Becky Robinson's Blog, page 80

Featured on Friday: Meet Team Member Christy Vaupel

In the past, I have used this Featured on Friday segment to introduce you to various members of the Weaving Influence team, including Megan, Amy, and Rachel. It’s as fun for me to do these posts as it is (I hope!) for you to read them. As I’ve mentioned before, while we work as a team, we are scattered far and wide and few of us have actually met in person. When we do talk, it’s usually about work-related stuff and we’re on the clock, not leaving much room for personal anecdotes.

As I read through the answers I received to my questions this week, I was reminded that I should stop talking so much and ask more questions – you can learn a lot about a person if you will simply listen. With that being said, it’s my honor to introduce you to one of our newer implementers…

Meet Christy Vaupel
Tell me a little bit about yourself, Christy.


I live in Sylvania, OH but grew up in Cleveland, OH. I moved here last year to be with my then fiancé, now husband :). We met in College at Bowling Green State University where I got my degree in Public Relations and made many wonderful memories. I am the oldest of five children and I LOVE having a big family. 


How long have you been doing work for WI?


I started working for WI the day after I returned from my honeymoon! It has been an absolute blessing and I love everything I have learned and been able to contribute in the short time I have been there. I look forward to being a part of this company for many years to come!


What’s your favorite aspect of your work?


Because I also work part time nannying, I love how flexible this job has been. I love that I look forward getting to work every day and that i’m able to do the majority of it from home. I live about twenty minutes from our CEO, Becky Robinson, so it has also been nice to get personal direct training from her!


What’s your favorite pastime?


I love exploring new things. Whether it be a new restaurant, city, book, movie – whatever, I enjoy learning and discovering new things!


How did you meet Becky Robinson?


As I stated previously, I also work part time nannying. The family I nanny for goes to the same church as Becky and they knew each other that way. Tricia, knowing I was looking for a job in my field, got me in contact with Becky which led me to my current position. I am so thankful for the opportunity and it just goes to show how God truly does work in mysterious ways. 


Tell us something unusual about yourself…


I got married about 3 months ago. I met my husband in college where we shared a marketing class together. I had mistaken him for a friend and embarrassingly ran up to him with a joyful, “Hi! HOW ARE YOU?!” He answered with a puzzled, “Good, how are you?” Needless to say it was awkward, but a few years later, ultimately led us to MARRIAGE!

Thanks for helping us get to know you a bit more, Christy! 

Training for LinkedIn Success: Increase Every Week

If you want to grow your online influence, you need to build a network of relationships and connections. The more relationships you build, and the more significant those relationships become, the more possibility you will be creating — for yourself and others.

My most basic advice to anyone wanting to grow their online influence is to grow all your online outposts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc) as big as possible as fast as possible.

It’s similar to the advice my husband is giving me for my marathon training. My mileage must increase every week. Between now and my big day (103 days and counting!), I need to increase my mileage weekly to increase my endurance and fitness. Last week, I ran 23 miles. This week, I plan to increase my mileage to 25 miles. Week by week, as I add distance, I will move closer to my goal of running the marathon.

To train for success on LinkedIn, you need to increase your number of connections every week. Week by week, as you find and cultivate meaningful connections, you will move nearer to your goal of increased influence. In the same way that I block time on my calendar for training (4 runs per week: 3 weekday runs + Saturday long runs), you will be most successful if you block time weekly to focus on your LinkedIn presence. Even a fifteen minute appointment with yourself to work on LinkedIn, scheduled and kept, will help you increase success because even one added LinkedIn connection exponentially increases your network.

Here are some ways to find and increase your connections weekly:

Browse “People You May Know.” The easiest, fastest way to find potential connections is to browse the recommendations LinkedIn curates. I find them to be consistently accurate, returning a few results each time of people I actually know in person. Choose people you know well and take an extra minute to write a personal note when you send the request to connect. Remind the person how you met or share a reason you think connecting to you will be valuable to them.
Look for people you’ve met in person recently. Have you recently met clients or prospects in person? Or have you attended a networking event or conference? Use your stack of collected business cards and search for people you’ve recently met. Again, take the time to write a personal note.
Look for people you interact with daily. In writing this post, I found several clients who I had not previously connected to on LinkedIn. You may not have taken the time to connect to obvious people: coworkers, clients, and vendors. Look to add a few of these obvious people every week.
Find connections from other social channels. If you regularly chat with someone on Twitter, look for them on LinkedIn. Each week, seek to deepen a connection with a Twitter or Facebook friend by finding them and interacting on LinkedIn.
Respond to recent requests. It’s easy to glaze over LinkedIn invitations when they come into your email inbox. During your weekly LinkedIn time, take a moment to thoughtfully consider the requests. While I don’t recommend accepting every request, I do recommend accepting every request that comes from someone you know. When I receive requests from people I don’t know, I carefully consider what value I might be able to bring the person and whether I can see a logical reason it would be helpful to connect. If you have extra time, send a personal note to thank the person who requested the connection.

These five steps, implemented every week, will help you increase every week. Focused, consistent execution over time will help you reach your goals.

Tell me something! What steps do you follow to increase your LinkedIn network every week? What other methods for finding connections would you recommend?

Featured on Friday: The Best of the Web

The internet is full of information – some of it helpful, and some of it a complete waste of time. This week, we’re sharing a few of the links that have been helpful or interesting to various members of the Weaving Influence team. Some of them contain information that will help you on social media, others are simply good links from clients and friends, but all are worth clicking through and reading.

Social Media Help

Twitter Help : This one comes from Becky Robinson via Charlotte Ashlock (thanks, Charlotte!). If you’ve ever wondered how to help people get the most out of Twitter, then this is one article you will want to bookmark. Great resource on how to use the search function of Twitter, as well as ideas on how to break outside of your following to boost engagement.
Social Media Sizes : If you’ve ever wondered what size a profile picture is supposed to be, or scratched your head over a Facebook cover image, then you will want to pin/save/download this image for future reference. One thing to note: created a year ago, the size of the Google+ cover image has changed, but everything else should be the same.
Group Coaching Opportunity : Want to ramp up your online presence, but can’t afford to hire a social media team? Becky is offering something that could help you in 2014. Starting on January 28th, she’ll be running a six month group coaching course for a maximum of 10 people. Over the next few months, you’ll get training, encouragement, and tips on how to be more efficient and effective with your online time.

New Years Resolutions

This is the time of year when everyone is talking about what they want to change in the new year. If you’d like to think about your goals and resolutions a little differently, then I recommend reading these three posts for inspiration.

Deb Mills-Scofield – New Years is an Artificial Constraint (loved this post on Switch & Shift)
Susan Mazza – Make Room for Your Dreams (exactly what I’ve been thinking in 2014, so this one rang true for me)
Don Maruska & Jay Perry – 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Career Success in 2014 (because professional goals are important)

You Tell Me! What great links have you found? Please share them with us!

Grow Your Influence Like You’re Training For a Race

I’m training for a marathon.

As a result, I’ve added new activities to my calendar, both mentally and in writing. Each weekend, I need to fit in a long run. I typically run outdoors with my friend Laura on Saturdays. This Saturday, we braved snow cover roads to gut out 6 sloppy miles.

During the week, I need to fit in several more training runs. My plan is to run on the treadmill as soon as I return from taking my girls to school (typically 7:30 am.) Adding these commitments to my calendar increases the likelihood that I will follow through on my plans.

Focused, consistent effort makes a difference. If I run consistently, I will prepare effectively.

If you have goals for the new year of to grow your business, market a book, or increase your visibility online, you must apply the same principles I’m applying to my marathon training. Focused, consistent effort is critical.

Here are five tips to help you create and implement a plan for growing your influence this year by treating your online activities like fitness training.

Identify your big picture goal. What do you want to accomplish this year? How will you know when you’ve achieved it? Take some time to clearly identify what you hope to achieve, then write it down.
Find your why. A friend told me recently that she cannot understand my desire to run a marathon. That’s okay — she’s not the one who has to train. Decide why your goals are important to you and use that why to compel you to action. Your why is YOUR motivation and inspiration. Make sure your why is motivating enough to you help you overcome resistance. Then, write it down.
Craft a plan. Once you’ve identified your goal and found your why, you need to identify the steps and tasks needed to achieve your goal. Write those down, as well. Add individual tasks to your calendar and make a commitment to completing those tasks in the same way that you would keep a meeting with a client or business partner. Block off the time on your calendar.
Make sure you have the right equipment/tools. I started my training year with my new running shoes from Topo Athletic (I am sporting the ST for my treadmill runs) and a Garmin Forerunner (follow me on Garmin Connect?). Without the proper shoes, I might experience injury. If you plan to grow your influence in 2014, you may need to invest in technology (I couldn’t tweet without BufferApp) or training. If any of the e-book resources I’ve written would help you, you can download them for free at 12minutemedia.com by using the coupon code 600FREE.
Gather a support crew. My husband is also training for a marathon, so I have his encouragement (and nagging) to complete my training. My training partner, Laura, helps me keep my commitment to weekend long runs. If you want to grow your online influence in 2014, you’ll be more effective if you have other friends, both in person and online, to encourage you. Who do you know who would understand your why and provide accountability to you as you seek to achieve your big picture goals? I’m excited to announce a new group coaching opportunity for online influence building. If you’re interested in learning more, send me an email and I’ll share details.

When Laura and I run across snow covered streets, I tell her we’re hard core. To me, being hard core is doing what’s needed, day after day, to get where I want to be. In order to fulfill my dream of running a marathon, I know I will need to be hard core in my training. Growing online influence takes similar dedication and consistency. I encourage you to view your online influence building activities in a new way, executing your plans like you’re training for a race.

Tell me something! How do you treat online influence building like fitness training? What big picture goals do you have this year? What motivates you?

P.S. Starting soon, I’ll be sharing LinkedIn Tips to help you grow your influence in 2014. 

You Wouldn’t Know, Unless I Told You

We all have our stories. Some are obvious and observable, evident and easy to read — others are hidden or plastered in, buried, stuffed, or glossed over.

We all carry around those things people wouldn’t know, unless we told them.

When people share their stories, it’s a gift.

I’m always surprised, although I shouldn’t be, when I hear the stories of a casual acquaintance or close friend, unraveled over coffee.

Wow, I think. You lived through that.

There are times those stories resonate, mirroring my life. Other times, I hear something completely foreign to my experience and my reaction mixes wonder and curiosity with gratefulness. I am grateful that you shared. I’m curious to hear more. I am in wonder of how strong and resilient you are.

It takes courage to share stories, but the courage is rewarded with relationships brought closer. When we share our stories with others, sharing is a bridge that brings us together. As I communicate with vulnerability, I walk closer to you. As you listen with empathy, you move closer to me.

Sharing decimates isolation; when we share, we connect. When we share, we create the possibility for encouragement and support.

But knowing how much to share, how to share, when to share, with whom to share? That can be tricky.

I’ve seen friends going through a difficult time completely drop offline; they stop blogging and updating Facebook. They slip away, disappear. I see others, and I know they are going through a difficult time, but their online presence reflects business as usual. You would never know they were experiencing difficulty, unless they told you. Or, there are others who share everything, all the time, in real time, as it happens. Others share intermittently or after-the-fact.

The decision to share is completely individual. My personal preference has always been to selectively share. I don’t want to create an illusion online that I have a perfect life, nor do I want to share every struggle and setback.

Last week, my father died. When he had a stroke this July, I shared with my Facebook friends. When he died, I sent an email to my team and to our clients. I sent private notes to a few friends and called a couple of others. But I didn’t share on Facebook. I don’t really know why, except that I wanted space and time to process the news and I wanted to spend time offline.

Now that I am back online, I am choosing to share here. My sharing is an invitation to move closer, to connect.

I am sharing because I want you to know.

And because you wouldn’t know, unless I told you.

P.S. The picture is my world this morning. Snow, cold temperatures, and kids/husband home from school/work.

 

Featured on Friday: Catherine Robinson-Walker

Happy New Year! As 2014 starts to unfold, one of the things that I am personally excited about are the number of book launches that are already filling up our schedule.

I love reading, and have since I was a small girl. Over the years, my taste in books has developed, and I enjoy a number of genres and authors. My work with Weaving Influence has broadened my book world a bit more, and has introduced me to people like today’s author (who is also the focus of an upcoming buzz week, January 13 – 17, 2014)…

Meet Catherine Robinson-Walker

Author of Leading Valiantly in Healthcare, Catherine Robinson-Walker is the president of The Leadership Studio, specializing in leadership development, and executive and team coaching in healthcare. She has been working with leaders in the healthcare industry for over 25 years, and is a well known and much sought-after keynote speaker.

Over the last few months, we’ve had the honor of getting to know her as we have worked together on her upcoming buzz week for the book. Her attention to detail and desire for clear communication carry over from book to emails to speaking. While the focus of Leading Valiantly is obviously healthcare, you do not have to work in the healthcare field to learn from the leadership lessons found within – a sure sign of a great book that can be learned from, no matter what your field of work.

Connect with Catherine Online

Visit her website, read her blog, connect on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Join in the Buzz (January 13 – 17, 2014)

Catherine’s book buzz week is getting this new year started off right! Coming up in a little over a week is the buzz building focus for Leading Valiantly in Healthcare. We’d love to have you join us by sharing these free resources with your online communities. If you’d like to be involved in a more in-depth way, please fill out the form (found HERE) to indicate how you would like to be a part of the launch.

If you know someone who works in the healthcare industry, share the links with them – we think this is a book they will want to know about!

You Tell Me! Do you have a leadership book that deeply impacted you at some point? Is there a book you’re excited about reading in 2014?

The Last Blog Post of 2013

I started the year with a blog post and published my share of blog posts throughout the year. It seems fitting that I should write again before the year comes to a close.

I already wrote a wrap-up of 2013 – it’s been a great year.

And I already have a foot into 2014: thinking, planning, and preparing. I don’t have formal resolutions but I do have some intentions (personal and professional) set for the new year.

I’m curious about this new year and how my life and business will shift, grow, and change this year. Especially in the 4th quarter of 2013, I’ve had a new role in my business, more managing of others than doing direct work myself. It’s a natural shift and needed. And. I want to find time to do the work I love, so I am trying to figure out which work I most enjoy so I can find time to do it. 

I’m also wondering about how I can move closer to two dreams in 2014: writing a book and running a marathon.

After finishing a half-marathon in November, my dream of running a full marathon re-ignited. Once, I had a goal to run a marathon before age 30, which I revised to age 40 (half-heartedly) when my marathon training at age 29 ended with a surprise (and welcomed!) pregnancy. I missed the deadline for a marathon by 40. I’m not sure yet if 2014 is my marathon year, but I do intend to be more consistent with running this year.

It seems a bit overly ambitious to embark on a book project and a marathon training program at the same time, on top of my already ambitious plans for the business and commitment to my husband and family.

Right?

But I’m considering it, with the marathon a more likely possibility than the book. 2015 is the year of the book, since even if I sent and had a book proposal accepted early this year, I’d be looking at publication in 2015.

There you go: marathon in 2014 (I’ve got my shoes and I’m ready to go!) and book in 2015.

I’m bold enough to say it. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Tell me something! What dreams do you plan to move toward in 2014? How are you planning and preparing?

Featured on Friday: Beverly Kaye & Sharon Jordan-Evans

Several members of our team at Weaving Influence (myself included) have taken a few days off this week to celebrate Christmas. I hope that you also found time to unplug and spend time with your loved ones… or perhaps with your nose in a new book.

As you can imagine, there are always new books floating around our home offices, just waiting for the next book launch. Our 2014 calendars are filling up with several exciting ones, including a launch next month for the authors who are the focus of today’s Featured on Friday spot!

Meet Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans

Prior to working with Weaving Influence I hadn’t exactly run in any leadership circles, so the first time I heard of Beverly Kaye was in mid-2012, when I had the honor of working on the launch of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, co-authored by Beverly and Julie Winkle Giulioni. Having enjoyed their book so much, I was quite excited when we got the opportunity to assist with the launch of the 5th edition of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em by co-authors Bev and Sharon.

Beverly Kaye has had a lifetime of experience working in career development, employee engagement, and mentoring. She’s received honors and awards, gives engaging keynotes, and is regularly quoted in the national media. Sharon is equally accomplished, noted as a pioneer in the fields of employee retention and engagement. A prominent speaker and professional certified coach, Sharon is a ready resource for media outlets.

Together, this dynamic duo are a powerhouse of career development and employee engagement knowledge. But do you want to know the best part? They are an absolute delight to work with, even though their credentials give them every right to tell me to deal with their assistants. I can’t wait for their launch!

Connect with Beverly and Sharon Online

Connect with Bev on Twitter and LinkedIn, and Sharon on Twitter and LinkedIn.  And don’t forget to visit Bev’s website and Sharon’s website! 

Join the Launch – January 20 – 24, 2014

If you would like to be a part of the launch for Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em, there’s still time to indicate that you are interested and join up with us in supporting this outstanding book. Sign up today! We also have a page of resources that will help you share with your online communities. There are beautiful graphics with quotes from the book (like the one seen here), as well as easy-to-share tweets – take advantage of them all and be generous in your usage! We love seeing buzz built around our launches and in support of our authors.

Talk to Me! Have you read any of the previous editions of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em? What question would you love to ask Beverly and Sharon?

The Story of the Shoes: How @topoathletic Won My Heart

It started with my friend @TedCoine. Ted decided to experiment with his Twitter presence in choose from what company to buy his next pair of running shoes. One day in early November, Ted decided to tweet shoe companies to see who would respond. Kicking tires, he called it.

I watched with curiosity; I’ve tried similar experiments and been disappointed at the response (lack of response) I’ve seen. 

Topo Athletic, a shoe company headquartered in Newton Mass, won the battle for Ted’s business.

I eavesdropped on the conversation. I joined in. I talked to @topoathletic about my plan for a half marathon in a few days. The day of my race, I got this tweet from Topo Athletic:

 

Impressive! This exchanged showed me the excellence with which Topo Athletic is listening and responding to customers (and potential customers) on Twitter.

So, while writing a news release about effective social media use during the holidays, I referenced the exchange with Topo Athletic. When the piece got picked up by Fox Small Business, I sent more tweets to the company.

Their response?

 

Just six days later, an awe-inspiring package arrived at my door.

Suffice it to say that I can’t imagine buying any other running shoes, ever. I’m going to go lace on my Topos and go for a run.

What a Great Year!

2013 has been an amazing year for Weaving Influence. We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to serve our clients and for the relationships we enjoy with our online communities, especially the bloggers/influencers of Team Buzz Builder.

This has been a year of tremendous growth. We launched 16 books (compared to 7 in 2012), we added additional subcontractors to our team (growing from a core team of 6 last year to a core team of 17 now, with nearly 30 subcontractors total working on projects as we end the year), we added new services (web design/development and PR), and we serve more clients than ever before.

Here are some highlights of the year:

I enjoyed in person time with clients, team members, and collaborators. 2013 began with a trip to Atlanta, where I strategized web design/functionality with a client. He hosted a dinner with prospective clients. (Wow!) Other great in person meetings: two trips to Berrett-Koehler in San Francisco, the opportunity to speak at Berrett-Koehler’s Author Marketing Workshop in Atlanta, two speaking engagements in Michigan, ASTD ICE conference with several clients (including the chance to gather several clients for a Mexican dinner), a trip to Vermont to meet clients in September, a meal with local Weaving Influence team members and clients at my home office this November. Though I purposefully limit my travel, I value and love working in person with clients (and my team!) and look forward to more opportunities in the future.
We are enjoying long term relationships with clients and a strong referral network. We love partnering with our clients and count it a win that many work with us for a year or longer. We also love the collaborative relationships we form and the friendships that endure even after contracts end.
We made several improvements to our website this  year, launching the new weavinginfluence.com in May. We launched our author pages this fall, to bring more attention to the authors we serve. Our site is a work in progress and we have other improvements coming soon.
We completed some beautiful websites for our clients this year including chatsworthconsulting.com, chipbell.com, erinschreyer.com, and a redesign on leadingwithquestions.com. We are launching one more before the end of the year for Kathy Cramer and have several in development to launch early next year.
We are figuring out who we are, how we are different, and how we can work hard to continually innovate our processes to add more value for our clients. We keep learning and experimenting and our clients benefit! We are an influence building company for authors/thought leaders, with a focus on helping business/leadership authors launch books by leveraging social media and traditional PR.
Our project management team is stronger than ever, thanks to two great additions this year and thanks to the coaching and direction of Susan Mazza, who’s been consulting with us this fall. The Weaving Influence  leadership team consists of Carrie Koens (Book Launch Manager), Amy Driehorst, Megan Constantino (PR Director), and (our latest addition) Don Hornsby. Our website development team is Rachel Royer (design) and John Marcello (development.) I am so proud of these professionals and their dedication to our clients. I’m also thrilled that our leadership team is connecting more closely with our clients and getting (much deserved!) praise and recognition for their work.
On September 1, 2013, we became Weaving Influence, Inc. Now that we are a corporation, I am the first (and only) employee.
We are continuing to find and cultivate strategic relationships. This year, we’ve collaborated with Berrett-Koehler, Lead Change, Linked 2 Leadership, and Careers in Government. In the new year, we will partner with DesignArounds and Julie Winkle Giulioni to expand our webinar services. These relationships help us serve our clients more effectively.
I have dedicated help in my home office, expanded this summer. On a daily basis, Rachael DeBarr arrives to help with administrative details. She has been a true gift to me this year!
Despite being new to the PR scene (starting in August 2013), we landed some choice placements for our clients this year by leveraging our VOCUS subscription, HARO, and PR Web news releases, including Women’s Health, Wall Street Journal, Business Investor’s Daily, Business News Daily, Entrepreneur Magazine, LA Times, Business Insider, SHRM Magazine, AARP, HR.com, Fox Small Business, Leadership Excellence, and The Huffington Post. Go Megan!
We created some engaging and successful webinar events this year including The Leadership Opportunity Fest (hosted by Bill Treasurer), a conversation with Peter Block, Meg Wheatley, and Steve Piersanti, and launch related events for many of our book launches this year. Most recently, we marketed and hosted a webinar for a global audience/panel.
We provided meaningful, flexible work opportunities for our subcontractors. The most-often heard benefit of working with the #witeam that I hear is that my team appreciates the flexibility our work offers.

Above all, I am grateful for the opportunity to do work I love, with people I love, for clients I love. I appreciate the opportunity to serve, and I see God’s faithfulness as a thread of grace in all we do. Thank you for weaving influence with us!