- Finally have logo but not sure about it; kind of looks like a drag queen (which is fine, but not sure for the businesses)
- Set-up more meetings; attending three next week
- Wrote intense social strategy; very professional proposal = clients
- Have a couple clients locked down; lots more coming in
- Listened to a lot of blues music; mostly old Fleetwood Mac from the Peter Green times
- Wrote startups and incubators; trying to get name out
- Gave a free consultation to a startup focused on changing the healthcare industry with an incredible mobile app
- Blogging (almost) everyday; weekends are a bit harder due to personal commitments
- Killed three flies, who were flying; amazed at my own reflexes
- Weekly goal: attending at least one to two events week; again, trying to meet and greet as much as possible
- Organized our second Girl Geeks Toronto event; looking for new sponsors
- Going to meet up with business associations; doing volunteer work
- Covered NXNE; burnt myself out, and came back to life
- Learned not to give too much free information for a potential client
- Added new elements and CTA on the home page of BLOG QUEEN
- Drank some wine, missed Montreal a bit, woke up rejuvenated
- Kept going and believing
It’s so Simple
“It’s simple.”
“It will be simple.”
“This should be simple.”
In one of my previous jobs I worked with a manager who would always say to us, “It’s simple.” He would never explain what was so simple about our project or task. There were never any details or real discussion – it was just simple.
But, if it’s so simple how come it couldn’t be simply explained?
The problem with telling someone that isn’t knowledgeable about how “simple” the solution works is…you make them feel stupid. So instead of encouraging them and explaining how the solution is simple, you discourage them. Ultimately sabotaging the entire project or person. You turn it from simple to complex.
The term simple in marketing brings a sense of ease. When I talk with clients or friends or new friends at events, the word simple is frequently used. It helps keep everyone calm, and engaged. No one wants to talk about the complex. Or when they do talk about the complex, they get a corky look on their face and feel bad. Especially high-tech complex lingo at Startup events.
The truth is: sometimes things aren’t simple, and that’s okay.
Yes, it’s much better to pitch a simple solution, but what happens when you feel you can’t? Well, you teach yourself how-to. You practice “simple talk”. Use words that others can relate too or provide status quo examples. Because the truth is, when you just say “it’s simple”, without an explanation…it gets interpreted as you don’t actually know what your talking about. As a result, you look stupid (or a bullshitter).
In the digital age where we are surrounded by high-tech toys and high-tech language we long for something simpler; simpler times. Yet, is the longing just us not wanting to learn something new? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Maybe we, as a population, did actually enjoy those traditional times, and are in denial about it.
But it’s probably not that simple.
Week 3: Launch & Place
I’ve launched my business last Monday. It’s an online PR and digital marketing consulting business, BLOG QUEEN. There’s still bits of work that needs to be done. I don’t have a my logo yet, I’m working on the damn website sliders, and I’ve been attending events. On top of making a plan to get out and about more.
The hardest part of it all is getting everything the way I want it. But, I’ll never be 100% satisfied, and this industry is always changing…so maybe not having everything 100% is the only way it has to be. Also, my competition is so high and I’m trying to figure out the best way to take a different approach to marketing my business. Do I want to use memes? Celebrities? I wish I had my logo.
Since I wrote last I’ve covered NXNE, had my Girl Geeks Toronto event, and went to an Extreme Startup Soriee. Also had a potential client meeting. Also had someone get me to layout, in detail, how to approach a certain client’s digital marketing, tell me I was on the project and then give the work to someone else. But, that’s business…right?
Doing too many things at once is never a good idea. While I did want to cover NXNE, looking back now I don’t think I would have done it. Having to cover NXNE put me back a couple of days for getting my business out there. On top of being out and going to numerous shows (which all sounded the same), I also have to write about it. It’s hard to write about events and bands when you’re preoccupied with other things. But I guess it’s hard to write anything you don’t really care about. Oh well, lesson learned.
Pick and choose. Pick and choose. You can’t do it all well.
Our Girl Geeks Toronto launch event well. We had a good turn out of about 50 people, and the speakers where fantastic. One of the highlights was Rachel’s (a Girl Geek) introduction to the launch event. She set it up with complicated pictures, discussing what exactly “is girl geeks about”…what is Girl Geeks about? To me it’s about breaking the stereotype that women in the technology industry only revolve around those who code, create technical projects (apps) or web developers. That’s not true at all. Girl Geeks to me is about bringing together women of all backgrounds who are interested in technology – whether they work directly with it or not.
The Extreme Startup Soriee was packed. What really stood out was the age group. The majority of people were 25-35. Which brings to my point of this blog post…
Finding your own place.
Finding your own place or doing your own thing is hard. Regardless if you’re 12 or 45. Searching out different groups, going to different events, deciding whether these are the people you want to be around or if this is what you want to be doing…it’s hard. At this point I’m still figuring it out. It’s important to find out who you are in a new place. Reinventing yourself to match what you want to do now.
There are times when I ask myself: is this for me? But I quickly shut those ideas down. As someone said last night at the Extreme Startup Soriee, “Failure is not an option.” And it’s true.
At this point I still have lots of work to do, and lots of people to meet. But, it’s all coming together. Slowly, but surely. Just go to keep moving forward.
Week 1 (and some), and What Have I Done?
- Designed business cards
- Order and got business cards
- Wrote personal blog posts
- Found an illustrator, logo being designed
- Met w/ over 6 different entrepreneurs & industry professionals
- Set up more meetings for week two
- Worked on Girl Geeks like a mofo
- Did yoga every day
- Taught myself how to use my own server, FTP, SQL & install WP manually
- Drafted up my own social media & SEO plan
- Tweeted
- Got a potential client
- Researched potential client
- Had dinner with my father & uncle (separate occasions)
- Over thought things & under thought things – planned things until they were just “good things”
- Listen to Harvest Breed on repeat
- Developed my packages & designed layout
- Registered my business
- Wrote all the content for my website
- Read probably around five or six eBooks on social media & content marketing; took lots of notes, looked for opportunities
- Designed social media backgrounds & profiles for Alligator Pear Catering
- Read numerous blog posts from HubSpot, Radian6 and KunoCreative
- Stopped listening to Harvest Breed on repeat; started listening to Parlovr “Holding On To Something” on repeat
- Wrote this list
Trend Read: Which is the True Content Manifesto?
Last weekend I read KunoCreative’s eBook, The Content Marketing Manifesto. Since last weekend I’ve seen other “Content Manifestos” breathe life in internetland. They’re also being shared like wild fire. But, which is the true Manifesto?
Well it depends on who you rely on, and what you want to get out of the Manifesto. Personally, I really liked KunoCreative’s eBook. But that’s just me; you have to make your own decision.
On another note: I love watching trends like this develop. The first thing I always think about is: “Did their competitors go, “!$Xk, why didn’t we think of that?”
Maybe they did. Maybe the didn’t. It honestly comes down to two things, 1) how much your online (and offline) community trusts you, and 2) how shareable your content is.
Either way, here’s three Content Manifestos going around…
KunoCreative – The Only Key You’ll Ever Need for Inbound Marketing Success
SEOmoz - A Manifesto of Content Marketing
And this guy…
Larry Chase - The Content Marketing Manifesto
Interestingly though there’s one problem with KunoCreative’s Manifesto – it’s not very shareable. Sure you can share it on your social network of choice. But, you can’t really integrate it. Sometimes downloading can be annoying too.
When you search Rand Fishkin’s (SEOmoz) Manifesto, it’s everywhere. It’s everywhere because he made it extremely easy to share and integrate. Maybe eBooks aren’t the best way to get your audience excited?
Still think KunoCreative’s has more substance though.
Which do you like best?