Well worth spending just a couple of minutes to watch 5 Marketing Tools Your Start-up Must Have (by docstocTV)

BORN TO BLOG? The Journey of a New Blogger

In The Beginning


I started blogging in April 2012 for my online wirework jewellery business, Chrissie Designs Jewellery http://chrissiedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/ and my Social Media Foundation Degree course http://chrissiewebber.blogspot.co.uk/ . As a published author I thought it would be easy but I was wrong. It has been enjoyable, as I love writing but it has really stretched me to find my own style and confidence.


In the early days, writing about jewellery, I thought blogging was all about selling my products. How wrong was I! Successful blogging is all about writing on a subject I am passionate about, not just knowledgeable about. It is about putting myself out there, on the page, for all to see. This means writing about myself, my experiences, feelings and opinion. Whether it is through controversy or vulnerability, good blogs allow people to see and know the blogger themselves. It is this that makes people regularly read a blog and engage with the blogger by leaving comments. This is what I am now aiming to achieve.


How Long Would I Last?


Most people stop blogging within 6 months. Why, because it is a lonely job often with no feedback. Also it is hugely scary to open oneself up to possible criticism by making public your thoughts, opinions and feelings in the written word. These fears are quite natural and come from our dominant character types. The ‘perfectionist’s’ fear is not having it 100% perfect before it is published. The ‘people pleasers’ fear is about what others may think of them if they express their opinion. The ‘Be Strong’ character would never allow their vulnerability to show by getting personal in their writing and the ‘Try Hard’ is a great starter but is quickly distracted with new projects or interests. That last one is definitely me! So I need to over-ride my own character types to become the bloggers I was born to be.


Until I developed a style that enticed people to read my blog there was little or no engagement from others. Statistics show that less than 1% of your readers leave comments on a blog. Inevitably you end up thinking, as I did originally, that no one is reading your blog. This I found most demotivating. My jewellery blog only lasted 2 months! Lack of time and demotivation took their toll. As I had to write blogs for my degree course my energy went into that for 6 months and then I stopped. I am now on my third attempt with a new blog for my work as the Business Incubator Manager for the University of South Wales - The Loft Blog. I have a feeling this one will last longer because I am really loving writing it and am already achieving engagement after just one month.


The Skills of a Blogger


According to marketing, social media expert and author Mark Schaefer there are different blogging skills needed for success:


· Dreaming


· Storytelling


· Persuading


· Teaching


· Curating


The balance of the use of these skills defines the style of the blogger. With over 25 years as a management development trainer and coach/mentor it is no wonder that teaching and storytelling are my predominant skills – I use a lot of anecdotes and stories in my training sessions. As for persuading, I am practicing this skill the more I put forward my opinion. Curating is the skill I thought I use least in my blogging however, on reflection and reading the section in Mark’s book again, I actually use it every time I create a list of tips or ideas.


Dreaming is the skill I am beginning to love and indulge in. It is about infusing my writing with emotional impact. Letting my mind wander and allowing it to see stories for my blogs in my past experiences and everything around me. This is something I have only just started to do. It has lead me to write blogs such as ‘Business Lessons From a Child’ – looking for the things my four year old granddaughter can teach me about business – and ‘Taming The Dragon’ a blog about a really negative situation I experienced that offers a lesson on how to handle difficult people.


Developing My Blogging Skills


Now here’s something interesting. If you look at my 3 blogs….


1. Chrissie Designs Jewellery Blog http://chrissiedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/


2. FDSM Blog http://chrissiewebber.blogspot.co.uk/


3. The Loft Blog http://loftblog.tumblr.com/


You’ll see that they have completely different styles! Reflecting on my first two blogs I see that the jewellery blog was more factual with a selling style whilst my FDSM blog has an open, relaxed and personal style to it. Written in the first person, the FDSM blog is a conversation with my audience that includes my thoughts and opinions. So what made me change my style? I remember feeling extremely scared about others reading my work, especially fellow classmates and my tutors. This was a reflective journal so I had no choice but to put myself and my opinions on the page.


Having never studied for a degree before (and I am now in my 60’s) putting my opinions on the line was the really scary bit. The strange thing is, as a published author of a book about weight loss (Weight Loss, Life Gain) I had no problems writing about very personal issues. I suppose that was because the book was something I never really thought would be good enough to publish. When I found a publisher it was too late to worry! Having written this book in the first person I just continued this style into my blogging without actually thinking about it.


Like most creatives and writers, I need affirmations from others that my work is liked and appreciated. To my great surprise colleagues on the social media course began to tell me how much they enjoyed reading my blogs. Some of them started to comment on them. I was thrilled. I had engagement; my style was developing in the right direction. My confidence was also growing which is so important for ongoing success. So why did I stop writing both of them? On reflection I was writing because I had to and not for my own enjoyment, to share my knowledge or to help others.


The Driving Forces behind Successful Blogging


Now I have a clear sense of why I personally want to be a blogger. I know what it is I want to say and achieve from blogging. This is the first key to long-term success and enjoyment.


I also believe that the driving force and key motivations behind writing an ongoing successful blog are fundamental to its long term success. In my opinion they are:


· Love of writing


· A desire to let your readers get to know the real person behind the words


· A burning desire to share your knowledge and help others


· A desire to find your own voice (your own unique writing style)


· The confidence to bring yourself and your vulnerabilities to the page.


By following bloggers such as Mark Schaefer and JackB and reading books on blogging I have now started to develop a new and very personal style to my writing. My latest blog, The Loft Blog www.loftblog.tumblr.com was created in June to help pass on my knowledge and passion for business and people development. Written for my graduate business clients at the University of South Wales business incubation space, The Business Loft, my new style is a combination of the all the blogging skills listed in the section ‘The Skills of a Blogger’.


Without really thinking about it my style has evolved and developed. For the first time in my short blogging career I am now really putting myself on the page with some very personal stories. My finger has hovered over the ‘publish’ button for ages, on numerous occasions, when finishing writing some of my blogs like this one http://bit.ly/16RVUM6 But I have had the courage to publish and be dammed.


Using Blogging as a Social Media Tool


When I began my jewellery blog I thought that people would find it, read it and buy my designs. How naïve was that? I now realise that blogging is a social media tool through which I can build a following of people, some of whom will engage with me, my website and my services/products. It is a way of building personal relationships as I would do if I were selling goods and services face to face. Now I ‘get it’ with at my third attempt at blogging!


The ‘rules of engagement’ (how to build a following) were an enigma to me until recently but they are proving to be vital to my success. Originally I was posting blogs inconsistently and only about 2 – 3 a month. The key to successful blogging is frequency and consistency. I now blog 3 – 4 times a week. Sustaining this level of commitment can be hard so I have adopted Mark Schaefer’s model. I write two blogs a week and post one or two relevant videos a week. Variety is also important and so I am also looking for a few guest bloggers to fill a slot once a week.


The frequency of blogging is important for a web site as search engines love content and engagement. Both of these you get if you post a blog regularly that people like and engage with. My frustration is that the Loft Blog is not allowed to be an integrated part of the University’s web site. Like many organisations they do not fully understand social media and how it can help drive traffic to a web site and create effective SEO. However, that’s an issue for another blog.


Publishing video on my blog is also important, especially as my market of students and graduates engage more highly with video. With this in mind I have just produced my first video interview with a Business Loft client. This is a new skill that is already stretching me way out of my comfort zone. Like my first blogs this video (in my opinion) is awful. It lacks creativity and impact that will entice engagement, however I have to start somewhere right? Posting it will be difficult but unless I start I will never learn. My greatest advantage is that a number of my clients and a colleague are photographers and videographers who are more than happy to help and teach me – thank goodness!


Developing a Following


Developing a following takes time and I am not the most patient of people. Also, the only social media platform that my manager is allowing me to have and manage myself, apart from the blog is Twitter. I can post on the Bright Ideas (the department I am part of) Facebook and Google+ pages and upload videos to their YouTube channel but I have no control over how they are managed or how they are used to grow their followings and drive traffic to the website. There followings are very small (Facebook 275, Twitter 352. G+ 21) and they are also only student facing platforms.


Whilst student engagement is important to The Business Loft development we are also business facing and therefore lack social media platforms in this area. This is something I am addressing with my manager and gradually educating her however, we are also hindered by large organisational policy! So I am limited to using mostly twitter and emails to publicise my blog. Understanding and being able to use Twitter well is therefore imperative to my success strategy of growing my following and a sound client base for The Business Loft. By reading books and blogs on the effective use of Twitter I am at last understanding how to use this platform effectively and am really enjoying using it (see my FDSM Blog ‘To Twit to Woooo!). In just one month I have grown my Twitter following organically from zero to 200, most of whom are relevant to my work in the field of business and people development.


Future Challenges


In conclusion and to answerer my self-imposed question “Born to Blog?” I definitely am! I love to write and blogging allows me to practice and hone my skill on an almost daily basis. How wonderful is that? There is still a great deal for me to learn. One of my main challenges right now is increasing my skill at writing blog titles that are short and succinct enough to fit in a tweet and yet attract attention and engagement.


My biggest future challenge is to increase my blog following and engagement. To date I have 61 subscribers and an opening rate of 39.5% where the industry average is 17.2%. Using these analysis tools built into MailChimp (the mailing platform we use for the blog) I will continue to monitor my blogging in order hone my skills even more.

BORN TO BLOG?

The Journey of a Blogger

In The Beginning

I started blogging in April 2012 for my online wire work jewellery business, Chrissie Designs Jewellery http://chrissiedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/  and my Social Media Foundation Degree course http://chrissiewebber.blogspot.co.uk/ . As a published author I thought it would be easy but I was wrong. It has been enjoyable, as I love writing but it has really stretched me to find my own style and confidence.

In the early days, writing about jewellery, I thought blogging was all about selling my products. How wrong was I! Successful blogging is all about writing on a subject I am passionate about, not just knowledgeable about. It is about putting myself out there, on the page, for all to see. This means writing about myself, my experiences, feelings and opinion. Whether it is through controversy or vulnerability, good blogs allow people to see and know the blogger themselves. It is this that makes people regularly read a blog and engage with the blogger by leaving comments. This is what I am now aiming to achieve.

How Long Would I Last?

Most people stop blogging within 6 months. Why, because it is a lonely job often with no feedback. Also it is hugely scary to open oneself up to possible criticism by making public your thoughts, opinions and feelings in the written word. These fears are quite natural and come from our dominant character types. The ‘perfectionist’s’ fear is not having it 100% perfect before it is published. The ‘people pleasers’ fear is about what others may think of them if they express their opinion. The ‘Be Strong’ character would never allow their vulnerability to show by getting personal in their writing and the ‘Try Hard’ is a great starter but is quickly distracted with new projects or interests. That last one is definitely me! So I need to over-ride my own character types to become the bloggers I was born to be.

Until I developed a style that enticed people to read my blog there was little or no engagement from others. Statistics show that less than 1% of your readers leave comments on a blog. Inevitably you end up thinking, as I did originally, that no one is reading your blog. This I found most demotivating. My jewellery blog only lasted 2 months! Lack of time and demotivation took their toll. As I had to write blogs for my degree course my energy went into that for 6 months and then I stopped. I am now on my third attempt with a new blog for my work as the Business Incubator Manager for the University of South Wales - The Loft Blog. I have a feeling this one will last longer because I am really loving writing it and am already achieving engagement after just one month.

Thanks to those of you who have engaged with me about my blog. Keep letting me know if what I write is useful or if I am completely off track! I really do appreciate it..

CYBER BULLIES BEWARE!

We Are Out to Get You

The fact is that cyber bullying and cyber stalking is on the increase. Why is it so hard to stop this happening or prevent it? I believe it is because the responsibility belongs to all of us to eradicate it, not just the social media platforms. Yes, the social media platform giants need to do far more than they do at present, that is a clear, however we can all play our part.

At work there is constant moaning, negative talk about others and back stabbing. These are the not so nice forms of human communication. When communication is face to face or via email, bullying in the workplace is easier to see, monitor, corrective coach and discipline. Now our communications are more and more online via social media platforms it is far more difficult, if not impossible, for any business to monitor.

So how can we reduce this insidious and unacceptable form of communication taking hold within the workplace?

Firstly we need to take personal responsibility and not ignore it. This form of communication will never go away.It is a sad but true fact that putting people down, ‘having a go’ at people and verbally attacking others is a negative default position for some people. Having a robust social media policy within a company, to ensure this is managed effectively is essential. I also think that understanding where such communication comes from is as important.

Our behaviour and how we structure our communications comes from a deeply subconscious level. When we are interacting and communicating with others we are collecting ‘strokes’.  These ‘strokes’ can be either negative or positive. They are so necessary to our wellbeing that from birth to six months old, if a baby has very minimal human interaction and communication a part of its brain is irrevocably damaged.

We learn in childhood how to get our needs met for these ‘strokes’. Where we cannot get positive ones we find ways to get negative ones, as we must have one or the other. 

Secondly we need to understand negative behaviour. In the workplace when a person is not fully engaged with, and enjoying their work, or where they are disgruntled in any way, they will be seeking and giving out negative ‘strokes.’ In such circumstances they are likely to seek out others to validate their negative thoughts and feelings. Likewise, if people are not getting enough of the positive ‘strokes’ they need from their workplace and managers they may seek positive strokes from excessive socialising.

The problem we now face in the workplace is that interaction on social media provides high levels of both positive and negative ‘strokes’ dependant on what a person is subconsciously seeking.  Due to its accessibility and its connection to millions, people can more easily, quickly and in greater capacity get their ‘stroke’ needs met online rather than face to face. This quick and easy access to the positive and negative ‘strokes’ we need is what makes social media so addictive for many people.

It does this by providing a platform for:

a)      Bullies who are prevented from their destructive activities within the workplace by good policies and performance management;

b)      Bullies who enjoy the power and anonymity of social media;

c)      People to communicate things they would probably never say verbally;

d)      Getting negative feelings validated by others and fueling the negativity more;

e)      People to connect in a positive way to others that gives them  positive ‘strokes’ (e.g. social chat and winning on gaming apps can give lots of positive ‘strokes’). 

The problem is exacerbated by:

·        Bullying behaviour being largely ignored by society;

·        Social media offering easily accessible and anonymous forms of communication;

·        Lack of enjoyable and motivating work (job satisfaction offers one of the highest levels of positive ‘strokes’ available to us);

·        Doing a job you dislike (avoidance of the work is then high with ‘strokes’ both positive – socialising – and negative moaning, backstabbing etc., sought elsewhere);

·        Poor management where negative communications are prevalent, building levels of negativity within others;

·        Lack of performance management regarding bullying, negative communications and behaviour in the workplace.

Some solutions:

1.      If you are being bullied find people who will listen and support you;

2.      Develop a culture of non-tolerance to any form of bullying in or outside of the workplace – name and shame the bullies publically;

3.      Make it easy for people to talk about the bullying - do not hide it or deny it;

4.      Create support for those who are the victims of bullying;

5.      Accept that online and off-line this is human behaviour that you can manage but not eradicated;

6.      Accept that it is everyone’s responsibility to reduce cyber bullying, not just the social media platforms – although in my opinion they still have a long way to go in taking action for their responsibility in this issue;

7.      Accept that it is highly likely that staff will use social media to meet their need for ‘strokes’ if they are permitted to use this form of communication.

8.      Accept that by restricting the use of this very valuable means of communication in the workplace, you will not prevent cyber bullying happening.

 

9.      Understand that as a business, if you have no social media policy, you are still liable for prosecution even if the cyber bullying is done outside the office, without your knowledge and on the persons own computer or mobile equipment;

10.  Make sure you have a robust social media policy in place within your business and that it is well communicated to all your employees and properly performance managed.

How good are you at selling? Without this skill your business will not thrive and grow.

So take a look at today’s short Loft Blog tutorial from DocStoc TV….

The 5-step Sales Process (by docstocTV)

Was it useful? Then leave me a comment.

5 WAYS TO TAME A DRAGON

How to Manage Difficult Meetings

The other day I had a meeting with the most critical and negative person I have ever met! Do you sometimes have meetings like that and wonder how you could manage it better next time? Then read on…..

I thought we were meeting to find out about our different organisations and how we can work to help our respective clients. Her agenda was about telling me what we are doing wrong and how The Business Loft should change. Phew, was I exhausted when she left and if truth be known very angry at myself for not handling it better.

After meetings like a very good discipline is to reflect on it, turning it into a learning exercise. So I thought I would share the learning I gained from this experience and my reflections of it………..

Firstly, I could have prepared myself with a ‘What If Scenario’. I had briefly met this lady once before, at which time I had noticed her aggressive and negative demeanor. By thinking through a ‘What If Scenario’ I could have prepared a number of questions and statements such as “That’s interesting, why would we need to do that?” or “What would that achieve for The Business Loft given that our objectives are…….?” By planning a few questions I would have avoided my default position in these situations, that of defensiveness.

Secondly, I could have taken control of the communication.  She was definitely on a roll and very used to employing this type of dominant behavior. By thanking people like this for their opinion, early in the conversation, and then taking control, suggesting that we both outline what we want to gain from the meeting would have stopped the negativity progressing. It also gives you the opportunity to say what you do not want and therefore allows you to set a positive agenda.

Thirdly, I could have explored ways of understanding her agenda. This is not an easy thing to do when someone is being rude, aggressive, and critical; attacking something you have created or feel passionate about. However, by really listening and finding ways to understand their needs and even empathise with them, where possible, can be a powerful way of turning the meeting into a very positive one.

Fourthly, if the aggression had continued I could have made “I feel…..” and “I want…..” statements. Everyone has the right to state how they feel and what they want.By making statements such as “I do not feel comfortable with the way this meeting is going, please could you be more positive,” you are holding your personal power. Calling a halt to the meeting, where appropriate, can be useful. By communicating in this way you are true to yourself without putting the other person down. This means of communication appropriately offers the other person the opportunity to change their mode of communication.

Fifthly, follow up with a positive and supportive email. Usually after such a difficult meeting our natural desire is to have nothing more to do with the person.  Alternatively we may have a burning desire to make them see things our way. Neither of these is useful. In business you need to build bridges not destroy them. So be the bigger person and become the builder not the demolisher. By thanking them for the meeting and offering a suggestion to help them progress their agenda you will definitely be building bridges.

One final note though, on the cautionary side. If this was a meeting with a potential client, forget the final stage of a follow up email or phone call. Run like hell! This is a ‘Dragon’ client and one to be avoided at all costs. They breath negative fire at all times, sapping your time, energy, helpfulness and profits.    

To Tweet To Wooooo!

 

Making Twitter My Friend

 

My Dislike of Twitter

I HATE TWITTER! That’s what was screaming round my head during the first year of my Social Media degree course. I had chosen to use it as a social media platform because it had the second highest following after Facebook. My research also showed that it was an excellent communication tool through which to grow a following and direct them to my web site – Chrissie Designs Jewellery.

I felt it was a platform I could not ignore, yet one year on I was still disliking using it. With statistics for 2013 showing it to be the fastest growing social media platform in the world I began to wonder what was wrong with me and why did I hate it?

The fact was I just did not ‘get it’. Firstly, being somewhat verbose with my writing, I greatly struggled with a limit of 140 characters. Next I felt overwhelmed by the streams of tweets that flowed to me. It stressed me out as I hated the thought of missing something that might be important. Then of course there were the abbreviations - #ff, #anything, TY, RT – what is all that about I would ask myself! Finally, with hindsight (a wonderful thing) I realise I was using Twitter in a traditional marketing context to just push content out to people.

A Twitter Novice

Falling into the trap of the Twitter novice I pushed out information sometimes in continuous streams that I now find so annoying in others. I had no idea how to tweet, reply, re-tweet or favourite. As for engaging with people I was a face to face girl and could not get my head round how online engagement worked. The truth is I did not want to, as I believed (at that time) that building relationships required and element of face to face communication. My whole approach to tweeting was also random, inconsistent and without focus or strategy.

The problem was I had no idea what I was doing, how it all worked, how to get the best out of the platform and most importantly, how to enjoy using it. After a year of tweeting and re-tweeting (my only level of engagement) I barely had a hundred followers and was totally demotivated by it all. At the time I did not realise that 60% of people give up on Twitter within the first week. I persevered for a year only because I felt I had to for the sake of my degree course.

The Penny Dropped!

Then last month I read ‘The Tao of Twitter’ by Mark Schaefer. When I met the author, at a conference in Cardiff, he warned me that his book could change my life, and it has. I am now a Twitter convert! So what has changed I hear you ask?

The penny has finally dropped, as they say. I now see Twitter as a 24 hour global networking event that I step in and out of every day. I love face to face networking so I decided to see Twitter from the same perspective. In face to face networking situations there are many conversations and communications that I am not privy to. That realisation stopped me worrying about what I may miss on Twitter.

Mirroring the face to face model I now stop and follow string of tweets I find engaging. Some of these spark my interest so I check out the person’s web site and Linked In profile to find out more about them. If they have a blog I also check this out. As with face to face meetings, when my interest is peeked enough I start to engage in conversation via twitter or their blog posts.

New Use of Twitter

Now that I have a new full time job supporting and mentoring graduate businesses, I scan my feed of tweets every hour or two for interesting information relating to business. These I re-tweet for the benefit of my followers. Likewise if I see a tweet from one of my Business Loft clients I either re-tweet it or engage in a dialogue with them. Only once or twice a day do I ‘push’ a message out about my Loft Blog or something going on at The Business Loft. I finally understand that it is all about developing new online friendships and providing information that others find useful, interesting and engaging. Content is King!

Managing this level of activity will soon become too time consuming and so I am about to explore the dashboard TweetDeck. This will help me schedule my tweets, stream my messages and look for relevant messages to re-tweet. Having previously used Houtsuite I am well aware of how useful and time saving dashboards such as this are. I have decided to give TweetDeck a try as it only focusses on Twitter feeds and is owned by Google so is more effective for SEO.

How has it Worked?

So what is the result of this change of heart and more skilful use of Twitter? Firstly, in only 4 weeks, and 350 tweets, my following is 199 and steadily rising. I now have 7 people with over 100,000 genuine followers (two of which have over 200,000 followers) who followed without me initiating the contact. These are the ‘influencers’ who are vital to my developing network of contacts because when they re-tweet my tweets, my following expands.

As for the development of The Loft Blog, since starting my Twitter campaign the opening rate has gone up from 32.8% to 45.9% where the industry average is 17.1%. Twitter is one of the main tools I use to publicise my blog, along with Facebook and email marketing.

The synergy that Mark Schaefer talks about in his book The Tao of Twitter is already at work. Having engaged in my first real twitter conversation about social media, with a young marketing assistant, it turns out that he lives in Liverpool. The uncanny coincidence is that it is a city I rarely visit and yet I have a meeting there next month. Needless to say we have arranged a get together to meet in person.

This is the beginning of an exciting journey, for me, into global networking using the power of Twitter. Check in next year to see just where it has taken me!