A Blogging and Social Media Secret: Butt OUT of Chair

I know, you're all thinking, "Lee, you got it wrong, it's 'butt IN chair' because you have to write your books, create your art, make your products. You have to create your "real estate" before you try to sell it, right?

Well, yes. You do need that "butt in chair" time.

But for your blogging and social media efforts to truly pay off, you need to get your butt OUT of the chair, too.

You need to get out of the house and go to some events. Meet some people. To borrow a phrase from social media guru Greg Pincus, let those "happy accidents" occur.

Here's a double example of what I'm talking about:

This past weekend, the Los Angeles Region of SCBWI had it's annual "Writer's Day" conference. I went, and decided to wear my blog logo t-shirt.

Me and the amazing Eve Porinchak at Writer's Day,
photo taken by the wonderful Rita Crayon Huang

At the conference, a woman approached me because she recognized me (maybe my t-shirt, maybe my profile photo) and asked if I was the fellow behind "The Zen Of Blogging."

I smiled and said, "Yes, I am."

And then she said "Oh, The Zen Of Blogging saved my life!"

I asked her if she'd say it again, on camera. She graciously agreed:




So it was good for me to get out in the world, because lo-and-behold, I got an amazing testimonial out of it. On video, no less.

But look at it from the other perspective.

Diane Browning is an author with a new book coming out. She got her butt OUT of her chair, went to this event and had her book right there in her hands. She said hello to a blogger she recognized, and shared her appreciation for what he was doing.

And then, lo-and-behold, she got the opportunity to plug her upcoming book (Signed, Abiah Rose) and her blog on HIS blog. (Right here - you just saw it.) On video, no less.

So Butt OUT of Chair worked rather elegantly for both Diane and myself.

And it can work for you, too.

Namaste, and remember to keep it Zen.

Lee