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Join our list
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Join My New Facebook Fan Page and be Eligible for Great Monthly Giveaways
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You are invited to join my Fan Page! All official fans as of the end of December are eligible to win a digital copy of Problogger/Darren Rowse's "31 Days to Better Blogging Workbook,"  a truly awesome guide to improving your blog. (I'm an Affiliate). In the spirit of the holiday, they will also win a copy of "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham The winner will also be highlighted on my page, with a chance to publish a brief company description. Congratulations to Bay Area writer Beth Barany, October winner, and Barbara Weltman, from "Big Ideas for Small Business," November winner.(See my FAN page for more about them.)
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The Good Word
Thanks to these recent clients for saying such nice things...
"After hiring Carrie to help
me promote my Cool Twitter Conference for Anchorage, Alaska earlier
this year, I was extremely impressed with the results and opportunities
presented through Carrie's help. I then decided to hire her to continue
helping me on my conferences in Minneapolis and Washington, DC."
Service Category: PR Services
Year first hired: 2009 (hired more than once)
Top Qualities: Great Results, Good Value, Creative
-Bob Fine, CEO, Cool Twitter Conferences
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Carrie is
an award winning and published writer. She is currently writing and
organizing content for my web pages in a way to clarify and streamline
services that I offer on my website. Not only is she a fabulous writer,
but she offers valuable and creative advice for my business. Thanks Carrie for
all you have done! I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted
off of my shoulders. I am excited about the re-launch of my website in
2010.
-Phyllis Garland, principal, Web Design and Development Services
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Video Gift
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 Are the holidays stressing you out? Please enjoy this video gift entitled "Oceanscapes," and treat yourself to a relaxing moment. I am with you in spirit, as well as through e-mail!
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2 Quick Questions...*I'm considering publishing this newsletter twice a month in 2010, and would love your feedback. Please e-mail me and let me know your thoughts.  *Some of you may have noticed my new butterfly logo on Facebook. It is part of some rebranding I'm planning. I'd like to know your preference on which butterfly you like more, the current one on the masthead, or the one above? Let me know via e-mail or post a comment on my FAN page. |
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About Carrie
Carrie
Jaffe-Pickett is a writer, editor, and communications specialist in Silicon
Valley. She has over 60 published articles in magazines and
newspapers regionally and nationally, including Redbook. She is a
published fiction writer, and has won the Heekin Foundation novel in
progress award as well as the Katherine Anne Porter prize for fiction.
She also has 15 years of experience as Director of Communications and
Public Relations for a national health care organization in New York
City, and is a Constant Contact Business Partner, as well as being
recently named one of 30 writers to follow on Twitter. You can learn
more about her at carriefreelance.com and carriewriterblog.com.
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Where's Carrie?
Calendar Updates:
12/14
*"Wiring a Human Business" webinar with Chris Brogan
12/17
*Silicon Valley Tweetup and Toy Drive, Mt. View Chamber
*1/18
Fancy Food Show and press coverage
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Editor's Note
Just a Writer? What Having a "Niche" Means
in Today's World
 Hi everyone, welcome to my December newsletter and Happy Holidays to all! During the course of this year, I've met so many people and am truly thankful for all the great experiences I have had, both online and off. The more my business has evolved, the more I see how crucial it is for me to provide "integrated content management." So, not only do I help businesses with specific projects, but I look at the big picture in communications as well. That means social media strategy and tools. Video. E-Newsletters and Blogs. And where is copywriting in all this? It serves as the foundation for everything. What good are Twitter and Facebook if you don't know how to post and tweet effectively? If you're going to take on a blog for your business, you need to know how to write for your audience, or find a writer for you who can ghostwrite. Same goes for a great newsletter that can serve to build your brand and expertise, and videos and slideshows that have effective descriptions and captions. And of course, the infamous salesletter.
 So, if you aren't thinking about Web 2.0, you might as well bake a cake and leaving out the layers and the frosting. I have made a conscious decision that my "niche" includes all the components described in my solutions, and that being a writer also reflects that. So, if your communications plan calls for a consultant in 2010, look for a great writer, and also a great "baker of cakes," because you need a multilayered approach to succeed in your communications. PS Sneak preview...my e-book is coming soon, a compilation of the best of carriewriterblog.com, including inspirations, aspirations, and reflections. It's called "The Way the Light Falls," and I'm tweaking it now so you can have it for the holidays...stay tuned. |
3 Ways to Find More Time to
Write in 2010
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1. Conquer Procrastination. Often, we realize we have more time then we think to work on a project, if only we could get over the mental hurdles, or procrastination "beast," as it is sometimes called. If you're procrastinating, try to find out why. Think it through, talk it over with a trusted friend or colleague. Sometimes, starting at the end of a project and working backwards can jumpstart your creative thinking. Or just sitting down and committing to a few minutes each day will help as well. Often, we find that we want to keep going past the time we scheduled because suddenly we're on a roll.
2. Keep a notepad and an ideas folder handy. I often get ideas when I'm in the car, on the train, or even at the supermarket, not to mention those brilliant 3 a.m. revelations. Keep a notebook handy so you can jot down any ideas to come back to later. I also keep a folder handy for blogging or business ideas I come across online or in print publications.
3. Publish in advance. With today's blogging and e-news programs, you can easily prepare several posts or newsletters and schedule them for the future. This is a great way to keep your online presence optimized, when you might actually be out networking or even on vacation. I used "tweetlater," (now Social Oomph), to tweet parts of my Balloon Boy project while I was writing the rest of it.
What are your ideas? E-mail me at carrie@carriefreelance.com and I'll publish your idea as well as a link to your business in my January issue and on my FAN page.
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Save Time on Social Media Marketing
During the Holidays
1. Is blogging taking you forever? If you've been writing 3 posts a week or more, you can save time by writing one really great post a week instead, and doing more with it. Encourage your friends to submit your post to Digg, to increase the chance that more folks will read it. And, you can submit it to article sites like e-zine, so as to increase your SEO and gain visibility.
2. No time for a Facebook Fan page? Since 86% of all online retailers currently have pages, and they are the only Facebook features to be fully indexed by Google, with a #3 Alexa ranking, it's a good idea not to be left out in the cold on this one. A basic FAN page that doesn't require any custom HTML can be done in about an hour. If you want to customize it later on, save it for the new year, but at least you'll have a great template to start with.
3. Not on Twitter yet? There are over 17,000 tweets per minute, and each tweet has its own date stamped URL. That means every time you tweet, you are making a trackable online footprint. To save time on Twitter, try using Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop to help streamline your feeds. And you can also use Tweelater to advance publish your tweets while you're off caroling!
4. Not Linked In? Studies have shown that unsolicited e-mails received through Linked In have over 7x the open rate as that of regular e-mail, so don't wait until New Year's to figure it out. At the very least, spend the bulk of your time on your Profile Page, since that's the most important page everyone looks at first. You can make it a New Year's resolution to search great people to connect with in 2010.
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