Thanksgiving may be over, but I’m still in a very grateful frame of mind. A lot has to do with all of the great business advice I’ve gotten over the last year (big thank yous to Sinclair Ashley, Danielle LaPorte, Hiro Boga, Tim Brownson). And a lot has to do with the fact that the last eight months have been a downright work-a-palooza for me.
So I thought: why not get the sparkly holiday season started early and celebrate my gratitude for the work and my wonderful clients by giving some good stuff away?
I’d love for you to join me in the fun: my first-annual holiday giveaway for two of my most popular services.
All you have to do is tell me which service you’d love to win—and, most importantly, why—down in the comments section by midnight (Pacific) Tuesday, December 13, 2011.
Want extra elf points? Follow me on Twitter or Google+ then spread the word about the contest! Here are a couple of tweets/posts ready to cut-and-paste for you:
Hurry over to the holiday giveaway with @story_house and get a bright & shiny bio for your about page! http://bit.ly/tWK1UT
Hurry over to the holiday giveaway with @story_house and get a twinkling tagline for your business. http://bit.ly/tWK1UT
I’ll randomly pick two winners and let everyone know on Tuesday, December 20.
Happy Holidays!
Laura
Here’s what you could win!!
A Twinkling Tagline
You’ve got an amazing service or product, but its name alone isn’t enough to take the world by storm. You need an unforgettable tagline to give it oomph and sticking power.
What I’ll do
An in-depth call with you where we get to the core of who you really are, what makes you and your service unique, and how you’re going to change people’s lives.
What you’ll get
•Five soaring tagline options
•Help in picking the perfect one
•An MP3 of our call
If you were hiring me price: $350
Tell me why you’d love to get a tagline in the comments section below!
A Bright & Shiny Bio
If you’re the heart and soul of your business (president, bookkeeper, receptionist and everything in between), it is absolutely crucial to have an irresistible About page. People buy from people they like. I can make them like you by creating a real, compelling and totally you bio. (Read more on my take on what makes a good bio here.)
What I’ll do
An in-depth interview with you about your career, your beliefs, your accolades, your inspirations, and anything else that will make your bio sing.
What you’ll get
•A first-person bio that’s so good you’ll want to read over and over again to remind yourself how awesome you are
•An MP3 of our call
If you were hiring me price: $500
Tell me why an irresistible bio will make your heart sing in the comments section below!
Hurry! The deadline for making comments is midnight Pacific, December 13, 2011. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 20.*
I can’t wait to meet all of you!
*Winners’ services will be scheduled after January 16, 2012. “Very Official” contest rules here.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Because I do not have the objectivity to write this myself! I am rebranding with a new logo, and career services do not lend themselves to a snappy tagline. I’d love to offer you the CHALLENGE of a difficult industry to write for. A twinkling, terrific, totally awesome tagline would help my business and attract people who need help deciding what to do next with their lives-
Thanks for the contest-
Barb
Please enter my name for the “free bio” contest! I am a freelance web designer and these days, a lot of my job leads come through Linked In. People who have never meet me judge me by the bio they read on Linked In and/or my website. I’d love to sounds more professional.
I would love a bright shiny new bio. I am starting out selling handmade bags on etsy and I just don’t know how to describe myself. I am an engineer, a mom, a big nerd, ect, and I happen to love to sew . . . but other than loving to sew, nothing else necessarily recommends me to make you a handmade bag! I’m not sure what to include and focus on.
I’m in the prototyping and early marketing stages of starting my own research service after having two amazing kids (now 3-years and 9-months) and leaving an industry that’s not family-friendly. I’m good at what I do – but not so good at selling it! If I ask really nicely can I be BOTH winners? Pretty please? Ok – just the bio would be a huge help in building my online presence and convincing potential clients that my expertise isn’t just an academic curiosity – but a worthwhile investment.
Oooh, I’m struggling with which I want/need more, but let’s start with the Laura-created bio (because like the comment above, I’ve found LinkedIn to be the best tool for connecting with potential new business and current bio is looooong…and boring). I struggle to to position myself in a way that excites ME, so I can convince OTHERS of my value/pizzazz (financial-services-software-marketing-project-management just doesn’t have that sizzle). I’m in a cross section of two conservative industries (financial services & software) – so am looking for a bio that is real, while not being too out there given the industry/s I’m in. What a great service to provide these very useful tools – bio & tagline – thank you Laura!
HI Laura– What a generous and gracious way to say thank you and pay it forward! I would the opportunity to have you weave your magic on a twinkling tagline. I know I need to start with excellent content (no baffling them with b.s. here) but without a twinkling tagline, they may not stop long enough for me to let them know more about it! Thanks again!
Bright and Shiny Bio me up!!!! I loved poking around your site and really resonate w/ how you work. Methinks we might just be birds of a feather. I have two growing online identities…Mackley Productions, my online video production portfolio and http://www.anhonestmom.wordpress.com, my Honest Mom video blog. I’m realizing more and more that I don’t want or need these passions of mine to be mutually exclusive, so I’m trying to find ways to weave them together when appropriate and cross promote myself and my work and the things I love in both places. That said, the devil’s in the details. And I’ve long known that I need a better bio on my portfolio and have been meaning to clean up the about me page on the blog… SO. Even if I don’t win, which I SINCERELY hope I do, this has at least refreshed my motivation to spruce up my online persona!
I’d like to enter my name for the free bio giveaway. I could really use some assistance on telling my story in a concise way. I’m currently doing about 6 different jobs and my CFO told me that the reason I wasn’t laid off when they did a big RIF was because I’m a “utility” player. It can be very challenging to talk about this skill set in a resume and a good bio that can be used for cover letters would be really helpful: Our office is eventually going to close so it won’t matter how much I provide to my company. Thanks for offering such a great service!
Thanks so much to everyone for coming over and sharing your “wish list” with me! Can’t wait to meet two of you after the contest is over…
What a generous offer of something so, so valuable! I would like to enter/win so I can give it to my decorative artist husband who is also a 100% 50/50 dad to our 18mo and 3yo boys. He struggles so much with marketing, especially the “small” branding activities. He needs a tagline to use in conversation as much as on his online profiles. I’m too “close” to help – and he’s unlikely to ask for help from others. I’d love to put this in his stocking this year!
Oooh! What a tough choice. I’ll go for the bio–because I love to write, and can write, but when it comes to writing something snazzy and truthful about myself, I go blank. It’s scary!
*crossing fingers*
Please enter me in the Bright and Shiny Bio contest! A Bright and Shiny Bio is just what I need! I am working on (right now, this very minute!) improving my website and overall web presence for the business I started in July and have been struggling with my bio–with how to present myself! I’m spinning and getting stuck. I need some (excellent, expert) outside help!
I’m starting a new biz and I’m struggling to get a bio done that conveys everything I want it to. I’m so excited to help my future clients but I worry that a sucky bio page will turn them away. My own feelings are getting in the way of writing up something that is fantastic.
Thanks for being so generous with your talents!
I would love to win the Bio! I am working on launching my new photography business next fall and want my website to really stand out. I am really looking for clients who will hire me not only because they like my work, but because they like who I am and why I am doing this. It is really important for me to connect with people on that level and I just know that your skills will help me express myself in a true, genuine way.
The details: I really want to focus on my “why” and express it to the world in a shiny manner. My business will focus on boudoir and wedding photography because my goal is to help women find beauty in themselves and to document what … Bleh. See, I need help with this. lol
Thank you for offering this contest!
I would love to win a free awesom-tastic tagline. I am on a mission to own my competency and really bring what I have to the world. I know that branding is important but I want branding, particularly taglines to be authentic to me. I want a tagline that makes someone turn their head when learning about my business or resonates deeply in their soul. I know I am pulsating with some awesome things and want my tag line to reflect that :-) Thank you for the opportunity!
I’d love to win the bio because put simply I can spend hours writing about the same things and making lists about what to include and scrap it, repeat OR someone can put it together for me and decide what should be emphasized as I know I will be biased with it.
I was working at an event when the president of a PR agency walked up to me and asked, “Have you ever thought about working in PR?” I was stunned. Of course, I thought about it, but didn’t really see myself as a pr person. I hated the idea of “selling” something (or someone). But, surprisingly, that turned out to be my biggest asset. Now, I’ve launched my own PR agency. But I’m still wading in the shallow waters of branding. Your help with my tagline or my bio would go a long way in pushing my small agency into deeper waters. Bring on the dolphins!
@rainbowtooPR
A tagline! Because I had one but it got stolen by another company doing the same thing :(
I would love a passionate and emotion filled bio. After recovering from a sad and painful creative block, I have been blessed with many new innovations for my photography biz. I’m renovating my life, my logo, website/blog among many things to simplify and renew my dedicated free spirit. If I could have someone to offer the right words to display all the renewed love and inspiration I will be documenting in my art work. Thank you for your kind heart. Best. Danielle Fox
A Twinkling Tagline please! I would so love your help in encapsulating the best of what I have to offer in one sweet tagline that would say it all. I have a lovely new site and a bio written from an authentic place but no tagline to ice the cake. What a sweet giveaway.
I’d love a bio. Well, I’d love a tagline but I’m THIS close to getting that one on my own. So, I need a bio. I’ve been circling closer and closer to what it is that I do. I do spiritual life design with an edge. My people are soulpreneur types who either have or dream about a soul driven business. My role is to support them in all the resistance that gets in the way of making that happen. Eating sugar to avoid their fears. Their relationship with their mom that’s keeping them from playing bigger. Their shiny object syndrome that keeps them from getting much done.
Who I am is awesome, I know. And I’m a great, quick and effective coach. But when I write about me, I’m awkward and too close. I need help. Like I tell my clients, you miss so much about your life when you’re in your life. I’m missing a lot about my bio because it’s MY bio.
And thanks! xo
Thank you for this fun giveaway! I would love to win a tagline session, as I’m deep in the process of articulating my offerings to the world in a new way. I work in two seemingly disparate fields, theater and healing arts, and I’ve found that underneath the differences in the tools and the form there is a deep connection. That essential quality is what I’d like to infuse my whole business with, and I want to find a way to communicate who I am and what I offer to the clients who are the best match with my work.
Ultimately, I’d love to win because clear communication from my soul to my potential clients about what I’m offering will light the spark in the clients who can most benefit from my work to reach out and get the support they need.
A bright shiny bio sounds like a perfect Christmas present.
I am invisible with my current bio. While I am deeply accomplished and help many people with my work (several thousand subscribers to a blog, 10K+ twitter followers who care about innovation, a critical acclaimed book and several more in cue, an HBR writer for god’s sake, and so much more), people really struggle to describe me to the next person. At best, I get “smart cookie”. At worst, I get silence. In order for these ideas I care about to spread, I need to have a crisp way for people to describe me.
Help. In return, I promise to showcase it to my community in full transparency of the problem and the solution.
Hi Laura (and team) –
I founded Tech By Superwomen this year as a platform to connect and celebrate community-minded tech stars and promote and share our stories.
I would love to get your expertise to further crystallize and advance the story of my journey and this movement.
I’m ready for a Story House Creative bio makeover :).
Thanks for the consideration.
The Penn State Engineering Ambassadors would love to win a twinkling tagline to help others to connect with our mission to recruit more women into science and engineering fields! We were just discussed at the White House on Friday, Dec. 9 as Champions for Change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVszv2p6VJs, but we need help with branding ourselves to others. We want to inspire more Universities to take up our cause and a twinkling tagline might help with just that! Thanks for your consideration!
wow! This giveaway is as creative as what you do! I’ve love a new bio, or even a 3rd person perspective on how to better market myself. I’ve only recently finished college and began working. While I’m still trying to figure who I am and where I want to go, a conversation with you might be a great way to narrow down exactly who the heck I am!
Thanks again for this great Christmas Gift
Wow…thanks to EVERYONE for coming over and submitting your comments for my little holiday giveaway. It makes me all giddy to have you here and hope no matter who wins I get to know each of you better. I’ll announce the winners next Tuesday (the 20th) right here on the blog (subscribe via RSS below if you like).
Thank you again…who knew I’d feel even more grateful after holding the contest? I owe it all to you!
xo
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