MeganWrites Media - Blog

January Total to YWCA Metro St. Louis - $75!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:32:30 -0600

We are excited to announce that we have raised $75 for YWCA Metro St. Louis for the month of January!

In honor of Women's History Month, MeganWrites Media is giving 10% of total project revenue from January to March 2012 to the YWCA Metro St. Louis.

We are so excited to give the 10% project revenue from 1st. Quarter 2012 to this great charity at the end of March and can't wait to see how much we raise in February and March towards this project!

Thanks to all our clients who have contributed to this great organization!

To book a project with MeganWrites Media, contact us here.

Why a "Field of Dreams" Mentality Doesn't Work in Business

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:24:33 -0600

"If you build it, they will come," while a great movie line, does not work for businesses.

No matter the size of your business, you cannot simply set up shop and expect customers or clients will find you!

New freelancers might think a website or digital portfolio will automatically bring in clients, but in reality this is not the case. You must market yourself, even if it's just a little bit at a time!

Some ideas to start marketing yourself may include:

1. Make a Facebook page!

2. Create a Twitter account!

3 . Interact with others via these accounts and really provide good information, input and ideas.

No matter your business, you can do marketing! Don't just set up your business - get the word out about what you do!

Writing Last-Minute Christmas Letters

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:48:02 -0600

This post is from the owner and principal freelance writer and editor at MeganWrites Media, Megan Harris.

Are you still struggling with writing your Christmas letter? It is nearly mid-January and I am finally getting to it! Better late than never, right?

Christmas letters are a really great way to update family and friends on your past year. Since my husband and I got married at the end of 2010, 2011 was our first year as a family.

Marketing writer and consultant Tiffany Silverberg offers a few tips in her e-book "How to Write a Christmas Letter" and shares just a few tips via Youtube! Here are two of the tips:

Tip 1: Get the Family Involved

For me, this is not that challenging, as we do not have children yet. Once I finish our letter (to be sent as a PDF with photos embedded to friends and family), I'll let him read it over and make some suggestions. I'm sure there are things I will leave out that must be included!

Tip 2: Make it Personal

For me, this won't be too hard. My audience is family that knows some of the events from the past year, but probably not everything! I will make our Christmas letter personal with the inclusion of photos and short anecdotes of our first year together.

Tiffany's e-book is very helpful for those of us who have trouble getting these done. I'm great at writing for others, but not so much at writing for myself!

Buy your copy of "How to Write a Christmas Letter" by Tiffany Silverberg at the link below! (Affiliate link)

Click here to visit Tiffany Silverberg.

Ethical Practices in Freelance Businesses

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:08:40 -0600

A dilemma businesses of all sizes must face is making proper ethical decisions. How does one run a business in a professional manner while also maintaining good ethics?

Ethics include our mores and values we hold most dear. These values include honesty, loyalty and integrity, among others.

What practices can freelance businesses do to maintain good ethics?

1. Follow Gut Feelings
Challenges in ethics as a freelancer might include having someone ask you to do something you do not agree with or that could cause trouble in the long run. If this is the case, go with your gut and don't do what is asked.

One recent example we have encountered with this involved a past contact with a client. They requested the name of a past company they worked for be removed from a recommendation on LinkedIn. Then, they wanted their current company name added instead.

To maintain professionalism, a message was sent back citing ethics as the reason this would not happen. A gut feeling averted a break in ethics in this instance.

2. Keep Important Information Confidential
Many freelance businesses deal with sensitive information. From internal communications, to passwords and more, this information could spell disaster in the wrong hands!

Avoid doing anything to think your client cannot trust you with their information. Even unintentional actions, such as sending a marketing survey to clients, might cause them to think you are using their information to your own advantage.

Contracts are a great way to avoid any difficulties in communication and private information. Well-written contracts outline a clause about privacy. This protects you from any issues that could arise and protects the client in case something does go wrong. Use a contract every time to avoid problems with private information!

3. Track Your Income and Client Information
It might seem like an obvious practice, but new freelance businesses can quickly become overwhelmed with all they must keep track of in their business.

From income and expenses to up-to-date contact information, getting organized can keep you from making an unethical decision.

What kind of ethical dilemma might arise from disorganization?

Improper Tax Reporting
Inaccurate Portfolios and Applications

...and more. Avoid these problems and keep track of your income, clips of your work and client information!

What suggestions would you give for proper ethical practices to freelance professionals?

SURVEY! Help MeganWrites Media with Wedding Website Ebook

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:45:43 -0600

We need your help!

At MeganWrites Media, we take pride in what we provide for our clients. One of our specialities, wedding writing, has led us to ponder creating a website rewrite ebook just for wedding enthusiasts.

Wedding websites of all kinds, from vendor sites to editorials, sometimes struggle with website design and language. How can you use SEO to attract local clients or your target market? What website marketing tips and tricks make for higher traffic? What do successful sites do to reach out to users?

We hope that from publishing an ebook just for wedding websites we will help provide more tools that the wedding community can use to improve their business!

If you are a wedding blog owner, a wedding vendor (DJ, photographer, or florist), please take our quick survey to help us get started!

MeganWrites Media's Charity of Choice for First Quarter 2012: YWCA Metro St. Louis!

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:57:23 -0600

We are excited to announce that we have chosen YWCA Metro St. Louis as our women's charity of choice for the first quarter of 2012!

In honor of Women's History Month in March 2012, we will be donating 10% of our revenue between January and March to the YWCA Metro St. Louis to help their women's programs!

Congratulations to YWCA Metro St. Louis to be the first charity chosen! We are excited to support this group as 2012 approaches!

Check back January 31st., 2012 for the January total being given to YWCA Metro St. Louis for that month!

How to Create a Great Wedding Editorial Blog

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:51:18 -0600

Are you crazy about weddings? Many bloggers like to use their wedding editorial blog as their own business. Think of these sites as digital magazines coupled with the interactive platform of a social community.

If you are thinking of creating a blog as a wedding editorial, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Choose a Theme OR Specific Region for Increased Viewership
One mistake some wedding editorials make is to be the best site ever made for brides. This is not only very difficult to do without a large team behind you doing promotions or marketing, but can feel overwhelming.

It is best to start out small. Make your blog regional, such as for your state (Missouri, Colorado, New York, or wherever you live!), region (such as Southwest weddings or Northeast weddings) or city (Phoenix, San Diego, or whatever large nearby city in your area), for increased views.

You might also choose a theme, but choose carefully! Choosing too narrow of a theme might limit the topics you can talk about, but too wide of a theme might not attract the audience you wish.

Some popular wedding editorial themes include DIY wedding decor, faith-specific wedding blogs, or style-specific wedding blogs, such as vintage wedding style blogs.

Include These Important Pages!
Believe it or not, some of the best wedding editorial sites fall short when they forget these important pages!

About Page
Tell your readers about you and why you made the blog! Include a photo to make it more personable.

Blog Page
Whether or not your blog is on page 1, you should include a tab to the blog for easy navigating. You want brides to read your blog, right? Make it easy to find!

Contact Page
Allow people to contact you via a form or email address. If they want to ask for your help, they need this page to contact you!

Submissions Page (optional)
While not a requirement, a submissions tab lets photographers and brides know that you are willing to post their photos or story (or both)!

Press/Advertising Page
To grow your readership, it would be wise to allow for sponsorships and advertisements from vendors. A good place to put these are in the sidebar of your website.

Include this page so vendors know your guidelines and how to contact you about writing about your site in a news article or sponsoring your blog.

Use SEO and Interact!
Many wedding editorial blogs fail because they do not use words their targeted readers are using in search engines.

For example, if you want to reach readers for DIY weddings in Virginia, your site wording needs to include the state name, the words DIY, bridal, wedding, etc.

Don't just include these keywords in your landing page, either! Use them throughout the site's blogs, but don't overload your pages with the phrases. Optimizing your site for search engines helps people searching for those basic keywords come to your site!

Another mistake wedding editorial blogs make is posting blogs, but never interacting with their readers or other blogs. This means making partnerships and using proper Twitter etiquette to gain readership. Consider making a Facebook page to reach out to your key audience.

Include Real Weddings
Whether you choose to focus on bridal fashion or DIY decor, including a section or category on your blog for real weddings is key!

This will bring more traffic to your blog, will help real brides see that you are interested in their wedding and is easy to incorporate into any theme.

Too many blogs focus on crafts for weddings or what vendors in the area are great. Make the blog personable -don't leave out real weddings!

Twitter Do's and Don'ts for Businesses

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:43:57 -0600

Twitter has become an important platform for business marketing and indirect sales. Businesses have found great ways to use Twitter and start bringing buzz to their biz.

However, there are many businesses that break with etiquette when it comes to using Twitter. Here are some practical do's and don'ts businesses of all sizes should use for their accounts.

Do...
start a conservation.

Twitter was made with interaction in mind. If your account doesn't engage on Twitter, you're almost better off not having one at all.

If you want to have a good following on the site, try to talk with your followers or retweet relevant content. You'll be glad you did!

Bottom line: Twitter is for interacting. Either come aboard the the boat or board another ship!

Don't...
auto DM.

What started out as a good concept has morphed into a pet peeve for avid tweeters everywhere.

Auto DM's have quickly become the bane of Twitter's existence. Unfortunately, many businesses and even solo entrepreneurs still engage in this practice.

Believe it or not, auto DM's are actually quite counter-productive and will result in many unfollows.

Bottom line: If you want to get your brand out their on Twitter, don't use auto DM's.

Do...
perform solid customer service.

Businesses that sell products should especially pay attention to good customer service as part of their online presence!

If you have a business Twitter account, make sure your social media manager watches for any signs that customers aren't happy with services. They may @ your account looking for help. What you do from there will result in either the customer's satisfaction or further frustration.

Bottom line: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to fix problems and meet your customer's expectations through social media.

Don't...
spam your followers or potential business.

You want to get your brand out there? Don't send the same message or link over and over to followers or potential business.

Too often, businesses can turn off their followers with this kind of behavior. It might make sense to do this, but it will just result in more unfollows and less interaction.

If you use Twitter to find business, it is also wise not to tweet the same message over and over to potential partners.

For example, if you use Twitter as a reporter, don't @ multiple accounts the same message so you can find out information. Chances are, they will not respond and you will look desperate.

Better practices for talking to multiple businesses in the same industry might include searching through Twitter for their contact information (website, phone number, etc.) and sending an email or making a phone call instead.

Bottom line: While email and phone calls are not as mainstream as @'ing accounts on Twitter, they still get the job done and won't result in spamming potential partners (or your own followers)!

Our First DBMEi Post

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:35:32 -0600

We're excited to share with you our first post with DBMEi! We wrote about the importance of Facebook marketing engagement tools. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from Facebook marketing, but make sure you do it right!

To view the post in full, click here.

New Page Added - Testimonials!

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:26:12 -0600

We have added a Testimonials page to our site so you can see what others have to say about the work MeganWrites Media does. Check it out!

You can also find more recommendations and testimonials at our LinkedIn page.