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24 HOUR SALE! 30 Minute Critiques ALL DAY for 70% Off!

by Marian Schembari on July 25, 2010

Guys? I have NOTHING going on today. NOTHING. You don’t understand, this never happens. I have no articles due or big projects hanging over my head.

I was also recently inspired by The Middle Finger Project who had a brilliant idea last week where they offered crazy discounted prices for their services since they were all sitting around bored. Then one of my favorite bloggers, Catherine Caine, basically spent a whole day offering her tagline service and just brainstormed and did fun things all day.

And I thought – ummmm, I can do that!

The 30 Minute Strategy

Last week I launched my latest service, the 30 Minute Twitter Strategy, which is super cool video consulting with a step-by-step outline on how to step up your Twitter presence. It’s basically a pimped up version of Critique My Profile.

This is me endorsing 30 Minute Strategy

It usually costs $100, but for TODAY ONLY (Monday, July 26) I’m offering up the service for $30. Holy mackerel!

That’s less than a dinner out.

That’s less than your weekly travel.

That’s way less than a pair of shoes.

I’m Actually Useful

In case you don’t feel like clicking over to the 30 Minute Strategy page, the service includes a 30 minute critique of your Twitter profile and a crazy detailed strategy on what you should be tweeting about, tweaks to make to your profile, how to maximize your presence and how to get the best engagement for your time. Sound good? That’s cuz it is. Here are some snippets from people who’ve gotten my critiques:

“I’ve gained new followers; I’m following new people and hopefully I’m getting the balance right between being too ‘salesy’ and just commenting… Critique My Profile fires up your imagination on how to take your business further with Twitter.”

- Elaine Nicholsons, Nicholsons Jewellers

“Over the past few weeks there has been a noticeable increase in responses and engagement from my following, which is exactly what I was looking for. I have more followers, been added to a few more lists, and I fully expect the trend to continue as I further implement [Marian's] suggestions.”

- Jeffrey Pia, Front End Web Developer

So What Are You Waiting For?

The next 24 hours I’m going to do nothing but Twitter critiques and I’m taking on EVERYONE that emails me with their Twitter handle and a list of goals. Videos will be made in the order they are received and I’ll be taking orders until midnight Eastern Time.

UPDATE 7/27/10: Thank you so much to everyone who participated! It was a crazy crazy day and I’ll probably spend the next week making videos! The $30 sale is now over, but you can always hit me up here for the full version. Looking forward to working with your profile!

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“Critique My Profile” Episode 5: Make the most out of linking

by Marian Schembari on July 23, 2010

This week’s episode of Critique My Profile features Desirai Labrada (@Desirai), a Digital Media Designer, artist and all around cool chick who’s looking to land more freelance clients by using Twitter… Check out the video and my tips for her below:

Some actionable tasks for Desirai:

Bio/Background

  • It’s good in that it tells us who you are and what you do, but it’s a little cluttered. Also keep in mind that most of us won’t know what those acronyms mean.
  • Pair down your bio a little bit so that the important bits are obvious and we’re not overwhelmed with too much info.
  • Gorgeous background! It’s so smart for artists and designers to show off their skills with a customized Twitter background.

Tweets:

  • You obviously know what you’re doing and have a good amount of  designer-relevant links and tweets. Keep it up!
  • Instead of using the retweet button, spend 60 seconds following these guidelines:
    • Include the name of the original author as well as the person you’re RTing (only if the names are different obviously). You want to give credit where it’s due.
    • Include a comment or question with the RT. This piques curiosity and invites people to participate in the discussion.
  • Get followers involved in your work. Show us designs your working on, ask our opinion on tiny details to help you work better and make us feel like we’re useful :)
    • Remember people are visual and your career perfect for including links to Twitpic images – anything from art that inspires you or designs you’d like to replicate. You have so many options!

What do you guys think? Do you have more tips for Desirai? Leave your comments below! And if you want me to critique your profile, leave your Twitter handle in the comments.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m now offering a crazy discounted consulting service called 30 Minute Twitter Strategy for those of you who are ready to take your profiles to the next level. Click here for more info.

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“Critique My Profile” Episode 4: Tweet your personality

by Marian Schembari on July 7, 2010

This week’s episode of Critique My Profile features Shayna Leah (@ShaynaLeahK), a blogger over at Life: Forward. Shayna didn’t give specifics, so I focused on how she can kick some life into her tweets by adding personal touches. Check out the video and my tips for her below:

Some actionable tasks for Shayna:

Bio/Background

  • Short and sweet explanation – good!
  • I’d like to hear more about you. What are your passions? What’s your day job? Your bio has the potential to be a little catchier.

Photo

  • Point deduction on the cartoon avatar! Two things:
    • I can’t tell you what a difference it makes to visualize the person with whom you’re connecting. It goes a long way in maintaining a relationship.
    • If you ever go to events or meet a blog friend in person, you want them to recognize you!

Tweets

  • Cut it out with the obsessive hashtagging. It dilutes the message and looks spammy.
    • Instead of writing “#women #bloggers #marieclaire #whattowear”, write, “I take a look at Marie Claire’s fatshion blogger.” See the difference? You can still include those keywords, but it’s more effective in the form of a sentence.
  • Stop doubling up on tweets!
  • Where are your thoughts? Spew some opinions, baby, your niche totally calls for it.
  • If you’re lost about something to say, take a snippet from a blog post and rewrite it as a tweet. I went through your site and picked out two examples:
    • Only thing scarier than a man spouting reasons why women aren’t entitled to equal opportunities is when those arguments come from a woman.
    • @Newsweek said “There’s something creepy about a made-to-order child. Even a pretty one.” Is that any different than how we already behave?
  • Keep in mind that people do care about your day and tweeting about stuff that seems mundane (i.e. “cleaning out my inbox”) makes you relatable. Don’t do this too often, though.

Alright guys, what do you think? Am I being too harsh on Shayna? Do you have any suggestions for her? Leave your comments below!

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“Critique My Profile” Episode 3: Join the chats

by Marian Schembari on July 2, 2010

This week’s episode of Critique My Profile features Heather Rae (@insearchofsquid), a blogger and author who just finished the first draft of her thriller/mystery novel. Go Heather! Check out the video and my tips for her below:

(Isn’t it hilarious when someone makes a video and they get caught in a really awkward pose? Yeah. What up.)

Some actionable tasks for Heather:

Bio/Background

  • So far so good, maybe add some details about the book you’re working on? Draw your followers in. I like the bio you use on your website.
  • Could be cool to add something writing (or squid) themed to your background to make it pop. Sounds corny, but it just rounds out your personal brand. I used Dreamstime to buy a stock photo for my own background.

Tweets:

  • You have a good mix of personal in there, keep it up!
  • Tweet about the process of writing your book. People become invested in a project if they hear about how it’s going.
  • When tweeting a blog post, make people want to click by writing a little description or catchy quote.
  • When talking about people/events/companies link to their Twitter profiles (if applicable).
  • To become a bigger part of the writer’s community, try joining a weekly Twitter chat. These chats are a great and effective way to meet people with similar interests. Participants track their conversations using hashtags followed by the name of the chat, i.e. #writechat. They’re all have set days and times, so click on the links below to read the details. Here are some good ones for authors:

Alright guys, what do you think? Did you find this video helpful? Do you have more ideas for Heather? Leave your comments below! And if you want me to critique your profile, leave your Twitter handle in the comments.

If you’re interested in more video shenanigans, sign up for the Pajama Job Hunt! A 3-part video tutorial on using Twitter as the ULTIMATE job hunting tool. Click here for more info.

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Musical Selection of the Week: Josh Pyke is gonna make you swoon

by Marian Schembari on June 25, 2010

For the life of me I can’t remember how Josh Pyke came under my radar. I wish I did so I could give a great big bear hug to whoever did the recommending.

While I was working at that museum in Manhattan over the winter, there was a lot of walking in the snow. Sometime in February we had this huge blizzard and the entire city was weirdly quiet. On my walk from the subway station to the museum I listened to “The Lighthouse Song” and now all I can think of when I hear it is big, fat flakes and the craziest city on earth at a standstill when covered in snow.

If you thought I couldn’t get any mushier than that, I’d also like to point out that one of my favorite lines EVER is in this little diddy: “When I should be leaning against you, deciding on things to get done, and you should be leaning on fountains and filling my space up and breathing the air from my lungs.” Swoon.

Enjoy! (And tell me what you think…)

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