When someone asks me how they get can more Twitter followers, it’s hard for me to give a straight answer. Not that I don’t know how to get more followers — there’s research showing, for example, that acting as a source of information instead of just talking about yourself will grow your audience. Hashtags help, as do including URLs and…
Frequently political candidates run on a campaign of running government more like a business. Presumably they mean things like more accountability and focus on results, as opposed to, say, accounting scandals or taking risks that put the country’s whole economy in peril. Lately as I follow news out of Washington, from the fiscal cliff to the massive budget cuts called sequestration,…
Last summer, I wrote a series of guest blog posts for Stirring Up Success, a B2B blog run by Dawn Foods, a manufacturer of bakery ingredients and products and distributor to the bakery industry. According to a case study by Crossroads, StirringUpSuccess.com has been featured in top industry trade publications as a unique and helpful tool for bakery owners. Here’s…
I’ve been on both sides of the media relationship — I’ve been a reporter and editor getting pitched every day and I’ve worked in public relations trying to get journalists interested in covering University of Michigan. Like any relationship, when it works well, everyone wins. The journalist gets to tell an interesting story she might not have otherwise known about,…
Maybe you haven’t used computers or the Internet much, but here we are in an era when email, websites and social media are essential tools of business. It can be overwhelming enough just to learn the peculiar language of Twitter or to find the right images to use on your blog — let alone figure out how to trouble shoot…
Like many people, it’s easy for me to get caught up in my aspirations for more — a bigger home, more money, greater success. Harvard Business Review‘s article, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, challenges that. Instead of more [fill in the blank with whatever you are chasing here], focus on the right things. Author Greg McKeown starts by defining “the…
Social media gets a lot of buzz as the cool, exciting way to do marketing. I get it. I’m a social media nerd. Tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn give us a way to connect with others faster and more efficiently than ever, and they’re growing like crazy. Mashable reported that Twitter had 200 active users in December, double what…
Phone? Check Email? Check Website? Check Blog? No? No blog? It’s become standard marketing advice that a business must have a blog, alongside more standard communications tools like having a phone number and email. The benefits of business blogging are many: You keep your website fresh so you give people a reason to come back You share useful information that…
I’m starting a series called Marketing Monday, with tips and tricks on more effective marketing, from market research to social media, from public relations to branding. Eventually I plan to move the series to a new website at colleennewvine.com, but in the meantime, I think improving sales and customer communications is close enough to improving your personal and professional life…
How are those resolutions coming? If you’re already stumbling, maybe you need some positive peer pressure. Just after the new year, I spent the better part of a day with two of my favorite ladies working on our 2013 plans. The three of us are at different places in our lives, with different ambitions and different ways of organizing our…
Maybe you have this holiday week off, or maybe you’re just enjoying a little come down after a jam-packed month of parties, shopping, pageants or religious observances. I love the holidays — taking down the Christmas tree is one of my least favorite days of the year — but feels like many of us have let out a small sigh…
Throughout this year, several bloggers have engaged in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. It’s been an honor to share Newvine Growing with these smart, thoughtful, articulate, committed women: Mary Jean Babic Kay Hoffman Goluska Lauren McCabe Maria Stuart Amy Throndsen Eleanor Traubman Lesley Ware Jennifer Worick Every week, one of…
I miss many things about working at a newspaper. Sure, I continue to freelance (and to blog) to scratch my reporting itch, but it’s a different experience from working in a newsroom. I’m grateful I get to interview people and tell stories, but I sometimes miss the exhilaration of working side by side to dig into a big, important story…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. This week’s question — timely as we head into the holiday season, including the frenzy of big box sales…
It seems the socially correct answer to the question “How are you?” is no longer “Good,” but “Busy.” Maybe it’s all the technology that keeps us plugged in 24/7, or the never-ending flow of information from social media, websites and blogs, or the added work load on employees left at downsized companies. Whatever the cause, I frequently have conversations with…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. This week’s question comes from Jennifer Worick, jenniferworick.blogspot.com, on Twitter as @jennifer_worick: Who’s your professional female role model? This is…
I’ve read many articles about the value of saying yes — but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it in financial terms as clear as this article by Susan Gregory Thomas on Daily Worth: This March when I moved to Philadelphia, I was broke—25 years of living in New York, the past five of it as the breadwinner for my…
If you spent Sunday evening dreading the arrival of Monday morning, this post is for you. If you spend eight hours a day at work, not even including time spent commuting or eating lunch, you probably spend more time at your job during the week then you do at home, with your spouse or with your kids. So if you…
Tony Shin recently emailed me with this offer: “I came across your site while searching for blog and posts about mobile technology and wanted to reach out to see if you’d be interested in sharing a graphic my team and I designed, which focuses on how the instant gratification of the Internet has affected society, our minds and made us…
Seth Godin once wrote: “In order to monetize your work, you’ll probably corrupt it, taking out the magic in search of dollars…” In other words, when you choose to follow your passion, and make it into your business, there will be a point when the magic and heart will take a back seat to commerce. It’s enough to stop you…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. We’re approaching the halfway point of 2012. We’ve had some great conversations so far this year as part of…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. Typically I post the week’s Blogversation question on Thursdays. This week’s is a little late because it comes from…
I often find myself wishing I had a time machine so I could go back and get an earlier start on things. If I’d taken piano lessons in elementary school … If I’d have been the one to teach myself HTML in our office in the ’90s … If I’d bought Apple stock when it was in the toilet ……
