Penelope Trunk

How to blog

Workplace news you cannot use

Posted to: How to blog | Productivity | Women
January 25th, 2010
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I collect data points constantly, and I index them by topic, and I always hope that they will come together in an interesting, useful way. Lots of times, that doesn’t happen, and I  just have to throw ideas away, because I have a rule for myself that I have to be useful in every post.
But today [...]

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How to make yourself more likable

January 6th, 2010
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I am back with the farmer.
This probably is not surprising to you, because admittedly, it is absurd to be engaged one day and not engaged the next day. But there are exacerbating factors, and basically, the way I got him back was to be more likable.
I have spent most of my career overcoming my lack [...]

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My birthday post

Posted to: How to blog
December 10th, 2009
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It's my birthday. I'm going to give a gift to myself today. I'm going to post five posts that make me happy.  I hope you will like reading them. I hope you haven't read all of them already.
Also, maybe in the comments section, you will post your favorite post back to me. And tell me [...]

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What makes a blog successful?

Posted to: How to blog | Productivity
November 17th, 2009
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I have always thought that blogging is a way to reach your career goals. It’s hard to write a blog if you don’t have a goal. You need to know what blogging success looks like to you, so you know what you're aiming for.
Like most goals in life, my definition of blogging success has shifted [...]

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Blogs without topics are a waste of time

Posted to: Finding a career | How to blog
October 6th, 2009
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Stop thinking that you are such an incredibly wide-ranging thinker with so many interests and insights that you cannot be pinned down to just one topic. The top bloggers are all wide-ranging thinkers. That’s why they are interesting. The more information and angles you can draw from, the more interesting your insights are.
I challenge you [...]

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All-new launch for my company. Hooray!

Posted to: Entrepreneurship | How to blog
August 25th, 2009
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My company just launched, all-new, at BrazenCareerist.com. For those of you who have been asking for the past year: "What's your business model?" You can read about it on TechCrunch. If  you want the full pitch, you can read the press release, (and you should know that all last week, when I wasn't blogging, I was [...]

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How to decide how much to reveal about yourself

Posted to: How to blog | Knowing yourself
July 21st, 2009
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People ask me all the time how I can be so honest about my life in my blog. They want to know how I can write about marriage, sex, abortions, or running out of money over and over again. It’s an endless list really, of the stuff I write about that people can't believe I’m [...]

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Conflict of interest doesn't apply to blogs (another reason newspapers are dying)

Posted to: How to blog | Journalism
May 28th, 2009
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Why is anyone concerned that I tell you who is paying me when I write about something?
Every time I write about a person or a company it’s a conflict of interest. Because I want to be on their radar. It’s good for me. And the same is true for every other intelligent blogger because that [...]

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Tips for coping when your startup is out of cash

May 15th, 2009
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My company is running out of money again. Well, really, it already happened. But it’s happened so many times that I am sort of used to it. It's a routine. You may recall that part of the routine is not paying my electric bill. But there is more.
1. Focus on something you can control.
You might [...]

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How to write a blog post people love

Posted to: How to blog
May 13th, 2009
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People always ask me why I have an editor for my blog posts. The big reason is that I don't want my posts to suck. But what he does more than anything else, is make sure that my posts adhere to a set of five rules. And if the post does not adhere, he [...]

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How to blog about a co-worker (or someone else close to you)

Posted to: How to blog | Office Politics
April 27th, 2009
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What you know the most about is what you can offer the most insight about. And you probably know that telling stories is always more compelling than talking in generalities. But if you tell stories, you need people to be in the stories. So if you want to write insightfully, then using stories about people [...]

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Reality check: You're not going to make money from your blog

Posted to: How to blog | Journalism
April 21st, 2009
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Almost everyone should forget about making money directly from blogging. It's so unlikely that it's a total waste of your time trying. I am actually shocked at how ubiquitous the idea is that blogging is a get-rich-quick scheme. Or even a get-rich-slowly scheme. It's not. Blogging is a great career tool for creating opportunities for [...]

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Where I’ll be speaking in March, and check out my weekly radio show

Posted to: How to blog
March 10th, 2009
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People always ask me when they can hear me speak. Most of the time the events are closed to the public. Like, the American Bankers Association, or the Public Relations Society of America. But this coming month I happen to be speaking at a lot of places that you can get tickets to. So, here’s [...]

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Here's what's rising from the grave of traditional PR

Posted to: How to blog | Journalism
February 24th, 2009
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I love RealSelf. It's a site that educates women about choices for looking younger.
I have written a lot about how anti-aging information is essential for managing one's career. Aging is not equal in the workplace. Women are penalized much more heavily than men. So women can gain power in the world through knowledge of the [...]

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Solve most of your problems by solving just one

Posted to: How to blog | Productivity
January 30th, 2009
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This month I broke my record for the most traffic to my blog. Ever. About 375,000 page views. Hooray. Ironically, I spent most of the month garnering high-traffic by writing about what a hard time I've been having. So I want to take a day to pat myself on the back, because if I only [...]

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8 Blogs I read when I'm stressed about funding my company

Posted to: Entrepreneurship | How to blog
January 29th, 2009
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People ask me all the time, "What blogs do you read?" The answer is that I read different ones at different times. It's a mood thing, I think. I could give you my favorite blogs for finding cool research, or my favorite blogs from my friends, or my favorite fashion blogs for when I don't [...]

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Penelope Trunk's 18 Best Posts of 2008

Posted to: How to blog
December 28th, 2008
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The process of picking the best posts of 2008 is actually very subjective. But I do think that year-end lists are a good way to look at the conversations we have had this year, and how our thinking has changed both personally and collectively.

Posts about my divorce weren't my most popular, but I learned [...]

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Startups are still fulfilling, even though getting funding in a recession stinks

Posted to: Entrepreneurship | How to blog
December 15th, 2008
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I can always tell when things are really falling apart for me by how many days in a row I wear the same outfit. Last week, I wore my I'm-a-successful-CEO outfit four days in a row. In case you need a visual, it is black all over with ruffle near the neck – a little [...]

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Finally, a new blog design. I'm very excited.

November 24th, 2008
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I was thinking that a new blog design would be frivolous, and I should just write good posts. But then I ran the post about my new headshots, and the comments section was filled with people saying how much they hate the photo on my blog masthead.
That photo is from a time when I was [...]

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Good blogging is simple: Write good posts (and be thankful)

November 19th, 2008
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In the middle of 2007, I was interviewed by Stephane Grenier for his book, Blog Blazers. The book came out this week, and it's a nice resource for understanding the approach top bloggers take to their trade. (Examples of interviews include Seth Godin, Steve Rubel, and JD Roth.)
I am publishing my own interview here, [...]

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