MH370: How to Pretend You’re Working When You’re Actually Checking for Even a Minuscule Update on the Missing Plane

March 14, 2014

Before we even got out of bed this morning, while my boyfriend and I were laying side-by-side looking at our phones (as we do every morning while mustering motivation to start the day), Ben said to me, “Any news on the plane?” I hopped over to The New York Times to assess just as he […]

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What We’re Launching Next at The Write Life, Plus 8-Month Progress Report

March 7, 2014

Ever since we launched The Write Life eight months ago, writers have told us they want to improve their writing, with the goal of getting published, making a living as a freelancer or growing a following online. So we asked ourselves: What can we provide, beyond the blog posts we offer already, that will truly […]

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Selling Books on Amazon with Kindle Publishing: Results of Our Launch

February 24, 2014

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the launch of my first Kindle book on, You Deserve to Love Your Job! And a special thanks to those of you who left Amazon reviews — that’s what will help this book continue to succeed. Because I shared behind-the-scenes details about the creation process and […]

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We’ve Got to Change How We Think About Jobs — That’s Why I Wrote This Book

February 18, 2014

When it comes to making a living, most people believe… A job is a job, and earning a paycheck will never be fun and fulfilling The only way to earn that paycheck is by waiting for someone else to see your potential and give you a job Once you do land a job, the best […]

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What Happened When I Asked You to Vote on a Kindle Cover (And Why I Love Google Forms)

February 9, 2014

Last week I sent a poll to my newsletter subscribers asking this community to choose which cover you liked best for my first Kindle book. (If you don’t get the newsletter and want to be part of these types of experiments, you can sign up here.) While I’d hoped this poll would help me choose […]

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Why “Wasting Time Online” is Absolutely Worth Your Time

February 4, 2014

We hear again and again that we shouldn’t waste time online. In fact, I bet that’s one of your resolutions for 2014, isn’t it? To stay on task? While it’s important to stay focused 95 percent of the time so you can deliver your best work, here’s a secret most productivity hacks won’t let you […]

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Your Guide to Metrics: How to Measure the Effectiveness (ROI) of Social Media and Content Marketing

January 27, 2014

Eager to put your social media skills to use? Check out How to Create a Freakin’ Fabulous Social Media Strategy. Once you’ve got a social media strategy and content marketing plan in place, the next question on your radar should be this: How will we measure whether our efforts are actually working? In industry speak, […]

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MeetingBurner: The Affordable Alternative to GoToWebinar

January 14, 2014

About a year ago, I began experimenting with webinars. They proved to be an effective way to share my expertise, build my email list and engage the readers of this blog. As I explain in this post, which details my return-on-investment from webinars, there’s something powerful about interacting with readers in real time, when they […]

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Why Goals are Far Better Than Resolutions (and What I’m Planning for 2014)

January 8, 2014

Resolutions are meant to be broken. At least, that’s how we’ve come to think of them. So few of us actually stick to our New Year’s resolutions that making one barely means anything anymore. That’s why, over the last few years, I’ve stopped making resolutions — and started setting goals instead. Not high-in-the-sky-and-barely-achievable goals, but […]

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Happy Holidays! Plus My Holiday Advice: Stop Blogging

December 19, 2013

Jon Morrow hit the nail on the head with this post: Why You Shouldn’t Publish New Content Over the Holidays. Why? Because no one will read it. All of the blogs my company manages see decreased traffic over the holiday period, which means yours probably will, too. Why publish new content when you know most […]

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