Typeamom

Dec

Sarah Pinnix Teaches About Social Media Classes

Woefully late, I know but between traveling, school with kids and the hacked website, that’s just the way it is. Better late than never, don’t you think? These notes are from @RealLifeSarah‘s session at Type-A-Mom (Now Type-A-Parent) Blog Conference.

Social Media 101 by Sarah Pinnix

Learn about marketing! Meatball Sundae and UNMarketing are good resources. You have to understand the principles of good marketing.

Establish yourself as an expert – find out what you are doing that is newsworthy and relevant in your community. Get in the news – use press releases or establish reporter contacts in your local community.

Become the “big fish” in your little pond instead of aiming for a saturated national market.

Start promoting your local businessess on your social media outlets. Then tell them you’re doing it! Don’t be afraid to contact someone and say, “I wanted to let you know I mentioned you in my Facebook status message recently.

Offer to help someone for free. Get your feet wet with a business owner friend or an establishment you frequent regularly. Track everything you can to build a portfolio for future businesses.

Start a local blog!

Workshop dates and topics -

Free seminar first to get them in the door. See about sponsors for the local workshop. Teach philosophies of social media, share case studies (Mashable), etc. Teach about blogs and social media and quick updates and usability – dynamic and updateable content. Power of the RSS feed and permission-based marketing. (Illustration of the ball and expectation and not expecting)

Facebook 101 – Stay on top of new rules and regulations. If you are interacting you’ll be seen in the facebook statuses. Must interact. Must get your updates seen to be effective.

Twitter 101 – Informational – give the info and send them on their way.

She spaces the sessions out by a month to give time to implement.

Integrating social media into existing web presence – the Transformational stage.

Individual class = $75, 3 session pass is $60 each or 5 for $55 each.

Private Consulting for Businesses – A Few Tips

Listen First
Find out their specific marketing goals
Craft a step by step plan to help them achieve that goal
Suggest ways they can go beyond their stated goals
Do research beforehand, and write a written report with your recommendations**
Set rates based on your area’s market
Be the Devil’s Advocate

**I want to add a note here. I have personally taken to charging for in-depth analysis reports, especially those that require anything more an hour of my time to put together. I’ve had two situations where I did not charge, hoping for a payback later and in both cases all my action steps were implemented (poorly) by someone else.

By charging my hourly rate I am able to turn over the report feeling fairly compensated, while establishing a base-line of credibility with the business I’m working with. If they choose to hire me later, that’s great (and has statistically happened MORE often when I charge for the reports). But if they don’t choose to hire me later, I can be free from any lingering resentment.

Photo by @Mooshinindy

Sep

Saturday at the Type-A-Mom Conference

By AngEngland | Conferences

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Saturday really highlighted more than anything else, how much Type-A-Mom conference offered us as a community in general, and me as a writer specifically. I found the weekend strangely validating in a way that surprised me, as I am already a fairly confident person. It was interesting to get up to share what I had to share, and there – sitting in the audience – were the people I had come to listen to and learn from what they had to share! It was like the Twilight Zone Type-A style.

Giving away the coolest organic clothing in the world, @KikaPaprika. Photo by AlwaysAlli.com

Giving away the coolest organic clothing in the world. Photo by AlwaysAlli.com

The first thing that happened Saturday morning was the Boiron Mom Market. Major kudos to Boiron for seeing the power of, and supporting the creativity of, mothers in general. All the booths at the Boiron Mom Market were mom-owned, mom-run or small, mom-interest companies. Really a complete delight to see the variety that showed up to display their creativity with us.

I helped out at the KikaPaprika table where we were giving away free burnout tees – these amazing shirts that are 50% organic cotton and 50% recycled water bottles. The colors available in this style are so varied with true-shade colors that any skin tone could be paired with a shirt sure to amaze. What I love best about the entire line is how comfortable and beautiful the clothes are.

Fielding questions and comments from a very interactive audience. Photo by @Mooshindy

After helping Stacey (@ecochicdiva) with the giveaways I went immediately into my first of two sessions. Joanne (@PunditMom) and I were sharing on Understanding the Long view Payoff of Blogging and I loved how we approached that session from two very different, but equally valuable, directions.

While I’m very new to building up myself as a platform, that has been Joanne’s main focus for awhile now. Meanwhile, my original focus was on web content production and creating a long-term, steady stream of income for my family so I could be home with my children and not put them in day care. Great!

Both goals are very valid reasons to continue doing what we are doing online and it was neat to hear how we both are seeing those months of work payoff. In fact, Joanne has signed a book deal and will be releasing her book in near the end of 2010. If you aren’t following her on Twitter yet, you want to be sure to do so! I feel fortunate that @CutestKidEver took detailed notes during the session for anyone who couldn’t attend.

@WritingRoads and I chilling at the Problogging Session - pulled off a great session w/zero prep time! Photo by Kris Cain

The second session I did immediately after that was with Julie of @WritingRoads about Problogging - that is creating web content for other people. Harnessing your expertise as a web writer/blogger to do what they cannot or are not willing to do for themselves. She and I were totally on the same page in that we both feel this is a SKILL that should be paid for and compensated fairly. While our rates varied just a little bit (the cost of living in my area is much lower) they actually weren’t too far apart, and I think it probably surprised most of the people in the room that we feel confident charging that much.

Confession: Sometimes, I DON’T. I DON’T feel confident asking that price for my work. But I know in my head, even if not always in my heart, that it’s worth it. A company will spend MILLIONS on a 60 second commercial spot. I refuse to feel guilty second-guess myself about asked a few hundred for WELL-WRITTEN web content that will be with them forever. My prices reflect the level of my work. (Repeat that like a mantra if you must – My prices reflect the quality of my work….my prices reflect the quality of my work…)

The truth is if a company wants cheap content they can easily hire out $5 per article content from mills in India. How do I compete with that, do you ask? I DON’T. I don’t even TRY to put myself on that playing field because the game I am playing is so far above that it would be like asking a used car salesman for a customized Porsche. Apples – Oranges. There are companies out there who are willing to pay a FAIR price for excellent writing. Are you willing to provide it to them? (Whew! Now you guys got me preaching. Who took notes on this session and wants to write them up?)

After lunch was the Blogger Townhall Meeting where I spent much of the time chatting with @MoneywiseMoms about blogging in general, Mommy-Blogging specifically and how loosely defined it is and why some are so “protective” of the term and how I am not really, truly a “Mommy-Blogger” in the truest sense but I don’t care. I write what I write, when I write it and charge what I charge unless it’s going on one of MY websites and – well – I am totally ok with that. It was an interesting conversation.

Every conference I've ever attended w/my mom I have been "Karis' Daughter". Here she was "Angela's Mom". Cheers to tables turning! Photo by Kris Cain

Then came the Keynote address – great information – great consensus about the fact that it is ok for each of us to have unique goals, unique voices and unique methods of operation because WE ARE EACH UNIQUE.

Isn’t that the point? If I could do it exactly like you with exactly the same motivations and the same style, why would I be necessary? I wouldn’t! And that’s ok, right? Would you really want me to look just like you anyway?

Had a great time hanging out at the Wine and Cheese reception at the end, although I didn’t get to taste any of the wine everyone else raved about. I did get to sing my cool Type-A-Mom Blogging Parody. Someone let Blogher know that I’ve already started working on a Blogher rendition of R-E-S-P-E-C-T just for them so….. *grin*

I also finally met @MomSpark in person – someone I’ve greatly enjoyed tweeting with and commenting on her blog….definite plans to hook up at the zoo or something sometime. SO great to find a blogger within driving distance of where I live!

What about you guys? In what ways were you challenged at Type-A-Mom? What stood out to you as something you were glad you heard? Who were you thrilled to meet? How will your blogging and writing change as a result of what you learned?

Sep

Thoughts About The TypeAMom Conference – Friday

By AngEngland | Conferences

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I couldn’t decide what to do for my recap because of how crazy things have been since I got home. My laptop bugged out, my laundry needs to be done, and my husband started back to work. See the Blogging Song Post about how I’ve not seen the desk in over year.

So you guys are going to get the boring, chronological recap, but what I really want to touch on are things that stood out to me and thoughts I have about the conference after two days to process.

Micah in a Happy Kids Con Moment - Photo by @secretagentmama

Friday morning breakfast started out rough for me because Micah did not cooperate going into Kid’s Con right away. No biggie – he came to breakfast with the rest of us. I wore a pretty red shirt from KikaPaprika and their classic fit black pants since Friday was ALSO my Speaker Dinner night. I wanted something that would look good while I was speaking and then dress up for the dinner as well.

My necklace and bracelet were from KikaPaprika as part of their fair-trade support for

Sporting my KikaPaprika clothes and Rebecca Green earrings. Photo by @rbucich who was sent to the conference by tinyprint.com.

women’s shelters overseas, and my earrings were an original design by Rebekah Green and didn’t involve any blood diamonds or other unfair practices. I love being able to draw attention to mom-run businesses that not only support other mothers, but support world-wide commerce that is BENEFICIAL instead of damaging.

The session I spoke at on Friday was about the million-bajillion hats of a “Mommy Blogger” and I spoke with Tara (@FeelsLikeHome) and with Shannan (@slpowell) on the panel and it was great to hear their words of wisdom. Each had a different view point or thought to bring to the topic.

Tara talked about writing on a schedule, which helps her cut back on time wasted figuring out “what will I write about today?” because she already knows. Plus, of course, we all know how much more valuable written goals can be in terms of being able to then accomplish what we need to accomplish. If it’s written and scheduled it has a proven worth and priority level.

Shannan shared about how often we as mothers take on these many, many hats all at the same time. Blogging and web writing can involve so much more than just the content production, but also the networking, PR side, marketing, website design, graphics, etc. If someone isn’t

Listening intently to the other ladies on my session. Photo by @Rbucich brought to conference by tinyprints.com

skilled in a certain area, can you trade out with someone who is? Why do we feel like we HAVE to do everything on our own and cannot ask for help from our community?

I touched on the need for an occasional purging. Like a closet full of high-school-hand-me-downs, our to-do lists can sometimes become cluttered with the unflattering, needless, never-worn or outdated. Sometimes you have to let go in order to embrace that next step. I shared how I’d recently done that myself in order to make room The Untrained Housewife in my schedule – since my “online hours” are finite.

Take a piece of paper and fold it in half. In one column write down everything you are committed and in the other column jot down everything you gain from that position (monetary or otherwise). Place stars next to the things you are truly passionate about. The carefully consider the list and weed out anything that doesn’t really bring you a return AND you aren’t passionate about. If you don’t love it, and don’t benefit from it, why are you doing it?

Hugging my mom after the announcement. Thanks to @MrsCrumley of http://alwaysalli.com/ for this amazing photo.

And of course – at the beginning of this session I made my big public announcement – the pending arrival of Baby England #4. I was honored to have my mother, @KarisCM attending the session (and the conference!) so waited to tell her in public. She was so excited she cried, and then she was mad that she was crying in front of strangers. But it was a fun surprise and she is thrilled at the news of Grandbaby #6.

Friday’s take away for me personally was from the session @AlliWorthington and @JaniceCroze did about branding yourself. I already KNEW – but the reminder that everything we do online can be beneficial in building up our brand and presence was a timely one for me. A reminder that it’s ok to focus and hone in things. That it’s ok to approach something new that will help us move forward to where we want to be.

The Little Debbie cupcake break, and the Creative Memories photo walk were great events from two large sponsors as well. The speaker dinner I went on that night was FABULOUS and I met some really great people. Met Mr. @Suburban_Farmer and Mr. @Frelle as well as connecting with two NEW kindred spirits in @AmberRunsAmuck and @SaraSophia. All in all it was a fabulous first day to a great conference experience.

Sep

Type-A-Mom Conference – Thursday

By AngEngland | Conferences

Can You Make Money Writing for Type-A-Mom Websites?

By AngEngland | Sites That Pay

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Kelby Carr, known as TypeAMom on Twitter, is the owner and founder of a series of websites where mothers (ok, men too) can become web writers with relative ease – learning the ropes of freelance writing for websites, while earning money at the same time. Some of the writers contribute because they enjoy the topic they are contributing to, while others do it more for the money or platform, but most writers tend to contribute there for a mixture of both.

What Sites Are in the TypeAMom Collection?

TypeAMom runs the main Type-A-Mom website, as well as a handful of sister sites that cover several different topic areas. Here is a break-down of the various websites and their focus:

Type-A-Mom is dedicated mothers in many different stages of life, and with many different interests. Editors post weekly on topics ranging from “Suburban Moms” to “Preschoolers”.
PictureMyCamera is a newer site dedicated to photography with regular photo contests, learning articles and a gallery where users can display their favorite pictures.
FoodieMama is, as the name implies, all about food, cooking, recipes and keeping food budgets under control.
Investigative Mommy Bloggers is brand new and gives moms the opportunity to participate in real, investigative journalism in collaborative efforts with other moms around the country. While revenue sharing is still being worked out, anyone interested in possibly contributing in the future should sign in the ning site.
Dadosphere is the site dedicated to fathers at every stage of life. Dad Editors are being hired on right now so feel free to apply.

How Does TypeAMom Pay Writers?

Writers who contribute to the Type-A-Mom websites share page impressions, and thus ad clicks, with the website itself on a 50/50 basis. Each writer enters their Google Adsense information and the ad click revenues come directly to their account. Writers are also allowed to use approved affiliate linking within their articles and product reviews so articles earn money through affiliate purchases as well.

How Do TypeAMom Websites Work Rights for Articles?

All rights to the material submitted to TypeAMom and sister sites belong to the author at all times. This means writers never loose the rights to their work and can create ebooks, personal blog posts or submit articles to print magazines, while still keeping the articles up on TypeAMom.

With a new ebook program in formation for TypeAMom.net and FoodieMama.com websites, editors and regular writers at these sites will have the ability to earn an additional stream of income through the marketing of ebooks right on these websites. You all already know I feel that ebooks can be a great source of passive income – now TypeAMom is getting on board, making it more profitable than ever for their writers.