Today is International Women’s Day, and though I certainly don’t need a holiday to celebrate women, in honor of this day I’d like to share five ways I think women writers can celebrate International Women’s Day every day.
I believe that we women who write need to accept the charge given by writer Nora Ephron: “Above all, be the heroine of your life.” And we should do all we can to encourage the women and girls around us to do the same. We must also do the work necessary to create a world where women and girls actually can be the heroines of their own lives.
If you’re not sure what all of this work looks like here are some ideas…
While some people dream of being six-figure earning Instagram influencers others are wishing the word “influencer” could be banned.
Tom Godwin, the head of innovation for ZenithMedia, told AdWeek at the end of 2018 that he hopes influencer marketing will die out in 2019. Though he acknowledges it’s a good tactic for some industries, Godwin says influencer marketing has quickly descended into “hot people holding things.”
To be honest, this is how I had come to define the word influencer, too. So when I was invited last month to attend a luncheon for local influencers I wasn’t quite sure what to think. First of all, I don’t have a gazillion Instagram followers, which I often feel is a requirement to bear that title. And secondly, if you scroll through my feed you’ll see that “hot people holding things” is hardly my theme.
But the title of this event caught my attention — #UnSelfie2019 Influencer Luncheon. Presented by United Way of Central Alabama and hosted by social media and public relations pro Maree Jones, this event was all about how to use your social media influence for good, for positive change in your community and beyond. So my BBF marketing guru Jacqui Jones of One Degree MMM and I headed to the event.
Last month I had a difficult time blogging consistently but not for any of the reasons you may think. I hadn’t run out of ideas for blog posts. And I didn’t feel too busy to blog either. No, I didn’t lack the inspiration or the time, but I did lack the intention.
I was no longer clear on why I was blogging. Sure, I know all the business-related reasons to blog. I know blogging can help you establish yourself as an expert, increase your visibility and build your know/like/trust factor. But I needed a reason beyond that.
This has never happened before. This year I REALLY was not looking forward to my birthday. Sure, I’ve joked in the past about how I’m getting SO OLD, but I didn’t really mean it. But over the past few months as I got closer and closer to today — my 38th birthday — I panicked.
Yes, I panicked about the wrinkles and the lines and the belly bulge that just won’t go away. But I also panicked about something else — my writing goals. I started to think of all the things that I thought I’d do before I was 30 and realized there’s a chance I won’t even accomplish these goals before I’m 40 and this left me just downright depressed.
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the mantra “December is
the new January.” Every December I encourage my blog readers and the women of
See Jane Write to start setting and slaying their goals for the next year long
before New Year’s Day. And every January I am ready to do ALL. THE. THINGS. But
I never actually do.
I used to beat myself up about this but not anymore because I’ve come to realize that maybe February is the new January.
