Archive for November, 2010
Friday, November 5th, 2010
A few weeks ago, I held a webinar called Kickstart a Killer Blog in 7 Days. It’s a pretty intensive hour and a half to help attendees define their blog strategy and focus on results. At the end of the webinar I orchestrated a challenge…I provided 7 days of worksheets to help put everything my attendees learned to practice. My incentive? Submit your completed worksheets and the highest graded strategy will be featured on my blog.
I received a number of fantastic and very thoughtful submissions. But one was beautifully crafted, clear and compelling. I’d like to introduce Stephanie Garbaczewski and her blog: Event Lounge. Stephanie is slowly introducing changes to her blog and has already made a few good updates. I asked her a few questions to understand her experience so far:
(Lara) How has your strategy shifted pre and post webinar?
(Stephanie) I defined my focus. Before the webinar I wasn’t blogging to a particular audience. Now I am blogging to event managers seeking event communication strategies to increase the efficiency of their event. I also defined my visual theme. Before the webinar I didn’t have a vision for the ‘feel’ or theme of my blog. A lounge is a comfortable, relaxing place people retreat to for a mental break. I wanted to evoke that comfort in the lounge with the use of warm colors, a simple layout and regular posts. (I would light sweet smelling candles and serve white wine if the blog allowed me to!). Lastly, I was able to actualize my ideas. The webinar was informative but what motivated me to actualize my vision was working on the step-by-step worksheets.
(Lara) What should my readers know about you?
(Stephanie) Here is my updated about me page. Also, I’m available for event consulting in Seattle and around the US :)
(Lara) Why should people read your blog?
(Stephanie) My blog is for Event Managers who are searching for an effective on-venue communication strategy. It is a comfortable space to find valuable, proven recommendations from an Olympic Communication Event Manager.
——
Kickstart a Killer Blog in 7 Days will be held again on November 16, 2010 @ 12pm EDT (all registrants will receive a recording, whether they can make the live webinar or not and the 7 days of worksheets). Early bird registration ends Tuesday, November 9th.
Hire Lara to Build Your Business
Hire Lara to Speak
Subscribe to our Newsletter
The best way to get in touch with me is hello@ready2spark.com
We put the concept of leadership on a pedestal. There are leaders and then there are followers. 
We write long diatribes on how to become a leader. We make it feel unattainable. We make it feel bigger than it is. If you ask someone if they think they’re a leader, you’ll likely be met with a bashful response or an outright denial. Admitting leadership feels boastful.
And yet if you really think about people who have led you to change the way you think about or do things, you’ll probably find that a good number of those prolific moments were actually quite simple. A few words that made you think, a way someone handled a situation that made you take notice, something they did that made you ponder, “That’s so simple – why can’t I do that?”.
Not long ago I wrote a little story of inspiration about a conversation I had with my Opa that sparked me to rethink my life & business priorities. That post then inspired two people who read it to make a change in their lives. One emailed me to say that he was motivated to follow his dream, leave his job and start his own business (and he did). The other told me that she realized she wanted to go back to school to become a vet – a career she’s been passionate about since she was a little girl.
Not every moment of leadership has to feel earth shattering. Dante once said: “A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark”. It’s a mantra we all need to start believing.
Hire Lara to Build Your Business
Hire Lara to Speak
Subscribe to our Newsletter
The best way to get in touch with me is hello@ready2spark.com
Twitter’s Promoted Tweets
Twitter’s Promoted Tweets have been around since April 2010. At first, these were available only to a select number of advertising partners, but over the past few months they have expanded their network of advertisers and in the past few days Twitter started syndicating promoted tweets in some user’s timelines. Now, all you need to do is fill out this form (scroll waaaay down to the bottom to access the form link) to apply to become an advertiser.
cvent’s Promo
It was yesterday that I began seeing cvent’s sponsored tweets in the #eventprofs timeline. At the present time cvent is the first and only advertiser in the community. If you monitor the #eventprofs conversation you’ll see how their tweets hold the #1 position in the timeline – even if I tweet after them, my tweet will fall below theirs.
Naturally, cvent is garnering a lot of attention – positive, negative and indifferent. But I struggle with how this concept will scale successfully for Twitter and for those who use it. It remains to be seen how Twitter will roll out this program – their lips are pretty tight on their plans – and it sounds as if they’re doing a lot of experimentation to ensure users don’t become disengaged with their site.
More info on promoted tweets
How do you feel?
So, how do you feel about Sponsored Tweets – a necessary evil or an annoyance?
Hire Lara to Build Your Business
Hire Lara to Speak
Subscribe to our Newsletter
The best way to get in touch with me is hello@ready2spark.com
I was just flipping through an industry publication and I came across ad after ad saying the same thing…
Full service
Turnkey
Any type of event
Elegance
Leader
Integrated
Professional
Quality
These words are industry convention (aka common industry speak). And when we hear them over and over, we become immune to them. They mean little to us. They don’t have impact.
I told a story at Event Solution’s Idea Factory Conference earlier this year about this topic that I still get comments on today. When I worked for a branding agency, courier companies were literally fighting one another to get a chance at our business. After all, we would send mock ups, printouts, proposals, print proofs, concepts, etc hourly to clients across the city and the nation. We would receive snail mail and email every single day from these companies claiming to be the fastest, most reliable, and most cost efficient. Those were their industry conventions. Then, one day, I arrived at my desk in the morning and saw a beautifully wrapped carton about a third of the size of a shoebox. I opened the box and found a beautifully intact egg and a letter. Dying of curiosity, I read through the letter: “We know that you take great pride and care with every single package that leaves your office. We take great pride in the care we give to every package we deliver for our clients. Just look at how well this egg made its way to your desk…”. It went on from there but the message was clear: Pride, Care and Creativity. The antithesis of industry speak. I gave them our business.
Why risk being tuned out before you ever get a chance to show your wares. Choose remarkable ways to communicate your business and break through the industry clutter.
Hire Lara to Build Your Business
Hire Lara to Speak
Subscribe to our Newsletter
The best way to get in touch with me is hello@ready2spark.com
