Answering Questions with Questions: A Walk in the Snow

It was Fall, 2015. I’d been making a real effort to more clearly identify my list of “needs and wants.” I finally had figured out why I needed to make this list. It wasn’t easy.  My first attempt got an F from my counselor: Apparently “wanting my loved ones to be healthy and happy” didn’t quality as a need or a want for ME. (Who knew?!)

At the end of the calendar year I had finally assembled my starter list.  Still, I wasn’t sure I actually had done it right. [bctt tweet=”It takes a lot of work, I’ve discovered, to dispel the notion of having wants and needs as being selfish.”] Instilled at a young age by well-meaning parents from a very different generation, it took a very persistent counsellor and a strong support network of friends and family to encourage me past the front gate of self-worthiness. It was new for me to see a difference between self care and selfishness.

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The Pink Notebook Project is Born

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I was standing in the bookstore looking at the three words embossed on the pale pink notebook cover: Dwell in possibility.

I loved everything about this notebook, from its ballerina-pink cover (which reminded me of my daughter Lucy’s tights as a little girl-dancer many years ago); to its embossed gold message from one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson, to its subtly lined pages.

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10 Books That Were Better Than Their Movies, & One That Wasn’t

It’s hard to compare movies and books. They’re both telling stories, but one has to harness the power of descriptive language, while the other also equips visuals, music, actors, and special effects. Somehow books often prevail, either with rich story, or because the movie just couldn’t hack it.

Here, in no particular order, are 10 books that outshone their movie counterparts and one that didn’t.

[SPOILER ALERT]

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Venn Zen: Be One with Your Audience

I was mightily inspired recently by one of our authorpreneur clients who tested us on our theory of building an Audience Avatar. (I love it when they do that! It’s what keeps us on our toes.) I’ll get to that test in a moment, but first I want to share with you the two-phase process we go through. Step one was to have her coach (me, in this case) interview her as if she was one person at the centre of the most likely audience for her content.

I asked her to envision this person, give her a name, and describe her demographic characteristics. “How old are you?” I asked. “Where do you work? Are you married? Do you have kids?” We went on like this for about a half hour, exploring her Avatar’s life—her beliefs and behaviours, as well as spending, reading and communication habits. We dove into her key influencers, and discussed her hopes, dreams and fears.

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ABCs of Crowdfunding: L is for Launch

Everyone knows (or should know by now) that a minimum of 30% of your crowdfunding goal comes from those closest to you. From your peeps (ie. friends and family, the soccer team, the fellowship group, the gang at work).

The most successful campaigns have that in the can before they ever go live. Those savvy campaigners view the launch as something that happens in stages — a piece of the crowdfunding puzzle — definitely not just on campaign opening day.

Saturn V

You might define the launch period as having three distinct stages, just like the famous Saturn V rocket that launched all Apollo space missions in the US between 1966-73.

Stage I – Lift-Off: The Key Allies Launch

Think of anyone/everyone who might answer the call to do at least one of three things for you: (1) be a campaign gossiper (by that, I mean, everything you tell them about the campaign from now on, they promise to tell everyone they know); (2) be a campaign contributor; (3) be a campaign volunteer. Read More

FreshVoice’s Great Content Map: Part 3: Text Signposts

In the third post in our series based on Indie’s Great Content Map, we focus on the ways in which you can help your content seekers stay on course as they progress through your blog post.

In Part 1, we presented the concept of the map, and in Part 2,  Be the Captain, we discussed ways to brand your content so your travelers know who’s at the helm.

Once readers know who’s manning the ship, there are some key tools you can use as text signposts to get them and keep them on the path and eager for their next steps. Let’s look at three of the most common and examine why they work so well.

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