Teamwork

When I was in college as a starry-eyed English major, my dream was to work in book publishing. I interned at a Boston publisher the summer before my junior year, and then after I graduated from college in Vermont I moved to the book publishing mecca of … San Diego.

There was one big publisher in town: Harcourt. In an amazing stroke of luck, the Children’s Books Division had an opening for an entry-level editorial assistant just as I moved to San Diego, and I got my dream job. I eventually left Harcourt and moved into writing and marketing, but I loved the creative environment and the smart, dedicated people passionate about art and books.

A few years ago I got back in touch with one of my former colleagues, Shelly Bowen. We met for coffee and discovered we were both involved in online content. We agreed to join forces and since then I’ve worked as a writer for her company, Pybop, which provides web content strategy and development.

Last Friday, I joined Shelly to raise a glass to her impressive 10 years of web content creation. It’s great to be working together again!

Don’t invite my children to a meeting

As difficult as my work writing, editing, and strategizing with clients about their online and print content can be, at least the ground rules never change. My clients never scream in my face and run away (well, not yet), never collapse in an angry heap on the floor, or follow up every one of my statements with, “Why? Why not? Why can’t I?” Parenting young children is fulfilling and exciting, but it’s also unpredictable and exhausting.

The work I do for Babble.com helps me take a methodical, analytical approach to parenting. My recent article helped me take a more proactive approach to playdates, and it’s been a lifesaver.

I’m also working with the lovely team at the Rady School of Management, working on their print and online marketing. More exciting projects bubbling behind the scenes!

Exploring Home

I’m working on a new editing project with Frommer’s Travel Guides that has me looking at my hometown in a whole new way. I’m editing the Frommer’s San Diego 2011 Guide, and just a few chapters in I’ve already learned so much about my home of the last fifteen years. The Stingaree, a local nightclub, is actually the name of the old red-light district downtown. I think I knew, but forgot, that the picture on the cover of the Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds — one of the greatest albums ever recorded — was shot in the petting zoo at the San Diego Zoo. My list of things to do and see and, of course, eat is growing longer and longer. Better start putting money in the babysitter fund…

Another fun project that appeals to the fitness side of my personality is helping out the folks at 10 Mile Wednesday. Yes they get together every Wednesday to run ten miles, but they also raise money for charity and have just started an Amazing Race-type event called Amazing Wednesdays.

I’ll have a new article on Babble soon — I’ll let you know as soon as it’s up!

Can’t post. Busy working.

Exciting things are going on behind the scenes at Hilary Achauer Industries. So exciting that I haven’t found time to post them on my site!

I landed a great new client that lets me combine my marketing experience with my interest in nutrition and fitness. The Human Performance Institute (www.hpinstitute.com) trains employees at all levels to manage their energy, not their time. Smart move, since there are only 24 hours in a day, but energy can be expanded with exercise, nutrition, and smart work habits. Guess what landed me the job? (Other than my talent and experience, of course.) My boxing background. Turns out the president is a former Golden Gloves champion. Just goes to show — put your interests and passions on your resume. You never know when they will give you an edge in the job market.

On that note, I will also be combining my love of travel with my editing skills. I will now be editing Frommer’s Travel Guides. Not as good as actually traveling, but a fun, interesting gig.

Finally, I’m also going to be writing for UCSD Extension. This builds on my experience at National University.

Now it’s time to pick up my pencil and return to work!

Gaming Google

What happens when you Google yourself and don’t like what you see? Can you manipulate your search results to present a more favorable impression of you, your brand, or your organization?

A recent article by Julia Angwin in the Wall Street Journal gives some tips about how anyone can gain control of their SERP, or search-engine results page.

It turns out there’s a reason to join social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook–as long as you connect the dots and link your online presence across the board. You have control over what appears on those sites, and the more times your name appears in interlinking, reputable websites, the higher they will appear in your SERP.

Keep interlinking sites, and the undesirable Google results will get pushed down the page and into the seldom-seen second page. Just like that–you can game Google.

It’s fascinating reading, and good news for anyone who has Googled themselves and cringed.

The Lesson of Chick-fil-a

I’m a late adopter when it comes to technology. I got an iPod about a year ago, and I just discovered podcasts in December. It took a friend telling me about how she listens to This American Life on her iPod for the light bulb to go on. You mean I can listen to these shows on my schedule? Anywhere I want?

I started listening to podcasts while running on the boardwalk, with my mind drifting between the surf and Ira Glass. Since I have so many to catch up on, I just listened to a pre-Christmas show set entirely in a mall in suburban Tennessee. Among the stories of businesses going under and scrappy salespeople fighting for the consumer dollar, one woman stood out. She was the owner of the local Chick-fil-a franchise.

Her business was doing just fine. Not because she came up with some new marketing ploy. Not because she had spend a bunch of money on advertising. She was doing well because she recognized that her true customers were not the mall patrons but the mall employees. The people who worked in the mall. She had appointed herself as the unofficial mayor of the mall, and spent a good part of every day visiting the stores to check in and find out how they were doing. She targeted her promotions to the stores, and cultivated relationships with everyone around her.

I started thinking about this as I was writing a direct mail piece — who are my mall employees? Who is the overlooked but built-in audience? Instead of casting a wider net, now more than ever it’s important to look around, use our networks, and focus on the customers close to home.