I’ll be on vacation until Jan. 7, but will try to leave you some tidbits of good info here and there.
I hope that this is helpful although somewhat of a cop-out for a real post. I’ll add news here and there as I have time and look forward to returning to you full-time on Jan. 7.
Until then, have a safe and happy New Year!
Posted on Dec 08, 2008 under Blogging, General Social Media |
I’ve been working on a social media plan for a client that includes a blog. This client has a very specific tone in all of his writing and its very effective with his audience. They are considering blogging and we are assessing whether this “voice” will continue to be the voice of the organization in the blog.
Finding your blogging voice seems to be easy for some and incredibly difficult for others. I write almost exactly like I talk. So, for the most part, blogging is easy for me. I actually do pause a lot when I talk (notice my abundant use of commas), I am verbose for no good reason and there is always a hint of sarcasm in almost everything that comes out of my mouth. OK - not the best traits, but what you hear is what you get.
Its important to be yourself when you blog. If you try to be cute when you are just not a cute person, it shows through. Being an intellect in your blog when you are really just want to talk about Britney Spears ultimately makes blogging more of a challenge. Be genuine - be yourself - and your voice will shine through.
Be personal and opinionated. I am a news junkie and want to know what’s happening in the world, but more importantly, I want to know what YOU think of the news. I want to have a conversation about issues and just reporting the news doesn’t support engagement.
Whether you are blogging for an organization or keeping a personal journal, finding your voice doesn’t have to be painful. It’s simply about being comfortable in your own skin and sharing your thoughts with your audience.
I have a lot of feeds from blogs - some admittedly are better than others. There are a few that are consistently boring and poorly written. And there are some that I am convinced can’t get any worse - and they never disappoint.
People write blogs for a lot of reasons - to report about personal events or situations, to support a brand, to distribute information, to provide an opinion - and I’m not saying that any of these reasons are wrong or better than the others. I’m just saying - if you’re going to put something out there for others to read, consider including some substance.
If you plan to blog about someone else’s post, add your own commentary, even if its just a few words.
Blogs reach a lot of folks, so I understand writing for a broad audience. But try to write to the folks who are reading your blog. If you are writing about Shakespearean literature, you can probably write at a level beyond that of a 6th grader.
Write with your personal flair. A blog should feel like the person who is writing it. Add your opinion on your topics when it makes sense. Let your readers get to know you.
I’m on a mission people - down with the sterile, fact filled blogs. Hazaa to blogs that tell me a little about the topic and even more about the blogger.
Posted on Oct 08, 2008 under Blogging, General Social Media |
I’ve been asked to blog for a couple of firms and initiatives this week and am realizing that having some foundation for what you’re going to write about is important. While I know (and preach) that planning is key - I tend to be a fly-by-the-seat-of your-pants kind of girl in my own life. But now that I have a bunch of posts due at different times of the week, I’ve decided to buck up and make some plans.
Don’t get me wrong - your blog posts should be timely and relevant. And while a topical calendar should be helpful, it shouldn’t be the end-all be-all of your blog. Remember to be flexible and go with the flow. Your calendar should serve as a backup when there isn’t any breaking news or nothing to get on your soapbox to talk about.
So have a plan, but be spontaneous. You’ll feel less stressed and will ultimately be a more effective blogger.
I had the great pleasure to speak to a dynamic group of writers today at the “Writers - Push the Electronic Envelope” conference sponsored by American Independent Writers. I’ve summarized my notes from the session and have listed the resources below.
Over the next week, I’ll be sure to further explain some of the points that were discussed during the session. So if you are a writer, please be sure to subscribe to my feed.
I hope that everyone that attended the conference took home some helpful nuggets and perhaps a little inspiration. PLEASE feel free to contact me or participate in this conversation if you have any questions at all. As you may have noticed, I love to talk and love helping folks even more! Enjoy!
Promoting Yourself Online (Freelancers and Staffers)
- Understand what you’re passionate about and pursue projects that are complimentary
- The more you write online – the more you build a reputation
- Over time, brand yourself as an expert within your space or company
- Manage your personal brand (don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, in the online space -use your real name but don’t forget to manage your presence; be yourself)
The Pitch (ChrisBrogan.com - Example of a Great PR Pitch)
- Consider pitching to niche e-zines or media firms
- KISS – simple and concise is key
- Use keywords – even in your pitch
- Bulleted lists
- Be personable
- Remember that online users are typically looking for information/references; not novels
- Know your target audience and steer your pitch toward that group
Finding Others Who Need You
- Twitter – reach out to other folks in your space (feel free to follow me - www.twitter.com/gooddogzbeth)
- Facebook – promote your work, find groups in your niche
- Blogging – integrate blog into Twitter and Facebook, guest blog
- Reach out to niche e-zines and media firms (I’ve found reaching out to niche cable channels like Lifetime, Bravo, Discovery, etc. effective)
Resources for Finding Gigs
- Freelance Switch – Website with great tips for all freelancers.
- Freelance Switch Job Board – There are always several good writing opportunities listed here.
- Blogger Jobs – I’ve found good blogging opportunities here. Try subscribing to RSS to receive the latest jobs in your feed.
- Freelance Writing Jobs – Website with regular writing opportunities as well as tips.
- Guru.com – OK, Guru, as a whole, is not one of my favorites. But from time-to-time I have found decent writing projects.
Twitter Tools
These tools will make your life on Twitter easier and more efficient.
- Twitter - Set-up your account and start tweeting!
- Twhirl - Great desktop client that makes using Twitter very easy.
- Tweetscan -Allows you to search postings or “tweets” for specific terms. Great for finding people to follow in your industry.
- TwitterLocal - Helps you locate other folks using Twitter in your area.
- Twitterholic - Find the top 100 most followed users on Twitter.
- Twitter Grader - See how your tweets rank among other folks - I’m a 61!
Blog Directories (I had a special request after the session for a list of blog directories - here you go!)
Also, here is a PDF of the handout from the session.
Posted on Aug 11, 2008 under Beth's Obs, Blogging, Kool Toolz |
Happy Monday everyone! It’s a lovely day here in the DC burbs and I’m giving a little thought to my Monday morning routine (which is really my daily morning routine). Setting aside the household “must dos” (like letting the dogs out, cleaning up any mess from the night before, sending my hubby to work, etc.) how do I get the most from my AM time? I will admit that I am not a morning person and I’ve started sleeping in a little later in order to catch up on some much needed R&R. So, I’m usually not coherent until 10AM. Most of my friends are up at the crack of dawn, but I am much better in the evening hours.
I am looking for a little advice (and getting up earlier ain’t happening) so here’s my plan. May there are a few tips you could share to help me streamline my tasks?
- Check my news and blog feeds. I have a gazillion of these set-up and really find value in all of them for different reasons. The problem is, this morning I’m looking at about 414 posts to go through. I prefer the Feeds option offered by Flock, so I’m not sure whether there is a more useful tool out there. Is there a more effective way to manage feeds that you can share with our readers?
- Write my blog posts. I currently write for 5 blogs with more on the way. One is weekly and the rest are daily. I know that I need a better work flow for blogging and should really study Chris Brogan’s blogging work flow. It’s a great process.
- Check for RFPs. Until I get my business really moving, I’m checking the web for RFPs (got one on my desk that’s due Friday). Looking for blog help, small web development projects and the likes. What I find here lays out the rest of my week.
- Return phone calls. Inevitably, I need to return calls from Friday.
During the week, I do a little of this, but Monday AM is by far the time suck for catching up. During the week I tweet, blog, write proposals, write technical docs, write strategy docs, prepare for speaking gigs, etc. My latest endeavor is setting up a GoodDogz.org presence in Second Life. So, my weeks are busy.
I guess I’m just a sucker for time management and am looking for some suggestions/tools for managing my freelancer time.
I am in the process of writing a social marketing plan for GoodDogz.org. We launched our new website about 2 weeks ago and, without any type of promotion, started immediately receiving blog comments, new NING community members, new LinkedIn group members, etc. It was truly amazing to see how quickly the new social aspects of the site snowballed. Adding these tools to a non-profit site was easy, cheap and effective. Here’s what we added:
That’s it. By adding those 4 tools, we were able to quickly gain more interaction with our audience, more interest and ultimately better resources for our users.
The next step is to create a strategy for promoting and using these tools. Although we were lucky enough to have “built it and they came”, a strategic plan is important to not only establish engagement but maintain an audience of loyal users who will come back often and participate in the conversation. More to come on that and I would love to hear the ideas of others on getting the word out.
Posted on Aug 02, 2008 under Beth's Obs, Blogging |
I had a client ask me, “How often should I blog?” I immediately rose high to my blogger pedestal and answered, “You really should be blogging daily, certainly no less than weekly. You have to remember, it’s all about engagement.” To which he said, “We’re a group of attorneys with full case loads. How in the world can I commit to blogging daily?” At the end I acquiesced and told him that if they could blog weekly, they would be in a better position than they are now - which is blogging less than monthly - and that we could track to see how that was helping their SEO, conversion, etc.
Yesterday, I thought about this conversation again, and looked at my own blog. How pathetic that I feel so comfortable wagging my finger at the client for not blogging daily while I can barely push out a post a week. My stats have gone down (I think as StatPress seems to have stopped working), my feeds have dropped off - I am a pathetic little soul.
The truth is - you (and I) should blog as often as possible. Yes, it’s good to have a blog plan and work flow, but hey - sometimes you just have something to say. Instead of waiting for that prophetic thought to come to mind - blog about the little things as well as the major stories in your life, business or organization.
I made the life decision to abandon the cushiness of predictable, full-time, salaried employment to venture out into the world of freelance consulting again. My hope is that I can blog, write, consult and help organizations better utilize web and emerging technology. But, all in all, I look forward to getting back out there, on my own terms, and finding the opportunities to do what I love the best - marrying people who need technology with the most effective solutions.
As I step down from my pedestal, I vow that if you give me the rest of the weekend off, I will practice what I preach and blog, blog, blog!
I couldn’t decide whether to blog about this or to download these first…so I downloaded them first.
Mashable.com, my personal fave blog for social media goodies and news published a fantastic list of plug-ins for anyone running a Wordpress blog. I just downloaded the plug-ins that I didn’t have and took a pause so that I could share. Take a look at the list and let me know what you think!
20+ Must-Have Wordpress 2.5 Compatible Plug-Ins
Posted on Jul 05, 2008 under Blogging, General Social Media |
As most of us have heard, the Associated Press (AP) have come down hard on bloggers. There are certainly varying opinions on who is right and who is wrong in this situation. But I think that the bottom line is that bloggers need to be more vigilante about researching and learning the guidelines for publications. I am a firm believer in the First Amendment and understand that blogging is a new and gray area. But, let’s face it, we don’t want to be sued or worse for something that we’ve written. Here are a few helpful articles on how these guidelines are now being handled (and I hope that I don’t go to jail for linking to them):
I’m also reading We’re All Journalists Now, which so far has been a pretty interesting read.
Please share your thoughts.
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Beth consults with businesses and non-profits on social media tool selection and strategy and helps her clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.
