The Educated Emotion

A social breakup is when social media followers decide, for whatever reason, they are tired of following you or your brand. Top reasons for social breakups include too much length of time between posts, hyper posting (posting too many times for the social media tool you are using), inconsistency, too much selling, or sometimes the honeymoon period (giveaways, initial excitement, or novelty) is just over. Do All Blogs Go to Heaven? A couple years ago I started to see a decline in my blog reader engagement .  Unlike the 95% of bloggers who give up on their blogs, I knew what to do.  After all, I have been blogging for almost 15 years.  I simply wasn't doing it. I was spreading myself too thin, disorganized, and to be honest...a bit bored/burnt out. Here we are two years later. With the new addition to the family (shown below), I have less time than ever. So, why in the heck would I decide to rebirth a blog? Good question. There is a lot of research on ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan has made it to the top of many lists as the best place to live for women, bicyclists, and even dating. Recently, Ann Arbor has made it to the top of a not-so-noble list: The Laziest Cities list.  My first reaction was that of disbelief. But, then I read how the list was derived. For instance, locals like to begin their day at an average time of 8:17 a.m., which is later than most cities in the United States. My guess is that Ann Arbor's appearance on this list is a byproduct for some of the other lists it has topped. Locals like to carpool, bike, walk, and jog to work. Also, there is a lot of support for the arts. Between 2004 and 2005 I witnessed thousands of people lose their jobs and careers after a major pharmaceutical company left town. The estimated loss to the local arts community was nearly $400,000. This is a combination of the loss in funding directly given by the company as well as the decrease in highly paid professionals with time and...

Photo By Dwight Burdette [ CC-BY-3.0 ],  via Wikimedia Commons I was recently interviewed by Christy Haussler, of Brick and Mortar Reporter , for my first podcast ever. The notes are posted on her page , but to hear what I think is the single-most ingredient to a successful social media marketing plan, listen here  and post it in the comments (and there just may be a little reward in store for doing so): Post by Brick and Mortar Reporter Podcast .

Les Go Social Tip of the Week, shared with Aquarius Press and Willow Books newsletter. The advertisement above is a sneak preview of the tips you will find when you join my newsletter  to be relaunched in 2014.  Nobody is immune to the ills in society that can surface on social media, but there are many more benefits than risks. One way, is to give the places, vendors, stores, artists, nonprofits, and restaurants a shout out. If you don't know what a shout out is, I will explain. Back in my hey day (mid 90s and early 2000s), there was time each evening that my favorite Detroit radio DJ would allow people to call in and request a song and mention a name of a family member, friend, or business. It would sound something like this, "Hi, my name is George and I would like to request Butterflies by Michael Jackson. I also wanna give a shout out to my One Touch Barber Shop and Salon on 7 Mile." It was a simple gesture, but I remember making decisions on places to eat or...

This month, my business turned one year old.  When I look back at my original business plan, I am awed at the goals I had. Several months in, I found myself frustrated working 10 to 12 hours, 7 days a week with little to no profits. I went to a business advisor and she said "why don't you employ the same philosophy you have for small business in your own operations." That piece of advice was a huge turning point for me. I scaled back my operations and am slowly re-integrating one thing at a time. By scaling back on my own goals and operations, I am able to spend more time with each client, learning throughout the process with smaller, smarter goals. Today, Deb Nystrom and I are hosting a free free webinar on Google + from 1 to 2 p.m. as part of the Social Media Week festivities. Please join us by signing up with the eventbrite link by 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or via email at Leslie [at] LesGo4It.com. Event registration for Scale Back to Scale Up Your Sma...

Ann Arbor Workshop to Help Writers Get Found by the Right People by Chris Wechner Twitter: @ CWechner Summary : Southeast Michigan professional writer and marketer Leslie McGraw and publisher Heather Buchanan-Gueringer will present on August 9 in Ann Arbor to help writers learn how to create opportunities and improve their chances of getting discovered. Ann Arbor, MI – Many writers in Southeast Michigan and all over have a passion either writing or the topic they cover; however, there are bills to pay, and writing does not really seem to be paying those.   Most writers are not sure how to make enough money to pursue their passion, even though they are truly good writers.   People who read what they write enjoy it, but not many people are in position to read it, because they do not even know these writers exist, much less know to read what they have written, but a couple of local professionals are offering help. There will be an upcoming event to ...