You Decide! Work-Life Balance: Is it Important?

Since last week’s post, Work-Life Balance: Fact or Fiction, generated so much buzz, and because this is a holiday week, I’ve decided to do a work-life balance poll.

Some of you argue that work-life balance is necessary to living a healthy life.  You think that there’s a time for work and a time for play.  Others say that work-life balance is a myth, and believe that work is more important than anything else in life.  So, where do you fall in this spectrum?  Are you all about striving for a successful work-life balance, or do you believe that working hard day in and day out is the key to success?   And how balanced is your life between work and personal affairs?  Are you all work, all play, or somewhere in the middle? 

Take this poll, and let everyone know where you stand!

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Work-Life Balance: Fact or Fiction?

I was at a dinner party last week, talking shop with some folks.  Two friends told me how they’ve both pulled overnighters and worked entire weekends on a far-too-frequent basis. One of them told me how he’s regularly worked 90-some hours a week, and when he finally leaves work for the evening (or the next morning), he can barely see or drive due to extreme exhaustion.  I could certainly relate because I’ve been there myself! 

Why would someone work themselves to the bone?  I know for me and my friends, it’s due to a deadline, big launch, or promised deliverable for a client.  We all know that it’s crazy to live like that, and it can burn a person out over time.  But sometimes it’s tough to scale back when you’re responsible for something that others are depending on.  And it can be tough to say “no” during a time of uncertain job security for many.

What about work-life balance though?  Do you live to work or work to live?  It may be a combination of both, but it’s important to give yourself downtime and time outside of work.  This may be easier said than done, but work-life balance should be everyone’s mantra.  It means giving yourself time to re-fuel your engine so you can continue to be productive and brilliant for years to come.  Make sure to carve out some time for yourself today!  Read a book, catch your favorite show, call a friend, or spend time with family.   Life’s too short to neglect your personal needs outside of the office!  Besides, the work will still be there tomorrow, so why not take a breather tonight?

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Attention Jon Gosselins of the World: Check Out the Top 10 Effective Ways to Promote Yourself

Ever wonder how to utilize your network to land a job or start a new business? You must be a self-promoter. Here are 10 tips for shameless self-promotion. These tips are helpful for marketers, job seekers, business owners, and attention-seekers that really have no agenda at all (ahem, Jon).

1.  Get a website. Whether you’re promoting your business or are looking to land a job, shameless self-promoters have personal websites. As for content, feel free to toot your own horn. List all your achievements and let everyone know how awesome you are.
2. Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace yourself. Set up an account with each social networking site separate from your personal accounts. It can serve the same purpose as your personal website – listing your achievements, and most importantly, your goals.
3. Get LinkedIn. This site is really helpful for job seekers and employers. It’s a professional networking site, and best of all, it’s free. Set up a profile and upload your resume. Connect only with people you know and can vouch for your work.
4. Blog. Blog about something you are interested in. Pick a specific topic and get set up on a blogging site.  If you blog about random events and subjects it might be difficult to develop a consistent group of followers.
5. Give away a freebie. People love free stuff. Get creative. Instead of handing someone a business card, how about some neat squiggle pens with your contact information?
6. Email your heart out. Send out personalized emails to contacts that can help you achieve your goals. Remember to KISS. (Keep it simple, stupid) Don’t give too much information or they will get delete-happy.
7. Don’t air your dirty laundry. This tip is specifically for Jon Gosselin. If you want people on your side, don’t let them know about the questionable decisions you’ve made. Are you a partier on the weekends, and like to post pictures of your shenanigans on Facebook or Myspace? Make sure your pages are private and potential business contacts can’t access them. Keep the details of your personal life under your hat (Jon). Image is everything.
8. YouTube yourself. Do you have any unusual talents? Do you have any funny videos of yourself? Use them to promote yourself on YouTube. However, don’t create a video with a boring sales pitch. “I am awesome, yadda yadda…” Keep the content interesting and compelling. Weird even. Catch our attention.
9. Become an expert speaker. Find a topic you are passionate about and offer up your speaking talents for free. What if speaking in front of people makes your knees buckle? Join Toastmasters and learn the fine art of public speaking.
10. Go Vibrant. Use Vibrant Marketing Solutions to help you achieve your goals. Yep, I’m a shameless self-promoter too. My agenda is to find people and businesses that we can help. We can offer you marketing solutions such as website and graphic design, email newsletters, help with your social networking strategy, web page traffic marketing analysis, and much more. Check out our website. You won’t be disappointed. www.vibrant-marketing.com

-Melinda Thome, Co-owner and Principal of Vibrant Marketing Solutions

Learn How to Improve Your Blog Today!

I took a great blogging class from Dean DeLisle of Forward Progress a few weeks ago, and I learned some helpful tips that I want to share. Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran blogger, these tips should help you improve and streamline your blog writing:

• Don’t be too formal. A blog is a “web log”, AKA “blog”. Think of it as a conversational journal entry.
• ALWAYS write about content you know and are passionate about. It’ll make things easier on you, and your passion and expertise will translate in your writing. 
• Less is more (writing that is). Try to keep your blog posts under 250 words. Never write more than 500 words.  (This post is 368 words.)
• Keep your blog personal. People read things from other people, so let your personality and opinions shine through! 
• Content should be open-ended and solicit comments from readers. 
• Use your blog to survey people/garner opinions. 
• Use your blog to become a “trust agent” in your area of expertise. 
• Your content should always be original. 
• Use links where possible. 
• Use blogrolling when possible. Blogrolling is when you refer to others’ blogs and/or they return favor. This can help increase SEO, get you more visitors, shows value, and builds trust. 
• Emphasize relevant keywords when you write your blog to improve your SEO results and help people discover your blog. Try to use the same keywords throughout your blog that you use in your website and social media networking efforts. 
• “Tag” keywords in your blog post to further improve your SEO. 
• Use catchy, interesting titles for blog posts. If you can, incorporate keywords in the title. 
• Companies should use multiple authors/contributors for their blog entries to diversify their content and expertise. 
• Your company blog’s look and feel should match the rest of the content from your company (website, social media efforts, etc.). 
• Promote your blog on social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn 
• Places to get inspired on content that’s hot and people want to hear about: http://technorati.com, Twitter, and other blogs with related subject matter.

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Are You Paying Too Much for Graphic Design?

It’s not uncommon to be quoted the price of a new car or nearly a full year’s salary for a good person to help you with a design project. I’m not saying that creative services aren’t pricey-they certainly can be-but at a certain point you have to decide if the value matches the price tag. Often times it doesn’t. If you’re in this boat, recognize it, and know that there are options. Like any investment what’s important is that you feel good about a creative project and the value you’re receiving from it.

It’s not always about the lowest price, but here are some good questions to ask yourself and team before you start:

• Do we have clear idea for the project and what kind of agency we need? Large, medium, small? One that knows my business? Nimble or traditional?
• Do we know what we need? (Many times people want an email, but have not yet developed branding, so have thus put the cart before the horse.)
• Do we need a dedicated project manager or team? Do the people managing our side know about graphic design?
• Do we have our logo, assets, and branding guidelines ready to go (i.e.in usable formats)? 

Here are some more tips to help you optimize your creative projects:

•  Give yourself more time! An agency may charge you a “compressed time” fee. We don’t, but it happens.
• Don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen. This is a sure-fire way to go on a merry-go-round.
• Set up a clear review process with your agency and roles for your team (e.g. approvers vs. influencers).
• Recognize that you may feel like things are a step behind. I like to do what I call, “Nail and extend.” Simply put, our team makes sure we’re heading down the right track before we build it out. This may take a little more effort but it’s worth it and generally ends up being more cost-effective.
• Ask for a not to exceed amount or for the agency to work for straight time and materials. We do this and are often the ones to suggest the model. It’s cost-effective as well as fair. Our clients love it!

 … Stay tuned for information about how to estimate your projects.

-Damian Madsen, Principal & Creative Director

Face to Face Communication: A Quickly Dying Art

In an era of email, social media networking, and telecommuting, face to face communication is a quickly dying art.  If you work in the tech industry or any other industry with an email-centric business culture, you know about the rapid decline of face to face interaction.  

I attended a great local seminar last week, “The Art of Connecting,” led by Greg Krape, Senior Principal of MulvannyG2 Architecture and Chair of the Bellevue, WA, Chamber Board of Directors.  The seminar focused largely on communication.  Krape pointed out how critical face to face interaction is to building business relationships.  I learned that in face to face communication, we rely on a whopping 93% body language and a mere 7% verbal communication to perceive and be perceived.  Krape also stressed that a key to success in building business relationships is listening. 

 This brings me back to my point on the departure from face to face interaction.  If regular human communication and building relationships relies so heavily on that which is face to face (i.e. body language and listening), what are we to do when this element is gone?  Clearly, the face to face meeting is still the best way to do business and grow business relationships.  The challenge now becomes how to actually get people away from their computer and in front of you! 

I’d love to hear your ideas on creative ways to get in front of people in the era of email and social media!  : )

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

It’s Not WHAT You Say But HOW You Say It

Chances are that your ideas, no matter how fresh or creative they may seem, are not as original as you might like to think. This is why invention is such a big deal. In an era where many of your predecessors and even some of your contemporaries have already outdone and outwitted you with their ideas, theories,and creations, how can you do anything new or innovative? How do you leave your mark? This is the post-modern dilemma…

Once you accept the fact that your ideas are often not original, you can move ahead. (And if you do come up with an original idea, you better patent it quick before somebody else beats you to it!) The focus now becomes: “How can I say it better?” We live in an era of recycled ideas and retweets, where the emphasis has shifted not to what you say, but how you say it. In order to hold the attention of the masses or even just your friends or coworkers, eloquence is key. This doesn’t mean that you  have to become a Shakespeare or even a Hemingway for that matter, but you  must be aware of and empowered by the impact of your words!

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Hungry to Improve Your Email Etiquette? Try a Sandwich!

Have you ever been misinterpreted in email correspondence? Do you ever risk offending your recipient when simply trying to convey or ask something? Worse yet, have you ever struggled with how to deliver unfortunate news without completely offending your recipient? If you have ever been on the receviving end of a cold or unpleasant email, you know how easy it can be to offend through this form of communication.

The difficulty we face when communicating through email is that we lack that which we so heavily rely on when communicating face to face: nonverbal communication. Wikipedia defines nonverbal communication as “the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages.” This includes communication through gesture, touch, body language, facial expression, eye contact, and even paralanguage-voice quality, emotion, and speaking style. So, the problem email communication poses is that we are limited entirely to communication through sending and receiving of words themselves. When we are limited to communicating through words and words alone, much of the human element is suddenly removed, and the ability to manage tone becomes much more challenging. Because of this, you have to work even harder to be cordial with words than you might if you were in front of the person, able to shake their hand, make eye contact, and smile.

Here’s an example of an email that can easily put the recipient on defense:

Hi Jim,

Do you have an ETA on when I can expect to see the budget reports for last quarter?

Thanks,

Jessica

Sure, the email above addresses the person and even says “thanks” with a signature at the closing, but it’s still pretty cold and offensive in tone. So, how could you easily rewrite the same email with a warmer, less offensive tone? See below:

Hi Jim,

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend! : )

Do you have an ETA on when I can expect to see the budget reports for last quarter?

Thank you so much for your help! I look forward to seeing you at the company picnic on Thursday!

Regards,

Jessica

This new email asks the same question about the timing on the budget reports, but it is “sandwiched” between friendly messages to the recipient. Here’s how the sandwich effect works: you start and end your emails with a cordial, human element, such as a greeting, personal question, or other friendly touch such as emoticons. This works especially well when you need to convey information that isn’t entirely pleasant or seems demanding. In the new email above, “the meat” of the email, which asks about the report delivery timing is sandwiched between “the bread” at the beginning and end of the email, which is cordial and personable. Although this may seem like a lot of “niceness” to simply ask one question, you really have to go out of your way to be cordial when you’re limited to only written communication.

Integrating the email sandwich effect in your communications is an easy way to get business done and still have good relationships with your colleagues at the end of the day!

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Get People to Actually Read and Respond to Your Emails

Do you ever get frustrated when you don’t get a response to an email? Or maybe you do get a response, but it doesn’t provide the information you are seeking? Chances are that you if you tweak your email communication style a bit, and you’ll find your communication efforts become much more effective, and you can even reduce email churn!

Whether you are attempting to inform, to be informed, or both, remember to keep your email communications concise and to the point. Your readers are usually in a hurry and/or lack the patience to read a long, wordy email. Here are ten ways to get your recipients to actually read/respond to your emails:

1. Ask yourself what information you are trying to convey and/or glean, and make this the focal point of your entire email communication. Avoid unnecessary information that does not support or distracts from the purpose of your communication. Be cordial in tone, but you don’t need to get carried away with irrelevant topics.

2. Use subject lines to your favor, and use action words as applicable. If you are asking for something, title your email with something like “Need Your Input on ____”, “Action Required:____”, or “Urgent: ___”. This will let the recipient know that you’re asking something of them, and it can help them prioritize their inbox.

3. Use bullets for lists or big chunks of information. Instead of writing out a long list in sentence form, bullet your information out. This makes it much more scan-able and quicker to read.

4. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Long sentences and paragraphs are intimidating. Your reader will be more receptive to reading short sentences and small paragraphs. It’s better to break up your communication in 3-5 paragraphs, for example, instead of writing one long paragraph that goes on and on, and may even fall “below the fold” of the page. Breaking up your information has the same easy-to-read effect as bullets.

5. Use headers or sub-headers to separate information. This will make your email more scan-able and easier to digest. Once you have headers/sub-headers in place, continue to use bullets and shorter sentences and paragraphs.

6. Use text formatting to your advantage. If you want the more important parts of your message to really stand out, try these techniques:
• Bold font. This works well when creating headers/sub-headers.
• Different font color. Red is especially effective and typically signifies urgency.
• Italics are a good way to set text apart.
• All caps are another good way to set text apart. Be sure to use sparingly though. Research shows that it is harder to read words in caps, so you should only use them to call attention to/separate a word, phrase, or sentence at a maximum.
• Underline a key sentence, phrase, or word.
• Highlight your text to make it really stand out.

7. Use one or more of the text formatting techniques outlined in #6 above to call out what you’re asking of whom if your email is addressed to multiple recipients. Remember to explain which text formatting applies to which recipient at the top of your email.

8. Call out the fact that you have a deadline to meet if applicable, and stress your need for information back in a timely manner. Do this in conjunction with one or more of the “text formatting” techniques described in #6 above.

9. Call out your “asks” at the top of your email, rather than within the body. Many people only read the first paragraph or two of emails, so you should avoid leaving questions/action items for the end of a long email, where they may be missed. If you absolutely must request information in the middle/at the bottom of your message, call this out in the opening of your email so your reader can seek out where you need their input.

10. “Flag” an email to remind people that you are awaiting their input.

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications

Old vs. New

Many companies are looking for ways to market themselves more efficiently, especially during these tough economic times. A common challenge many face is whether to pursue the existing client, or if efforts would be better spent going after new clients. This is not a simple question.

In order to market to the existing client, a company must be on good terms with the client and should have proven their effectiveness to that client. The easy part of marketing to existing clients is that you’ve already won half of the battle: they have selected your services before, and chances are that they will do so again if the experience and results were worth their while.

So what about the newbies? Does it make sense to market yourself to the companies that have not yet had the pleasure of working with you? It certainly makes sense to want more clients, which theoretically means more earning potential. However, it can be costly to invest the initial time and energy in marketing to these folks. But if your marketing efforts are successful, and you “win” the new clients, your investment may be worth your while.

So the matter comes down to you and your own company. If you are happy with your current clientele, then by all means, do not halt your efforts and stop the romance with them. But if your company has room to grow and can spend the time and efforts on investing in new clients, you should add this to your marketing plan as well. You can even start with the free efforts described in our post 7 Free and Easy Ways to Market Your Company.

-Jessica Nielsen, Principal & Dir. of Marketing Communications