Thrive Your Tribe

Lake Adventures + Write More, Better

Jessica Albon — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:16:40 +0000

This morning I'm writing you from a deck overlooking Lake Norman. Pretty, huh?

About a month ago, my coach issued a challenge. My assignment was to go somewhere for several weeks. (I'm kind of a homebody and tend to limit vacations to 5 days or less.) Most importantly, I wasn't to check email or voice mails for a full two weeks while I was away.

Before and After: Joan Friedlander’s New Site

Jessica Albon — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:56:54 +0000

When client Joan Friedlander came to us, she knew she wanted a site that was playful, energetic, and welcoming. She wanted something with polish and presence. And because she was launching a brand new business, she wasn’t comfortable making a big, one-time investment in the design. So, what we did instead was we created a design that met all of her criteria and then, little by little, we rolled out the changes each month. The final site was just made live last week and I’m delighted to share the before and after with you. (Note: both images link to full size versions, so be sure to click on one or both to see them larger.)

Why can’t you just say it?

Jessica Albon — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:56:42 +0000

Over ten years ago, I launched my first digital product. (Crazy, right? Ten years ago…) It was an ebook and a collection of HTML email newsletter templates. And, just like you hear, it sold round the clock. Seeing sales come in while I was sleeping was the most exciting thing ever.

We’re hiring!

Jessica Albon — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:08:25 +0000

FILLED. Thank you for your interest!

I mentioned in last month’s newsletter that we’re taking care of more web design clients in February than in any other single month since ThriveYourTribe began. Which is amazing. And also means that we need to bring on some more people. We’ve been needing to hire for a few months, but I’ve been putting it off, so we’re looking for people who are ready to start immediately and who won’t need training. (We know you’ll take some time to get up to speed with our way of working and we’ll be patient with you, but because of how busy we are, we’re looking exclusively for candidates with experience. Thanks!)

Why Readers Share, and How to Encourage Readers to Share Your Newsletter Even More

Jessica Albon — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:10:54 +0000

If you don’t have kids, you probably haven’t given this much thought, but most parents have to teach their kids to share. It’s not something they just naturally do. So, at some point in your life, you were taught to share.

My creativity toolkit

Jessica Albon — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:17:22 +0000

Last week, I entered the delightful Marie Forleo’s RHH Live contest with a video entry. (Warning: I’m wearing my PJs–it’s a metaphor, obviously.) For the contest, she wanted to know the biggest challenge you’re facing in your business, and, I realized that I’ve been feeling kind of worn out, creatively, lately. My clients haven’t noticed, but I just haven’t had the creative energy to tackle my own projects lately with any sense of robustness. I just wasn’t feeling my usual sense of boundless creative enthusiasm.

Practice Failure

Jessica Albon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:43:49 +0000

A few years ago, I decided to do something about the way I handled failure. See, my tendency was to beat myself up for even tiny mistakes, and that wasn’t actually helping me make fewer mistakes. So, it seemed sensible to try something new.

How to promote a website

Jessica Albon — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:34:22 +0000

The most gorgeous website in the world won’t do you much good if no one ever visits it. But website promotion can seem really complicated and frustrating. Here are 21 easy ways to promote your website.

Read more on How to promote a website…

The Myth of the Magic Words

Jessica Albon — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:29:05 +0000

Happy Kid by Arsel

Even if 93% of all communication isn’t non-verbal, it’s true that at least a portion of your communication has nothing to do with what you say, but rather how you say it. But what does that mean about writing? Emails, sales pages, Tweets, blog posts… If all the other person has to rely on are the words you’ve used, that’s all the communication that’s happening, right?

Say Less

Jessica Albon — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:10:30 +0000

(Law 4 of The 48 Laws of Power, Original image.)

How to make your ideas fleshy… Not fishy.

Jessica Albon — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:39:13 +0000

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you don’t have much trouble coming up with ideas. They wake you while you’re sleeping, and distract you from your current project while you’re awake. They tantalize and tempt and just generally look so much more interesting than whatever happens to be on your to-do list at the moment.

How to pick a font: Curly Quotes

Jessica Albon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:41:57 +0000

While working on an html email design for a client, I was playing with curly quotes to add some extra interest and got to wondering which fonts other people love for their curly quotes. So I asked on Twitter and I got lots of great replies on how to pick a font for curly quotes. Yay.

Says Who?

Jessica Albon — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:21:28 +0000

The Fortune Teller by aussiegall on Flickr.I used to spend a lot of my time raging against bad business advice. Complaining about it to my non-business-owner friends who’d roll their eyes and wish I’d get a more relatable hobby. Obsessing over just why those “experts” were so freaking wrong and how they were leading people astray and had they No Integrity?

How to Kick Your Competition Out

Jessica Albon — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:47:01 +0000

Over the last two weeks, I’ve released a video series for my newsletter subscribers. In the videos, I’ve been revealing how over the past 10 years, I’ve marketed my business in a way that all but exploded on me last year–leaving me frustrated, confused, and completely burnt out. It’s been awesome hearing from readers about how they’re enjoying just how authentic and vulnerable the videos are, and how much they’re learning from what I share.

Back Alley Writing

Jessica Albon — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:18:34 +0000

As I sat here thinking: I must write a post today. I must write a post today. I must write a post today. I realized that it’s not as simple as clicking my heels together three times. It’s also not as simple as pulling out my list of articles I want to write for you (which is a very, very long list, indeed!), nor is it as simple as turning to my own resources on Writer’s Block.