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There has been a bit of upheaval recently around the blogosphere about pseudonyms and their impact on the trust factor. While I can understand and empathize with some of the trepidation, I don’t get the bashing and obnoxiously self-righteous attitudes.

There are certainly times when a pseudonym is beneficial and one must always take great care to ensure the use of one doesn’t hinder their integrity and trustworthiness. I think there’s a pretty fine line between being trustworthy and not; perhaps a line that for some, is too easy to cross.

Of course, sometimes one gets pushed across the line, perhaps by necessity (possibly in extreme situations) or perhaps by another with less than honest intentions. Either way, it’s going to cause some backfire. Those on the outside shouldn’t be so quick to judge, though.

It’s that whole “walk a mile in their shoes” thing. Put yourself in their situation and truly examine your heart – would you react that way then? Possibly. And possibly not. But until you’re actually faced with the same set of circumstances, you can’t say for sure.

A teacher I had several years ago in a college course I took said, “All of us are only one thought, one action, one reaction from being in that place.” She was talking about the state prison. She went on to describe everyday, nice, upstanding people that were faced with a choice and ended up on the other side for whatever reason. Often, to protect themselves or someone they love.

And I think that pertains to the use of pseudonyms – especially for single moms. As someone who was once a single mom (with an ex-husband who was stalking her and had/has a restraining order), I totally can relate to that. In fact, “Annie” is not my real first name. (I guarantee you, though, I am most certainly a woman!) Annie is a nickname my family has always called me, ever since I can remember. If you know me, you know my real first name (though Anderson really is my last name) although I have not completely hidden my true name – you can find it.

My point, though, is that in the end, it’s just a name.

As we have found out, however, it’s what’s behind the name that matters. And while I think there are certainly other ways the whole thing could have been handled, I don’t fault anyone for it. We all make our choices based on the facts and feelings we have at the time. The problem is that over time, those facts and feelings can change.

The lesson here, is that having a professional pseudonym gives you a certain responsibility to your clients and those you work with to ensure that your actions are held to the highest integrity. You must always come clean with those you work with, otherwise it can (and most assuredly – will) be taken as dishonesty when the truth is revealed. I think this is especially true where gender difference is concerned.

And if you know anything at all about karma, you know that the truth always comes out eventually!

Now, having said all of that, let me just say – I think it took a tremendous amount of balls to do what James Chartrand did.

(By the way, the truth coming out doesn’t always have anything to do with dishonesty, either.) (Just some food for thought there.)

Be blessed,

This whole thing raises some other interesting questions and I may discuss my thoughts further in the future. For now, though, I think the whole uproar is rather silly.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

One of the things I’ve always been fairly passionate about is customer service. It’s one of those things, though, that I’ve never really thought about as much more than the back-end of my business, so to speak. Kind of a by-product of the main service of writing and design.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I believe customer service is the most important product of any business. And yes – it IS a product. It should be the foremost product in any business, no matter what industry. Even if you lack in other areas, when you’re customer service is stellar, people will be back.

I first learned about customer service from a business standpoint as a 11-12 year old when I started my first paper route. And my skills were honed in my 20’s by 2 different companies who believed as I do about it’s importance.

So, last night my husband and I were talking and brainstorming about stuff.

Well, not really. It was more of a shared rant about poor customer service we’d received by a VERY large company over the Holidays. (You probably know it – they drive big, brown trucks around delivering packages.)

And as we were ranting about the nonsense, we had an idea. There are a lot of companies out there with absolutely CRAPPY customer service. Businesses that could use some insight and support in getting superior customer service procedures put into place.

I think the tough economy is the perfect timing for this idea. Now more than ever, businesses are in need of ways to pull in customers and increase sales. I believe customer service is one of the key components to doing so.

As a result, I’m putting together some materials to help businesses understand these key concepts and put them into place quickly. In addition to that, I’m going to be discussing customer service here on the blog on a regular basis. And I’m going to incorporate some other things but I’ll discuss those another time.

The bottom line is that customer service is probably the most important aspect of a business. You can have a great product, a fancy store (whether that be brick & mortar or online) and all manner of other awesome things.

But if you’re customer service sucks, you’re only half as good as you could be. Or worse.

I hope your outline for 2009 is coming together as nicely as mine is. The concepts of customer service are going to be a huge part of my 2009 business model.

In the arena,

Shine like the star you are in 2009! Stick around for more on customer service and why it’s so important to you and your business.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Every year during the month of December, I take a break from many business related activities and concentrate almost solely on my purpose and plan for the next year. It’s a time I use to reflect on the past 12 months and to think about what I’d like to do for the next 12.

This usually means I make lists, go over everything I’ve done the past year, and adjust my long-term goals as needed. If I’m lucky, during this reflection, I find that I’ve met or exceeded the plan I created the previous December.

Since the kids and I have been taking turns getting sick since Thanksgiving, I haven’t really started my December reflections yet. Or well, at least I’m not to the point I normally am by now. But I’m finally getting going this week and so I wanted to share my process with you.

One of the first things I do is write down highlights from the year.

These are things that for one reason or another are significant to me or for some reason, stand out in my mind. Some are personal, some are business. Some are happy or fun and some are sad.

But I write these things down and then I pull out the list of goals I made last year. This allows me to see where I’ve gone and if I was on target for what I originally intended or if something else happened. Sometimes I find that I’ve not done much of what I wrote down and other times I hit nearly every mark.

Where I find the most growth – and oddly enough, the most contentment – is when I *have* missed the mark, when I haven’t reached many of those goals I thought I wanted.

In these times, I realize, it’s true the Universe knows better than I.

It doesn’t mean I’ve failed. It just means plans changed along the way.

And that’s ok. That’s what it’s all about. Learning, growing, sharing. I can reassess what I find important and define what doesn’t really matter to me.

Once I’ve done that, I decide what my top priorities should be for the next year. Sometimes things will carry over but quite often, nearly everything on the list is new or different than last time.

Often, I have multiple lists including:

• Personal
• Family
• Relationships
• Business
• Fun
• Education
• Health
• Spiritual

And sometimes others. It just depends on what is important to me at that time. I like to break it down this way because it forces me to really be in tune with every facet of my life and not neglect anything.

The next step is to set targets.

At this point, I take out the calendar and set some targets for myself. Having a specific date gives me a concrete reason for getting started on each goal. Otherwise, I procrastinate. This step also allows me to prioritize each item.

One thing I try to keep in mind is to spread out the “big” goals in between the “little” ones. By spreading them out, I ensure I don’t get overwhelmed. Too many big goals in a row is a good recipe for burnout. I try to avoid that as much as possible.

What do you do to get ready for the new year? Do you set goals for yourself? For your business or career? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.

In the arena,

Want to work with an award-winning writer? Now is your chance! Hurry and book for the 2009 before the calendar is full. I still have some space available. Check out the Hire Me tab above for info on how to contact me and your reserve your spot now.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

A couple of days ago, I wrote that I thought a “throw-away” mentality has become prevalent in our society when I asked “Do you pay for quality?” And as I’ve continued to ponder this thought, as well as some of the things going on in my life lately, I came to the conclusion that we all need mentors.

You know, you hear of kids needing mentors and people to look up to help keep them out of trouble, give them a role model. But I’m not really talking about kids here – no, I’m talking about adults. We need mentors too.

I mean, let’s be real – there are a lot of things out here in this world that are just plain trying and it’s during those times, having someone to look up to is a life saver.

So, I sat down here to write this post and had this crazy thought -

Back a few years ago, I belonged to a mastermind group and I really enjoyed it. And I’d like to be a part of another one again which brings me to the crazy thought –

Let’s start one!

If you read this blog and you would like to be a part of a mastermind group of like-minded individuals, send me an email. You don’t have to be on the Pacific Coast or even in the US. This is open to anyone around the world who can get online or on the phone as a group at least twice a month and chat.

I don’t know all of the details yet but we’ll work those out soon. I’m going to leave this open for a week or two so if you think you want to be a part, don’t wait too long! I’m going to close the doors when I think we’ve reached enough people – which will likely only be about 7 or 8 tops including myself.

Oh – and by the way – the offer I made a couple of days ago at the bottom of the desktop backgrounds post is coming to end probably today so if you want one, email me fast!

In the arena,

Did you know I design blog headers and ebook cover graphics, too? Yes, I do. And you can get one now for the introductory price of $55 for a limited time. Just send a payment of $55 to me via PayPal along with a description of what you want. You’ll have a design within 48 hours.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Or do you have a “throw away” mentality?

In recent years, I’ve noticed what is, to me, a disturbing trend. I call it the “throw away” mentality. And basically what it is, is purchasing something without much regard to it’s quality and thinking “Oh, well, if it breaks/gets lost/malfunctions/whatever, I’ll just get another one.”

And this disturbs me. Greatly.

Why?

Simple. Because it’s seeping into other parts of every day life. Parts of life that should be respected, parts of life that should be held to a high regard, with integrity and moral responsibility.

For example, when I was growing up, my parents placed a lot of emphasis on who on I hung out with, who I called my friends. They taught me that making good choices when it came to relationships was paramount and that true friends don’t hurt you – whether that be physically, emotionally or by doing things such as drugs and other non-healthy behaviors.

But now-days, I’ve noticed there are many kids who seem to just be allowed to do whatever they wish, with very few – if any – rules in their homes. And I think this type of lax attitude imparts to todays youth that it’s ok to be reckless – “No worries – you can always change your mind later.”

Well, not so fast.

There need to be more boundaries. There needs to more thought and attention paid to what we’re teaching our young people. It’s simply NOT ok to be so casual with everything.

We must relearn to “pay for quality.”

We must be conscious of our choices and realize that everything does have a consequence. And we must teach our children that quality is always worth more in the end. If we pay for quality, I firmly believe we not only have a greater respect for our own things and lives, we also have a greater respect for the world around us.

Now, I’m not talking about being frivolous, either. No, just good, sensible choices that reflect respect for each other, for ourselves, for our environment.

And this goes for relationships, too. With The Teenager in high school this year, I’ve seen some kids with a different boyfriend/girlfriend nearly every week. I’ve seen an attitude from some kids that shows no respect for their peers, let alone those they call “friends.”

So the question is – how do we teach our children to have this type of respect and conscientiousness for not only each other, but for life and the world around them? Somewhere, there has been a disconnect in teaching these values and if it’s not corrected soon, we could see some pretty scary results when these kids become adults.

It’s only my opinion, but I also believe that the disturbing trend towards domestic violence is a direct result of this “throw away” mentality. Like it doesn’t matter how things or people are treated because there’s always another one, another can always be “bought.”

As a survivor of domestic violence myself, this is something that is always in the forefront of my mind. I do not want my children to ever have to be involved in that situation. And should they ever find themselves there, I want them to recognize it as quickly as possible and know that there are tools and support for them.

I think it’s time we get back to basic common sense, respect for ourselves and others, and learning to make good – and lasting – choices.

Our future leaders depend on it.

In the arena,

Did you know I design blog headers and ebook cover graphics, too? Yes, I do. And you can get one now for the introductory price of $55 for a limited time. Just send a payment of $55 to me via PayPal along with a description of what you want. You’ll have a design within 48 hours.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

A couple of days ago, I wrote about a writer’s purpose and today I want to expand on that a little bit. But this doesn’t apply only to writing – it applies to business in all forms. No matter what business you’re in, customer service is one of the most important aspects of your company. And it should be a major part of your focus.

Because, in reality, it’s all about connecting.

Developing good relationships is the backbone of any business, whether online or off. As markets become unstable, buyers get more picky, prices go up, it’s going to become even more important to connect with clients and potential customers on a more personal level.

You’ve heard of social networking, right? If you’re online at all, you likely have. It seems that everywhere we turn, it’s all about social this, that or the other thing. We have websites to connect with each other such as myspace, linkedin, facebook and myriads more.

And their whole theme is all about connecting – new relationships, old relationships, changing relationships. Some are business, some more personal but they all share a common goal – to connect with others.

When I was training agents and investors in real estate, this is one of the key concepts I taught – that no matter else is going on, no matter any other circumstance, you must connect with people. It’s not about helping them or selling them something – those are secondary. If you can make that connection, you’re nearly there.

What does take to connect?

It starts with knowing what people want.

How do we know what people want? We listen, we ask questions, we dig a little deeper when necessary. We interact with them, show we care. We’re polite, yet assertive when need be. We leave the door open and allow interaction.

This is one of the things that make blogs so beneficial – it’s an open door that allows people to feel comfortable. It allows people to glimpse inside and get a feel for what’s going on before taking the proverbial plunge.

The whole goal of any business or relationship should be to connect. And then to keep that connection open and strong through communication, sharing and a sense of community.

What do you think makes customer service good? And what do you think customer service should be?

I’ll share some more thoughts on this later but I’d like to hear your thoughts to these 2 questions first. Please feel free to post in the comments. I love hearing from you!

In the arena,

Make $10k in a weekend – “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

The failure of content

As a writer, I often help small business owners create content for their websites. I’m usually hired after another writer has backed out of the project for one reason or another. Sometimes I’m hired long after the original writer has flown the coop. Most of the time, I’m hired because the website isn’t working as well as it should or in the way that the business owner wants.

And the problem facing these business owners usually centers around content that is inadequate and/or unappealing. From a writer’s standpoint, it looks great. The failure is that the content isn’t written to compel the reader to take the next step. It isn’t written to inspire or to sell or even convert. It looks pretty, it reads well, but that’s about it. It’s stagnant, at best.

So, what does the content need to do? What’s the purpose?

The purpose of any writer, of any written content, is to convey to the reader a sense of urgency, something that moves them forward in the buying process. It’s purpose is to get the reader from one step to the next, whether that’s asking for free information or buying a product or service or both.

A writer’s job is to figure out the action a visitor to a website should take and get them to take it.

When I speak with someone about their website and marketing materials, I ask them a series of questions designed to help me figure that out.

Now, I do a lot of writing for the real estate market – that’s my main niche. And most real estate agents and brokers will tell you that it’s all about location, location, location. But I’m here to tell you – no it isn’t. It’s about selling homebuyers a dream – the American Dream. It’s about making things easy for them and helping them feel good about their purchase. It’s about appealing to their desires. Any good broker will be able to hone in on what a buyer really wants and sell them that ideal.

And a writer’s job is to help that agent or that broker look like a friend and yet professional. A professional who cares, is knowledgeable and can sell them that American Dream.

Writers create a mental image and the key is creating an image that reflects the business owner as well as the ideals of the target audience. The website must be comfortable to the website owner and it must also appeal to the buyer.

Image is just as important as content.

A poorly designed website will do nothing. In fact, the site owner might even be so embarrassed by it, they don’t share it with potential clients or customers! I’ve seen this happen many times. And the result is that the business owner loses money and has little or no return on their investment. Their business might even dry up because nobody knows about their website.

As they say, first impressions are everything. This is as true for the web as it is in person. Hiring a good writer is just as important as hiring a good designer. It could mean the difference between few sales and a booming business.

What’s your website saying?

In the arena,

Make $10k in a weekend – “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.