a website & community for women who write & blog
Some nights when I can’t sleep I do the very thing you should not do when you can’t sleep: I reach for my phone. I know that staring at the light from the screen is going to keep me awake till daybreak but I do it anyway. I grab my phone and binge read blog posts.
Fashion blogger and freelance wardrobe stylist Victoria Sanders, better known as Vic Styles of VicStyles.com, says her friends have often compared her to Carrie Bradshaw of the wildly popular television show Sex and the City. “I think it started because I dress sort of quirky,” Styles says.
At a recent event I hosted for local women who write and blog, Styles arrived wearing a plum skirt, a black fitted off-the-shoulder top, white stilettos, and an ivory wide-brimmed hat. Since most other people in attendance were dressed in jeans or the office-appropriate frock they’d worn to work, Styles certainly stood out. If you’d been there, you might have leaned over to the person seated next to you and whispered, “She’s not from around here.” And you would have been right. Sort of.
Head to B-Metro.com to read my entire article on fashion blogger and wardrobe stylist Vic Styles.
Most days I pose a question to the ladies of the See Jane Write Facebook group designed to help us get to know one another better. Recently, I asked, “What are your superpowers?”
For mine I listed “teaching, writing, inspiring people, connecting people and cultivating community.” One superpower I failed to mention, though, is my knack for building buzz.
Earlier this year when Southern Living magazine included me in its list of Innovators Changing the South, I wrote a blog post about how I believe I’ve received recognition such as this and a number of other awards and opportunities because I’m good at self-promotion.
I know that for many people, especially women and especially writers, self-promotion feels dirty. Perhaps it even feels selfish. But you’ve got it all wrong.
If you have something truly valuable to offer others, you’re actually being selfish if you don’t promote it!
If your blog post could make someone’s day, if your book could change someone’s life, if your business could solve someone’s biggest problem, why would you keep that to yourself?
Self-promotion seems dirty because it’s usually done in a pushy, forceful, and slimy way. But despite how it sounds, “self-promotion” shouldn’t be simply about promoting yourself. It should be about letting someone know that you have something they need and that you want to help.
Perhaps you’ve gone so long shunning self-promotion that now you’re not even sure where to start. No worries. I got you, girl!
On Saturday, July 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I’ll be hosting a FREE workshop at DISCO on how to build buzz.
On Tuesday, June 28 I’ll be the guest speaker at the Alabama Women in Business Luncheon to be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Club, 1 Robert S. Smith Drive in Birmingham.
I’ll be speaking about how to use blogging and social media to boost your brand or business.
If you are a small business owner or aspiring entrepreneur, I’d love to see you there. Tickets are only $30 and can be purchased here. (If you are a member of ALWIB admission is free.)
During my talk, I’m going to cover what I call the three Cs of blogging: clarity, content, and community.
Jeniese Hosey of the fashion blog The Jenesaisquoi is having a moment — her moment, her time to shine.
The past several months have been quite eventful for her. Last fall she was featured on the cover of Redbook magazine as one of the winners of the publication’s Real Women Style Awards. She’s been featured on Essence.com and in People’s StyleWatch. She landed a brand campaign with Catherines, which included a fun, fashion-filled trip to New Orleans. And she was even recently featured on a billboard for Macy’s in Times Square in New York City!
Jeniese is indeed a perfect example of what being a boss lady blogger is all about and that’s why she’s the See Jane Write member of the month for May.