. Twitter is a chat room on crack, steroids, & ecstasy all at once. I run a business through twitter, have FUN, and make new friends daily!

Ron Miller (@ron_miller) People go to a chat room specifically to chat, it’s a utility. People come to twitter for more reasons than that. I see Twitter as much more multi-dimensional and far-reaching. Part chatroom, but also: publicity, sharing, communicating.

Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) Twitter isn’t just “chatting.” A big piece of Twitter (and I think the most important piece) is listening.

See? Twitter is powerful…now, go follow these folks - they are VERY smart. Of course, you can find and follow me @writingroads.

Competition, Humility, Reality

I met a new person yesterday. She asked me what I did for a living, and swear to god, she got really excited by my answer.

No, I didn’t lie and say that I’m a New York Times bestselling author. I said that I am a marketing writer for web & print and that I ghostwrite blogs. I can only imagine that the mystique of blogging, writing and ghostwriting got the best of her.

And you know what? It was really nice to hear that she thought what I did, and therefore I - myself, was exciting. Because this world of copywriters and social media experts is really odd, or rather, it presents an odd and dichotomous phenomenon.

Side 1. When I’m in the middle of it, say on Twitter, surrounded by a bevy of heavy hitters in the world of writing and social media, I can start to feel pretty small. And, not in a pity party kind of way. I’m proud of the business that I’ve built and how hard I work, but, on Twitter especially, it’s like a live newsfeed of people getting huge jobs and speaking at national conferences and launching new ventures with Fortune 500 companies and…so many other outstanding feats.

It can be humbling. There are random thoughts of who do I think I am?, I can’t compete, and even worse, trying to be something that I’m not in order to somehow compete with the big kids.

Side 2. When I’m not on my computer, this life and work look dramatically different. As evidenced by the story I launched this post with, I’m regularly seen as someone who does something really cool and who possesses knowledge about a world that few know about. To some degree, I’m extraordinary; occassionally, I’m envied.

The reality is that it’s all true. I am a small fish in a big sea…and what I do is fairly cutting edge and cool. It’s really just a matter of perspective.

But, what’s really important is what happens in my office and on this computer every day. No matter what anyone else is doing or thinking. I write, I learn, I consult, I produce, I collaborate, I network, I publish, I follow opportunities, I multitask, I procrastinate, I fail, I suceed, I do good work for myself, for my clients and for my community - both on and offline.

And? I like it.

I’d love to have you join this conversation with a comment. I talk back 99% of the time with a follow-up comment or an email…

If I had written the Motrin Ad…

This is what is what you would have heard if I had written the Motrin Ad:

Lately, we’ve noticed that wearing babies in a sling or carrier has gotten quite hip.

But did you know that moms, dads, grandparents, siblings…all caregivers, have been wearing slings for centuries? Babywearing has been shown to stimulate and improve the cognitive, physical and emotional health of infants and toddlers. And needing a nurturing and handy way to keep babies close and safe while you take care of daily life is an age-old necessity that crosses not only the lines of history, but also those of geography, race, religion, class and culture.

Babywearing is something that many people on this planet have in common, but it’s not the only thing.

Studies show that many caregivers don’t know the correct way to wear their slings. This can cause a lot of unnecessary pain in your neck, back, hips and knees. And, sometimes, even carrying the weight of your baby correctly can cause some discomfort. We highly recommend that you find a resource online or at your local baby store to help you wear your baby safely and correctly - for the health of both you and your baby.

In the meantime? Try some Motrin. Many of us are parents too, and we feel your pain.

In honor of International Babywearing Week and caregivers everywhere.

Subscribe Free
Add to my Page

how does social media work?

I gave a workshop this weekend on blogging and social media, and this inevitable question was asked: ‘how does social media work?’ It’s a great question. I only wish it had been asked today instead because while I had several, perfectly good examples/answers at the ready, this weekend offered up the ultimate case study.

At some point on Saturday, a woman saw an add for Motrin. And it pissed her off. You can watch it below - but the gist is that they mock babywearing as a passing fad that ’supposedly’ helps you bond with your baby and they belittle the mom experience.

In fact, babywearing is an age-old practice that:

• promotes the baby’s health and well-being,
• (and the mother’s because she can have a life and move while still maintaining contact with her child),
• supports and energizes all life systems (neurological, respiratory, digestive, etc.),
• helps develop strong trunk and leg muscles (babyworn babies stand and walk earlier),
• stimulates the brain with real life learning as the view and activities change consistently as opposed to staring at the mobile attached to a car seat or playset,
• encourages independence by establishing a sense of trust and safety (being close to mom) during the totally dependent months

…I could go on for days, but this isn’t my point. And yes, I wore both of my babies. Here’s the ad:

And, here’s how social media worked - in both big and small ways:

1. Word spread like wild fire through Twitter, a group was organized with the hashtag ‘#motrinmoms’ (On Twitter, hashtags are identifying tags making tweets searchable and findable).
2. An onslaught of complaints hit the Motrin site.
3. Many blog posts were written across the blogosphere (like this one) bringing attention to what was done wrong (and sometimes going against the women upset with Motrin because everyone gets a voice).
4. Because of the discussions, a countless number of new connections were made - people found new contacts on Twitter, readers found new favorite blogs and these sparks will undoubtedly roll into hookups on other social networks.
5. The case against Motrin took to social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious and Stumble - spreading the word even further.
6. The case against Motrin took to the social media sites when the ad appeared on YouTube and blogs.
7. Motrin took the ad down within 6 hours. (Now it only lives on YouTube and blogs).
8. Motrin took it’s entire website offline (as of Sunday night, still down at the time this went to ‘press’).
9. Moms who complained to Motrin directly received emails from the marketing company in charge of this campaign with an ‘we meant no harm’ apology.
10. A Motrin boycott was launched.
11. PR professionals, such as Sarah Evans and Peter Shankman are rolling out smart plans for Motrin to come out of this alive - other companies would be smart to take note of these plans and USE them to avoid the same fiasco. The fallout for people like Sarah Evans and Peter Shankman to get work from their insights are high.
12. Personally, my conversations and tweets about the #motrinmoms with people on Twitter have led me to multiple exciting contacts (including one with a magazine I’ve always wanted to write for), interactions that will benefit some of my clients and some follows from some folks on Twitter that I deeply admire.
13. What happened is, I’m sure, being replicated over and over and over.
14. As this story gets picked up, I can only imagine that it will bring a broader understanding and acknowledgment of social media and it’s potential to bring change, or at least shake things up.
15. Increased awareness of babywearing and why proper fit and position is critical to avoiding motrin and mom tears.
16. Backlash…just wait…especially when women speaking out are involved, it always rears its ugly head.

One situations, huge results and effects -that’s how social media works.

I’m positive there were more results than I could possibly know…feel free to use your imagination and add your thoughts in the comments below (and play nice, of course).

Update: Motrin’s mis-step makes a perfect reminder: * It’s still International Babywearing Week (Nov. 12-18). * There are still needy mamas out there who don’t have slings to help them hold their babies close. If you felt Motrin’s misdirected ad was worthy taking the time to complain about, don’t forget to take a positive step, as well: donate a sling to a needy family.

can twitter get too big? the Twitter Catch-22

So, as you all know, I’m Twitter-obsessed. I love it. I could be on Twitter all day and not even notice the hours fly by. (If only I could clone myself and that carbon-copy could do all of my work.)

And, as the number of people that I follow and that follow me grows rapidly (30+/day), I’m starting to see a tiny bit of a problem. When I was only following, say 50 people, even 100, I knew what they were doing - I could actually follow them consistently. I would open my Twitter and there they’d be. And because I could follow all of them, I naively assumed they were all really following me. And by following, I mean reading all of my tweets, every single one.

But, as the number of people I was following grew, I started to realize that I was missing things. I’d see an intriguing response to someone and have to go track down the start of their conversation. And, then, lo and behold, it dawned on me that my followers were also following so many people that they weren’t able to see all of my tweets.

Interesting. So, there are a few options here.

1. Without being really annoying, I can retweet really important tweets - like a call for a contest, huge news, retweets, etc. - throughout the day to make sure that different people see it. Remember that the Twitter community spans the globe, and thus, time zones - you don’t want to anger the Australians by only tweeting during your U.S. 9-5 times.

2. TweetDeck and other desktop applications can be used. TweetDeck “aims to evolve the existing functionality of Twitter by taking an abundance of information i.e twitter feeds, and breaking it down into more manageable bite sized pieces.”

3. Engage with as many people from my Twitter community as I can on other social media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Nings, etc.) This way I increase my chances of really important announcements/tweets being seen by them because I post the news in multiple places. Obviously, nothing can replace the immediacy and rapidity of Twitter - but for those important Tweets, it’s an option.

Okay, people - start talking. Your comments are always beyond insightful…how do you handle this Catch-22: The more followers, the bigger your community and reach, YET, the more followers, the less contact and impact.