By Karen Post, on December 8, 2011

I have read two contentious and highly critical book reviews in the Wall Street Journal from the past 30 days.

The first review is about a book by an author who is a great friend of mine.

Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom

Here is the not so flattering review, in WSJ

The second review was on the book The Secret thoughts of Successful Women by Valerie Young, E.d. D.

No love affair here either, WSJ

As an author who knows the kind of blood sweat and tears that goes into writing a book, my first thought was extreme sympathy and a big felt ouch!!! As I’m sure both book authors were feeling the sting of a public scolding as millions of readers and potential book buyers were exposed to this one reviewer’s negative opinion.

Granted these reviewers have earned an elite spot as book critics for an international media venue like the WSJ, congrats to them, but does their opinion really matter? Does it hurt or help the book and author? and what should the receiver of such a public work product beating do next?

I suppose it’s no different than a movie review. I’ve read many scathing movie reviews and then I went anyway and totally loved the movie.

I’ve got a new book coming out in a couple of weeks, Brand Turnaround and I hope my book is not added to this list of WSJ bad reviews, but if that’s in the cards, it’s not going to kill me if every single person doesn’t love my book as much as I do.

My views on not so nice reviews
Criticism comes with success, accept this.

• This goes for brands too. The more famous your brand is the more you will get shot at from both legitimate, credible critics and plain old grumpy, angry people.
• I believe at least 50% of all critics have not earned expert stature to be a credible reviewer. With the Internet, anyone can post opinions about a book or product with not an ounce of relevant expertise.
• Even bad reviews draw new attention to a product and can generate sales. After I read the bad review on The Secret thoughts of Successful Women by Valerie Young, E.d. D.
• I bought the book and really liked it. I’ve also recommended it to several friends.
• You can never please everyone.
• Take politicos who taste victory with a land slide win and 49% of the voters didn’t like them.
• If you give your work your all, do your homework and use your best creative thinking, that’s really all you can do.
• Sometimes as the creator of the work under fire, you can actually pick up a few gems of good insight that will make you even better, and that’s always a good thing.

And should that big bird drop a lump of poop on your parade, whether you are an author, singer, film producer or you gave a presentation and got some bad reviews, shake it off, shower it off, feel proud that you finished something and know that it’s very likely the cranky reviewer has never even started a piece of work and never will.

By Karen Post, on September 21, 2011

How a little comedy can help content creation and communication captivation

We all struggle with developing killer content that not only communicates but captivates audiences. Let me share some insight from two recent comedy outings and why you should routinely schedule such humorous adventures in your career journeys to master the art of theater and comedy in your messaging.

Last month, when I was in New York City I saw Love, Loss and What I Wore, an off Broadway show about women and life or to better describe it as the New York Times Review states, two hours of matters of the heart and matters of the closet. It was entertaining, thought provoking and triggered some deep emotions and memories.

The performance did not include any high tech scenes, fancy costumes or flying actors. It was so simple, yet so powerful. Five women in black dresses, who stood in place for the entire show spouting off smart dialogue that left a lasting impression.

This past weekend I was in Chicago and went to Second City. Second City is a comedy institution (with theaters in Chicago and Toronto) dating back fifty years and spawning such great talent as Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd and many noted Saturday Night Live stars. They usually have a couple of performance options, this weekend I saw South Side of Heaven.

Most of what I saw there were character-driven improv style, laugh so hard it hurts shows. I’ve never been disappointed and always learn so much.

I love comedy, and due to my very tight time and limited schedule I always try to do things when I’m traveling that are fun and I can learn too. Here are some of my take-a-ways and I how I manage idea generation while I’m hanging out with friends and often drinking wine.

Capture ideas.
1) Always carry a good idea pad or use your phone notes app. After two glasses of wine, a great idea can easily exit your brain.

Spot what works.
2) Pay attention to what topics the audience laughs at.
3) Listen for simple words that are called something goofy but seem to roll off the tongue and sound extra funny. For example, the word ‘Acne’ is okay, ‘Big Fat Zit’ has a lot more word punch.

Mimic good story structures.
4) Story telling is a craft. Stories that really work usually follow a simple architecture. Here’s a structure you’ll see often: Set scene, introduce characters, identify problem, present solution, use of a shocking result or a question asked.

All of these comedy gems can aid in delivering more meaningful and memorable presentations, writing content or making a strong point in a text message .

If you need more help with story telling or comedy, check out two of my favorite advisers: Doug Stevenson, who puts on story telling workshops around the world and offers coaching and my super funny buddy David Glickman, who also coaches and can punch up material.

For more creative problem solving, view:
18 steps towards stress-free, fast-lane, more fun and darn good writing.

By Karen Post, on September 21, 2011

I’m very fortunate to have an awesome social media team supporting my message and assisting our client’s in reaching their goals. Allow me to introduce the “A” social team to you as they contribute to branding content, SEO solutions and marketing outreach on the front line and behind the scenes.

Pictured above from left to right is Lauren Angrick, Chief Problem Solver for all my companies and to the right of me is Jess English our newest social media team member who is Community Manager for Restaurant Branding Roadmap, our soon to launch DIY self small business branding program for restaurants. Both are super bright, dedicated and are hard core social media-savvy professionals. Raining from the University of Tampa, their studies and expertise range from marketing, public relations and entrepreneurial matters.

This photo was shot last week at the first annual Splash Bash to End “High Tech Homelessness” in Tampa Bay sponsored by Tampa Bay Wave. Which was a blast! Tampa Bay Wave is an organization that I support. Their goal is to build a strong community of web tech entrepreneurs across Tampa Bay. If you are in Tampa you should check them out and other supporting web-based businesses, if you are outside Tampa finding a local organization like this is a worthy move.

To learn more about my companies, click here.

By Karen Post, on August 19, 2011

Part II
If you just joined in, yesterday I shared my journey of getting two book deals with major publishers. Brain Tattoos and Brand Turnaround my new title that will be out later this year. I covered what it takes, the process and outcome. In future blogs I’ll address other publishing details, but for now here are 5 big lessons straight from the author’s keyboard or pen, I use both.

Lesson #1- It’s never too late to find the writer in you and author a book.
Go figure, I owned a successful ad agency for almost 20 years and never really wrote anything.  How in the heck did I do that?

I produced good creative work, developed new business, crafted and found solutions and spit out ideas like a machine, and most importantly I knew how to hire people to do things that I did not want to or didn’t know how to.

Lesson #2- Most books will not make you cash rich.
Like I mentioned in Part I, the book advance is not as important as the doors your book can open. While my current book earned me double my first book advance, I will invest at least four times that on research, editing and promotion in addition to what the publisher provides. Certainly there are unique situations like if you are a very high profile personality, or have an enormous following or are like one cool wine dude like Gary Vaynerchuk who bagged a 10 book, 7 figure deal with Harper Collins.  I’ll drink to that Gary!

Lesson #3- Writing a book is a lot of work and a huge investment by most authors.
To date on my current book, Brand Turnaround, I’ve logged over 1,200 hours – from proposal writing, research, book writing, promotion and therapy. So if I earn between an average of $175 an hour, which is on the low end, do the math. I’ve already invested over $200,000 in other opportunity costs (because if I was not writing the book, I could generating other income) even before hard expenses. Expenses to promote the book can run another $50,000 for PR, web costs, bookmarks, blah, blah, blah.

Lesson #4-Writing a book takes a strong emotional skin.
Can you say rejection, rejection, rejection and then two scoops of criticism on top of that? Welcome to publishing. Seth Godin was rejected over 900 times, Adrianna Huffington at least 36, even Alex Haley The Roots author wrote every day for 8 years before finding success. And then sometimes when even great work is published, grumpy, mean people will publicly criticize your work too. And when your writing and researching at least 50 people will never return your calls. So if writing is a goal, put your big girl or boy pants on.

Lesson #5-Writing a book is a wonderfully rewarding experience.
Like MC Hammer said so well, “Can’t touch this.” Book writing is a mirific journey. It’s scary, ludic, and exuberating. You’ll learn stuff about you and other people. You’ll meet many grateful fans that will beg for your autograph and a handful of jerks that will try to rattle your soul. In the end, it is all worth it. The prize is indescribable.

Here are some excellent resources too.
The Creative Penn is an excellent blog filled with book writing and marketing tips

Chris Brogan writes a solid blog packed with insight. He recently wrote several great posts on his book writing experience.

Read. Write and have fun!

By Karen Post, on August 18, 2011

Part I
I’m sure I did not make much more than a “C” grade in any English class that I survived.
Other than writing my dad’s eulogy, I never wrote much more than a paragraph until I was 39 years old.

So how did I score my first book deal Brain Tattoos with (AMACOM) American Management Association in 2004 and a second book deal, Brand Turnaround, with one of the most respected publishers in the world, McGraw-Hill, this past year?

Here are a few of the “must have” ingredients.
o An understanding of “the find a publisher” process, standards, fruit
o Good ideas that a market will buy
o A platform and voice to sell books
o Investing the time and money to hit this goal

In 2000, after recovering from a start up meltdown, I needed to reinvent myself. As a veteran ad gal/CEO, I knew marketing and branding was my calling, but after 20 years of running a company, I wanted freedom, more creating and less managing people. So I ventured off to Tampa with my new dream and business plan to become a branding speaker and consultant. Early on, I joined my industry trade association, NSA, and through networking I connected with people that opened doors and gave me guidance. I first gave boatloads of free speeches, then starting getting the business of speaking down and soon started earning some bucks. After one of my presentations, a client said they had a newsletter and wondered if I would contribute an article. I said sure. So basically I summarized my talk and it sounded pretty good. Of course it was full of minor grammar goofs, so I found an editor to clean it up. The client was thrilled, in fact they said, “Karen, you are a great writer”. To my surprise, they were right. The odd thing was, it took learning the art of speech crafting to develop my writing skills. A part of my early years hesitation was because I was insecure, while I didn’t remember much from my English class, I did recall the times my parents were not happy with “C”s.

Fast-forward, those articles that I wrote (my ideas and stories) with the polish and help of an editor was my path to my first book proposal. And thanks to my long-time friends and mentors—Jill Griffin, a loyalty author and expert and Alexis Gutzman another business writer, who I connected with online, by complimenting her work—they were the golden door openers for me. They opened the confidence door, the book agent door and the publisher door. And those doors are very important because publishers get thousands of worthy book proposals every week.

I elected to get my book published by a major publisher rather than self-publishing. Both venues have different benefits and challenges, depending on your goals.

For me as a speaker and consultant, having a major publisher adds significant credibility, distribution and additional marketing fuel. The down side of a major publisher deal is the timeline can be 12-24 months from idea to book in the stores.

So if you have an idea for a book, then your next step is to write a proposal. If you go to any reputable publisher’s site there is a basic template to follow. This 25-30 page document should include: the big idea or book concept, who the market is, an analysis of the competitive landscape, why your book will sell, your marketing platform, the table of contents and brief snapshot of each chapter, a complete sample chapter and about the author information.

From here, you can start pitching to publishers. You build your list by finding similar titles, styles or topics that they have published. But, unless you have relationships with top editors there, or you are very high profile, it’s tough to get noticed in the stack of many.

For both of my books, Brand Turnaround and Brain Tattoos, I first pitched my proposal to a literary agent. You can find literary agents on the Internet, but again relationships and referrals from them are gold. If an agent likes your idea, they do the pitching and the contract negotiations. Terms can include a cash advance, royalty commissions on books and book rights sold, (my first book was printed in the US and Korea) and promotional considerations. My advance and royalties almost doubled on my second book, and it will be printed in hard back.

My first book was a huge spring board for my speaking career, my fees tripled, it also became my best marketing tool for consulting contracts and was the vehicle that made me appealing and credible to broadcast and print media like the CBS’s Early Show, New York Times, New York Post, Fast Company to name a few, which have all been great fun and an awesome adventure.

So this blog post doesn’t become a book on line, (it’s getting kind of long) I’m going to sign off and post the 5 lessons tomorrow.

By Karen Post, on March 29, 2011

I hate to break this news to you, but I’m breaking a promise. A few months back I told you I would blog every day in at least one of my three blogs, marketing/branding, entrepreneur or free biz finds. I’ve given it my best and believe I’ve pumped out some good and useful content since then. It’s not easy to write every day, but then again when you follow the tips I’ve learned to make blogging easier, it can be done with joy and without much pain.

Then came being an entrepreneur, running a small business and life, and my noble commitment became a big challenge for me. One that was causing a high degree of stress and maybe this over demand place I signed up for was even jeopardizing my health.

This past month has been monumental. I traveled to Saudi and made history, spent a week in New York City, got inspired, did my thing for the local economy, was featured in the New York Times and then went to Nigeria where I was a guest lecturer to an audience of 500 marketing and leadership professionals. All while blogging daily, servicing my consulting clients, managing my team of support personnel, writing a new book for McGraw-Hill called Brand Turnaround and playing 15 matches of tennis.

Then, just as I got unpacked, I signed up for a week-long comedy school that included a five minute bit, complete with memorized new and hopefully funny material. The class was in Tampa, produced by Jeff Lawrence of the Laughing Buddha Comedy School, who preforms around the country and is based in NYC.

I attended the first class on Tues., it was fun, saw many of buddies Frank Robertson, (a broadcast and media consultant) and Scott Farrell, (a proud stay at home dad) and met some great new friends too, Susan Guidi, another entrepreneur who runs Advanced Ultrasound Services in Tampa.  All in all, it was everything I wanted it to be. I’ve done comedy school before, so I knew the basics going in. And I knew there would be homework.

That night, I couldn’t sleep, I tossed and turned about all my commitments and now this one with a short deadline. Then I experienced a major anxiety attack, where you feel like you are going to have a heart attack and really die!!! YIKES!@#%!!!!

After about an hour of this agony, I got up, rubbed my big, happy, crystal Buddha’s belly on my dresser and had an important epiphany.

This is freakin, self-inflicted stress and pain and you, Karen Post, can stop it. I pulled out my writing pad and made a list of my: “had to do, must do” responsibilities. Comedy class was not on the list.

What was on my list: finish my book, take care of my clients that I am under contract with, and take care of me. The rest will have to wait and I know it will take care of itself.

My brain has a certain amount of brand-width, there are so many hours in day and I do not want to do anything that is not my best work. PERIOD.

The moral to this story and the 3 entrepreneurial essentials.
Know your band-width and respect it.
1) Don’t kill yourself, know your limits, and say no to things that are not in the top priority zone, especially if they can impact your true goals and dreams.

Exercise your rights as an entrepreneur.
2) As an entrepreneur, you get to control a lot, so don’t fail to use this privilege and power.

Change your mind  and alter your plan, if you need to. And don’t beat yourself up for it.
3) It’s OK to opt-out and change your mind and that’s what I’m doing. This is different than dropping someone in the grease with no back up options. This was not my case, no one was going to be disappointed if I didn’t take the comedy class at that time. I called my comedy instructor and told him my situation, my plate is over-floweth, I have to deliver my best stuff, my book, my clients, my team and right now just can’t do the class. He understood.

My game plan forward.
I’m taking an official break from daily blogging. For the next 4 weeks, my head is immersed in client service and completing my book and taking care of me (tennis, massages and a trip to Aruba to write and recharge).

You may see some random blog posts during my hiatus, but not making any commitments, as I’m islanding it in Aruba island for a week, I’m speaking at the Southeast Entrepreneurial Conference in Tampa on April 1 and I’m addressing Pizza Hut’s Annual Franchise Convention in San Antonio.

In my absence, my fabulous assistant, Lauren, will be spot writing on Internet marketing. Lauren has been with me for almost 7 months now and I believe she is the 8th wonder of the world. She’s an Internet and social media whiz and teaches me a lot everyday. I know she will bring some great articles and tips to the blog. Jocelyn one of the co-founders of Oddpodz may kick in a post too. She’s in Savannah, building her consulting, research and branding practice and helping other entrepreneurs succeed too.

So until next time . . .

By Karen Post, on March 28, 2011

By Karen Post, on March 14, 2011

These writing tips should help you write more, better and faster. This will work for blogs, letters, proposals and, I’m happy to report, in dumping your notes too.

1) Find a very cool pen. Write your outline of top key points to want to end with on paper. Not the computer.
When your pens are inkless and old, but you still love them, create a cool piece of art like Pen guy does.
2) Research those points, look at other points of view concerning them.
3) Jot down any random words and thoughts.
4) Pick up a good magazine, spend an hour just looking at headlines and titles.
5) Create a starter list of headlines and titles for your work.
6) Expand your key points into some bullets.
7) Start writing, don’t worry about perfection.
8)  Scribble or doodle your big idea into an illustration. This will force your full brain to join in.
9) Crank up the music. Print out what you’ve done and edit the printout.
10) Make your changes in the computer. Print it out again.
11)  Do something else for a couple hours.
12) Edit the printout again, this time try to improve your adjectives with fresher, more compelling words, eliminate duplicate words and add another sprinkle of your unique personality.
13) Revisit your first key points, confirm they are in your body of work, are clear and memorable.
14) Do a shot of something, wheat grass, super-food, tequila or chocolate milk, then write some more.
15) Be the tough critic, anything lame, overdone or said that sounds like a rambling, confused soul, delete.
16) If you are a bad speller and a lightweight on grammar like I am, find an editor or proofer to look at your work too.
17) Print out and reread their comments. Do a final read when you are not tired, exceeded your drink quota or when you just took an Ambien.
18) Celebrate your achievement. Go get some fat free frozen yogurt.

For more writing tips, check out: 10-steps to making writing your blog easier.

By Karen Post, on March 12, 2011

State is a place you choose to be. This past week my state was questionable. I let a few goofy thoughts enter my brain and they had a direct impact on my output.

I chatted with my Tony Robins coach, Jayne, about this situation and she reminded me of the time I walked on fire and I didn’t burn one toe. I pulled that off because I was in a very intense state of mind – like a soldier on the front lines, an Olympic athlete in the game of their life. That night I was 500% focused on my mission. I could see the end of hot coals before I took one step forward. I was rock solid with confidence and felt there was nothing I could not do. I chanted. I talked to myself more than normal.

I can’t officially tell you this next part, because by doing so, it cracks the state I am in now until I finish my book. So I will only elude to this historic thing.  Ah, better idea, I will speak about a person I once knew.

There was a great writer who was awarded a plum assignment, because she knew her stuff inside and out. Instead of cranking out the goods, she surrendered her mental state to thoughts of question and doubt. She pondered way too long trying to write the perfect sentence, instead of pouring out what she knew, like her name. She wasted precious time and invited stress and all its kids to move in. Summary – big freaking waste of everything. Life, time and brain cells.

Today, a new writer showed up.
She was militant. She broke down big scary goals into small pieces of cupcake bites. She felt like Iron woman, Super diva and Queen of everything. She got back into exactly how she felt walking on that fire that night in Chicago and felt a powerful new strength. Within 60 minutes, she was in the flow zone and writing like a machine.

Every human has the ability to get into this state, if you want it bad enough. It is a mental drill. It is a dominating, dictator mindset, a take no prisoners attitude. Wussies not apply.

If distractions show up in your head, shrink them all down to small little crumbs, so you can’t even see them.
If voices start babbling, turn the volume button completely off, so you can’t hear them at all.
If you see something that looks bold, bright and scary, make it black and white, so it fades into nothing.

Getting into full State works with anything you want to accomplish, sales, writing, performing and sports.

Look out Saturday morning tennis opponent,  I am Venus William’s alter ego and I am here to win!

Also, be sure to check out: Trading your time for money is a mind-set you can no longer afford.

By Karen Post, on March 3, 2011

This week, I’ve been blogging from the Middle East. I was invited by the Saudi Arabian Airline to address their corporate conference on Branding. It’s been an incredible experience. Today, I learned that I actually made history. I was the first women to ever address the group as a keynote speaker.

If you are not familiar with Saudi traditions, women do not had the same rights as men in their culture. They cannot drive, have limited leadership and governing roles, have strict dress codes and do not mix with men in dinning and many public places. I knew accepting this invitation would be an experience. I was aware of their traditions and values, but until I arrived had not fully realized that I was making history.

Doing business globally introduces many challenges to a day’s work, from the work product you deliver to how you communicate, to respecting their culture and protocols. Read the story in New York Times on my travels.

Here are 5 important lessons I learned from my trip.
1) The world is very small.
Even if you are a small business you can earn rewarding and exciting global assignments. And a single project can develop into a long term cross the pond relationship too.

2) High Google search results are equal to an elite global sales team.
The client found me because of my high Google ranking.

3) A strong and professional website presence can project as much credibility and capability as a firm ten times your size. If you want big projects, you need to practice smart marketing and can’t look like a small potato.

4) Assume presenting your offering to a foreign culture will come with significant challenges. From technology glitches to communications differences, don’t fall short of delivering the best. You may think it will all be like it is back home. It won’t be. Do your homework, plan well and be prepared for travel bumps.

5)  Global adventures can teach you so much and open unexpected doors too.
This trip connected me and my firm not only to this client, their industry, and unique culture, but to other entrepreneurs involved in the project that can be a source of business, knowledge and world friendships.

I’m headed back to New York City tonight.  A thirteen hour flight, and then I’m in Manhattan for a week. While in the big Apple, I’ll be working on client projects, writing my new book, conducting some business meetings and having some fun.

More soon!

For more lessons, check out: I’m going to Saudi, join me!