Archive for June 2011
Melissa’s Tiny Apartment Before {Video Tour}
Ok, so on Monday night I warned you that Melissa and I made a video after we finished moving her into the 350 square foot studio apartment. Yes, this was shot right after we piled the last box in the space – and before we actually set about the hard task of unpacking and organizing her space.
I can’t believe I’m even sharing this . . . consider it a realistic and super dorky view into life with Jane, complete with my utterly awkward jokes and comments, my weird video voice, and my totally creepy (but supposed to be joking) references to Melissa’s view of her neighbor’s bathroom.
Yeah … I totally have some cringe-worthy moments on this thing. But please bear in mind that it was shot when we were pretty much drained and giddy from hours of packing and moving up 3 flights of stairs. And that I have an impressive knack for putting my foot in my mouth.
Hmm. I can’t seem to load the video into this post. So please click the link below to see it.
Melissa’s 350 Square Foot Studio on Vimeo.
Tomorrow, if you’re still with me after watching this crazy thing, I’ll share an awesome organizing project that we whipped up in Melissa’s new space!
Posted in 
Hangin’ Out? I wish.
If money were no object, I’d spend lazy summer days hangin’ out in this:
Er, I’d actually want two. Or three. To hang in my backyard. Like this:
It’s called the NestRest and it’s from Dedon. I’ve had trouble finding details on the prices, though two sets of comments on two separate blogs said that it retails for about $15,000.
FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS?
FOR A CHAIR?
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Guess I’d better find a way to DIY or build this.
Melissa’s 350 Sq Foot Studio {Before the Rental Remedy}
Last week I was up in Massachusetts, squeezing in some very important best friend time while also working on my most challenging rental decorating/organizing task to date.
When I found out that Melissa had only a few days between jobs to move across the state of MA, I knew I had to go help. You see, not only is she a surgery resident (which means she is always exhausted and has zero time on her hands), I also know a bit about her moving style (last-minute packing) – as we’ve been friends since we were stuck together as college roommates in our freshman year.
Melissa doesn’t seem to love moving. But I do. From the packing to the unpacking to solving the organizational and furniture layout challenges, I love it all. So knowing that Melissa’s moves usually end up with her throwing things into garbage bags as the truck pulls up to her stoop, I headed to Mass to stage a moving intervention. I really wanted to do as much as I could to help her get settled before she dove into a new, high-stress position at a new hospital.
Me and Melissa. Boston. Summer of 2009.
We spent about 2 totally whirlwind days packing her up and loading her life into a little Penske truck. (Always go with Penske, even though it’s pricier than U-Haul. Just trust me on this one.)
When we arrived in Boston, I was blown away by Beacon Hill, M’s new stomping grounds. It was gorgeous, with narrow, tree-lined streets sandwiched between rows of pretty old brick and iron town homes. And then the move literally took my breath away . . . as we had to climb three narrow flights of steps to get to her actual apartment, the top floor (essentially the attic) of an old row house. The view was great, but -
I just kept thinking over and over “Thank God Melissa hired movers.”
**Insert huge shout-out to our two guys (names forthcoming) from Pony Express Movers. They arrived in the afternoon, already having done several moves that day. They didn’t know they were going to have to carry everything up those three horrible flights of stairs, but did so with totally awesome, friendly, positive attitudes, and were super careful, even though they were literally drenched with sweat after carrying just one load. And if you need to hire movers in Boston, check this company out. They fit us in at the last minute, and were willing to provide just the labor for the move-in once we arrived with a truck full of stuff.**
The movers carried the heavy and awkward stuff, and Melissa and I took care of the little things. It was still a pain in the ass . . . and the thighs, and the calves, and the . . . well, you get the point. There’s a reason I fit into my vintage summer dress for the first time ever.
When the last box had been piled into the new space, we were both a bit surprised to find out just how tiny M’s new studio was. So we squeezed amongst the boxes and measured it out. 350 square feet, if you counted the bathroom and the kitchen and the closet. Not sure how up you are on square footage, but that’s a freakin’ tiny space.
Here’s what the space looked like before our invasion:
(Pardon the crummy resolution. I didn’t have my camera so I had to use my phone.)
I tried to make a floor plan and got fed up, so bear with me.
You enter on the third floor and go up a flight of steps.
See the doorway and the cutout in the wall? The steps are on the other side of that.
Standing at the top of the steps, and looking at the front of the space, you see this:
That’s the living space. Living room, bedroom, office, etc.
No, really. . . .
Look a little more to the right and you’ll see a nice little bookshelf tucked under the eaves. To the right of the shelf is the sole closet.
Now we are looking towards the back of the space.
After the closet (blue/gray doors) there is a kitchen nook.
This kitchen is also tucked under the eaves.
However, Melissa – who loves to cook – informed me that this was actually a better, bigger kitchen than any other studio she looked at.
The bathroom was by far the most absurd space.
Fortunately Melissa is short.
See that thing against her head? That’s the sloped ceiling.
No, really.
A few hours later, here’s what it looked like with all M’s stuff piled into it.
TOTAL. DISASTER.
We barely had any room to move! I felt like we were on an episode of Hoarders.
You know those games where you have 9 blocks in 10 spaces, and you have to organize them , but to do so you have to slide 8 blocks around just to make the 9th go where you want? And then repeat a million times until each block has been shuffled into place?
That’s what it felt like to sort Melissa’s place out. A ton of moving furniture and boxes around to one side of the space, setting one thing up, then moving everything back to the other side of the space. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.
But that didn’t stop me from making a totally ridiculous and embarrasingly dorky video. Apparently it’s in “3gp” and needs to be converted before I can share it, so I’ll be back with that later.
In the mean time, I want to know what you’re thinking! What’s the smallest space you’ve ever lived in? Or do you think Melissa is crazy to move into a space so small?
Launch Week Giveaway Winners & Special Janery Discount!
Has it really been a week since I launched Janery, my handmade home accessories shop? I guess it’s high time I let you all know who the winners of the launch week giveaways are!
**The eco-friendly Janery package (cloth napkins, reusable produce bags, and a flour sack towel) goes to Ashley from “Sunny Side Shlee“. Ashley, let me know which pattern towel you’d like!
**The autographed copy of the UnMarketing book goes to with Christina from “The Scrappy Housewife“.
**The Gadanke “Become” journal will find a home with Sarah from “Sarah with an H“.
**Kelly from EverKelly will be getting a caffeine fix from Caffe Amouri, along with the portable coffee dripper.
**And finally, Lisa C. and Anna H. will each receive the $25 store credit to Janery.
Congrats to you all, and please shoot me an email with your mailing address. Lisa & Anna, when you’re ready to use your shop credit, just let me know and I’ll give you the details :)
And to all of you who participated, thank you SO MUCH for your comments and feedback! It was an amazing first week of running the shop!
As a thank you to everyone, I’m offering a discount for the rest of June: get %10 off your entire purchase when you use the code “JUNE11″ at checkout.
In other news, I’m back from helping my amazing friend Melissa move, and we have so much good stuff to share: the before-and-almost-after of her new studio apartment, a quick trip to New Hampshire to pick up furniture, and then all the fun of fitting the new furniture into the house. . . and more. Oh, and the part I’m most excited about? We made two totally dorky videos of her space – before, and after. They’re really bad. Complete with awkward Jane commentary about unrelated things. :) Have an AWESOME weekend!
More Janery {Launch Week Giveaway #5}
Happy Saturday! I’m up in the hills of western Massachusetts helping one of my very best friends move to Boston. We’ve got our work cut out for us this weekend, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.
Today is the final day of my Janery Launch Week Celebration. If you’re a coffee lover, be sure to check out yesterday’s post. It’s got a great – and super honest – interview with the owner of my local coffee shop.
Giveaway #5: Two $25 Janery Store Credits
**This giveaway is now closed.**
Two lucky readers will win a $25 Janery store credit in today’s giveaway!
Here’s how to enter:
- Visit my shop, then comment to let me know what your favorite item is!
- For a second entry, tweet about my shop on Twitter, and use the hashtag #shopjanery. Just comment here to let me know you tweeted.
- For a third entry, share my Facebook link with your FB friends!
Other details:
- This giveaway closes on Monday, 6/20/2011 at 9:00 PM
- The winner will be randomly chosen and announced after Monday, 6/20/2011
On Coffee, Starting a Business, and Decorating with Record Albums
Welcome back to Launch Week Celebration & Giveaway, Day 4!
Today I’m pretty excited today to give you not only a peek at my favorite local (Vienna, VA) business, but also an interview with the owner! Oh, and yes, there’s a great coffee-themed giveaway to top it all off.
You’ve probably seen me go on and on about Caffe Amouri, my local coffee roaster /coffee shop, either on Twitter, Facebook, or this blog. That’s because I’m a huge fan. Have you ever tasted coffee that is freshly roasted? It’s unbelievable! Ever since Caffe Amouri opened last summer, I’ve been a totally loyal customer. It’s a totally chill place to go read a book, do some work, blog, or catch up with friends. And I feel very fortunate that I’ve gotten to know Michael Amouri, the owner and roaster, because not only is he an awesome guy – he’s been a huge source of inspiration and also advice as I head down my entrepreneurial path. (Thanks, Michael!!)
If you’re ever in the area, you should visit Caffe Amouri first thing in the morning, when the coffee beans are roasting. (Follow on Twitter and Facebook to know when the roasting is going on.) You can smell it in the air – I don’t even know how to describe it, but it’s awesome. Upon entering, you can’t help but notice the big yellow roasting machine:
The walls of the shop are covered with Michael’s vintage record collection:
But those vintage LPs are more than just decor. Friday nights are “Club Night” at Caffe Amouri, one of the ways in which Michael has expanded the shop to be more of a community gathering place. During Club Night, customers of all ages can choose records off the wall, and Michael plays them on a good old-fashioned record player. How cool is that?
Another fun design element (to me, at least) is the wooden siding on the counters. The rough-hewn boards are reclaimed lumber from an old building that was torn down:
In addition to offering the usual espresso and coffee drinks, Caffe Amouri serves a delicious variety of teas, iced teas, 100% fruit smoothies, and Italian Cream Sodas. Some days I have the hardest time choosing just one drink from the menu.
See all those glass jars? Those are the many different beans and blends that are roasted in-house. Once you start trying the different coffees, it’s amazing to notice all the nuances of flavor that accompany beans from different regions around the globe.
Are you curious what goes into the making of a coffee shop (and roaster)? Michael was kind enough to answer a mini-interview about the details behind the making of Caffe Amouri.
What inspired you to take the plunge and not just open Caffe Amouri, but turn it into a coffee roaster as well?
What is the hardest part? When sales slack off and I wonder what it is that we’ve done wrong to turn people off? Or not getting folks flocking in during the morning hours……eats away at me. Also, as you mentioned above, the sheer number of things that have to get done and the anxiety over not “getting to them”.
What advice would you give to someone who’d like to start their own business, especially a brick-and-mortar business like yours?
Don’t!
Just kidding. Refer to the info above – just plan, plan, plan.
So there you have it – a peek at what goes into starting and running your own coffee house. Ever since I’ve learned just some of the work Michael put into launching his business, I haven’t been able to look at a coffee shop the same. It’s amazing how much thought and work is behind that cup of coffee or tea!
Giveaway #4: A Clever Coffee Dripper & 1 Pound Fresh-Roasted Coffee
**This giveaway is now closed.**
The lucky winner of this giveaway will win a pound of coffee (your choice of a particular roast/origin) and a Clever Coffee Dripper, packaged inside one of my handmade coffee sack gift bags.
What’s a clever coffee dripper? It’s an awesome little single-cup coffee maker that is totally space-efficient, and totally portable. It’s perfect for storing in your office or packing in your suitcase (if you’re a coffee snob, like me). In order to have an amazingly fresh, delicious coffee anywhere, all you need is boiling water, some ground coffee beans, and your Clever Coffee Dripper. Trust me, it makes a killer cup of coffee.
Still curious as to how exactly it works? Come back next week when I”ll be sharing a how-to on using the dripper to make an awesome cup of coffee.
Here’s how to enter:
- Simply comment on this post! If you want, spill the beans (ha,ha) on your drink of choice. Coffee? Tea? Something else entirely?
Other details:
- This giveaway closes on Monday, 6/20/2011 at 9:00 PM
- The winner will be randomly chosen and announced after Monday, 6/20/2011
Legal mumb0-jumbo: I was not compensated in any way for this post about Caffe Amouri or the Clever Coffee Dripper. I just happen to be a huge fan! However, if you purchase the coffee maker through my amazon affiliate link, I will get a tiny little commission.
And that’s it for today! See you back here tomorrow for the 5th and final Launch Week Giveaway post, with a big prize from my shop!
A Creative Journal from Gadanke {Launch Week Giveaway #3}
Yesterday’s giveaway was about a person and product who really helped inspire me on a blogging and marketing level. But today and tomorrow’s giveaways are much more personal, they’re from business owners who I’ve gotten to know over the last year and who have provided great guidance to me.
When I was thinking about people and business owners who have inspired me, my good friend Katie topped my list.
Before I tell you about this giveaway, I need to give a big fat public shout-out to Katie!
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ve probably already heard of her. She’s the thought-provoking blogger behind Making This Home. She’s the inspiring creator of Gadanke, a handmade journal shop. Most importantly, she’s a very good friend who has not only inspired me but has also encouraged me and listened to me from the beginning of my business journey.
When I first found her blog, I spent at least an hour reading through old posts. I came away from it thinking “Wow! This girl is SO cool. She’s living as an expat in a 450 sq foot apartment in Germany. She flies planes. She and her husband built their own kitchen from scratch. She’s constantly simplifying She’s environmentally friendly.” And then in the Fall of 2009, she launched a handmade journal shop, a business which she now runs full time while her husband is a full-time engineering student.
Finally, I got to meet Katie in real life at Blissdom. I was so scared she wouldn’t like me in person. I felt like I was no where as cool as she was. Those fears were pointless; we had a blast. And you know how you read some blogs and like their online personality, but a part of you wonders if they really are all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips in real life? I can now promise you that Katie is all that and TEN bags of chips!
Now let’s talk about Gadanke. It’s such an incredible shop, borne out of Katie’s passion for documenting life, and her interest in helping others do the same. I want to tell you all about it, but I fear I will butcher her story. Therefore, I encourage you to hop over here and read her story of how her sincere passion for journaling developed. She tells it so well.
And now for the giveaway. I’m so excited to be able to offer one of you a special journal from Gadanke.
Giveaway #3: A special journal from Gadanke
***This giveaway is now closed.***
There’s a new journal in Katie’s shop. It’s called {Become: Me, My Creative Self}, and it’s a very special journal that Katie created to help women explore their creative selves. I just ordered mine; I love her other journals that I have and I just know that {Become} will be perfect for documenting and celebrating the journey I take with Janery.
In Katie’s words: “This book is a creative journey diary. It’s goal is to help you open your heart and slowly craft some answers about the creative life you want to live – whether in your hobbies or even career. It’s a huge celebration of exploring the woman you’re meant to become.”
Because this week is a celebration of following your creative dreams, I specifically asked Katie if we could do the giveaway with {Become} specifically. I know many of you are creative, in fact many of you have told me that you’re starting your own creative business journey in one way or another, so I hope you’ll find this giveaway as meaningful as I do.
Here’s how to enter:
- Simply comment on this post!
- For a second chance to win, please visit Gadanke and comment to let us know which is your favorite journal.
- For a third chance to win, follow Katie on Twitter – she’s @MakingThisHome
Other details:
- This giveaway closes on Friday, 6/17/2011 at 10:00 PM
- The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on or after Monday, 6/20/2011
- The prize will ship after Tuesday, 6/21/2011
UnMarketing. {Launch Week Giveaway #2}
Wow! You guys made my freakin’ day with a boatload of happy Facebook comments, tweets, emails, and blog comments when I launched my shop yesterday! I am so thankful that I am surrounded by such encouraging, positive people!
Today’s the second day of my Janery launch week celebrations! I wasn’t kidding when I said I had 5 days of awesome giveaways to celebrate the launch of my shop. In addition to giving away several of my own products this week, I’ve arranged for three giveaways from people/business owners who have truly inspired me during this longer-than-expected process of starting a business.
Today’s inspiring business owner is Scott Stratten, the author and social media celebrity behind UnMarketing.
He’s awesome, and not just because he’s confident enough to dress up like a princess.
Believe it or not, this guy is "kind of a big deal on Twitter."
Before I heard Scott speak at Blissdom, I seriously thought Twitter ranked up there with “stupidest things ever invented.” Kind of like MySpace, or those damn shoes with wheels built into them. But by the time Scott finished speaking, Twitter totally made sense to me. Heck, I even got on my slow-ass vintage blackberry and “live-tweeted” a few of his nuggets.
Then I came home, and eagerly wrote a blog post summarizing everything I’d learned from Scott’s speech. The info he shared was totally awesome, and I use it to this day. You should go read it before you enter this giveaway. I can almost guarantee it’s worth it, because Scott Stratten himself commented on that blog entry:
(If you can’t read it, he said: “Well, I just became the president of your fan club! Thank you for this, and not just the epic pic!! You summarized my points better than I ever have. Thank you so much for the kind words, I’m so glad I had a hand in making the event worth it for you. It truly was one of the greatest audiences I’ve ever spoken to.”
Yeah, I’m not gonna lie – I totally squealed with excitement to see that he not only read my blog post, but approved of my recap!
Giveaway #2:
An Awesome Autographed Copy of UnMarketing!
***This giveaway is now closed.***
If you have a blog that you want people to read, or you”re at all involved in social media, or you’re a business owner who wants to understand how to use Facebook and Twitter to market your business without being obnoxious you need to read this book. I have a copy, and I’ve read it several times, each time finding new nuggets to apply to my social media approach.
Now’s your chance to win a copy. An awesome autographed copy!
Here’s how to enter:
- Simply comment on this post and if you’re feeling talkative, let me know where you stand on all things Twitter.
- For a second chance to win, tweet this post and include @borrowedabode and @unmarketing in the tweet. Here’s a shortlink to make it easy: http://theborrowedabode.com/?p=7827
Other details:
- This giveaway closes on Thursday, 6/16/2011 at 10:00 PM
- The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on or after Friday, 6/17/2011
- The prize will ship after Friday, 6/17/2011
That’s it for today! How about some awesome links?
- the UnMarketing website
- An awesome presentation by Scott
- Janery (My shop)
- Yesterday’s post with nuggets about my vision for my business
Disclaimer: No one paid me to ramble on about how awesome Scott and his book are. Though now that I think of it, if they wanted to, I wouldn’t complain. It’s totally my personal opinion. Scott is, however, providing a free autographed copy of his book for this giveaway. And if you buy his book through my Amazon link, I get a minuscule bit of dough.
issdom ’11 Closing Keynote Address from Scott Stratten (@UnMarketing)
What made my decision to drive-overnight-with-3-strangers-to-nashville-in-a-snowstorm more worth the risk than anything else? The closing keynote address at Blissdom, given by Scott Stratten. Both he and his book, UnMarketing, kick ass.
His closing session was so full of great nuggets that instead of sharing one huge wrap-up post about Blissdom, I’m sharing my takeaways from his session all by themselves, because I want you people to READ THIS!
Do I have your attention now?
On Blog Comments & CAPTCHA:
Bloggers, listen up! Only 1-3% of your readers will comment on your posts.
We all love blog comments, right? They make us feel all warm and fuzzy and validated. So why do we keep doing things to discourage commenters?
Those “CAPTCHA” things where you have to type in a word before submitting your comment? Scott had one thing to say about that:
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”
(I agree . . there’s nothing more frustrating when commenting than having to jump through hoops just to click “submit.”)
9 out of 10 times blog comment moderation is not necessary. There’s nothing more discouraging to a reader than to share their thoughts only to be faced with “This blog comment is awaiting moderation.” It keeps them from being able to immediately join in the conversation.
(I personally have spam protection built in with my WordPress blog, so it’s never really an issue.)
If you are going to have comment moderation enabled, customize the message to make it more friendly and personal.
Recommendation: Use the Disqus plugin for threaded comments. Also, it emails you when someone comments on the blog, and you can reply to the comment via email (and have it show up on the blog).
On marketing:
Marketing is not a task. Every time you engage with someone, you are marketing yourself.
Marketing isn’t hard. You just have to care about people.
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. So what are you doing to increase these three factors?
In regards to things going “viral” online:
People spread awesome. Awesomely sweet. Awesomely great. Awesomely horrible. Awesomely funny. Not “just ok.”
Therefore, blog when you have something awesome to say.
Here’s what you want to create with your blog: When you haven’t posted for a while, and you do finally post, you want people’s reactions to be “OH HOLY MOSES, HE FINALLY POSTED! I HAVE TO GO READ IT!”
And be honest with yourself: you know when you’ve created the awesome, just as well as you know when you’re just creating “content.” If you’re more focused on posting frequently than on posting “awesomeness” – that’s not good.
On making your site user-friendly:
Make your site mobile-ready. Check how it looks on an iPad, Droid, iPhone, etc. Scott recommends the WP Touch WordPress plugin to help make it more mobile-friendly.
On SEO (Search Engine Optimization):
We tend to over-SEO stuff.
Nobody ever said “This article is ok, but wow, I love how it’s keyword optimized!”
On “contact me” forms on websites:
For every field you add to a form, there is a 10-30% loss of registration. In other words, the more fields you have, the fewer people will actually fill the form out. Keep it quick-n-easy!
On social media platforms:
You can’t use every site all the time, so choose a primary platform and stick with it. Twitter? Facebook?
If you use Twitter, you can get your stats at TweetStats.com
Twitter is all about building relationships.
The great thing about sharing info on Twitter: you’re not spamming people, you’re sharing items and then they can choose if they want to check it out.
On negativity:
The more emotional currency you spend worrying about trolls and negativity, the less you have to spend on those you care about.
- – -
And that concludes the nuggets I can share from Scott’s speech. I wish you could have been there – he was 100% awesome, shared 100% interesting and helpful info, with about 50% stand-up comic. Want more? Go buy his book. It’s totally worth it.
You can watch his entire closing address here:
PS: Now that you’re done reading, here are some awesome links:
· My insane overnight drive to Nashville with strangers
· Follow UnMarketing on Twitter
·
Blissdom ’11 Closing Keynote Address from Scott Stratten (@UnMarketing)
What made my decision to drive-overnight-with-3-strangers-to-nashville-in-a-snowstorm more worth the risk than anything else? The closing keynote address at Blissdom, given by Scott Stratten. Both he and his book, UnMarketing, kick ass.
His closing session was so full of great nuggets that instead of sharing one huge wrap-up post about Blissdom, I’m sharing my takeaways from his session all by themselves, because I want you people to READ THIS!
Do I have your attention now?
On Blog Comments & CAPTCHA:
Bloggers, listen up! Only 1-3% of your readers will comment on your posts.
We all love blog comments, right? They make us feel all warm and fuzzy and validated. So why do we keep doing things to discourage commenters?
Those “CAPTCHA” things where you have to type in a word before submitting your comment? Scott had one thing to say about that:
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”
(I agree . . there’s nothing more frustrating when commenting than having to jump through hoops just to click “submit.”)
9 out of 10 times blog comment moderation is not necessary. There’s nothing more discouraging to a reader than to share their thoughts only to be faced with “This blog comment is awaiting moderation.” It keeps them from being able to immediately join in the conversation.
(I personally have spam protection built in with my WordPress blog, so it’s never really an issue.)
If you are going to have comment moderation enabled, customize the message to make it more friendly and personal.
Recommendation: Use the Disqus plugin for threaded comments. Also, it emails you when someone comments on the blog, and you can reply to the comment via email (and have it show up on the blog).
On marketing:
Marketing is not a task. Every time you engage with someone, you are marketing yourself.
Marketing isn’t hard. You just have to care about people.
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. So what are you doing to increase these three factors?
In regards to things going “viral” online:
People spread awesome. Awesomely sweet. Awesomely great. Awesomely horrible. Awesomely funny. Not “just ok.”
Therefore, blog when you have something awesome to say.
Here’s what you want to create with your blog: When you haven’t posted for a while, and you do finally post, you want people’s reactions to be “OH HOLY MOSES, HE FINALLY POSTED! I HAVE TO GO READ IT!”
And be honest with yourself: you know when you’ve created the awesome, just as well as you know when you’re just creating “content.” If you’re more focused on posting frequently than on posting “awesomeness” – that’s not good.
On making your site user-friendly:
Make your site mobile-ready. Check how it looks on an iPad, Droid, iPhone, etc. Scott recommends the WP Touch WordPress plugin to help make it more mobile-friendly.
On SEO (Search Engine Optimization):
We tend to over-SEO stuff.
Nobody ever said “This article is ok, but wow, I love how it’s keyword optimized!”
On “contact me” forms on websites:
For every field you add to a form, there is a 10-30% loss of registration. In other words, the more fields you have, the fewer people will actually fill the form out. Keep it quick-n-easy!
On social media platforms:
You can’t use every site all the time, so choose a primary platform and stick with it. Twitter? Facebook?
If you use Twitter, you can get your stats at TweetStats.com
Twitter is all about building relationships.
The great thing about sharing info on Twitter: you’re not spamming people, you’re sharing items and then they can choose if they want to check it out.
On negativity:
The more emotional currency you spend worrying about trolls and negativity, the less you have to spend on those you care about.
- – -
And that concludes the nuggets I can share from Scott’s speech. I wish you could have been there – he was 100% awesome, shared 100% interesting and helpful info, with about 50% stand-up comic. Want more? Go buy his book. It’s totally worth it.
