Business Etiquette in Brief: Professional Image Tips for Men

In this week’s reading of Business Etiquette in Brief, chapter 2 discusses ways that men can look professional during a job interview or at the workplace.  Let’s take a look:

8 Common Fashion Faux Pas

1. Always wear a long-sleeved shirt with a suit.
2. Make sure that your shirt gives the appearance of having been professionally pressed.
3. Be sure that the tip of your tie touches the top of your belt buckle.
4. Wear socks that reach mid-calf to avoid showing a flash of leg.
5. When wearing an American-cut jacket (single-breasted), button up when standing or walking.  If your jacket has two buttons, button the top one.  If it has three, button the center one.
6. When wearing a European-cut jacket (double-breasted), button all the buttons when standing or walking.
7. Resole shoes with badly worn heels.
8. Choose leather or metal watch bands.

Other Items in Question

Fabric- When choosing a men’s suit, it should go without saying that 100% wool blends are usually a good choice.  To double check the quality of the suite, gently squeeze the material between your hands.  If it wrinkles when you let it go, you should probably think twice about purchasing it, since it may require more  maintenance than you’re willing to commit to.  Remember; suits should always look crisp!

Shirts- Long-sleeved shirts are the way to go when it comes to business with white shirts portraying the most formal look.  And although many men do not wear undershirts, they should.  Three reasons for this include:

• Keeps a dress shirt from feeling itchy against the skin.
• Preserves the shirt from perspiration.
• Gives added body to a dress shirt.

Ties- Ties should be anywhere from 2 3/4 and 3 1/2 inches wide.

Jewelry- Jewelry should be kept to an absolute minimum.  A wedding band, class ring or other non-gaudy ring may be worn on the ring finger typically.  Additionally, a watch that blends best with business suits is one with a basic black leather or metal band.  Plastic or velcro should NEVER be worn unless you’re competing in a sport outside of the workplace.

Jackets- Business etiquette dictates that a jacket should only be removed when the person who has arranged the business meeting invites others to do so.

Pens- Believe it or not, a pen can speak volumes about your confidence and ability and are often viewed as an accessory to your outfit.  Therefore, you may want to invest in a high quality pen to complete your image.

August 24 2009 | General Business Issues and Interviews and Work Related | 2 Comments »

How social media benefits small businesses in terms of marketing if they have unique logo?

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn.

A Logo Design Service Provider

Today, the world is more socially connected; in this regard reputation management has become more and more a concern for any business whether it is small or a large enterprise. Social media marketing in this scenario can help small and medium size businesses to gain reputation and popularity without deploying multiple websites.

One of the best examples of social media marketing could be the presidential campaign of Obama. With his unique logo, he had run the campaign almost on all popular social networking websites included MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube etc. Even now when the campaign has been finished his profile could easily be identified due to his unique logo.

It’s your profile picture that makes you identifiable on social networks, and if you put your logo instead of any other picture, it becomes very easy for visitors to identify and remember your business. Hence, a unique logo can be easily identified by the viewers at a glance and makes your profile to standout from the crowed.

Advertising through web banner can also be done on social networks, which is proved to be very effective and cheaper way of online marketing Thousands of users visit social networking websites daily, subliminal effect could be left on their mind if they don’t even look at the advertisement, but impression of a logo would be saved in their subconscious mind.

One other advantage a small business gets is through creating groups, where you are allowed to setup a main page with a graphic/logo, company’s description, and a wall where users can post comments. Additionally, it provides a discussion board for posting questions that encourage group members to interact and share their opinions. Group creation is free, it is Viral – when people become your fan it is updated on their profile with your logo and shared with all their friends, publicly indexed, and promotable with social network Ads.

It is just not enough; there are many other ways a unique logo can help. Widget marketing is another way to promote your business. Widgets are simple applications that can be made available for your website or blog visitors to copy and paste in their website or blog. Useful widgets can be designed for your visitors, and when they embed this widget to their website or blog, your logo will appear. Therefore, your logo would become the source of bringing qualified traffic to your website and creating brand exposure. Companies like YouTube, Twitter, and Slide are the examples that have taken advantage of widget marketing.

In the last, I would say benefits of social media marketing are never ending, and if you have a unique logo the advantages would be immense. Many other ways are there to utilize unique logo for social media marketing, and it’s your brain how you create innovative ideas to take full advantage out of your logo.

The following is a guest post from the guys at Logo Inn

March 24 2009 | Announcements and Blogging and Business Building and Business Networking and Ethics and General Business Issues and Guest Posts and Internet Marketing and Interviews and Marketing and Social Media and Social Networking and Start Up | No Comments »

Chatting With Karl Staib of Work Happy Now

Karl Staib is the brain behind Work Happy Now, a blog that gives tips, advice and shares stories that help employees and/or CEOs improve their work environment. Recently, I decided to interview Karl to pick his brain about the website as well as his experiences and struggles with it.  If you haven’t already done so, make sure you check out his site here.

Why Work Happy Now?

I have always struggled to enjoy various jobs. The memories were always enjoyable, but while I was working a job I had difficulty staying engaged. Most of it was my fault, so I began studying myself, books and other blogs to see if I could make a few connections. I started a personal development blog three years ago, but kept drifting toward work happiness. I knew other people had this problem too, so after a flop of a personal development blog I made the leap and started Work Happy Now. Best creative decision of my life.

How long has Work Happy Now been around?

Work Happy Now has been around for a little over a year. It’s still a work in progress. I’ve changed the look of my site, added video, launched an ebook “Work Happy the Google Way,” and I’m itching to expand some more. Like any business, I have to pick the strong return on investments and put the other ideas on the back burner. It’s not always easy to decide where to put my time, but that’s what creating a business is all about.

What sorts of struggles (if any) have you had to endure with your business over time?

The business is just in its infancy. I still work a full time job. My goal is to have Work Happy Now become a full time career by this time next year. To answer your question…I’ve lost count of the struggles. A brief synopsis would be cold-calling businesses, keeping up with regular blog posts, responding to every single reader question, staying outside my comfort zone and giving more and more value.

How did you come up with the name for your site?

I’m a big believer in branding. I wanted a name that would be easy to remember and would tell the exact story of how I wanted to help people. Voila – Work Happy Now. I really wanted WorkHappy.com, but it was taken. I actually like the “now” on the end because it’s all about maximizing our work happiness in the present moment.

If you could give advice to other people who are struggling with their entrepreneurial dreams, what would you say?

Be persistent. That means being so freak’n passionate about your concept that your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend or whoever asks you to come to bed because you are working too hard. I have my days when I can’t sit in front of the computer, but they are few and far in between. Starting your own business is about chipping away at the mountain until you are on top. It has taken four years, but I’m finally reaching my stride.

Do you think it’s better to work from home or in an an office?

It’s all about knowing yourself. If you need an office to get away from distractions then do it. If you can’t afford an office then make the best of what you have.

What sorts of things do you do for fun when you’re not working?

Spend time with my wife, walk the dog every evening (great stress reliever), Yoga every morning, meditation to keep the gauge of my mental state fresh and hang out with friends and family.

Do you have any advice on how to keep things balanced?

My advice is to listen to your needs. I have a full time job (40 hours a week), and I’m also working about 25 hours a week on my blog. It’s a lot of hours, but I always find time to take breaks, exercise, and spend time with loved ones.

What’s one of the most challenging things you’ve had to deal with regarding Work Happy Now?

Building a community is the most challenging. I want to respond on every person’s blog who comments on mine, but I can’t. I have to pick the areas where I get the most bang for my time.

What was one of the most rewarding?

The most rewarding has been the feedback. The emails I get thanking me. The comments from people who I’ve helped has been the best part. They appreciate the value that I give. It just makes me want to work even harder and keep coming up with new ideas.

What are your feelings on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.?

They are awesome tools. They help me reach new people without dropping any cash on advertising. It’s these relationships that I foster and support with all my energy. I don’t put a lot of money into Work Happy Now, less than $1,000, but I do that because I want Work Happy Now to grow organically. I want people to want me. The best way to do that is to be on social networks, trying to connect and share ideas.

About Karl:

You can read more about Karl here, on his website.  You can also follow Work Happy Now on Twitter or visit Karl on StumbleUpon.

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March 11 2009 | Business Building and Interviews | 4 Comments »

Words of a Broken Mirror: Sitting Down with Alina Popescu

Alina Popescu is the brain behind Words of a Broken Mirror (WoBM), a PR and marketing blog.  Recently, I decided to interview Alina to pick her brain about the wonderful world of marketing as well as her experiences and struggles with it.  If you haven’t already done so, make sure you check out her site here.

Have you always been involved in PR and marketing?  What did you do before WoBM?

Why WoBM?  What made you want to go into marketing?  How long has WoBM been around?

What sorts of struggles (if any) have you had to endure with your business/blogging over the years?

How did you come up with the name for your site?

If you could give advice to other people who are struggling with their entrepreneurial dreams, what would you say?  What would you advise against?

Can you give us a quick run-down of what your typical day looks like?

Do you think it’s better to work from home or in an office?  What are the advantages or disadvantages?

It depends. Right now I mix the two, so I think I can see the advantages of each. When working from home, your creativity is never interrupted by people approaching you, you have your own tools and everything you could ever need, you’re working on your own terms. On the other hand, you have other types of interruptions, like friends thinking you’re free, neighbors or dog begging for attention Besides, it can get pretty lonely at times.

When it comes to an office, if it’s an open office, it can get noisy, annoying and distracting. On the other hand, you have a team to brainstorm with, you’re around people so you don’t feel alienated. When you’re in your own office, it’s harder to get interrupted, but it starts to feel as if you’re at home: no one to talk to.

What sorts of things do you do for fun when you’re not working?  Do you have any advice on how to keep things balanced?  Would you consider yourself a work-aholic?

What’s one of the most challenging things you’ve had to deal with regarding WoBM?

What was one of the most rewarding?

What are your feelings on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc?  Are there too many out there?  Do they help you with acquiring more business?

There are definitely a lot out there! I believe social networks are too many if you try to be on them all, at the same time and maintaining the same level of activity. I think everyone should choose a few and stick to them. I’m on Twitter pretty often, I’m also on LinkedIn, I’m quite active on StumbleUpon and Mixx. Facebook is an experiment for now. As for business, LinkedIn helped a bit, but even when they don’t exactly drive new business my way, these networks are always a great source of inspiration and I’ve learned a lot on different topics through them.

About Alina:
Alina Popescu is the proud author of Words of a Broken Mirror (WoBM), a PR and Marketing blog featuring fresh news, trends, case studies and personal experiences from the online and offline world of public relations and marketing communications. For a little sizzle, WoBM adds some fun and geeky spices to the recipe. Alina has been blogging for over 4 years and is a self-admitted blog addict. She’s also running a PR and Marketing agency and enjoys music, books, travels and sweets in her spare time.

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February 17 2009 | Interviews | 5 Comments »

The Making of a Multi-Author Blog: A Success Story

After achieving success with his own personal blog Smart Wealth Rich, Jonathan Phillips decided to launch a collaborative blog for freelancers. Launched just 6 months ago in July of 2007, Freelance Folder proved an instant success.

Contributors at Freelance Folder include Dave Navarro, Amrit Hallan, Naomi Dunford, Jonathan Bostrom, and many others with a wide range of talents and experiences.

Have you ever thought about taking your blog from a solo project to a multi-author project? If so, here’s an exclusive look into why Jonathan decided to start a multi-author blog and what it’s like to manage one.

Why Did You Decide to Start a Second Blog?

The main reason I wanted to start a second blog was because I realized my goals and interests changed a lot since I started blogging, SmartWealthyRich is my first blog, and I did a lot of experiments with that blog. I’m really happy with the results I got with SWR, but my interests changed so much over the past 4-5 months, starting another blog in a different niche seemed like the thing to do, and I’m pretty happy with the results so far.

Why Did you Decide on a Multi-Author Collaborative Approach for Freelance Folder?

I wanted to start a multi-author blog for 2 reasons, first because I thought it would be less work than running a blog all by myself (not quite ), and I like to work with small teams, share ideas and all and also because I know I would not be able to write 4-5 posts about freelancing per week. So having writers and people to help me out is great. And of course this blog can be used to launch other projects and get some nice exposure. For instance the 30 Hours A Day program that Dave Navarro is working on.

What are the Challenges of Running a Multi-Author Blog?

3- There are some differences and challenges, but it’s pretty much the same as running your own blog. Though I really like to ask questions and start conversations with my readers, I find it’s a little more difficult on a multi-author blog, readers go there for the content, not necessarily to ‘chat with you‘ as they would on a personal blog. In other words, you have to share the ‘spotlight‘ with other writers, and that’s what’s fun

How Did Your Grow Your RSS Subscriber Base So Quickly?

I just checked and right now on FreelanceFolder we have 1900 rss subscribers. We started this blog in July 07, and within the first week we got posts featured on LifeHack, and other authority blogs, and recently we got linked to from LifeHacker, ABC News, and other high profile sites and blogs. Of course making the Digg front page a couple of times definitely helped, I’m really into social media sites like Digg, Stumble Upon, Reddit, etc.. so that helped a lot.

What Advice Would You Give to Others Who are Thinking of Starting a Multi-Author Blog?

I could probably write a mile long answer to that question, but I’m still learning, every week I learn something new, I’m no expert as this is my first multi-author blog, but I think the best piece of advice I could give would be to network with people in the same niche. And that’s for single author blogs too, not only for multi-author blogs, but if you’re thinking of starting a multi-author blog, networking with other bloggers is crucial, this is how you get writers, links, guest posts. Even better if you already have your own blog, you can then use this one to kick start your new one

How Did You Attract Authors to Write for Freelance Folder?

I simply wrote a post on my other blog, SmartWealthyRich, told my readers I was planning on starting a new blog and I was looking for writers, and I got a really good response, 8-10 e-mails, some were interested in writing 1-2 posts, others wanted get more involved and write on a regular basis, and others wanted to write only 1 post as guest bloggers. I don’t really have any requirements when selecting writers/bloggers, I simply ask for some writing samples;  it’s even better if the person already has a blog. It’s not like it’s a job

December 10 2007 | Interviews | 1 Comment »

Marketing Guru Cat Seda Offers Advice to Bloggers and Small Business Owners

Catherine Seda is a 12-year Internet marketing veteran, Entrepreneur columnist and author of two books: How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders and Search Engine Advertising.

Cat is (obviously) a very busy woman! I interviewed her by email to pick her brain about how does she does what she does and to get the inside scoop on her suggestions for building a powerful online presence and strengthening a personal brand.
You write for some pretty impressive publications- how did those relationships manifest?

Marketing! As I share in my new book, five years ago an Entrepreneur columnist recommended me to write a new Net Sales column for the magazine. When the Articles Editor e-mailed me about this opportunity, I immediately e-mailed her a sample of my newsletter and links to web articles I had written. I was offered my own column within 24 hours. I still can’t believe how fast it happened. Just start writing on the web and journalists will find you. Write articles, comment on influential bloggers’ blogs, write your own blog, send out press releases-just get your message out there.

What is one thing that small business owners could do (or not do) to see some business growth results within the next 30 days?

My #1 favorite is still pay-per-click on Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search. It’s the quick and easy way to bring in new business NOW. I was interviewed by Dr. Ralph Wilson just recently and I shared three of my valuable secrets:

What is the biggest mistake of most do-it-yourselfers in terms of:

Building their website

Not clearly stating WHAT you do and for WHOM. You’ve got less than 30 seconds to get your message across. If you don’t do this, visitors will hit the back button and leave your site.

Writing content

Not writing for prospects, press and search engine spiders. Your site needs to appeal to all three to bring you the most business opportunities.

Promoting their website

Not starting simple. You can’t do everything at once or you’ll die! Start with pay-per-click or blogging, for example. Set goals for the campaign, create an action plan, and dedicate time to doing it every week (1-3 hours a week can be a great start). By being consistent, you’ll soon see if that schedule works for you, if you should invest more time into it, or if you should outsource this task.

In your opinion, after speaking to audience and consulting with different companies, are there one or two main things that companies are doing (or not doing) that limits their growth and earning potential?

First and foremost, set goals for your marketing campaigns. Identify primary goals (get more sales) and secondary goals (grow e-mail list). If you can get more specific, GREAT. For example, Attract 2 new consulting clients within 30 day or Make $10,000 in sales. Doing this helps you establish benchmarks for measuring the success of your campaigns before you even start. Plus, writing these goals down helps you see new marketing opportunities as well as stay away from ones that you can tell won’t come close to delivering your goals.

When you first discover your passion for writing?

In elementary school, I’d write short stories for fun. Hey, I wonder if my mom kept those? I’ll have to ask her.

Writing a book is a monumental task, and you’ve written two! How did you organize the project so that it was more manageable? Any lessons learned during the writing process?

Um, I’m not going to lie-some crying was involved. My fellow authors can probably relate. When working with a publisher, your deadlines can be intense, your work days long and your own critical voice can make you obsess over your writing. Here’s my advice to future writers (whether you self-publish or work with a publisher): after you develop your unique angle, flesh out as much of a detailed Table of Contents as you can. This will probably change as you write. However, the TOC is your road map. It’ll keep you focused.

And as best as you can, schedule times to check e-mail and do your daily tasks. While you’re writing, turn off your phone and ignore e-mail. Do these things on your scheduled breaks. I wish I had done this a bit better.

Finally, give yourself an incentive for completing your book-like a fun vacation. You deserve it!

Why did you decide to try skeleton? You say you like speed- that’s interesting! Why?

Probably because I have a hard time slowing down! After writing my first book, I needed to let loose. About six months earlier, I was on a tour of the Utah Olympic Park. I was sold on skeleton training. It”s like luge, only you’re on your stomach sliding head-first on your sled-at 70 mph. That was my incentive for finishing my book. Uh, it was an unforgettable experience, that’s for sure! I survived three days of training. Some of my fellow sliders weren’t so lucky: three needed facial stitches, others suffered concussions, cracked ribs, chipped teeth and massive bruises (I even have photos). Although I’m pretty sure I won’t ever slide from the top of the track again, it’s still one of my favorite stories. Any thrill-seeker should check out the adventure camps at the Utah Olympic Park or Lake Placid Olympic Park.

If I write a third book, I’ll celebrate at a spa.

Thank you Cat for these gems of wisdom!

Each month, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about Interview Me by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.

September 20 2007 | Interviews | 1 Comment »

Beating the Odds: What Cancer Taught Him About Pursuing Dreams

He’s beaten the odds on many fronts-from battling cancer to establishing a profitable freelance writing career- both of which are no small feat.

Now Chris Bibey, author of 2 books and the blog ChrisBlogging.com shares the details of how he built his profitable freelancing career on his daily blog, which offers tips, tricks, and strategy for earning a full-time income through writing, blogging and internet marketing.

After graduating from college with a journalism degree, despite battling a completely unexpected and persistent cancer in his thyroid throughout his entire college career, Chris took the path of many aspiring writers- a completely unrelated job in sales and marketing.

But his encounter with cancer had taught him a valuable lesson that many of us don’t learn until far too late. He felt completely unfulfilled in his job and didn’t feel he was getting paid what he was worth. And while most of the population of the world feels this same way yet continues to drone one, Chris knew that life was too short to waste time doing anything he didn’t enjoy. In response, he quit his job and set out to pursue what he loved writing.

It was a good thing that I got sick. Now I see life with a different perspective. I don’t want to put myself through the day to day stuff that I don’t like. A lot of people think working at a job you don’t like is just a part of life that you have to deal with, but it doesn’t have to be.

During his first month as a freelancer, he made $53 by doing a horrible freelance writing job that he found through FreelanceWriting.com. Discouraged but not beaten, Chris continued to scour the freelance writing job boards and the next month cleared $850.

That second month I did a job for a real estate company in FL who needed a lot of work- it made me realize that there WAS work out there and that I could make a substantial amount.

In the third month, he brought in $2287 and that figure continued to rise. Now Chris is quite comfortable and doesn’t regret leaving corporate America one bit.

Could You Do It?

Could you jump ship from your current job- whether it be working for someone else, or abandoning your own business that you no longer love to pursue your dreams? The idea can seem scary, but as Chris’s story proves, it can be done. Here’s how he did it.

• Jump in with both feet. You can have some success trying to start a business part time, but it’s not as effective as if you commit yourself to it entirely and have no other option but to succeed.
• Before leaving his job, he saved enough money to get by for 4-5 months
• If you begin earning more than you thought faster than you thought, keep that money around in savings just in case
• Figure out exactly how much money you’ll need each month to get by
• Work on securing steady, regular clients that bring in enough to pay the bills. This way, no matter what, you’ll get by. Make sure you have enough time left over after doing this work to make additional income
• Venture out and try new things to bring in the extra cash. Never tone down the marketing side of things even when you’re comfortable
• Keep regular clients engaged by connecting frequently by email, IM, or phone-even if you don’t have a current project on your plate
• Pitch ideas to current and past clients rather than waiting for them to come to you with projects

Whether your freelance writing or starting a business selling goods, these tips are universal.

Becoming a Published Author

In the midst of all this, Chris also wrote two books. Not only was this a personal success, but also greatly increases his reputation as an expert on his subject matter and as a writer. His first was about West Virginia Football and more for fun.

His second book titled, Open Your Heart With Basketball: Mastering Life Through Love of the Game has cover quotes by Regis Philbin and Dick Vital, and a forward written by University of Arizona men’s coach Lute Olson.

Although it is based largely around the game of basketball, it also teaches life lessons at the same time. To give some details, Open your Heart with Basketball touches largely on how my life and basketball career were affected when I was diagnosed with cancer. As you can imagine, the lessons taught in the book can help you succeed in life, sports, and of course, business.

It was no accident that his book now sits on the shelves of Barnes and Noble backed by star-studded cover quotes and forwards. Chris went about the publishing of his book with the same persistence the cancer had shown when challenging his thyroid. Rejected by numerous publishers as can be expected by any new author, Chris persisted and landed a publishing contract and an advance with Dreamtime Publishing in Miami.

The publishing company helped to get the book in the hands of several celebrities such as Regis. Then Chris set to work, personally contacting big names on his own list to write the forward.

When I tried to reach Lute Olsen, I talked to the secretary and lots of other people and eventually got through. I’ve talked with Dick Vital on the phone a few times. You can make a lot of friends and meet a lot of people with your writing career.

Chris’s blog offers daily insight about the steps he has taken to achieve success. His approach to helping others through transparency of his daily activities, successes, and setbacks make this blog an interesting read for any entrepreneur or any one dreaming of becoming one.

Thank you Chris for this inspiring story!

Each month, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about Interview Me by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.

August 30 2007 | Interviews | 1 Comment »

How She Makes Celebrities Out of People Just Like You

Are the experts speaking on radio and television shows better than you are, or do they just know how to leverage the media better than others do? Cathy Lewis, president of the book publicity firm C.S. Lewis Publicity regularly takes virtual unknowns to public figures by strategically positioning and delivering their messages to the right media contacts.

This week I talked with Cathy to discover what it takes to become recognized as the go-to person for your particular area of expertise.

As a publicist, Cathy’s role is to coach people on how to make themselves and their messages more marketable. Step two is then to raise their profile through radio interviews, television programs, newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs. But how does this monumental challenge begin?

Establishing a Unique Message

The first thing Cathy looks at when assessing whether or not she will take on a new client, is if their message is marketable. She specifically looks for:

• A unique message that resonates with people
• A brilliantly executed idea
• A well written book
• Something that appeals to a specific niche of people

Bloggers already have some sense of whether or not their message is marketable. If your blog is attracting lots of subscribers and sparking interaction between readers, then you got something that people want to hear.

The harder part is defining that message.

Establish Talking Points

Quick! In 30 seconds, tell me about the purpose of your business, your service, your book, or your blog. If you can’t sum up your message in a powerful statement, then Cathy says you’re not alone. Most people can’t do this and that’s where she comes into play. TV and radio hosts have no time or patience for guests who ramble on and never get their point across.

She says that it’s critical to fine tune and practice your message of purpose and specific talking points about your product that can be delivered in less than 3 minutes in total.

When someone goes on the tonight show, people think it’s off the cuff, but it’s not! It’s all planned out. These people have practiced their talking points.

Your talking points must be something newsworthy, something of interest to your audience, not something about you. Your role is to be the expert who delivers the information.

What are your talking points?

Media Preparedness

Think it’s difficult to talk to a new prospect or a big name guru in your industry? Try talking to the media! She says that most television hosts won’t put people on the air unless they can show that they can perform on camera first.

For this reason, she sends all of her clients to a media coach to learn how to perform on air. The media coach films each practice interview so that clients can go through the painful process of learning how they behave on the air and learn how to become more effective.

Cathy suggests starting with local radio and TV shows first, saying that this is an important part of building confidence. Local stations and publications are usually very interested in anything that is happening locally, says Cathy. Even those who can’t afford to hire a publicist can work on making themselves a local celebrity.

Sell Your Ideas

One of the most important jobs of a publicist is selling story ideas to various media contacts and media outlets by packaging up tidbits in different ways. This means knowing exactly how different key individuals like to receive their information and pitching it in a way that will get noticed and then be well received.

It’s not enough to say here’s someone you might be interested in.  Instead, Cathy produces email pitches that are highly targeted to the receiver’s interests. For example, for client Nicholas Aretakis, author of No More Ramen: The 20-Something’s Real World Survival Guide, Cathy sent out emails with catchy subject lines and in it listed bullet points that would resonate with the press contact and their audience.

Providing precise, print ready points makes it easier for a media publisher to understand exactly what type of value their readers could take away from story were they to cover it.

She ends each email with an invitation to send out an even more detailed article, a copy of the book (or sample of the product), and perhaps a press kit. Having content prepared for publication is critical. She says that many times, content publishers will literally print what you provide them.

Send a Press Kit

A press kit is one of the first items that a publicist creates, but Cathy says these are meant to be sent out once a media contact has already taken the bait of an email pitch and are ready to go to the next level. A good press kit includes:

• Bio
• Picture
• Website address
• Segment suggestions
• Interview ideas in a format ready to hand to a producer or editor
• A cliff notes version of the book
• Different ideas about ways they could look at the book (or product) depending on their particular angle

Cathy’s press kits are printed as bound books and you can see several sample press kits on her website. If you choose the do-it-yourself route, you can create your own professionally bound press kit by having your content finished by a print on demand publisher such as Lulu.com.

Do It Yourself, Or Hire a Publicist?

The real benefit that a publicist provides is the very valuable media contacts and the knowledge of what exactly those contacts are looking for. Publicists have a broader picture of what the people out there are looking for. However, Cathy encourages those who may not have the funds to hire a publicist try establishing himself or herself as a local go-to person.

What do You Think?

How much would it change your business if you were known in the media as the go-to person for advice on your area of expertise? Have you ever been interviewed on a radio show or TV program or been quoted in the newspaper? What other questions do you have for Cathy about creating a public profile or working with a publicist?

Every week, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about Interview Me by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.

August 08 2007 | Interviews | 3 Comments »

An Interview with Jordan McCollum- How She Branded Herself as a Blogging Expert in Less than One Year

She’s a search engine optimization expert and the assistant editor of Andy Beal’s A-List blog Marketing Pilgrim.

She’s also the proud mom of a 17 month old and the author of MamaBlogga, a blog chronicling her adventures in motherhood and helping others to find fulfillment and meaning in motherhood.

She’s Jordan McCollum, and you’ve likely seen her face on some of the blogs you visit from Marketing Pilgrim to Web Pro News to Search News.com.

If you’re wondering how she so quickly and successfully branded herself as an industry/blogging expert and how you can too, read on.

The fact that 6,000+ subscribers at Marketing Pilgrim read Jordan’s search engine marketing news and opinions every Monday through Friday didn’t happen by accident. Jordan is a fantastic example of someone who knows how to promote herself and seek out new opportunities.

Before leaving the corporate environment to spend time with her new son, Jordan gained an immense amount of internet marketing knowledge as an SEO copywriter for an online marketing firm.

As an SEO industry professional, she was a subscriber of Marketing Pilgrim and decided to participate in a guest posting contest that Andy offered. The rules of the contest were that whichever posts received the most unique visits would win an SEO scholarship package.

Her post was a success. And although Jordan didn’t win the contest, she was a finalist. Once on Andy’s radar as a person that could definitely pull in some traffic, she sent him an email asking if he was looking for regular contributors. It turns out, he was. And Jordan’s knowledge was soon regularly broadcast to an audience of more than 6,000 avid readers, including some of the big name SEO professionals.

Key Point: Take opportunities when they arise to post on other blogs. You never know where those opportunities may take you.

The reason Jordan was a finalist was because her post received 3 more unique visits than the next highest visited post that week. The reason hers received more visits than the others is that Jordan actively promoted her post by sending the link to prominent SEOs.

Key Point: If you want to stand out when you’re guest posting for another blog, drive some traffic to your link. The blog’s author will certainly see which posts are driving traffic and generating comments.

Right now you may be thinking wow, I need to do some guest posting. You don’t have to wait for a contest; you can sell your ability to guest post any time. However, as someone behind the scenes of one of the most trafficked SEO blogs online that receives requests for links and guest posts, Jordan says there are some right ways and some wrong ways to go about requesting a guest posting opportunity.

Jordan’s Advice for Getting A Guest Posting Spot

• Send a sample post

The authors of high volume blogs with thousands of readers get a lot of email. So much that they need to make quick decisions on how to answer it. If a busy blogger doesn’t know about your writing style, there’s a high probability that you won’t get a chance to pursue the opportunity further. Sending a sample post eliminates any guess-work on the part of the blogger that your writing is a match for the blog.

• Link to the bloggers other posts in your post

A blogger wants to know that you understand their blog and their audience if you’ll be writing one or more guest posts. One great way to show that you understand the target audience is by linking to other posts by that blogger in your sample post.

• Sell your credentials

Any blogger has a reputation to maintain as far as the integrity of their information. List any credentials you have to write on the topics you’re suggesting.

• Explain why the post will benefit their readers

Explaining how a particular post will benefit the blogger’s readers not only tells the blogger that you understand their audience, but makes it easy for the blogger to understand why they simply can’t turn your post down.

• Make a personal connection

Jordan says she is big on personalization when it comes to people writing to request links. She suggests that you identify yourself up front and mention specifics about the blog so that the request doesn’t sound generic. Generic inquiries are a big turn-off.

• Become a regular commenter

With so many emails, it can be difficult to stand out in a crowded email box. However, if the blogger recognizes your name they are more likely to pay attention to your email. Jordan says that providing regular, high quality comments on posts and being among the first to comment is a great way to get noticed by a busy blogger.

Making a Name for Yourself in the Blogosphere

By guest posting on several blogs within the same industry, people start to really take notice. Jordan named off a few bloggers like Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and Lorelle VanFossen of Lorelle on WordPress that seem to be popping up everywhere as guest posters. Jordan too appears all over the web, not because she is writing for multiple blogs, but because Marketing Pilgrim is syndicated by several other top industry blogs like Web Pro News.

Key point: Why stop with a guest post on one blog? Set a goal to become published on multiple blogs.

Another key point that Jordan says has helped to establish her personal brand is the fact that each Marketing Pilgrim post includes a thumbnail of the post’s author. With multiple authors on MP, readers were getting confused about who was writing what. The reason for including the images was to clear up this confusion, but it turned out to have an even greater impact.

When attending the Search Marketing Expo Advanced conference earlier this year, she was recognized by several big name bloggers who she never assumed would know who she was. When you’re a blogger, you are your brand and, an image works wonders to reinforce that brand.

Key point: If you are the sole author of your blog, include a picture of yourself in the sidebar. If yours is a multi-authored blog, include thumbnail photos of each guest poster.

How Jordan Manages a Healthy Work/Life Balance

Several of our readers mentioned that they are very busy trying to juggle work life and a family life. Jordan feels the same pressures. Though she is an author for two blogs, she still considers herself a full time mom. Surprisingly, she manages to handle all of her tasks in relatively few hours per week.

Jordan sets a goal for herself based on how many hours she will work per day and does her best not to exceed that. For many workaholics, this can be a challenge- especially if you work at home. She tries to work early before her son wakes or while he is napping so that she doesn’t miss these precious and fleeting moments of her son’s toddlerhood.

Even more amazing is that she’s managed to build a name for herself in less than one year since that first post on Marketing Pilgrim. Instead of writing more posts for one blog, Jordan is spreading her wealth of knowledge further by writing for multiple blogs and gaining even more exposure in the process. It’s not that Jordan is working harder at making a name for herself; she’s working smarter and enjoying her life and her family in the process.

Every Tuesday, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about ‘Interview Me’ by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.

July 24 2007 | Interviews | 16 Comments »

The Blogosphere’s Original S.O.B.

She’s the creator of the SOB badge you see so many Successful Outstanding Blogs wearing proudly. She’s both an inspiration and hero to bloggers all around the world who are passionate about building better blogs and businesses that are founded upon authenticity and community.

She was the mastermind behind this year’s first annual SOBCon where bloggers joined together to learn the insight of blogging experts and to explore ways to create better, more meaningful online communities.

She is Liz Strauss, the voice of Successful-Blog.

Although Liz has the reputation of a guru in the blogging community, while on her blog I feel that I can easily strike up a conversation with her in the comments box that she will participate in. Liz feels approachable. The first time I visited Successful-Blog, I got the immediate sense that she honestly cared about her readers and that she made time to listen to them and thoughtfully respond to each one individually.

When I talked to her for this interview, we traveled by phone in a taxi through the streets of Chicago to a restaurant where she would be having a good-bye lunch with her son before he moved away for the first time. Still, she made time for me – and for you, so that you could learn how to become a better blogger.

I hope that you’ll get as much out of Liz’s sage words of blogging wisdom as I did.

Liz’s 4 Rules of Blogging

Though she doesn’t like rules per say, she does say that there are a few to blogging if your goal is to build relationship-driven communities.

1. Leave your posts incomplete

Our eight grade teachers burned it into our minds that we should end our writings with a nice neat conclusion. But Liz says that when blogging, you’re not writing for your eighth grade teacher.

By over editing to tie up all of the loose ends on your post, you leave no room for readers to add to the conversation.

Blogging is a dialogue a conversation, and a good conversationalist invites others to join in by leaving room to talk.

If your post is a list, Liz suggests posting the first several things that come into your mind and not hunting for more things to add to the list. Leave some stones unturned and let your readers join in the conversation by allowing them to add ideas to the conversation.

2. Don’t be a reporter

Liz says that unless you’re a journalist, don’t be a reporter. For one, unless you’re a trained journalist, you open yourself up reporting misinformation. For example, if your post is review of a particular site, talk about the way the site made you feel (crowded, comfortable, etc), instead of spouting facts about the site. No one can argue with the way you feel.

Secondly, Liz says that people come to your blog to read about your unique point of view your presence.

The more you talk about my own experience, the more people can find themselves. If you’re general, the less people can find themselves. You can’t find yourself in a piece of white bread.

3. Don’t be an expert

Liz says that most bloggers take themselves too seriously. They try to be experts when they would be better off just being genuine.

Most people think that if you’re sitting in the blog post box that you’re supposed to be an expert. It’s more fun not to be one. You can become an expert by not being one.

She says that the more you try to become an expert, the more people will try to knock you down. Instead of approaching topics from an authoritative point of view, take a more community-based approach.

Instead of being authoritative, try going on a quest to find information and asking others to come along.

Liz makes a good point about how portraying yourself as too much of an expert can weaken your community. Many people already feel intimidated about leaving comments and setting a precedence that you’re a high authority expert only increases this level intimidation. In order to build a relationship-based community, your readers must feel comfortable engaging in dialog with you and other readers.

Come down off the podium and don’t lecture. The minute you’re up on the podium people don’t want to talk anymore.

4. Engage in comment conversations

2 years and 39,000+ comments ago, in an email from reader Hartley Singer asking that the comment feed be fixed, Singer so wisely said ‘half the show is in the comments.‘

With lively dialog between readers being such a critical part of a blog’s success and attractiveness, Liz says she’s amazed at the number of bloggers that don’t respond to a second comment from a reader in order to carry on the conversation.

When you answer my comment and I answer back, answer again!

The statement just makes so much sense. Instead of considering replying to comments as a way to be polite or because a blog how-to guide said this was a good idea, reply to comments because you want to continue the conversation, to dig deeper into the thought, and to get to know your readers! Leave it to Liz to point out the elephant in the middle of the room that no one else seems to notice.

So much more than a list of tips

I don’t want to turn this into simply a list of tips on blogging. What I learned from Liz I found between the lines of the words she spoke to me –something that revolutionized my thinking.

I was curious; how had Liz become such an authority in the blogosphere after just 2 years of blogging? How does anyone rise to the top of their profession while others labor for years hovering somewhere around the middle?

The answer again comes back to the importance she places on people and the value of their perspectives and ideas-the same principal she is so passionate about when it comes to blogging.

She truly values the perspective, experience and knowledge of other people. She genuinely wants to know what you think. She talks to a blogger every day on the phone because she is interested in bloggers. In her words, ‘It’s just one of the things that I do.’

She’s gained a wealth of knowledge by first respecting the insight of others and then by actively seeking it. Couldn’t we all do more of this?

How has Liz affected you?

Liz regularly turns the spotlight onto others. She never seems to make a big deal of herself, though she has impacted the lives of thousands of bloggers out there- maybe even you. I want to know, how has Liz impacted your blogging, your business, or your way of thinking?

Every Tuesday, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about ‘Interview Me’ by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.

Have you joined the NEW CBG Social Network? It’s a great way for all of us to get to know each other better. It has a forum and so much more. It’s FREE… Go here to request your invitation!

July 17 2007 | Interviews | 14 Comments »