About Heart@Work Productions

How to Blog

by ML Harris on June 10, 2013

How to blog and what are some tips to blogging. This is one of the most often asked questions, that are asked in groups on LinkedIn or some of the other forum boards and of course everyone has an opinion.

If you have been meaning to ask this question, let’s answer some questions here.

First of all a blog to me is like a client magnet – when you share your expertise through blogging (writing posts) – writing articles, giving tips or just sharing your experiences soon you will begin to have a following. Your followers will start to leave comments, share their stories and suggestions. To me, a blog is the HUB for all your social media activities, it is from here that you start your Social Buzz.

Some people may want to consider using Facebook as a place to blog, I personally don’t recommend it as you are building traffic for FaceBook, not for yourself. Yes share your blog posts on Facebook by all means.

Share your blog posts in as many places as you can..

When you are setting up your blog, I recommend using a service provider so that you are self-hosting your site. With companies like BlueHost, HostGater or DreamHost these are very reputable service providers. You want to be sure that you can access customer service when you are stuck. There will be a learning curve, however you will be better for it.

Even if you hand over your site to a website developer to create for you and then you are going to manage it yourself, you will want to still have a company that you can ask help from. There is nothing worse than having someone in total control of your site that you need to go through all the time unless you really don’t want to know how to manage it yourself. There have been some horror stories.

It’s not any different that when you buy a car, you need to consider it has an engine, what kind, and who can you go to when you need help if it fails, or when something is broken? As a driver of your car, you need to at least know and understand how it all works.

Pick WordPress only because it is easy to use, it’s a free platform..it’s the software that supports your blog. Then you will want to get a theme. The theme is the part that makes your site pretty. A template it’s called sometimes. I recommend that you get a paid theme, because once again you will get some support to help you when you get stuck. Most themes these days that are FREE, are like having a trial version, they only work to a certain point and of course no support.

I use Thesis, there is Genius, and many other packages of themes you can buy. Still you need to ask questions before you buy, like what is included with the theme you buy.

A basic blog is about 5 pages – you will need a home – which is your blog posts, an About page (who are you what do you offer) products/services, a media/news page, some people have a page as a landing page or squeeze page. More on this later.

When you blog, you will want to share information and write to your audience. What do you readers want to know more information about? Who are they? Pick a niche and write to them. What are their challenges, what pain can you solve for them and what solutions are they seeking? You can just ask them. Of if they are an audience that you know about because you’ve been there, then it will be easy to come up with some posts.

How often should you blog? It used to be to develop your audience it could be everyday, however as time goes on you will not be able to keep up with this schedule. I would say at least 2x a week. There are several ways you can cover this to work for you.

This ought to get you started..if you got any ideas or comments that you would like to share..post in the comment section.

P.S. I’ll share more tips about blogging. What would you like to know?

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Crowd-Funding is it for you?

by ML Harris on June 4, 2013

in Collaboration, Marketing

A few years ago crowd-funding was just up and coming, now there are over 700 places to go to to raise money for your projects.

I’ve been getting ready to do my own funding for a couple of project I have going on..I found a few that may be a fit for you too.

Did you know that there is a new site where you can sell stock in yourself? This is what Trina did she raised money from investors in exchange for equity in herself. It’s called a human capital contract. The idea is a bit unsettling. It sounds like either a modern version of indentured servitude, or the early version of some dystopian future in which every person is valued in dollars. Read more about how Trina did it.

Then I was thinking today, do I really need someone else’s website to crowdsource for myself? Not, really. Just that there are several why I shouldn’t. However I did find a list of crowdsourcing platforms you can buy or use. Check them out.

Indiegogo is International – This site is Great for Creatives, and Artists. The money you raise you keep. It’s not a all or nothing platform. At Indiegogo, creating a campaign is simple. Tell people what you are doing, how they can help and what unique perks they’ll get for becoming contributors. You keep 100% ownership of your campaign and you don’t owe us a cent until you raise money. Our customer happiness team is here to make sure you have the support you need any time of day.

Go fund Me
Great for individual projects, fundraising and even businesses. You share with friends on Facebook. You can give incentives, or just ask for donations.

CrowdIt Whatever your dreams are be, then share them and ask for what you want. It’s a new platform, with social networking, support and help it you need it..let’s see how I do on this site. It’s an all or nothing.

When you do Crowd-sourcing you’ll want to add incentives to your campaign. Here are a few suggestions:

Things made by you or what the project is going to create, such as artisanal goods made by a community-run social enterprise you established Access to an experience: a personal tour, a dinner meetup, VIP tickets to an event you’re creating, like your launch party or just a party for your contributors
Tokens of thanks: a handwritten card, a postcard from the set, or artwork that provides a connection to the culture you work in.
A social media shout out.
Acknowledgement: being named as a producer on a film, one of the supporters of a book, or honored on your website. You don’t need to buy or make rewards yourself. Consider approaching organizations relevant to your community and asking them to donate goods or services that you can pass on as rewards.
Make your incentives personable..collaborate with them
Create a poll – ask their opinion

I hope this will help you decide what will work for you..Share with us, what platform you have used and what worked the best.

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Feeling Anxious?

May 30, 2013

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until today..”I’ve been feeling anxious” in the past couple of days. Why? I have so many deadlines..putting together crowdsourcing proposals, grants..attracting matches for my new project.. by listening to the audio below, I have released my anxiousness..recognized that once I released them, I feel better. You can [...]