Categories
Tweet Tweet Twitter

Tweets for 2009-08-05…

  • @chrishumphreys Awww… see? Now that is love. The cat only wants to be there because it loves you. Or it loves your warm chair. Hmm… in reply to chrishumphreys #
  • As a user, I hate it when your blog pops up in a window w/ no nav bar. I can't bookmark you easily to return. I also hate music on blogs. #
  • It is @ShootQ Webinar time! Open question day – go give Mark something to talk about! (Link to get in is in forums there.) #
  • @veronicaeye I actually recently found a scarf "how to" book with her photos on it in the back of an old dresser! Too funny. Glorious clips! in reply to veronicaeye #
  • @SheShoots *snort* Oh goodness. That is hysterical when you think about it! in reply to SheShoots #
  • RT @EatingOurWordsThe late-night scene at Katz's (along with photo from @christinebpc!): http://ow.ly/j3sX (Now I want a Katz's Dip.) #
  • I know I've done this before – in PS, how do I fill an image with a pattern? Basically, want to repeat a background on page. Help? #
  • AH HA! I was forgetting the step of defining the pattern so I could fill with the pattern! Done and done! New blog template soon! Whee! #
  • OMG! I just coded did CSS stuff that used to take hours and it only took minutes. And it works in IE! YES! New look http://bigpinkcookie.com #
  • Oh crap. It just failed in Firefox on the PC. Damn it. Stoopid browsers. *sigh* I knew I shouldn't have celebrated so soon. #
  • @theworkingmom I'm adding code, pulling code, and tweaking code. I pulled the Flickr photos that worked in all the other browsers for now. in reply to theworkingmom #
  • I had my Flickr photos showing up at the top, nicely formatted on everything but FireFox, didn't want to mess with it, so pulled for now. #
  • Meanwhile, I'm going to keep testing themes on http://bigpinkcookie.com until I find the one. Should be fun… #
  • Best wedding someecard ever! http://bit.ly/1aysh0 I keep giggling over that one! #
  • @HoustonPress Clearly, the Tremoulets are a house divided. I prefer Tweetie to @coffeemike's Twitterfon. in reply to HoustonPress #
  • RT gapingvoid Anyone know any Texas Twitterers? Please send them this link: http://bit.ly/sN7DO. #evilplans needs their help! 🙂 #texas #
  • @gapingvoid Read the page… as a Texas Twitterer, what exactly can I do to help? Have you met @coffeegroundz? There a movement can happen! in reply to gapingvoid #
  • This months Fast Track meetup is open to *all* pro or aspiring pro photographers! Come join us THURSDAY night! http://tinyurl.com/houstonFTP #
  • Hey @fasttrackphoto & @danesanders – we'll be thinking of you at the Houston FTP meetup on Thursday! http://tinyurl.com/houstonFTP #
  • @gracievey On a ferry heading out to Whidbey Island? in reply to gracievey #
  • @gracievey Oh! So close! Looks like a beautiful night – hope it isn't too hot and that there is a nice breeze on the ferry! in reply to gracievey #
Categories
Social Media

The Flaw in the Social Media Consultant Concept…

Back in 2006, when I was in the process of selling the hosting business, I talked with a friend about working with her as a consultant. I knew what I wanted to do – I wanted to help people get their brands online and generate buzz from the community. I didn’t realize though that this was an emerging trend at the time of Social Media Consultants – I just thought it was a cool idea. I didn’t do it at the time because all of the sudden I was going through all the challenges of setting up a wedding photography business – and getting a workflow really flowing is hard, no matter how prepared you think you are.

To be honest, I still think it is a cool idea when you dig down to the core concept behind it. The problem is that there are so many people out there that will tell you that you can hire them as a Social Media Consultant … so they can tell you to start a blog, get on Twitter, and place some ads on Facebook.

That isn’t what Social Media is about. Well not the bulk of it. And they are turning it into a trendy buzz word. The flaw is in so much bad advice out there, be touted by people that don’t know much.

Social media is about getting people to talk about you. It is no different then marketing before the latest buzz term came along. You have a product, and you want people to know about it. You then find any avenue possible — and preferably narrow your target down to the best possible paths to follow — and start to get the word out. Same package, new label.

The key? You have to engage with the community.

And in this day and age, where transparency is becoming more and more important, it should be *you* doing the engaging if you’re a small business. It isn’t something you can really hire someone else to do for you – your tweets should come from you. Especially in the case of creatives. We’re marketing the experience of working with US. It is a very specific experience. It is what makes you unique, and it is what sells you.

There are fabulous Social Media Consultants out there, and they can definitely help you hone what you’re doing so it is excellent. But before you hire them, maybe just try going out there and being nice? Building relationships? Making friends? I love the internet because I can become friends with someone in London and someone just a mile down the road. It flattens everything – take advantage of that! Genuinely connect with people – you’ll be amazed at what happens!

Then if you need help building a campaign, go for it! Use these 10 tips for evaluating a social media expert as a good place to start to make sure you’re getting the right one! (I really love this article because it is so true!)

Categories
Tweet Tweet Twitter

Tweets for 2009-08-04…

Categories
Creative Geek Social Media

My Credentials, So to Speak…

I don’t normally like to post the same thing on London Seo more than one of my sites at a time. I’m just know it confuses poor Google. I promise, I won’t do it often – but I wrote this late yesterday over on the wedding & boudoir photography site and it seemed like it belonged here as well.

I started making the list below to be a little sassy because I know there is going to be someone reading this thinking, “Blogging Guru? Just who does she think she is?” Then I realized checking up on my credentials is pretty important.

  • In January 2008, I was one of the first to move the blog to the front of the site for my photography site, replacing the Flash splash page that so many photographers have. This completely changed my business model and has rocked my world. I strongly advocate it to everyone.
  • Last month I had over 17,000 visitors on ChristineTremoulet.com. Over 9000 were unique visits.
  • I’ve blogged since 2000 here.
  • I’ve worked for two large web development firms, helping people determine the best fit for their needs when it came to their online presence. I’m an experienced Internet Image Consultant.
  • My sites have been featured in a number of publications, including Yahoo! Daily Pick Site, the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, and many others. BigPinkCookie was featured a number of times by Chris Pirillo on his Call for Help TV show.
  • I owned a blog hosting company for over 5 years so I’m familiar with how hosting works.
  • I was one of the first 25 or so users of MovableType when it first came out.
  • I named WordPress. Yes, really.
  • I’ve used WordPress for 5 years now.
  • My husband & I have done countless WordPress installations and customizations over the past 5 years.
  • BigPinkCookie.com has been in the Top 100 blogs on Technorati.
  • I used to be the #1 Google result for “Christine”. Just Christine. I’m still in the top 5.
  • I know a lot about SEO.
  • I also know how to code HTML by hand and can tweak CSS to make it nice and sparkly.
  • If you mention my name in pro blogging circles, some people will actually know who I am.
  • I have over 4000 followers on Twitter. I didn’t get them overnight, but instead by engaging with the community since fall 2006 when Twitter started.
  • I have attended SXSW Interactive 5 times in the past 10 years.
  • I spend more hours per week reading and writing about marketing, blogging, using social media, and SEO then I do about photography. Even on photography forums, I can be found talking mostly about the business side of things.
  • I am constantly learning more and more about how blogging, social media, and the internet as a whole is changing how we do business. It never ends.

In other words I’m not just talking the talk. I’m walking the walk. And in case you wondered, I did in fact answer all of the questions in this article correctly. (What is that good ol’ Southern saying? It ain’t braggin’ if it is the truth? I’m going with that one, because that list was actually pretty hard to write.)

I’m working on the last details of the launch pricelist for base services. As soon as it is ready, I’ll let you know! For those of you that have already contacted me to inquire about more information, you guys blow me away. I love you all. I knew this was going to be big – and I couldn’t do it without your support. If you’ve asked for more details, you’re already in line – I’ll get it to you first as soon as it is ready!

Categories
Getting Down to Business

The All New BigPinkCookie!

BigPinkCookie Business Card - BackToday is the day I put it all out there. The big plan. What I’m willing & available to do for you. Are you ready for it? (I am! I’m super excited!!!)

I’ve been blogging now since 2000. You have seen me talk about a lot of different things. And as you saw me post last week, I’ve been having a big debate about where this blog should go. I would say that it has been an internal debate, but to be honest I called in the experts on this one – from asking you to weigh in here, over on Twitter, to emailing Sean Low and calling Regina Holder, Dane Sanders and Anne-Marie the Soap Queen.

I thought I needed advice, but in the process of talking about it I knew exactly what I needed to do. It was solidified when Anne-Marie said it before I even finished my sentence. Dane & Sean both weighed in that it was time to put my experience to good use and to share it with the world. Regina let me talk through it all like she is so great at doing.

It is time to put some geek spice back into the BigPinkCookie.com. A dash of flavor and a lot of love. It is time to share what I know, from writing to helping you build a better blog.

I’ll still be writing on my wedding photography blog, and I’ll still be posting over at PhotoLoveCat and WhollyMatrimony!. But this site is officially changing … well, back to what it used to be. A hodge-podge of things, but mostly my thoughts on many different business related topics – especially where business and the internet collide. (Personal things might pop up from time to time, but those are still far more likely to appear on my Twitter account then they are here.)

I devour all I can all the time about marketing, branding, seo consulting company, blogging tips, and the whole online experience. Things we all need to make our creative businesses grow. Tips & tricks for small business owners. I am constantly answering questions on how to be a better blogger, how to improve your traffic, how to make potential clients take that next step to hiring you. I also often help people install and configure WordPress, set up themes, optimize their blog — and I’m ready to offer my help to a broader audience. (Pricelists coming soon, but for now I’m happy to provide you with a custom quote if you need anything.)

I am so excited about sharing all of this with you – again! I’m not sure what happened, and why I stopped. I do know a lot of it coincided with selling the blog hosting company and launching my photography business, but my love of the topic themselves never ended. I am officially getting my geek on again. My focus will definitely be photographers (because it is what I know), but what I have to share will apply to all different types of creative people, in the wedding industry and beyond.

That is the back of my new business cards for BigPinkCookie.com over there – what do you think? (I adore it, but I think that looking at a cookie for hours on end while designing makes me hungry!)

If there is one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it is to never set a limit to your dreams, because you will be amazed at where they can take you!

I have to say, it feels pretty good to be home. I’ve come full circle, and I couldn’t be happier.