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How often should you blog?

My plan for July was to publish a new blog post every day in hopes of falling in love with blogging again by the end of the month. But I was head over heels with my blog by day 5. Then I attended the Melanie Duncan workshop in New York (more on that to come) and Devin Duncan reminded me that in blogging less is more.

I do believe there are benefits to challenging yourself to blog daily for a month, which is why the ladies of See Jane Write and I #BlogLikeCrazy every November. Blogging daily can not only help you fall for blogging again but also can also teach you how to make time for blogging.

But there can be a downside, too. I often warn my clients against blogging too much as it can cause burnout, and Devin Duncan reminded me of another reason not to blog daily — people won’t have time to read all your stuff!

Blogging gurus like Derek Halpern follow the 80/20 rule. He believes you should only spend 20 percent of your time creating content and 80 percent marketing it. Therefore, following that rule you should post new content just once a week and spend the rest of the time promoting that post.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to follow that rule. Now that blogging and I are in love again I have so much to say! But I’ve decided I won’t be posting daily this month.

Many lifestyle blogs update three times a week.

How often will I post? I would actually love for you to help me decide.

How often does your favorite blog post new content? Do you actually read most of the posts? Let me know in the comments.

goals lifestyle

My Life List

Today is my half birthday.

Yes, I still celebrate half birthdays at the age of 34.

Usually this is the time of year I evaluate my birthday list — the list of goals I want to accomplish before my next birthday. But when I got ready to do so, I realized I didn’t make a 35 before 35 list this year.

On Sunday my pastor started a new sermon series he’s calling Dream Again. During his message he shared his bucket list. And as he was talking I realized I didn’t have one anymore.

How can a dreamer, a self-proclaimed “goal digger” like me not have a bucket list.

Lately, I’ve been so caught up in my daily to-do lists, I’ve abandoned looking at the big picture.

And so in honor of my half birthday, I’ve written a bucket list or, as I prefer to call it, a life list once again.

The things on my list range from the frivolous to the grave and if you aren’t a writer or entrepreneur you probably won’t find it too interesting. But here goes…

Be a guest on the Melissa Harris-Perry show.

Be a full-time entrepreneur.

Have a gorgeous home office.

Have an office for my business outside of my home.

Have a six-figure launch for one of my programs.

Pay off credit card and student loan debt.

See my byline in Essence.

See my byline in Bust.

See my byline in Glamour.

Speak at BlogHer.

Speak at Blogalicious.

Be featured on a Forbes list.

Write and publish a book on feminism.

Go to New York with my husband.

Travel internationally with my husband.

Fly first class.

Run a full marathon.

Meet Marie Forleo.

Meet Melanie Duncan.

Go to Essence Music Festival.

Attend Black Girls Rock.

Buy myself a Kate Spade bag.

Buy myself a Prada bag.

Hire a personal chef.

Name an Essie nail polish.

Buy a brand new car.

See Priscilla Shirer speak live.

Finally make peace with my spiritual beliefs.

What’s on your life list?

branding See Jane Write

Tips for Your First TV Appearance

From my latest TV appearance. If you’d like to see me in action, you can view the segment here for a limited time.

I always encourage the writers and bloggers I coach to pitch a segment idea to local TV media. And, not to brag or anything but… after using the tips I give them on how to pitch their idea they usually email me saying “I’M GOING TO BE ON TV!” (Click here to check out those tips.)

But about five minutes after sending that email they send another that reads something like this: “OMG! I’M GOING TO BE ON TV! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! I CAN’T DO THIS! I’M FREAKING OUT!”

If you’re a few days away from your first TV appearance and you’re having similar anxious thoughts, here are a few tips to help things go smoothly:

Practice, but not too much. Write down five questions you think a reporter might ask based on the topics you presented in your pitch. Now write down your answers to these questions. (Some TV stations will actually request that you do this and ask that you send your questions and answers to their producers.) Read over what you wrote a few times. Now get your spouse, significant other, best friend or blogging or business buddy to interview you using the questions you wrote, but also get them to throw in a few questions that aren’t on your list so you’ll have practice responding to questions off the cuff. WARNING: Don’t try to memorize every word you’ll say. If you do that you’ll sound too rehearsed and come off as inauthentic.

Choose your outfit the night before. You don’t want to feel rushed and frazzled the morning of your big television debut because you couldn’t figure out what to wear. So be sure you have your entire outfit prepped and ready to go the night before your segment. Not sure what to wear? Bright colors are best, but avoid white. Wear something that makes you feel both comfortable and confident. And remember — you have to look the part to get the role. So if you’re going on TV to give tips to aspiring entrepreneurs because you want to be a business coach, you need to look like you run something! If you’re giving fashion tips, that should be obvious the moment you walk on set and you better be the most stylish person in the room.

Arrive early, but not too early. Leave your home and head to the station early enough that you will be on time even if there’s a wreck on the road and you get stuck in traffic. But don’t get there so early that you have 90 minutes to stew in your nervousness before your segment begins.

Make small talk… or not. I’m an extrovert so talking to other people at the station — whether folks who work there or other people waiting to be interviewed — calms me. But the idea of talking to even more strangers may make you want to puke. If that’s the case, head to the restroom for some alone time before your segment. Figure out what works best for you based on your personality. And if you’re a spiritual person be sure to wake up early enough that you can get in your daily spiritual practice. This will also help you feel more centered and calm.

Forget about the cameras. OK, stop laughing. I know this sounds impossible. But try your best to just pretend you’re having a conversation with the person interviewing you and forget that you’re on TV. Most likely your segment is on something that you’re very passionate about, something you probably talk to people about all the time. Just pretend this is another one of those times when someone has shown interest in this passion of yours and wants to know more because actually that’s exactly what this is!

What tips would you offer to folks preparing for their first TV appearance?

PS – Today I was on a show called Talk of Alabama to promote some upcoming See Jane Write events. Click here to see the segment and if you’re in Birmingham I hope you’ll join us for the Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing and Design and the Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment.

branding

How to Land Your First TV Appearance

Alabama-based babes, set your DVRs! Tomorrow morning I’ll be making my fourth appearance on Talk of Alabama, a daytime talk show on ABC 33/40 that focuses on entertainment news and features local events, organizations and various businesses in and around the state. I’ll be on discussing the See Jane Write Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincents. This is See Jane Write’s annual one-day blogging conference for women and is set for August 1.

Whenever I work with writers on building buzz for their blogs or books I always encourage them to pitch a segment idea to local TV media. It’s a great way to get out of your comfort zone and, obviously, a great way to spread the word about what you’re doing. The last time I was on Talk of Alabama to promote a See Jane Write event a viewer drove to Birmingham from a city more than an hour away to attend the event I discussed.

Here are a few tips on how to land a TV appearance of your own:

Be sure you’re pitching to the right person. Writing a great pitch for your segment idea is pointless if it ends up in someone’s email trash folder. So ask around and find out the name and email address of the person in charge of booking for the show that you’re interested in. Usually, it’s the show’s producer handling such decisions, not the folks you actually see on TV.

Remember it’s not all about you. Unless you’re Beyonce, don’t email a show’s producer saying they need you on the show because you’re awesome. In your pitch stay focused on the value you’re bringing the show’s viewers. The last time I was on Talk of Alabama it was to promote my time management e-course. But in my pitch I didn’t write, “Hey, put me on your show so I can promote my awesome e-course.” Instead I discussed the importance of having good time management skills when trying to accomplish goals. I made this pitch in February, the time of year when people’s enthusiasm about their New Year’s resolutions is starting to wane. I presented four tips for good time management to help people make the time to work on their goals. And, of course, I mentioned my course as a way that they could get additional help.

Check your calendar. Always be mindful of what time of year it is just as I was when making my time management pitch. If you can tie your topic to a holiday — no matter how obscure that holiday may be — do it! If you’re a food writer, for example, you need to have things National Hamburger Day or National Ice Cream Day on your radar.

Do cool stuff. Tomorrow’s Talk of Alabama appearance and an appearance I made in January were both unsolicited. In both cases the producer reached out to me. Last year I exercised every single day and wrote about it at WriteousBabe.com. One of Talk of Alabama‘s producers read my blog and asked me to come on the show to talk about how I managed to exercise 365 consecutive days. Of course, whenever I’m on Talk of Alabama I want to promote See Jane Write so I found a way to tie this all back to writing and blogging by discussing how this fitness challenge of mine actually helped me become a better writer because it showed me that no matter what excuses I may have in mind, I do have time to write and blog. If I could find time to exercise every day, I can find time to work on my life’s great passion. For tomorrow’s appearance someone from the show actually reached out to me asking if I was working on anything I’d like to come on the show to discuss. At this point I’ve established a reputation as someone who’s always up to something!

Be sure to tune in to ABC 33/40’s Talk of Alabama tomorrow at 9 a.m. And swing by the blog tomorrow for tips on how to do a good job during your first TV segment.

lifestyle

30 Things I Love Right Now

I could listen to this song all day long.

30 Things I Love Right Now is a blog feature created by writer TJ Bietelman.

What do you love right now?

goals lifestyle

Dream Again

Today my pastor started a new sermon series he’s calling “Dream Again” and he says he hopes the messages will encourage us all to do just that — to dream again.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have no problem dreaming and dreaming big. So I figured this sermon series would be one I’d listen to so that I could pass on encouragement to others. But as soon as my pastor started I knew that this was a message I needed to hear.

I realized today that I have been unintentionally placing a partition between my spiritual life and professional pursuits. Sure, I’ll pray before hosting a big event or making a big decision and I thank God for my successes, but until today I hadn’t realized that I need to see the pursuit of my dreams as a spiritual act in and of itself.

“Dreams are the language of God,” my pastor said. God speaks to us by giving us certain passions. I may not hear God speak audibly and God may not be setting bushes on fire to give me a sign, but the undying passion I have for empowering women, for writing, for blogging and for entrepreneurship tells me that it is my calling to help women be the author of their own lives.

“Dreams are the target of your faith,” he continued. When you have a dream you have a focus for your faith. This fall I am entering a new coaching program that’s going to help me write a vision for my business and help me create an action plan to help bring that vision to fruition. And it will come to fruition because, as my pastor declared today, “Dreams have a habit of coming true.”

He went on to warn us that a God dream will seem risky and that it will requite God’s involvement. It will be too much for us to do in our own strength. But it will be worth the hard work because a God dream will change lives.

Are you willing to dare to dream again?

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