What It Takes to Pull Off a Great Launch

October 13, 2011

I’ve been a mad woman this week. My new guide, How to Take a Career Break to Travel, launches Monday, and there are what seems like a million moving parts that need attention. You’d think writing the guide would be the majority of the work, but I’d say it’s only about half. The other half […]

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How Important are Comments on Your Blog?

October 12, 2011

Every once in a while, as I’m planning my blog posts for the upcoming week, I’ll think to myself, “You haven’t had a post lately with a lot of comments. Which of the posts in your queue will solicit a lot of feedback?” Because what blogger doesn’t like feedback? Comments are proof that someone’s actually […]

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The Secret to Blogging

October 10, 2011

If there’s a secret to growing any blog with a personal component, it’s this: Blog about where you want to go, not where you are. Where you are can be interesting, entertaining even. But where you want to go engages us on a totally different level. Because when you share where you want to go, […]

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Writers’ Roundup: October 7

October 7, 2011

Happy fall! I’m writing from my parents’ house in upstate New York, where I’m hanging out with Cooper (the dog I brought home from a writer’s colony) while they’re on vacation. So far, this has proven to be one of the best perks of becoming self-employed; I can work from wherever is convenient! Thought-provoking links […]

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When to Invest In Your Writing

October 6, 2011

We can only teach ourselves so much. You can practice, practice, practice. You can read blog posts and watch YouTube tutorials. You can — and this is my favorite — closely watch others who successfully do what you want to do and see how they do it. But if you really want to take your […]

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How to Manage Social Media Campaigns for Clients

October 5, 2011

Since I launched my eguide on starting a social-media consulting biz, several people have asked how I help small businesses and organizations build online communities. When you run a social media campaign for a company, how do you go about doing it? It differs according to each client. It also differs according to your consulting […]

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5 Tips for Launching an EBook (or ANY book)

October 3, 2011

When I launched my first eguide on social media consulting, I didn’t have a plan. I knew enough to let my network know about the product and encourage them to tell their networks about it. I knew enough to pitch guest posts at blogs with good-sized audiences. And I knew enough to offer an affiliate […]

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Writers’ Roundup: September 30

September 30, 2011

Between my soon-to-launch guide, potential new clients and other projects, I’m swamped — in a good way. But I still took a few minutes to give you a heads up on great links from this week: This Forbes piece argues for rethinking the risk of entrepreneurship. I’ve been following this woman’s quest to get pregnant […]

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To Grow Your Blog, This Works Better Than Commenting

September 29, 2011

During a recent blog-coaching session with the fabulous Sarah Bagley, we were brainstorming how to grow her readership. (Yes, I’m offering blog coaching for individuals!) And Sarah had an ah-ha moment that was rather genius, one that’s worth sharing with you. She used to focus on commenting on other people’s blogs to lure them to […]

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Why I’m Not Calling My EGuides Books

September 28, 2011

When I launched my first eguide on social-media consulting, I explained one of the reasons I called it a guide: Because one of my favorite bloggers, Chris Guillebeau, says “ebook” creates the expectation of a full-length book and low value (and, I say, a paperback price). He suggested calling any digital product a guide or […]

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