Archive for August, 2007
Take time out to read this article on multi-tasking from the American Management Association. Good tips on managing workflow and corralling interruptions.
… it sure was new to me. I ran across this potentially helpful site named Business of Design Online, which defines itself as a site blogging “about the business of design including: starting your own design business (online or off); marketing; dealing with clients; working with printers, photographers, copywriters and other surrounding industries; pretty much anything to help a design business grow”. If you can get past their nickname/acronym (BoDo), it sounds like it could be a great resource. If the first few articles are any indication, it might be a worthwhile place to visit every once in awhile.
A few of us in the group are using eNewsletters to boost our business. Care to elaborate on how you do so? I’ll start: I started the ChronicBabe eNewsletter, Goodie Bag, a little over a year ago, working with my web designer/developer (and group member) Matt Mayes of Stop Time Studio. My goal for the first year was to get more than 1,000 subscribers, and I beat that goal before my deadline - YES! Matt designed it to be girly and friendly, and pack a lot of info into a small space. In fact, he’s gotten some recognition for how great the design is! Why an eNewsletter? There are a few good inexpensive services out there that offer templates, which can get you up and running in no time. Or you can go my route and get a pro to design it for you (a great time-saver!) but either way, keep it fresh, simple, and info-packed. The more free goodies you can offer the better - it raises your perceived value, and reminds readers you’re a reliable resource. And speaking of reliability, if you pledge to publish monthly, you better stick to it! You don’t want ticked-off readers. One of my favorite resources on using eNewsletters to market your business is Alexandria Brown, the Ezine Queen. She’s pretty hard-core, but I recommend signing up for her free ezine, which is full of great tips, and once you’re her subscriber, you get access to lots of free teleseminars on…you guessed it…making your ezine a business-builder.
Unless I’ve missed it, Jenni is being very quiet (not like her!) about the award that chronicbabe.com just won. The site is one of HealthCentral’s Best of 2007 — acknowledging the top web sites and blogs providing
Congrats, Jenni! Well-deserved. We’re super proud of you!
This is nice. Office Depot has a section of their website devoted to “green” office products: Buy Green. I just purchased the Tops Second Nature 100% Recycled writing pads, which have that lovely light grey, speckly color and texture that is typically found in recycled paper (I personally prefer it to smooth, bright white for sketching/notes). It’s an easy step in making your office greener.
There was a thread going on a week or so ago about LinkedIn, so thought this might be of interest. businessPOV has a video of the LinkedIn communications director showing how to do various searches within the program. Worth watching.
When it comes to email, it’s all about the subject line. A clever subject line can get a boring email read, and a dull subject line can put a damper on even the most compelling content. A subject line is also a great place to infuse a bit of humor and individuality (particularly useful when you don’t know the reader all that well). Sometimes a good subject line comes to you like a flash of lightning. And other times you might need a little help to inspire your own genius. My favorites are PhraseFinder and RhymeZone. Phrasefinder describes itself as an archive of the meanings and origins of thousands of phrases, sayings and idioms. I mostly use it as a Pun-finder. Simply enter in a word or two, and the site spits out dozens of related phrases and expressions. Phrasefinder is also a great resource for attention-getting press release headings, catchy slogans, ad copy or any other instance when wordplay is a plus. I often use Phrasefinder in tandem with RhymeZone. To title this blog entry, I entered “pun” into RhymeZone, and it shot out hundreds of rhyming words. Bun, ton, gun, son, fun, begun, outdone. You get the idea. I entered some of those words into Phrasefinder and got a slew of possibilities. Emperor of the Pun. Second to Pun. Girls Just Wanna Have Pun. RhymeZone is free, but Phrasefinder will cost you 28 pounds a year (or about $56). Worth every penny. Pun. And. Done.
Tim Ferriss, author of the much-buzzed-about book The Four Hour Work Week, made a list of 10 common words you should stop using:
I’m not sure why the list leans so heavily toward religion/spirituality/morality — Ferriss seems to be hung up on their definitions being ineffable or hard to explain — but his underlying point is that we should try to avoid leaning on vague or easy language when we could be more specific. This got me thinking about the crutches writers lean on in their work. As an editor, there are certain phrases that bug me simply because they’re examples of lazy writing. Most of them seem to be related to transitioning, which is often hard to do well, so it stands to reason that there’d be a lot of crutches leaned on there. For instance, I find that I all too often read an introduction which serves as backstory to the true subject — and discover that the author has chosen to transition from backstory to story using the phrase “Enter [so-and-so].” I cringe every time I see or hear it. This little phrase’s origins lie in theatrical scripts, in the playwright’s notes to the cast indicating when an actor is to come into a scene. For non-actors, their likely first encounter with “Enter ___” is in Shakespeare’s plays, which nearly everyone reads in school. But since they’re reading it in English class, not Theatre, these stage directions are read as part of the narrative and incorporated into the text, and we assume that since it’s Shakespeare, it must be proper English. It’s not. It’s lazy writing, saving you from having to come up with a more clever segue, which you get away with only because so many of your readers have read Shakespeare, too. What crutches bug you?
Yesterday’s WS Journal had a terrific article on software for web sites that use e-commerce. Personal Journal section, 7/31/07. I’d share the article but I only have a print subscription (wouldn’t you think you could get online search perks if you’re a print subscriber!). If you want to know how sites come up with you may be interested in this ChoiceStream is the software featured (and the company who placed the story, I assume).
Oh, and here’s her Loosetooth.com eNewsletter. She manages to take good care of herself, have a successful career, and exude creativity at every turn - I really admire her sense of style and her commitment to being herself no matter what. Just something to think about! |
