Stop being mean to content creators: Knowing SEO doesn’t make you God
Following on from pointing out the popularity of content doesn’t mean it is useless, I thought I’d tackle the problem of resentment towards content creators by SEO copywriters. It bemuses me a whole heck of a lot to see SEO web copywriters all pooh-poohing content- via their blogs mind you, and their social. “Pssst… wanna hear a secret? Not everyone finds what they want simply by clicking through on the first page on Google.”... Read More
Guess who’s a Pozible Ambassador- yep, me!
Pozible Ambassador Network It is with great pride that I announce I am part of the Pozible Ambassador Network. Those crazy crowdfunding cats, Alan and Rick, have asked me to help out future crowdfunders. While I haven’t done my own crowdfunding project (yet), you may recall I helped the transition from Fundbreak to Pozible back in 2009, and gave them their early start in social media and blogging. Since then, I have helped the guys on the odd occasion,... Read More
Ode to a Glasshouse: Losing the plot over work
The Glasshouse, Woolgoolga To say this week has been busy (or a nightmare) would give busy or nightmare new meaning. Coming to the end of a 50 hour week and knowing I will be working tomorrow and Sunday too is a little daunting. Make hay when the sun shines and all that, and I truly do love my job. But sometimes being a freelancer can really suck. Sometimes having any job (even one you adore), is a big pile of poo. But instead of pushing through into... Read More
On the road to a Content eBook
The journey to a fully fledged eBook has certainly been an interesting one. I started off with the usual staring at a blank cursor for way too long before I went “old school” and sat on the couch with a favourite felt tip and an art diary to write down the tangle of thoughts in my head. Post my little jotting session, the writing started pouring like vomit out of a toddler fresh off a rollercoaster. A much better sign, I can tell you. Planning... Read More
That eBook Experiment? I failed
You might remember I set myself the goal of gaining 1000 followers by January 31st 2013 in order to give myself that push towards writing my very first eBook. The idea was to really put the pressure on myself to get the task done, considering it kept popping up sporadically on the TO DO LIST like some kind of goofy Meer Cat but progressing no further. Well, I failed. I got to 990 followers at January 31st. I sat there for a little while considering... Read More
Let’s get trekking back to the Freelance Jungle!
Who’s a cheeky monkey? Come down to the shores to frolic and play with other critters in the Freelance Jungle. Here is your time to purge those stories of nightmare clients, heap praise on the nice ones and generally talk about all your bumps and scrapes for yet another month of freelance life. The Freelance Jungle is for you if: Hot desking is a concept that means more than just keeping your toasted sandwich warm Some of the clients you’ve... Read More
Writing without pants: The life of a creative copywriter
My bum is in the wind, feeling a bit of an early chill as it wisps past. The butterflies in my stomach are playing shuttlecock with my breakfast Berocca and I can’t quite decide if it’s Jimi Hendrix or the Gossip who will get me through the day. Yes folks, I am a modern day adventurer. I’m jacked into the internet tighter than a ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’ casualty is into her spandex. I wear to great clumping robot arms on each wrist to stop my... Read More
eXpertLocal is now recruiting hosts!
Guess what everybody? I’m super proud to announce eXpertLocal is now officially open and ready to take hosts! What this means is my latest awesome collaborative consumption client is looking for passionate locals who would love to share their version of beautiful Sydney with other people by setting up a tour. It doesn’t matter if you are a mad keen fitness enthusiast looking to do a surfing sea-fari or if small bar crawls, checking out live... Read More
Climb out of my ear please- I’m doing stuff!
“It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic, is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.” Theodore Roosevelt Everyone’s a critic Apart from a terribly delicious word such as ‘behooves’ getting airplay, good old Teddie is bang on the money. It never ceases to amaze me how many people feel it necessary to hack at the shins of the people who are just... Read More
The Dumbest Mistakes a Startup Can Make
Having worked with the likes of successful startups Space Heroes Universe, Pozible and Open Shed, as well as keeping my finger on the Australian and overseas startup scenes, I’ve noticed a couple of really (and I mean face palm central here) mistakes startups can make. Want to know what the dumbest mistakes startups can make so you can avoid them? Great! Let’s do this thing. 1. Not Taking Content Seriously This is pretty much the... Read More
Why is Creativity Important in Marketing?
Admittedly, there are self indulgent idiots within the marketing industry who have given creativity a bad name by making campaigns that are heavy on the abstract and light on the message. However I do believe most customers, clients and people can spot the difference between ‘wanktivity’ and ‘creativity’. Therefore I make it my mission to prise the word ‘creativity’ back out of their cocaine encrusted, award clutching hands and explain... Read More
Roadtesting: A Whack on the Side of the Head
It’s super hard to believe ‘A Whack on the Side of the Head’ has been kicking sand into the face of boring approaches for 25 years or more. Why? Because for stuff that makes perfect sense it’s surprising more people and companies haven’t taken it on board yet! This is my little bouillabaisse summary of what the book gave me – I’m pretty sure it will give you something else, so if you can, please get your mitts on a copy. Anyway, let’s... Read More
What we could all learn from Radiohead
Last night with tens of thousands of other people I was brutally assaulted, seduced and made to feel like I was privy to something huge yet private all at once. The circumstances of this bizarre yet thought provoking situation was seeing Radiohead at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Here’s the disclaimer: I am a card carrying Radiohead fan. I’ve often joked I could say my life is complete once I finally get to kiss Thom Yorke’s bung eyelid.... Read More
Copywriting No-No List
Being a creative Sydney copywriter, I do dig around in cyberspace a lot checking out how people go about their writing. Sometimes I stumble across things that make me cringe, wonder what the heck the person was thinking or shake my head in bemusement. If you don’t want someone like me or your customers having the same reaction to what you write, avoid the copywriting no-no list! 1. Writing to ‘match’ your competitors. Find your own... Read More
Roadtesting: Who Killed Creativity?
As someone who carries a title of ‘unashamedly creative’ and talks about being a ‘creative copywriter’ choosing a book called “Who Killed Creativity?” seemed like a logical thing to do. I was super sceptical at first when it talked about paralleling crime scenes and psychological profiling with the creative process but having now finished it, I am really, really pleased with this book. Having read a heap of business, marketing, abnormal... Read More
Rockin’ The Freelance Jungle
Put on your party pants and join us for a coconut of jungle juice- it’s time to get all Rockin’ with the October Social Club meeting for the Freelance Jungle! Welcome to spring time and the narrow end of the pointy stick we’ve called 2012. Perfect timing really if you want to have a couple of beverages, share a laugh and generally talk to current, past and future freelancers about what it’s like to put your bum in the wind and squeal “Yeee-ha”... Read More
Clients in the News
It’s always super rewarding to see Unashamedly Creative clients kick goals but September has been especially awesome for TaskRunners, Open Shed and Space Heroes. Cheryl from TaskRunners at the Breakfast Point Fair TaskRunners First Public Appearance I met Cheryl from TaskRunners 3 months ago when she was still working her full time job and just about ready to make the leap into the dizzying world of startup. Since then, Cheryl and I have... Read More
Not everyone can write
Back in the 90’s when I left school and started studying creative writing, the amount of weather worm adults who gasped in horror at the idea of throwing away time, energy and brains on writing was astounding. I am sincerely glad I didn’t become a psychologist now, which was the second choice. With the rise of social media and blogging, it’s truly a great time to be a creative copywriter. Writing is the popular kid on the block. More popular... Read More
Screw Blogging Rules
There is something slightly obnoxious about blogging rules. They get this little creative Sydney copywriter in a tizzy. Usually because some poor client I’ve inherited has been frightened off blogging because of some nincompoop and their mystical set of rules. Balderdash! The reality is SEO, guest blogging, frequency of posting, post timing and so on are all trumped by one thing- the quality. Join me in screwing blogging rules and be prepared the... Read More
Be your own strategic freelance marketer
It’s easy for me to stand up on the roof and shout “look at me, I’m a creative Sydney copywriter and strategic freelance marketer!” but what would be the point if I didn’t take my own medicine and try to write a lot and market myself? When you become a freelancer your clients don’t just turn up at your door asking to hire you. Even the super popular ones are rocking it through making themselves known to people on a regular basis. You... Read More
Discordia is Live!
I truly love marketing. Being a creative copywriter and freelance strategic marketer is something I love doing. I live helping people. Putting truth and creativity back into marketing isn’t just a tagline for me, it’s the reality. And I really enjoy working with my clients. Yet sometimes I have felt recently that I’ve been letting the writer in me down a little. Writing to me is a deeply personal thing. I don’t expect everyone to agree with... Read More
Pinterest 201: Pinning to Get Noticed
There’s content flying all around Pinterest at the moment and there is a lot of talk about how it can benefit your creative pursuits or marketing. But how can you make that happen? Well, check the Pinterest basics first and then jump on board for this edition, Pinning to Get Noticed. Think about how it can work for you Planning any kind of social media is a better way to go than to just dive right in and Pinterest is no exception. For some businesses... Read More
Pinterest 101
Already making a huge splash in the market, Pinterest is proving extremely popular with people- especially women. So how do you make the most out of Pinterest for your business? Consider this your 101 on starting Pinterest on the right foot. The basics: Registration: If you are going to use an existing social media login for your Pinterest registration, Twitter is the better choice when compared to Facebook. Facebook only links Pinterest to your... Read More
Case Study: Space Heroes Universe- In Game News
Background: Space Heroes Universe is a virtual world for kids aged 6 to 12. The virtual world itself is continually running member orientated events, parties and adding both educational and fun content. The newsletter is produced monthly to allow kids in the game to keep abreast of the changes. Objective: The mandate for the newsletter is to: a) Create fresh and interesting content each month that informs the members and players about changes and... Read More
The A to Z of Aussie Freelance Resources
If you freelance and you are in Australia, here are a few things that’ll probably make your life easier. If you have any to suggest, by all means send them through! Couple of notes: I have tried to be accurate with URL and description, however if I have got something wrong somewhere, do let me know this too! Any mistakes are not intentional. This list has been done voluntarily. I’ve tried to keep it relevant and helpful to Australia but not include... Read More
Call Out: Discordia Zine
Discordia Zine is on the hunt for women bloggers, writers, artists and illustrators who can be a part of new online content portal. We’re tired of feeling like outsiders in the female web world and women’s media. We feel that labels like ‘crafty mummy’, ‘lipstick lesbian’ or ‘suited up business woman’ just don’t apply. For us, the slew of women’s magazines and ‘believe in yourself’ online communities are irrelevant. And the... Read More
Freelance Jungle Rides Again!
We’re back in the saddle Sydney for our 2nd FREELANCE JUNGLE! It won’t be this awkward, trust me. Excited? Oh you better be- there’s people and beer and conversation, oh my! Think of this as a social club for those of us who freelance and those who are thinking about jumping into the freelance pond. It brings us all together so we can have a drink, have a chat and just have a bit of FREElancer fun on a Thursday night. You... Read More
Woody Allen on Doing it Your Way
The next half of the Woody Allen documentary I saw in a hotel room in Orange. It was just the shot in the arm needed to remind me that doing things the way feel right for you is better than subservience to the ideals of others. Here is what I gained on Woody Allen and doing it the way that feels right for you: First of all, he bypasses the agents and goes straight to the actors. He personalises the reasons he wants to work with particular actors... Read More
Always Start From Scratch
When you are invited to do some else’s marketing or copywriting, it can be tempting to take a look at what has gone before and go from there. But the trouble with this approach is you don’t give yourself or the product in question the opportunity to take advantage of a fresh eye. Here are the top 4 reasons why you should always start from scratch. 1) Fresh Eyes Are Invaluable When a group of people have been working on something for a while,... Read More
Guest Post: Give a man a fish … Teach a man to fish
Continuing our freelancer guest post series is Karen Lambert- a personal coach who can help you build confident connections with clients, Angel investors and more. Take it away Karen! Give a man a fish … Teach a man to fish So the story goes that if you give someone a fish they’ll eat for a day, but if you teach them to fish they’ll eat for a lifetime. The message – learn stuff that helps you to survive and you’ll... Read More
Guest Post: Social Media 101 (mark II)
Social Media 101 (mark II) This is Part Two of a Two-Part Blog Series by the Queen of Social at Sarah Allen Consulting on how freelancers can use social media marketing to get results. If you missed Part One or would like a refresher, click here. Howdy freelancers. You’ve had a few weeks now to digest Part One on Social Media 101 for Freelancers, which was all about the importance of seeing social media as a conversation, finding... Read More
Woody Allen on Creativity
Inspiration comes from the craziest of places. Saturday night saw me chilling out with a sick partner on the couch, watching a Woody Allen documentary. I knew the guy was clever, I just didn’t realise how clever. This is what I gleaned from Woody Allen and his approach on effective creativity: • Maintain a rhythm. Rhythm and timing are key to storytelling. Without it, you have nothing. • If the system works, keep doing it. Woody has been using... Read More
Roadtesting: Purple Cow by Seth Godin
There are a lot of books written on marketing and now with blogs, it can be a situation of truly wondering if you are going to get some real advice, or just “marketing wash” to sell the book or blog itself. Some advice is so dated it sounds like a “comes with free steak knives” style ad in your head. Other stuff is just pure SEO work that values ranking over content. Snore! But once in a while there is a marketer who truly knows what they... Read More
Why Change Aussie TV?
Think about Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Dexter, Skins, Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, Extras, Weeds, Scrubs, Black Books, The Wire, Treme, Sopranos, The Good Wife, Louie and Californication. Now ask yourself- have we had anything remotely close come out of Australia recently? You may have seen the campaign “Save Places for Aussie Faces.” Now ask yourself what future our fledgling writers, directors, actors and producers have in this... Read More
It’s not “Do not buy anything ever” month!
Can you help me defend what is a cracker of an idea? “Buy Nothing New” month is being featured in a poor light in the Daily Telegraph. Take a look at the article here and please make your own determination but… This October, it is planned that two people will be housed in a sustainable pop-up house in Sydney’s CBD. They will have to source all their clothes and all the furniture for the house second hand. It’s promoting... Read More
How I help me get things done
In response to reading “Getting things Done” I have captured a few of my own personal points and organisational ideas. Hopefully they help you. Feel free to share what you find works too. I’m bang up for anything that improves productivity. Organising stuff: a) Asana is great for managing the workflow of a project piece by piece, but nothing seriously beats moving away from the desk and drawing things out manually on paper. b) To Do Lists are... Read More
Roadtesting: Getting Things Done
Took advantage of the chronically rainy long weekend to get stuck into David Allen’s “Getting things Done.” Firstly, it’s more written for white collar, middle management people who are looking to keep work and life in balance and keep the boss happy. Not that this is a bad thing, but it will take some adapting to try and translate it for a freelance or startup person. Secondly, it is worth the read… but be prepared to skip things a... Read More
Guest Post: Social Media 101 by Sarah Allen
Welcome to the first ever guest blog for freelancers! Take it away Sarah! This is Part One of a Two-Part Blog Series by the Queen of Social at Sarah Allen Consulting on how freelancers can use social marketing to get results. Did you know that a third of small businesses are now using social media, while 40% of companies still admit to having no training in this fast-growing medium? One of the great things about putting social... Read More
CASE STUDY: Space Heroes Universe Character Refinement and Development
Background: A start-up in the virtual world space Space Heroes Universe prides itself on story driven elements intermingled with online community building and game play amongst children. Geared at the 6 to 12 year old market, creating believable, fun and appealing storyline characters together with appeal to the Gen X parental market is extremely important. Unashamedly Creative was engaged to work with the Marketing Director to flesh out some of... Read More
CASE STUDY: POZIBLE “LET’S TALK CROWDFUNDING SYDNEY” EVENT
Background: Australia’s leading crowdfunding platform, Pozible, required assistance with their first major Sydney event entitled “Let’s Talk Crowdfunding!” The first event in Melbourne, whilst still positive, had less than 50% turnout. Pozible engaged Unashamedly Creative to assist with the event’s management and communications for the event in Sydney to test whether the series was a viable national road show. Objective: • Lift conversion... Read More
Stop breaking your children!
You know what really boils my potato? Hearing from friends and people I come across that in this day and age, there are still parents out there who treat creative endeavours, start-ups and small business adventures and/or major changes to career and way of life by their adult children as “things to grow out of”. That parents are vocally objecting to their adult kids chasing dreams or at the very minimum quietly stressing enough in the corner for... Read More
How do Australians feel about home-grown TV?
Is the current Australian TV market a positive or negative in terms of creativity? Are we suffering from reality TV and lifestyle programme fatigue or do we love them and want to see them stay? Are we risk-adverse or innovative? Do we create export quality TV? What do Australians actually want to see on the box? Having had countless coffee and wine debates about the state of Australian TV with everyone from unemployed actors to happily employed producers,... Read More
Revised: Further Ways to Market Arts
Fortune does favour the brave! Here are some things to try. Sending press release out with photo to whatever works- there are places such as FasterLouder, Music Feeds, Side Street Sydney and also sites such as StreetCorner, Throw Shapes, TwoThousand a myriad of other places. Anyone you are paying to advertise with, totally send that content. Drum, Fbi etc will publish it, especially if you are paying. With FBi and 2SER, offer a free double pass to... Read More
Acing Email Marketing Campaigns
As a creative copywriter, I have been asked to make suggestions and generally improve overall performance of email marketing campaigns for more than a decade. Consider these tips your guide to help make your email newsletters and/or campaigns sparkle! Choose Responses over Clicks One of the most common dilemmas my client’s come to me with is that their click through rate has gone down. This is worrying sure, because one of the metrics we are trained... Read More
Roadtesting: Juicing the Orange
The funniest reaction I have had to reading this book is someone half jokingly asking “Do you really need a book for that?” Not sure if they have a 50% leaning to me being somewhat dim enough not to know how to make orange juice (I can…well, I could if I wanted to, honest!) or commenting on why creativity is needed so desperately in marketing, but here it is, “Juicing the Orange”. Obviously what attracted me was the idea of creativity... Read More
2 Million Reasons to Smile
A mere five months on from achieving $1million in pledges, Pozible has hit 2012 running by reaching the $2million pledge mark in March. And the goal kicking for the original home-grown crowdfunding platform for Australian creative and socially innovative projects looks set to continue. Fast becoming one of the most popular and effective funding options available Pozible has seen tremendous growth in exposure and audience participation since... Read More
Help Open Shed Out!
I have a client in the collaborative consumption space called Open Shed. If you haven’t heard of collaborative consumption before, it is about taking an item sharing it with another person- check out here for details. This great little start-up needs help from people like you! Yes you- ordinary community minded people who share their time, belongings and spirit with each other! Open Shed offer people the ability to list their own stuff so others... Read More
Updated: Some Pretty Cool Stuff
The internet has become a pretty cool playground! Whether you are creative, into business or chasing a new way to crack a project, there are some definitely head turning newbie’s out there. Here are a few of my current favourites. Note: I have taken them from the angle of how they help creative people and businesses because that is what interests me. Most of these do however have much further reaching applications. Plan Big: PlanBig has been around... Read More
Crush it- I freakin’ love it!
I did the super uber nerdy reader thing in January and went to one of those “50 Books You Have to Read” for business people. What can I say, I was a little tired of re-reading my current collection and really don’t like snuggling up with a good blog before I go to bed. From that list, beyond the Richard Branson books I already had (being a card carrying Fanson, you know I had to have them!) I chose an unremarkable number of books- 6 to be exact.... Read More
Leap, leap?!…Ah Why not Leap?
Today is the day after the Leap year day. The time when I remember my sister’s friend Kris who only gets an “actual” birthday every four years and takes it in her stride by following the ‘less is more’ motto, the time where traditional marketers push people towards making a change in life (“leap into my sale otherwise my boss will beat me, please!” ) and where I think of frogs doing extraordinary feats, whether they be cartoon or carbonated... Read More
Take Time Out for YOU!
It’s fair to say that we all work pretty hard these days, right? We’re constantly connected to work through emails on our phones. We’re always chasing down leads or ideas or working on grand plans on the outskirts of what we are trying to achieve. But you have to take time out for you, else you become some husk, some shell of what you need to be and let me tell you, both your productivity and your emotional, mental or physical health could suffer. How... Read More
Sydney, now it’s your turn…. Let’s Talk Crowdfunding!
After a successful Melbourne event in late 2011, Pozible now brings “Let’s Talk Crowdfunding!” to Sydney. This free event is for anyone who wants to learn more on crowdfunding for creative projects or simply for people interested in self funding through platforms like Pozible. Join us for a helpful, informative and passionate discussion on crowdfunding your dreams and ideas with like minded individuals. The evening is aimed at giving anyone... Read More
So simple it has to work…
I recently finished reading The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing by George Silverman (have put up some pieces from it previously and still have another 5 pages of notes I may share, depending). Each time I pick up a book of this kind, it’s great to find some kernel of wisdom that really rings the bell. Here is that bell ringer for me. I wrote down a heading (like the studious little freak I am) of “Six Steps to Harnessing Word of Mouth” with... Read More
Jaws: Taking a Bite Out of the Competition
Holidays mean sitting back and relaxing, so here I am, late at night watching Jaws. Yes, great viewing for a seaside holiday right? Anyway, that, combined with currently reading 3 books at once, one single message seems to becoming clearer and clearer… people enjoy a slow reveal and anticipation much more than being beaten over the head with a message over and over again. Am I stating the blindingly obvious? You would think so. I know my writing... Read More
Your Project on the Operating Table
Make no bones about it, it really sucks when an idea or project doesn’t work out the way you want it to. But how do you tell the difference between natural causes and misadventure? And what should you do to avoid another untimely demise of a beloved project? Consider this your autopsy and next steps guide to the projects that go belly up! Nurse, I need 10cc’s of Ego, stat! First and foremost, when a project fails to achieve a benchmark, please... Read More
Road Testing
If it is at all possible to claim you can “collaboratively consume” an idea, this is what I am kicking off now with my book, DVD and whatever the heck floats past road tests. After being an avid follower of the journey of Lisa from Open Shed and Co-founder Lisa’s blog I realised just how important it is to share the finds you make as you traverse the Internet. Reading Lisa’s overview of books, videos and ideas has helped inspire me basically... Read More
Tried and Tested Ways to Kill Freelancer Enthusiasm
So you’ve just hired a freelancer with the right attitude and skill set for a job and they are passionate and keen on the tasks ahead. Not happy with their go-getter attitude? Then you need to follow these Tried and Tested Ways to Kill Freelancer Enthusiasm! Hire them based on their experience then systematically devalue it Nothing says “cop that ya freelancer!” like a good old fashion devaluation of a freelancer’s experience. The best way... Read More
Why every office should have a Labrador
Morale Office Gibson T. Dog provides more than you think to the day to day operations of Unashamedly Creative. Here in no particular order is why every office should have a Labrador. Lunchtime Companionship With a Labrador around, you always have a lunchtime companion who is very keen (and I mean VERY keen) on hanging out with you. You never have to feel like a complete Nigel eating lunch all alone with a Labrador around! Exercise is Mandatory It... Read More
Why a freelancer community?
Some people have been asking me lately what the whole freelance survey is about (for your reference, here is the original post http://unashamedlycreative.com.au/2011/10/calling-all-freelancers/) or where it might lead. Here it is in nuts and bolts… Hello- is anybody out there? I started doing a full time freelance gig in 2009 whilst still employed because I wanted to see if it worked. I had some mates who had varying degrees of success across... Read More
No Sparkly Vamps Here
Oh how everyone loves the idea of a vampire right now. But how funny is each take on how the vampires are indentified, what is unique about them and the kinds of creatures they are. Of course we too have taken our own version of vampire and weaved it within the Varity Vampire story. We have made a more “turn of the screw” approach to our vampires in our writing because we really dig the idea of how undetectable actual true predators are to their... Read More
Simple Tips to Help Your Writing
Writing driving you up the spout? Finding you get needlessly tangled? Years of doing this for people in all kinds of industries have taught me a few simple things anyone can look at to improve your writing. Everyone has a buzz word Each of us has a word we love over using in our writing. For many Australians, it is “that” or “then” – but it can vary from person to person. You can make your writing tighter by looking for a common word... Read More
Ten minutes with brainmates Natalie Yan Chatonsky
What lead you to first get into Product Management? My first exposure to launching new products was when I was in business development at Yahoo. When I first started working at Yahoo in the late 90’s (prior to the dot com boom), it was my job to recruit offline big brand retailers to build their first online store through an Yahoo! Australia & New Zealand’s shopping mall. My role was to go out there and talk to retailers about how e-tailing... Read More
Calling all freelancers!
Are you tired of auction sites trying to get you to work for $2 a 500 word article or deploy a whole website for $200? Have you had to mop up after countless el cheapie projects for your clients after things have gone drastically south? Do you sometimes wonder why employment agencies or digital/ad agencies pay you 30% of what they bill you out for? Are you working at places that don’t allow you to stretch yourself as much as you would like? Do you... Read More
Pozible hits the Million Dollar Mark
Australia’s first crowd funding platform, Pozible, has hit an amazing $1million in pledges. Since humble beginnings in May 2010, Pozible has become a viable option for creative and innovative projects around the country as a source of funding through peers pledging their support through crowd funding. Reaching the million dollar mark is yet another milestone for a platform dedicated to helping more ideas become reality in the Australian creative... Read More
Sisters are doin’ it for themselves!
You have to love the sexy, sassy and super cool way a heroine lights up the film screen. The same applies (we hope!) to the Varity Vampire story. Like most female vampires, both Ruth and Varity are reluctant heroes- thrown into circumstances not of their choosing, that they have to not only make do with, but also conquer for what they believe in to be maintained. So in honour of the sexy, sassy, super cool reluctant heroines everywhere that have... Read More
What is WOM [Word-of-Mouth] worth?
Crowdfunding is a pretty amazing thing. Watching one dollar add to another dollar and another until a target is reached just shows how much every little bit counts. But what most people may not realise is that even when you don’t have any money to spare, you can still manage to support a project and create a positive outcome. And there is a group of these people already that have made a huge in-direct impact to projects. Pozible has always been... Read More
When in doubt, K.I.S.S.
Days at Lavalife taught me two things I will carry with me forever. One is if you are sure about something, sink your teeth into it, build a business case and don’t be afraid of the whole hierarchy thing if you really believe in what you are saying. Number two is something that helps pretty much everything you do, including number one- the K.I.S.S. Theory- “keep it simple, stupid”. Probably the most underrated and simply thing you could learn,... Read More
Varity has Arrived!
Varity Vampire went live last night, just after midnight! She is, she always was and now she says it in cyberspace- Varity Vampire. Bit different to my usual stuff eh? We have set up a main site http://www.varity-vampire.com/ where you can catch all things related to the production, vampires, why we did this and all that jazz. If you have topics for me, let me know. Each week we will be releasing an episode to youtube until Halloween, when we release... Read More
Varity Vampire is Coming!
It’s taken over ten years and tens of thousands of dollars, too many hours to count of meetings, directing, recording and drawing and more rewrites than you could possibly imagine- but Varity Vampire is mere hours from being released! Varity Vampire is the brainchild of Jack Black who thought of an original piece about what it would be like to be trying to be an ordinary teenager when you are both human and vampire. Varity is about what happens... Read More
Green film making? By accident, maybe
Making a film is hard work; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But with the Crackheads, the way the story is designed, there is a little bit of “wriggle” room re: getting things absolutely perfect. In essence, I have actually designed around having no to low budget. Admittedly, it is hip to be a recycling, reusing greenie scrounging up materials to a certain extent I am using this to my advantage. But it is also about meeting budget, making... Read More
The Dinosaur’s Guide to Dance: Sydney style
Shaking your tail feather in Sydney can be a little bit of a problem, especially at live gigs. It appears it just isn’t cool to shimmy around and let your inner funkasaurus out. This is even worse when you are well past the hipster expiration date. However if you are in your 30’s or beyond and want to dance about, you do have some places you can go. So never fear, here is the Dinosaur’s Guide to Dance! Tone Yes, she is leaving us at her current... Read More
The Crackhead’s Get Rocked
As you know, Richard Berndt has donated his time and talent to creation of the musical score for the Crackheads. I can now share with you a sample of that hard work. With the Crackheads film, we toyed with the idea of taking off two well known songs- namely the “Home and Away” theme (changing it to “Homo and Away”) and “Fishheads” (changing that to “Crackheads”) ala Weird Al Yankovic. But unfortunately,... Read More
Crank it up, Aus start up style!
People who occasionally travel past my website may have seen a distinct change in content in the last couple of weeks. This is because like any good business, I am growing to meet the needs of my client base. I realized there is a new wave of business coming to Australia- and that wave is a drastically different one to what we have known before. It is the world of the ethical digital start up. Nope, I haven’t swallowed a bunch of buzz words, I am... Read More
From the Puppeteers Pencil
Fear not, the puppet project is still alive and kicking, well as much as their stumpy little footsies will allow anyway! It’s just been a little hectic of late on both the commercial and creative levels. The potted history of puppet events are as such: Paul has pretty much finished building our stage, with the exception of a hinge or two. Next comes the backgrounds and how to deal with them Rich has been composing for the background ads and music,... Read More
Artist in Profile: Shy Magsalin
Shy Magsalin is a passionate theatre maker who has studied and worked with some of the best companies in the world. Is Australian theatre culture strong enough to keep a talent such as hers from leaving our shores permanently? Shy Magsalin- To keep you really hungry keeps you inspired to keep learning Madam Fling Flong’s is a favourite little haunt of mine. Over the top of Sonis on King Street in Newtown, it’s tucked away enough not to... Read More
Why crowd funding?
Any creative or socially innovative person will tell you that there is often a tremendous support for their idea from friends, family and like minded people within their networks. That same person may talk of the struggle they have faced to raise the funds needed to make their dreams a reality and how hard it is to market and continually run fundraising initiatives to fund their projects. Through crowd funding, we aim to bring those passionate people... Read More
Artist Profile: Rich Berndt
Over ten years ago, Richard Berndt left the country to pursue his dreams of becoming a rock star in the big city. The goal posts may have shifted, but the journey is no less fulfilling. Read More Like my style? Enjoy the content? Contact me if you need custom content created or marketing help! Read More
Artist in Profile: Ryan Linnegar
The beauty and darkness of Ryan Linnegar is explored time and again through his photography and lyrics. But who is this poet, musician and artist really? The Courthouse Newtown is not your usual choice for conducting interviews if a journalist and I soon start to understand why. Here I am sitting in front of a rather nervous Ryan Linnegar with the cursory jug of Coopers Pale at the ready whilst I sit there trying to test levels on my Sansa music... Read More
The Thylacines- Taking a Bite Out of the Sydney Music Scene
Imagine if you knocked on a door and there before you was a sweet little old lady with a quietly elfin smile above a lace collar and cable knit cardigan. Imagine she asked what you wanted in a smoked encrusted Scottish brogue but didn’t wait for the answer. Instead, as your lips part she is grabbing at your collar, pulling your face to her knee and just at the moment you think you will wet your best undies in fear of the blood nose you surely know... Read More
Sydney Music Scene Study
In response to the purchase of the Excelsior by Merivale and the perceived decline of viable music venues in Sydney, myself (Rebekah Lambert) and veteran indie rocker about town Rich Berndt devised and conducted a survey about the state of live music in Sydney. The responses were collected via Survey Monkey through publicity on online channels- notably this website and interested social media groups- February 2011 until July 2011. We collected 137... Read More
Case Study: The East Village Hotel Website Build
Background: In an ever increasing environment of competition in the functions, hotel and restaurant arenas, The East Village Hotel were seeking low cost devices to showcase their hotel to the general public and offer a way for each market to obtain the information they needed in a timely fashion. The website was hard to navigate, unable to be updated easily and had no way of capturing who was requesting information. Objective: To provide the hotel... Read More
Puppet on a Shoestring: The Story of Birthing a Puppet Film
From moving to script to actually getting things done is a pretty hard process. It is rewarding though. Time consuming, at times very overwhelming, and punishing because you finish on task and several more sprout up like snakeheads on Cerberus. I am learning as I go along. Music and Sound Anyone who has ever done anything remotely linked to sound will tell you if you screw up the volume or the mix, it just won’t work in your favour. Thankfully,... Read More
Musicians are doing it for themselves
Sydney has certainly moved to a brighter future in the music scene since the 2000’s when poker machines ruled, entertainment licences cost venues a kidney and bookers chose bums on seats over quality, but the scars still linger. Audiences are still not brave enough to trust venues to walk in and take pot luck, some bookers persist in fragmenting bills and not knowing the style of music that gets played and venues and bands collectively barely break... Read More
7 Years of brainmates with Adrienne Tan
What led you to first get into Product Management? My first role after University was at On Australia. On Australia was a joint venture between Microsoft and Telstra, one of the first Internet Service Providers in Australia. On Australia was essentially in start up mode and I was fortunate to be able to help define the (now BigPond) product. It seemed natural to move into Product Management. After my role at On Australia as the Billing and Credit... Read More
Australian TV: When will you grow up?
Offspring is getting rave reviews, Twitter is alight with Hayden’s eviction from Masterchef and I almost choked on a mouthful of Friday night beer when I saw the ads for the new reality show “Dinner Date” which looks like it should be named “The Bogan BBQ Master Wants a Wife (and a spot on a talent show)”. I just wonder when we will see some really brave, challenging TV come out of Australia. And why, when someone is able to introduce... Read More
The Crackheads: Profiles!
Maybe I spent way too much time in the dating industry to truly shake it off, but when it comes to getting to know my characters, there is nothing I like to do better than prop them up on the singles couch and ask them what they think their answer would be to common dating profile questions. Original Crackhead Age: What’s it to ya? Location: Sunny fuckin’ Redfern Height: Does it matter when ya on ya knees?! Body Type:... Read More
Socialising with Crackheads? Ewww!
Social media makes life so much bloody easier for creative people. It really does because you can share your ideas, have a platform to publish, and have a way of reaching a much wider audience than what you would usually do. For The Crackheads, I have spent a lot of time wrestling with the idea of character driven versus marketing driven content and what is best for the promotion, and also what is best for me as a creative person. I could be all “marketing... Read More
My inner child is actually a dirty, filthy bunch of puppets
As a kid, I was the one with the bowl haircuts of fine brown hair, gauche decorated strings hanging from my glasses, pencil in hand writing stories as Miss Piggy or Kermit was tucked under the free arm. I made ball-gowns for my felt tips out of tissue and cello tape and had them dance all night with eye toting socks whilst Barbie stayed dusty on the toy shelf. I preferred wood and wool to plastic and metal. I spent a lot of time willingly inside cardboard... Read More
Kinds Of Blue Interview
Successful Project Kinds of BluePozible was recently honoured with supporting a unique artistic and writing project, Kinds of Blue, which deals with what it is like for people living with depression. This amazing book is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand, who loves someone with depression, or struggles with depression themselves. We would like to thank Karen (the creator) for taking time out of her schedule to talk to Pozible about... Read More
We’re making things Pozible!
You may have noticed some changes in the wonderful world of crowd funding recently, the most notable being FundBreak’s name change to Pozible. Rest assured loyal fans, followers and friends, your favourite crowd funding platform is still at heart the one you know and love. It’s just that we have decided to up the ante a little at our HQ and made a decision to make things Pozible! Confused? Let’s take some time out to demystify our new identity. We... Read More
Pozible and “Crowdfunding for Good”
Pozible co-founder Rick Chen had the privilege to be a part of a panel discussion in Melbourne alongside StartSomeGood and the Awesome Foundation. Here, in front of a full house, Rick not only spoke about Pozible but also gained some valuable ideas and insight for the Pozible team and community at large on how to gain funds we’d like to share. Talking on a panel is just so damn delicious when you are with co-contributors like these… In their... Read More
Band Photos: How not to bore people to death
Having recently flicked through the TripleJ Unearthed site in search of some new indie bands to follow, I have realised that musicians probably operate a secret society, complete with five point starter kits for their bio photos. Why do I say this? Well, why else would almost every photo feature the same five key points? The dreaded five key points Choose exotic location such as graffiti wall, brick wall, wooden wall or something which features wall... Read More
How to…get experience when you don’t have credentials
Not everyone fits into the university world. For whatever reason, there are some of us out there that really cannot gel with the whole idea of education at the higher level, yet have boundless enthusiasm, talent and continuous self learning to offer the right creative place. But often, without a degree you won’t be given the opportunity to even sit for an interview, let alone gain much needed tangible experience. So what do you do if this applies... Read More
No excuses, no, none
It’s really easy to make things overly complicated so you don’t have the chance to succeed. In my time, I have heard from band members who wouldn’t set up a MySpace because the lead singer wanted to “consult with a MySpace employee first”, worked with a film maker who spend so much time on researching a project and carrying on with self indulgent fantasies they only have journals of plans and no films to show for it and gotten in my own... Read More
How to… build a Product Roadmap
“How to build a Product Roadmap” Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted for my topic, “How to build a Product Roadmap” as the No. 1 topic of ProductCamp Sydney 2011. Following Nathan Moyes’ keynote speech touching on the difference between the “slate”, a shorter-term delivery plan, and the product Roadmap, a more fluid longer vision, we kicked-off the unconference with a Q & A about Product Roadmaps. Encompassing the 50 or more... Read More
How to…Reward your supporters
Issuing rewards for support of your project is part and parcel of having a successful project on Pozible. But it can also be one of the hardest things to work out for you and your project group prior to launch. In this “How to…” the Pozible team share a few tips and tricks that will make setting your rewards a hassle free process! Every little bit counts One of the most common mistakes made on Pozible is setting the rewards limits beyond... Read More
How to… Inspire Contributors in Crowdfunding
How to…inspire contributors on Pozible So you have your wonderful idea bubbling away in the back of your mind, and now you need the funds for it to reach the next stage of its development. You stumble across Pozible and know this is the right place to gain your funding. So, how do you make the most of your time on Pozible? By inspiring contributors! Here are a couple of tips and tricks on how to help make that inspiration flow! FIRST and FOREMOST:... Read More
Street Dreams: A documentary of hope
This is not a usual working day, even for Pozible. I am staring into the abyss of a computer screen, with Skype pouring out the story of Mike and Jason, two Adelaide based film makers, and their latest project, Street Dreams. Mike has been kind enough to offer Pozible an interview before he and Jason leave for Asia, where their journey of truly capturing the stories of young Asian sex workers begins. Is there a little bit of admiration and awe... Read More
We’re going to ProductCamp!
In this special edition of brainmates eMuse, we take a look at ProductCamp Sydney – the annual unconference for Product Managers next Saturday the 4th June 2011! Jam packed with input from Product Managers just like you, this unconference caters to all Product Management professionals and invites discussion, debate, presentation and shared learning as part of the unconference format. The Details What: ProductCamp Sydney Where:News limited,... Read More
All you can ever be is yourself
I recently had an incredibly delightful client of mine during a persona discussion lay something on me that a lot of us here in marketing land forget- all you can ever be is yourself and if you are trying to be something else, people can spot it. So what do we risk when we are caught up in our own concepts and perceptions? A lot… and here’s why. My firm belief is every single product ever created has a market, an audience. The reason it exists... Read More
