One of the benefits, and occasional annoyances, of suddenly finding yourself immersed in projects (among other things, I recently accepted a 30-hour a week contract doing design and branding for an architectural firm in Boston for the month of June), is that it leaves less time for writing, blogging, and some of my various other marketing activities. I've been reading articles here and there, but I haven't really had time to go indepth with anything (especially the flurry of posts that some people are making), so I apologize if I seem inactive.
A couple of things have gotten me thinking, though, about this whole Gather thing. I originally envisioned my Gather experience as a way to meet new people, to expose them to my writing, and get additional exposure for my work and my design studio (which, by the way, is called the zen kitchen and specializes in eco-friendly marketing communications for businesses and non-profits). Now that I've been here for a bit, however, I wonder if Gather is the right place for that kind of marketing. I should also clarify the difference here between marketing and a sales pitch - a sales pitch is articles saying "This is what I do and why you should hire me." Including blogging, and posting articles on Gather as well as other sites in my marketing plan is an effort to write about what I know and hopefully, in doing so, people will be interested in other articles, and also my overall site.
Don't get me wrong - I still plan on posting articles, and I still enjoy my time here and the people I've met - but as part of an overall marketing plan, I'm considering other options. One such option is pitching some of my more design-oriented and business-oriented articles to some of my favorite publications - which means I have to keep those ideas off of Gather. Which, also, scraps at least two of the posts I was thinking about making.
Ah well. Such is life as a business owner. The important thing is that I take the time to market myself - as much as I love being busy right now, it won't last forever, and I need to make sure the momentum I've started keeps up. In the meantime, I do plan on making more posts here, and I hope that everyone finds them helpful, tasty, and maybe just a bit entertaining.
Dani Nordin is the founder of the zen kitchen, a graphic and web design studio in Somerville, MA specializing in eco-friendly marketing communications. To learn more, visit http://www.tzk-design.com
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Comments: 13
I think you might misunderstand what I'm saying here. When I talk about using Gather as part of my marketing plan (and by the way, I don't know that I'd call myself a "media pro" - I'm more of a graphic and web designer), it was more along the lines of publishing articles related to my industry as a means of both providing useful information to a potential new client base and gaining attention for the studio.
1. I published some things that I wrote that helped me in the process of writing my book that are not part of my book, which at present is up to 14,000 words and now growing, because I am committed to complete an entire first draft by September 30.
2. Sometimes I want to test out an idea. This has brought me some interesting loops of dialogue. There is one person I met here in Gather, who has feedback for me that I like not because she agrees with me, however she has something to offer, so I have come to read her when she sends me an email she has written something.
In my gather history I now read 2 people who write regularly here.
1 person has a struggle many others share and a down to earth way of coping and expressing her voice
another person has a form of sincerity and authenticity I just like.
Work, marketing and sales is one aspect of life and another is learning to hang out and connect in a network of people who inspire you to be all you can be.
I also am learning with GATHER. I was completely surprised to hear from a colleague that he had read me on Gather all the way from Nova Scotia and as a result, he knew what to talk to me about on a project we want to do.
I have been a virtual avatar now back to 1993 and the terrain just fascinates me. I periodically take a sabbatical from on line community and sometimes that permits me to come back and develop new perspectie.
I don't know if people find value in what I posted here and because I know Dani, I was moved to speak up a bit more here than I ordinarily with.
However, networking is part of what I know really well and the concept of social networking is much wider than marketing and sales and if you don't know how to navigate networking than you can build trusting relationships.
My website talks about it and I teach about it and I am known for my knowledge in this area.
Fast Company is now publishing quite a bit about what it is and my website has article on it.
The new economy is a social network and what most people don't realize is that most business today does not come from sales and marketing, === it comes from reputation, building trust and learning and knowledge.
I first joined thru the DWC and hoped on gaining new clients as a result. Not one has come my way yet, but I hope that changes after the June 30 dinner at John Harvard's. It's led to good things. It's also introduced me to what it's like to get on national TV. :) I love LiveJournal and still go there every day...but this is a different sort of place. Sometimes Gather pisses me off...sometimes it makes me happy to be here.
I had over 40 message between now and this morning from Gather. I have to learn not to let Gather disrupt me and find the gold.
My group, WORKECOLOGY, is becoming that social experiment.
My workshop, at www.workecology.com/redesign2/events.html teaches social networking and I use it in my coaching.
What I have discovered is that chatting is very different than sharing knowledge and when you share knowledge versus chat, you can expect that about 10% of people who read you or contact you may be a niche in which you can gain value in a variety of ways, including earning a living.
Thanks for your comments. This Gather thing is still very new to me (it's only been three weeks), so I'm still learning to do exactly what you're talking about.
I also agree with you on the sharing knowledge vs. chatting—my original purpose here was a bit of both.
You have done a lot for yourself in a very short time.
I am now in the process of learning to describe my business formation from social networking very differently because some think it is about patience.
While patience to a certain degree is key and for me I keep learning that (after closing a contract with a group after my first contact with them relative to this specific project over 2 years ago) and this was based on trust of working with some of the people in other jobs in my career---
the symmetry and shape of both your work and how you work with people is now more important than anything you can conceive of relative to a job or contract where you do something, leave and never hear from anyone again.
I posted elsewhere in my article about RESOLVE, how I did my own performance review a few weeks back and why that was valuable
Freelancers, self-employed people and those attempting to structure a business have no concept of how the lack of talking about and learning about performance is so costly to all of us including the companies we work for.
Thanks for the compliment. It's been tough, but I stick with it because I know this is the right path for me - and that has been the biggest reward.
In regards to your comment about performance, I agree that it is a problem for many people. I tend to be a bit obsessive in terms of self-reflection, and that often includes performance. Right now I'm working on streamlining and re-focusing my marketing efforts to find a system that's both workable in terms of time spent and will provide a more focused return on investment. Once I've worked out a system there, I want to start evaluating how I deal with my clients, and find ways to be more of a resource for them, and show my appreciation for their business (without driving myself crazy with too much to do).
The whole process of starting a business and helping it grow has been an invaluable learning experience, and it's helped me become more valuable to my clients. It's been quite a thrill.
Ultimately those who succeed surround themselves with people who can grow with them.
In Europe right now there is an understanding fo what I call Enterprise Networks. Cisco Systems has with 3 other companies sponsored my colleague Verna Allee to go on tour and teach people about value networks.
I recommend her program to anyone and she will be here in October and it will be a day well spent by anyone.
You can find out more by going to www.workecology.com/redesign2/events.html (scroll down to the links for Verna Allee.
Cisco Systems and Eurofocus, Collaboria, Boeing and Eoffice believe in this system of thought so much now they created this tour for their network to attend in cities in Europe and the US. Verna will be presenting this practice in October in Boston. You can find the schedule at the link I provided above.
This reminds me of a story about Verna and how we became friends. Verna and I were in invited to be members of a focus group run by Tom Hurley, who works with Dee Hock, former Chair of Visa International.
Tom wanted to assess the future of work and health through this focus group. Verna and I connected during this small group of people we associated with in the Bay Area, some who advised my business. At the end of the day she came up to me and remarked...
"I noted that when you described the ecology of work in just a couple of sentences, it was an excellent elevator pitch. I wanted you to know that because it appeared that many of our friends did not listen. I want you to know they could not hear you or appear to hear you because you have the answer to downsizing and more. Keep at it."
These are the kind of associates you need when you are an entreprenuer, people who understand the business you project to be in and can tell you when and if you are project that at your best and direct you to where you need to learn.
I have always been grateful for Verna's friendship and was given a special gift last week to actually see her in Boston for 3 whole hours. It was like getting a blood transfusion.
Take care.
I had a very unusual last couple of days waiting for people to respond to my work, so I was more available and have enjoyed my visits here.
Now I have to go back to the life of deadlines.
I'm stuck in the middle of a pile of deadlines myself... it's been nice hearing from you.