2010 is here and it’s the year of the TIGER. According to Chinese astrology: The Tiger is said to be lucky vivid, lively and engaging. Another attribute of the Tiger is his incredible bravery, evidenced in his willingness to engage in battle or his undying courage.

So I will keep these 2 things in mind: courage and good luck. I will be courageous and lucky this year!

For my online business this year I want to accomplish the following (maybe you can help with some of them!):

• Sell out of my first run of online PR training DVDs and start streaming them online.
• Get an article about online PR in Entrepreneur Magazine (I noticed two people I know were in the last issue, so I should be able to swing this).
• Set up my affiliate program. Then find at least 10 joint venture/affiliates  to sell my DVD and make a commission of $75 a sale on each.
• Finish my SEO press releases ebook and start producing one per quarter.
• Start an online store for my online PR products at www.OnlinePRBook.com. Challenge: what platform to use? Cost? I want it to be like an ecommerce store rather than spread in random places throughout my site.
• Get my email list up & going!!! This sounds so easy but it’s been stopping me for a while now. It’s almost embarrassing that I’ve never done it.
• Find newsletters to put content in in exchange for a mention of my DVD (this is the biggest investment I’ve ever made in my business, besides my book and of course I want it to be very successful. It’s 3 hours of content.
• Become a better speaker – join Toastmasters and look for new opportunities to do both in-person and webinars. (Is there a list of webinar hosts??)
• Write press releases about the DVD, important webinars, etc.
• Update my blog with a real photo of me, widen the main section, underlined links (I’ve tried), remove ads except for my own (since they mysteriously stopped making money when I redesigned my blog), font color = black, fix background colors on sidebar to white, add Facebook & Twitter Connect, remove dates & make comments link larger, any other suggestions for me?
• Get banner ads made for the DVD.

What about you? What are you looking for in 2010?

My former husband is a letterpress printer – his wife is an artist. She designed and printed these Christmas cards. They are my favorite cards. I wish you could feel them. They’re luxurious.

I’m not good at scanning the colors, but this is how I wanted to say Merry Christmas and thank you for reading!

Here’s my life in Facebook updates:

Highlights of 2009:

I made my own products, which I should’ve done sooner! Since writing a book I’ve written more about other authors and bought more books myself.

• My book, I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What??? was published and is selling on Amazon and Happy About! (what, you haven’t seen it yet? what are you waiting for)
• A companion DVD – Killer Online Press Releases was produced (and it was a LOT of work, tons of hours but it’s for sale!)
• I’ll soon be selling the audio and transcripts of my webinar with Joan Stewart

I partnered with amazing people & organizations this year:

• Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound
• Spoke at 2 universities
• Spoke at the American Muslim Consumer Conference (where I was not the only one who didn’t drink)
• One of the judges of the best press releases of 2009 at PRWeb
• webinar with PRWeb (voted one of the best of 2009 and “met” Bill Stroller the Publicity Guru),
• Creating Wealth Podcast with Jason Hartman
• Online PR Podcast with Pete Codella
• webinar with Jeremy Palmer (who taught me that you should always be reading and learning even if you’re successful)
• More to come in January!

I also blogged a lot and started a new online pr blog

• Wrote for Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends site
• Wrote for the American Express Open Forum
• Wrote for my friends at Dream Systems Media

Next up for 2010:

• Developing my email list – yes it’s amazing that I haven’t done this yet!
• Finishing the update to my SEO press release ebook
• Some book partnerships?
• Create an online store to sell my products

To do on the break

• Read this ebook from the 1800s about the science of wealth
• Finish watching this video of Tim Ferris and finish the 4-Hour Work Week
• Listen to the top webinars of 2009 from Vocus
• Listen to the top 5 webinars of 2009 from PRWeb – mine’s on the list!
• Listen to top webinars of 2009 from Hubspot
• Read and check out the top web sites of 2009 from Time Magazine

On a personal note, I haven’t taken so many vacations or learned as much and worked as hard on my business as I have in 2009.

What was significant about your year? What is in store for 2010? Share in the comments.

Peace, prosperity and fun to you all! Let’s Crush it in 2010!

This is an email sent to someone I know this past week, firing them while they were on vacation (not that there is ever a good time to fire someone). Read on for my comments [in brackets] and advice…and you might want to play this song as you read.

SUBJECT: Updates and changes

Hope your vacation is going well. I feel bad that I am writing you an
email to give you this update but due to the nature of the contract I
feel it is imperative to contact you now.

[First, let me tell you about your replacement]
Over the past 6 months, I have been in touch with a past colleague
that I have been “courting” to join ____ and me with our [what we do so well].

We both worked with him in the past and know his
abilities. Well, earlier this week he notified me that one of the two
contracts he has been working on dried up. As a result he is available
and willing to work with us. I can’t be more excited to have him help
out. [and to get rid of you so I can hire him]

His expertise and experience is very comprehensive and has made me
reevaluate our current structure and set-up [yours is not]. This evaluation, and
financial assessment, has led me to conclude that there is too much
overlap with what I am going to have him do and what you are doing for
the project [he's taking your place].

The bad news, and again I am sorry for sending this email [NOT REALLY!!]
rather than calling or waiting until you return [That would take some courage I don't have], but as he is joining
right away, I am, effective today, terminating your contract with [name of company].

I debated on calling you but thought it best to not bother you with
your family time today [besides, I'd rather ruin your vacation than tell you the day you return]. I welcome a call and hope to talk with you
upon your return [not really, but it makes me feel better to say that]. That said, please transition your work to _____ straightaway and provide me with your final time sheet.

Thanks for all of your work. I am happy to provide you a reference if
you so desire. [but it won't be a good one!]

Regards and best wishes,

JERK

———————————–

NOTE TO JERK: first, this person should thank you – you did them a favor. You saved them from working together any longer. But maybe you could’ve handled this better.  Contractors can be let go of by either side without notice or reason. Make it a business decision rather than bragging about the person you got to replace the person you just hired.

Firing someone is not easy or fun. Neither is telling someone they didn’t get a job (especially in this economy when people and families are hurting.) I’ve had to do it. I’ve had it done to me. I didn’t like doing it but I always tried to show compassion.

Here’s what I suggest -  you email something like this: We had a change in the business and I regret to tell you that I’ve decided not to hire you on. So effective today[insert date] I’m ending your contract. Thanks for your work.

If they asked why I’d give them a short but truthful response – like this – we found someone else who we thought would fit the position and our company better.

I also have some more free advice for employees: most businesses don’t want to hear your real opinion about their ideas if they are bad ideas. If asked stick to the facts about your reservations. Don’t get yourself labeled as a complainer or someone who stops projects.

My husband taught me this – he will not complain or try to change a lot of things about where he works. He’s on a committee that gives feedback. The boss appreciates that he’s not taking up a lot of his time with things and that he’s producing (his numbers are great). I used to be more free with my opinions and I’ve found most of the time it doesn’t work. Plus, if you I had that many complaints either I needed to change my attitude or look for another job.

It’s always best to keep to the facts and leave the other person out of it.

What do you think?

I was listening to a beautiful concert with my parents and husband when I started jotting down ideas for our family Christmas card. I was reviewing the past year and the accomplishments. We also try to make it funny and entertaining. Stephen took my notebook and drew these 2 things.

I decided to label it

Two Ways the Internet Led me Astray this Year

#1 way the Internet led me astray: pruning our new peach tree:

We had a tree (not quite that productive) that had some peaches and I went to YouTube to learn how to take care of it. What happened is I butchered it and no more peaches!

Then there was a time after I was first married. I read on a blog that you could cure acne with toothpaste (in a crunch). I tried it. My husband still laughs about this one. I tried it before going to bed, woke up and it was all over my face (like Santa Claus or a clown). Here is the drawing of

#2 Way the Internet Led me Astray: Fixing Blemishes

When I’m in a hurry I just want to talk, tweet or capture it by screenshot. The Twitter marketing award of the week this week goes to @ParkCityWeek

here’s the tweet

This is what the link goes to:

how smart!

I like that it has to be short and how you can build immediacy into your marketing on Twitter. Oh, and if I lived closer to Park City I’d sign up for a massage right now!

Have you seen any other clever marketing techniques on Twitter?

Thanks to Vicki’s comment on this post about Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It! I saw this on Gary’s Facebook page today (how cool is it that his Facebook URL is www.facebook.com/gary)

Yesterday I spoke to a group of Utah event and meeting professionals. I used this graph to show that meeting pros were using social media to promote their events.

I also learned that if you’re an event pro, this is the Twitter hashtag to use to share information on Twitter: #eventprofs

Meetings & Conventions Magazine did a survey to find out how meeting pros use social media. They are using what I call the big 3: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ways meeting pros are using social media include:

post event information
post postevent photographs & materials
researching suppliers
researching speakers
reseraching potential employees
seeking jobs

I propose that more meeting professionals seek to have bloggers attend and participate in their events. Why? Because of the links, traffic to your web site and buzz it can create for your events.

Make your events “blogger friendly” – meaning

1. Invite bloggers and treat them like VIPs.
2. Have a special section for bloggers (we like hanging out with each other).
3. Make sure there are enough plugs (for their computers, etc).
4. Make wifi easy and accessible.
5. If you have a blog be sure to link to their posts about the event.
6. Create a hashtag about the event so people can label their tweets and everyone can see them by using the same label.

Case in point (a rather dramatic one):

I recently attended an event at a local bookstore with famous blogger The Pioneer Woman. She’s a publishing sensation because her first cookbook made the NY Times bestseller list (here’s the NY Times article about Ree Drummond)Thank to her blog she had thousands of people willing to stand in line to meet her at bookstores all over the country. Some people waited over 5 hours to see her.

I blogged about the event. So did a lot of other bloggers (Like Carina and Allison. She linked to our posts). We linked to each other’s posts. I continue to get thousands of readers to my blog as a result of those new links.

Why did we get all of this traffic and attention (and is it deserved)? Because we blogged about an event that had a lot of uzz. I think the fact that we did it quickly (right after the event) and our posts got linked to. We’d all be linking to their book store too.

I’m not trying to beat up this store – I actually want independent bookstores to survive. Blogging is part of that because getting written up on a respected blog will introduce readers to new authors, get more people to your store, bring new people to your events, etc.

What if the event planner of this event (the bookstore) had done what we did? Every time they bring in a big name they could let bloggers know and invite them to a reception with the author. You get a famous librarian, you invite the librarian bloggers to attend. They write about the event and probably buy books and their audience buys books. You could even grease the wheels and have a copy for them and a few signed copies for them to give away on their blog.

Even if you’re not drawing social media extroverts like this group is, a blog is often well-respected by search engines and even one link can introduce you to new networks and higher rankings.

Think of how you might engage with bloggers with your events. Don’t leave it up to chance. Invite them. Think of it as media coverage that’s much easier to get than the traditional outlets.

I attended the social media awards last night near Salt Lake City Utah. It was a fabulous event and many of my favorite people were there. I was so excited when Nate (@BigBags) won. He was pretty blase about it though (just kidding).

Others include Jordan Kasteler (@utahSEOPro), Thom Allen (@ThomAllen) Rachael Herrscher (@todaysmama) and so many more.

I was happy to win an award for Best Social Media Content Guru

It felt so star-studded – I’m sure it will get bigger each year. As far as I know this was the FIRST annual awards ceremony like this. Pete Codella (@codella) Roxy Cross (@RoxyCross) and others did such an amazing job planning the event.

My favorite person (who I didn’t know) was Josh Hanagarne of WorldsStrongestLibrarian.com who has Tourette’s Syndrome. He used his blog as a way to communicate when he couldn’t talk and to document his journey to become stronger. He spoke about how he was shut off from others and then the blog gave him back his ability to socialize again. Seth Godin found his blog and told him he had to write a book and put him in touch with his agent.  I want to buy a copy and have him sign it when it’s done. He told his story so beautifully it inspired and moved us all.

I finally got a photo to send Sorel boots (so much for losing 15 lbs first, but who’s complaining when I can talk easily!) I call them my social media boots because they came about because of Twitter. It’s still a bit too warm to wear them regularly.

Check out all of the social media award winners.

Blogging rock star Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) was in Utah to sign copies of her new cookbook tonight. I wanted to meet her. So did a lot of other Utah bloggers. Like Dooce (another rock star).

In the photo @inevergrewup @DomesticBecky @sweetlifeinthe @thepioneerwoman @joanieatwater @carolrice @emihill @newspapergrl and we are at @kingsenglish

What I wished happened:
The King’s English bookstore booked a bigger place and listened to me when I warned them that Ree was drawing huge crowds and I didn’t think they were prepared. I also wish they had invited a delegation of the biggest bloggers in the state to meet Ree for a reception beforehand. But that’s not how this went down. Thank you for bringing Ree and her cookbooks. Please communicate with everyone more clearly about how things will work and make it easier (and avoid fights).

What actually happened:
There are so many people we can’t get in the building. Instead, we’re standing outside in the dark with hundreds of other women. There’s no way we’ll hear from or get to meet Ree but we see her walk by and it is so Hollywood.

I came up with a plan earlier. I called Utah bloggers April and Joanie Atwater and ask for their help. April is queen of getting product donations. So I asked her if she could get a gift basket we could give from the Utah bloggers. I bring the card and have everyone sign it. She brought a basket of products from this great state. After all, Ree said this was her first time here. We wanted to welcome her.

(and we did welcome her! Here are the blog posts)

Sweet Tooth Fairy
Georgie Tees
Get Up and Play
Newspaper Girl
Utah Loves Cupcakes
Jet Set Carina
Moosh in Indy
Miranda Walker
Petit Elefant
Jules Keeps the Rules
Two Peas and Their Pod
Food Finery

So what does this have to do with Jason Gough? Or Dooce? Wait.

In the crowds of people I see Dooce (Heather) casually stroll by. We all notice and ooh and ahh. I decide since there’s no way we’re going to see Ree we may as well meet and get pictures with Dooce. It goes well. I get another idea…and ask Heather if she knows Ree. Of course she does and that’s when things start moving.

While we’re waiting to see Ree I remember I had a boss named Jason Gough who told me about Dooce years ago. At that point I didn’t know any other bloggers and was already pretty addicted to blogging. I think I was close to being Dooced myself. I could only remember Jason’s first name. So I ask Heather if she knew a Jason with fiery red hair. Eventually it comes to her and with great theatrics she says Jason Gough. They went on two dates!

So I tell her how I went on a date with the same Jason who later ended up being my boss. It was a blind date. We almost got arrested for trespassing. He ended the night by saying it was the worst date of his life. And he felt guilty for saying that for the next 10 years or so. I forgot about it (I don’t have a great memory anyway and some things bring on instant amnesia). I just really needed that job and there was something keeping me from getting it. In the interview [God intervened] I got an idea to ask Jason if there was a chance we’d ever been out on a date. Yes, bold of me. I still managed to get the job.

So there it is. Dooce and I went on a date with the same person. On the same night I met Dooce for the first time, I got to meet Ree. Who is just as down home and charming as she seems on her blog. And who seemed to like hanging out with us too.