How to charge your worth
I see a lot of blogs and Facebook conversations about “earning the income you deserve” and “charging what you’re worth.”
blog
Blog post vs. email — the death match
What should go in my emails and what should go on the blog? Can they overlap? Should they be the same, or different? I struggled with this one for a long time. Here’s what I used to do:
KEEP READING
How to sell art, photography, jewelry, luxury goods, entertainment, cupcakes, and anything else that doesn’t "solve a problem."
Have you noticed this? Entrepreneurs* love to get on the digital soapbox and yell, “YOU HAVE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM! IF YOU DON’T SOLVE A PROBLEM, YOU DON’T HAVE A BUSINESS.”
KEEP READING
How to tap your talent
At my first job that didn’t involve cutting lemon wedges and pouring draught Beer for drunk, off-duty doormen, my father came to meet me one day for lunch.
KEEP READING
DO be all "look at me!" (How to be a leader and a star)
There’s this woman Georgia in my dance class — by that, I mean my instructor Cebo’s dance class, which I take, not teach — who’s amazing.
KEEP READING
How to keep it real when you "blow up"
When I was on the final panel at Unfair Advantage Live a woman asked a question I didn’t think she had to worry about.
Make your name by doing the unsexy work. (AKA Puff Is Pissed, AKA Grownups Eating Ice Cream And Crying)
At the company off-site, they had tubs of ice cream waiting for us first thing in the morning. Breakfast of cry-babies.
KEEP READING
My new favorite writing prompt is even more fun if you’re old as dirt
OMG best thing ever A fellow copywriter/word nerd posted this Merriam Webster tool in a Facebook group, and all I can say is, what a perfect birthday gift. It lets you see what words were made official the year you were born. I thought that would make me feel old, but many of the words […]
KEEP READING
Can you say “ballsack” at a funeral?
I don’t want to get too heavy on you, so I’ll jump in at “ballsack.”
KEEP READING
How to follow up without being a nagging, passive-aggressive psycho
I had a housemate in college who’d leave messages on my answering machine like this: BEEEP! “Hey, just checking in, I was just wondering what you were planning to do with the spaghetti pot and some of the other stuff you left out on the counter. I’d clean them myself, it’s no big deal, but with […]
KEEP READING
“Mansplaining” should never have been a word. (On the dopiest portmanteau ever, and how to make your own)
Chocoholic. Faux-hawk. Netiquette. Tanorexic. Jazzercise, glitterati, Brangelina. I love a good portmanteau. You know, that kind of word that’s a combo of two words and usually a twist on a longer one. Cassingle. Showmance. Mathlete. Sometimes it’s called a frankenword. It used to be called a “Sniglet” – coined in the 1980s by comedian Rich […]
KEEP READING
Afraid to repeat yourself? Take a tip from every dumb ’80s sitcom.
“Did I ever tell you about my crush at Camp Well-Met? Her name was Laura Mills…” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about Grandpa refusing to take illegal kickbacks in his lumber business during World War Two?” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about my time-efficiency study for Eastern Airlines? It saved the […]
KEEP READING
Easiest money you ever made?
The easiest buck I ever made was in 1994. Before I tell you what the job was, let’s talk about easy money. I often see business coaches posing this question: “Do you feel guilty charging for work that feels easy?” They post it on Facebook and Twitter, offering to help people break through this so-called “money […]
KEEP READING
How to create valuable content (it’s not what you think)
“Add value.” “Deliver value.” “Provide massive value.” It’s not a new word, this “value.” But if you’re new to the online marketing space (AKA “The Space”) you might be newly inundated with it. ‘Round these parts, they use it out the ying-yang. “If you want people to buy from you, get known for delivering tons of […]
KEEP READING