Archive for October, 2008

As a brand new member of both We Build Pages and Internet Marketers of New York, I’m really proud to announce that last week’s Charity Party hosted by WBP raised more than $13,000 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. That’s amazing.

It’s even more amazing when you know the back story.

Ten days before SMX East was scheduled to begin, Jim heard that IMNY would have to pull its big Charity event after too many sponsors had dropped out. Jim, a man known as much for his big heart as his crazy love for links, decided he wasn’t okay with that and commissioned the We Build Pages team to “make it happen”. And with that, the race began.

What followed would be a jam-packed week of crazy. We Build Pages Office Manager Rita Sickles was tasked with making sure that all of the many details that go into putting together an event like this were taken care of.

Would we serve food or just alcohol? Do we need prizes for raffles? What charity should we choose? Who can we get to sponsor? How much should we guilt them for? How much do we charge people to attend? Don’t forget the wristbands! And the flyers!

From there, Pat Sexton took the ball and ran with it, hitting the phones to woo potential sponsors. I don’t know how many of you have seen Pat Sexton on a mission, but…it’s intense. I’m pretty sure he didn’t sleep for three days as he wrangled up sponsors, took care of the prizes, and got everyone talking about what would be a great event. Our friend Jon Kelly was also there to lend his support, making sure that IMNY had a PayPal account set up for early registration. Everyone was on a mission to raise as much money as possible to benefit the amazing work of the Ronald McDonald house.

And when the big day came, it went off without a hitch. The event was a giant success: The turnout, the amount of money donated, and the smiling faces were all amazing. And none of that would have been possible without all the amazing attendees. So, we thank you.

We also want to thank our sponsors for the event. Without their very generous donations, none of the awesome that happened last week would have been possible. Major props, hugs and accolades to 10e20, BOTW , Search Engine Journal, SEOmoz, Sugarrae, SEMJ, Frank Watson, Search Engine People and Sure Hits.

Finishing out the Thank Train, more thanks go to the staff at Social Bar and Grill for putting up with us, Jim Hedger of WebmasterRadio for acting as MC for the evening, and to Jim Boykin for challenging the We Build Pages team to “make it happen” for charity.

We’d love to add to the $13,000+ that was raised last week. If you weren’t able to get your money in, do it now. Make your checks out to “Ronald McDonald House” and mail them to We Build Pages, 255 River Street, Troy, NY 12180 and we’ll forward them on for you. Let’s see just how generous the search community really is!

Below you’ll find a great mess of photos from the IMNY Charity Party. We hope you enjoy them. As Jim would say, we’re feeling lucky!

 Frank Watson and ShandyKing

 Pat Sexton and Rae Hoffman

 Jim Hedger

 The (scary) Oilman Todd Friesen and Jill Sampey

 Roger Monti and friend

 Avi Wilensky

 Rob Kerry, Emilo from Blogvertise and friends

Jonathan Dingman, Scott Polk, Jillian Taylor, Brent Payne

Rob Kerry, Emilio, Jim Boykin

Danny Dover, Pat Sexton, Scott Polk

Greg Niland

 Risa Borsykowsky

Rand Fishkin, Jim Hedger, Mystery Guest Fishkin

Dani Horowitz, Tamar Weinberg

Pat Sexton

 Virginia Nussey, Pat Sexton

Steve Boymel, Danny Sullivan, Aya Zook

Rita Sickles, Pat Sexton, Jim Hedger

 Jim Boykin, Chuck Price

 Carolyn Shelby, Pat Sexton, Chris Winfield

Ninja Shawn Rosko, Brent Csutoras

Roger Monti with Ninja’s Lauren Caldwell and Todd Heim

Chris Winfield, Danielle Winfield, Avi Wilensky, Frank Watson (back) John Kelly, Lauren Vaccarello, Todd Malicoat, Jim Hedger, Ben Rudnick, Tyler Shears

A group so cool Jim Boykin had to join

Jim Boykin, Shana Albert

 Lauren Vaccarello, Frank Watson, Jon Kelly

 (Special thanks to Tamar Weinberg for helping me identify some of the faces not in my mental Rolodex.)

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Lisa Barone has moved to Historic Troy New York and has joined We Build Pagesas our Senior Writer.

Stay tuned for a new website and blog on WeBuildPages.com in the near future.

View the Press Release Here.     

I’m Feeling Lucky!

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I have a lot of good writers on my writing team.  I won’t accept average writers, and bad writers make me cringe.  I do have a few really great writers, and I love them all to death.  My goal is to have a whole team full of great writers – either by recruiting those who are already great or molding my good writers into great ones.

But how can you tell the different between a good writer and a great writer?  There’s a writer’s joke about "the one who has the best editor" that has a bit of truth to it, but some writers are great on their own.

Here’s how you can tell the difference:

• Good writers can research and write about a variety of subjects without sounding like complete idiots.  Great writers know what they’re good at, and they not only avoid sounding like an idiot, but they can come across as an authority because they write what they know.
• Good writers know how to use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation – errors are usually of the typo variety.  Great writers know how to use complex sentence structure that grabs attention and shows mastery of the English language.
• Good writers compose factually accurate content.  Great writers compose content that is so interesting that even people who aren’t familiar with the subject will be drawn in.

I asked the folks on Twitter to weigh in on what makes a great writer.  And here’s what they said:

@cyandle ability to draw you into their article & keep u reading until the end; once  done u want more of their articles to read…

@joehall Great writers always use great pens! srsly, each great writer is great in their own way, some excel in areas that others fail…

@joshuasci PASSION about the topic.

@johnsantangelo A great writer has the ability to say nothing at all with a whole bunch of words, and also the ability to say so much with just a few words.

As a person who now manages a team of writers, I can add a few more things about what makes a writer great in my eyes, even if readers will never know this part.

Great writers follow directions. They ask questions if there’s something they don’t understand. 

Great writers are passionate and motivated.  They may do this for the money, as most good writers do, but they also do it because they love it.  And that shows in their writing.  

Great writers go the extra mile.  When they ask for an extension, it’s because they’ve been without power due to a hurricane, and they just got internet access back at the local coffee shop. Or they were unable to write over the weekend because they were dining out at the local restaurants they were recommending in a travel piece. Or they went out and bought a book about punctuation to help them step up their game.

Great writers always strive to be better.  When they get constructive criticism, they take it to heart, tuck it away, and figure out how to never make the same mistake again. They crave feedback and aim to please.  They are their own worst critics.

What do you think?  What would you say separates the great writers from the good writers? Leave me a comment!

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If you’re going to SMX NYC, Be sure the attend This Party which donates to the Ronald McDonald House on Monday Night. 

I’m honored to announce that we’re (We Build Pages) hosting the Internet Marketer’s Charity Party next Monday night, October 6, at SMX East in New York City. It’s our first time hosting a charity party, but shouldn’t be our last.

The Charity Party will be at the Social Bar (795 8^th Avenue). We’re asking for a $50 (in advance, or at the door) donation that will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. Your entrance also includes free drinks all night.

  The party starts at 8:00 and goes until Midnight. Come and help make the world a better place.

A great big thank you to the Best of the Web Crew, Chris Winfield and the 10e20 Crew, Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal, Jon Kelly of Sure Hits, who are sponsors of the night’s events.

Please go the the Charity Party Page to find out more and to get your tickets in advance. 

Drink, Network, and Help the Ronald McDonald House.

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