Communicate Better in A Visual Medium Article by SolSisters Studio

Go check out this most helpful Article written by SolSisters Studio titled Communicate Better in a Visual Medium

This article was really helpful to me because it give a clear explanations and visual sample images on how to effectively group data!

Sincerely,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Why Blog?

Well we all know that blogging is quite subjective. People blog for different reasons so I am just asking you Why do you blog or perhaps a better posed question is what is the focus of your blog?

I have learned never ask someone to do something you won’t or have not done so below is why I blog and I shared a little (well maybe more than a little) about how it is evolving! NOTE that I said “evolving”. The best is yet to come! Give me about a year! LOL!


One thing I learned from the Block Head Rod Talk show was that I needed to sit down and make a plan for how I intended to use my blog? How do I want it to look? Funny thing is I initially I did NOT do this. I created my blog in order to be a part of the Etsybloggers team. I did start to enjoy it once I got started but my purpose and focus have evolved since I started blogging.

With all that said I took my mentor Rod’s words to heart because the fact is I felt quite aimless the months of October and November. Not knowing what I was doing and why, joining everything under the sun with no sense of purpose though everything I joined had the potential to serve to advance my business.

So where did I go from there?

Well first things first. I needed to be a student and so I took Rod’s advice. As my blog and focus have evolved, I not only established my focus/intent but as a result created this new blog I am writing on now. I realized I had two niches I wanted to work through and focus on. One being - promotions and sales (both of my shop items and others) and the other being tips/training/ and just my random thoughts!

How do I intend to use my Unique Commodities blog for promotions and sales?

Promote other sites with the first priority being to my Etsybloggers Team members.

Goal: Driver bloggers to my blogsite and then to my Etsy Store hopefully to make a purchase.

Allow other artist (Etsy or not) to advertise on my site. I am a little green at this so this is still a work in progress.

Share my personal life – I want the readers/bloggers to see that I am a real person with struggles and joys just like the rest of the world. I want to be personable.Post pics of my items as I create them. Allows the customer to see my creative process and know that it truly is hand made and to see that I work hard to develop a quality product. Besides I know people are quite visual!

Post actual side bar sales items on my shop – Now UNTIL Rod mentioned this I SERIOUSLY never thought about it. I think I was more intimidated by the thought of figuring out how to do it than anything. Rod posted the instructions on his Block Head Radio blog.

CONSISTENTLY BLOG– I know that the more I blog, the more exposure I will get and hopefully the more sales I will get!Networking with other Bloggers – Use my blog by whatever means to meet other bloggers and creative artist to learn from, share experiences and ideas with. I am confident this will help my sales and build upon my blog exposure!

How do I intend to effectively use my Indiscriminate Musings blog for tips, training and all the etcetera?

Well I decided to survey other blogs that I LOVED and see what other bloggers were searching for? I also decided I did not have any intention of ‘reinventing the wheel’ if you will by blogging about the EXACT same thing as other bloggers (not intentionally anyway).

What would be my edge ?

As I Twitter, I follow another mentor, Crafty Coaches approach who ask you when you follow him on Twitter, “How can I help you?” I know him doing that when I followed him IMMEDIATELY caught my attention and I went straight to his blog! Plus he reminded many of us that we were using Twitter to pimp Etsy. If you want to know more about that thought (bet you do LOL), check out his article "The Wrong Way to use Twitter".

Now when someone follows me on Twitter, I say “Thanks for following me! What would you like more tips/training/information on?" With that said, both on my own and when someone tells me what they want more information on, I either write about it if I have the knowledge OR I survey other blogs to find the information as I have absolutely no intention of 'reinventing the wheel'! If I write about it then I let my follower know that I wrote the article and provide the link. If I find a source that answers their question just as effectively if not more effectively then I can, I simply backlink to the source's blog and let my follower know where they can find the information they are looking for. I in turn let the blog owner know “Hey just backlinked to your blog!” Now ain’t that TWO for the price of one?!

BOGO in the HOUSE!

I now have a satisfied follower on Twitter, who just might continue reading my articles AND I might have a NEW follower from the blog I backlinked to! After all, who does not want free exposure?!?

So there you have it..phew I was rather long winded wasn’t I? YOUR TURN! Why do YOU Blog?

Sincerely,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Does Google know who you are?

TIP FOR THE DAY:

Want to know if Google recognizes your site? Do a google search by typing in your shop/blog/website name and see if it shows up? If it does, then google recognizes your site and good for you! If it doesn't, consistently use links to point to your shop/blogs/websites! Google Loves links!

Want to learn more? Check out Timothy Adam Designs blog Article titled Google Page Rank Boost

Signed,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

The Value of Mentorship/Coaches

The word mentor derives from Greek mythology. Mentor was Odysseus' trusted elderly counselor in The Odyssey by Homer. Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced person helps a less experienced person, referred to as a protégé, apprentice, mentee, or (person) being mentored, develop in a specified capacity.

~Wikipedia~

Having a mentor or coach is as old as the history of civilization," says Sheila Wellington, former Catalyst president and author of Be Your Own Mentor: Strategies from Top Women on the Secrets of Success.

So what is the benefit and focus of having a mentor/coach?:

• The focus of a mentor/coach is to guide you and offer constructive ideas or criticism about how you might do things. One key is that the mentor should not take the role of “leader” – YOU are the leader; however, the mentor should help you to evaluate your goals, adjust them and offer you strategies to help overcome obstacles.
• Encouragement of knowing that someone else has “been there and done that”. Having a mentor/coach allows you access to information you may not currently have or now how to access. No need to reinvent the wheel!
• A mentor/coach should help you have that “stick and Stay” mentality and spirit. Many times I have wanted to give up on endeavors but having a mentor/coach has helped me on more than one occasion to “stay the course”! I am most grateful!
• A mentor/coach should offer you encouragement and let you know it is OK to mess up! That is right I said it! It is ok to mess up! What do we learn from most? You got it! OUR MISTAKES! Even with a mentor, we will make mistakes! I have heard it said that “There are no Mistakes – just lessons” Learn from them! Grow from them and then PAY IT FORWARD!

Think about some of those famous mentor relationships like…………………………….

Tiger Woods or Donald Trump whose mentors/coaches were their fathers!

Madonna was a mentor to Gwyneth Paltrow

Maya Angelou (poet, writer, inspiration Bio) was a mentor to Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey in turn paying it forward was a mentor to "Dr. Phil" McGraw

There is much more I can share about the benefit of having a mentor but I hope I have given you a good foundation.

All successful people need to learn how to be successful and none of us can learn how to do this by ourselves! So what are you waiting for? Find a mentor/coach and begin your journey of success!

Signed,

Indiscriminate and Random Musings