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?
I’ve always been somehow involved in activities related to PR and Marketing. My first job was as an editor for a press monitoring agency, but it also involved translating press releases, helping out when the agency organized press conferences and creating all sort of other PR reports. I then moved onto jobs that were clearly in the Marketing and PR field, with a short stop in customer service, which I think helped a lot. WoBM started as a personal blog, but it switched to a PR and Marketing blog as I started to get more and more interested in the field.
Why WoBM? What made you want to go into marketing? How long has WoBM been around?
Words of a Broken Mirror was an idea I just fell in love with. I loved the sound, its meanings of reflections from thousands of different angles, and judging by people’s reactions to it, I was sure it was a keeper. The blog has been around for about 4 years, evolving from a
Blogger blog to my own domain. And now it’s mostly a business blog, dedicated to PR and Marketing.
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?
Blogging was a sort of ongoing experiment for me. A way to keep writing and learn more about the new media. The biggest struggle was to decide on a direction for my blog. I’ve tried a lot of things and
PR and Marketing is what my blogging topic has been for about a year. As for my business, I wanted to have my own company for quite a while. The
Mirror Communication PR and Marketing company was my gift to myself on my 26th anniversary (April 2008). But it became a reality and not just a company on paper a lot later. The official launch is scheduled for this month actually.
Business-wise, I’m still struggling to adapt to my new life and schedule. Switching from being an employee to owning your small biz takes some getting used to, but it’s rewarding, exciting and puts a big smile on your face at the same time.
How did you come up with the name for your site?
I spent about a week thinking of a name. Nothing seemed good enough. Then it just came to me, out of nowhere and I loved it.
If you could give advice to other people who are struggling with their entrepreneurial dreams, what would you say? What would you advise against?
First of all, believe in themselves. Second of all, work hard to turn their dreams into reality. No one else will do it for them. Once they get started, I’d tell them to never give up. It’s not easy, things rarely go according to your plan, but as long as most of what you’ve planned is done, you’ll be just fine. I’d advise against ignoring relevant factors, be it one’s instinct, the context or other key factors that can impact a business’ path.
Can you give us a quick run-down of what your typical day looks like?
I wake up at 6 or 7, take a shower, make coffee, wake the boyfriend, feed the dog, have said coffee, start working, eat something while working, stop for lunch, have an hour break for lunch, go to my biggest client’s office, work for a few hours, and go home. If I’m not exhausted, I work for an additional couple of hours, feed the dog, eat something, take another shower and sleep. But as most of the time I am, I switch to cooking something with my boyfriend, and watching a movie or reading after dinner, then showering and sleeping. This is the sort of day when I manage to stick to my plan. I have other days when I just need to take a break, go for a walk, pay the bills, have coffee with friends and so on.
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?
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?
I’m not exactly a workaholic. I strongly believe a balance is important to stay sane. I try to spend a lot of time with my boyfriend, even if sometimes we just take the dog for a walk together. I work hard to see my friends somewhat regularly (it’s hard when everyone’s busy) and I also make an effort for us to visit our families. I read a lot, love going to the movies or for a walk and I’m crazy about traveling.
What’s one of the most challenging things you’ve had to deal with regarding WoBM?
My biggest challenge was to turn
WoBM into an expert blog while keeping my unique voice and adding just the right amount of personal interests to it. Right now most of my posts are about
PR and Marketing, but I have
my reading recommendations, the reading lists that come with posts from all around the blogosphere. It was hard at first to write interesting articles for those interested in the field and still attract old readers. I didn’t really manage to keep everyone, the readership changed a bit, but I think I succeeded in preserving all the relationships I’ve built all over the years that were worth it.
What was one of the most rewarding?
The wonderful people I’ve met, the things they’ve taught me, their kindness, openness and constant support, that’s the most rewarding part of it all!
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 02:00 am | Interviews
Leave a Reply
Alina Popescu on 17 Feb 2009 at 2:55 am #
Janelle, thanks again for having this little chat with me! It was great to revisit my path over the years in both the real and virtual world.
Janelle Vadnais on 17 Feb 2009 at 9:08 am #
My pleasure, Alina- I hope that others reading this can get something out of your experiences and advice
Karen Swim on 17 Feb 2009 at 9:13 am #
Janelle, thank you for the interview with Alina. She is one of my favorite people. A ball of enthusiastic, positive energy who inspires those around the blogosphere. It was nice to read about her continuing journey.
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