Savor the Success - Business Network for women entrepreneurs

A few entries back, I mentioned how my experience in television production is spilling over to my new life as blogger. Angela asked that I elaborate, and that's what I am aim to do here. I do have to say that although I'll be discussing my work at Comedy Central, Comedy Central is NOT involved with either this blog or my work at Sarahcentric. Sorry my huge legal department asked that I make that clear;-)

Breaking down a shot with my DP and AD. Hand on chin, dramatic

Here's the really brief rundown of what I do everyday. The On-air promotions department is responsible for writing and then producing commercials or "promos" for any bit of content the network feels needs a push. It can be huge event requiring several different promos, shoots, etc... like a launch campaign for a new show. Or it can be one quick spot that will air only once for a very specific need. If you don't have a Tivo and you have to sit through commercial breaks, you know how many promos of all shapes and sizes a network runs. Well, that's me! I can be assigned to 4 or 5 projects at any given time. It is my job as a writer/producer to examine the content I have to promote and write /develop an on-air campaign that will promote it. My producer title kicks in as I collaborate and coordinate all of the different people I need to work with (editors, graphic designer, in some cases crew for a shoot) to get that spot approved and on the air.

The most valuable part of my job is learning how to be both creative AND get something done. This combination doesn't often happen for a lot of creative people, and that's what separates the women from the girls. As I look to really blow my blog out, it requires both a lot more work and creativity. I can lean on my TV production experience to get it all accomplished.

Let's say I was "assigned" to re-launch Sarahcentric. Based on my experience this is how I would approach it.

What is the content??

I'm doing more and more blog surfing to really clarify in my mind what a blog is. The subject matter greatly varies. But I think I can tell you what a blog is NOT. A blog is not a magazine. It's not this static thing you can spend hours, curled up in a chair with. A blog, (particularly my genre of journal/life blogs), is extremely current and demands participation from the reader on some level. It tells the reader what is happening right now, what just happened yesterday or what will happen in the very near future. Blog readers don't have a lot of time, even for their very favorite bloggers. You have to get them when they are drinking their first cup of coffee, and before they finally check their work email.

What works? What doesn't?

With all of that being said, it's obvious why I can no longer post once every week to 10 days. Blog readers are all about the refresh button. You want to be able to give them something new as often as possible. So my goal now is to post at least twice a week, but ideally three times; Mon, Wed, and Friday. I want those posts to be there first thing in the morning before work whenever possible. I'm pretty sure that this type of reader is my demo, since I'm that type of reader.

I also need to give my readers options. I love writing bigger pieces about meditation, family, etc. I have had a lot of great feedback from these "Big Feelings" pieces and there will always be a place for them. But some people just want to read something mildly amusing and fun. Luckily, I churn those out too. I call them "Everyday'ers", because I could write something like this everyday if I had to. When someone arrives at Sarahcentric, there needs to be something for everyone. So going forward, Everyday'ers twice a week, Big Feeling once every 7 to 10 days.

How in the hell do I get it all done?!

Ahhh, here's the tricky part. I'm not going to lie. This is tough... writing this much for the blog, as well as writing at my day job. And just other work that needs to happen, "about me" statements, the re-design, running, aagghhh! But a "production schedule" does seem to be materializing. An idea can pop in my head now and I can organize it, "Oh! Everyday'er" and schedule a Sarahcentric release date. Theoretically, I could even write these in advance and just hit "publish" while I'm on vacation. Big Feelings pieces require a lot more of my time and energy, so those need to be schedule accordingly.

The new Sarahcentric strategy is still coming together. But I am happy to report that something seems to be working. Ratings are up!!! In just two and a half weeks, my hits are way up. In fact, if August didn't end tomorrow I'm sure this would be my biggest month yet. As it stands right now, it's a very close second to May when I got that awesome shout-out from the bestselling author on her twitter page.

Stay tuned for more!