And no wonder!

I’ve lived under the same roof with twin daughters who have been HIGHLY competitive since they left the womb.

Try living with two 4.2 GPA students who get into heated discussions (okay, they’re actually arguments) over the fact that one got a score of 103% on an exam and the other got 104%.  Sheesh!!  And the competition ensues with the very next exam and we’re right back on the “Who’s better/smarter” merry-go-round again.

And I’ll spare you the sordid details of the “Who’s more beautiful” competition.  That one gets REAL “ugly”.

I hesitated registering them for different sports like softball and volleyball they wanted to play throughout their school years.  I probably don’t have to tell you why.

The score sheets we were keeping had NOTHING to do with whether their teams won or lost a game.  You can just go ahead and use your imagination here.

So it’s no revelation that I tend to shy away from competitions.  Just the thought of competing in something brings on a tension headache and ties my stomach in knots.

I prefer to view everyone as winners.  We’re all good at something, right?

However …

There is such a thing as “healthy” competition that gives you the opportunity to stretch your mind, fine tune your skills, or move a bit out of your comfort zone.

I’ve entered just such a competition and as a fellow blogger, I think you should think about entering, too!

Check it out but you’ve got to hurry!  BLOG ENERGIZER

The deadline to submit your 5 blogging questions is TOMORROW – August 10^th.

For the past thirty days, I feel like I’ve been riding one of those large luxurious tour buses with a whole pile of really neat people.

Funny thing, though.  It really didn’t matter to me where the bus was headed, I just knew I wanted to be on it.

When we got on board on June 1^st, I immediately recognized a few of the passengers from a previous 30-day excursion.  On that particular pleasure trip, the fun never ended for the entire journey!

It was fabulous and we deemed ourselves the “Fab 50”.

Wondering what happened after we reached our destination?

Well, we didn’t want the excitement, camaraderie, and good times to end, so we got right back on the bus and started touring again.

However …

This time we picked up an extra 200 passengers!

Given such a huge group of people, I had my suspicions that I wouldn’t have enough time to get to know everyone on this trip, and I was right.  I’m sure there were lots of fascinating folks that I didn’t have a chance to meet.

But with any luck …

They’ll be back on the tour bus when we board again in the fall!

I want to extend a very warm and extra special thank-you to all the fantastic bloggers who knocked on my door during this 30-day challenge and posted so many well thought-out and meaningful comments.  I hope we can work together to keep the momentum going!

Put your arms down at your sides and give your hands a good shake!

Then raise your arms above your head and wiggle your fingers.

That’s not quite enough.  A little more wiggling, please.

Great!  Now you’re ready to join the next 30-day blogging challenge starting June 1^st – just three days from now.

However, you may need to repeat the exercise above several times during the challenge cause you’ll be bangin’ away at the keyboard and bloggin’ your little heart out!

FREE registration for the 30-Day Blogging Challenge hosted by Jeanette Cates of Tech Tamers.

You won’t believe the dynamite members area she’s created for all the participants!  Check it out.  It’s fabulous.

I just completed my very first blogging challenge a couple of weeks ago and it was the most amazing event with wonderful takeaways.  I can’t wait to join in the excitement again!

If you’d like to have the chance to meet some innovative, creative, and super talented experts in their field and some of the finest bloggers you’ll ever cross paths with …

Sign Up for the 30-Day Blogging Challenge Right Now!

Build new relationships, be interviewed as a guest expert, and create some opportunities for JV’s and other collaborative projects.  This is the perfect opportunity to have tons of fun,  greatly improve your writing skills,  and build your brand – your online identity.

See you there!

Marketing no longer means going to the grocery store. It’s a broad term used by businesses that can encompass everything from letterhead and logos to contests and tradeshows. Is it any wonder that people with great ideas for products or services often get tripped up or discouraged when asked about their marketing plan?

In a nutshell, your marketing plan is the strategy, or actions and materials, you use to attract new customers and sales. Ideally, you develop an ongoing relationship with your customer by building a foundation of trust in you, and in your product. The process can feel complex and somewhat overwhelming at its inception, but, once mastered, can yield amazing results.

The truth is if you have any successful friendships (which I know you do) you already know the basic premise behind building solid relationship foundations. It is that relationship that compels your potential customers to take action and purchase your products and services… again and again.

To help you develop a winning formula and create a successful marketing plan, follow these guidelines:

• Strategize your method of delivery. You have to get your message and your brand into the marketplace. When deciding how and when to deliver your materials, remember that people are busy, suffering from information overload and you have a limited amount of time to capture their attention. (Usually just a few seconds.) Once you pique their curiosity you can provide them with more material but don’t overwhelm them by asking them to digest it all at once.
• Understand your buyer and their needs. Take the time to research, listen to feedback and predict what your customers want and need. Flexibility is the key here. Your buyers might want more from you than what you originally had to offer… figure out how to get it to them and you’ve got a repetitive and reliable customer.
• Highlight your uniqueness. Let your customers know what makes you different and emphasize those differences in your messages. Small differences presented effectively can be the determining factor.
• Concentrate on developing the emotional connection. Invite your customers to get to know you on a personal level. People prefer to do business with other people rather than invisible corporations. Make sure you have a visible and personalized profile. Write about yourself in your blogs and newsletters and include photos of yourself.
• Monkey see, monkey do. There’s no need to start from scratch when developing a marketing plan. Analyze successful tactics from other businesses and mimic the strategies they utilize. Choose a method and modify it to fit the needs of your audience and the products and services you provide.
• Telling versus selling. Connections are easily established when people feel they have something in common. When you market your message by telling a story your audience can more easily relate to you. And besides, who doesn’t love a good story?

Think of your marketing plan as your roadmap to success. Figure out where your audience wants to go (understand your buyers needs), describe why they should go on this trip (tell them a story), emphasize why riding with you is the best option (highlight your uniqueness), select a comfortable and reliable mode of transportation (your method of delivery), find out what they hope to see along the way (give ‘em what they want), choose a route (no need to build new roads to get from point A to B), take some photos along the way (enhance the emotional connection), ask them where they want to go next and remind them of all the fun you had on your trip.

Until next time… happy trails and I hope to see you on the road!

Donna Kozik is a two-time award winning author who has been featured in Woman’s Day, Women’s World, Teen People, The L.A. Times, The Baltimore Sun, NPR’s “Marketplace” and other media. She now shows others how to write and publish a book fast and easy to use as a “big business card.” She does this through “Write a Book in a Weekend” live and virtual events.

To find out more —> GO HERE

Don’t you just hate it when you really need to update your blog and draw a blank?  Well, one of the best ways to jump start those creative juices is to simply look at the calendar.  How simple is that?

Every month, week, and day, there are some really strange and downright funny holidays and observances celebrated everywhere.  In fact, you can even make up your own ‘holiday’ to celebrate on your blog with your readers – that’s how easy it is to come up with days of posts at a time.  But you don’t have to make it up yourself.  It’s hard enough coming up with a post.  Here’s a blogging calendar I found that features some of these holidays. The other nice thing is, it has room to jot down your own ideas and you can use it to literally plan out the year’s content – or just a month or two ahead if you’re not the planning type. This really helps keep your blog going without rushing to write last minute posts.

Check it out for yourself. I bet you can find a couple of posts just off those dates you can write about.  In fact, you can write about them right away and schedule them.  Your readers will have fun and marvel at how you are so on top of the holidays and seasons.