Blogging About Blogging

Tia Graham, theblogsultant.com

How often do you say, “I don’t know”?

I made my first business traveling trip this week. I met with a new client for dinner, meeting a new inquirer at the same time, stayed the night with an old friend and new client, and the next morning, had another meeting with yet another new client getting up close and personal with her very dynamic project. The whole thing was a ton of fun and a lot of talking and listening.

More than once I was asked a question that I didn’t immediately know the answer to. I’m resourceful and smart and know how to find the answers given time but in these settings, restaurants and away from my computer, I wasn’t in “do your homework” mode. My clients and inquirers have one steady trait: they all put a lot of thought into taking on a new endeavor such as a blog. They tease it around in their minds, ask lots of different people questions, do research, take advice, and give the idea time to ruminate. They ask GOOD, thoughtful questions. Along side this is the highly adaptive world of the internet and things are always changing and developing. What may be true today may be enhanced tomorrow. This is certainly true in the sphere of podblogging and vlogging; more is available every day both on the center stage and behind the scenes.

And so foolish is the expert who claims to know everything. Better is an honest approach. Say, “You know? I’m not sure but I know how to find out and will get back to you.” Tell them when you’ll get back to them with the information. Make no guarantees when you aren’t confident. An example of this is promising something will make your client money when you don’t fully have a grasp on the process that you both will be experimenting and learning with, as is the case with new and ground-breaking material.

Honesty breeds respect and respect breeds loyalty and trust. If you honestly don’t know, then say as much, and follow it up with what you DO know: that you can find out and serve them best with your willingness to learn more about how to meet their needs. The result is integrity which is worlds better than a facade of knowing all there is to know.

Other posts that may be helpful:

Do I Need an E-Zine?

How To Kill Your Blog.

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Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


Time Management in the world of Web 2.0

Thanks to Darren, aka problogger.com, who is quickly becoming my “go to” sitemaster for great tips, links, and information, I “found” the blog of Stephan Spencer today and quickly subscribed. I guess the blogosphere can be a small world sometimes because I’d already read about Stephan’s daughter Chloe and her fantastically successful Neopets Cheats site from the BlogHer site, only I didn’t know until today that they were related. And I think she came by her blogging streak naturally, because her dad’s got some great tips on his site.

As a blogsultant, I appreciated this post on how to “do” blogging right, especially for the business blogger. As a business owner and busy Mom I owe him a little debt of gratitude for this most-helpful list on time management. Follow the link to read his notes (and then go deeper into the archives…it’s worth the time) but I instantly resonated with the suggestions to “batch tasks”, “focus on the critical few”, and “outsource your life”. I delegate poorly; something I need to work on as my business continues to grow at a rapid rate.

Most time management systems I’ve come across lately focus on time slot allotment. Anyone who has tried to tell an angry two year old that “it’s not your turn yet” knows that a system like that won’t work…and who has time to chunk up their day into little slots anyway? Creative minds have to work fluidly and get it while the gettin’s hot. So “batches” work marvelously.


Miles Levin

Words seem superfluous and inadequate. Miles Levin, may you rest in peace. Thank you for sharing your journey with the world.


Thin Skin, Criticism, and Life on the Internet.

Yesterday I had an experience that unfortunately isn’t as uncommon as it should be. Here’s how it went:

Man A: I need recommendations for a service.

Man B: I am very happy with so-and-so. Here is his website.

Girl A: I took a look at the site. I noticed something that other designers should beware of. (what follows is a minor site critique along with suggestions for solutions other designers can make).

Man B: upset and defensive. Suggestive that a line was crossed and that someone was unfairly criticized.

Whoa. Some one? Where’s the error here? Ah…it was not a personal critique but rather a review of some THING. And not even specifically that one thing; indeed, it served only as an example of a design error frequently committed that other newbies could learn from.

And like I said, this happens all too often. Maybe it’s because our work and ourselves often become so intertwined that it becomes hard to differentiate between them. Maybe it’s because we want to be influential with our recommendations and any offered variety seeks to threaten our supposed influence. Maybe it’s because we’re too hung up on what others think of us. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.

The internet is a big, big place. Make that a big, big, public place. Getting our work, designs, writing, opinions, style, etc out there means we are asking for, encouraging, and often stimulating discussion OF IT. Feelings absolutely must be somewhat distanced if one is going to make it; skin needs to be a little thicker. In other words, don’t take it personally if someone seemingly arbitrarily chooses your site as an example of what they wouldn’t do, don’t agree with, or think exemplifies what is wrong in an area. Likewise, don’t take it too personally, getting puffed up and proud, if someone seemingly arbitrarily chooses your site and mimicks the design, links like a following puppy, or encourages others to align with your content. It may be less about YOU than you may think.

And so what if it’s not? Maybe it was meant very, very personally. Who cares? Toughen up a bit, don’t be so easily swayed by others’ opinions, and you’ll find yourself not only more even-keeled but also really surviving in the internet world. Healthy perspective is critical for that survival.

If you find yourself in a dither, taking something more personally than you should, try the following:

  • get up. Go for a walk. Talk to a real person. get some fresh air. In other words…distance yourself physically from the environment for a bit.
  • consider the view from their shoes. Try to understand what motivated them to say what they did. Chances are they don’t have it out for you or naturally mean…they may have been trying to be helpful. Maybe they possess little tact. Maybe they are poor at communicating their intentions. Have a little compassion.
  • sleep on it before trying any kind of reply (one may not even be necessary or productive).
  • let it roll off…get involved in something else; go to a “happy spot” and regroup.
  • understand it won’t be the last time
  • resist the urge to scold them; if you must say anything, try a humble, neutral stance, apologetic even.

    • Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


Do I need an e-zine?

E-zines…subscription email newsletters and online magazines….are they necessary? Should they be part of your marketing package?

I’ve been pondering the question for awhile and increasingly I find I lean towards, “oh, that sounds so old school”. Why? Because a well done blog totally replaces the need for one. It becomes a superfulous expenditure of time and sometimes money. It’s still dictatorial and one-way; in other words, very web 1.0.

For a time I considered they may be helpful in reaching out to non-web savvy customers and clients who have yet to delve into the wonderful world of blogs, subscription to RSS feeds, and social networking. And maybe they still are. I guess if one has maintained an e-zine for a while and have found it is still working for them, that perhaps it’s not yet time to give it a toss. But for the new user considering it? No…I think it would be much more profitable to funnel that time, energy, and money into a well-optimized blog. The content of a blog and e-zine is often the same but the format is so different in that it stimulates a two-way, interactive and connective conversation, traffic grows from constant and well-optimized content, and it reaches the audience where they are in the way that they want…rather than sending out some email that is likely to get hung up in my spam filter.

The shift from static web 1.0 to connective web 2.0 means out with the old and in with the new. It means learning a few new tricks and working smarter, not harder. And for many, it means skipping the e-zine and growing a dynamic blog instead.

Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


Being a passionate blogger.

And no, it’s got nothing to do with an X-rating. Being, yes passionate, about your blog’s topic can often make or break the success of your site. If you are excited about it, if you feel deeply about it, you will attract and influence others who feel the same, or who don’t, but catch your enthusiasm. Otherwise known as “going viral”, “getting the bug”, “converting”, etc. I came across this blog today that summed it up well.

Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


Work Smarter, Not Harder

I think this has become the theme of my week.

John Assaraf touched on it in his post on “what hourly rate you must make” to reach your financial goals, and then again when he laid out his “work schedule for success“.

Beth Terry, a client of mine, wrote on “the importance of rest and regeneration on performance“.

In more pain than I could daily endure, I headed to the doctor, who helped me discover how “pushing myself too hard” with my work outs had injured my body.

Working smarter requires strategy. It requires planning. It requires (sometimes) making hard choices and (sometimes) facing obstacles while acting on a choice that may have been easy to make but is a little messy in the fallout. It requires being okay that some people don’t like what you are doing and the huge reward in knowing others admire you and respect you more for respecting yourself.

Seth Godin has talked about the difference in selling something for a dollar to a million people, versus selling something for a thousand to a thousand people, or something for ten thousand to a hundred people “to make a million dollars“. It comes down to strategy. Maybe supply and demand too…if I’m selling a piece of me, I may not have a million pieces to give. Which brings it back to working smarter, rather than harder. My goal isn’t necessarily to make a million dollars…but it is to reach my goals with my heart, soul, and body in tact.

That won’t happen by accident or luck or chance. It will only happen if I live deliberately.

Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


She said it better.

I say this nearly every day to a client or a potential client: a great blog will personalize you to your audience. Without the uniqueness of “you”, a blog can quickly become boring and will just sit in cyberspace, rather than become the power-horse you hoped it would be.

This post goes into the idea more deeply: “Creating Signature Content“.


How to kill your blog.

A few months ago, my friend Julie, who usually fills her thought-provoking blog with her spiritual journeys, cultural revelations, and life-savoring moments, was having a very busy season and noticed the resulting effects on her traffic. What it led to was a little burst of sarcastic humor, and like the best of sarcasm, it was funny because of how close to the truth it actually sat.

How To Kill Your Blog In Six Easy Steps:

1. Don’t post

2. Don’t post anything worth reading when you do post

3. Post about your family

4. Post about not blogging

5. Post about sports

6. Make your posts so short, they can be skimmed.

Yep… if you do all that, I promise you’ll not have to blog ever again. :)

Now, numbers 3 & 5 are of course debatable… there are plenty of scenarios where blogging about family or sports is contextual, relevant, and helpful. But in Julie’s case, the family and the sports is the occasional spice on the entree… making it the beef will not fly and she knows that. It’s true for most business blogs and niche blogs….most of your content MUST be relevant, helpful, contextual, and consistently there. Never take the traffic for granted, never disrespect their time or their intelligence and a healthy blog you’ll make.

And the best lesson? Busy seasons happen. When they do, don’t forget your sense of humor. Tomorrow is always another day.

Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


Blogrolls…Bridges To the Mainland.

Blogs are different than static websites in many, many ways but one way they can become very similar is by neglecting to link out. A link, a blog roll, an optimized site…these all are ways to take your island weblog and bridge it to the mainland, making traveling to your destination easier.

And it’s pretty plain… an island that is inaccessible just sits there. It waits for the population to come but leaves it to them to figure out how to get there. Naturally, the rate of visitation will be quite low.

On the other hand…build some bridges. Get some ferries going. Build a landing strip and airport. Advertise. Suddenly the island is a vacation destination hot spot. And the best promotion and travel access will also provide an idea of what the place (or person behind it) is like.

Today I built a blogroll for a client, two guys who jointly blog; I expected a few links on a few websites they used daily, maybe a blog or two. What I got instead was a comprehensive list of their favorite resources, hobbies, recommended tools for their trade, affiliations and partners… after I picked my jaw up off the floor and I got to work… within the hour, felt I had a better understanding of them, who they are, how they work, and where they’re going.

Their site, through this method and several others I employ, will take their blog from an isolated web island to a destination authority in their field. They are visible, they are easy to get to, and they are relevant.

Tia Graham, blogsultant, builds, manages, and empowers business blogs that can help you generate income, improve publicity, and interact with your audience. See bloggingwithflair.com for more information.


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