Thrive Your Tribe

Follow the Yellow Brick Road: How to lead your tribe when you’re a wanderer

Jessica Albon — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:02:25 +0000

(We’re currently profiling each of the five Signature Spotlight Styles, one by one. See the full series of Signature Spotlight Case Studies here. If you don’t know what your Signature Spotlight Style is, take the quiz to find out.)

Snap Your Fingers, Edith: How a Crazy Bus Driver Can Teach You All About Building an Audience Before You Have a Niche

Jessica Albon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:41:23 +0000

In the imaginary world where your business is a bus, each of the five Signature Spotlight Style types has a different approach to bus-driver-dom. For instance, Audreys tend to have trouble leaving the station (what if someone’s just running late and really needs this bus?) and Katharines tend to leave before the assigned time (what if we miss half the fun out there because we’re lollygaging?).

The Five Signature Spotlight Styles

Jessica Albon — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:57:18 +0000

Your Signature Spotlight Style is all about which classic Hollywood film star (or creative) best embodies your most client-attractive way of being.

After all, each of these five women built an audience of adoring fans by behaving in a specific (and different) way.

What my printer ate for dinner

Jessica Albon — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:44:49 +0000

Printers are my life-long enemy (desktop printers). When I’d have a school deadline and tried to print a paper the night before, the printer would start spewing error messages and blinking red lights. (Fortunately, my brother is the “Printer Whisperer” and could always be counted on to rescue me in the morning.)

Enough with the Very Important, Very Unique Thoughts already!

Jessica Albon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:51:45 +0000

I’ve been browsing blogs for about an hour now, procrastinating on a project, and there’s something we need to talk about. There are certain writers in who use italicized Special Named Phrases very well. Unfortunately, it looks like the style is catching on and resulting in… The Curse of Self-Aggrandizing Douchery.

Got a sec to do me a favor?

Jessica Albon — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:49:58 +0000

Today, I’m asking you to do me a favor. Will you email me and tell me what you need?

I want to make sure that I’m still on track to help your 2010 live up to its fullest potential. See, I’ve got a bunch of irons in the fire:

Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times

Jessica Albon — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:39:18 +0000

Today I’m re-running an article I wrote just after Hurricane Katrina called Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times.

It’s below.

The reason that I decided to re-run it is because I got a lot of emails from readers wondering what the Haitian earthquake meant when it came to writing their newsletters–did they need to talk about the donation they’d made? If they did, did that look like marketing? If they didn’t, did that mean their readers would assume they were heartless and hadn’t made a donation at all?

How to write less

Jessica Albon — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:12:35 +0000

I resolutely believe more writing makes you a better writer--it's a skill that must be practiced if you intend to communicate clearly and well. And, heck, last year, I wrote a post on how to write 20,000 words in a weekend. But, when it comes to an individual piece of writing, it's important not to fall too madly in love with your words and be entirely unwilling to give any of them up--or you risk sacrificing clarity for your "flourish." About a month ago, I became obsessed with finding a very particular tool. I was convinced this new tool would help me cull my writing and write *less* so that I was communicating more. Several broken nails later... I can confirm that yes, my new tool indeed made a huge difference in the quality of what I was writing. I tried it out on a sales letter and what usually would have taken me at least 8 pages to explain was whittled down to three and a half.

Happy Holidays!

Jessica Albon — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:12:03 +0000

A few years ago, we started a new tradition around here (at Thrive Your Tribe, I mean). Instead of sending paper holiday cards, we take that money and make a big donation to an awesome charity. I figure you probably get a bunch of cards this month, and besides, I was having a lot of trouble getting them out on time! So, while this means our dear clients, friends, and readers don’t get something in their mailboxes signed by Izzy, this year, it means OxFam is getting a check instead.

Your multimedia content strategy

Jessica Albon — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:41:58 +0000

Effective websites make good use of multimedia. Video, audio, and presentations all keep your visitors at your site longer, help them be more likely to buy, and make them more likely to share your site with others.

Why not throw in the towel

Jessica Albon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:26:47 +0000

Long time, no see–I’ve missed you! I hurt my back right around the time of the last post and since then, typing or any sitting at the computer, has been cut to the bare minimum so that I could recover. Which meant giving up some of my very favorite things–like writing to you–so that I could make sure I kept my clients taken care of and projects on track while letting my body heal.

Super easy multimedia formula… Postponed.

Jessica Albon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:49:38 +0000

Today I have a great piece for you about using your Spotlight Style to design a multimedia strategy that will get you clients... But it needs to be delivered as an audio and I have absolutely no voice. I've tried everything (teas, honey, etc, etc) and no-go. I promise it's well worth waiting for and to give you a tiny taste, if you're the Edith Head type, you'll be learning once and for all why blogging traditionally will never work for you...

November Desktop Wallpaper Freebie

Jessica Albon — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:06:17 +0000

Full size image, and a bit of back story on why the heck I picked this quote when you continue reading this story.

Newsletter Stalled? Five Great Ways to Get it Moving

Jessica Albon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:58 +0000

Two years ago, the 8 x 10 storage shed in my backyard was a problem. It blocked a window, wasn’t very convenient to use, and was taking up space that would have made a great patio.

Gray and Moody Monday

Jessica Albon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:41:08 +0000

This weekend was the local Oktoberfest celebration and though it rained all night the night before and stayed gray and windy the whole day *of* it was still great fun to wander around the Main Street shops and booths. There’s lots to love about small town celebrations like these, but what I especially adore is meeting all the craftspeople who pour so much of themselves into their work. Oh, sure, there are business mishaps galore (business cards, people, bring lots and lots of business cards!) but getting to chat with the woman who makes clay badge holders or the man who made amazing copper sculptures–it’s a really delightful way to spend a Saturday morning, learning what people are most passionate about building.