What I Learned from a Blogging Hiatus

The last few weeks I’ve taken a blogging hiatus. It wasn’t entirely intentional. My work schedule has been such that keeping up has been interesting to say the least. There have been fascinating new business consulting clients, speaking engagements, travel, new platforms from vendors to explore… In short, I just haven’t made the time for blogging.

This time last year I had been blogging daily for 2 years. It was a good exercise in helping myself stay current and in touch with all of you. And the blog has been a good tool for opening conversations about my other services as well. It has been and continues to be a great marketing tool (keep that in mind, folks. A blog is not something that works for selling directly, but it’s AWESOME to position yourself so people are interested in your products and services.)

But what I found is that people were getting overloaded. They weren’t reading everything I was writing. I began to question whether writing every day was worth the time it took.

And I’ve come to the conclusion that writing daily isn’t necessary for me anymore. Instead, I write when I have something to say.

The challenging part of this is that, without the habit of setting aside the time to write, I now have to remember to make time when there is something to write about. There is certainly much coming down the pike. Things like using Pinterest effectively, the Facebook Timeline being rolled out to everyone, the benefits of bulk texting services, and what you really need from a service as a direct seller. Plenty of topics to explore.

So I continue to seek the balance that provides the information that you need, allows us to stay in touch, but also doesn’t become too much information so that the blog becomes background noise that is no longer relevant. I suppose in some ways this is the evolution of a blog, and what works for us at one point may not be what works for always.

So staying flexible, nimble, aware…these are the things I’m striving for as I enter 2012 with this blog.

And I wonder…what would you like to see from this blog? What are the things you find the most benefit from? What questions can I answer for you? Would appreciate you sharing your thoughts in the comments below.

Direct Selling is Making a Better World

One of the things I love most about direct selling and network marketing is the fact that doing good is part of the business model. Take a look at almost any direct selling company, and you’ll find that the company has a philanthropic component. We’re feeding people, improving the environment, helping the homeless, supporting domestic abuse survivors, helping find a cure for cancer, and so much more. What other industry can say that?

Now of course there are business reasons for it. We have an independent salesforce that looks to the company for motivation. And a great way to motivate people is to provide a cause that people can work together to help. But it’s truly more than that. Because I’ve met the people that run these companies. And I’ve seen the glow that they have when they talk about the causes they support, the people that they’ve helped.

Direct selling is about making a difference…in the lives of the people that sell our products, the people that make our products, the people that buy our products. And also in the lives of the communities we touch. You want to create jobs in a community? Invite in a direct selling company. Because ANYONE in that community can take part and earn money. There are no barriers to entry. If you want to take advantage of the opportunity, you can. It’s that simple. And it’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about this industry, and seek to serve it every day.

The Direct Selling Education Foundation (disclosure: client) recently produced a video that shares better than I can the many ways direct selling is making a difference today. I think it will touch you the way it touched me. Watch it. Share it. People need to understand the many ways that having direct selling in their communities benefits them. And this video can start that process.

Enjoy.

Can’t see this video? Click here.

What cause does your direct sales or network marketing company support? Would love to hear about it in the comments below.

6 Media Trends for Direct Sales in 2012

Media is evolving at such a rapid pace that it can be hard to keep up! And then, as direct sellers, we not only need to be aware of the trends, but we also need to be aware of what makes sense for direct selling. We can’t be just doing media full time. We have [...]

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Why I Think Pinterest is the Next Big Thing for Direct Sales

Do you pin? I’m talking about Pinterest, a new social sharing site that users describe as “addicting.” Essentially, users find things around the web that they love, and then “pin” them to boards on their profile. What’s neat about this as opposed to other bookmarking sites is that the boards are all visual. When you [...]

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Worth It

I’m in Nevada this week for the DSA’s Be Connected conference. I got in a day early because of client meetings, and so had a quiet morning to myself (a rare treat.) After spending some time catching up on work, I wandered down to the hotel restaurant for some breakfast. I don’t normally go to [...]

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Inexpensive Ways Small Businesses Can Increase Sales

This weekend I stopped in to our local dollar store. I had made some candies with my family for holiday gifts, and wanted to pick up some festive tins to put them in. When I reached the checkout, the owner was there. Just making conversation, I asked him if the store had been crazy busy [...]

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The Elusiveness of Measuring Social Media ROI

I recently purchased Purex Complete Crystals fabric softener. (All of you that sell this type of product, cover your ears and hum quietly to yourself. There is a point here.) This type of fabric softener is added to the washer, rather than the dryer sheets I’ve always used. What caused me to buy it? I [...]

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Saying Thank You Makes a Big Difference

I shop with a lot of direct sellers. There are several reasons I do so. 1, I love the products offered by this industry. 2, I love the fact that every purchase supports a small business owner. And it’s also pretty amazing to build relationships with the people who provide my favorite products. You can’t [...]

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