My “Tricked Out” Guest Blog Post
I am not exactly sure what happened when they were dishing out genetic code but I know for a fact my sisters and at least one brother received an abundance of the family entertaining and creative genes.
Oh sure, I am a visionary…and I pride myself for being creative enough to think outside the box, but I often wonder, “What the heck happened with the creative writing genes?!” When I write…anything…I sit and I sit trying to come up with something inspiring and witty to say. I can’t spell and I certainly don’t seem to master the fine art of sentence flow. There are a lot of folks like me. I get it.
But the genes…they are there, somewhere
On my father’s side we have a historical tradition of naturally singing and playing musical instruments. No formal training, they seemed to have been born with the ability. My Dad had such a beautiful voice. I recall admiring him as he sang along with music on the record player.
Both my Dad and my Mom were hysterical. Dad spoke in funny voices and enjoyed dressing for Halloween. My Mom…well, we are still quoting Mom-isms in our daily lives. But to top it off, I have a sister who is a professional writer! She is smart — she’s my “phone a friend” who uses the “big words” in conversation, and can write at levels a novice or an expert would appreciate. And she’s funny too!
Row Row Row Your Boat
I write my Forward-Thinking Blog in hopes of empowering people to become better marketers. I have decades of expertise to share. And I want to share it. So when I was asked to write a guest blog post for a client I said YES.
Was I looking forward to it, NO!
Me – my intended “row row row your boat” tends to end up as “Propel Propel Propel Your Vessel™”. I was horrified my “Propel Propel” would overwhelm, and in turn – the client would never ask me to write a blog post ever again! I was also worried my sentence flow would confuse. I am really good at creating strategic approaches and helping clients develop their unique and productive approach. So I wrote…and wrote. I read what I wrote aloud to make sure it flowed. And then…
Something magical happened
The Expertus blog editor (Kathy Kruse – known as KK) contacted me a couple of times to provide guidelines and next steps. She never pressured me. In fact, she encouraged me and was always upbeat in her emails. When I submitted the blog post I invited the editor – who is THE expert at this stuff – to feel free to add value. A couple of days later she returned the post; calling it a “tricked out” version.
Her words:
I’ve retained the flow, but done some shaping + tweaking throughout – hopefully adding value. (Note, there were several places where I wondered if the audience would understand the distinction between the LMS rollout and the learning initiative, so I added clarifying copy.)
LMS Adoption: How to Win Champions for New Learning Technology
Hope I haven’t lost anything in translation. Feel free to keep me honest!
My “tricked out” blog post
She did an amazing job! From adding a word here-and-there to swizzling my words around, she knew how to take the sentences and make them flow. Why I can’t do that will always puzzle me. But hey, knowing that there are people out there who can, is great!
KK was a delight to work with too. Every email she sent was positive and upbeat. Using words like, “let’s get this party started!” and “no rush,” KK certainly didn’t pile on the pressure. When I started to see her connect to me in social media and then use my information to promote my business in the blog entry – I was elated. When she touched base with me to make sure I was sharing the blog post with my contacts in social media, I was impressed!
In the end I had a master piece I could share with my colleagues. My blog post – which had a ton of real good advice for training professionals, was transformed into being a great read. Check it out for yourself!
And, thank you KK!!