Blog Stats: Addiction or Useful Information?

OK, I’ll admit it. I check my blog stats compulsively and too often. It took me a week of being out of town to realize just how often I checked. And how little difference it made.

You can check your blog six times a day, but it won’t make a difference. The numbers are just a report. And then it hit me–it’s an empty activity that makes us feel informed, up-to-date, and important. Just like checking emails and phone messages. Until you act on them, it doesn’t make a bit of difference.

WordPress gives you daily, weekly and monthly stats. Of course I checked all of them. Here’s the interesting fact: while I was chewing my nails over the rise and fall of daily numbers, the monthly numbers are on a steady rise.

And the follow-up question: what could I do with the time I saved if I didn’t check the stats? Here is my comparative list:
—read 150 more pages of a mystery novel, or
—read a whole issue of Art Calendar or Cloth, Paper, Scissors, two magazines that are connected to my art, or
—write down several ideas in my journal and develop one of them, or
—write another chapter for the book

The point is that compulsive number checking doesn’t help me be a better artist/writer. The others do. Time better spent. Notice the difference between writing a blog and simply compulsively checking the stats. Writing helps me be a better writer. Checking stats does not make me a statiscian. Lesson learned.

Image: www.theoildrum.com

–Quinn McDonald is a writer and certified creativity coach. Oh, and a blogger who is trying to make better use of her time than compulsively checking blog stats. See her work at QuinnCreative.com

Migration

Sun is sinking, the sky no longer blue.
Ragged Vs of geese come in honking, tired
Skidding into the lakes, bumping the water,
searching the grass for dinner.
They look like kitchen appliances,
plugged in by those long black necks.
Startling, suddenly, like a handful of pepper across the sky
come smaller birds in a scatter of speed
and behind them fast, sleek, hungry hawks.

Image: borderland-tours.com
(c) Quinn McDonald, 2007. All rights reserved. Quinn McDonald is a creativity coach, writer and artist. See her work at QuinnCreative.com

Blogs: 8 Ways to Keep Writing Good Stuff

Writing for a blog isn’t hard. Ahhh, writing good articles for a blog is hard. And so is writing good stuff consistently. I’ve read a lot of blogs (and so have you) that start out wonderfully–interesting articles every day. Then it slips to three times a week, then once a week, or once a month, and one time when you open the blog, it’s about what the blogger had for breakfast, then lunch. . .and a sad decline continues.

After I wrote the blog on how to start up, it seemed fair to add one on how to continue. Not everyone is a writer, and not everyone wants a daily writing practice.

1. Pick something you know a lot about. Like to cook? You can go on forever with recipes, cooking tips, cookbook reviews. Car engines, animals, anything you know about can form the foundation of your blog. Check out WordPress (or anyone else’s) “Right Now in Tags” for ideas that people like. In WordPress, the bigger the type, the more people click on the category.

2. Write down your ideas. This sounds really simplistic, but it’s not. You have a great idea, and your attention shifts, and the idea vanishes. The shortest pencil beats the longest memory. A pen, pencil, and an index card, or small spiral notebook will help you remember the idea. So will a small device to record your thoughts. There are expensive pen/recorder combinations, and cheaper ones. Write down the idea when you have it, with enough detail to be able to complete the blog. Write down all the ideas, you don’t have to use them till you need them, and some day you’ll be happy you have a book of ideas.

3. Books, music on the theme. Even if you are a recognized experts, others have great ideas. Feel free to review books, movies, music and collect links to share. People love to explore, and you can help them expand their knowledge by giving them shortcuts to more information.

4. Create a tutorial. People like to participate. Whether you know how to knit, rebuild a car engine, or know a better way to wax skis, have someone take pictures of you doing it and describe it. A tutorial blog is a wonderful thing to people who want to learn by doing. One caution: if you are not an expert at writing instructions, have someone read your blog and follow the steps to make sure it’s clear.

5. Illustrate your idea or story. Pictures and illustrations help others understand how you did something. They also help you keep your writing short. If you are afraid of sitting down and writing 500 words, use pictures or drawings and you will fill your blog with fewer words and great ideas.  Don’t be afraid of sharing the commonplace and ordinary. I once saw pictures of ironing a shirt, and discovered it was easier than what I’d been doing.

6. Interview a friend. Tired of writing on your topic? Interview another expert and use that as a blog. A different voice is always a nice break, and more information is interesting.

7. Have a guest write for you. I’ve found great articles by others and, after asking permission, posted a summary on my blog and linked to the whole article.  Everyone’s happy–you don’t have to reinvent every idea, someone else gets linked to a topic, readers love finding out that you have answers. Ask the person whose blog you are going to summarize. Their work is under copyright, so you can’t “borrow,” take, steal, or quote extensively without permission.

8. Create a list of links. This is quite useful to others. You can spend some time poking around the web, and then run a collection of links on the topic of your choice.  You surf so your readers don’t have to.  You’ll be surprised at what there are a zillion links on. Here’s a page of links to different kinds of pencils. Who knew?

–Quinn McDonald is a writer and certified creativity coach. See her work at QuinnCreative.com (c) 2007 All rights reserved.

Marketing “Opportunity”: Pass

Marketing is an ever-present part of your life if you own your own business. You need to do it most when you are too busy with other clients. If you wait until you aren’t busy, it’s too late.

Marketing means making your business known to potential clients. The more your name is in front of the right audience at the right time, the more likely clients will see it. Notice I did not say, “The more money you will make.” Having a potential client see your work and selling your work are two separate steps.

You can have a billboard visible to 10,000 people a day, but if those 10,000 people don’t need your product or service, you won’t make a dime. You need to have a product or service that fills as need as well as the people who need it. And even then, it takes a while for the connection to spark.

If a jacket is on sale and you buy it just because the price is right, but it matches nothing in your closet and you don’t like it, you will never wear it, no matter how little you paid for it. If the jacket fits well and you like it and it goes with half your wardrobe, you will see the need, and buy it, even if it’s not on sale.

Marketing it about seeing the exact need and filling it.

I get a fair number of calls from people who have “excellent marketing opportunities” for me. They generally involve me doing something for free–donating a piece of my art or offering free life- or creativity coaching.

After they describe in glowing terms how my art will be showcased or my writing will be read, I ask, “how is this a marketing opportunity for me?”
“Well, your work will be seen by important people! That’s like money in the bank!” they say, a touch annoyed that I’m so slow witted as to question this wonderful opportunity.
“Actually, having your work seen is not like money in the bank, or I’d have a lot more money in the bank,” I reply, “A marketing opportunity puts my product in front of people who need the service and who are willing to pay for it. Everyone at this event can love my artwork, but if none of them is in the market for art, it is not a good marketing opportunity.

The same is true of people who ask me to write for them for half my fee, because “it will put your name in front of many important people. If one person pays half my regular rate, and someone discovers how much (or little) that person paid for my services, they will not be happy if I quote them a much higher price. They will want the same deal the first person got. That isn’t an opportunity for me.

Getting clients means more than having my work seen. It means having my work noticed and wanting something similar. If that doesn’t happen at this event, I won’t get any business.
“Well, what do you want?” the pitch person asks.
“I want the mailing list for your organization,” I’ll say, if I think the group contains potential clients.
This is met with a gasp of horror. “I can’t do that, that’s giving you contact to my group.” That always makes me smile, as access is exactly what was promised as a great marketing opportunity. Focusing on the definition of access usually throws cold water on their enthusiasm.

A marketing opportunity is only an opportunity if you, the business owner, see it as one. Giving away your product or service because you want to do a good deed is worthwhile. Having a fleeting second in front of a crowd is not marketing and not an opportunity. It’s charity. And that has a big place in my work. But it’s not marketing.
–Quinn McDonald is a writer, artist and creativity coach. See her work at QuinnCreative.com Bowls: Handmade paper by Quinn McDonald. (c)2007, All rights reserved.

Writing a Blog: 10 Tips to Get Started

When I talk about blogs at a business audience, I get flinty-eyed looks and shrugs. When I add that I think in five years there won’t be any websites as we know them, the world will have converted to blogs, I start to get questions.

Here are some simple tips to help you write a good blog.

1. Use a blog host; it’s easier than to build a blog into your website. A blog host is a company like Blogger, Typepad, or WordPress that lets you create a blog separately from your website. (I’ve listed three. There are many more.) You concentrate on the writing, the blog host concentrates on the formatting, publication and getting you read through RSS feeds.

2. Make it easy for your readers. Choose a blog host that’s easy for you to work with so you can make it easy for your readers to find topics they want to read about. I like WordPress, although I started with Typepad. Some charge, some are free. “Free” is not why I moved to WordPress. I like the choices I get with WordPress. I could help my readers find what they wanted. In addition to a search engine (for topics or words), searching by the ‘most popular posts’ and ‘most recent posts’ as well as by date makes it easy for readers to find what they are interested in. And of course, there are tags and tategories.

3. Have a goal for your blog. Do you want to drive traffic to your website? Vent your spleen? Write on a focused topic? Develop a daily writing, video or photo practice? Having a clear goal helps you know what to post and what to put in a “save for later” file.

4. Post regularly. Your blog has a built-in ping. That means every time you post, it notifies the search engines. The more you post, the more your site gets updated on search engines. A good rule of thumb is to post three times a week.

5. Use images. People like to see an image when they get to a post. A post that is long and dense makes readers skim and miss your meaning. Images provide emotional connection and impact on a blog. Most blogs make posting images from your digital camera or scans very easy.

6. Name your images. When you give your images a title (there is a place for one on WordPress when you upload the image) your title is available for searching, too. Skipping the title, using a number or just calling it “image,” “chart,” or “graph,” doesn’t get searched for as often.

7. Get to the point. Blog rants of 10,000 words aren’t as powerful as 200-300 well-chosen words. Sure, you can write long blog posts, but keep track and see what your readers prefer.

8. Your blog is not private. Even if you password protect it, it will leak into some search engine. If you want to write down your secret, dark, unuttered thoughts, use pencil and paper and lock them in a safe. What goes on your blog may wind up in your employee folder. Don’t want it there? Don’t run it.

9. Say what you mean. Or not. Once you start a blog and it goes out over feeds, your opinion is there for all to see. Sometimes that’s fine. But consider the future: would you want a potential employer to know all this about you? A potential friend? Your mom? Your date (before s/he falls madly in love with you?) If you are going to strip naked (figuratively or literally) in front of the world, you might want to use a pen name. Yes, you are entitled to your opinions. I’m a big believer in the First Amendment. But your potential boss, lover, date, or mother-in-law is also trolling your opinons. There are consequences. It’s good to remember that before you write.

10. Don’t get even. Recently broke up? Angry at your roommate? Don’t dump it all out on your blog. It might feel good for a few minutes or a whole day, but then there is the cleanup. It’s hard to pull back opinions. You might get back together, and then you’ll have ’splainin’ to do, Lucy. And a big, loud, angry rant about someone’s faults often says more about you, your tolerance, your inability to deal well with your anger and your issues than about the person you are writing about.

–Quinn McDonald is a writer, blogger and certified creativity coach. She runs training programs and seminars in writing, presentation skills and journaling. See her work at QuinnCreative.com

Make a Decision

Anne was trying to decide whether to stay in a relationship or go. There were plenty of reasons to leave–she didn’t feel heard, she felt belittled, her boyfriend didn’t want to go for counseling and didn’t want her to go either. On the other hand, she had spent a year in the relationship and had put effort into making it work. Her boyfriend was funny and made her laugh, even at herself.

To stay or to leave? Would leaving seem like giving up? Was she being a quitter instead of someone who worked out problems? Was staying in a bad relationship a sign she didn’t care about herself? Couldn’t admit she had made a mistake and move on?

Anne was tortured with her choices. And she kept piling up more reasons without knowing which direction to take. Watching this was torture. I suggested she might feel comfortable writing Carolyn Hax, who writes the syndicated column, “Tell Me About It” for the Washington Post.

“I should be able to sort this out by myself,” Anne said. “I don’t know how come I can’t make a decision.”

Sometimes making a decision is tough because with the decision comes the consequence. Either staying or leaving brings on a pile of consequences that you choose the instant you make the deicision, and often you are afraid of consequences you don’t know about yet. So you put off the decision, and begin to drown in your own life.

I gave Anne a coin. “Heads you stay, tails you leave,” I said.
“You’re kidding, right?” she said, looking at me as if I were nuts.
“Well, this is the simplest way for you to get to a decision. It takes thinking out of the problem. Let’s see what happens,” I said.

She flipped the coin. Heads. Anne broke into tears. Hurts and agonies months in the making poured out. I handed her a Kleenex. At the end of the sobbing came the sentence, “I can’t stay. I’ll die if I stay.” As soon as she sobbed it out, Anne had her answer. By coming up wiht endless possibibilities and choices, Anne has supressed the answer she already knew. By taking thinking out of the pattern that she had developed, she suddenly collided with her emotions and knew the answer she had been supressing.

Anne left her boyfriend, and although there were many tears and a few hard days and nights, over time she knew the decision had been right. Looking back she saw that a lot of her indecision was rooted in not wanting to change because change made her feel as uncertain as she felt in staying.

It’s not the tossing of the coin that helps you make a decision, but the emotions that follow it. Emotions often inform clear decisions, because they allow you to focus on what is important to you. We often block our values because we are scared of honoring them. The coin toss works, even if you know about its purpose, because it make your own feelings clear to you. Our ability to provide many scenarios of the future blocks a clear view sometimes, and tapping into raw emotions provides the only clear view. A coin toss will put you in touch with what you are hiding from yourself. The coin isn’t leading you, the coin gives you permission to see one decision and gauge your choices instead of balancing one pro with another con.

It clears the way to sorting through the issue at hand instead of the fear of making a decision.

—Quinn McDonald is a life- and creativity coach. She knows that choosing can be as hard as admitting a bad choice. And she loves the thought of the sufi poet and fool, Mullah Nasiruddin, who said, “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” (c) 2007. All rights reserved.

How to Work with Volunteers

Whether you are a volunteer, or have worked with them, it is very different from working in an office, or even as a freelancer, consultant, or contractor.

Because the work world is big, you will sooner or later work with volunteers and face some interesting situations. I spoke with Paul Lagasse, of Active Voice Writing and Editorial Services, a writer who has gathered up some experience with volunteers. Both of us have worked a lot with volunteers and discovered that often we wind up doing the lion’s share of the work.

Here are some tips we came up with (and have put into action) so you can be smarter.

When you work with volunteers, you don’t get to choose your team. But you can help people decide if they want to join your project by being clear in your goals and process. If you are running the show, you can deliberately set up the project or workflow in a way that would discourage some people either from joining outright or from sticking with it for long.

Problem: “Idea people.” Paul defines them as founts of brilliant ideas that other people have to carry out. My experience is with people who say “I want to do the creative part, because that’s fun. Someone else can do the actual work.” That’s a pretty exact quote from about two years ago.

Solution: For every great idea offered, bounce it right back at them: “Great idea, how do you plan on carrying it out and what resources do you need?” The people who don’t respond go away fast. The people who do respond are the self-selected leaders of the group, the people I can count on. This technique is a great separator of strong leaders from people with good ideas who won’t get the work done.

Problem: Too many ideas that keep coming after the work has started, often followed by the assertion, “You can never have too many ideas.”

Solution: Not every idea is a good idea or a usable one. But often, tossing ideas around helps the group come up with better ideas than individuals. Set a clear time for brainstorming. Have a beginning and an ending time. At the brainstorming session, anyone can suggest anything. All ideas are written down. Discussions and explanations are allowed. No one gets to be “devil’s advocate” or you will wind up with one person spitting out ideas like a tennis ball machine, and another person swatting them down. Once the time is up, thank everyone and announce that their ideas will be considered, but the final decision belongs to [a team, an individual]. Then turn all the ideas over to the creative individual or group who gets to use them as fodder without having to choose one specific one.

Problem: Passive aggressive control freaks who want to watch over every action and criticize every decision that isn’t theirs. They often think they not only have the only answer, but the only right way to make it happen.

Solution: Because responsibilities are so fluid and situational ( you ask for volunteers as opposed to assigning duties), no one can build an empire and people have to work cooperatively. Encourage people to talk to each other as much, if not more, than they do to you. They become friends, not rivals. They want to help each other. If you are lucky, they come together as a team.

Problem: People who want to aggrandize the group to their personal agenda or whim.

Solution: Building a group that wants to work together, that sees a goal and has a way to work toward it, cuts through personal agendas. Divide the work into small enough pieces so that one or two people can handle it alone. Then one person can’t get traction over the whole group. Someone driving their own agenda needs a lot of attention and a large group to dominate. Small groups with a definite workplan will squash the chemistry needed for them to flourish.
General tips for success:
* Give people their head and let them charge at full gallop.
* Put people in touch with other people who can make their idea happen.
*Encourage and publicly appreciate people who step up and do.

Working with volunteers can be an amazing, powerful, humbling, and enriching experience. And as a result, you can really enjoy doing something that you never thought you could do. You’re not a boss or a king or a chief, but in your own quiet way you notice you have leadership qualities that can be put to good use.

When people get together to do something, the opportunity shouldn’t be wasted or laden with petty squabbles or personal issues that will kill a good project before it’s done.

—Quinn McDonald is a writer and creativity coach. Paul Lagasse is a writer and model builder.  (c) 2007 All rights reserved.

Freelance Tip: The Value of “No”

When the phone call came from a friend, asking me to help chair a massive meeting, I told her I was too busy to do a good job. “The busiest people do the most work,” she cajoled. Within 15 minutes, I had agreed to take on a job on a committee. No one was hired as the committee head, and people kept acting as if I were running the committee. I hated to back out, so I plugged ahead, doing a bad job.

It gets worse. I had just joined the organization, and many of my colleagues were doing great jobs as committee heads. My agreeing to do the work resulted in my looking disorganized, lazy, and incompetent.

Taking on Too Much Is a Recipe for Failure
During the same time, I was planning a move, doing art shows, planning and developing new training classes, working with coaching clients, running training seminars. It was not unusual to log 125 working hours a week.

I love working hard. But I took on a task I could not possibly do well. Because I didn’t want to say “no” to a friend who needed help, I did a bad job, let people down, and damaged my own reputation.

A few days later, I saw a book called The Power of Positive Choices, by Gail McMeekin. It was the subtitle that interested me: “Adding and Subtracting Your Way to a Great Life.” I picked up the small book and began to page through it.

Find the Idea That Solves A Business Problem
As with most self-help books, I’m happy if I can find one helpful idea. And I did. It was the idea of subtraction. Normally, when my business needs a boost, I add a product or develop another training course or speaking idea. Adding something always results in a lot more work. But more work doesn’t always result in more money.

McMeekin’s book brings up the power of subtraction. “The Power of Subtraction” works. McMeekin says, “When we forcefully say ‘No’ to dysfunctional people, toxic workplaces, limiting beliefs, or unhealthy habits, we open up the space to fill our lives with what we long for.”

Here’s what I dropped immediately:

– Products that demanded a lot of administrative work for a mimimum profit

–Training jobs that paid next to nothing but promised “a great marketing opportunity.” Often the opportunity was not clear or unlikely.

Subtract Time- and Money Drainers
The day I created my “subtraction” list, I got a phone call from a church group who wanted me to run my creativity seminar for less than half of my usual fee. “Our group is really worthy,” the events director said. “And if this one works well, we may be able to afford your full fee in the fall.” I was about to agree–after all, how can I turn down a spiritual group whose only fault is a cash pinch.

Wrong line of thinking. Better line: Could I afford to run the seminar at a loss? And once I taught this course at a loss, could I realistically teach it again at my normal price, which would be more than twice the original church rate? And would the group really come back in the fall and say, “We loved your seminar so much, we will gladly encourage you to charge more than twice as much for this session.” Probably not.

The Power of Subtraction
I turned the seminar down. I kept my business priorities in place, and instead of trying to make her understand, I just kept politely refusing.

Subtracting is a wonderful exercise. Look at what isn’t making money. Instead of pumping money into it, think about the pros and cons of subtracting it. Use the time for marketing your products that are already successful. Often, it’s a quick was to saving time and money.

Visit Quinn McDonald’s website at QuinnCreative.com

Move, Chapter 4: Not Knowing

I’ve written several blogs on “not knowing.” Not knowing is a wonderful way to admit that you don’t have to be in control all the time. Except now that I am trying to organize a move, I hate not knowing. I looooooove control! So I made a list. Controlling people makes lists.

*I don’t know how long it will take to sell the house, how much it will sell for, or how long it will take between contract and sale.
*I have no idea how or when to buy a house there, and make the closings work out. This would be easier if we had a truckload of money and could buy before we sell. But that’s not how it works.
*I don’t know where we will live in the Phoenix area.
*I don’t know how to get the cats from here to there once the house sells.
*I have not the slightest clue on what to take as a bare minimum to stay in someone else’s house. I need to start a business there.
*I don’t know how to make a list of what my husband has to do while I am gone and the house has to look perfect so someone will want to buy it. That list is long, and it’s going to look like I’m nagging, no matter how I write it.
*We’ve shared a car for seven years. I don’t think I can live in Phoenix with just a motorcycle. I’ve thought that problem to death. Cars, even used ones, aren’t cheap.
*I don’t know how to get the plants across the country. My corn plant was a gift from my son 30 years ago. Do I have to ditch it?
*I’m shedding so many things, will I regret that?
*How do I handle bill paying while I’m there and he’s here?

So I made a list of everything I was worried about, things I couldn’t solve, couldn’t figure out, and whose logistics make my head wobble and fall on the floor.

Once the list was made, the whole thing wasn’t so horrible. It turns out I don’t have to keep every worry fresh in my mind. Writing it down helped me quit carrying around a bag of worry. If I have time to worry, I can take a look at the list.

Some things will solve themselves. Others will become clearer when they come closer. Some things, no matter how much I want to, I simply can’t control. So I can give up worry.

Having a “I don’t know” list is actually a good idea. I had no idea it would work as well as it has. I’m still struggling with control, but the worry has slipped to a quieter nag instead of a full-pitch head scream.

The list may get longer, but it will help me cope.

–Image:

–Quinn McDonald is a writer who is moving across the country. She is not in control. But she is using chocolate to cope. (c) 2007. All rights reserved.

Chapter 3: Phoenix in Pictures

I’m moving to Phoenix and made a trip to set up a bank account and address, get a library card, and start making contacts for my writing and training business.

But there was room for a little looking around, too. Here’s some views you don’t often see of the area:

On the left is a sculpture of a bear and her two cubs. It’s a big sculpture, about five feet tall, close to the Mesa Art Center.

The Mesa Art Center is an amazing structure, modern and cool, a perfect fit for the desert. The walls are a mix of glass, concrete, and things that look like sails. In front of the building, there’s a long, low fountain on the corner of E. Main and S. Center Streets.

Every state needs a state fair. Connecticut has the Big E, and Arizona has the Arizona State Fair, complete with rodeo.

Most of it is given over to rides that make me dizzy just to look at them, but the three ferris wheels were huge and brightly lit.

I’m looking forward to the move, and hope to find clients who need a freelance writer and communications trainer. Keep your fingers crossed.

–Quinn McDonald is a writer and trainer. See her work at QuinnCreative.com Images: Quinn McDonald. (c) 2007. All rights reserved.