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Have You Been the Victim of Identity Theft?

November 19, 2011 By 2 Comments
A few years ago, I stopped at a local ATM to get some cash before heading to work.  To my surprise, my request was denied and my account balance was in the red.  I knew something was wrong immediately because my paycheck had just been deposited the day before…..my heart sank.
I logged on to my online banking and saw activity on my debit card.  Apparently, the night before, I filled up my car at 5 different gas stations, had dinner at McDonald’s and Popeyes, and then swung by Walmart for a shopping spree.  Oh wait….that wasn’t me.
Fortunately, my bank was great and helped me to sort through the problem and quickly restored my balance.  Now that I have this blog, I find myself using Adobe to create PDF files of contracts and legal documents, some of which contain my social security number.  I will admit to being quite nervous about sharing my personal information because of past experiences, but I am happy to learn that Adobe has security measures in place such as signature validation and rights management.
Have you ever been a victim of identity theft?  What measures do you take to ensure your future safety?
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I want to vlog.

September 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

In August, I attended BlogHer and got to talk to pick the brains of some of my favorite bloggers for tips and tricks to success.  Both Molly and Colleen have incredible blogs (if you haven’t checked them out, I will give you a minute, but come right back….) and both implement vlogs into their daily posts.  I have been watching their videos for years and have decided that I would love to incorporate more vlogs here at Experimental Mommy.

Writing a thoughtful and honest review post and hosting a corresponding giveaway is a very time consuming process.  I spend hours on researching the product, testing it at my home, capturing and processing the perfect photo with my image editing software, pounding out the post and promoting the giveaway.  I am always proud of the outcome, but I am wondering if there isn’t something more I could be doing to share my thoughts with you.

I decided to vlog.  Maybe this would be a better way to show more details of the products and how they work….and maybe be more time efficient, too (heck, it has to be easier than my current photo editor)!  After the first attempt, I was immediately discouraged.  I hated the way I looked, I talked too fast, and I didn’t feel like the video looked very professional (maybe it was time for some video production editing….or some heavy makeup).  So, I tried again.  And got worse.  The more I rehearsed, the more unnatural and uneasy I became.  HELP!

I decided to talk with Colleen about her vlogging process.  Her advice?

Do one take and one take only!  Your readers want to see the product in action in your real life…screaming kids and all.  Talk like you would be talking to your friend and wrap it up.

Wow….that’s exactly the opposite of what I had been doing.  But, she is totally right.  I have been using this theory on my last few reviews and even let my kids take the reigns on some recent posts as well.  I am looking forward to sharing them with you soon.

Do you vlog?  What are your best tips?

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Simple Lessons Learned

March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My degree is in Biology.  Three years ago, I knew very little about web design, blogging, site statistics and even less about working with brands (I didn’t even know that was a possibility).  But, as I started my blog, it quickly became an obsession to learn all I could to create a successful site.  While I am still far from an expert, I have learned a few simple lessons (some the hard way):

1.  Buy your domain! Do it now.  Seriously.

2.  Buy any domains remotely similar to yours.

3.  Build an alliance.  Having blogging friends to collaborate with is invaluable (and helps to keep your sanity)!

4.  Brand yourself.  How do you stand out from the rest?

5.  Be true to yourself.  Don’t let anyone tell you that your genre or niche is not valid.

6.  Create a Media Kit to showcase your brand to potential advertisers.  Update it frequently.

7.  Be nice.  Be honest.  Be fair.

I feel like I have come such a long way in three years, but I still have a long way to go!  In fact, I am still working to create PDF of my own media kit.  On many occasions, I have been asked for my advertising rates and it would be so much easier to have a saved document to convert PDF and share with PR professionals.  I definitely need a free PDF trial and some great advice so I can learn the ropes of creating a media kit!

What have you learned from blogging?  What do you hope to learn in the future?

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