Successful Blog

Imagine a Blue Sky, Blissful Weekend

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Oh my wow! It’s Friday, again! Already!

What did I do this week? What didn’t I get done? What miracles did I make? What wishes didn’t come? What went right? What went wrong? Who were those cranky people I had to calm down? Who were the ones who gave me such support?

Will I spend my weekend reliving my week over and over?

Is that what time is for. Is that what life is about?

No, no. Not my life.

When I’m in that last five minutes of my life and when I’m in the five minutes that come after, I want to be thinking of the time I spent being alive.

I want my life to be about living.

I can imagine a wonderful weekend. I can hang the moon in the daylight sky. I can fill the night with colorful lights and people who have great ideas. I can imagine being with friends who understand that living isn’t always easy, but it’s always about thinking and caring, and remembering to breathe.

I can imagine a blue sky, blissful weekend.

Then I can make it happen.

Liz's Thematic Links Story: Lorelle's Blogging Birthday Quest

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thematic-links

I Promised I Would Write This Story

In response to the Joanna’s Thematic Links Post WritingChallenge, I promised I would use the titles to write a story. Here is the story that I wrote.

Lorelle’s Blogging Birthday Quest

Once upon a time, a sweet young lady called Lorelle set out to celebrate her blog’s birthday. She went on a quest to find her passion. Seeking knowledge, success, and wisdom, Lorelle went to to the lighthouse at SuccessCREEations. There she saw Chris, the wizard, she had met at SOBCon07. Lorelle was sure that he could help.

In her swirling teal green dress that matched the logo on her blog, Lorelle timidly knocked on the lighthouse door. A very tall, but kindly, Chris pulled back the huge and creaky door. He held a Klondike bar as he looked down, down, down to see the young lady in the swirling teal green dress that matched the swirling logo on her blog. She was looking up, up, up at him.

She noticed that her neck was getting a little crick and stepped back a step.

“I’ve decided to take on more — show people real Blog writing with a purpose,” Lorelle said.

Chris questioned whether he should Fan the Flames. He listened as she spoke.

“I’ve done The Recommended Weekly Readings (2007-08-18). Project Management, ” Lorelle said, sounding like a cross between an encyclopedia and a librarian.

“I was just about to do a blog myself,” Chris said. “It’s called ‘Weekly Wrap-up: War on Clutter.’ Would you like to watch? First of course, I have to clean up the clutter.”

Lorelle caught on right away. “You want me to help you clean your lighthouse. No way!!”

“Perhaps, then . . . ” Chris said, thoughtfully. “Frankly Lorelle, I worry about Google and the Privacy Dilemma. We shouldn’t be in the lighthouse alone. Maybe you should go out to play.”

But our little Lorelle was not to be stopped.

Everyone who knows, knows that you don’t get in the way of a determined Lorelle. She crossed her arms across her chest firmly and stamped one foot in a lovely black patent-leather shoe (that looked so elegant with the teal green dress that matched her blog.) “Why go out and Play when you can be Inside Blogging?”

As the two stood on the doorstep of the lighthouse, several bloggers walked by.

“There you go!” Chris said, seeing opportunity. “Hey, Jon!”

Jon and Brad walked over. Jon said, “Yeah, Chris?”

“Lorelle here wants the “How to Best Pitch Bloggers – a Virtual Group Interview” Speech. Are you the guy who does that?”

“Nope,” said Jon. Brad said, “That would be Jan. He’s out showing GP Why Writing a Link Post Should Be Like Planning a Party. I don’t think you’ll be finding him for a while.”

“What do you guys do that’s a cool blogging trick?” Lorelle asked, stomping her other lovely black patent leather shoe that looked so elegant with her teal green dress that swirled in the same color as her blog logo.

Together the two men said, “We know How to read feeds without driving yourself mad.

“I already know that.” Lorelle said.

A woman named Anastasia walked up to offer Lorelle A learning whirlpool.

Lorelle immediately backed off protecting her lovely black patent leather shoes that looked so elegant with her teal green dress that swirled in the same color as her blog logo.

“Error Retrieving What You Wished For! Retry? Y/N?” asked Alina.

“What are you talking about?” Lorelle asked, not at all sure these ladies were talking about blogs.

“Shared Answers – Final Roundup & the Winner” said Yvonne.

“I don’t want my horoscope read,” Lorelle exclaimed. “I just want to be Linking with intention even When writing means spirit spilling.”

“You should rest. After all next week is A New Week. You might feel differently by then.” Chris finally said to Lorelle.

As Chris walked Lorelle back to her blog, the teal green one with the swirly logo down the road — the one that matched the dress that looked so elegant with the lovely black patent leather shoes. The two travelers were passing a tiny blog when they heard a woman’s voice say, I’m just writing to say thanks.

“Who’s that?” Lorelle asked.

“Can’t tell.” Chris said. “It’s either Liz or Joanna. They’re both always saying stuff like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

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A List Becomes 301 Links in Story — Chapter 1

Where Does Your Blog Fit in Your Business?

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Blogs Are Tools, Not the Core Business

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Two days ago, Steve Broback and Teresa Valdez Klein announced that Blog Business Summit Chicago would not be happening after all. In its place they have launched a new blog called Web Community Forum. Steve explains their reasoning this way.

Our conferences have always relied heavily on local participation, and our feeling is that Chicago has been very well served this year by at least two excellent, and very reasonably priced blogger conferences: SOBcon and BlogHer. A third event close on the heels of these other shows is obviously a tough sell. In addition, it’s clear from discussions with local marketers that blogging has normalized and is not the disruptive force it was back in 2004 when we launched the BBS.

I applaud Steve and Teresa for their insight and courage.

I think they’re right. Blogs shouldn’t be the center of what we see anymore.

Where Does Your Blog Fit in Your Business?

In February 2006, I posted that blogs are technology. At the time, I didn’t take the idea as far as I might. But I’ve been thinking about this since SOBCon07. My thought is that we don’t talk about computers, spreadsheets, or pencils the way we talk about blogs. Yet to me, all are tools we use to get our work done.

Unless we charge a subscription, blogs are not our businesses. They help us advertise, communicate, teach, interact, meet with our customers, but they are not our product or service. They are not what we do or sell. A blog is a business support not the business itself.

My point is this:

Just as knowing how to lay bricks, work with wood, paint walls and decorate can make beautiful store, but does not ensure a thriving business. Having a beautiful blog with wonderful content is not having a thriving business either.

The design, the usability, and the words on our blog are merely a vehicle to sell the products, ads, or services that are our real income streams. Knowing how business works is still key.

A great business uses a blog, but is not merely a blog.

So I leave you with these questions.

  1. How would you describe your blog’s place in your business?
  2. If you could get one all-important question answered about your online business what would it be?

Thank you for your answers.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

10 Expert Strategies for Finding Customer Needs

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SIMPLE SALES SERIES

Customers Are the Only Ones Who Count

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Yesterday I wrote a recipe for a product offering that sells. Of course, it really was about paying attention to customers — customers are the only ones who count.

Before we leave the topic, I did some research to offer you the points of view from some experts on the subject.

10 Expert Strategies for Finding Customer Needs

Read to find out how to listen to your customers and how to know when they are right.

  1. pdf 6 Customer Expectations.
    a most readable pdf with solid explanations of how customers think.

  2. video Asking Customers What They Think Has Long-Term Benefits
    The benefits of asking

  3. A Customer Feedback Tip – Are You Asking The Right Questions?
    Well-written article on making sure we know what we’re asking

  4. To Charge Up Customers, Put Customers in Charge
    Uses the great example of Threadless.com an online business.

  5. Create Successful Products by ‘Getting in the Van’
    The benefits of going to where the customers are

  6. Customer Satisfaction Tips Links to 18 articles on the subject of finding out what customers think

  7. Finding Hot Selling Products to Sell
    The basics of supply and demand

  8. Successful products through observation
    Why simply watching ourselves and our customers is valid too.

  9. Tips for e-mail marketing in a spam-filled world
    Once you have a list of customers hw you might use it to ask them what they think.

  10. How to Find High-Demand Products That Sell Like Hotcakes
    Some nontraditional places to research online

Now take a look at the products you own. What thinking made you buy them?

How will that help you decide what you offer?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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Storytell Your Life So You Never Forget What You're About

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I've been thinking . . .

about stories.

I’m remembering a song from my childhood.

“Tell me a story. Tell me a story.
You promised me. You said you would.
You gotta give in, ’cause I’ve been good.
Tell me a story, and then I’ll go to bed.”

The best were the stories my dad told about his life. I’ll never forget those. . . .

My friends used to say that no matter how bad things got, the experience was worth it, if we ended up with a story to tell. That thinking helped us turn the most unpleasant happenings into adventures and quests.

We would sit and swap stories while sipping wine, listening to music, and letting candles burn to set the mood. That wasn’t the only time we told stories though.

Stories were the way that we told each other where we had been and who we were.

As we got to know each other, it seems that we could hardly get near one another without telling a tale of an event in our lives. In the car, on the phone, we were constantly sharing a piece of an epic — all detailed and filled with conversation and setting — as if we were relating a scene from “on the road” movie we had seen at the local theater.

Stories of our lives were how we figured out what was going on.

We don’t do that as much now.

Now the information seems to come fast. The stories are shorter — less detailed, more factual. We relate data. The stories we try to tell aren’t as delicious as they once were. We don’t savor them anymore.

I vote that we slow down and start storytelling our lives again. I promise that if you tell a story rich with the wonder of living, I’ll be here alive with anticipation, ready to listen. Our stories are worth every second we take to pass them on.

The real ones are the best, even the real ones that only happened in our heads.

Let’s storytell our lives so we never forget who we are and what we are about.

Liz's Signature

The Mic Is On: We're Talking About Hippies!

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

Hippies: Then and Now . . .

Here’s a few ideas to get us started:

  • Tie dyed shirts
  • Bell-bottom jeans
  • Kids with names like “MoonBeam”
  • Hippie transportation
Hippie Bus

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring links about hippies to share!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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