Saturday, July 29th, 2006
I am finding motivation difficult but at the end of the day if I want this website to work it’s down to me to do it.
It’s also the school holidays and the heat is not the best for working in. The only time I have to write is at night and that’s if I haven’t fallen asleep by then. From now on no excuses.
I mentioned the site is for women and I will explain more in a later blog. On a positive note I have at least 5 writers lined up.
Three will be regular writers for ongoing pieces. To tempt you we have Emma’s Dilemmas, Getting a Backbone and Diary of a 70 Year Old Teenager.
Whoops, fell asleep with the children, so got delayed writing this post. I did however write an article and have made even more notes for the site.
Over the weekend I am going to put together an action plan and timetable (I work well with them) and put it somewhere visible. I have also started nagging my regular feature writers.
It would be good if they started nagging me too!!
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Thursday, July 27th, 2006
I was actually quite nervous about telling my friends.
We used to work together and have a similar outlook when it comes to quality, the way we write and how we perceive things should be. They are also the type of friends whom I can turn to whenever and for whatever.
In fact just having them as friends has already inspired one of the articles for the website which will be ‘What Makes a Best Friend?’. I certainly have good material for that one!
Anyway, as a kind of joke I said I would ‘present’ it to them. I managed to find some left over flipchart paper and although they weren’t really expecting a formal presentation, it really helped me focus all the ideas I had from over the year. Okay so I didn’t have a flipchart stand, but a children’s blackboard makes a good standby.
I was kind though, we had the chinese meal first!
They let me ‘present’ to them and towards the end I revealed the name of the website which of course is teafriendsandchocolate.com and I showed them the logo.
I had a resounding thumbs up, although as they are my best friends they also commented on how much work it would take and asked some pertinent questions. This is the very reason why I chose them to talk to it about.
However, they also asked the questions I was really hoping for and that was ‘how can we help?’. My one friend actually bought her notebook with her and has already started to send me information. What more can I ask?
Well . . . . the other reason for telling them was so I had someone other than my family to talk to (or should I say bore!) about the website in terms of types of articles, how the website looks etc. They will also motivate me and push me.
I am using the blog to focus me into writing articles and just the process of writing my first two has already given me ideas.
I will of course also use the blog to gradually reveal the content of the real website for when it is ready. And on an even more positive note, I have now chosen and bought the template. More explanation in another post as this has been a major stumbling block. This decision was also helped along by my friends!
A big thank you to them both in being so supportive. If they don’t mind I will let you know their names later.
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Wednesday, July 26th, 2006
Well this is it. No turning back. From what you might ask.
I’ve had an idea for a website for over a year now and at every opportunity I have made notes on the potential content, how to source the content, even how to market it and get it noticed. I chose the name (after a lot of thought and checking if the domain name had been taken by anyone) and I have also had a logo designed.
I only told my immediate family about it, as I wanted to gauge what they thought. My idea was to have the website up and running and then show my friends.
However, things never run as smoothly as you hope. I was aiming to have had the website up and running by now but it really helps if:
a) the website has been designed
b) you have plenty of content
My problem is a little like the chicken and egg scenario, I need the website designed to show people I am serious and I need people to look at the website to encourage people to contribute to articles.
I decided that I needed motivation, moral support and my confidence boosted. Therefore I decided to tell my two best friends to see what they thought. All I told them before they came was that the site was for women! Luckily it was mystery enough to entice them over (and the offer of a chinese!).
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