Marketing Yourself While Marketing Others

Among bloggers, we know to get your name out there you have to start your own blog. To make that blog a success, you have to write every day. EVERY DAY! And it's the truth.

Have I managed to pull this off? No. For me, it's just not realistic to put aside time for my own blog every day. I'm a single mother, and of my own choosing I do not work on the weekends. My work hours are M-F 8ish to 4ish. That's it. At the end of the day, I'm doing all this for him, to give him a life, so when he's with me I'm mom and no one else.

Freelancers and small businesses alike have this very same problem. How do you make time to market yourself when you're time is consumed working for your clients/customers? I still have no answer for this. The best I can come up with is do what you can when you can.

I've been swamped the past week and a half, a very good problem to have, and I just haven't gotten to it. Today I started early, so today I'm writing a bit for myself before diving into client work.

I also make it a point to not overly promise anything. I pad my deadlines with clients so I have wiggle room for unexpected occurrences and pleasant surprises for them when I finish something early. This helps create time to put into my own writing and marketing myself.

Fellow freelancers, if ever I find the perfect answer to this conundrum, I will share it with the world. Until then, this is all I got. Don't give up. When you've slipped away from your own work for a while don't shelve it. Get back to it and revive it. And for the small businesses, hire a freelancer like me to help. We'll be the first to sacrifice our own marketing to make time for yours.

Update on the 20 minute challenge: Days 1 - 3 were good. I saw the results I was expecting, more energy and productivity. My breaks were spent doing yoga, jumping jacks, chores, or I'd get up and run a quick errand. Days 4 - 7 I was so busy I completely forgot about the challenge. I resumed it today and for my first break practiced doing a hand stand. Only took me about five times before I was able to get my feet up over my head.

Accepting The Process

For a long time, I imagined to be successful as a writer, artist, designer, architect, etc., one had to have infinite focus and be able to concentrate for hours on end. I imagined they were all Michelangelo who was known to spend days working without stopping for food or sleep.

I was wrong! I am a writer. Just because I have an attention span problem and I can't sit still for longer than twenty seconds at time, makes me no less a writer than the person who does become so engrossed in their work they need an alarm bell to ring so they remember to stop for food.

I've been frustrated with myself for a long time about how I write. In school I fretted and worried over every paper thinking I was never going to get them done. That I was doing them wrong. So of course I was going to fail right? All because I rarely sat down and finished the paper in one go. If I was a good writer shouldn't I be able to just write? Shouldn't a one thousand word research paper just roll off the fingers and onto the page?

Nowadays, I still write in chunks. I still start something one day, walk away, sleep on it, and finish it another day. I still start something over one, two, three, four, sometimes five times before finding a direction that leads me to a finished product. I still get up mid-sentence sometimes and walk away from the computer because I thought of something I need to do and I don't want it nagging me at the back of my mind while I'm trying to focus.

Sometimes I get up and clean my house, wash the dishes, fix my makeup, or run an errand just so I can let thoughts roll around in my head for a while. It's like I'm trying to put everything into words all at once and I need to breath for a minute to reassess what needs to be said. I used to think I was too easily distracted and I'd never make it if I couldn't focus better. I tried time and time again to force myself to sit at my desk and not get up for anything.

Then, I embraced all of this as part of my process.

I have no idea how other writers work. No clue if Emily Brontë, Jane Austen, or J.K. Rowling sat (sit in the case of J.K. Rowling) for extended periods of time furiously penning their epic stories losing all sense of reality, never becoming distracted by anything. I haven't the faintest idea if the rough draft of Wuthering Heights or Pride and Prejudice or Harry Potter were as golden as the copies that made it to print.

What I do know, is my process is mine, and it works for me. It may make for a longer slower process than some writers since I seem to need to really consider what I'm writing about before I begin, but it's me.

That's not to say there isn't always room for a little bit of experimentation and improvement. They say the maximum amount of time our brains can stay focused on any one thing is twenty minutes. So I'm running a little test on myself over the next few weeks. I'm setting my timer for 20:00 minutes all day long. Every time the timer goes off I get up from my desk and walk away. I'll stretch, do Yoga, wash those pesky dishes, whatever, just something to get me away from my desk for a minute or two.

I'm interested in answering two questions: Does this help me stay more focused for the twenty minutes I'm at the desk? And, does this improve my energy throughout the day?

I'll get back to you on my findings.

The Lessons We Learn From Mistakes

I'm not sure if I made some blunderous mistakes yesterday, or handled myself well in a panic situation. It all depends on how you look at the events that occurred. I'll take you through it:

I subscribe to AppSumo which sends me email notifications about deals on software and other web based packages. For instance, I received a year of WorkFlowy Pro for a year by clicking on the deal in an email they sent. Yesterday the deal was for a trio of MacPaw software designed to help clean up space and delete duplicate files on my Mac for only $25. I read the reviews and didn't find anything dodgy.

My laptop is my livelihood, and I spent a lot of money earlier this year upgrading to a newer model, so I want to protect it as best I can. Therefore, I felt like I was making a wise investment when I made the purchase.

I still can't say it was this software that did it, because the computer has always been a little bit buggy. Nothing to be alarmed about which is why I've never taken it in, especially since all Apple products seem to come with some quirks these days. My iPhone screen chooses to stop working sometimes, I regularly have to turn it off and turn it back on when certain applications just don't want to open, and Siri talks to herself on occasion.

But, when I couldn't empty my trash because applications were "still running," I went to do what I normally do which is restart the computer. However, this time I thought to myself, it's been a long time since you shut it down all the way, you should go ahead and do that.

So I shut it down and proceeded to clean my home/office. When sat down at the computer to start it back up, it did nothing. No response. I held the button for two seconds. I held the button for ten seconds. I tapped it quickly. I shut the computer and opened it back up again. Held for thirty seconds. Nothing.

I felt the panic begin to rise. I often go immediately into crisis mode when I think my computer isn't going to start up again. These babies are expensive, the genius bar takes forever before you get to speak to someone, and this always happens when I have something due very soon. I've been through this enough now though to know panicking is not the way to fix the problem. There was nothing I could do but contact Apple support.

So I Googled the number on my phone and hit the call button. Someone answered right away. An actual human being! When does that ever happen? I started to remind myself this is why we spend so much on these Apple products, because they come with awesome bonuses like live humans answering their phones.

As I'm explaining the problem to the technician on the phone, my computer starts up. By itself. I tell him this and he starts instructing me to click this, click that, read me this, does it say that, and before I know it he's remote assisting me. We look up my serial number and see my over the phone Apple support warranty period has ended, and that's when my heart dropped.

And here it goes. The sales pitch. This is when I realize I'm not even speaking to an Apple support tech, I'm speaking to a representative from a third party support company who specializes in Apple products (so much for thinking Apple has amazing customer service). This is also when I remember, didn't I buy that warranty plan from Best Buy when I bought the computer?

I looked at the time and I had two hours left of my working day. The Geek Squad is great, don't get me wrong, but I've know a few too many people who walked away with their devices "fixed" while in the store only to get home and find them not working again. Plus, waiting in their line isn't any better than the Apple Genius Bar.

No. There was to be no hanging up and driving all the way to Best Buy to re-explain what was happening and run the risk of hours spent in their store. I needed to make sure this computer didn't crash and I needed it fixed now! So I signed up for the plan. Now I get one year of 24/7 over the phone technical support on up to 4 Apple devices. Something I'll probably need again 366 days from yesterday when I'll have to pay another $120 to get it.

Where did I go wrong? Was it downloading the software yesterday morning? Or, was it when I chose to try calling for support instead of making use of the plan I'd already paid for?

Or, did I go wrong at all? Perhaps the problem with the computer had nothing to do with me and the results were a blessing in disguise? There was a time when what happened yesterday would've sent me into a complete panic and instead, I kept my head. Sure, I spent more money than I meant to, but I saved on time. Now you could say I'm doubly covered. I've got phone support for minor software problems and live support at Best Buy for major hardware problems.

Working alone now, I can no longer look over the top of my desk to the technical director and ask for his help when things go awry with my computer. No, I have to find the solutions myself. I have no idea if these solutions were the right ones, but if they weren't I'll know that for next time.

The lesson for now: trust your gut and learn to rely on yourself. I had a bad feeling about that software even after reading the reviews and yet I wanted to believe it was a good thing so I bought it anyway. Next time, unless I need it and it comes highly recommended to me by sources I trust, I'm not buying it. And, even though I called someone else to fix the computer yesterday, that was the right solution for the problem at hand. At the very least I feel doubly insured I will have someone to call again in the future if I need help.

The Learning Hour

I do not claim to be an expert in anything. Believing you already know it all closes the mind. Closed minded people cease to grow. I want to grow every day. I want to learn something new every day.

It's one of my favorite aspects of managing social media accounts. Every client I create and share content for provides opportunities to research and learn something new. Often these are topics I would never think to search out for myself.

For instance, when I have a need to discuss air conditioning repair or renovations around my home, I know the process, materials, and jargon due to my experience managing content for clients in those industries. This eliminates a lot of miscommunication, and often puts the technicians and contractors at ease when they realize I come to them more informed than most. They begin to treat me like a fellow rather than a customer which is how I prefer to conduct business.

I realized a long time ago I will always be a know-a-little-about-a-lot kinda gal, and choosing to pursue a career in content marketing and social media has made me embrace it. It serves me well that not only do I know a little something about many things, but I still want to learn more things about everything. What I already know gives me talking points when I meet almost anyone. Learning more will only give me more.

But I have to remember I need to continue learning about what I do as well! If I'm only ever learning about my clients' industries, I will fall behind in my own. So I instituted a "Learning Hour" in my day. The goal is for the last hour of my work day, every day, I dedicate one hour to reading and researching marketing and business trends. This way, when I walk into a meeting with you, I'm walking in with knowledge about your business and mine!

Always search for something new to learn. Keep an open mind for the lessons life throws at you. Grow with them all.

I've Gone All A-Twitter

People are often surprised by my personal lack of social media presence. After all, what kind of social media manager am I if I'm not baring all on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all day? My answer to that, I'm the kind of social media manager who reserves her time for sharing her client's content on social media. When that's all said and done, there's not a lot of time left for personal sharing.

I approach my personal social media much in the way I tell my clients to. Use the networks that make the most sense for you. If you'd like to read more about my social media philosophy for small businesses click here.

Up to now, I've put all my personal emphasis into my Instagram account. I'm a visual person who loves photography, so of course I love it. Photography is the art of telling stories through images and social media is about connecting and sharing. Who wouldn't love a gateway for sharing stories in such a compelling and visual way? And for my personal sharing and connecting, Instagram is my favorite.

So, why have I finally decided to join Twitter? Well, because Twitter has tremendous value in sharing news quickly and succinctly. I now have a need to share my news and I need to keep in the know about what's happening around me. Period. As I've already mentioned in my installment about Tools Of The Trade, I will use all the tools I need to get a job done.

I'm also in the process of doing exactly what I tell all my clients to do when first starting out. I am finding which networks are best for me. That means keeping an open mind and trying them all. The prospect of one more network, one more account, one more news feed, and one more message inbox to manage is daunting, but I'm excited to dive in and see what I can make of it. We never know until we try, and we shouldn't rule something out until we know.

The Way Of Working That Works For You

I learned a lot in college, as is the point of attending. While in school I learned I'm passionate about history and art, something I knew I had faint interest in when entering, but had no idea just how deep that fascination went. I learned how to develop film and print photos in the darkroom, and how to sculpt a vase with ceramic clay. My most important skills acquired from my years in the classroom: research, analyzing that research, and then writing about it.

It's those skills that transfer well into a marketing career. After all, marketing is researching a business and their demographic, analyzing that information, and putting together a plan with it. Since I'm a content marketer mostly, the writing about the information comes in handy too.

However, it was not college where I learned most about life. That I learned from motherhood. And from freelancing I'm learning the most about myself.

When you're teaching someone else how to navigate through life, you learn a heck of a lot about it. You find yourself teaching your son, "People who say 'I can't' never get anything done. Say you can!" "Never give up. Keep trying! If the first thing you try doesn't work, try again in a new way until you get there." "One step at a time!" As I'm saying this to him learning to pedal his bicycle or tie his shoe, I'm realizing I need to listen to these words as much as he does.

Freelancing, working from home, and being a single mom are a daily exercise in juggling my way through life. This juggling has taught me more about myself than I ever realized I didn't know. Who knew all these years I'd been living life the way I thought I should rather than in a way that works for me and my personality.

For instance, I hate being chained to a desk (hence quitting the office job to work for myself from home) and at the same time I thrive on having structured routine to my day. Because of this, I get up every morning and make breakfast, make coffee, get dressed, and drive my son to day care just as if I were off to an office where I'd punch a clock. Keeping set working hours, dressing for work, working from my desk instead of the couch, all keep a semblance of structure to the day, and yet I'm not being restricted.

When I do work from home I sit at my desk, but I don't work from home every day. Something else I've learned to accept and incorporate into my day is the fact I'm highly extroverted. Kinda odd an extrovert wouldn't love working in an office where they're surrounded by people right? Well, here I am, the example of an extrovert who likes to work for herself by herself.

The truth is, freelancing is much better for my extroverted-ness than office life was. I love meeting new people as much as being around familiar faces. Working from various coffee houses around town gives me those opportunities to meet new people, and being mobile allows me to meet my clients in friendlier more comfortable settings. All the while, the drama of office relationships aren't a bother and the pressure of meeting rooms and presentation materials are almost non existent.

The point I'm trying to get at, and I'll just come out and say, is the only thing we should be doing is finding the way of working that works for us. I had no idea when I graduated college I'd be better off freelancing than being on payroll. When I had my son I started getting ideas about working from home so I could have flexibility to spend more time with him. Now I've made it happen and I've realized this is the right working style for me.

If you're not already working in a way that's best for you, then I insist, meet yourself and accept yourself so you can be yourself. It's the only way to be.

Tools Of The Trade

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. At my core, I'm a traditionalist. I still subscribe to the newspaper. Not the digital newspaper I can check on my phone, but the one printed on paper and delivered to my driveway before the crack of dawn. I buy books printed on paper, and more than that, I buy them from a brick and mortar store. CD's are a thing of the past for most people. I, on the other hand, prefer afternoons spent browsing the local music store's shelves and purchasing a tangible product complete with album art to giving iTunes the same amount of money for something I can't hold in my hand.

Should I mention my car is a 90's model and I actually keep a stock of cassettes in my glovebox to play in the tape deck occasionally? Or, my my collection of vinyl albums? What about the typewriters I pull out at times to type up a letter to my dad that I then put in an envelope and mail via the US Post Office?

Knowing all this about me, it could be suspected that I am a rejector of anything new. And, at one time, this may have been true. But when I have days like yesterday, working from the front seat of a pickup truck at a client's job site, I'm eternally thankful of the amazing technology we have at our finger tips.

Yesterday, I had a client who requested my presence in a series of meetings over the course of the day. Meanwhile I also had content deadlines to meet for another client. I got it done. From the truck, from the Cuban sandwich place we stopped at for lunch, and from the lobby of a luxury resort complex. Using my iPhone as a hotspot and my notebook for times in between laptop accessible locations, I made it happen.

I'm still true to my traditional side. While I tote my laptop with me everywhere, and I'm almost always found with my iPhone in front of my face, I have a traditional calendar in which I actually pencil appointments, and I take all project notes by hand. I've tried countless notes and task list organizer apps, and I've found them lacking when compared to my handy dandy Levenger notebook I carry with me always.

I use the tools that work best for me and my style of freelancing (which sometimes involves working on the run). This blend of analog and digital is what it takes to make my workday work for me. Use the tools that make sense for you, not tools you think you should use because your boss tells you to, or it's what your friends use, or you just bought that fancy laptop so you feel you need to keep everything on there. No, use what works for you.

Socializing v. Networking

I don't call myself a social butterfly for just any reason. I love to socialize and meet new people. I find you almost always learn something you didn't previously know when you meet someone new.

Oh, you didn't know there was a Bob's Bagel Mart on Orange? Oh yeah, we go there all the time. Fantastic little bagel shop has the best coffee!

Or,

If you over boil the rigatoni a bit and then layer it with ricotta cheese in a pan, cover it with mozzarella, and bake it for a while you have a tasty Italian dish similar to Lasagna, but a little bit different.

As much as I love to socialize, as much as I love to meet new people and make new connections, I'm as nervous as the next gal when walking into a networking event. Networking events are a whole different ballgame from meeting people in a social environment. These events are designed specifically to bring about people who do not currently know each other in order for them to meet one another. Therefore, you have an event coordinated specifically for a bunch of strangers with the sole purpose of meet, greet, talk! It all feels very forced.

So what is the difference between a room full of strangers at a networking meeting versus a bunch of strangers in a pool room? Why is it I have no issue striking up conversation with the people at the pool table next to me and yet my rare, but still very much real, social anxiety kicks in at the door of the local social media round table meeting?

My theory is that when one meets strangers at a social event, the socialization isn't necessarily expected. It happens naturally. It's what I call organic socialization. At a networking event, it's expected. And not only that, but we as the networkers want nothing more than to present ourselves in the best light. These are those first impression moments, and we want to stand out. I don't know about you, but I immediately become socially awkward when I'm trying really hard not to be socially awkward.

On top of that, while networking events and social events alike bring about people with common grounds, the former usually means the common ground is work. It's what we do for a living, and what we've been talking about all day already. Now we're in a room full of people who are trying to sell their same skills and trying their hardest to outshine everyone else in the room. We all want to leave that memorable impression on the bigwig we just shook hands with.

And what do you talk about after the first five minutes of "Nice to meet you. I'm so-and-so and I do such-and-such for company ABC..."? Occasionally you do meet a person with whom you hit it off, and the conversation typically moves off the topic of work because you've realized you and this person have more in common than paychecks. But when it doesn't, you simply exchange business cards after a slightly awkward silence and move on to the next person.

Now that I've said all that, I still find great value in attending these events. When leaving, I always find that I ended up having a lot of fun. It ordinarily takes me a little while to shake off that odd bout of social anxiety, but once I do, I'm just as sociable here as anywhere else.

The thing about networking is, you're not going to see tremendous career changing results from one event, two events, even a year worth of events possibly. It takes time to build connections. But when you do become someone's go-to person, all that time is worth it. Networking is something we have to work into our modus operandi. Sporadic attendance to opportunities to meet like minded people will mean every time you show up you're a new person in the room.

I'll admit I've been more on the sporadic side in my career so far. I can't attend a lot of them as the babysitter issue is always there for a working single mother. It's difficult sometimes to decide which ones are worth the dollars in child care and more time away from my son, but I think I've let this become an excuse. But no more! I'm making a commitment here for all to see.

I will:
1. Go to at least one networking event a month.
2. Change it up - I'm not going to stick to just advertising and marketing events. I'm going to attend a variety so as to meet more potential clients in addition to fellows in my industry.
3. Be patient and accept that it will take time to build connections and may cost me money to do so.