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Self-Publishing Infographic Via Shawn Welch

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One of my favorite books of late (for business reading) is APE The Book by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. These two authors are readily accessible in Google+ Communities, on Twitter chats and via Alltop. Look at this awesome infographic shared by Shawn Welch about the reasons why you should self-publish your book. I’m heeding their collective counsel all the way to Amazon…are you?

And, just so you know, Shawn Welch is author of three books, including:  APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur — How to Publish a Book, From Idea to App and iOS 5 Core Frameworks, speaker, iOS Designer/Developer.

Artisanal Publishing

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Soulati Media On The Street: Body Z Alive Hydrotherapy

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In Santa Monica last week, a surprise “gift” by my cousin provided a bit of nervous Nelly freak out, fear and eventual appreciation for the oft misunderstood service called colon hydrotherapy aka colonic.

In this Soulati Media On The Street interview, you’ll meet the zenmeister herself, Louretta Walker, owner of Body Z Alive in Santa Monica. She shared with me why hydrotherapy is important to a healthy colon for detox, lightness, emotional balance, and for hydration.

Here’s a secret, because the first time is always a bit scary, I recommend going again knowing the process. And, when you have a pro like Lou to lead one through the steps, there’s no question you’re in good care.

I promise to answer all curious George questions in comments and more sensitive ones via email! Giggle.

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Today We Reflect And Celebrate

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Every year on this day exactly (told you my lucky number is 13), reflection is in the air. About what you say? Let me share:

  • Being In Business. My years as a solopreneur, agency owner, freelancer, dog walker and kid/house sitter have been the most rewarding for healthy spirit. I was working for myself. It was and is up to me how much money I can make and how hard I can work. Being accountable to yourself and whom you hire in business is heady stuff. It requires constant attention, thinking and action. Along the way, there are peeps to meet and relationships to build; there are even folks to care for. That’s what drives me, this being in business stuff. It doesn’t matter how one defines me; if I’m the one determining how money rolls in the door and buying my own health insurance and dropping pennies into a retirement plan, then I’m in business; bona fide.
  • Being A Single Mom By Choice (In Business). The path I took to motherhood is unlike most other women. It is rewarding and stressful and puts perspective on money-making like you wouldn’t believe. I’m no longer able to squeak by on a dog-walker wage; I have to earn the beau coup bucks for the kidlet. She lends a wonderful purpose to why I get up every day and work to the bone to rinse and repeat. There’s no other way to select the single-mother-by-choice (not without nice $$ luggage, mind you) than to be in business for self. Yet, I have never defined myself as “mother of kidlet;” my identity remains “Jayme Soulati and this is my daughter.”
  • Social Media. In 2008, I was a single mom in business in a dreary basement not in Chicago with zero friends and negative zero ability to go find them. I was seriously depressed with my place and then along came Twitter where I began to meet some astonishing new friends who Mark W. Schaefer summarized nicely about in his 1000 post yesterday. He and Jon Buscall and Jenn Whinnem were the earliest of my social media friends, soon followed by Erica Allison, Gini Dietrich, Danny Brown, and a boatload of others from the early Twitter banter days. Yes, Twitter was a nightly festival; it rocked with banter and #RockHot snark. I did 140 with peeps around the world, and I was whole again. Last year on this day I sat for hours in the morning thanking well wishers on Facebook; this year (just 365 later), I’m having to do that on Google+, text messages, Twitter, LinkedIn AND Facebook. It’s heady, celebratory and so amazing how Twitter (and social) changed my life.
  • Values. Twice in business in the last five months I made the choice to walk away from a client and leave money on the table. Prior, that was unheard of; I would take it on the chin, buck up and carry forth to earn the almighty dollar. Today, not so much. If it feels bad; if I find a lack of respect (the value that has risen to the top of late to my surprise), then I need to move along and overturn the stone elsewhere for the buried treasure. I thank you Peg Fitzpatrick for your gift Monday. The smiles that created on this face were day-long.
  • Opportunity. I kid you not when I tell you I feel like a kid…in a candy store! From a lowly PR peep in Chicago who got a chance at Manning, Selvage & Lee because I had researched the name of the managing director, James O. Ahtes, and the hiring VP, Dutton Morehouse, had never met a corn detassler, to a marketer, social media upstart (I can’t be an expert), professional blogger, and now digital marketer and self-published author to be…OMGosh…may I tell you the sky is the limit, please? And, will you believe me? It takes gumption, passion, and a zest for learning to keep on. Some made fun of me when I wrote this post on 50 Shades of Wiser as I had used that darn book title everyone loves to hate. Had anyone stopped to really read it, the theme there was about aging gracefully in this social media sector where maturity is a benefit and seasoned doesn’t mean salt.
  • Celebration. Today, I celebrate you. Each of you in this community and beyond who take time to comment and let me know you’re not lurking every day push me to excel and strive for the next innovation. You can see it happening, I know, and your patience as I churned through the steps to get here today is appreciated. Never one to jump in first, it takes me time to look at all the angles and find a way to carpe diem (the one thing I took away from advertising class at the University of Wisconsin) and DIY (which I’m trying not to do as much!). For all of you here who have contributed to where I’m at today, thank you. My wish is for many more with you, right here.

Reflect AND Celebrate!

 

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The Happy Friday Series: Creating Optimism in Traffic on Foursquare

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Screen Shot 2013-02-01 at 8.45.23 AMIt is my great pleasure to welcome Paula Kiger, a 12Most.com author and blogger @BigGreenPen to today’s The Happy Friday Series. This story shows how you can create good vibes no matter where you’re stuck on life’s journey. 

Paula Kiger  Says:

Once I began using Foursquare, I quickly became intrigued by the check-ins that do more than identify a location. For example, the intersection of Capital Circle Northeast and Centerville Road here in Tallahassee could just be “Capital Circle NE and Centerville Road” but it has been dubbed “The Punishment Light.” I don’t know who created this name, but the wait for the light to turn at this intersection can be punishing, especially for drivers who are running late for work.

I am also a frequent visitor (and checker-inner) at “The Longest Light in Tally” (the intersection of Capital Circle and Apalachee Parkway). I view this check-in as a little “we’re all in this together” nod of commiseration to my fellow Tallahassee drivers who endure interminably lengthy waits at this intersection.

Because of my route to work, the Capital Circle intersection I can guarantee being at daily is the intersection of Capital Circle and Mahan Drive. The light is not quite as long as the two mentioned above, but it’s a major intersection that typically found me fretting about how late I was to work, how I was going to get everything done that I had committed to, how I was goinScreen Shot 2013-02-01 at 8.22.12 AMg to overcome the problems big and small in my life. It was yet another place to give in to worry and anxiety.

This image is a still shot from Traffic Camera Number 013

Which is why, on my birthday on November 28, I pulled over at a business at that intersection and created my own check-in: The Optimism Light. It is an alternative to the “Capital Circle NE and Mahan Dr.” check-in. It was a gift to myself. Having given myself that gift, it fascinates me how having one small symbolic homage to the positive makes a difference. If I am stopped at a red light there, I check in and take a deep breath. And then I:

  • Say a brief prayer of gratitude for the indisputably precious gift of another day
  • Send a positive intention for a friend or someone I know of who is ill or troubled
  • Give the person in front of me, beside me, or behind me the vibe that “it’s okay – we’ll all get where we’re going” instead of “what’s taking you so long to MOVE?!”
  • Hope that hope will prevail in the face of the world’s darknesses

Paula-Kiger-on-FoursquareI would be lying if I wrote, “and if no one else ever checked in here, that would be fine – I created this for myself.” Honestly, I want others to check in there (and I appreciate those FourSquare users who have). It’s why I tweet and post to Facebook every time I check in there.

When I find quotes that apply to this check-in, I add them as “tips.” They’re brief enough to take in while waiting for the light to turn:

Screen Shot 2013-02-01 at 8.22.50 AM

 

Around 50,000 cars pass through this intersection every day. You could argue that taking two seconds to give your fellow driver a break or say a quick prayer/intention (whatever your faith tradition) for someone else is not even a drop in the bucket. But, in my opinion, 50,000+ drops could create some waves of tranquility.

And in a world where it’s all too easy to make waves with sarcasm and vitriol, waves of optimism surely couldn’t hurt any of us.

 

 

 

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(Jayme Note: The Happy Friday series seeks new guest authors. What makes you happy? Please share with me, and you can be my featured guest!)

PR Strategy For Business: The Company Launch

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News crew setting up to report on the floods (Photo credit: max_wedge)

Economics and economies are contributing to the start-up and along with the great idea to launch a company comes the need for solid public relations counsel to strategize about the best way to distribute news.

Gone are the days when launching the company was straightforward. What we used to do was develop a media list, write a press release and get it approved, and then start pitching media one by one with phone calls, followed by executive interviews, and stories that appeared in media outlets.

I’m not going to say that was easy, but it certainly pales in comparison to what we do today (she said with excitement!).

Blending Traditional With Digital

Launching a company today requires in-depth strategy and a healthy regard for the social media sphere.

When a start-up is launching a company website at the same time it’s trying to establish a brand and reputation, there are elements to activate that enable a one-two punch in logical sequence.

A website with language by copywriters and marketers needs to launch with the appropriate optimization and back-end analytics tools.

Meanwhile, a should be orchestrated from which a few news releases and fact sheets are created.

The media list is trickier these days. Media outlets have fewer reporters on staff and also fewer print editions. Many publications are strictly online which means the lead time for publishing the news (especially if it’s hard news with a time element) is zilch. If an editor likes a story, he can clear a blank web page and run it! Funny, but true; you get the idea of the immediacy of the news cycle.

What that means is the PR team has to button up and think about every news angle, its impact on the company, how it should be communicated, and when. Please read this sentence twice; it is that important for your business’s success.

Factors To Consider

  • Should the news go on the wire, just online or both?
  • Should social media channels post the news same day and repeat it or wait?
  • Which social media channel should be regarded as primary for corporate news; how about consumer news?
  • Should bloggers be pitched? How about important journalists? Should you pitch them online via Twitter or traditionally via phone and email?
  • Do you want to field requests for interviews that are inbound or do you want to be aggressive and pitch and earn the hits?
  • Is your spokesperson trained using the message map? Is there a Q&A developed so spokespeople are prepared and not blindsided?
  • Has the PR team created a media brief of reporters who call requesting an interview?
  • When should a blog post news of a launch? Before or after a news release?

And, there is so much more.

The primary takeaway is not to confuse you, Ms. or Mr. Business; it’s to encourage you to hire a qualified public relations strategist with media relations expertise. Have no fear…

 

 

 

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