When my friend Mariana over on Twitter threw out the idea of doing some “spring cleaning” on her blog with an invitation for others to join her, I immediately clicked her link to check out what she had going on over at her site, Riding With No Hands(don’t you just love that name?). She wanted to revisit the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, which was originally created by ProBlogger about a year ago, and add her own “spin” to it. I attempted the challenge initially during that time, but lost my focus. I am ready now and I like that I feel accountable to the others who are working through this at the same time. It makes such a difference when you work with others on the same project and feel the support and know that they will nudge you if you aren’t getting the work done, don’t you agree? Okay, day one is to create an elevator pitch for yourself. What is that, you ask? Here’s what I found at Wikipedia: An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch should be possible to deliver in the time span of an elevator ride, meaning in a maximum of 30 seconds and in 130 words or fewer. Okay, that sounds a bit challenging. How can I possibly “sell” myself to someone in an elevator ride?(I think I might have to push the emergency STOP button).
I already have an “about me” section on my blog, but this made me really think about what I would say to someone who asked me face-to-face what I had to offer. Here is the before of my about me section: A small town girl with a big city heart. I love to live a “green” lifestyle, which basically means I keep my home non-toxic, yes we recycle, and use reusable shopping bags, coffee mugs, and water bottles. Oh, but I am not crunchy. I have opinions about many things, passioniate about some, too. I love to chat about such topics as living green, eating organic and vegetarian, autism, breastfeeding, and so much more! I have enjoyed reviewing products and giving some away. I am THAT small blogger YOU should take a chance on! I WILL attend my first conference this year. My target: BlogHer.
Also, here is my current tagline: “Let’s Chat Together, Let’s Cook Together, Let’s Laugh Together.”
I looked at all of this and read it out loud to see how it would sound to actually speak it to someone and I realized it needed some changes. First, I created an actual page on my blog for the “about me.” And here is the new and improved version:
My name is Cathy Herard and I created this blog to share ways to live a greener lifestyle. What makes me unique is that I do so in a frugal way that saves my family money, rather than costing us more. I have lots of ideas and I love to share them, sometimes without being asked. There is a lot more to me than that, though. I also love to write about healthy eating(I’m a vegetarian), cooking(I’m a bit of a foodie show geek), family life in general, and reviewing of products. I have strong opinions about many things, some of which, get me fired up. I love to share those thoughts, whether strongly for or against something. I don’t give up and don’t take “NO” for an answer. I am THAT small blogger you should take a chance on! Now, go ahead….send me an email and let’s do something together!
Wow! That was tougher than I thought and probably could be edited even more! I think I would rather sell how fabulous YOU are to someone else rather than sell myself. Seriously, though, I am so glad I am taking on this challenge with a few others and I hope to learn a lot and improve my blog to open new opportunities for myself! It isn’t too late if you are interested. If you didn’t already click on the link for Mariana’s site, scoot on back to the top of this post and do so now. Oh, wait, before you go…there was one more part of this assignment(I know, right! That Mariana is so demanding!) She suggested linking to my “about me” page on my blog rather than my homepage for those who follow me on Twitter. Grand idea. Done.
Wow! That was tougher than I thought and probably could be edited even more! I think I would rather sell how fabulous YOU are to someone else rather than sell myself. Seriously, though, I am so glad I am taking on this challenge with a few others and I hope to learn a lot and improve my blog to open new opportunities for myself! It isn’t too late if you are interested. If you didn’t already click on the link for Mariana’s site, scoot on back to the top of this post and do so now. Oh, wait, before you go…there was one more part of this assignment(I know, right! That Mariana is so demanding!) She suggested linking to my “about me” page on my blog rather than my homepage for those who follow me on Twitter. Grand idea. Done.
Very cool! I just did some cleaning on my blog a few weeks ago… It felt great!
I'm so happy you're participating in this challenge! And I love this post. This task really did make you think, and it shows! I always thought your 'about me' was good, with a lot of information in just that short paragraph, but… I just realized it said nothing about being frugal in it! So glad you added that. That really ties your Twitter persona into it. I don't know who wouldn't want to "take a chance on" you after reading it!
I'm so happy you're participating in this challenge! And I love this post. This task really did make you think, and it shows! I always thought your 'about me' was good, with a lot of information in just that short paragraph, but… I just realized it said nothing about being frugal in it! So glad you added that. That really ties your Twitter persona into it. I don't know who wouldn't want to "take a chance on" you after reading it!