Bloggers Have Influence

by Jayme Soulati on 02/06/2012 in Blogging 101, Public Relations

Breasts Are Not Partisan

Whether you blog for business, personal, or just to rid your head of too much chatter (as I do), bloggers have influence. The influence I speak of is not based on Klout score or being paid to endorse a product. This type of influence is about words online with communities commenting and furthering debate.

Late last week, the nation watched the Susan G. Komen public relations debacle unfold. Bloggers I know held back before writing; others decided not to write at all. As the situation became stickier, it was the responsibility of bloggers to dive in and report, communicate, address the problem, and suggest solutions. Communities responded in droves.

Never mind how you felt about the decision. What I’m pointing out here is the age we’re in when people the likes of you and me have the opportunity and the power to reverse poorly made business decisions, that reek of inside politics aired on the national stage.

This case is a text-book example of social media marketing at its finest. It’s also an example of an organization that misunderstood the power of constituents and bloggers (as one of the primary factions) with other social media channels to influence a reversal in business that will affect (not impact…wrong word) Komen’s brand long term.

Just how many bloggers elected to write about this issue last week? Google search for “blogs” with keywords “Susan G. Komen, Planned Parenthood” delivered some 63 million sources (from all types of media). Regardless of the accuracy of this number and whether it is skewed to bloggers alone, the nation was abuzz.

The voices rang on all social media channels pushing at Susan G. Komen and Nancy Brinker (its founder). Facebook got slammed; Twitter streams and Google+ were all abuzz with this news of the day. Bloggers cannot take total credit for the change up by Komen. But, they should be proud of their interest, reporting, sharing, and the cascade of news delivered across multiple networks within communities.

Whenever you ask yourself, “Why am I blogging?”  Think of this situation and know your words are important ones for your community. At a time when the light bulb is blinking for many an organization, heed this – do not shy away from sharing your twist on today’s news. Many people rely on information from their channels. Bloggers have influence and credibility, especially when they have built a reputation for solid and factual reporting of the angles.

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How To Pimp A Blog Post

by Jayme Soulati on 01/30/2012 in Blogging 101

Last week I was late posting this because the dog ate my homework. Actually, it was stuck on my iPad, and I had to retype because I knew it was killer content. I posted at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday; always murder when hawking on Twitter because most are back in the throes of work.

What I quickly realized, as the post earned few comments or retweets, is the subject matter—highly specialized for professionals in public relations. To highlight, I wrote about GoPro, the media darling upstart wearable video camera company loved by extreme sports enthusiasts. My content was oriented to media relations for PR professionals interested in the elements they need for national media relations.

To promote this niche content pertaining to my profession, I had to pimp (aka push, promote, market) my post, and here’s how I did it:

>>Twitter. I scheduled about four tweets throughout the day, and invited a few close peeps to review. While they read for me and re-tweeted, comments were few. (As Erica Allison reminded me, don’t ever gauge the strength of a post on its comments, especially one oriented to a specialized topic.)

>>Triberr. I am a member of three tribes, and I’m always grateful when my tribe members retweet my blog posts. My post was tweeted by about 10 peeps to their networks. I’ve come to rely on the tribes to extend my content for me, and it all works together in correlation. Triberr is not a one-off social media strategy…it’s part and parcel of the overall strategy.

>>Buffer. I signed up for Buffer for the first time (after seeing many using it). Buffer scheduled my tweet at the most opportune time of the day when most are active in the stream. Very cool app…try this out.

>>Facebook Profile. My tweets to share the post were also sent over to Facebook at the same time. HootSuite is a wonderful platform with which to push content on multiple channels simultaneously.

>>Facebook Fan Page. I admit, my firm’s Facebook page is not frequently attended. I registered my blog with Networked Blogs which automatically posts my articles on my Facebook company page; however, this blog post warranted more of a push to folks in my community. I garnered a few likes from a few doing this.

>>Facebook Fan Page of GoPro. What did I have to lose? With 1.5 million likes in its community on Facebook, I shared my blog post on the GoPro wall. I congratulated them on all their publicity (in Inc. magazine) and shared my post. The result was a handful of likes on my post from the GoPro community.

>>Google+. As we’re all being required to engage more frequently with Google+ to influence search, you bet I shared my post there. I timed it for the morning before noon ET and then again in the afternoon. One was broadcast to all circles, and the other was in my PR and social media circles.

>>LinkedIn. I’ve not been engaging on LinkedIn as efficiently as I should. I posted my article on my own profile, and then I looked at the groups I was part of.  There were two public relations groups I knew would be interested in this content, so I posted. I also joined another group, Social Media Marketers, and shared there because the story of GoPro as a social brand is compelling to anyone playing in social media marketing.

>>Blog Comments. That day, as I didn’t need to manage my own community as much, I sought other blogs to read and place comments. Those blogs with a commenting system that showed my current blog post brought in new readers to my site. (This is one good reason why you comment on others’ blogs…to help other communities become acquainted with you and yours.)

RESULTS

Clicky. What an amazing analytics tool. I love this dashboard, and I’m fully aware Google Analytics has spiffed up its user friendliness. For someone as anti-analytics as I am, Clicky is a good starter dashboard to get me acclimated to reading stats.

In so doing, I saw that today, hits are up 214% on the GoPro blog post. When I went back seven days to see traffic, I noticed that every single tactic I made above garnered hits to the post. People were stopping in the day of the post, the day after and through the weekend. Clicky showed me how long people stayed, what blog post they arrived at, and whether they opened on a link.

As I said, I’m terrible peeking under the covers to see what the back end is doing on my blog. When I do, I’m always amazed at the extent of data available to help drive my content choices. While I’m never going to let analytics drive my writings, I realize now that having some knowledge at the core of this experience is never a bad thing.

What tales from the rear can you add to this mix? Heh.

{ 38 Comments }

Blogging Under A Rock

by Jayme Soulati on 01/23/2012 in Blogging 101

I hope these key words in this headline don’t draw more readers…no one wants to blog under a rock, least of all moi. But, that’s what I’m accusing myself of absolute – I’ve been oblivious to anything outside of my immediate purview – client billable work, drafting content for my blog and a few guest posts, too, and that’s about it.

Here’s what prompted this post (and Steve Farnsworth and Paul Roberts thought I was kidding):

On Friday afternoon Steve tweeted me this awesome PR33 Blogs List from Paul Roberts’s blog. I thought, cool, I need to see this; thanks, Steve. Lo, I read the list to find myself included, much to my utter amazement. (And, thus the over-the-top thank you in comments that likely included my embarrassment at being late to the party.)

You see, I had not previously met Paul Roberts (that I knew of; unless we had drinks one night, Paul?), and here he had amassed an incredibly influential list of PR bloggers with insightful comments about each. (Again, thanks, Paul.)

AND, I DIDN’T KNOW IT!

So, I’ve been blogging under a rock, and that rock has bashed my head. Here’s what I’m guilty of and will attempt to change:

Problem: I use Triberr religiously to comment on bloggers in my tribes, and rarely do I hit others’ blogs to extend my reach. (I still like Triberr, and we’ll address that topic another day.)

Change-Up: Form another tribe with new folks and interact with their writings as much as original tribes.

*******

Problem: I go to familiar blogs with familiar communities who frequently come to my house and return the comments in familiar ways.

Change-Up: Get out of your comfort zone, Jayme! This becomes too routine; change it up, Girl!

*******

Problem: I realize the labor intensivity of extending blog reach, and while I sometimes comment on new blogs, it’s often isolated and not consistent.

Change-Up: Quit your whining and add “subscribe to comments” on all those blogs to keep you engaged.

*******

Problem: I go where I’m invited;  if you ask me to come, I’m there.

Change-Up: That’s not a problem; just stop waiting for an invite – insert yourself on more occasions.

********

Problem: I am failing at a consistent focus on Facebook community building, and now that Google has slammed all of us with forced participation, I’m worried how I’m going to manage enhancing all these channels.

Change-Up: Anyone got a solution to this one? I’m overwhelmed and want to go back under my rock.

********

Problem: I’m a Twitter girl to a fault; I keep it open all day long, attempt to work the stream and open new conversations on occasion, yet my faves column is filled with just that – faves! Twitter is my first love, my first channel (even before a blog), and I won’t let go of it, but maybe a little less here and more elsewhere?

Change-Up: Hah. Yes, create a new column called “Tweeps To Know” and head in their direction each day.

What problems and change-ups might you include to ensure you’re not blogging under a rock?

{ 39 Comments }

Bloggers On Pedestals Revisited

by Jayme Soulati on 01/19/2012 in Blogging 101

This post first appeared at Ken Mueller’s house at Inkling Media. It is one of my all-time favorites and highly received by Ken’s community (and 323 Tweets later…uhh, what the heck am I not doing at my house?).  I’m swiping a trick I’ve seen Laura Click of Blue Kite Marketing do – re-post her guest posts on her own blog. I think this is a swell idea because why shouldn’t I actually capture my writings should other bloggers decide to remove their shingles?

The premise to the story below is that it’s lonely at the top for bloggers…see if this material is still relevant after having been published August 25, 2011.

I’ve been feeling and seeing some angst on the blogosphere lately. Some folks are having a bit of confidence issues; blogs are folding, people are saying their writing does not stack up, and some wonder if being a power blogger is attainable.

What I’m also seeing is that the power bloggers — those who rank higher than the Ad Age Power 50 – are distinctly on a pedestal put there by their peers, themselves, or others in their communities.

This is not intended to be a negative; it’s a fact and it’s what the blogosphere thrives on — leaders. But sometimes leading bloggers are regarded so highly that new bloggers struggle with that influence also wondering whether they can stack up.

If your goal is to become a power blogger, take a look at those who have earned their position. These bloggers are rightly on pedestals. I am always amazed when I see another level of giving, counsel, time, and sharing that is delivered to complete and total strangers in the name of building community, brand and business.

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mark Schaefer, Jay Baer, and Gini Dietrich IRL (in real life), and I feel like I’ve met Danny Brown (he is very accessible). These four peeps are to be congratulated for their positions as leaders on the blogosphere. (Since I wrote this, Marcus Sheridan has burst onto the scene; his writings are indeed powerful.)

There is no guidebook how to be a power blogger; it happens over time and with a lot of hard work. In fact, I would suggest power bloggers’ blogs are true extensions and representations of their businesses. When you reach that level, monetization of a blog is moot; it happens automatically, and the blog is the business.

I know how competitive we humanoids are — we want to have the best blog with the most readers, comments, RTs, and highest rankings with awards badges in the margin. We want to have authority and influence, and we want to change the world with our insightful content. I’m certain that each of us will eventually get there, but only if we want to. It’s OK not to be a power blogger, but if you want to be on a pedestal, let me offer you some perspective.

The next time you’re chastising a power blogger for his or her comments, thoughts, opinions, articles, or the way they conduct themselves in their own house, know this:

  • It’s lonely at the top.
  • What I said above–there is no mentor for them to follow and fashion a set of rules after; each of them is writing their own guidebook.
  • We are like paparazzi to them; everything they say, write, do, eat, share, photograph, we want a piece of. They are in the limelight because they sought that position and have earned it.
  • When you feel like attacking as a troll or someone having a bad day, think twice about blogjacking the tone with your drivel.
  • If you’ve ever left a snarky comment, ask yourself whether it was because of envy or jealousy?
  • How many times have you learned from these people about new trends in social media, new apps, new tech, new devices, copied their blog design, or received your invite to Google+ or Spotify? It’s real easy for me to sit back and wait for a power blogger to do the work first with a post that paves the way.
  • Lastly is simply about thanks. Have you ever genuinely recognized a blogger leader for their time, commitment and dedication to teaching you what they know? Thank you is a wonderfully unexpected two words.

I’ll say it again, folks, it’s lonely at the top and showing the love is one small courtesy to bloggers on your pedestals. Whether the bloggers you follow have a badge of honor or not doesn’t mean they are any less influential or authoritative. A pedestal can be as short or as tall as you deem.

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Should Health Of Blog Community Align To ROI?

by Jayme Soulati on 01/11/2012 in Blogging 101, Social Media Strategy

I had a post all ready for today, and then @TheJackB spat all over my blog in comments. I could not let that slide, so this post is a compilation of his musings and mine. (You get co-authorship, TheJack, but just not in the byline…heh.)

The Sales Lion wrote a post yesterday about why community is not Holy Grail of blogging that I’m sure is creating a slew of comments, not the most of which is Gini Dietrich (although I’ve not been over to comment myself). Marcus said something to the effect that “Gini shocked the blogosphere admitting her business almost went bankrupt in 2011 in spite of her healthy blog, Spin Sucks, and its huge community with lengthier commentary.” (paraphrase)

IMHO (In my humble opinion), Arment Dietrich is a service firm; it delivers professional services and seeks clients to pay it to stay viable. Gini is the point person, face, poster child, CEO, founder, biz dev artist for her firm, and, oh, yeah, she’s chief cook and bottle writer for her highly popularly ranked and accoladed blog, Spin Sucks. Her new product, Spin Sucks Pro, for which peeps will subscribe to content and teachings via webinars and writings from around the ‘sphere, launches soon (after a one-year delay during which she had to fire a tech team and start from scratch). (Never write sentences like these two.)

When you’re running a successful digital marketing/PR shop with staff and expensive headquarters near the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and you’re launching a brand new online moneymaker that fails and requires an immediate new investment in tech dollars and clients refuse to pay you for six months and the economy sucks (like Spin), then what’s so surprising about a firm nearly going belly up (in spite of a successful blog and community)?

This dilemma is one many successful entrepreneurs face –  how to clone oneself. We are the brand and brain power clients wants, hire and require. Using Gini Dietrich was a poor example to showcase that a profitable business has nothing to do with a healthy blogging community, and here’s why:

The target audience for Spin Sucks Pro are PR, marketing, social media peeps; a healthy community of such is required to ensure that Gini’s new $ venture succeeds. Can you imagine if she had attempted to launch Spin Sucks Pro without putting all the sweat and tears into building a healthy and growing community at its precursor? Right.

 

Here’s what THEJACKB had to say in comments here yesterday:

Yep, I commented on Marcus’s post. I was half awake at the time and uninterested in picking that post apart but I am not convinced that there is a relationship between Gini’s biz and comments.

Fact is that if you can demonstrate to brands that your blog reaches the eyeballs that they want to get in front of then you can make money blogging. It happens, and any one of us has the opportunity to make it happen. It might not make sense for some of us to pursue that path but the opportunity is there.

Let’s circle back to comments and community. You and I (Jack and Jayme) have talked about this, and I’ll repeat that I don’t see comments as being currency. They aren’t always useful social proof for whether a blog is popular, influential etc.

But that doesn’t apply across the board. Fact is that many of the people that speak at blog conferences get their positions as faculty because of their community and the comments. It is not impossible to get a gig without, but it is much easier when you have it.

Data mining is useful for bloggers. When you start to break down who your readers are you can learn all sorts of interesting things. During the past four days more than 4k uniques took a moment to read my post.

Two PR agencies and several brands were camped out on that post for extended periods of time. I don’t believe that they hung out there solely because they loved the writing. There is something more going on. My job is to figure out why. Maybe it is because they are looking for a writer or maybe it set off a keyword alert, but I’ll put money down that there is a money making opportunity tied into it.

Let’s circle back to the question of can you make money and approach it in a more direct manner. Let’s pretend that blogger XYZ has a product/service that they sell and that there is a valid value proposition tied into it.

Blogger XYZ needs to learn how to close. Ask for the order. Stop pussy footing around with “you might be interested or want” and ask for the sale. Remember Alec Baldwin in Glen Garry Glen Ross- “Always Be Closing.” (Excuse me while I reconnect the IV, the coffee drip just ran out.) (Indeed, Friend, you exhausted yourself with that spittle.)

What say you? (This is edited; thank you, Marcus.) Are business success and community related? Need you have a thriving blog community to also have a thriving business?

 

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Blogging Voice, Topics, Gifts

by Jayme Soulati on 01/09/2012 in Blogging 101

There are more than a million blogs and no way to hit them all; nor should you try. As a blogger, it is so hard to keep motivated and keep on publishing.

Someone paid me a huge compliment the other day about the quality of the content I publish, and it brings me back to these few things (probably alive and well in the echo chamber yet bears repeating):

Make Your Blog Yours

Your blog is what you make it. Only your commitment will make it successful. Doesn’t matter how many subscribers you have; peeps come because of what you say and the passion with which you write.

I have noticed many bloggers writing about life, depression, motherhood, struggle with medical issues or family woes who earn hundreds of comments and RTs. I try not to look at my less-than-10 RTs or 30 comments in comparison because it makes me wonder what’s wrong with what I’m saying and whether it has merit.

The answer is…NOTHING.

I write a specialty blog (not about life and emotion) about my profession in public relations, business, marketing, social media, and whatever strikes me in re current events and global affairs. The peeps who visit are similar or same. That’s a major point…what you write about breeds a community of likes. You will attract dog lovers if you write about dogs; you will find numbers guys if you promote analytics. More mommies will read your blog than non-parents when you write about kids every day.

Topics

When you write a blog that is a mash up of various and sundry topics, can you realistically expect your community to grow if they have no idea what they’ll get when they visit? Humans, by nature, appreciate few surprises. Goes the same with a blogging community…take a look at yours and see if you’ve been able to capture and keep 10 peeps in your community.  If I’m right, it could very well be that your content is too broad; test the waters for a few weeks and write about a theme or topic you appreciate. Watch your passion come alive and your community, too.

Motivation & Voice

Motivation and voice are huge factors to blogging success. Let no one tell you how frequently you have to blog; do what’s comfy for you. The very best tip I can offer is to strive to find your voice. I have two significant pieces on voice coming soon to Spin Sucks and Spin Sucks Pro. In one of them I say “I write like I talk and sprinkle f-bombs and flowers all over.” (That’s mostly in comments, but it’s very true.)

Do you write like you talk? I visited Jason Konopinski’s blog for the first time and was so shocked at his voice, I asked him in comments whether he always wrote in this style? My surprise came because his comments are laden with snark and cajoling; when I read his academic voice upon my first visit, I was blown away. Here’s the deal…it works for him! He’s the blogger, he owns his writing, style, voice, and ideas; so, too, do you. Have the confidence to put yourself out there because you can!

Blogging Gives Back

Blogging provides the opportunity to give back. I loved, loved the gifts I gave around Christmas inviting peeps to Share Your Blog Here and the subsequent follow-up post 50+Bloggers To Know Now. All over, peeps are saying in comments “I found your blog at Jayme’s 50 list.”

I received comments, thank you notes, tweets, a growing community, and more hidden gifts I can’t realize.  The best thing is I didn’t expect any of it!

Blogging provides these hidden rewards and the friendships you create and grow via the written word. So keep on, Friends, and if you have a question along the way, please ask. Every blogger’s journey is never smooth; when the twists and turns go straight, from there it’s a clean sail.

 

 

 

 

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50+ Bloggers To Know Now

by Jayme Soulati on 01/05/2012 in Blogging 101

This is the culmination of the post I wrote, Share Your Blog Here. I have no idea how many bloggers listed their creations here; more than 50, for sure, and I’m so happy to have reached my goal. Thank you!

Some folks could be cross-referenced, but I put them into only one category. If I’ve made a mistake, please do apprise me; I’m expecting to have some problems especially with a project of this magnitude and detail (not whining!).

So, read on, folks, and please do try and visit your peers? I’m eager to meet many of you, and have already begun my journey to visit. Thank you again for participating!

ANIMALS

>>  Susan writes at Gemini Universal and is dedicated to feral cats, stray cats and shelter animals.  She also likes to attend charitable events for the local shelters and rescue groups, so you will find follow up commentary about her experiences.

BUSINESS & LIFE COACHING

>> Kaarina started blogging just nine months ago, but has had her business for 28 years. She is a business and life coach/strategist, and former Olympic level coach and television sports commentator. She parlayed her skills from the athletic arena to the business world, where she assists people to be the best they can be, in business and in life. She’s on Twitter @kdillabough.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

>>Adam Toporek blogs about customer service and the customer experience at the soon to be renamed Intense Fence If anyone has a great customer service story (bad or good) that has some CS lessons, he is open to guest posts.

ECO/GREEN

>>On her Facebook page for Terracom PR, Christine shares green tidbits primarily from and about Chicago. Sometimes they pertain to Terracom clients, many times not. Sustainability and eco are her things. So stop on by for ideas, news and curiosities.

FASHION

>>Lisa writes a blog called The Sparkle In Her Eye and (you guessed it), it’s about a combination of style inspiration, fashion marketing and small, independent indie designers.

>>I think this blog, Vintage Glam Gods is written by Cathy, but not too certain. Regardless, I went there and saw some fab photos of Florence, one of the most amazing cities in the world.

FINANCE

>>Hansjorg Leichsenring writes a blog in German about banking. He promises there is a Google translation service attached so you can read all about what he has to say. Hansjorg seeks more readers and commenters.

HUMAN RIGHTS & FREEDOM

>>Kacem Jlidi writes Kacem 4 Change at a blog which is a cocktail of news from Tunisia, Palestine, the MENA region, and it’s about human rights and Internet freedom. Equally he worked as a social media specialist and IT journalist but he likes to keep this blog to advocate for positive social change and human rights.

LEGAL MARKETING

>>Jay Pinkert writes Shatterbox a forum to share ideas and tools for legal marketing in the Social Media Age.

>>Bruce Macewen writes at JD Match Views about law student recruiting and law firms.

Life & Happenstance

>> Lori Gosselin writes about life, and she talks about it, dissects it, figures it out and comes to know that even though there is different perspectives and ideas, we’re all in it together! Visit her blog here.

>> Hajra writes here about personal experiences and how life is just a series of sarcastic events. She says the only way we can get across is to complain and move on!

>> Jack Steiner writes at TheJackB, and this is the blog where you learn the answer to every question you ever had but didn’t know. He provides a thorough explanation and education on how to blog, write, talk, cook, read, speak, code, and much more. Read my blog and you will become a better person and your IQ will increase by a minimum of 5 points (7 if you are Canadian) and not only that but God will love you more than he/she/it did before.

>> Al’s “blog” is The CARE Movement — Communicate, Appreciate, Respect, Encourage and try to Influence and Inspire Positive Change.  His main goal is to help improve morale in the workplace.

>> Sanjiva Persad writes random topics, although recently posts on favorite podcasts, thoughts on Google Plus, and sport and music are included.

>> Adam Clarke writes uniquely at Ditto Effect. While he’s not write a blog per se, he’s got a site oriented to guides as well as question and answer topics. He focuses on supporting others and networking with those who love to learn and help others. Not too long ago he started accepting guest posts to help authors get a little more online exposure. He is Canadian and loves connecting with people around the world.

Marketing

>> Erica Allison blogs at Spot On where she likes to think that what she writes is just that…Spot On. Her topics are mostly about marketing, social media, metrics and ROI of both; branding, small business, and PR. She often throws in a post or two about her kids and she’s friendly to newcomers.

>> Jon Buscall writes a blog for Jontus Media in Sweden. Guarded by basset hounds, stranded in Sweden, blogs (and podcasts) at http://jontusmedia.com about digital marketing, communications and occasionally rather worrying Norwegian pop music. Welcome!

>> Maranda Gibson writes a communications-related blog here where she sometimes talks about different and inventive ways to use her firm’s products and services. For the most part, she offers up public speaking tips, customer service related topics, and tips on writing effectively.

>> Jennifer Devitt writes at SYDCON Web Development and it has no one set topic.  It can cover web, mobile, technology, or current events.  She’s accepting guest bloggers, too. Jennifer works with companies in almost any industry and likes to offer a variety on her blog to showcase people her clients could potentially work with and learn from.

>> Jamie is part of a collaborative B2B marketing blog at Savvy B2B Marketing.

>> Margaret Molloy writes a blog at Posterous on digital marketing.

MOMMY BLOGGERS

>> MuMuGB writes at www.FrenchYummyMummy.com Her blog is about being a French Mum living in London and struggling to understand the Brits. (LOL!)

Jamie writes as part of the BabyCenter blogging team and is the primary writer as well as editor at Fans of Being a Mom here.

NOT-FOR-PROFITS

>> Jenn Whinnem blogs for the Connecticut Health Foundation. It is the largest independent health philanthropy in the Connecticut to improve children’s mental health, health policy/advocacy, oral health, and racial and ethnic health disparities.

PERSONAL & POETRY

>> Kathleen Krueger posts her original poetry at Patchwork Poetry.

>> Adriene blogs about personal items and poetry, and she talks about the writing life, personal observations, societal issues, and more.

Public Relations

>> Mary Barber blogs at Mary’s Garden Party on public relations, social media, communications and what makes a stronger community.

>> Davina Brewer is a blogger at 3 Hats Communications on all things marketing, public relations, social media, and small business. 

>> Ken Jacobs posts  about all things related to advising public relations and related communications agencies; growing business and better managing the business you have; and enhancing staff performance, motivation, communication, and leadership skills.

REAL ESTATE

>> Derek writes a blog about everything related to the real estate industry.

ROOFING/CONTRACTING

>> Joseph Heidler blogs about roofing, his travels, and life as a small contracting business.

Small Business

>> Tea Silvestre writes The Word Chef which aims to help small biz folks find and share their secret sauce with the world via online marketing strategies. She is a marketing consultant/coach, writer, foodie and has a slight WordPress fetish.   (Uhm, what does that mean?)

>> Justin Brackett launched a new blog at Biz Changerz.

>> Kelly Kautz writes a blog at One Woman Marketing.  It’s about marketing for small business owners and solo entrepreneurs, with a focus on real-life examples and inspiration.

>> Maranda Gibson writes a company blog, a fledgling blog launched in the last few months. It has a wide range of topics from public relations, small business, and some great organizational tips for businesses and personal needs alike.

>> Billy Delaney writes Social Tango and he’s also launching The Small Business Compass.com: a social tool for finding the customers who want the products you sell. He is chief navigator, educator-teacher-learning moderator for small business’s that have no direction, or have lost their directions.

Social Media

>> Ari Herzog explores new and emerging media — less about tools and applications and how-tos but more about analytics and deep thoughts.

>> Neicole Crepeau writes a blog for her firm, Coherent Interactive. The topics she covers are social media, website design and development, and mobile.

>> Mark Harai blogs from Costa Rica (I’m threatening to visit) on the topics of social media, entrepreneurs, and startups.

>> Gini Dietrich is our Queen, and we already know Spin Sucks, and she kindly wanted me to reach my goal of 50 bloggers and thus is participating here (I would’ve added her anyway).

>> Rebekah Bowen started blogging last year at Sociality and it is ramblings about social media sites, philanthropy, social activism, my job\internship, and “stuff she finds that’s cool.”

>> Jason Konopinski, (another King of Snark) blogs about topics including social media trends/tactics/tools, content creation, organizational and change management. A bit of a mixed bag at times, but he tries to stay on topic.

>> Monyelle Mingo writes here and is focused on breaking down social media marketing into chewable pieces and also developing skills to tackle fear evoking challenges.

>> Michelle Quillin writes New England Multimedia’s blog on powerful tips for combining social media, blogging, video and more to build relationships with and get your message out to your online audience. Every now and then they write go-after-your-dreams inspirational posts, or share experiences they’ve learned over the years.

STAFF/EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

>> If you employ people, read Leon Noone. His special field is helping managers in small medium business to improve the on job performance of their staff without training courses. (Love this guy.)

TECHNOLOGY

Carolyn Nicander Mohr writes at The Wonder of Tech and it’s a personal technology blog designed to help explain the developments in personal technology to the everyday person. The blog is written in plain English, no tech jargon or geek speak allowed! If tech is fun and/or useful, she explains it in a user-friendly way.

TRAVEL

>> Amber-Lee Dibble writes Alaska Chick’s Blog and is a manager at Pioneer Outfitters in Alaska. She writes about living in the “bush” and a very remote, fly-in area in the mountains of Alaska. The blog provides her way to chat and get to know people in a way never before possible. It allows folks to see inside life in Chisana and what it’s like to live on site of the last historic gold rush and to home-school her children. She writes about the trainees that come to us for Survival & Guide Training and pretty much whatever else comes to mind…especially, grizzly bears!

WRITING

>> Kathleen Krueger writes a blog with random topics on freelance writing, book reviews, spiritual pondering and random life musing.

>> Erin Feldman writes about the writing life, entrepreneurship, and writing right. Find her here.

>> T. Shakirah Dawud writes at Deliberate Ink and is on Twitter, too. She is a copywriter and editor. She blogs about the usefulness of words and how to use them well in both regular and marketing/sales contexts. She has a regular compulsion to blog about social media as she  sees it happening, and to offer basic marketing tips to business owners.

>> Luke Brown’s budding business is Letters Done Right, and you can find him on Facebook under Luke Brown and his writing services as a retired attorney.

>> Stacey Myers works with authors and gives them ease and freedom in creating an online presence and also the odd newbie getting started online.

 

OMYgosh…here is the best list evah! Enjoy!

 

 

 

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December’s Blogging Dilemma

by Jayme Soulati on 12/13/2011 in Blogging 101

No matter if you celebrate Christian holidays and New Year’s or not, December brings with it high-level stress to finish year-end tasks, send the books to the CPA for interim numbers, close the business on a high note, take left-over PTO days,  conduct a few business trips, and also spend time with family because schools are closed.

For we who do celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus, decorating of the home, card sending, baking, and throwing or attending a party or two, that’s another level of commitment that sends me into a tizzie.

Add the fact that I’m now at the gym nearly four times weekly directly during blog-writing time, and what part of that doesn’t wreak havoc on the blogging schedule?

This post is for me, and I hope you’re gonna nod  your head in time to mine and agree; take some ‘raderie from this community who all know how much life happens (and it’s OK).

If I go off the grid for two weeks in December, here’s what’s NOT going to happen:

>>My readers will understand for all the reasons above, and they will slowly come back when content (and me) are fresh in January.

>>My blog will lie dormant for a bit, or I’ll capture some fave old posts for newcomers here and arm the queue with oldies but goodies.

>>There’s no impact to my billable time if I don’t blog every day…blogging is an extra bonus, and added feature to my services (uhmm, for my own brand and not my clients’).

>>My SEO (ahem, for anyone who knows me, they also know how much I disregard that word) won’t suffer (really?) because if you don’t know what it is in the first place, then you have no idea if it’s going to suffer!

>>There won’t be any guest posters because a) I haven’t asked and b) everyone else is in the same boat.

>>My guilt for not delivering on content three times weekly may not be overcome; however, when inspiration has fallen off the cliff because of all that aforementioned I shouldn’t be blogging anyway, right?

Heh.

And, so, dear community, this is my December blogging dilemma and my lame ass blog post for this week. I was riding the comet from the success and ‘raderie of Share Your Blog Here, but that’s extinguished until I resurrect the comments into a fastidious post and literally share your blog again (which I plan to do, don’t you worry).

Did anyone nod their head in syncopation?

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Share Your Blog Here

by Jayme Soulati on 12/07/2011 in Blogging 101

This post is inspired by new commenter in the Soulati-’TUDE! community, Adam Clarke. Thanks, Adam!

Today marks the first in what’s hoped to be a continuing series for bloggers to share their blogs. My goal is to get 50 bloggers to give a blurb about their blog, its topic(s), and of course some link love. I will visit each of the bloggers who share and try to keep those regular visits happening. If your blog is from a vertical other than social media, marketing or PR, then ALL THE BETTER!

If I already know you and you’re a part of this community now, no matter! We all can be reminded what you’re writing about and try to get introduced to new peeps. If you’re at all like me, my time is limited and I rarely get a chance to visit others as I want and need to. Perhaps this will make it easier (is that selfish?).

So, I’ll begin:

1. Soulati-’TUDE! was born in March 2010 and it’s all about whatever I want, heh. But, it’s highly geared to public relations, social media, business and marketing. I’ll write the occasional off-topic post because I’m inspired to share a rant or three, but generally that’s what you’ll find here.

2. The SMB Collective was a trial run for a blogging community launched October 2010 with about six core contributors. Its topics are aimed at small business owners and anything is game for the writing. The blog still exists yet is highly dormant due to time constraints and the need for fresh writing. If anyone wants to help me push this blog back to new heights, I’m game and interested! Please…!

Now, it’s your turn…please share…and let’s get to 50 new blogs we all want to know about! Thanks for playing!

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New Trend: Get Off The Grid

by Jayme Soulati on 11/07/2011 in Blogging 101, Social Media Strategy

I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing more and more peeps getting off the grid for a week’s respite and even longer. There’s a general malaise, at least in my community, about the time we’re spending to remain connected across channels while coming up with something fresh and exciting to say (that’s not an echo).

>>When my friend Queen D (that’s @3HatsComm to y’all) decided to pull way back, it seemed like she disappeared for good. Upon a query, she insists she’s lurking and around, just not as front and center as she used to be. I have to say, I miss that comment energy. She left an indelible impression; more than she knows. (But, she’s not gone…just more quiet!)

>>Kaarina Dillabough, my north of the border pal, announced she was going dormant (that’s dormant, not Dorman) for a week and then announced upon her return she escaped on a 33rd anniversary with hubby to the Caribbean. (I missed her in my stream; but she was not gone…just taking family time.)

>>My dear friend Erica Allison still has her “summer off” post on her sidebar on the blog (one of the highest PostRank scores she’s tallied) which said she would be encumbered with mommy duties while running her business in summer months. These weeks, her booming business has her focused on areas like billable work and not her blog…she laments this turn of events but also recognizes the need to earn money. (She isn’t gone, just not as accessible to her community.)

>>And, the most famous infamous of all, NittyGriddy, went MIA for more than two months! Gasp! And, to inform her community she’s baaack, she hit up the Gin Blossom to announce her comeback on @SpinSucks.

>>When Danny Brown (along with a team of writers) launched his Punk Rock Views on Social Media blog about the new tonality in social media, he added to my thoughts about what is going on here?

Look around your community.  Per chance you’re amplifying messages within your own peer group; I’ve heard many a friend mention this more than once (me included). I’m hastening a guess that most of us launched our blogs with every good intention of attracting new business from small-to-medium enterprises and laughing all the way to the bank.

Alas, our blogs (at least the bloggers with whom I’ve spoken) agree we’re writing and messaging in an obvious comfort zone – right amongst our own peer group and network of service-oriented professionals (likely playing in the social media, marketing and public relations space).

Does this resonate with you? If it does, here’s what I want to say:

>>We are social media leaders following other social media rock stars just ahead of us pioneering and testing the next new app, tool, channel, platform, connector, game, and more. It’s so easy to become jaded and tired in this leadership position, but guess what?

WE CAN’T!

We have to keep the energy and vibe and positive spirit high…WHY? Because our clients, customers, peer bloggers, entry-level professionals, and others in our communities expect us to be that way – helpful, teaching, positive, thoughtful, inspiring.

>>You bet it’s challenging at the top. We’ve put bloggers on pedestals for years; wanna bet they’re tired too leading the pack as they do? Sometimes they show it; other times they don’t.

>>The point here is this…when you’re tired from being smack in a leadership role in social media and your messaging begins to show those rough edges (because your community recognizes that), then do get off the grid. Take a breather already; no one will fault you for a little R&R because when you return you’ll be back like a spring breeze to tell us all about it.

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