Successful Blog

Karen Lynch Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Karen there?

BAD Blogger Button

Karen Lynch answered the phone and immediately we were talking about her husband, her 3 kids, and her cat. It seems that she has a special family to share her life, and she’s pretty proud of them. She’s also the kind that you can tell right away that they’re pretty proud of her as well.

Karen has a blog for breast cancer survivors, and she is a survivor herself. She spends time on the cancer blog sharing informtion and her story so others can move forward. Karen’s also a writer and a journalist. She has writer’s blog as well. Over there, she writes about her writing work and related writing subjects.

I asked Karen where her life had taken her. She said that she’s been writing since grade school. We talked a bit about that. She told me that she started journaling as a teen and did creative writing, during and after that. Karen said that even when she had a coporate marketing job she was still writing. I knew what she meant.

Karen said that she left the marketing job for a writing life — magazine writing to be exact. She talked about when she would know she was a writer and her definition of success. Then I told her mine.

I could tell that magazine writing is her passion. Possibly the easiest way for me to tell it was her calling was that I tried to talk her out of it, told her all of the reasons not to like it; gave her the pitch about everything wrong with writing for magazines . . . and Karen answered simply that she had decided that was what she wanted to do. She would make the big glossy magazine article happen. I have no doubt about that.

I’m usually quite convincing. Karen must be quite sure of where she is going.

I like that about her. I also like her laugh, her sense of humor, and a whole lot more.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

I want to be an anpproachable resource who says to new writers that we can walk the walk together. — Karen Lynch

Stop by Karen’s Blog, A Writer’s Blog, and say hi!

Thanks, Karen, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

A Question about Blogging in January

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Strange Behavior

It’s not you, It’s not the quality of your posts. Its the U.S. winter. It happened last year. From what I read it happened the year before too.

Still it seems strange behavior.

Why do you suppose that in January and February stats act silly and bloggers, as a group, seem unpredictable?

Blogging seems like it should be a perfect winter sport.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

One 12-Step Process Model . . . So Many Uses

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What Process Is it?

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

This is so cool. I was thinking about the processes I follow this weekend. I figured out something you probably already know. The process I outlined in the post called One 12-Step Process . . . What Process Is This? is all of these:

  • The writing process as we teach it in school.
  • A great process for testing a concept.
  • A process to build a brand yourself or your business.
  • A process to follow for planning a career path or writing a business.

I didn’t realize how these endeavors were in so many ways alike.

It’s amazing what one process model can do.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think I can help with your writing or your business, check out the Perfect Virtual Manager on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Related
One 12-Step Process . . . What Process Is This?
Critical Skill 6A: Five Tools for Finding Faulty Assumptions
Critical Skill4: Part 3-A Virtual Process
Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process

One 12-Step Process . . . What Process Is This?

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Complex Activities Need Process

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

When we use a process to structure our thinking, we provide strategy with a safety net. Here’s one 12-step process. Can you name the effort, action, or project that it describes?

  1. Find your big idea — one that uniquely fits you.
  2. Narrow your focus so that you can be more effective.
  3. Organize your thoughts.
  4. Make a plan.
  5. Ask for feedback from folks with more experience.
  6. Adjust your plan in response, as you see fit.
  7. Execute your plan. Let the word out.
  8. Celebrate your accomplishment.
  9. Listen for feedback from folks who find out.
  10. Use the feedback to make more revisions.
  11. Spread the word about the new and improved version.
  12. Celebrate again, but keep testing, listening for feedback, and adjusting. Know that you’ll never be fully finished.

It goes without saying that you can’t develop my plan, and I can’t develop yours.

What process is this? Did I miss any critical steps?

–Me “Liz” Strauss
If you think I can help with your writing or your business, check out the Perfect Virtual Manager on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Related
Are You a Freelancer or a Solo Entrepreneur? Use Guy Kawasaki’s Mantra as He Meant
Critical Skill 6A: Five Tools for Finding Faulty Assumptions
Critical Skill4: Part 3-A Virtual Process
Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process

Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: Pixel Ruler

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Need to measure graphics? Here’s a great tool . . .

Great Find: Pixel Ruler v3.1

Permalink: http://www.mioplanet.com/products/pixelruler/index.htm

Target Audience: All Windows users

Content: This week I want to tell you about a tool I use a lot. It’s a virtual ruler for your desktop that you can use to measure pixels. What are pixels? They are the tiny colored squares that make up a web page. It helps to communicate with others if you speak the same language.

I also worked in the print world, and it’s an adjustment to switch from thinking about inches to measuring in pixels. So I looked for help. There’s plenty of tools out there, but this one works great, the price is right, and it’s simple. Click the screen shot to take you there.

Here are three things I like about Pixel Ruler:

  • It’s handy for reading large tables and spreadsheets.
  • You can change the color of the skin.
  • It’s free.

The next time someone asks you the size of a banner or graphic, use a ruler that floats on your screen. Keep a shortcut to Pixel Ruler handy so you can open it quickly. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned… next week is another tool that’s free!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

Related articles:
Great Graphic Find: SnagIt
Great Graphic Find: Paint.NET
Great Graphic Find: Photoshop Elements

Change the World: Personal Service Counts

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Hey, Scot, How Can We Change the World?

Scot Herrick has been a friend of so many in so many ways for so long. He has a natural sense of people and how they work together. Scot also pairs this sensibility with a business view that brings a well-rounded, real-world focus.

When Scot sent a post for adding his voice to this series, I knew that I would use it — even before I read it. I knew that Scot would offer a work of substance and value, a practical, personal way that we might change the world. I wasn’t wrong about that.

Change the World: Personal Service Counts

Guest Writer: Scot Herrick

Change the World!

Have you noticed the large increase in self-service options available to you? Sometimes the only option?

There’s a reason for that, you know. Self-service is the least cost option available for companies to provide you service. That’s because it is your time spent searching for answers and a small group of people pumping possible answers into a database to present to you when you check things out online.

Now, I like doing business online. Usually, the process around purchasing or servicing or finding out about stuff is pretty straight-forward and now almost standard between sites. For example, I’d much rather order online than go to a retail store and buy something or call someone up and order something.

Most of the time.

I’d contend that we live in a self-service planet – but we need to live in a service-rich world, one where self-service is merely an option to all different kinds of service levels.

After researching products on self service sites, for example, I walked into a retail PC store to buy a high-end laptop PC and spent an hour trying to get an answer or two from a salesperson, who was one in name only. I wanted to spend the money. I couldn’t because I couldn’t get a tiny bit of professional knowledge and service about what I was asking.

I contrast that with the same self-service information, moving up the service chain by calling a professional salesperson 1800 miles away the next day who supplemented an online ordering site, having a good 15-minute conversation about my computer needs and mutually determining what fit the best for those needs with the products they offered. I then confidently ordered a laptop that met them – for about $300 more than the one I was trying to buy in the retail store.

The entire service chain – from self-service, to personal service, to fulfillment of an order, to servicing the order – counts as part of your service experience. Have anything fail in the service chain and you are left with that bitter feeling of not getting what you needed.

It’s not hard to be of service to others: simply listen to the other person and think through the fit of your products and services based upon the other person’s point of view. Not having a service that meets the specific needs of a person is a legitimate answer. Referring another who can provide the service means your person will remember you — who referred well and received no gain. The person you referred to will remember you as well.

This is true whether you work for a large corporation, are a self-employed home worker, or helping your friends.

People looking for help remember professional, expert people who helped them – not systems, not databases, not knowledgebases, not tools, and not the Internet. People remember great people.

Self service can be the lowest cost service option. But lowest cost doesn’t figure in the price paid for not offering great, professional service.

Help others by providing personal service. We can change the world if we do.

Scot Herrick writes at Cube Rules: Career Management for Cubicle Warriors

Thank you, Scot, for showing us how.
We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.