Shawndra Russell's Blog, page 2
October 23, 2013
First Udemy Online Social Media Course Live!
Today I pushed “publish” on my first Udemy course: “3 Routines to Expertly Manage Your Social Media,” based on the live presentation I gave recently titled “Overwhelmed by Social Media? Take Back Control by Establishing Routines.” The original live presentation got some pretty awesome feedback, so I decided to create an online version so it could help more people.
I have a background as a teacher, and my standard answer as a kid when asked what I wanted to do when I grew up was, “To help people” (I know, I know, vague and altruistic, but still endearing, right?).
I used the beautiful new(isn) presentation software, Haiku Deck, to create the presentation, and then I created a screencast of me giving the presentation verbally. I also created a promo video (pretty miserable experience to be honest) and included some supplemental suggested reading to drive home some of the information.
The course was created to help streamline social media management for busy entrepreneurs, overwhelmed small business owners, and anyone that has to contribute to or manage a company’s social media. I juggle multiple social media accounts for multiple clients, and these are the exact routines I use to make sure I’m active and relevant for each of these clients and myself.
You can watch the promotional video to see if this course might be a good fit for you, and if you enter the code “10offnetwork,” you’ll get $10 off for a small investment of $15–a tiny price considering the time and stress you will save after implementing these routines into your social media management.
What are your social media struggles? Share in the comments!
September 4, 2013
4th Quarter Crunch Time: What Will Your Business Accomplish?
As a Browns fan, watching their fourth quarters usually require lots of believing.
Photo by Bleacher Report.
In football, we can often see players and fans holding up four fingers if their team is behind or the game is close when the fourth quarter starts. This symbol says, “It’s time to shift into our highest gear so we can win this game.” As we cross into the fourth quarter for our businesses, we should have that same do-or-die attitude. Although it’s tempting to start daydreaming about holiday celebrations, football championships or your mom’s heavenly pecan pie (made with chocolate chunks to make it extra gooey yummy!), now is the time to hit the gas for your business. What can you accomplish before the calendar flips to a new year if you just believe?
Perhaps you want to:
Make more money than you did last year?
Grow your fan base?
Start a blog?
Create a presence on new channels?
Understand how your social media has done so far this year?
Whatever your goals, digital marketing can help you get there. Social media is all too often neglected or executed poorly, but it can help your business accomplish these and other goals before the clock strikes midnight on December 31. There’s no better time to prepare for an awesome 2014 than to gain momentum NOW in the fourth quarter. Just as football teams hope to peak in December as they head into the playoffs, you’re business needs to prepare to end 2013 on a high note.
Take just three steps to help your business have its best quarter of 2013.
1. Book a digital audit to understand what your social media and online presence have accomplished so far in 2013.
2. Get clear about your goals for the rest of 2013 by having a strategy developed for your business.
3. Schedule a company-wide or group social media training to get everyone on the same page and interacting more with your social media as employees–WITHOUT speaking as the company.
These three tasks will make a significant impact on your bottom line and get you ahead of your competitors. Together these create a trifecta of amazingness that will set the stage for 2014 being the best year yet for your business.
Contact us today to get started at shawndra@shawndrarussell.com.
August 3, 2013
Website Shift
Cheers to the next chapter in our careers!
The website is new and improved today, but this is just step one to making this site a place where you can learn and grow your business whether you are an established entrepreneur, in the launch phase or just a wantepreneur (thanks Mark Cuban for introducing this terminology into my vocabulary via Shark Tank!).
Now, it’s easier to understand how I built a six-figure business from writing. I’ve restructured the website so I can help you in three ways:
Social media help for small businesses
Career guidance for wannabe career writers, or “writepreneurs”
Resources for women entrepreneurs (which is in the beginning stages and will grow into its own website and other resources that will help you rock your career).
I can help your business flourish by teaching you how to get more out of your social media as I have with over a dozen clients in just over one year. I can also help budding writers turn their dreams into a real-life career that is based on helping other businesses achieve their goals. And all of it can happen here, on one website, because at the root of it all, it’s all about compelling storytelling and communication.
Read my new website homepage here that explains how writing is at the root of all I do, then click on where you are today: a small business, a writer, or a wannabe female entrepreneur. See you on the inside!
May 30, 2013
February 9, 2013
1 Million Word Challenge for 2013
Think I can reach the top where 1,000,000 words await?
So to kickstart 2013, I made a promise to myself to write for my books (as opposed to article, social media, or email writing) at least 90 minutes per day. I’d say that I stuck pretty closely to it despite January being the busiest month I’ve experienced since beginning this freelance journey as a writer and social media strategist 19 months ago. However, I want to up the ante.
I’m going to write 1 million words in 2013 for my books. 1,000,000. Yup, six zeros. 万. Milioni di euro. Millionen. Millón. Εκατ. ευρώ.
Maybe this isn’t as dramatic as it feels, but it feels pretty damn ambitious. If you’ve ever participated in NaNoWriMo, which means if successful you churn out 50,000 words in November, 1 million words means I’ll have to write MORE than 50,000 words per month. This is pretty terrifying because November feels like every spare second is spent writing. Now I’m subjecting myself to this feeling EVERY month, but demanding nearly double, or 90,000 words, from myself per month.
If all my books were novels, these 1,000,000 words would equal about 10 novels (albeit who knows how many of these words will actually be book worthy!). However, I am not going to write only novels, but also including some eguides related to writing, social media, and other career-y, life-y topics that will be much shorter.
Some of this writing will never be published. Some days, the words will not come easily and it will take hours I don’t have to eek out the words. BUT, some of these words could come together in a magical way that leads to a bestseller (or maybe even a critical darling).
Some of these words will go toward my two WIPs, Keepsakes, which I’ve decided to change the setting from Chicago to somewhere in the South since that’s where I live and am much more familiar with. When I had started writing it, I had just gotten back from a trip to Chicago and was infatuated with the city.
Teacheritis, which I started writing for 2012′s NaNoWriMo, needs A LOT of work (and an ending!) but with my 1 million words vow, it WILL get finished this year, although I may write another novel before diving back into Teacheritis (sorry Claire Cook! I know you said we should finish a project before starting another, but I’m going to cheat this time I think).
To stay on track, I am going to write for 90 minutes every day, which should on average result in about 1,500-2000 words per session at my pace. Here’s the math on that:
334 days left of 2013 (I’m not counting words I wrote in January because I didn’t keep track) X 1500 = 501,000.
Well, that just won’t do. So, since I relish busting out 10K days (seriously, I love these big production days), I am going to dedicate 1 day per week to a 10K day. So, here’s the math for these big days:
48 days (one day per week left in the year) X 10,000 = 480,000.
With the leftover days (334-48) of 286 days X 1,500 = 429,000.
So, 480,000 + 429,000 = 909,000 words. Obviously, I’m going to have to have some days that equal MORE than 1500, which hopefully will not be an issue thanks to 2013′s NaNoWriMo. However, I also plan to squeeze in some extra BIG days (ideally 5 or 6 per month instead of only 4) to stay ahead of this game.
Crazy? Maybe. Doable? Absolutely. We all choose how to spend our hours, days, weeks, months, and YEARS. I’m choosing to spend 2013 writing my ass off to reach this 1,000,000 word mark. I want to look back and be insanely proud of myself for reaching this goal, and sacrificing TV watching time, some sleep, and possibly some of my sanity are prices I’m willing to pay.
What HUMONGOUS goal do you have for yourself in 2013? And if you think that this is ridiculous, that’s okay, try to talk me off this ledge in the comments below 
January 12, 2013
Why You Should Invest in a Social Media Audit in 2013
Kickstart 2013 with a social media audit.
The truth about social media is, anyone can do it. Everyone can log in to Facebook, Twitter, and the like, type out a sentence or two, and hit “post.” Should I be saying this as a social media professional? Absolutely. I’m not going to pretend that social media is brain surgery.
Yet, there is so much more to social media than just haphazardly slapping a sentence together and then shooting it off into the digital sphere. Choosing keywords, tagging and/or hashtagging, using images effectively, responding to customers, being interesting, studying trends, following the ever-changing rules, and being clever day in and day out…it can get overwhelming for a business owner. Most importantly, you have to work at NOT being all about the sale in social media.
In many social media audits, this is the #1 problem discovered. Social media is unlike any other form of advertising and marketing because of the key word, “social.” Some social media gurus are even preaching that the term “social media” is out, and needs replaced with the phrase “social business.” No matter what you call it, the majority of your content has to be NOT about selling. Sure, the cold, hard truth is that it’s all about the bottom line, but the actual content can’t be.
While those same social media gurus also say that the sell/not sell ratio should be 80/20–80 not sell/20 sell–but I find I’d be thrilled to even see 50/50 because far too many business are selling the majority of the time and failing to create engagement and a sense of community. Since most business owners are used to putting out print ads, brochures, or content for their websites, it’s foreign not to be sales-y. Yet, that is exactly what it takes to be a company that people want to socialize with.
A social media audit can give you the perspective you need. And I take my audits one step further and analyze your entire online presence so you can understand how you are coming across to your current and target audiences. So if you’re trying to decide what is worth a slice of your 2013 marketing budget, consider a social media audit for a piece of that pie. It will not only give you a solid analysis of where you’ve been, but also a road map for where your business can grow in 2013.
To get your social media and online presence audit, shoot me an email at shawndrarussell.com/contact.
Photo courtesy Digital Eye Media.
Why You Should Invest in a Social Media Audit to Kickoff 2013
Kickstart 2013 with a social media audit.
The truth about social media is, anyone can do it. Everyone can log in to Facebook, Twitter, and the like, type out a sentence or two, and hit “post.” Should I be saying this as a social media professional? Absolutely. I’m not going to pretend that social media is brain surgery.
Yet, there is so much more to social media than just haphazardly slapping a sentence together and then shooting it off into the digital sphere. Choosing keywords, tagging and/or hashtagging, using images effectively, responding to customers, being interesting, studying trends, following the ever-changing rules, and being clever day in and day out…it can get overwhelming for a business owner. Most importantly, you have to work at NOT being all about the sale in social media.
In many social media audits, this is the #1 problem discovered. Social media is unlike any other form of advertising and marketing because of the key word, “social.” Some social media gurus are even preaching that the term “social media” is out, and needs replaced with the phrase “social business.” No matter what you call it, the majority of your content has to be NOT about selling. Sure, the cold, hard truth is that it’s all about the bottom line, but the actual content can’t be.
While those same social media gurus also say that the sell/not sell ratio should be 80/20–80 not sell/20 sell–but I find I’d be thrilled to even see 50/50 because far too many business are selling the majority of the time and failing to create engagement and a sense of community. Since most business owners are used to putting out print ads, brochures, or content for their websites, it’s foreign not to be sales-y. Yet, that is exactly what it takes to be a company that people want to socialize with.
A social media audit can give you the perspective you need. And I take my audits one step further and analyze your entire online presence so you can understand how you are coming across to your current and target audiences. So if you’re trying to decide what is worth a slice of your 2013 marketing budget, consider a social media audit for a piece of that pie. It will not only give you a solid analysis of where you’ve been, but also a road map for where your business can grow in 2013.
To get your social media and online presence audit, shoot me an email at shawndrarussell.com/contact.
Photo courtesy Digital Eye Media.
December 8, 2012
Support Local! Brand New The Whiskey Barrel Event Today!!!
Supporting local has become a proud mantra that has been chanted much louder in recent years–a throwback to the good ol’ Main Street days–craft beer, farm to table, coffee roasters, and local specialty boutiques. In Savannah, we are especially lucky to have so many talented artists, chefs and designers living in our area.
Supporting local events falls perfectly into this mentality. We’ve got many events to be proud of in our community–Savannah Music Festival, Savannah Stopover, St. Patrick’s Day–along with niche events like the Savannah Craft Brew Fest. Now, we can add to that list with today’s Whiskey Festival. 20 whiskeys, including some hard-to-find liquid gold, will be flowing from 2-6 p.m. today. There will also be plenty of craft beer to wash it all down with too
I also love events across the river because they force me to jump on that ferry and enjoy the views of the entire Historic River Street. With the gorgeous weather and clear skies, photo ops will be prime.
Hope to see y’all there!
December 7, 2012
The Next Big Thing!
The past few years have been full of high profile reads—50 Shades of Gray, Twilight, and more. Love them or hate them, you have to admit you have at least heard of them. As Independent Authors we all dare to dream we will be next, and well let’s face it, you never know … right? With some hard work and the right marketing any one of us could be the next most talked about Author.
With that thought I jumped on this Hop, what is a blog traffic hop? Well, I didn’t know until I asked.
Basically, it’s an Independent Authors game of tag. One author posts, and then tags five other authors, who each link back to them. Exponentially it is a marketing gold mine, and you my fair reader have hopefully just increased your to read list. Finding new and exciting authors you may never have found otherwise. Some of us are still writing, others are just being released.
Either way, for you Fiction Lovers, a treasure trove awaits and I’d like to thank fellow Author Kimberly Menozzi for tagging me to participate.
Click the links to find out about Kimberly’s books.
Blog: http://www.kmenozzi.com/blog.html
Purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/Ask-Me-if-Im-Happy/dp/0615490751/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMenozzi
In this particular hop I and my fellow authors each in their perspective blogs have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current WIP (Works in Progress) as well as some goodies as to our process, from characters and inspirations to photographic/ cinematic eye candy! I hope you enjoy it!
If this or any other items pique your interest, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions.
1: What is the working title of your book? Keepsakes
2: Where did the idea come from for the book? I have a box of old stuff from middle/high school/college boyfriends that I still haven’t parted with yet, and I wondered if guys especially but other people in general keep these memories boxed up too.
3: What genre does your book fall under? Women’s fiction
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Gabe would be a young Vince Vaughn and Nora would be played by maybe Ginnifer Goodwin or someone equally adorable.
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? What do you do when you find out your wife is moving to Italy and wants a divorce…as she’s walking out the door to get in the cab to catch her flight?
6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-published (as of now!)
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 17 days (but lots of and lots editing followed!)
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? A much lighter Heartburn by Nora Ephron or He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo.
9: Who or What inspired you to write this book? After writing my first novel, Couple Friends which has a subplot of a divorce, I wanted to make divorce the main plot in another book and explore how characters recover from something so devastating.
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It’s set in Chicago about a group of friends all dealing with relationship issues, unrequited love, and realizing what you really want out of a relationship.
I also want to put the following authors and books on your radar that I loved reading in 2012:
This Must be the Place by Kate Racculia (Widower recovering)
How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis (Friendship, adultery, domestic abuse)
Blame by Michelle Huneven (Alcoholic professor’s journey of forgiving herself)
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard (longstanding crime finally solved with a love story mixed in)
And one of my favorite authors, Marisa de los Santos (all her books are amazing, about love but how it can be the hardest thing you ever do)
December 3, 2012
#Reverb12: Write Through December to Prepare for 2013
When I was a high school English teacher, I used to put a prompt on the board almost daily to get my students in the right frame of my for class. Now that I am a full-time freelance writer and social media manager, I’m the one who needs to get in the right frame of mind for 2013, so I am going to write my way through #Reverb12 questions to prepare for what I hope is the best year of my life. I encourage you to join me, even if you just journal along! Here’s a link to all the information about #Reverb12.
Q1: How are you starting this last month of 2012? Take a moment, close your eyes, take a deep breath and ask yourself the question: how do you feel… in your body? in your mind? in your day job? in your creative life? in your heart?
My body is literally aching after one too many days of cranking out 10,000 words in order to hit my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) goal of 50,000 words in 30 days last month. I’ve learned that I cannot push my body and mind like that without some serious rest in between. However, my mind is feeling great as I’ve started a new process: 90-minute chunks of work periods, followed by 30 minutes or longer rest/meal/workout breaks. I’ve surprised myself how much I can write and accomplish in these chunks, and I honestly feel that this structure is going to make my 2013 amazing. In my first 90-minute work sprint of the day, I can write between 1500-2000 words (reserved for my books only, not articles, etc. for other publications or clients), which means that if I keep that up daily, I’ll have about 750,000 words (or 10 novels!). Pretty excited about that
I am also starting with a new client, Freedom Flask, which I am stoked about because it’s a fun product and the inventor is willing to try lots of ideas and see what sticks. I’m really looking forward to helping them grow and become THE go-to flask. I’m also psyched to start helping other people chase their writing and business dreams with the release of three writing ebooks in early 2013. These are more challenging to write than novels in some ways because they are educational, yet they are much quicker to edit because the language is straightforward, simple and factual. I’ve also recently made some connections with new potential clients that I am also looking forward to pursuing to see if we would be a good fit.
My heart is probably what is the worst off of everything. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices financially but even more so emotionally I think in this last 18 months of being a freelancer. I haven’t had the money, time or sometimes just energy to invest in my relationships with friends and family as I’ve been trying to build my business and make a living, and I am ready to have a more connected 2013.
How are you feeling as 2012 winds down and you gear up for 2013?
