Out of the Blog, Into the Light

Secrets and Their Problems

Having our own secret secrets, ones that you never dare tell anyone else, creates emotional stress. When they build, they ruin your health. They can make you angry with people, and even at the whole world in general.

Knowing secrets about other people creates drama and builds excitement. It is also a trillion dollar industry. Just look at the tabloids. Four elements create the formula that builds into a guarded and destructive secret:

Guilt + Fear + Judgment + Person = Secret

Read the article on ezinearticles.com

Technorati Tags: Secrets,problems,challenges,trouble,caused,solution,article,catherinefranz

Timing Is Everything In Social Media

Timing is everything in social media. It's so much easier to post the video on YouTube and to immediately follow it up with an announcement on twitter. But that isn't the best way of doing it.

Your objective for marketing and social media is to prolong the message. Your strategy means everything!

Below is an example of doing this beginning with a video.

If you are beginning with a video on YouTube, you will want to post your video, and wait a week then make the announcement on Facebook, wait a week and announce it on LinkedIn, wait a week and announce on your blog, and wait a week to post on Twitter.

Let’s look at the timing using a picture.

Facebook is known for its pictures so you want to begin your social media journey with a picture. It's important to only upload one picture at a time.  The spacing (timeline) will improve your promotional longevity. The biggest mistake people make is uploading all their pictures at once.  You definitely never want to do it this way. 

When you begin with the picture, you post one picture with some really good tags and then wait. I suggest waiting a week to allow the picture to run across Facebook’s media system.  Then timeline it across your other social media contacts.  Again, spacing it out to other social media sites, your blog, newsletter, etc. 

For instance, you begin with the picture on Facebook. Wait a week. Then place the picture on LinkedIn. A week later, your blog, then Tweeter a week later.

Everything needs to have an embedded command. If you don’t know how to write embedded commands there are places on the Internet to help you.

In summary format, an embedded commands tells the viewer what to do next after watching the video, after seeing the picture, after reading your blog (this is usually easily you want them to subscribe to the blog), and your tweet need to also have a embedded command.

And that's one of the number one mistake I see most often on tweets – there isn’t an embedded command at all or a poor one. And if I do see an embedded command there isn’t any mention of a benefit for why I need to click there.

So when you're thinking about your social media promotion, think about timing, think about your purpose, think about your embedded command, but always get the timing right!

And yes, this all takes tracking.  So an editorial or publishing calendar needs addressing.

Technorati Tags: marketing,promotion,social media,tip,techniques,timing,Facebook,LinkedIn,Twitter,editorial calendar

My Rave

I seldom find a blog I can RAVE about. This one I can because it always makes me think.  And this is what Out of the Blog, Into the Light is all about about as well.

For instance, I just read the Top 10 Thinking Traps Exposed – How to Foolproof Your Mind, Parts I and II. Not only did I get examples but suggestions on how to help my mind stop playing into the trap.

And the great posts keep coming all the time.  Now, that’s brilliance!

Well, anyway, I’m a RAVING fan.

If you’re interested in visiting this blog it’s called Litemind.

If you’re interested in Part I of the Top 10 Thinking Traps post, click here.  I liked all 10, however number 3 is one I’m guilty of too many times until I learned about it some years back – The Sunk Cost Trap.

Part II is here in case you don’t see the link under Part I.

Technorati Tags: critical thinking,decision making,psychology,Litemind,blog,Top 10 Thinking Traps Exposed,How to foolproof your mind,part I,part II

Writing the Autobiographic Voice

by Catherine Franz

Now available on ezinearticles.com    To read

After reading, cast your vote (clear at the bottom of the page).

Technorati Tags: Writing the Autobiographic Voice,writing,article,tip,technique,catherine franz,catherinefranz.com

Mind Mapping Your Journal Entries

by Catherine Franz

Now available on ezinearticles.com.  To read

Technorati Tags: Mind Mapping,article,catherine franz,journal,journaling,tip,technique

What’s the Meaning of Love?

Love does make the world go around when you think about it.

Love euphorically changes our physical chemistry.  It makes us feel special, high, or low.

It’s a wonderful feeling.  It can be fleeting at times or engulf our life to where our feet doesn’t touch the floor – metophically speaking of course.

It can drive us crazy or make us crave it so desperately we do crazy things.

Does this mean we can control love?  And how many types of love are there?

This was my internal conversation running around my mind this morning.  The internal dialogue made me curious on how love affected my behavior.  The images of my past behavior with love were embarrassing at times followed by joyful remembrances.

Love, are we running towards it?  Or running away from it?  And if we in the middle, then where are we?  Is this when we’re stuck on something we’re trying to achieve?

This conscious and subconscious dialogue had me asking, “Which one was I doing right now and where’s the balance?  Or do I have balance already?” 

A long list of questions continued.

They ended with, “If we’re stuck in a goal, is all we need is some level of love?  Can love conquer whatever fear is keeping us from moving forward?” 

I answered, “Yes, if we love something it conquers the fear.  Right?  Or was this an affirmation I’m just remembering.” 

Sho-bang, that’s not an answer, it’s more questions.  Anguishing, I wanted answers not more questions.

Just the thought of love, or writing about it, changes or body chemistry and can change what we want to change.

Yet, have you ever defined what love means to you, recently?  I know I haven’t.

Now, I think I’m beginning to understand how poets write…love oozes out through the pen.  How J.K Rowling wrote the magically world of Harry Potter…it was her joy for storytelling and the joy it brought her younger brother at bedtime.  It was love.  Love that definitely made the world go around.

If we’re stuck with something right now.  Can bringing forth the love move us forward?

Share how you have used love to move past a fear?

Technorati Tags: love,what's the meaning of love,define love,fear,using love

How to Write a Book in 30 Days

I mentioned in my previous post I was going to adjust the Mind Map on How to Write and Publish a Book in 30 days with a new time line and focus. 

This time line only focusing on the writing portion and removes the publishing phrase until after the 30 days.

This process uses digital recording and transcription for recording the book.  If this isn’t how you want to process your book, then this time frame will not work.

This time frame allows flexibility to balance it with life and not make you go crazy in the writing process.

How to Write Your Book in 30 Days (no publishing) Mind map in PDF (click blue to open)

Technorati Tags: how to write a book in 30 days,timeline,time line,time frame,mind map,Mindjet,writing coach,Catherine Franz

How to Write and Publish a Book in 30 Days

 

 

 

It’s Sunday.  I love Sunday’s because its my fun day.  And one of my fun things to do on Sunday’s is to get some reading and research done. 

Today I was visiting the “Write Anything” blog and came across an article written by Annie who is a guest writer with this same title, “How to Write and Publish a Book in 30 Days."  [I apologize, this was hyperlinked but she removed the article.]

I was reading her timeline calculations and becoming curious.  So I went ahead and created a mind map from the timeline.

When the timeline ended at day 18, I thought that was a long way from 30 days.  I thought something was off.  I shot off an email to the editor at Write Anything about this.

Then I returned to the article and realized, she said “and Publish”.  Well now I’m embarrassed.  I guess day 19-30 is for getting the book published.  Dah, got it now.

I realized she was so down on the possibility of this feat being possible it turned off my brain to the whole story I was suppose to get.

Well Annie I apologize.  I have the whole picture how.

Attached is a PDF file with the mind map for her timeline she writes about in her article.

I think this can be a realistic timeline, however, I guess this is my but.  I think, instead of trying to write and publish in 30 days to instead write the book in 30 days and let the publishing of the book to take the next 15 to 30 days.  Why do you really need to publish it within 30 days anyway?  While it’s off being published you will need to be working on the next 30 day book anyway.  This way you’ll be focused on the next book and not pacing the floor about it being at the publishers and you can get into the prelaunch marketing phrase and creating a good foundation for when the book does appear. 

It’s either this or sitting on a lounge chair in Hawaii sipping fruit drinks getting some sun.  Hmm, that’s sounds even better than writing the next book.

In my next post, since I can only post one PDF file per post, I’ll adjust this timeline to reflect a 30-day writing-only production timeline.  Of course, you can choose any time frame you want.  But, yep there goes my but again.  But its always best to have a fixed time frame.

There you have it, enjoy the map.

        Sorry, time has run out on the free PDF strategy on this.

Technorati Tags: How to write and publish a book in 30 days,writing,publishing,timeline,mind map,mind jet,mind mapping

The Ten Beliefs You Want to Have to Succeed in Business and Life

This article is now available on SelfGrowth.com.

Please vote and add comments to the article to help my author standing!

Technorati Tags: The Ten Beliefs You Want to Have to Succeed in Business and Life,by Catherine Franz,selfgrowth.com,success skills,article,self-improvement,personal development

The Special Mind Mapping Notebook You'll Love To Use

At last night’s workshop attendees were asking to see my mind map and to know more about how they can purchase the special notebook I was using.

I remembered this question has come up often over the years. 

I promised my fellow attendees I would post the information on my blog today and I thought you may like to check this notebook out as well.

I’ve provide a few supplier links at the end of this post so you can have more information about the paper quality. 

The paper quality is thicker than normal paper which is great because then the marker colors don’t bleed through.

Beware there are two sizes when you’re researching.  You may first be fooled because one is much cheaper than the other but that’s because it’s a smaller size.

On the right is what a blank page
looks like.

Keep reading and I’ll give you
some vendors who sell these
notebooks.

I’ve been using this notebook for 12 years
and still love using them when a laptop
is compatible with the environment.

Vendors who sell this notebook and have additional information about it (prices vary):

MasterArt                 
Artists Pick               
Dataprint 

Technorati Tags: mind mapping,mind map journals,mind map sketch books,hand mind mapping,Catherine Franz