Swirly Girl

Guest Blogger :: Kelly Watson

Lessons Learned While Blogging For Business: Six Things I WISH I Knew

I am honored to introduce Guest blogger Kelly Watson, a marketing consultant who specializes in marketing to women.  Win a free copy of Kelly’s “Small Business Blogging Blueprint,” e-book and tutorial videos (a $29 value). Details are at the bottom of this post.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of my business blog, Womenwise Marketing.  I’ve actually been blogging on and off since ’99, but this marks the first year I blogged for business … and let me tell you, it’s a whole new ballgame. If you want to reap benefits like increased credibility, more brand exposure, and more sales, you need a specific blogging plan to help leverage your time.

That’s why I created the “Small Business Blogging Blueprint,” a 68-page e-book that helps beginning and established bloggers set goals, track progress and get results. It’s filled with step-by-step instructions for each step of the blogging process, and troubleshooting tips for common problems like low web traffic and not enough sales.

I created the e-book because I wish I had something similar when I started blogging: it would have saved a lot of time and effort.  Here are five other things I learned along the way:

·       Get a little help from your friends. Your blog doesn’t exist in a bubble. You shouldn’t, either. If you see a blogger whose content you like, offer to trade guest blog posts. You could also ask to do an interview, then transcribe the answers in a blog post for your readers. (I met Christine when I interviewed her for a Womenwise Marketing podcast.) This will give your content some variety, and will expand your reach in the blogosphere.

·       Prepare, prepare, prepare. Eventually, there will come a time when you just won’t be able to write a blog post. You’ll be too sick, or too busy, or will have some other circumstance that will keep you from getting it done. Prepare for these times by writing a few blog posts in advance, and have them saved in draft form so you can publish them at the click of a button.

·       Spy on the competition. By tracking competing blogs through a service such as Google Reader, you stay on top of current issues and you may even get some inspiration for future posts. It doesn’t hurt to leave comments, either: that way bloggers will know you’ve stopped by.

·       Don’t be afraid to ride rising trends. The next time an interesting topic or event dominates the headlines, try writing a post that makes it relevant to your readers. You’ll not only increase the timeliness of your blog content, but you’ll also catch some of the search traffic surrounding the trend. (I took advantage of Susan Boyle’s singing to comment about gender and double standards.) 

·       Reveal your human side. Being professional doesn’t equal being perfect. The posts that have generated the most interest have been the ones where I’ve admitted faults and reached out to readers for help and advice. Revealing my human side has done my business way more good than pretending I have all the answers, all the time.

What do you wish you knew before you started blogging? Leave a comment below with your answer, and you’ll be entered to win a free copy of the “Small Business Blogging Blueprint.”  I’ll pick a winner at random on Wednesday, October 21, 2009.

If your name is chosen and you’ve already purchased “Blogging Blueprint,” you’ll receive a full refund of the purchase price. So if you’re eager to check out the e-book  but you still want to enter the giveaway, go ahead! Even if you don’t win, you’ll still get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Blog Give Away Winner:  Rachael is the big winner!  Rachael, please email Kelly at kelly@womenwisemarketing.com!  Congratulations!!

Squam Art Workshops :: On Impressions

[Flowers from Squam Art Workshops June 2009, all unique and one-of-a-kind]

I’m just going to dive right in, and begin this entry with something someone said to me in one of the few quiet conversations I had at SAW.  In a discussion about blogging, marketing and the blogging community, my companion said that she had the impression that certain members of the blogging community – myself included – were part of an exclusive circle of BFFs who all knew, loved and supported each other.  I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.  Her motivation for wanting to talk about this and learn more about our circle was to learn how we connect with one another and how we market and support our own and each other’s work through these connections.

Her comment stayed with me, and the thoughts I’ve been having about it since then are twofold.  One, it is disheartening that this is the impression someone has and I was happy to dispel the myth, and two, as much as I don’t want that to be the impression anyone has, I’m not at all comfortable with the idea of having to “prove” to the world that this isn’t the case.  Not to mention the fact that no matter what I say or do, people are going to believe whatever they want to believe.  This is something I have learned the hard way, that I cannot control what anyone else says, does or thinks, a truth that has taken months of focused attention to fully embrace with an open heart.  So while a year ago I might have wanted to write a post saying, “No, no, no…we’re not exclusive and we’re not all super-connected, and let me give you examples to prove my point…” right now I am instead wanting to write a post that expresses how important it is for each and every one of us in this community – which includes those of us who attend SAW - to be aware of what stories we choose to cling to.

I think it is easy to see what we want to see in any given situation, and as humans with egos we are going to gravitate towards the stories that place us in the best light possible.  I don’t say this from a place of judgment but of observation.  I do it, you do it, my husband does it; I bet even from time to time the Dalai Lama does it.  I can also state from experience that in many instances I have found the path to my truest self by observing others and seeing things I know I do not want to be.  For most of my life I saw myself in these situations as better than the other person, as in, “I’ll never do that or be like that.”  That’s right – judgmental, egotistic, arrogant.  What I have been challenging myself to do in recent years is to instead observe my own reactions to someone else’s behavior and look at why that reaction is happening, and from there, if I come to see that their behavior is something I do not want to replicate, I say “Thank you for the lesson,” and move on.  This is sometimes easier said than done, as I’m clearly not the Dalai Lama, but I have to say that the more I see my “adversaries” – or anyone who does things differently than I do - as my teachers, the better I feel.  For me, it is all about living my life in a way that is meaningful, and letting everyone around me do the same in their own way.  I can learn all kinds of things from observing the behavior of others, but I need to be careful about clinging to and creating stories that only serve to boost my ego.

How does all of this relate to SAW?  I think it is worth sharing in this series of SAW posts because I am well aware of the impressions, fears, and anxieties some people have of the group dynamics of this gathering.  And I’m not here to try to prove to anyone that they don’t exist, I’m wanting to express how important it is I think anyone attending SAW do four things:

*  Keep expectations to a minimum.

*  Come as you are and be as you are.  Nothing more, nothing less.

*  Remember that no one knows everything there is to know about another human being.  We all go to New Hampshire with our own mixed bag of desires, needs and energy levels, and impressions don’t = truth.  They’re just impressions.

*   Ask for what you want.  This, I know, is not always easy, but it was the only piece of advice I gave my companion that I think was truly helpful.  I explained to her that anyone I know (or know of) who has organized shows, retreats, and events, written books, and created close connections with fellow bloggers has done so by simply putting it out in the world and asking our community for help (or a coffee date).  There isn’t any “exclusive club”; we’re all just trying to live our lives and do something meaningful, and we are all driven by a desire to encourage others to do the same.  We’ve all created what we want in our lives by asking for what we want in a number of different ways.  In fact, this is exactly how SAW got started – Elizabeth asked teachers to teach, asked Rockywold-Deephaven Campground to host, asked people to come.  It’s just that simple.

I will share one more tiny snippet which I hope will help dispel any fears potential SAW attendees have that start with, “What will people think of me?”  I, too, came to SAW this year concerned about how certain people would see me and treat me.  (Long story).  Over the course of the weekend, my fears were completely dispelled, and I walked away from this realizing that just as I had feared some would judge me, I had judged them, projecting my anxieties onto them before we'd even met, all as a way to “defend” myself against any potential hurt.  When I was sharing this story with Marisa, she looked at me and said, “Well here’s something for you to chew on – maybe they haven’t been thinking about you as much as you think they have, if at all!”  As soon as she said this I burst out laughing, immediately seeing I had forgotten one other fundamental truth:  Other people probably have better and more interesting things to think about than me.  And this is true for everyone – with so much in our hearts and minds when we come to SAW I think it is safe to say there aren’t many of us who have enough brain space to take a look around the cafeteria, analyze everyone’s behavior, and contemplate whether or not we like it.  And this is where Elizabeth’s focused, passionate intention comes into play:  SAW does not attract that kind of energy, so even if it manages to sneak in under the radar, it is quickly extinguished because it has nothing to feed on.

We all come to SAW wanting the same things:  To be creative, to meet and see friends, to enjoy the environment, to feel safe, to let go of worrying about cooking and cleaning, to miss our families, to feel good.  How these needs get met is going to look different for each and every one of us, and that is what makes SAW beautiful.  There are no requirements to be anything other than who you are and this, I believe, is SAW’s greatest gift.

>>>>>THURSDAY GIVE AWAY:  A 6x8 wall art plaque from The Christine Mason Miller Collection, shown below.  Enter a comment to enter the drawing!

Yesterday's winner is the Enchanting Tara!  Send me an email Tara to claim your goodies!

Squam Art Workshops :: On Roles

During high school and college, my Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were always spent at the same place:  Honeybaked Ham.  If you're not familiar with HH, it is (or at least was back in the day) the go-to spot for holiday hams.  Our local store always had lines wrapping around the block in November and December, so my friends and I had a reliable source for extra cash during breaks from school.  I worked at HH for many years, and during that time I had every possible job available in the store.  I eventually reached the coveted spot of bookkeeper, but only after climbing up the ranks from my first position as "ham pusher", which involved bundling up and working in the refrigerator pushing hams up to the front of the shelves that opened up to the retail counter.  I worked the deli counter, arranged party trays, re-stocked sauces, wrapped hams, and took phone orders.  If HH had merit badges, I'd have walked away with a sash full of them.

I am beginning to feel the same way about Squam Art Workshops (SAW).  I have been at all three events and at each have played a variety of different roles.  I have been a student and a guest speaker, sold my wares at vendor night and taught.  I've volunteered, moderated a panel discussion, made signs, written up name tags, hauled boxes, and assisted with check-in.  I am committed to SAW, I believe in SAW, and once I make up my mind to give my energy to something, I go all out, which explains why, after all three events, I've returned home wanting to do nothing more than sleep for a week.

Over the past week or so since I've been back home, I have been thinking a lot about my role at SAW, and feel fortunate to have so many different experiences to look to for guidance on what I really want to do there.  On the one hand, it is part of my nature to try to take on as much as I can, and this September's event was no exception.  And I don't regret going for it the way I did, even though at the end of it I was running on fumes.  Because although I was physically and mentally drained, I was emotionally full, my only unfulfilled desire being a wish for more time - for stillness, for meeting new people, for walks in the woods.

I am now taking an inventory of everything I've done at SAW and challenging myself to take on less at next year's events.  Not because I don't want to give SAW my all, but because I recognize that 99% of my energy is sent outward when I am there, and I would like to bring that down a notch.  I went to this September's events with a number of different intentions and goals, and I am happy to say most of them were fulfilled.  I am proud of this, but also see that it is time for me to start playing with the idea of fewer goals and an intention of greater balance.  I don't yet know what that will look like, but when I think about my role at SAW next year, this is what is on my mind.

It is hard in a situation like SAW not to want to do it all, take in as much as possible and feel like there is a herculean standard that must be lived up to in order to make the experience worthwhile.  The experience of SAW has been built up like nothing I've ever seen thanks to all the gushing blog posts - which SAW deserves, absolutely - and I think it can be hard to go into it without certain expectations.  I think it is also easy to see what one wants to see when there, and entirely possible for pre-conceived notions to shape the way the weekend unfolds for each of us (more on this tomorrow). 

All that said, my goal now is to let go of trying to do it all and make choices.  I need to choose what to let go of, what to say no to, and what to invite into my SAW experiences.  It is not possible to sculpt what I want into a perfectly finished idea that I can carry in my suitcase; whatever plans I make or intentions I set will be thrown off kilter by one thing or another.  That is the nature of anything in life - I plan, things change, I adapt.  And then, before I know it, whatever imaginings I've held in my heart for months will play themselves out (or not) and then it will be over, and I'll be back home again to dream a new dream, and start planning for the next gathering.

>>>>>WEDNESDAY GIVE AWAY:  Free Stationery Set!  Enter a comment and the winner will be announced tomorrow.  

Yesterday's winner is the divine Leah!  Drop me a line Leah so I can send you your LOOT!

Squam Art Workshops :: On Creating

[The first creation:  Clay and small stones attached to a large boulder.]

In between the two days I taught at Squam Art Workshops, I took a class called "Sticks and Stones" with the talented and foxy (did I say that out loud?) Christopher Frost.  The class description said:

"Using sticks, leaves, rocks, mud, etc. we will learn construction techniques, the importance of site location, aspects of composition and documentation of ephemeral (made to disappear or transform) environmental artworks."

I am a huge fan of the work of Andy Goldsworthy and had never tried anything like this before, so basically, he had me at "sticks".  We worked on two small projects in the morning - one of which is shown above - and in the afternoon we devoted ourselves to one larger project.  On a walk through the woods before lunch, I spotted this:

...a lichen covered tree broken in half over a boulder.  The instant I saw it I had a vision, where I imagined something spilling out from within the tree.  When I came back from lunch, I went to work:

I decided to continue with the theme I started in my very first exercise, working with clay and smaller rocks.

I worked with the grooves and slants of the rock so that the flow of the smaller pieces followed the same path.  In other words, however something like water would have flowed out from the tree and over the rock was the pattern I tried to create with the clay and stones.

I had worked for about an hour before it hit me - I can use different sized stones!  And I ended up pulling out some pieces I had already laid down in order to incorporate larger and smaller stones.  This gave the entire piece more fluidity.

And I just kept going, getting lost in the process...

Spilling, spilling, spilling, and then:

TaDa!

The best part about the day was being outside and listening to the wind.  We even got some light rain in the afternoon, and I loved the way the drops changed the look of the piece.  It was also a special treat to be in the woods creating, lost in my own world, but being able to look up from time to time to see the other students in their own world as well, creating their own stories with branches, mica flakes, pine cones, acorns, rocks, and leaves.   That part of the campground became our own outdoor gallery by the time the class was over.

>>>>TUESDAY GIVE AWAY:  An Ordinary Sparkling Moments Postcard Set!  Enter a comment and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

Yesterday's winner is the lovely Violetkey.  Please email me Violet (christine@swirlygirl.com) so I can send you your PRIZE!

Squam Art Workshops :: On Teaching

[Day One of Squam Art Workshops :: Polaroid taken by the lovely Susannah Conway.]

OK, if I could have figured out how to do html editing on my title, it would have looked like this:

Squam Art Workshops :: On Teaching Learning

because my experience teaching two classes with my lady love Marisa Haedike (that's right, world, I don't care who knows - I'm madly in love with Marisa!) felt more like an exchange rather than a one-way transaction.  The experience was like a cozy house, where every room had something comfortable, warm, and inspiring to offer, and when I walked out and shut the door behind me as I boarded the plane back home I felt rejuvenated rather than drained, filled with gratitude, in awe of all the beauties who trusted Marisa and I to help bring their ideas to life.

The Living Room:  As a teacher, I felt totally provided for, where Marisa and I were given absolute freedom to structure the class how we wanted, and then given a extraordinary space within which to make it real.  On Thursday, Marisa and I walked into a room with twinkly lights and a sparkling fire, and on Saturday we took over a wide open space with sunlight streaming through the windows.  If you've been reading all the other blog posts here and there about Squam, then you already know - the lake, the trees, the sunlight...it was magic.

The Kitchen:  This is where Marisa and I spent a lot of time experimenting and playing in order to come up with a structure and plan for the class, play being the operative word.  I could write volumes about all the reasons I adore Marisa, but the story I found myself telling over and over again as Squam drew closer was of the beautiful way Marisa and I balanced each other.  If Marisa was the cat sitting still in a stream of sunlight by a window, I was the bouncy puppy running around in circles.  On one of our field trips to buy supplies for our students, we went to a huge antique mart that is a warehouse filled with dozens of displays managed by different vendors.  We walked into the mart together, and as Marisa enjoyed browsing the books at one display, I proceeded to do a lap around the entire building, scoping out where the best books were.  When I went to find Marisa to give her my full report, she was exactly where I had left her, taking her time with a stack of books on a couch. 

Marisa, without ever saying the words out loud, always reminded me to take a deep breath, stay in the moment, and trust the process.  She was the calm force in our partnership - reliable, strong, peaceful.

The Studios:  Marisa and I taught two classes, and I am still in awe of all the beautiful, heartfelt creations made over the course of those two days.  The way I see it, Marisa and I provided a very basic foundation, and every person who took our class built their own unique structure from that.  Everyone in both classes added their own special flair to their books, and I would love to invite them all to be guest speakers at any future Book in a Day classes.  On that note, it must be said that we even took a binding technique Jenny Doh shared with us in our Thursday class and incorporated it into our Saturday demonstration.  I hope that we taught our students something new and inspired them to go a little farther along their creative path, because they certainly did the same for me.

It is my hope that I am able to teach again at Squam Art Workshops, but if the gods don't have it in store for me that will be OK, as this experience was absolutely enough.

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism”  ~Colleen Wilcox

>>>MONDAY GIVE AWAY:  A copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments!

Enter for the drawing by leaving a comment.  All comments for today's entry will be entered; winner will be announced tomorrow!

Sparkly News

I've been gearing up for Squam Art Workshops, which begins in just over two weeks!  Marisa and I have been busy preparing for our class Book in a Day, and I've been creating like a mad woman so I have plenty of sparkling, inspiring goodness on my table at Vendor Night. 

My new line of beautiful, inspirational wall art is off to a strong start with Demdaco.  A few people have asked where they can be found, so here's the scoop:  Retail orders have just started to ship, so they are now slowly but surely making their way into stores around the country.  You can see the entire collection here, and I'll be re-posting all of the 6x8 designs on my Etsy site around the end of September.  Keep your eyes peeled at Hallmark Stores, one of Demdaco's main retail partners!

I'm also introducing new multiple order pricing for Ordinary Sparkling Moments.  Over the past year a number of readers have purchased a stack o' Ordinary Sparkling Moments to give to friends and clients, so I decided to make it easier for everyone to spread the sparkly love.  I will be offering the new pricing structure at the Squam Art Workshops Vendor Night, and they're also up at my Etsy site.  Here are the new prices:

* Two copies = $25 each = 10% discount
* Three copies = $23+ each = t15% discount
* Five copies = $21 each = 25% discount

Many people have purchased between 10-12 copies, so if you are interested in more than five copies, email me at christine@swirlygirl.com for information on bulk purchases.

Also - there are less than 45 of the Limited Edition Hardcovers available, so snatch them up while you still can!

Last but not least - I can't wait to release my Ordinary Sparkling Moments 12-week Discussion Guide this October, which I hope will create Extraordinary Sparkling Gatherings all over the world!  This companion to Ordinary Sparkling Moments will have questions, prompts and exercises for you and your kindred spirits to share your stories and tap into the wisdom that exists in your everyday life.

I also wanted to say THANK YOU...for everyone's support, for all of the beautiful emails and comments I receive everyday, for your orders, your enthusiasm, and for all of my creative partners.  If I tried to list everyone who has touched me, inspired me, and lifted me up I would be typing until next week, so to everyone I say Thank You, Thank You, a million times:  Thank You.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  ~Marcel Proust

August Desktop Wallpaper

July was a tad too hectic to post a new wallpaper, but I'm back in action with a new design this month.  I hope you like it.  Next month:  New Blog Buttons!

Stillness :  1024 x 768 :: 1280 x 1024 :: 1600 x 1200

Staying Present

[A brand new desktop wallpaper!  iPhone wallpapers are available today too.  Links are below.]

It is funny - funny in that peculiar "Why do we humans torment ourselves so often" kind of way - that when monumental changes are potentially looming on the horizon I get very calm and loose.  I might have an initial reaction that qualifies as flustered, but before too long I melt into this zone where my mind becomes incredibly focused and I do not allow myself to go down the road of "What if this?" or "What if that?"  I learned this in 2001, when I filed for divorce in mid-October and my soon-to-be ex-husband was diagnosed with Stage Four Hodgkin's Lymphoma two weeks later.  I simply could not let myself think about the worst case scenario, and I told myself there was no need to put myself through that torture in my mind because it might not ever happen, and what a waste of energy that would have been.  And then...miracle of all miracles...less than four months later he received a clean bill of health.  That is the short version of the story, but it contains the crux of the lesson I learned in those few months:  Stay present, and deal with facts and information as they come rather than what they might be.

But I say it is funny that I can so immediately put these tools into practice in the big situations, when often times the very small ones make me totally nuts, as in, "How is the world going to continue to turn if I leave the clothes in the dryer overnight rather than fold them before I go to bed?  What on earth will people think when I wear a wrinkly t-shirt out in public?"  Little things sometimes create strange anxieties, but then when it really matters I become a Buddhist monk.  At least a little bit.

There are a few conversations going on in our household that might very well amount to absolutely nothing, or they might turn things upside down.  None of this involves health issues, so I suppose that right there is enough for me to take all of this in stride.  On top of these conversations, I was just handed an unexpected end of July design deadline, which means The Summer of My Book Proposal just got a little more crowded.  Part of my brain is actually saying, "Why aren't you freaking out?  This is throwing a huge wrench in our plans!!"  But deep down this seems so silly, not to mention that the increased pressure activity has given me an extra jolt of energy.  I thrive on deadlines and know that this will only help me manage my time that much better.  As they say, the more one has to do, the more one gets done.

If these possibilities turn into something real, I will definitely be writing about it here, but for now I'm letting them remain as they are:  Ideas.  As ideas, I'm going to let them float around my mind like tiny dandelion tufts for as long as they need to.  If they manage to land somewhere, take root, and blossom, I can give them more attention then.  For now, I'm going to get back to work and trust this current state of calm isn't just a fluke.

**************************

I am transferring piles of photos from one computer to another, so the next 100 Books Project installment will be posted next week.  In the meantime, here is a new desktop wallpaper and two iPhone wallpapers.

Today [pictured above]:  1024 x 768 :: 1280 x 1024 :: 1600 x 1200

 

Centered iPhone Wallpaper

Be Bold iPhone Wallpaper

Desktop Wallpapers

Decorate your desktop with wallpapers inspired by Ordinary Sparkling Moments.  I'll post two new wallpapers every month, and iPhone wallpapers are coming soon!

Be Bold:  1024 x 768 :: 1280 x 1024 :: 1600 x 1200

Unique Journey:  1024 x 768 :: 1280 x 1024 :: 1600 x 1200

Blog Buttons - Hooray!

 

Ms. Inspired Writer herself, Shannon Jackson Arnold, gave me the idea to create some fancy little blog buttons and I loved it!  Each of the buttons shown above have been uploaded individually, so you can take whichever images you'd like.  Feel free to link them back here or pretend your blog is your studio and these are your own personal inspirational wall hangings.  Enjoy!