ETSY Success: DIY PR

Watch live streaming video from etsy at livestream.com

It feels like long ago, but remember when I spoke at ETSY Success as part of the Vivid Festival?  I promised I would post when my video had gone live on the ETSY site. And well.. I've arrived.

Now you can relish in how truly dorky I am. Truly. Dorky.

I can't watch myself because it is excruciatingly cringe-worthy. But I'll post it so you might be able to glean some PR tips if you need them...

Ok so this is me, with Jo Walker, the Editor of Frankie Magazine. Please keep in mind that just moments before going on stage, I was tempted to get in the lift and disappear for the afternoon.

You can thank ETSY for this video.

It's Friday Night. Do You Know Where Your Bloggers Are?

Have you had a good day or a bad day?

I have had a no good, very bad, awful, terrible, horrible day.

So let's fast forward onto better, brighter things.

I'm sending you off around the world in just a few simple clicks.

First stop - off to see my sister, Sarah, who just came back from a positively dreamy trip to Paris and London. She's just started capturing those first few days over on Calico + Ivy's blog - be inspired.

Next stop, you're keen to check out Germany while you're over in Europe, ja? Then check in on beautiful Bianca and her babes in a German summer. No wonder she's heading to Sydney soon.

Everyone knows that Tasmania is my idea of Utopia. Despite never having visited. No matter, I'm living vicariously through Michelle of Hugo and Elsa fame. Literally feast your eyes over here.

So you find yourself in Tassie - you must, absolutely must pop into The Hut Chronicles. Marian's garden is evolving, it's a joy to behold.

And one more stop on this whirl wind tour - have a cup of tea with Mrs Smith. This post resonates with me like there's no tomorrow. Thank you Mrs Smith for writing it so beautifully and so bang on.   You are an inspiration lady.

What's that dear reader? You want MORE? MORE??? Ok. Have this song. If you can listen to this and not be in a good mood and want to crazy dance with the kiddies, then I honestly do not know what's wrong with you.

Good night and good luck.

An Anti-Ranty Tanty

I was talking with Andrea of Fox in Flats about the uprise in ranty blog posts.

I hate ranty blog posts. Andrea hates ranty posts. Do you hate ranty posts?

Hate. Them.

If you're in a bad mood. Sure. Write about it. Then delete it.

The negativity that seeps out from those posts is, as my friend Britney famously once said, toxic.

I feel so angsty about ranty posts, I've taken it upon myself to put pen to paper and pen this ode.

An Ode to Cranky Pants Super Social Media Stars:

Angry, cranky ranty-pants
Why so angry?
Tanty pants.
You go social
It goes viral
Down you go in a cranky spiral.
Megaphone blogger mega-cranks
Might as well call the army
- send in the tanks.
Share your bad mood
With the whole world.
Status update to Mr Z'berg
To tell the world it's a big turd
Share your mood with your blogging brood
You're so mad with the world -
Why not delete it?
Tweet your peeps
and let them know you've got the poops
I want out of these cranky groups.
Pin this, update that, tweet those, and
Facebook your foes
I dare you - breathe deep touch your toes.
Life ain't so bad you got to broadcast.

Vivid Festival:: ETSY Success

This weekend I am lucky enough to be involved in ETSY Success – part of the Vivid Festival. I’m talking DIY PR – a really, really practical guide to getting yourself out there. Because let’s face it, promoting yourself can be awkward.

Together with a host of ace speakers, such as Wee Birdy, the editor of Frankie Magazine – Jo Walker, and the CEO of ETSY, Chad Dickerson, it’s going to be a jam-packed day full of tips, tricks and case studies to help build creative businesses.
I am a long-time ETSY fan, and am really looking forward to this event both personally and professionally, as well as meeting some of the cleverest minds in the biz.
You can still buy tickets for the day here – and let’s face it – a day spent in the salubrious setting of the new MCA building, overlooking Sydney Harbour? Super fantastic. Plus there’s bound to be some top learnings from the day.
You can see how the day looks here.
If you can’t make it – the event will be filmed (eek!). You can read more over here.


image via the Etsy blog

eBay: A Fashion Wonderland

This is a sponsored post


Once upon a time I was a devout eBay shopper. I regularly stayed up past my bedtime to get my winning bid in on whatever my heart desired at that time. In some cases it induced heart palpitation and great excitement - nothing beats those last minute bidding frenzies, let me assure you. 


One time (not at band camp) I remember driving like a crazy lady to get home to bid on something once, and the front gate of my house wouldn't open - I had to call my sister to shout down the line - "QUICK!!! Bid on this for me!" Clearly this pre-dates Smartphones, otherwise I could have just put in a winning bid from the front of my house, sitting in the car. For the record, I wound up getting online to win that sucker! It was a great win too. Bidding frenzies are akin to a good cardio work out. You can definitely work up a sweat. 


I've bought lots and sold lots on eBay - it would be fair to say I am a big eBay fan. From vintage clothes to furniture right through to books and toys I have been there. I am a big nerd and pride myself on my impeccable rating (100% - gold star, top of the class to ME!). 


However - it's been a long time between bids. 


Now I'm delighted to discover that eBay launched The Fashion Gallery back in October. I'm back in the eBay saddle! Yeehaaw! What makes this revelation even cooler? Model/blogger, (one of Net-a-Porter's top 10 style bloggers) Candice Lake is their ambassador. Man I love that girl's style - she has such a keen eye. 


The Fashion Gallery is like a virtual department store of over 30 brands (including Fleur Wood, Witchery, Lisa Ho, Marcs, Seduce etc) - where you can search by brand, clothing item and price. Et voila! Better than rifling through a rack looking for something to fit. I have literally spent a number of hours trawling this site shopping because it is supremely searchable. 


Plus there's an ace range of great deals to be had (including new stock). Already the Fashion Gallery is selling a fashion item every 8 seconds and a dress every minute. Isn't that cray?!




Check out Candice's Fashion Gallery Pinterest here.  Get yourself a-shopping at eBay's Fashion Gallery here. 


Did you know?
- 85% of all fashion sales on eBay.com.au are for new clothes, shoes + accessories
- 83% of items available on the eBay.com.au site are new
- An item is purchased every 4 seconds in Australia through eBay mobile apps (clearly I needed this all those years ago)




image of Candice Lake wearing Candice's picks from the Fashion Gallery from here

The Emancipation of the Garden

I spent ANZAC Day emancipating the garden from almost two years worth of weeds. It felt so good. Again. I can see where I have been - I see results. Tangible results. 


I want this to be a habit! I truly do! 


I conquered those pesky weeds, grew my own pile of offcuts, found a pumpkin vine sprouting from our compost heap; found some cherry tomatoes sprouting too. 


While I was pottering about in the garden, it made me feel connected with my family. My Mum loves gardening, I think my Dad secretly does too, both sets of my grandparents enjoyed spending time out in their gardens. Isn't it such an easy way to feel connected to the Earth - and slow down your day? 


I've now been sharing with the Doctor and Tiny some plans to plant a wee fairy garden at the front, with daisies and some prettiness. 


Because we rent, I've thought - well we rent, why would I want to garden. Then I came to this week and thought, I want to live in a space that is nice, that feels good, that looks pretty. Gardening is a two way street - and it's win:win both ways. You get to feel that satisfied exhaustion, and you can see results and feel good about it. 


Why am I so late to come to this gardening party?! 


Best of all - I found the water meter. I found the flipping water meter peeps! This is license to party like it's 1999.  It is in the middle of the front fence, and is completely obscured by trees. And weeds. Now it is FREE! 


This lady has totally inspired me. Can you imagine anything more dreamy? Nope. Me neither.


image via Daily Dream Decor

Kidspot Ford Territory Top 50: Feel the difference

I've been wracking my brain for a couple of weeks, punishing myself, what the Hector am I going to write about for this post? My golden ticket for a chance to win a trip to NYC to attend BlogHer and a Ford Territory for a year. 


Here it is, I offer it up like a grown-up and female version of Oliver Twist, except my bowl's full of words - and I want you to have more. So not like Twist at all - but it was a good literary reference, yes?


Gather around. This is what I've come up with with a little help from my friends. 


My journey into blogging began back in '89. When I went to Talent Camp at Lake Keepit for creative writing. And then I went again the next year and Jim Pattinson had a crush on me, and I physically felt repulsed. I was 10, he was probably 11, and he got a little too close for my liking. I have not forgotten you Jim Pattinson - or you're unwanted feelings for me. 


Blogging was not yet invented - not to my knowledge anyway. But I tapped away on my Mum's electric typewriter in my spare time, short stories, poems, moving on to my grandfather's memoirs when I was 12.


But let us fast forward through my awkward years (and let's forget that I am actually still in the thick of my totes awkes years), we'll travel through time together and pop out of the time continuum right here. 


To 2007.


My true blogging journey began when I started reading Dooce daily. I love Heather Armstrong. Her truth. Her honesty. Her wittiness. It made me want to get back into writing again. This was a time when I was just about to pop out baby number two. I felt like I was in parenting exile. Two years earlier I'd quit my job, moved to the other side of the city away from my friends - and into the home of my in-laws. AWESOME! This was a time when my MIL walked in to our dark kitchen to find me crying in the pantry. When my FIL told me I needed to talk to Matt after we'd had a massive barney. When parenting and self-esteem was at an all time low. And so was privacy. 


I began banging out posts like it wasn't anyone's business. 


And that's the beauty of blogging. It becomes everyone's business. And from here, like the fountain of youth - or in my case, a community of awesome, like-minded women (and the occasional male reader, hi Dad!) sprung PottyMouthMama. 


A blogger was born. (And so was Tiny - but that's another story.)


If we take PottyMouthMama under the magnifying glass (and preferably not in full sunlight people, I've got fair skin) it comes down to this: 


"If you prick us, do we not bleed"*


It's true. We all do. The truth is, I am just like any other mother blogger. You, me, we.


And that's the beauty of us. 


I'm happy not to hide behind any facade. I don't need to amp up my life to seem like it's more glamorous, more exciting, more awesome than yours. Because it isn't. Trust me.


PottyMouthMama's point of difference is that life is ker-azy. Life is messy. Life can be sad, glad, mad, and rad - and all in one day. 


I can talk about that with great verve. It's my very own story to tell. You love reading about Tiny's mischief. My bin diving escapades. About my struggle with work-home-life balance. I love curating stuff and things I love, or sharing stories about my banal life. Because it's my blog and I can blog if I want to. 


So if you feel so compelled, please vote for me! I'd love to visit the Big Apple, so I can stop hanging out with these little apples and looking like William Tell and Snow White's love child. 

* Totally stolen from Shakespeare. Someone that could have written a really prolific ye olde playe stylie blogge. 

Sussan:: A Fashion Collaboration

If you're looking for more of a fashion fix, check out some of the other bloggers who went shopping at Sussan in this video. I love that it gives you an idea of the breadth of the collection - and how it looks on real women, and how different people style things differently - making a new story altogether. 


I must give credit to Norlin at Baubles, Bubble and Bags for putting this video together. Thank you Norlin! 

Oh Hai.

Last night I went out on the town to kick up my heels with a bunch of bloggers. I met Wee Birdy there and together we giggled and guffawed the night away.


Big ups to Wee Birdy for giving me this banging picture of me being a ham hock. I mean, who doesn't star their Darling mani when posing mercilessly? The truth is, the reason I was dressed like a Tequila Sunrise (see recipe here) was for the Kidspot Top 50 Bloggers. Aha. 


Woogs held me in her bosom. I got to meet Eden. Was astounded by Hair Romance's beautiful hair. And I reunited with Chantelle. There were many more and it was like a whirlwind tour. I felt a bit like a fraud. 


Anyway, you readers, you are all quiet as mice. What's happening on your homefronts? Do tell. I am waiting to hear. And when someone wants to hack into my mainframe and let me know how I can reply directly to comments, well I am all freaking ears. I can not work it out myself and I want to punch my blog in the head. 


Right now I am listening to Gossling because I just love her. I've eaten a burger for dinner and had two to three wines. Who's counting? (Because it's not like I have to drive to bed.) I got told I was very quiet at work today. I love listening to the Hack on Triple J driving home. Do you? What are you doing? Come on, spill. Fill me in on what's on the haps in your neighbourhood. 


Oh and as a Friday bonus, how great is this Bluejuice cover of Video Games. I went off Lana del Rey quicker than Lite White goes off in a luke warm fridge. But this. This I can get with.


And finally, come join me on Facey. We can like totes chat. And stuff. 


PS - this is a link heavy post. I apologise. But perhaps you'll thank me later for sending you around the world in just one quick read of PottyMouthMama?

More From Yesterday: PR Tips

Yes. You Gotta pay the writer. Suck it up. If you want us, we're worth it, then pay us.


You'd never go to the car mechanic and think they'll do it for free, right?  A lawyer? A doctor?  Nope.
I studied writing at uni. I paid my time for Patsy Cline.

Same principle applies to writers.

This is via my awesome friend Carrie. Thank you Carrie!

The Poles Between PR and Blogging: 7 Tips

In the last few weeks I have been gazumped by PR requests. Email after email vying for space on my blog.

I often find myself in a quandary.

As a blogger, sometimes the information is totally irrelevant. I don't want to know about it. And I fathom a safe guess that my readers don't either. So I politely decline. Or lately, I just ignore (which seems terribly rude, but I have time-VS-email issues people - as I am sure you do too).

I've worked on my blog for over four years. I'm not just going to toss it away to be one big merry commercial. I must maintain its integrity. For my readers - and most of all, for myself.

And on the flip side, I've worked in PR for almost 13 years (my oh my, old old old).

I know what it's like working in-house and agency side. Clients want results. They don't want to hear excuses. They want their brand in bright lights, they want column inches, they want pixels. They want the world.

So I really want to help those who are pitching to me. I do. I want to help them.

But if PR pitches to bloggers continue the way they are now - things are going to roll backwards. Or implode.

The blogger in me questions every pitch sent my way. And I use the word "pitch" incredibly loosely here, because most of the time, all I am receiving is a generic:

"Dear Blogger"

or

"Dear Lexi, [insert gushing paragraph here about how much I love your blog]"

or

"hi PottyMouthMama"

or worse to me still - an embedded email that I can't even view half the time. Or just crap. I mean come now - seriously. Read my blog. I don't want to try your doggone baby purees because - I do not have a baby. And you could lazily scroll through my top posts to discover this for yourself. I'm not asking you to do my family tree and trawl through reams of geneaology. Nope.

Even worse. Inaccurate emails. Emails with titles: Interview Opportunity. And then I scroll through to look for who the interview is with - and there's nothing. Or some dubious subject matter. I could rattle off a heck of a lot. But for everyone's benefit - I won't.

I've just asked to be removed from their mailing list instead.

I know working in PR is busy. You have to measure your success. You must be accountable. And you have clients barking at your heels.  But respect the blogger.

So this is to those working in PR who want to learn about pitching to bloggers. Who really value quality content. Who really value an engaged audience. And who really want to do the right thing by their client.

1. READ READ READ:  Read the blogs you want to pitch to. Would you pitch blindly to someone in 'ye olde media'? If you answered yes, then you need to step away from your emails, and take a good hard look at yourself. I don't mean read four years of PottyMouthMama - but really, just become familiar with what I talk about, who I am, and if you truly think your brand is something that's going to fit in this space. And then you can start to build a relationship. KEY POINT!

2. WHO'S THAT CHICK? Find out my name. It's not rocket science. There's a reason why direct marketing companies pay thousands of dollars to access databases so they can tailor their communications to recipients. My name is not 'Blogger' - thank you Mum and Dad. It's not even PottyMouthMama. It's Lexi.

3. STOP SENDING GENERIC EMAILS: Please. For everyone's sake. You're wasting a lot of emails, as well as your time, my time, and everyone else's time. If you send out generic pitches - look at your ROI. Bet you're not getting much bang for your buck.

Don't do blanket mail outs. Tailor absolutely everything.

In my role as PR Manager, I've chosen to work with a handful of bloggers who I respect, trust and admire. Unfortunately, I don't currently have a budget to pay them. However, I offer them unique angles, I offer them exclusives, sometimes I might send them a gift. But I never ever expect anything in return.

Your client is not a charity - and the blogger owes you nothing.

4. EMAIL BOMBING:  I get a lot of emails every week. I'm not being cocky. A lot of them are spam. *Shudder* And some of them are from PR professionals, forwarding their original email because they haven't heard from me, and they want to check I received their email. And they've done a search and I haven't written anything about their client/product. Why not?

Why not?

Because I don't want to. Because it doesn't fit with my blog.

There should be no sense of entitlement.

Unless I want to. Unless I think my readers want to hear from you. Otherwise, I won't write about it.

5. SPONSORED POSTS: I started writing sponsored posts for shoe money. Clearly I don't buy a lot of shoes because I don't do a lot of sponsored posts. And I will only ever do a sponsored post if I truly believe it's cohesive with my blog.

The struggle with keeping my blog pure - and the need - and sometimes want - to make a little extra pocket money - it's a fine line. But when I do a sponsored post - I try to maintain my voice. I try to keep it relevant.

6. PRODUCT REVIEWS:  If you want me to review your product, well then it's a pretty good idea if you send me a sample. I am on the mailing list of one PR practitioner - and at the end it always says: "if you want samples, let me know". Not once, not twice, but at least four times I have replied saying "yes please send me a sample so I can try it for myself and legitimately write about it". And each time she replies "Sorry all the samples are gone." Well then BOOM! I'll make your emails be gone from my inbox. Simple really.

7. TIMING! Inviting me to an event is nice. It is. And thank you. But give me a bit of notice. Four days notice to drop everything for lunch? Yep. Not coming. I've got a busy life and I can't shuffle things at that late notice either. Same applies for sending me media releases. Don't send them to me on the day whatever you're spruiking happens. I'm a busy woman - as are all bloggers. I'm not usually struggling for content. And I won't drop everything to bang out some paras on your product on the day. Nope.

**BONUS TIP: If you are inviting me to an event, please make sure I live in the city the event is taking place in. Unless you're willing to cover my travel and accommodation costs.

For more on this topic head over to Edenland.


 image - me with Allen's Retro Party Mix teeth. Because I can. It's me in PR mode.

Are You There Friends? It's Me. Lexi.

Right now, for all I know, I could be the only one here. I'm banging out this written word, and it might just be me reading it in a quick edit before hitting publish. It's oh so quiet.

Are you there reader? Because all I can hear is an echo.

I'm madly putting together lists of gift ideas - but do you like them? Do you care? What is art? What is normal? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I'm not asking for a marching band, or a ticker tape parade every time I post - but girl, gimme a little sign.

Do you hate that I turned off the anonymous commenting? Well I did it because I was sick of Simone and other fabulous nobodies opening cans of whoop ass on me. I got tired of it actually. As soon as I turned it off, life got better!

But dudes. You gotta throw a girl a bone. It's boring being just being all by myself all the time.

BTW - do you think my small girl-child will like this book? Totes unrelated. But you get that on the big jobs.

Help Me Help You

So in a couple of weeks I'm doing a little talk at a conference. It's about PR. And PR agencies/consultants and the world of blogging and bloggers.



Secretly I am hoping no one turns up, because every time I think about it, I feel really, really queasy.



Nevertheless, I am doing a little research beforehand. Whether you read blogs, blog, or are new to blogs, I'd value your feedback. But I'm not doing some hardcore survey, because:

a) I just don't have the time

and

b) neither do you



Let me cut to the chase. I'd love it if you had a spare five minutes, if you can tell me:

- If PR agencies contact you: what works? what doesn't?

- What do you love?

- What do you loathe?

- How many companies contact you per week?

- Do you ever get any really random requests?

- And does anyone ever nail it - like really hit the nail on the head, and get you and your blog, and how to work with you?

- As a reader: what works for you? And what are you sick of?



Or if you're more comfortable emailing me, that's ace: lexipmm (at) gmail (dot) com



I'd appreciate any insights you can share with me - and if you comment on here, please don't name any agencies or companies.



Help me out peeps!

Power To Tha' Inspiration Boards

I have a little inspiration board that I update infrequently. I put cute cards, photos, concert tickets. Whatevs I like, I put up there. Some of my favourite postcards have come from this lady and this lady. Some photos of Matt and I in the early days. Oh and just for good measure there's a photo of me at my 22nd birthday party. Which is now - - - - - eeep - - - - ten years old.

Whatevs. What's inspiring you?