http://www.scribd.com/people/view/195719-michele-pw This a feed for documents on Scribd written by MichelePW 30 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:51:15 GMT Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:51:15 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/4501427/Does-Your-Marketing-Feel-As-Effective-As-a-Dead-Horse Does Your Marketing Feel As Effective As a Dead Horse? By MichelePW A few years ago, I met a woman who was trying to peddle a painting created by a relatively famous Western painter. This painter had painted it specifically for her family. It was the story about how her father acquired his favorite horse. He was hiking somewhere and came across a dead mare tangled in barb wire with the colt standing next to the body. The poor colt didn't know what to do without his mom. So her father took the colt home and raised him. The painter (who knew her father personally) was so moved by this story he w Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:51:15 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/4501427/Does-Your-Marketing-Feel-As-Effective-As-a-Dead-Horse http://www.scribd.com/doc/4501339/Are-You-Choosing-to-Succeed-or-Fail- Are You Choosing to Succeed or Fail? Recently I was watching the movie Back To The Future. That's the one with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd where Fox goes back in time and meets his parents when they were in high school. During the course of the movie, his father ends up standing up for himself, which he had never done before, and when Fox returns to the present time, his entire family is in a completely different place. So it got me thinking. One act completely transforms a life. Now, I realize this is the movies and life isn't nearly so clear cut, but the truth of the matter is we AR Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:47:43 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/4501339/Are-You-Choosing-to-Succeed-or-Fail- http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465928/Writers-Block-Begone Writer's Block Begone by Michele PW Back when I was in college, I belonged to one of those professional associations for the video industry. (I was a student member.) The monthly newsletter had a column called "Writer's Block." Although called Writer's Block, no one ever wrote about this mysterious and debilitating condition. So, finally, one day I decided to tackle the subject. I don't remember much about the article except it seemed to be about eating chocolate, taking walks and not doing much writing (it was supposed to be tongue in cheek). I don't think it turned out as successful as I had Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:14 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465928/Writers-Block-Begone http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465927/Why-Radio-Advertising-Could-Be-The-Best-Thing-You-Ever-Did-For-Your-Business Why Radio Advertising Could Be The Best Thing You Ever Did For Your Business by Michele PW In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd stepcousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he'll start talking about.) Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn't test well. In surveys and other track Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:13 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465927/Why-Radio-Advertising-Could-Be-The-Best-Thing-You-Ever-Did-For-Your-Business http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465926/What-Dead-Fish-Have-To-Do-With-Your-Business What Dead Fish Have To Do With Your Business by Michele PW While on a recent trip, I got a call from my pet sitter. Apparently we had a bit of a tragedy in my salt water aquarium. All my fish died. Actually nearly everything in the tank died. It all started with the death of one of my sea urchins. While sad as that was, what made it a tragedy was that sometimes sea urchins release a toxin when they die. And this toxin is toxic enough to kill everything in the tank. My starfish. My crabs. My fish. Everything, that is, except bristle worms. (For purposes of this article, it's enough to know bris Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:12 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465926/What-Dead-Fish-Have-To-Do-With-Your-Business http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465925/VAs-Your-Secret-Weapon VAs - Your Secret Weapon by Michele PW Probably the biggest problem with being a small business owner is right there in that phrase. Small. Small means few or no employees. Small means you end up doing most, if not all, business tasks yourself. Whether or not you're any good at them. But even if you ARE perfectly capable at completing those tasks, is doing them really a wise use of your time? (Just because you CAN do something, doesn't necessarily mean you SHOULD.) As a business owner, you should be focused on the big things - a vision for your business, putting together a plan to reach that v Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:11 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465925/VAs-Your-Secret-Weapon http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465924/Three-Ways-Journaling-Can-Boost-Your-Creativity Three Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Your Business by Michele PW I have a friend who has struggled with her creativity for a long time. She's extremely uncomfortable thinking of herself as "creative." We've been working together on it, and making progress. One of the tools that's really helped her has been journaling. From Julia Cameron's The Artist Way to Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones to Linda Trichter Metcalf, Ph.D. and Tobin Simon, Ph.D.'s Writing the Mind Alive to numerous other publications, journaling has enjoyed a long history of creativenurturing along with a Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:10 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465924/Three-Ways-Journaling-Can-Boost-Your-Creativity http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465923/Three-Tips-to-Improve-Your-Writing-Rhythm Three Tips to Improve Your Writing Rhythm by Michele PW As a professional copywriter, not only do I do a lot of writing but I also look at a lot of writing. One of the things I've noticed that set the good/great writers from the soso is rhythm. What I mean by rhythm is how the writing sounds. The rhythm of the words and sentences. It's a subtle aspect of writing, one not normally talked about, but that doesn't lessen its importance. Unfortunately, rhythm is also tough to teach (which is probably why it isn't talked about very much). It's something felt deep inside, like it is with music. It is Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:09 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465923/Three-Tips-to-Improve-Your-Writing-Rhythm http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465922/The-Secret-to-Writing-Memorable-Sales-Copy The Secret to Writing Memorable Sales Copy by Michele PW Want to know the secret to creating MEMORABLE promotional copy? Sales copy that actually stays with your customers long after they've finished reading it? Then master the art of using words to create pictures in your customers' heads. If you can describe your products or services in such a way that it forms images in your customers' heads, well, then you've just created something that will last long after the marketing is over. Why else do novels stay with us for so long? Those "pictures" we see draw us into the world of the novel, and t Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:08 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465922/The-Secret-to-Writing-Memorable-Sales-Copy http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465921/Ten-Reasons-to-Consider-Copywriting Ten Reasons to Consider Copywriting by Michele PW Looking to chuck that full-time job for a life of full-time writing? Or maybe you've already dumped the day job but aren't quite as busy as you'd like to be. Why not take a closer look at copywriting? Copywriting, also known as business or promotional writing, can do more than put a few extra bucks in your wallet — it can also help you develop as a writer. Here are ten reasons why: 1. Copywriting pays well. Actually it can pay very well. I know copywriters who easily make six figures in a year. That's because copywriters charge by the hour r Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:07 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465921/Ten-Reasons-to-Consider-Copywriting http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465920/Social-Networking-What-is-it Social Networking – What Is It And Why Your Business Needs It by Michele PW Social networking. Social marketing. Web 2.0. You may have heard these terms bandied about and wondered what exactly they are and (more importantly) what they mean for your business. So let's dig right in and get some answers. First, some definitions. Social networking is actually a pretty broad term. It basically means any type of relationship-building amongst a group of people with a common interest (business or personal). However, that term has taken on a whole new dimension online, where social networking sites ( Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:39:06 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465920/Social-Networking-What-is-it http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465435/Setting-Goals Setting Goals -- Your Ticket to Success by Michele PW You know that old saying -- if you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there. That's what happens if you don't take the time to figure out what your goals are and WRITE them down. There's power in writing things down. Trust me, I'm a writer. I KNOW. Figuring out your goals is probably one of the most important and one of the most overlooked steps for creative professionals starting their business. Ideally you should put together a business plan. However, I have yet to meet a creative professional (including myself) who has Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:08 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465435/Setting-Goals http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465436/Small-Business-Success Small Business Success -- 3 Ways Gratitude Can Grow Your Business by Michele PW I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. Family, food, friends and football thrown in for good measure. But I digress. What I REALLY like about Thanksgiving is it's about giving thanks. And I think gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions out there. Why is it so powerful? Because it has the capacity to change your life. My business and life are going great right now, better than I had planned, but it hasn't always been that way. There were plenty of times where things were looking pretty bleak. During o Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:08 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465436/Small-Business-Success http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465434/Need-a-Great-Idea-Feed-Your-Brain Need a Great Idea? Feed Your Brain by Michele PW A lot of great ideas happen when two or more other ideas collide to form something completely new. Think of this like those old chemistry movies we used to watch in school. You had all of those atoms floating around and when two collided -- bam! A chemical reaction. Maybe something new was created. Maybe something exploded. Or maybe it all fizzled out and nothing happened. Well, a similar reaction is going on inside your brain or muse. Except instead of atoms floating around they're pieces of information or other ideas. As they drift about, they Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:07 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465434/Need-a-Great-Idea-Feed-Your-Brain http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465433/Is-PR-Right-for-You Is PR Right for You? 6 Questions to Ask by Michele PW When most people think about marketing, they think advertising. While advertising is a part of marketing, marketing is much bigger than advertising. There are lots of different marketing methods floating around out there, and the challenge as a business owner is figuring out when it's appropriate to use each one and the best way to use it. Public relations, or PR, is the art of getting someone else to write or talk about you or your business. Preferably in a favorable manner. Traditionally, "someone else" was the media. In this day and age Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:06 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465433/Is-PR-Right-for-You http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465432/How-Writing-Radio-Can-Help-You-Become-a-Better-Writer How Writing Radio Can Help You Become a Better Writer by Michele PW Knowing how to write, and write well, is a skill that will come in handy in all sorts of situations. And if you combine good writing skills with the persuasive selling tactics found in, say, copywriting, you'll be that much more ahead of your competition. Of all the different types of writing I've done in my life (and believe me, I've tried practically all of them) writing radio has made one of the bigger impacts on my writing style. Below are three ways writing radio can help strengthen your writing style. (Oh, and these tips Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:05 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465432/How-Writing-Radio-Can-Help-You-Become-a-Better-Writer http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465430/Copywriting-101 Copywriting 101: How to Get Your Customers to Take Action by Michele PW If you want people to buy, you gotta ask for the sale. Truly, it is that simple. Yet I can't tell you how many ads, Web sites, brochures, sales letters, etc. are floating around out there that aren't asking. So, what is a call to action? It's telling people what action you want them to take. Typical calls to action include: Hurry in today. Buy now. Call now. Visit now. Click here now. Nothing terribly sexy, I agree. However, if you want to see an increase in your customers, leads, income, etc., this is an essential compone Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:03 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465430/Copywriting-101 http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465429/Business-Success-Strategies-Get-Beyond-the-Lies-to-Recovery Business Success Strategies – Get Beyond the Lies to Recovery by Michele PW As a recovering workaholic/perfectionist, not to mention having delusions-ofsuperhero syndrome, I'm first to tell you the road to recovery isn't easy. It's fraught with obstacles and U-turns just waiting to send you right back to where you started. But I'm also here to tell you that it DOES get easier. And the rewards of staying on the path are well worth it. So, what are some steps you can take to get yourself on the road to recovery? Here are 3 to get you started. 1. Value your time off. Because if you don't value Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:02 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465429/Business-Success-Strategies-Get-Beyond-the-Lies-to-Recovery http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465428/Are-You-Working-Yourself-Out-of-Your-Business Are You Working Yourself Out of Your Business? by Michele PW I admit it. I'm a recovering workaholic/perfectionist, not to mention having delusions of superhero syndrome. I know I'll never be cured. But I can at least work on controlling it. I also know I'm not alone. Plenty of entrepreneurs and small business owners suffer from this same condition. (In fact, it's so prevalent I'm thinking about starting a recovery group for this.) Do you suffer from workaholic/perfectionism/superhero syndrome? Take this short quiz to find out. 1. You think working all the time, including nights and weekends, Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:50:01 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465428/Are-You-Working-Yourself-Out-of-Your-Business http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465426/10-Income-Streams-You-Can-Add-to-Your-Business 10 Income Streams You Can Add to Your Business (And Increase Your Bottom Line) By Michele PW Pariza Wacek In a nutshell, multiple streams of income means your business has more than one way to make money. For instance, you sell products and you sell services. Those are different streams of incomes. But that's just the beginning. Below are 10 ideas of different income sources you can use to increase your business's bottom line: 1. Sell a variety of services. Or you can bundle your services into packages depending on what your typical client is looking for. But be careful about this one. Don't s Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:49:59 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465426/10-Income-Streams-You-Can-Add-to-Your-Business http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465425/7-Questions-to-Ask-Before-You-Advertise 7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise by Michele PW Most business owners and managers keep a fairly close eye on their marketing budgets. And nothing throws a budget out of whack faster than advertising. Advertising, or paying good money to get your message in front of your target market, still has a place in your marketing mix, although it's not quite as effective as it once was. If you're going to advertise, you need to be smart about it -- or you can quickly find yourself with a blown budget and not much to show for it. Below are seven questions to ask yourself before writing out that che Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:49:58 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465425/7-Questions-to-Ask-Before-You-Advertise http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465424/5-Mistakes-Biz-Owners-Make-with-Their-Marketing 5 Mistakes Biz Owners Make with Their Marketing by Michele PW Pariza Wacek Wondering why your marketing isn't working all that well? Never fear, help is here. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) many marketing challenges can be traced back to a handful of marketing mistakes. Today, I'll talk about the top 5 marketing mistakes business owners make. 1. Too broad a target market (who you're selling your product or service to). If I ask you who your customer is and you answer "anyone with a pulse," then I'm talking to you. Even if your product or service CAN help just a Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:49:57 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2465424/5-Mistakes-Biz-Owners-Make-with-Their-Marketing http://www.scribd.com/doc/2178527/Getting-Traffic-To-Your-Site-How-Do-You-Determine-Whats-the-Right-Strategy-For-You So you're looking for more traffic or visitors to your site. How do you determine the right strategy for you? Below are some questions to ask yourself so you can put together what's right for your specific business. 1. Do you need traffic now (or sooner yet, like yesterday)? If you need immediate traffic then the choice is easy. Start running pay-per-click ads. That's the fastest way to get traffic to your site. (Those are the ads that show up on the right-hand side when you do searche.) If, however, you can wait for traffic, then you might want to consider doing some warm traffic strategies, Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:38:43 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2178527/Getting-Traffic-To-Your-Site-How-Do-You-Determine-Whats-the-Right-Strategy-For-You http://www.scribd.com/doc/2177540/Small-Business-Marketing-Business-Lessons-Learned-in-Cabo Small Business Marketing -- Business Lessons Learned in Cabo The thing about Cabo, Mexico, is you're surrounded by a lot of entrepreneurs. From the people peddling their wares on the sidewalk to the wait staff and crew members serving you (and working for tips), it's a great place to study what to do if you want to put more money in your pocket. The best case study took place on a snorkel cruise ship. We had already paid for the cruise, so they weren't trying to sell us anything. Instead crew members were trying to up their tips. Here are 5 things they did and what you can do in your own marke Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:14:59 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2177540/Small-Business-Marketing-Business-Lessons-Learned-in-Cabo http://www.scribd.com/doc/2177435/3-Ways-to-Overcome-Marketing-Overwhelm 3 Ways to Overcome Marketing Overwhelm If you're like many entrepreneurs, the thought of marketing makes you slightly sick to your stomach. And it's more then a simple like or dislike of marketing, it's the idea of trying to fit it into your to-do list. You already have a million things going on, how can you possibly fit marketing in? So, instead, you end up not doing anything...until you run out of work that is. Then you desperately race around, trying to cram as much marketing as possible into as short amount of time as possible to try and ramp up your business. Business picks up, you stop m Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:47:30 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/2177435/3-Ways-to-Overcome-Marketing-Overwhelm http://www.scribd.com/doc/1886477/What-Football-Has-To-Do-With-Your-Business What Football Has To Do With Your Business Recently Brett Favre, the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, broke the alltime NFL touchdown record. As a fan of football and Green Bay (I grew up in Wisconsin) I've had the opportunity to watch Favre over the years, and I also realized how his career provides some valuable business-building lessons. How? Because success is success, whether you've built a multi-billion dollar company, written a dozen best-selling novels or are a famous quarterback. Many of the same mindset and principles are the same no matter how the success manifests itself. Wha Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:49:54 GMT http://www.scribd.com/doc/1886477/What-Football-Has-To-Do-With-Your-Business