The Write Spot, LLC

Moms Cliq magazine launches

MOMS CLIQ, the official magazine of the Mom Bloggers has just released its first issue.

Yours truly has an article in it – How to Squeeze Blogging into a Very Hectic Schedule.

The rest of the FREE online magazine features everything from the big news happening in the mom blogosphere to mom essays about blogging and ways to attract more blogging success.

Good stuff, check it out!

Should you join a blog network?

Recently, Northern Colorado Writers Director Kerrie Flanagan asked me about blog networks. A blog network is a group of blogs and bloggers writing under a common banner, similar to writers working for a newspaper. While most of a network’s bloggers aren’t employees (though the site’s editors may be) usually there are contractual agreements between the network and the bloggers, and editorial requirements like posting so many times per week with a minimal word count. Some of the biggest blog networks are b5media, Gawker, and Weblogs, Inc.

Soon after I talked with Kerrie, the blogosphere was abuzz with the closing of Know More Media, an online network of business information and news blogs. Co-founder Tim Stay left comments on several blogs that KMM is actually on hiatus (meaning their bloggers are not getting paid) while they fix search engine issues and regroup. Many KMM bloggers are staying put, and continue to post.

At the same time, AOL-owned Weblogs, Inc. drastically cut back on their bloggers’ compensation. AOL said that it overspent in previous months, and they would start paying their bloggers later this summer. Some Weblogs, Inc. bloggers continue to post, which garnered criticism about giving away work for free and lowering blogger pay rates.

Should you consider joining a blog network?

So are blog networks worth considering if you want to make money blogging? Probably not since many network bloggers are paid based on revenue share, a portion of advertising revenue. The average pay on the bottom end is around $2/CPM ($2 per thousand views of a blog). If you have a low traffic blog, let’s say 200 views a day – which is not bad for a beginner – that’s $12 per month. You could do better collecting aluminum cans.

If you break the numbers down, that’s $12 for 12 posts per month. Let's say that’s three posts per week. (You’re usually required to write more). If each post is 250 words, that’s .004 cents per word. If you’re lucky enough to have good to great traffic – in the 1,000 to 10,000 per day range – you may earn enough to make it worth your while. However, traffic like that takes months to years to get, and depends on the niche you’re blogging in and your blog marketing efforts.

Some of the better networks give their bloggers a monthly stipend, which is what I got when I blogged at ClubMom. However, if you leave, get fired, or the network closes you probably don’t have rights to your content. (The blog network has at least first rights to your content, but may prevent you in some other way from taking and posting your writing somewhere else. Check your contract.) If they do allow you to take your work, you may have to buy the blog from the network for several thousand dollars. I was lucky. When ClubMom canceled their blogging program, I was allowed to transfer my blog to another host for free.

Read your contract CAREFULLY

If you’re considering joining a blog network, read your contract carefully. Then do an Internet search to find out if the network has a good reputation, or a high turnover rate and disgruntled ex-bloggers. Finally, know what your time is worth and how long you’re willing to blog for (nearly) free.

Still, writing for a network like b5media, 9rules or SparkPlugging is very prestigious. As now-out-of-work KMM editor Easton Ellsworths of Business Blog Wire says, joining a network to build exposure or boost your resume is one of the best reasons to do it.

However, there is a way to gain exposure for your writing without giving away too much of your content for free. It’s called guest blogging and I’ll write about soon.

This originally appeared in the August issue of the Northern Colorado Writers newsletter.

The latest July/August 2008: BlogHer 08, BlogTalkRadio interview, upcoming workshop, MOM CENTRAL CONSULTING, and The Big Tent at the DNC

BlogHer08

I was quoted on the CNET, Blogging and bringing home the bacon about BlogHer. They took a picture of the podium during my session, which was lived blogged very thoroughly at Free and Flawed by Jenn: Live Blogging from BlogHer ‘08 - DIY Content Syndication & Promotion and at happykatie: Blogher 2008 - DIY Content Syndication and Promotion. It was also followed up with a much better picture at our moderator, Krista’s blog, Kribaby: 5 Tips from BlogHer08 DIY Content Syndication. (That’s me seated in the middle, talking with my hands as usual.) Here's another picture of me from the Web Teacher.

I’ve been reading the other posts in the blogosphere about the session and either it was too advanced, too easy or full of good stuff. This leads me to believe that BlogHer needs better session descriptions. Since many people came up to me with compliments or questions, I believe I did a good job at least introducing people to the concept of social bookmarking.

I meant to write up a BlogHer post, but it’s been done by dozens of other bloggers who were there. All I can say was that seeing old friends was terrific, the sessions were fantastic, the networking was awesome, the keynote speakers amazing, and I am still learning so much at the sessions I attended. The only complaint? We need eggs and yogurt in the mornings at breakfast, not just pastry and fruit.

blogtalkradio: Motherhood Uncensored

I was recently on the Motherhood Uncensored BlogTalkRadio podcast, Back to Preschool: Getting Our Super Little Ones Prepared for Their Big Day. You can listen to the archived show here or click on the badge to the right. We talked about book you could read and activities you could do to prepare your child for that first day of school.

Workshops

I will also be teaching another blogging workshop, Beyond Blogging Basics, through the Northern Colorado Writers on Saturday August 23 at the Windsor Rec Center.

Mom Central Consulting

I’m now officially the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. I got to meet several of the women from Mom Central at BlogHer, which was fun because I’ve only worked with them on the phone. I hope to go out to their offices in Newton, MA soon.

The Big Tent

I will be representing the National Association of Mothers' Centers and MOTHERS at The Big Tent, the media tent for bloggers covering the Democratic National Convention. I’m the MOTHERS E-newsletter Author and Coordinator and blog at their book blog, MOTHERS Book Bag, and probably will be blogging there, having dispatches posted on the MOTHERS website, or both.

What’s up next month? For start, BlogWorldExpo 2008 in Las Vegas!

Using Social Networks to Promote Yourself: LinkedIn for Writers

This originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of “The Write Stuff” newsletter of the Northern Colorado Writers. Starting this month, I’ll write a regular column about social media for the group.

If you’ve attended one of my [blogging] workshops [for writers], then you know I recommend blogging as a way to promote yourself. A blog can become your book’s marketing platform or an online freelance writing portfolio with links to clips and writing samples.

What if you don’t have time to blog? Or maybe setting up a simple website with your contact info and portfolio gives you a techie anxiety attack? Well, you can slowly get started in the social media realm by joining an online social network like LinkedIn.

Social Networking for Professionals

More than 20 million professionals from around the world have created LinkedIn pages. And unlike MySpace and Facebook – two other popular social networking sites – the networking is professional not personal. This means no embarrassing pictures of you partying like it’s 1999. Though don’t be surprised if an old paramour or a high school buddy finds you through the site.

Besides being an online resume, there are more benefits to joining LinkedIn’s free service. If you are a magazine or non-fiction writer, LinkedIn can be used to find experts for interviews. If you’re a commercial writer, potential clients can find you and see who you’ve worked with in the past.

Many employers use and trust LinkedIn to find high-quality candidates. So while you may not be looking for a writing job, you may be looking for an editor, agent or publisher. Do a search on authors, publishers and agents in your niche. You may be able to connect with them via LinkedIn.

How to manage multiple blogs and a busy schedule

Wondering how I do it all? See How to Squeeze Blogging Into a Very Hectic Schedule over at the Blogger Reps blog. My article will be appearing in the first Blogger Reps newsletter.

Go to Welcome to the Premiere Issue of the Blogger Reps Newsletter! for info on how to sign up to receive their newsletter.

Update: Click here to download the newsletter.

Identifying your ideal client

With the beginning of the year comes goal settting for many people, both professionally and personally. I'm no exception, and have been reading books and listening to audio tapes to guide me through this process. Lately, I've begun to notice some common themes, like the concept of identifying and choosing your ideal client.

Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling is a firm believer in this concept. As he writes at Nightingale.com:

Learn to live by the red velvet rope policy of ideal clients. By eliminating the painful negative energy and time spent worrying about challenging client relationships, you will dramatically increase your productivity, happiness, and client referral rate.

After all, how much time do we spend trying to convince someone that they need our services? I waste so much effort on prospect who don't understand how writing a brochure, press release or web page will save them time so they can concentrate on running their business. I get potential clients who believe that copywriting should be free or extremely cheap...after all it's only writing. They seriously believe that a brochure or web page should only take an hour - meeting time, research and brainstorming don't count, aren't necessary, and certainly aren't billable activities.

My ideal clients know they need my services. They value my time and efforts by accepting my hourly rate and paying me quickly. They know they can't do my job. And they know I save them time and money by helping them market their company more efficiently and effectively than they can.   

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide writes in his free online sample white paper:

Clients that don’t respect the value you bring, don’t pay on time, and don’t do their part, will drag your marketing business down faster than any other business dynamic.

Jantsch helps you identify your ideal clients by looking at your past history. Of your former and continuing clients, which are the most awarding professionally and financially? He then has you identify them by physical and emotional characteristics.

This reminds me how I help clients identify the audience(s) for their marketing efforts by assigning them a psychographic label. This technique quickly gives people a picture of who they're marketing to, for example a yoga mom or a young at heart senior. Assigning your ideal client a psychographic label will help you quickly determine if a prospect is right for you or not.

So who's your ideal client?

Goodbye to the gatekeepers?

Thomas Frey in his Denver Post article, Gatekeepers on info highway disappearing, brings new prospective to blogging and the new media:

Enterprising people have begun to find the keys to unlocking their future, and it's a future that doesn't include the barriers provided by gatekeepers. Publishing an article no longer requires the approval of an editor. Articles can easily be published on blogs or Web pages without ever needing someone's approval. Videos and podcasts can be posted on iTunes or YouTube 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The true impact is far more significant than any of us can imagine.

The no-gatekeeper lifestyle means you can create whatever product you want and sell it to people around the world without ever having to get someone's blessing.

While he does have a point here, there has been plenty of instances in history when there weren't gatekeepers. After all, wasn't Ben Franklin the ultimate self-publisher? Like bloggers, when you're the editor and the writer, little stands in your way.

Then there's the example of Martin Luther's 95 Theses protesting the sale of indulgences. As legend tells us, in 1517 he posted a copy on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The 95 Theses were translated from Latin into German, printed, and copied on printing presses throughout Europe. Within two weeks, word had spread throughout Germany, within two months, Europe.

An early example of pre-Internet blogging, linking, social networking, and viral marketing? Or does history show us that it's all been done before, except that it took months, not seconds, to get the word out.

Get happy!

Are you down on your business or feeling like you're in a slump? Every night before you go to bed, write down three good things that happened to you that day. Then write down why you think they happened.

This idea comes from Malcolm Ritter's November 26, 2006 article Researchers seek routes to a happier life:

"As a motivational speaker and executive coach, Caroline Adams Miller knows a few things about using mental exercises to achieve goals. But last year, one exercise she was asked to try took her by surprise. Every night, she was to think of three good things that happened that day and analyze why they occurred. That was supposed to increase her overall happiness.

As a chronic worrier, she knew she could use the kind of boost the exercise was supposed to deliver... 'The quality of my dreams has changed, I never have trouble falling asleep and I do feel happier,' she said."

We have a tendency to focus on negative events happening in our business and life. Research shows that the think-of-three-good-things exercise makes you focus on the good things that happened instead.

Try it and see if it works for you.