Free Teleseminar: 7 Strategies for Profitable Blogs and Ezines

Edited at 2:15 p.m. on March 19 (immediately following the call.)

Were you on the line with me? I hope so! (We had to score extra lines to fit everyone in–that was awesome! and nerve wracking!) The call went really well, if I do say so myself, except for that little interruption when Izzy decided he wanted to say hello! ;-) If you haven’t signed up, please do–I’ll send you the link to the recording. And, if you were on the line, please post any comments, feedback, or questions below. I can’t wait to hear about how you use what you learned to thrive your business and Thrive Your Tribe!

I don’t do teleclasses often, let alone free ones. My last teleclass was almost two years ago! I much prefer having my audience in the same room with me where I can see if people have questions, and chat with everyone after my talk. But, I also know that most of you are very, very far from Winston-Salem, NC and flying in to hear me talk for an hour just doesn’t make sense.

So, the solution is for me to quit my complaining about an “invisible” audience and offer you a telephone seminar on how you can make your ezine and blog a heck of a lot more profitable–right now. I’ll be revealing exactly what my most profitable clients are doing at this very moment, and also giving you a list of my favorite resources and tools. It’s not a “preview” call for anything, it’s just me giving you some really great strategies for how you can connect with more people, better serve your tribe, and increase your business’s profits all at the same time.

When you sign up, you’ll immediately receive access information. You’ll also receive the link to the recording after the call.

There are only 100 lines and from the numbers so far, we will hit our max capacity (teleseminar “experts” predict about 50% of people who sign up actually show up, and we were at 150 registrations by mid-Monday morning). So, sign up, and join me live if you can. If you can’t, you’ll get the recording and the handout after the call.

The sign up page has more details, and I’ll leave it to that page to do the hard sell. But I do hope you’ll join me because applying what you learn on this call will absolutely make a difference in your profits this year. (Plus, your readers will get more value from your blog or ezine, which is always a good thing, if you ask me.)

To sign up, visit http://www.thriveyourtribe.com/free/call.

Is Your Designer Ignoring Every Word You Say?

Is Your Designer Ignoring You Completely?
Image by s-s

Apparently, communication between WordPress designers and their clients is really hard on both sides. Just in the last two weeks, I’ve heard from three people who have “absolutely had it” with their web designers and want to start fresh with someone new (me :-) ).

If you’re at your wits end with your designer, before you hire someone new, walk through this article with me. Because, just like divorce, if you don’t resolve the issues you’ve brought to this relationship, just hiring someone new won’t necessarily solve the problem.

1. Figure out what the heck you want.
This is the rant of designers everywhere. Under no circumstances are you allowed to say to me, “I’ll know it when I see it.” Unless you have a budget in the tens of thousands of dollars, this is not a game you will find an experienced designer willing to play.

So, figure it out. Do you want something sleek and sophisticated? Or something homey and friendly.

You get to decide this and whatever you choose is okay (honest). But you do have to choose something. Also, because everyone has a different idea of just what “modern” means, make sure to send your designer actual visual samples–whether you sketch out your ideas, send links to sites you love, or share business cards you’ve kept because they capture what you’re going for.

I often ask my clients to send me photos of their homes to get a feel for how they decorate and the colors that inspire them. I’ve also been known to send links to websites *I* like to get them started. But, the truth is, there are a million different variations on any one concept (think there’s only one “cheery“? Think again and again–those are all sites different clients selected to express “cheerful.”)

2. Talk about what you want.
After you’ve walked your WordPress designer through all that stuff you like and why you like it (also, explaining what you don’t like is helpful), next you get to talk about it. At least a dozen times.

This stage will feel like you’re repeating yourself endlessly and like your designer may or may not be hearing you. If the designer is good at listening, you’ll feel heard, but they’ll still throw stuff out that makes you really wonder.

Stuff like, “Fresh” or “Tired” or “Old World” or “Classic.” Or “visual motif” ;-) . Or “would your couch be more kitty cat or tiger?” (That’s from an actual client email I sent. It totally made sense in context. Honest.)

We designers like our words. And the trouble is these very same words mean very different things to different people. So, don’t worry about repeating yourself, or asking what the designer sees when they use one of those words. Ask for samples. That having been said, don’t get hung up on if the two of you are using two different words (say, “modern” and “contemporary”), try to understand if you’re *seeing* the same thing.

3. Be open minded.
Now, I’m not saying throw away your want list. Because, really, don’t do that. But do prepare to be surprised. Do leave space for your designer to really capture you. Do leave room for creativity.

After all, if all you wanted was your own thoughts on this, you’d just do it yourself, right? So let your designer do her (or his) job and back off a little.

Then, when your designer posts stuff for you to look at, look at all of it. Several times. From different angles or at different times of day (and not after you’ve just had an argument with your mother-in-law). Really consider what your designer has said about why certain choices were made.

Something that sometimes really helps is to take a big step back from your computer monitor and see what something looks like at a distance. It’ll give you a good sense of the proportions and the elements that jump out at you (in both good ways and bad).

Also, form your own conclusions. This is not the time to send out the images to a dozen of your closest friends. In fact, I would prefer you not get anyone’s feedback on the designs, but I know you won’t be able to resist sending it to someone, so here’s the deal. You may show them to ONE person and only one person. More than that and you’ll only wind up confused about whether or not you really want what you think you want. Because someone you know is not going to like your site and that’s going to cause you to question yourself and the site and to feel all sorts of bad and guilty. (Things are different if the site really is being designed by committee, of course. But, if it’s your site, don’t take a popular vote.)

4. Be thorough with your feedback.
Let’s get one thing straight. There are at least eleven million shades of blue we could try. (Okay, so that’s a very slight exaggeration.) That means if you say, “I’d like to use blue, but not the blue you used,” I’m going to ask you what that means. Is the blue I chose too dark? Too light? Too bright? Too green? Not green enough? Too purple?

I’m going to ask you what you’d prefer to see not because I’m putting you in the position of doing my job but because I can’t read your mind. Sure, it would save us both a lot of time if you could close your eyes and I could magically see exactly the color you’re seeing. But honestly, I think technology that would let me do that would be mighty intrusive and I wouldn’t be willing to give up the privacy, so I think I’ll stick with asking.

Sometimes, you’re not sure what’s wrong. Maybe something about the design just seems a little flat and lifeless to you. Or maybe it seems kinda crazy and overwhelming. If you honestly can’t put your finger on it, that’s fine! But I will torture you with questions until I have a better idea of what we might try differently. Because that’s my job. ;-)

5. But don’t be nuts with the feedback.
If you love, love, love design A, and don’t really like anything about design B, we don’t really need to talk about design B unless there’s something there that you do want to use. (In other words, if I got A completely, 100% right, and B is all wrong, let’s focus on how much I rock in getting A so perfect, ‘kay? We really don’t gain anything by talking about what’s wrong with B.)

I know it can be really hard to get the communication just right with a designer. You’re probably not all that comfortable providing constructive feedback, you’re worried about hurting my feelings, and you’re not altogether sure what’s right and what’s wrong. Give it your best try, apologize when you get it wrong, and when I knock it out of the park, be super, super effusive with the praise and I promise to be willing to work with you again. (The second project always goes smoother.)

Also, remember that this isn’t my first time at the dance. There really isn’t anything you can say to me that a previous client hasn’t already said. You won’t hurt my feelings. It’s okay to follow my lead, or to let me know that you need more direction from me. If you’re feeling lost, tell me. If you’re feeling like I’ve just posted a bunch of stuff for you to look at without any context, tell me that, too. Sure, I work the way I work because it works best for the majority of my clients, but I’m highly adaptable and my chief aim in working with you is to genuinely delight you while designing a website, ezine or blog that your clients will absolutely go wild for.

Why it’s Never the Easy Metaphor

Screenshot of metaphor handout

Struggling to come up with the right stories for your newsletter? You’re not alone.

You know it’s important to share personal stories, but may not be quite sure what that should look like. You know it’s not enough to simply relay the story of the super cute thing Toby did this weekend, and think you should try to link it into your main story somehow… But, how?

One trick of expert writers is to use metaphors. But, these aren’t exactly the metaphors you were taught to use in school (e.g. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances.”). You’re not looking to write just a single sentence or two about your metaphor.

Rather, you’re going to use two advanced techniques to improve your use of metaphor (and really improve your articles).

So, let’s say that this weekend, Toby really improved at rollerblading, you could write about how the perseverance paid off, how his weekly practices have led to his being much faster than you’d expect for his age.

That would be a way to use your metaphor all throughout your article, building on the theme of perseverance.

But, the trouble with this approach is that it’s only one step above writing the one-sentence metaphor you learned about in school. And we want to take this technique into advanced territory.

By taking your metaphor structure into advanced writing territory, you make it all the more clear to your readers that you are the expert–because, when you write in expert ways, readers are better able to see the depth of your knowledge.

So, we’re not going to be satisfied merely with this intermediate metaphor level. We’re going to take it two steps further.

First, your perseverance metaphor is pretty obvious, isn’t it? After all, we all know that kids are masterful at learning new things through practice and that that’s a skill that we sometimes forget as adults. You’ll see a similar theme carried through dozens of articles. That makes it the “easy” metaphor. And, sure, as you’re first learning to use this technique, reaching for the easy metaphor makes sense.

But, the only way to truly master this technique is by taking it beyond these first steps.

Once you’ve mastered the art of linking your “easy” metaphor to your article, you have two more steps to master:

1) Going beyond the easy metaphor.
2) Weaving the metaphor into the story.

When you’re first learning to go beyond the easy metaphor, there’s one simple trick to do it right. Sit yourself down with a pad of paper and brainstorm 15 potential metaphors in the story you’re going to link to your article. (This story, by the way, can be about anything–from your family to your work with clients to that workshop you attended this weekend, etc, etc.)
Writing with Metaphor

Don’t stop short of 15–it’s absolutely, positively crucial that you make it all the way to the end. Don’t edit your ideas, just write from 1 to 15 without stopping.

Once you have all the ideas down, go over your list and cross out any that are “easy”–any that are obvious or that just about anyone could link to the topic of your article. Look over what remains. You’ll probably have 7 metaphors that go beyond what’s easy. In fact, one or two of your metaphors may seem all but impossible to link with your topic. For now, ignore any that seem impossible (though, when you’re ready to really improve your skills here, dive in with these “impossible” metaphors) and aim for one that’s in the middle. Choose the one that appeals to you and you’ve got your metaphor for today’s article.

After you’ve practiced going beyond the easy metaphor for awhile, you’ll be ready to really integrate this writing skill. You’ll integrate it by weaving your metaphor into the story.

Integrating Your Metaphor
Integration is much easier than it sounds, and here’s how I do it. I start with a piece of paper that has my topic and my metaphor written across the top. Then, I start brainstorming all the words that relate to my metaphor. So, for instance, using that easy metaphor of Toby learning to rollerblade, we’d list verbs, adjectives, and sensory words that relate to rollerblading. Words like “whiz” and “scrape.” Aim for as many words as possible–when it comes time to write your article, you’ll really appreciate having so many choices.

Once you have your list of words, write your article, sprinkling your words throughout. When you need an action word, try to use one of your rollerblading verbs. When you’re describing something, describe the parts that are similar to rollerblading with the adjectives on your list.

You’ll find that integration gets much easier with practice, so if your first few articles come slowly, don’t let that stop you–keep weaving your metaphor throughout your article. That practice will really pay off in richer, more meaningful articles that your readers are much more apt to keep and share with friends.

By stretching beyond the easy metaphors, and using your metaphor to make your article richer by weaving it throughout, effortlessly zooming your newsletter ahead of the competition.

Resources:

Review: My So-Called Freelance Life

My So-Called Freelance Life review
I’d heard good things about Michelle Goodman’s The Anti 9-to-5 Guide so when I received a copy of My So-Called Freelance Life, I was looking forward to diving in.

[This is where I'm supposed to insert that required paragraph of how the "crappy economy" absolutely positively means that people should be turning to freelancing to supplement their incomes right now that you're seeing appended to *everything* at the moment. But I refuse. So there.]

I’m not exactly shy about this particular fact of my employment history–I freelanced my way through college and only ever worked part time (I’ve never held a 9-5, ever, thankyouverymuch). So, to me, this is sort of a no-brainer approach to work and life. You find fabulous clients, do great work for them, turn it in, get paid, and find a new fabulous client (or start a new project for the first one).

Though I’ve definitely made my share of mistakes, after about ten years at this game, I’m getting pretty good at it (though I wouldn’t really consider myself a freelancer these days, that “find a client, serve a client, get paid” dance is just as much a part of the small business owner turf). So, for me the part of this book that I found most useful was the reminders that the way I do things are perfectly wonderful ways to do them–systems like always using a contract or charging a 50% deposit–are wholly acceptable if that’s how I want to do business. I think everyone needs reminders of this from time to time, and you’ll find reminders aplenty in My So-Called Freelance Life.

For a long-term freelancer, you’re sure to find things you hadn’t considered–new resources on things like co-working or continuing to grow your skills by keeping a dream client list. And, at $10, it’s well worth the investment for just a handful of ideas like that.

But, where this book really shines, I think is in its encouraging, “you can do this” tone that’ll give new freelancers that dose of confidence to set out on their own and really, truly blaze a trail.

Dedicated to “anyone who’s ever hit the snooze button five times in a row on Monday morning,” this book was surely written for current cubical dwellers looking for a new path, and there it delivers proactive, proven advice for finding your footing.

It covers the big issues like health insurance (I’ve always gotten mine through Blue Cross and find the premiums super reasonable everywhere I’ve lived), business plans, and the bare necessities you’ll want to have in place before striking out on your own. Sure, this advice can be found in lots of places, but what I liked about Michelle’s approach is that she laces it all with plenty of humor and aims it solidly at freelancers as opposed to people who have dreams of running a big business.

The money, though, is in the Sell, Baby, Sell section of the book if only because so many new freelancers seem to expect business to just find them. (Hint: it won’t.)

Covering everything from how to land your first clients to how to build a portfolio to how to move onto bigger fish as you’re ready, Part II has what you need to know (and, if you’ve been in the game for awhile, what you probably need to review) to get the clients that will sustain your business.

She also covers when to work for free which is an issue many freelancers struggle with (I may sound mercenary here, but this has never been an issue for me–I can’t pay the phone bill with “exposure,” after all).

Once you’ve learned to get clients, you’re going to need to learn to deal with the bad ones–sadly, they do exist–and Michelle’s got you covered, here, too, in “The Client from Hell” where she offers sensible advice you won’t feel creepy following. (So often when freelancers get together to talk clients there’s a lot of bravado about what *you* should say–none of it is ever what a person would actually say out loud so it winds up being rather useless.)

In part three she also covers time management and retirement and other financial issues, but in both cases, I think you’ll be better served with books on these specific topics.

That said, what My So-Called Freelance Life does well is providing a well-rounded overview of what to expect when you work on your own, and how to handle the major challenges you’re likely to meet up with. Perhaps more importantly, Michelle’s tone is imminently encouraging and sensible–keeping her advice actionable and fun rather than a chore.

If you’ve read this one, I’d love to hear your thoughts!