“Jules” has been very, very busy. He (she?) works at a company that specializes in SEO. He just stopped by my blog and posted this note:

Hi,

I’m Jules and I work at [company name].com, a company interested in blog
advertizing. I found your blog engaging and I’m contacting you to ask if
you are interested in blog post sponsorship.

If you are interested, kindly mail back for confirmation [email].Please include your blog’s URL.
Looking forward to doing business with you.

Sincerely,

Jules Viernes

I Googled the phrase “blog post sponsorship” and discovered that it means opportunities for advertisers to pay for ads at the bottom of my posts.

Somehow I don’t think Jules is sincere. Here is a Google search with 9 other blogs that Jules has found engaging. In addition, looks like Elmer is also interested in “blog advertizing.”

Hi,

I’m Elmer and I work at [DIFFERENT company name].com, a company interested in blog advertizing. I found your blog onceuponadiet.blogspot.com engaging and I’m contacting you to ask if you are interested in blog post sponsorship.

If you are interested, kindly mail back [Elmer's email] and I’ll send you pricing details, guidelines and processes. Looking forward to doing business with you.

Sincerely,

Elmer

Skylar is also interested in blog post sponsorship.

Hello,

My name is Skylar. I just spent some time digging through your great blog and I found it very engaging. I’m contacting you to ask if you are interested in blog post sponsorship.

If you are, please e-mail me back and I will send you pricing details, guidelines and processes. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Skylar Sinclaire

While I don’t think Jules really finds my site engaging, some days it sure would be helpful if my time on this blog paid off. What are your thoughts on advertising?

Read sponsorship is a good thing from Mashable.

Read a blog sponsorship justification from Mouse Clone.

People ask me all the time where to find someone to do a website or a new graphic or where to get help finding leads. My answer is almost always the same…. Elance.

Elance is a tremendous directory of freelance everything. I’ve hired people to migrate my blog ($150), create my main website ($180 — definitely an insanely good deal!), draw a cartoon picture (at right) for my marketing ($140 total for two types) and increase my SEO (this one I canceled because I felt oogie about paying for blog love).

On Elance, you describe your project and set your budget. Then you open your project up for bid, and freelancers around the globe give you proposals. I generally get 4-8 proposals from companies, and I can review their portfolios and their ratings from other projects. You can correspond with vendors during the proposal process, and when you choose someone, your correspondence stays in your project. Your money stays in escrow, and you release it when you and your provider reach the milestones you’ve agreed on.

Recent upgrades to Elance make communication easier — you can now arrange calls and IMs through the service. I haven’t tried it yet.

I’ve had the best of luck with the service, and I think it’s a small business owner’s best friend. Side note — if you’re freelancing yourself, I would say Elance is a tough market. It’s kind of like craigslist — highly competitive with clients like me out there looking for an amazing bargain. But you may be able to use it to help pay bills and to kick off your new business.

Tags: elance

There’s a difference between working as a writer and running a writing business. As Avenue Z Writing Solutions grows, I’m discovering I need to dedicate more and more time to simply keeping the business going.

I now spend a couple of hours a day (at least) just … umm… doing business things: answering emails, setting appointments, maintaining my blog, etc. And that doesn’t include the time I should be spending on marketing and organization.

This may sound crazy, but I’m hiring an assistant, or at least I’m taking the steps to hire one. I placed an ad on craigslist this morning, and I just received my first reply.

I’m asking for help for 4 hours a week. This will give me a dedicated person to help with my blog and website, follow through with marketing, assist with research and bug me about doing my billing and accounting.

One of the main benefits will be the peace of mind I’ll get by being able to get some of my tasks out of my head. When I’m relaxing in the tub or running in the evening or heading off to bed, I’m ALWAYS feeling guilty about things left undone. I have great marketing ideas I want to put in motion. I need to really clean up this blog. I have to update the samples and testimonials on my website. These little things drive me crazy and make it almost impossible for me to truly relax.

Side note — Productivity Guru David Allen’s philosophy is that these little nagging thoughts are what stop you from being productive. His book rocks!

Thus, I’m hiring someone. I’m justifying it because I’m no longer hitting the coffee shop every day, and, believe it or not, I was spending almost as much per month at the coffee shop as I will be paying an assistant. Yeah. I had a problem.

Cross your fingers!

Tags: David Allen, GTD

I just asked my group of consultant friends for their elevator speeches, and I realized I needed to write one of my own. What do you think of this?

Beth Ziesenis of Avenue Z Writing Solutions provides clear thinking, great writing and engaging brainstorming for corporations and associations. With more than 20 years of professional writing experience, Beth produces new ideas and innovative copy for your marketing and outreach.

PS – Ask about Avenue Z’s specialty: Education as Marketing©!

*************

Oh, and this is funny. Go to elevatorrules.com

This morning I called my sister, as I do almost every morning. Her two boys, 2 and 5, were watching Ninja Turtles. “Do you have poo-poos?” Sarah asked the little one. “Bring me your diaper and let’s get you changed.”

“Sarah, I should go,” I said.

“Oh, you don’t have to go. I can handle a dirty diaper and a call at the same time.”

Yes, she can. She’s done it dozens of times with me since she became a mom. But could she stop a child from chasing the dog with a T-rex toy while finishing a newsletter series for a telephony company?

Beats me. I know I couldn’t do it. I just read an article this morning about women leaving the workforce because of the economy. According to the article, the percentage of working women ages 25 to 54 was 74.9 percent in 2000. The number fell to 72.7 percent in June.

One would think that the number of freelancers or small businesses would grow when the mothers moved home. Mothers are smart, organized, innovative and great at multitasking. I bet many of them will be finding ways to make money from home.

But I don’t know how they do it. This morning I had to walk up to the grocery store to buy milk and fruit, then I stressed out because I had to make coffee, cook oatmeal and do a little research before my first teleconference, which is in 4 minutes. How would I do all that if I had two little ones at my feet?

I admire moms who can work from home. And I’m very glad I’m not one. The cat is enough.