Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category
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?
As for the PR and Marketing bug, the first BA I started studying for was Journalism and Communication Sciences. It represented my first contact with PR, and I just got hooked over the years. Now I know it was a perfect fit for me, probably better than journalism. But I so wanted to be a reporter, no one could convince me of anything else! It sometimes is like that when you’re young and you’re sure you know better. My mother actually told me a few times that the PR and Advertising BA was a better choice. As always, she was right 
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?
As far as weekend goes, I use them as rewards. Whenever I manage to complete at least 75% of my tasks, I have the weekend all to myslelf. Why 75%? Because my to-do lists contain what I could achieve in a perfect world
Do you think it’s better to work from home or in an office? What are the advantages or disadvantages?
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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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
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.
