A post called ‘Blogging Makes Me Joyful Because…‘ has become one of the most popular posts we’ve published on Better Business Better Life to date.

Knowing you enjoyed and commented so much I thought it would be fun to see how bloggers felt six months on. Here’s what bloggers had to say:

Shawn Snyder – SRS Virtual Assistant

Blogging makes me joyful because I want to help other people in their business. And by sharing what I know and do I hope to be helping them.

Carlana Charles – Sage Consulting

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to connect with other like-minded people I would probably never meet in person!

Ang von Scheffelheim – The Little Jazz Baby

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to write what I love and educate people on things I spend nearly every waking moment thinking about and researching. It’s thrilling when people drop by my little space on the web and thank me for posting something they wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

Linda Ann Nickerson – Nickers And Ink

Blogging makes me joyful because it offers a wonderful outlet for creative energies.

Rachel Flower – RachelFlower.com

Blogging makes me joyful and builds my business because it’s such a great outlet (and inlet) for creativity.

Lee Wise – Lee Wise Online Success

Blogging makes me joyful because I enjoy the writing process and the chance to be a positive influence in the lives of people.

Julia Neiman – JuliaNeiman.com

Blogging makes me joyful because it creates a space for my love of training to shine and enables me to reach people I might otherwise not be able to connect with.

Jan Kearney – My Local Business Online

Blogging makes me joyful because I can share my knowledge with other small business owners I may not have otherwise reached and help them to build their business too.

Gwynne Montgomery – GwynneMontgomery.com

Blogging makes me joyful because it gives me a chance to express myself, and let’s me share my wide and varied interests with the world.

Christine Mann – You Never Stop Learning

Blogging makes me joyful because of the amazing discoveries I make through other people; love sharing my own long-time experience in leadership and management, but my folder on “Treasures from UBC” is so much fun to go through – lots of those postings are hanging on the wall.

 Delia Rusu – Blog Formatting

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to show other bloggers how to take their blog from dull to sparkle, so that readers can hear their message. Blogging builds my business because it helps me share my tips and connect online with so many people who need my help.

Ulrike Schuermann – Momentum Partnerships

Blogging makes me joyful because it allows me to add my two bobs worth about the issues I care about so deeply. It also make me very happy because I engage with total strangers around the world without leaving home.

Serena Star-Leonard – Five Point Five

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to meet incredibly inspiring people.

Rachel Heller – RachelHeller.org

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to say what I’m thinking whether or not anyone wants to hear it!

Deborah Grinter – Bright And Precious

Expressing my creativity and connecting with others is a joyful thing. Blogging is the perfect medium for both these things.

Tash Hughes – Love Santa

My fun blog makes me joyful because it is about sharing happy thoughts and ideas with other people, and what can be more joyous than that? I also like it because it lets me be more creative and less ‘professional’ than in most of my business work. And it helps build my business by increasing traffic to the site and demonstrating a love for the topic (rather than just a money grabbing exercise!)

Cathy Yerges – Linked For Business Growth

Blogging builds my business because I’m able to connect and engage with professionals seeking knowledge and training about social networking.

 Jocelyn Paige Kelly – Realizing Your Creative Life

Blogging makes me joyful because it allows me to be creative while connecting to other people.

Angeline Sim – Our Princess Dana

Blogging makes me joyful because I can document the beautiful as well as challenging moments of everyday life and share them with family, friends and fellow parents worldwide!

Elizabeth Soler – Scrapping Wonders

Blogging makes me joyful because I can teach people how to preserve their memories and share my creativity combining the two things I love to do!

Jennifer Jurek Land – Jenn’s RAQ

Blogging makes me joyful because it allows me to share my struggles, my triumphs, and everything in between. I am able to connect with others, and it has helped me to realize a community I never would have connected with outside of blogging.

Julie Holland – Gardening It Easy

Blogging makes me joyful because it lets me talk with people who share my love for gardening and other topics I blog about. I work from home, so being able to talk to like-minded people who live all over the world is really amazing.

Tee Ming Ooi – Teeming Connections

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to share resources on consciously living a more splendid life and express myself.

T.A. Woods – Pen Paper Pad

Blogging makes me joyful because it’s a chance for me to be creative and free without someone micromanaging me. I can be who I am, and say what I want.

Kylah Morrison – Intrepid Monkeys

Blogging makes me joyful because I get to write about our travels around South America with my two favourite boys as we share the incredible milestones (as well as the load) of raising a (now) 10mth old baby, climb mountains and watch amazing sunsets over beautiful lakes.

Erin O’Brien – Activate 28

Blogging makes me joyful because … I’m curing my perfectionism! I’m finding that publishing blogs is a gateway to “80% out the door is better than 100% in the drawer”. And in the process, I get to share tips that have helped me (so I’m helping others in the process, which always feels good).

Meg Ringrose – MegRingrose.com

Blogging builds my business because it speaks to my target market. It shows my potential clients my personality , allows them to get to know me, like and trust me.

Tasmin Claire Howse – Kiki And Tea

My blog makes me joyful because it’s a place for lesser known writers to showcase their ability and connect with a larger audience. It also makes me joyful in helping writers develop their craft through feedback and guidance. And I love to write!

Shannon Mashinchi – The Other Side Of The Equation

Blogging makes me joyful because it gives me an opportunity to share about life, the joys (and downsides of education), and sometimes even math!

Rachel Lavern – Work From Your Home 101

Blogging makes me joyful because it stretches me. Bloggers have to continue feeding the engine–no matter how well-received my post is today, tomorrow my readers want to know what is new and fresh. I love the readers who ask questions are present a perspective that I may not have considered. This ensures that I will always be learning and growing.

John Holland – All Utah Home Repair

Blogging makes me joyful because it lets me educate others about home care and how to save money and time with a well-maintained home.

Cher Fauvel – Raw Food Energy Benefits

Blogging makes me Joyful because I can use what I have studied all my life to help others and I get to be part of communities like UBC to meet awesome people as well as read their amazing blogs Life is tough for many at at the moment and can bring us down, reading and learning from others with talent and positively in their lives helps us all to stay afloat. :)

 Nicki Sanders – The Teen Toolbox

Blogging builds my business because it forces me to think about how to simplify my knowledge and passion so that others understand it and want to learn more. Blogging allows me to educate a global audience about how to connect with teens and help teens set and achieve goals.

William Chaney – Healty Food And Diet

Blogging makes me cheerful because it offers me a chance to share and exchange information with others interested in a healthier lifestyle through the foods they eat and the lifestyle they live.

Dot Hurley – DotHurleyBlog.com

Blogging makes me cheerful because it helps me to help others to achieve vibrant good health and well-being by promoting choice, self-empowerment and personal responsibility, and by sharing and exchanging information with like-minded souls.

Amy Young Miller – Vomiting Chicken

Blogging makes me joyful because I can share so many things that I am learning with so many people, with just a few clicks! Also I love to tell stories, and this is a great way to share them!

Rebecca Hulse – RebeccaHulse.com

Blogging builds my business because it allows me to give great value consistently to my followers while growing my movement.

Helen Butler – Clutter Rescue

Blogging has become such a fun aspect to Clutter Rescue that I couldn’t imagine not doing it! It is a way for us to share our passion, business philosophy and practical organising and decluttering ideas with busy mums that actually work!

April M Lee – Essence 7 Wellness

Blogging makes me joyful because although I talk about the idea of “awareness” all the time with my clients, the act of blogging on a consistent basis has opened my own eyes! To who I am, to how I communicate, to what is most important in my life. Blogging is part of the natural rhythm of my existence now. Revealing my true essence to my readers has transformed me, and I believe it’s made a difference in their lives as well.

Tova Gold – Finding My Muchness

I started my business as a blog and I loved sharing my honest journey through babyloss – it was the best therapy I could find and empowered me by knowing I was doing something to help other’s understand the journey baby loss moms experience.

Does Blogging Make You Joyful?

I want to hear from you. Does blogging make you joyful? What is it about blogging that you love so much?

Be sure to tell your story in the comments and share with your blogger friends! Let’s spread blogging joy!

News Alert: Facebook has been quietly introducing changes and managed to do so without the usual uproar. Yep, the changes have gone unnoticed by many.

Now that IS newsworthy!

So what are the Facebook changes and what do they mean for page owners?

Let’s take a look…

Threaded Comments

Facebook page owners currently have the option to allow threaded comments. This means that rather than having to tag people in comments, you can now reply directly under their comment regardless of how many have been added in the meantime… perfect for business owners responding to client questions or feedback.

To opt into threaded replies:

• Click on ‘Edit Page’
• Click on ‘Edit Settings’
• In the Manage Permissions section tick the box beside ‘allow replies to comments on my page.’

According to Vadim Lavrusik:

“Conversation threads are re-ordered by relevance to viewers, and may appear differently to each person based on their connections, specifically:

Positive Feedback: the amount of positive feedback based on the total number of Likes and Replies in a conversation thread, which includes Likes or Replies by the Page owner.

Connections: connections to participants in a thread may move the conversation higher. For example, conversations with Comments left by friends may appear at the top.

Negative Feedback: the total number of spam reports in a thread, as well as marks-as-spam made by the Page owner. We also may down-rank comments made by frequent spammers.”

Cover Images

Plenty of page owners have complained about Facebook’s previous cover image restrictions and suggested it was all about increasing advertising revenue.

Well, complain no more.

Facebook has changed its rules significantly increasing the options available to page owners.

Whereas you couldn’t before, you can now include:

• Calls to action
• Contact details
• Pricing information
• References to Facebook functions such as ‘Like’ and ‘Share’

The restrictions that remain are:

• You cover cannot include more than 20% text
• Be misleading or deceptive (this should never be your goal anyway!)
• Encourage other people to upload your cover to the personal timelines.

Facebook Graph

Facebook Graph is currently being rolled out starting with the USA.

Facebook Graph will be using your past searches and status updates to recommend content to you and your friends. It also allows users to search with ‘natural terms’ for example, ‘people who like camping’ or ‘videos I like.’

How can businesses ensure their content is visible in results?

• By creating local pages for all physical locations.
• Providing local offers and encouraging check-ins.
• Naming photos and videos with keywords and sharing in status updates.
• Asking for customer reviews.

Join the waiting list for Facebook Graph.

Rumour To Be Confirmed

The Wall Street Journal has claimed Facebook is testing the use of #hashtags within groups. If hashtags are introduced to Facebook, business owners will be able to track conversations, conduct market research, identify potential clients and host live chats (in the same vein as Twitter).

And Something To Note On Personal Profiles…

It’s *possible* that the rollout of Facebook Graph means people will be able to see what you’ve searched for previously.

Why is this important for personal profiles?

It’s all about privacy!

Although I’d encourage you to NEVER share anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t be happy with the whole world seeing, we can all make judgement errors.

To empty your search history:

• Go to your personal page.
• Click on ‘Activity Log.’
• In the left hand menu click ‘More.’
• Scroll down and click on ‘Search.’
• Click on ‘Clear Searches.’
• Repeat as often as desired.

Take Action

You’ve read the opportunities available as a result of the Facebook updates. How will you apply them to your business? Make your commitment by sharing in the comments below.

How are you embracing the opportunities available to you, the freedom and safe environment? The chance to pursue any life you desire?

This isn’t a long post but one I feel compelled to write.

I want to call you to action. To put a boot under your backside if you need it. To wake you up from the rat race we live in.

Today in Australia and New Zealand we are remembering the men and women who’ve put their lives on the line and fought for our freedom.  We are celebrating the ANZAC spirit. The courage. The bravery. The mateship. The sacrifice.

Hundreds of thousands of young brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands and wives who lost their lives so we could have freedom and a bright future.

So I have to ask…

• Are you pursuing your goals?
• Are you working to live the life of your dreams?
• Can you help a mate along their path?

Tell me in the comments: What are you doing to fulfil your vision?

May we honour the memory of our ANZACS past and present.

WOW! Thank you to everyone who entered our “7 Money Sins You Must Avoid In Your Business” giveaway and commented on the post!

So glad to see you all know just how important financial management is. If you missed the stories I shared check them out here.

The winners of the giveaway are Edward and Colin!

Congratulations!

You will receive an email shortly to organise delivery of your book.

Our winners were chosen at random by Rafflecopter.com and each receive a copy of “7 Money Sins To Avoid In Your Business” by Andrew Pavuk.

Can you believe we are half way through April? When they say time flies they aren’t kidding!

What commitments did you make for 2013?

At the start of 2013 I made a commitment that I was going to expand my guest blogging efforts and unlike many resolutions we make I’ve followed through.

I’ve written about everything from blogging to pinterest to profiles. Without further ado, here are the guest posts. I hope you find them really helpful!

Revealed: The Easiest Way To Activate Your Tribe on Michelle Shaeffer

Inside Business with Caylie Price on Studio Exsto

If You’re Are Struggling To Get Blog Readers, Read This (Or Continue Wasting Your Precious Time) on Studio Exsto

12 Most Winning Factors For Hosting A Successful Blog Challenge on 12 Most

6 Ways To Increase Your Pinterest Following Fast on Grassroots Internet Strategy

Grow Your Business With Pinterest: Get Your Images Right on Create & Thrive

Grow Your Business With Pinterest: Get Your Account Organised on Create & Thrive**

Grow Your Business With Pinterest: Search Engines Love Pinterest on Create & Thrive**

Grow Your Business With Pinterest: Is Pinterest Worth The Effort For Small Business? on Create & Thrive**

**Please note Pinterest has just introduced some new features. I’ve written a post on the changes for Grassroots Internet Strategy and will update you here as soon as it’s published.

A big thank you to the awesome chicks and blokes who kindly allowed me to share with their readers.

So what’s next in my guest blogging adventures?

I’m currently writing two posts for Grassroots Internet Strategy, another for 12 Most and a couple I can’t share yet.

Oh and I have a slightly crazy, hair raising idea called 21 Days Of Blog Growth!

Yes, really.

I’ve already identified some bloggers I will approach with my post ideas but I’m open to suggestions and requests too.

Would you like me to guest post about blog growth for you?

Tell me in the comments or email me: caylie (AT) betterbusinessbetterlife.com.au.  

Have you had positive guest posting experiences? What results did you enjoy?

Yes, it’s horrible to imagine.

It’s something you don’t want to consider but it’s absolutely necessary before starting your business. Of course, it’s never too late even if you already have a business.

Back in my agribusiness banking days there was a client who lost her husband in an accident. He had life insurance but that takes time to be released. All their bank accounts were in joint names and had to be frozen on his passing.

Here was a lady who had just unexpectedly, traumatically lost her husband who then didn’t have access to any money until the will was executed. It’s a situation you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

Take another scenario.

A husband and wife have worked hard in their business for forty years. Now well in their sixties they are ready to retire but having had their business on the market for three years and no offers, they don’t hold a lot of hope. None of their children or staff want to take on the business.

Given the choice they would close the doors and walk away, hosting a clearing sale to get rid of the remaining stock. The simple fact is they haven’t saved or invested over the years and can’t afford this option.

Both these stories are real. I have seen the heartache and sorrow of families suffering. You feel for them but there’s not a lot you can do.

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s easy to focus on the creative, sexy sides of business but please, please take time to do the necessary financial management.

Over the Easter break I had the opportunity to read ‘Nobody Else’s Business – Build Your Business to Keep, Sell, or Close for a Profit’ by Andrew Pavuk.

The book talks about seven deadly sins of business and how to put strategies in place to reap the rewards of business ownership.

As Mr Pavuk says “It comes as a very unwelcome surprise to many business owners when they want to stop working in their business it’s not worth what they thought it was…this ultimately means they may walk away with nothing to show for years of hard labour.”

Sound familiar? Have you experienced or witnessed the devastation?

So what are the seven deadly sins you must avoid?

• Failing to take maximum profit from your business.
• Depriving your business of cashflow.
• Failing to invest in or outside the business.
• Choosing the wrong finance for your business.
• Failing to understand the risk relationship between yourself and your business.
• Failing to plan your exit from the business.
• Failing to plan your estate.

The book is quite general and written in an easy to understand format so it’s perfect if you are a finance management novice or someone in the throes of business but determined not to walk away empty handed.

Are you ready to learn about setting your finances up the RIGHT WAY?

Perfect.

To help you get started I have two copies of Nobody Else’s Business to giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck! Winners Announced 22nd April 2013!

Today we have the lovely Janet Brent with her second guest post. You can see her first post here. Once you’ve had a read be sure to pop via Janet’s website too and say g’day!

You’ve found your logo designer and you’re ready to go but the preliminary work isn’t done yet.

So you’re not stabbing darts into thin air, the designer needs to ask the client questions about branding and the design itself.

A great logo should be simplistic and up to 2-3 colors. Complicated designs will get lost and confusing. You want short and succinct, like great copy, or an easily recognizable website design that shows exactly what you do in less than 5 seconds.

One way to tackle the preliminary questions is to ask them in the initial 30 minute client qualifying conversation or have the client fill out a logo design and branding questionnaire.

Here are some of the questions I ask clients before showing the initial design mock-ups:

Getting To Know The Client And Brand

1. Tell me more about your business and what you do?

For this question it’s good to assume you’re describing an elevator speech to a stranger who knows nothing about your business.

2. What is your mission/vision?

What do you stand for? What are your passions?

3. Describe the top three values (adjectives) you want your company to convey (i.e. playfulness, peacefulness, creativity, commitment, integrity, compassion, etc.)?

How can the logo convey these values? It’s our job as a designer to translate words and concepts into imagery.

4. Do you have existing brand colors or font styles?

The designer wants to know if you already have color or font preferences that should be used.

5. Who is your target market?

Get as specific as possible (gender, age, geography, hobbies, where they shop, what brands appeal to them, etc.) This insight will help the designer figure out the proper logo design.

6. Who are your main competitors and their websites, if applicable?

Get a sense of the competition to see what is already out there.

7. What makes you different than competitors? What’s your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

It’s our job as a designer to take your USP and convey that in the logo.

More About The Logo Design Itself

8. Do you have examples of other logo designs you like? Why do they appeal to you?

It’s always good to provide design samples you like to help the graphic designer to get a sense of the style you’re after.

9. Where will you be using the logo (i.e. stationery, websites, signage, tshirts)?

This is an opportunity to continue working with the designer for ongoing projects.

10. Do you have a slogan or tagline that should be included in the logo?

Make sure you know exactly what the logo should say.

11. What type of imagery, if any, would you like to see in the logo?

Does you want images and icons or a text based logo only?

12. Are there any images or elements you do NOT want to see?

Make sure you tell the designer what NOT to do and what to stay away from.

Filling in the questionnaire as much as you can ensures you get the best possible final product but as a designer, I can work with what people give me, no matter how little they provide.

I love taking abstract concepts like the top 3 values and turning that into an amazing logo. I love giving clients exactly what they want, even if they don’t exactly know what they want.

When I can help give clients that illuminated a-ha moment through visual identity, I know my work is a success, and it’s exactly what I strive for in each project.

Ever wondered if those stories of building a business while travelling are true?

Felt a little jealous and wondered if it’s really possible? Tried to work out what you’d need and how to pay for it?

Meet Isabelle Kenis and Chris Richardson.

I met this lovely pair at #Unblogged in the Grampians recently and the more I listened, the more I wanted to know. They are beautiful people doing awesome things with their respective businesses and blogs.

Chris and Isabelle kindly accepted my invitation to share their tips and tales with you so settle in and enjoy!

1. Please share a little of your background and respective businesses.

IK: My name is Isabelle Kenis and I`m a travel blogger, originally from Belgium, currently in Australia. I run Isabelle`s Travel Guide, which is an online collection of my personal trips, where I try to inspire people to go and explore the world themselves. I visit destinations all over the world, if possible in style, as that`s how I like to travel. As I have a weakness for beaches, I`ve created a hashtag on Twitter, #BeachThursday, which has become such a big success I’ve launched a website for it.

CR: I got into travel blogging after becoming bored with my normal 9 to 5 working life. I wanted to get out and see the world, experience what it had to offer I guess you could say. Having read plenty of blogs researching for my trip and struggling to find the answers to my questions I started my own. The idea was I’d document my travels and maybe help someone else out who was looking to do the same thing.

During that time I transitioned my old IT skills into a new area learning about WordPress, SEO and Social Media. Having a background in IT made it easier for me to pickup and learn these skills quicker than many of my fellow blogging friends. By leveraging the authority I’d grown with my travel blog I was able to then start my online WordPress Developer business offering support to my peers.

2. How did you grow your brands and businesses?

IK: Like everyone else, through hard work. The first months when creating Isabelle`s Travel Guide, I created a lot of content, once I had that I could travel more. To grow my business I used social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, later on Pinterest and Instagram. I went to conferences and made sure I networked with people in the industry.

CR: A lot of growth for my travel blog in the beginning came from networking with other bloggers in my niche. Communicating online via Facebook, Twitter and commenting on each other blogs helped grow my awareness and bring their readers to my site. When I got started the travel blog community was quite small so everybody knew everybody and there was a great deal of help provided so that we could all grow our sites.

After that first burst of growth things levelled off until the site began ranking well in search engines. By producing content that was answering questions people had I was growing my audience organically without having to constantly chase it. Sure social media has helped but as over 50% of my traffic now comes from the likes of Google searches I know I’m reaching the audience I planned for when starting the blog.

The beginnings of my WordPress business grew out of my ability to understand the tech side of things. With a small travel blog community I became known as the person to go to in order to customise their site or fix things that were broken. At the start I helped people for free because these people were my friends and I was (and still am) a big believer in the community helping each other out. As the number of travel bloggers grew so did the demand for my knowledge and fairly quickly people started asking me how much I would charge them to do work on their sites.

One job lead to another and as word of mouth spread I decided to set up a dedicated blog for the business with the intention to write content that helped other bloggers do tech work themselves. That then grew into offering dedicated services to bloggers like managing their WordPress blogs for them and providing custom development.

3. You’ve worked with a lot of large travel organisations. How have you built those relationships?

CR: As with many things in life networking and developing a brand where you have some authority has really helped me build strong relationships with tourism boards and big travel organisations. Getting the first sponsored trip for me was the hardest but once you build one relationship it was easier to leverage that to get more.

I’ve found the best way to build a strong and lasting relationship with a potential sponsor or organisation is to always over deliver on what you promised.

IK: I hate to be repetitive here, but social media platforms opened many doors. Going to conferences and meetings with people face to face who work in the industry gives you that little extra to build a genuine work relationship.

4. Growing your business while travelling must be a challenge. What tools couldn’t you live without?

IK: That`s easy, my iPhone, laptop and preferably my DSLR camera. But even if I don`t have my camera with me, I still have my iPhone. If I had to pick only one tool, it would definitely be my iPhone.

CR: Having a completely online business certainly has its ups and downs when you are travelling a lot. As I’m a big fan of travelling light I try to only carry what’s essential. 99% of my work and photos for my travel site come from my Macbook Air and my iPhone. The Air is a great workhorse and is super light while the iPhone makes for a great portable camera and serves well for getting me connected to the rest of the internet world.

I’ve also got a suite of online tools that help me keep the business ticking over. Perhaps the most important is my Xero Online Accounting package so I can keep track of money going in and out. It’s also mighty handy to get my accountant access to my books while I’m travelling on the other side of the world as he can just login and not need files sent over.

5. What’s your best tip for being productive in business while travelling?

IK: Make the most out of moments you`re waiting, like at the airport or when you`re traveling on a train.

CR: I’ve found the best way to get work done while travelling is to make use of any downtime you have. Be it long flights or sitting on trains and buses to your next destination. Your normally stuck in a seat with nowhere to go so this is the best time to write and be productive.

6. Please share your weirdest business experience to date.

CR: I don’t think I’ve ever had a weird business experience but any potential candidates would be the never ending line of people submitting generic emails telling me they want to guest post on my site. Around 50% of the time it’s a copy/paste job where they leave someone else’s name or blog URL in the email. All of them promise to offer me some great original and free content and all they want in return is a link to their respective client.

IK: This isn`t really a weird business experience, but I do find it a bit weird people think my job is one big holiday and expect me to work for free. Because you`re traveling all the time they think it`s a vacation and you don`t get paid while on vacation. Sorry to burst the bubble, but travel blogging is hard work.

7. What is next for your businesses?

CR: My travel blog is an extension of myself in a way so it grows as I grow. I’ve a real love for history so can’t wait to get back to Europe and produce some more content to help others explore there. Before that though I’ve got one more trip in Australia planned. That will be to take a train ride aboard the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney. It should be a great way to see a different part of Australia and travel a lesser known route at the same time.

As for the tech business I’m making a big push to build my Managed WordPress Service I offer where I manage all the technical parts of running a blog so the owner can get on with just blogging. I’m also forming a partnership with another high profile blogger to create a mentor program that will teach everything bloggers need to know to build a site and make it a success.

IK: I`ll be going on more trips, but I`m actually very excited to grow BeachThursday more. As it`s the newer site, I want to get more people to get to know it and join in the beach love.

Please give a massive thank you to Chris and Isabelle for sharing their stories and tips with us! If you have any questions for the pair be sure to ask them in the comments.

To connect with The Aussie Nomad (Chris):

theaussienomad.com | twitter.com/theaussienomad | facebook.com/theaussienomad

To connect with Isabelle:

isabellestravelguide.com | twitter.com/isabellestravel | facebook.com/isabellestravelguide

P.S. In case you haven’t noticed we’ve added a Pin It button to the bottom of posts. If you enjoyed this post please pin it. We’ll LOVE you for it!!

It seems I’ve created a bit of a commotion on Twitter.

Is it good or bad?

That’s simply a matter of opinion and everyone is absolutely entitled to an opinion but that’s not the focus of this post.

To give you a bit of background earlier this week I created a little gift for anyone attending Problogger’s PBEvent on the Gold Coast later this year.

Having attended four major blogging / online marketing conferences in the past two years I’ve learned that they are fantastic for gaining new ideas and connections that we often write copious notes about.

Here’s the issue…

How often have you attended a conference, departed super enthused and arrived home to not read your notes ever again or worse still, you make the effort to review only to realise you can’t read what you’ve written?

Those crazily scrawled notes as you attempted to catch every idea, concept and opportunity.

Do you know what I mean?

To help attendees avoid that same fate I created a template to write down the key learnings and actions to take following the session. The aim being the template would only take two minutes to complete so it was super helpful rather than something else you ‘should’ do.

With Problogger’s permission I shared it in the event page on Facebook. I also shared it within a couple of other Facebook groups. The feedback was really positive and people started clicking the link to access the template.

In terms of Twitter I began by direct messaging 18 people following me that I knew were attending Problogger. I also tweeted 17 people that I couldn’t direct message but knew were attending #PBEvent.

The results to date from private and individual tweets are as follows:

• 3 people have favourite the tweet
• 3 people tweeted the message (not retweets)
• 1 person asked to share with their audience
• 1 retweet
• 1 inclusion in a paper.li edition
• 10 tweets in reply thanking me for the tweet and/or the template
• 1 negative reply from a person I tweeted
• 2 negative replies from people I didn’t tweet
• 20 people opting in to receive the template

So what lessons did these results teach me?

Lesson 1 

You won’t please everyone. It was never my intention to upset anyone but I did receive a small amount of negative feedback.

Lesson 2

The feedback I received on Facebook was very positive but less frequent in comparison to Twitter. The reason for this could be that the tweets were focused on individuals and rather than groups. The direct messages on Twitter were also personalised as I’m good friends with many of those contacted. 

Lesson 3

Creating a free offer that is relevant to the audience definitely increases engagement. Of the 35 people I contacted 20 have chosen to accept the offer. That’s a conversion rate of approximately 57%. Perhaps even Problogger himself would be pleased with such a conversion percentage…?

Can you share a similar experience? Have you ever received mixed feedback? How did you respond to it? Did you change your message or stop sharing on social media as a result?

P.S. If you will be attending Problogger and would like a copy of the #PBEvent Session Checklist template click here.

Today we have the lovely Janet Brent guest posting. Once you’ve had a read be sure to pop via Janet’s website too and say g’day!

As a graphic designer with a penchant for branding, I love logo creation. My craft becomes a passion when combined with the alchemy of a client who is as invested in the final product as I am. Collaboration is a big part of my working style, and education towards my own working process and design concepts is just part of the journey.

Sometimes, it can be scary and overwhelming to find the right designer, especially if you don’t know the process. Asking the right questions can eliminate nightmare stories and ensure your logo creation goes as smoothly as possible. When meeting with the potential designer, don’t forget that you’re interviewing them just as much as they might be interviewing you. You don’t want to be the nightmare client just as much as you wouldn’t want to find a nightmare designer.

Here are questions to help the prospecting process to ensure you and your designer will be the perfect fit:

1. Do you have samples of past work?

You’ll be surprised how much this one slides and clients work without seeing a portfolio but it’s a nice thing to ask for especially when considering a designer’s style. Does their work fit your needs? Make sure their work doesn’t look dated or unprofessional, and ask yourself if their work is in line with what you’re after.

2. What is the process like?

Each designer works differently and you want to make sure that you’re a right match for the designer. Some designers like checklists and timelines and others prefer to go with the flow. What style suits you best? Ask them how much collaboration, if any, is involved and how they like to work so you’re not overstepping your boundaries. You don’t want to micromanage the design process with the expert, but you still want to make sure your needs are being met.

3. What’s the timeline and how many revisions will you make?

Often, a designer will make 1-3 mock-ups for the client to choose from and offer 2-3 revisions. Be sure you’re clear on how many mock-ups and revisions you’ll get in the logo design package and how much additional changes would be charged, if needed. Knowing when the project milestones are and how much time the project will take from start to finish is helpful so you know what to expect and when.

4. What are the final file outputs upon final approval?

What can you expect to get when the project is complete? Will you be getting print ready files? What file formats will you be receiving? If it’s print you’re after, be sure to ask for print ready jpg and tiff files. If you’ll need the files for the web, make sure to get a smaller web version. If you’d like the original source files, you may have to pay extra due to copyrights.

5. Tell me more about copyright?

A good designer should know their way around copyright and how to properly work with them so you don’t get involved in legal issues. By default, when you contract with a graphic designer, they own the copyright to the work, unless you hire them as an actual employee. This is why designers don’t typically hand off the original source files, unless they charge more for it. What they are charging is to give you the rights to the artwork.

Be sure the designer is also well versed in fonts and images when it comes to copyright. Using stock photography is the safest bet and you should also make sure the font being used in a logo is safe to use. Font designers have restrictions when using their fonts and many require compensation for their work.

6. Can I see a contract?

Receiving a contract separates the novice freelancers from the been-around-the-block professionals. It’s great to get everything you hear in conversation (and sometimes more) down on paper. It may be the “boring legal stuff” but it helps both parties know what to expect and makes sure they’re on the same page. Avoid the hassle of learning from mistakes and make sure you get a contract. It can save you from a lot of problems, on the client receiving end as well as the designer’s end. It’s a win-win for everyone.

7. What is the payment plan?

Some designers require a 50% deposit before project implementation. Some designers, like myself, give you payment options to choose from. Either way, expect to be invoiced from the start of the project until the end. This ensures the elimination of flakey clients who don’t pay (hint: providing a contract also helps).

You’ve got your bases covered after asking the above 7 questions.

Next up, I’ll write about what designers should ask the client when working together on your project.