Day minus 7 of THE JOB

So I got the job as marketing intern for TEG! I'm super excited. I got my own email account and access to the project management today.

After a small squeal of glee, I immediately started reading everything. I already have 31 emails! I don't even start until February 1!!! I feel so professional. I actually have a REAL job in my field! Ha ha!

I spent 2 hours exploring the project management system. I'm going to be one busy girl this February. My first project to attack is to create a "how-to" cleaning video. I haven't done any film work since Grade 12 when I was determined to break into the film industry. Those days seem so long ago but I still remember the thrill of seeing my video slowly come together. It was very rewarding. Along with the video, I have 5 other small projects to do while simultaneously create a new and original marketing campaign. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

My target is to increase sales by 50%. When I first saw this number, I balked. How am I, a newly-budding marketer, supposed to do this? Then, I remembered an article by one of my newest blog obsessions, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Awesome article; it basically breaks down every marketers dream, how to find paying clients. Little steps and personalization is the best way to find the best clients. Consumers love being given exactly what they want and get showered with attention. It makes us feel special.

Small steps. If I find 3 paying clients a weekend, or if I'm ambitious, one client a day... it'll start adding up. We want customers that will stay with us forever and spread the word. These loyal customers deserve our attention.

Beyond the excitement of the new job, my weekend was spent baby shopping. I got a BUNCH of sleepers and onesies from my friend who's baby just outgrew all his size 0-3 month outfits. Lucky me. Hopefully, he'll outgrow his car seat by March and I'll get to borrow that jewel too! Going to see a crib at IKEA tomorrow. With any luck, I can get that purchase done and over with. I want to get as much ready as possible by mid-February.

In addition to my crazy shopping, I've been crazy reading. And not just storybook-reading! But blog reading, funeral reading, Google Adwords reading, SEO reading, Personal finance reading, and oh-so-much more. Inspring blogs of the week: Lena Corwin (inspiration through image), Jenerally Speaking (inspiration through humor), I Will Teach You To Be Rich (inspiration through money).

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed the last few days. Inspirationally overwhelmed.

The thing I love about inspiration is that it facilitates dreaming. The instant inspiration hits you, whether it's through a photo, song, phrase, your brain automatically starts daydreaming. When I dream, I dream of wants. I tried really hard to think of some daydreams I have that don't involve "wanting" something.... I came up blank.

I was reading Jenerally Speaking yesterday, and after laughing really hard, started daydreaming about living the 'simple girl life'. A life that is carefree. Go to work. Go out for after-work-drinks. Go out for late dinner with the girls. Go home to a quiet apartment of your own. No worries about babies. No worries about custody battles. Just fun times.

I'll be having fun... but it's just going to be a different kind. I wonder how much I'll miss this life. A life where the only responsibility I had was to go to work and pay off my cellphone bill. Speaking of bills... my credit card is due. Whew... good thing I just remembered! Must go do that now.

Blog Design Usability

Jakob Nielsen is the guru of web design usability. His tips are the foundation to building a fantastic website.

The article I found particularly interesting was Weblog Usuability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes.

The reason I'm posting a blog about this is because:

1. I'm still working on the web design of my new blog and I found these tips immensely helpful
   
2. I'm tired of reading other people's blog that are horribly designed.
   

Here are the 6 tips I found most useful:

1. Links Don't Say Where They Go
   

   I hate going to blogs and seeing every other word underlined and linking to somewhere. I never click on the link unless I know what to expect. People are already time-poor. No one has time to click on these unknown links.
   

   Using link titles is one way to create good links. (Link titles should be less than 80 characters, and should only rarely go above 60 characters. Shorter link titles are better). Or, you can just clearly state what the link is linking to.
   

2. Classic Hits are Buried
   

   Don't assume that everyone who comes to you blog has been there from the beginning. Link to past entries in order to help the reader understand where you are coming from.
   

   An easy way to do this is to clearly state at the top of your entry
   

   "Read this first: (link 1) and (link 2)".
   

3. The Calendar is the Only Navigation
   

   By nature, blog are listed in a descending timeline. Correctly categorizing your blog posts helps readers find related topics, thereby increasing the likliehood that they will return to your blog.
   

   Good categories are sufficiently detailed but not too long. Having 10-20 categories is good. Too many are just overwhelming and readers will glaze past them.
   

4. Irregular Publishing Frequency
   

   What's that saying? Less is more.
   

   This definitely hold true to blogs (and tweets for that matter). You want readers to come running to your website and devour your latest update. If readers don't know when to expect your blog post, the less likely they will return to your site. If you're serious about blogging, set up a publication schedule. That's what I do. I write my articles the night before and then upload them at an opportune time the next day.
   

   The same with tweeting. You want people to take the time and read what you wrote. If you saturate your readers with meaningless post after post, people will start ignoring you. Their eyes will automatically skip over your writing. You don't want that!
   

   LESS IS MORE!
   

5. Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss
   

   Here's one of my constant dilemmas. Is what I'm writing going to bite me in the ass? There are TONS of topics about my personal life that I'd love to write about. But I hold back because the contents might be seen as inappropriately personal to a potential boss. Until I'm successful and so valuable that bosses don't care WHAT I SAY, then I'll write without any boundaries.
   

6. Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service
   

   This is why I'm going through all this effort to create my own website.
   

   Neilsen says, quote, "Having a weblog address ending in blogspot.com, typepad.com, etc. will soon be the equivalent of having an @aol.com email address or a Geocities website: the mark of a naïve beginner who shouldn't be taken too seriously".
   

The Digital Age of Marketing

I'm doing some readings on digital marketing tools like blogs, podcasts, social networks, viral marketing, etc. The technology out there is amazing and it's all about connectivity and the end user.
Everyone is using it and only now are businesses climbing on board. The topic of social media marketing is so broad that I think it's crucial for businesses to have at least one person hired to just scan what is being said out there on the internet. If the company is smart, it'll take that information and use it to their benefit.

I read this book last winter on taking buzz marketing onto a whole new level. It's all about creating conversation.
Here's how I think of it: if you were out on your first date and the person did not talk or stimulate any conversation... would you want a second date?
It's the same with marketing, consumers are tired of this whole 'WE SAY and YOU BUY'. Thanks to the internet, consumers have found their voice. If businesses really want to succeed, they're going to need learn how to really talk to their consumers.

Take blogging... the success of a blog is typically measured by the number of comments it gets. If the blogger never responds to the comments, readers will eventually stop commenting because it's like talking to a wall. No response.

If individual bloggers can do this, why can't businesses?

Answer: I think it's because businesses don't know how to build ONE voice. Sure, they can build one marketing plan, one message, one look.... but creating one voice is different. Why? Because to have ONE voice, businesses need to rely on ONE person to do the talking. Just like in newspapers, columns are written by ONE person. Sure, there are editors and researchers who help build the article, but in the end, it's one writer that combines everything. Too many voices confuse readers.
Maybe businesses are too scared to give ONE person this power. The person would have to be amazing and embody the brand/company. But if you can hire one person to be CEO, you can hire one person to be the voice of the brand. It's what spokepersons are right?

Conclusion: businesses should start hiring people to specifically explore and use the internet.... starting with me.

Another sunny day and I'm sitting in my parent's room, where the sun always shines the longest. I painted my nails today for the first time in a while. Actually, I painted them blue a few days ago and then decided to go black. I read in Flare magazine that the newest fall color for nails is grey. I actually really like the idea. I'm going to go buy some grey nail polish now.

Listening to Rihanna's new song "Russian Roulette". Daydreaming about the future. I keep trying to picture where I'm going to be in 2 years. I'm thinking now about going to Chicago or Boston for fashion school. My friend Rachel is planning on moving to Melbourne, New Zealand for her masters. Maybe I'll follow her. :) I can't imagine a winter without snow though. Snow and Canadians to be more specific. Snow and skating..... and beavertails. Mmmmmm.

My daydreams usually focus on interior decorating a lot. Like, I can't imagine what my situation will be like unless I fully daydream up my apartment. Since I'm doing nothing during my third trimester, I think I'm going to do make a bunch of house products (like lamps, pictures, etc.) I have a really good idea for a lamp. I'm going to glue tiny pieces of glass onto a vase and put a lightbulb on top. I got the idea of making my own lamp off "Sara's cottage" when she made 2 lamps out of birch logs. So cool. I'll put up pictures of what I make.

I don't know why... but I let myself think of "him" today. The tall, cold one. haha... sound more like a beer than a person. I've been working really hard at never seeing him. I don't go to the pool anymore when he's working. It sucks for me because then I can't swim (which is where I get my best workout) but I think it just makes things easier for me when I don't see him. I've had to work with him twice but acted like he didn't even exist. Asha was super impressed with me. hahaha. She said that the entire shift, he kept staring at me like a lost puppy. I know exactly which look she's talking about. The one he puts on when he tries to get pity. Well, I didn't even look at him. But, sometimes I worry about the day when he'll finalyl confront me. What am I going to say to him? A big part of me just wants to tell him the truth. That he's hurt me so much that I can't take it anymore. That I still love him but have given up waiting. Another part of me just wants to tell him to leave me alone and stay out of my life forever. But, then I'll always wonder whether he would've come back if I hadn't scared him so much. The smart part of me tell me to not say anything and walk away. He'll probably just twist what I say anyways to make me look like the bad guy.

Christmas is coming soon. I've always loved Christmas season except last winter. Last year I had to do all the Christmas shopping for my family. It was hell! My mother would just give me a huge list of the people I had to buy for and sent me off. When I'd get home, she'd review my purchases and then send me back to return things and start again. This year, I refuse to do her shopping. I'm actually going to try and buy as much stuff online as possible. It'll be my first time shopping online. Ohhhhh!!!

I've been trying to learn about social media tactics recently. Just for fun. I find the stuff facinating. I'm trying to work on creating my personal brand..... or in other words, brand myself. So far, I've made this blog, a twitter account and FB of course. I'm going to work on a website with Bob and a business card. I just don't know what to focus on. I feel like this blog is WAY to personal for me to use to brand myself. I don't know whether I should focus in on the businesses I want to create or on my knowledge. Or both. I'm entering a entreprenuer competition this year for my Underwear Lovers business plan. Though, I still haven't found a designer to help me actually make the underwear. I have an idea for the models and everything. I really don't want people to get distracted away from the underwear with boobs and bras so I was thinking of just making my models wear plain bands or a wreath (my daydream involved a christmas fashion show). hahaha.