I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Been busy working o a project set to launch in September. It’s called Love Bomb. See here. In the meantime, check out the Love Is A Verb podcast with Lauren Herrera, where I talk about self-love, disability, Numerology and intuition. http://www.laurenherrera.com/andreamai
For more info on Numerology, see my site www.andreasnumber.com
Love and Blessings,
Andrea x
No matter what kind of business you own, there’s one thing that can really help boost the public perception of your brand. It’s an oldie, but a goodie, and that’s press coverage. While social media platforms have become the norm in marketing practices, there’s nothing like press coverage to boost your credibility. Because in the age of social media, anyone can open a Facebook or Instagram account; being featured in a magazine takes more effort, but it can have its long term effects.
However, getting the attention of a journalist isn’t an easy task. They are bombarded by emails everyday. On average journalists write one story per day, but they get over a hundred emails daily from PR firms and companies all competing for attention.
So what’s a new entrepreneur to do? Hire a PR professional? Well, if you have a ton of cash to bankroll this costly approach (a minimum $5000 per month on retainer), maybe. But the truth is, you are the best person to represent your brand because you know all about it.
Sure, maybe you’re thinking, but I want coverage in Oprah or Forbes. You have to work your way to get there. Media loves media. You can’t expect to get on a major mag without having been covered before. So start small.
There are courses on the internet about how to do your own PR. But if you are a decent writer, you can write your own articles and get it published too. There are a ton of independent magazines that are hungry for content to fill their digital pages. All you have to do is to find the ones that are a good fit for your story and pitch them an idea. Sounds simple, but there’s one thing you need to know first.
Regardless of whether you write your own story, get a journalist to write about you, or even if you do hire a PR company. If they say yes to your pitch, you’ll be expected to submit high-resolution photos to match your story. Unless you are dealing with a major magazine with big budgets, they won’t be sending over a photographer to cover your story. So before you pitch a story, make sure you have some magazine-worthy photos to accompany your pitch.
Running a business, you should budget photography as a cost of doing business. Having an image that conveys the essence of you and your company is priceless. So hire a professional who knows what they are doing. Here are 3 types of images you need to get:
Regardless of the kind of business you have, you will need a good headshot. You’ll be using this photo many times over, so getting it right is crucial.
You’ll also want shots to give your story context, to show what kind of business you have. Perhaps a shot of you at your desk. Or in your shop or office. Get some candid shots of you and your company at work.
And of course, if you sell products, get good, clean product shots. Products should be photographed with a pure white background that is editorial-ready. If you sell a service, get shots of your company performing the service.
Once you have these images, you’ll be ready to go and get the press you want!
Want to work with me on creating your VISION? What’s your LEGEND? How do you want to SHOW up in the world? An image is the most POWERFUL way to convey your MESSAGE. I want to share your VISION through photographs. Let’s talk about it. I’m based in Toronto, but I can travel to where you are.
Some time ago, I had my photograph taken by a professional photographer. I had my makeup all done up by an artist and she styled my hair with loads of dry shampoo. Though I looked great and the pictures looked nice., over time I felt like these pictures didn’t reflect me anymore. During the session I was asked to hold a big smile and and do these bizarre poses that are supposed to make me look good. While it all looks good on paper, my photos didn’t feel authentic.
Now I am a photographer and I don’t do any of the above. I don’t use a make up artist. I don’t ask for smiles or weird poses. I might give a bit of direction or suggestions, but they are done at the client’s free will. Heck, I’ll even admit for my own self-portraits, I’m on third-day hair! Tire’s something about this lack of pretension, of hiding behind hair and make up that FREES the SPIRIT. I shoot from the HEART. It’s a dance we’re doing, just me and you with the camera. And thats when I get YOU at your most BEAUTIFUL and REAL. Check out my portrait portfolio and rate card.
Today I am just f feeling super grateful and blessed. Though Spring so far has been cold, I found these blossoms in Kensington Market the other day. The colour is just so pretty. My thought for today is about Self-Love. Love yourself so that other can love you too. This is important. We talk about self-care a lot and refer to the Oprah’s analogy like if you were on an airplane and the oxygen mask fall out, you need to put on your mark first before you help others. But Self-Love, what is it? It’s a feeling of love and respect towards yourself, accepting yourself for who you are, with its gifts and flaws. Defending yourself when others try to bring you down. It’s necessary to speak out. If you fear that others will reprimand you for it, there is something missing. You are still looking for the approval of others to be ok with yourself. It is completely possible to speak out and still be nice. You don’t have to be rude or angry if others offend you. Your outer world is a reflection of your reality from within. Your love for yourself will reflect outwardly. The funny part is that by loving yourself, others will love you too and that in turn is what keeps our planet from utter chaos. Because if you love yourself, you will be sharing your gifts with the world, without fear and complete confidence that what you have to offer is outmost value. Because at the end of it all, we are a collective. We are all the same on the most basic level.
Sorry I’ve been away fora bit. I’ve been on a crazy awesome journey where I met Prince, His Royal Badness. A huge lesson that I think we;re missing in the spiritual community is EMBODIMENT. We get so caught up nurturing our spirituality that we forget that we need to face the real world. The physical being, the temple that keeps us here on Earth. I had been so busy in my own inner world that I forget to pay attention to what’s outside of me. One thing among followers of The Secret and Law of Attraction that I think is really missing in the guidance is that it’s not enough to just feel it or believe it. You must EMBODY it. You must take your emotions and desires into your physical being and that is when magic happens. Take inspired action. Don’t sit around waiting. It really doesn’t work that way. We’re not in a place where thinking it into existence occurs easily. It must be met with action to drive it forward. Life is a SHOW for us to PLAY our our DREAMS. Live your life like it’s a movie you want to watch. What are you waiting for? You only get to be in THIS life once.
Photography is one of the most powerful ways to move your forward to becoming the person you wish to be. Because it helps you to EMBODY our DREAMS. Playing out the role you desire and capturing it for yourself to see reinforces your desired self-image. I’d love to create your VISION with you. I’m in Toronto, but I can travel to where you are. Contact me here.
P/S There really is life after you leave this world!
Some thoughts I’m having tonight… In the last couple of weeks, I’ve decided to live my life completely in the moment and follow where the wind takes me. I’ve spent much time developing my business life and chasing results that are out of my control. I’ve decided to focus solely on the art itself. It’s why I started it to begin with. The purpose of my work is expression of myself and something that greater than me. Something calls me to do it because there is a need for it in the world. Which is why I’m here. I’m living spontaneously. I do a shoot because I feel like it. I write a story because there;s something to say. You can’t tell me when to create. Because it’s not me who is creating. I can only do my best work when I’m in the flow. I’m just the vessel for inspiration (in spirit) to be expressed. Anything less is a waste of time. I no longer question my urges anymore. Because I realized these are God-given soul desires that have to be listened to. Everything else will take care of itself because it’s divinely ordained timing.
It’s been so busy, that I forgot to post. Well, actually I knew, but couldn’t get around to doing it. I’ve been busy reviving my other website. For those of you who don’t know, I’m also a Numerology practitioner. I’ve been working with clients doing readings for the past three years. I’ve decided to make that area of business more passive, so that I can focus more on creating more art and writing. Readings do take a lot of energy from me as much as I enjoy doing them. There;s other work I need to explore.
I’m so excited to launch my new website, focusing on Life Purpose Numerology. It’s really taken Numerology to help me break free from my creativity rut and burn out. I used to be very attached to the results of my work, and it hurt me creatively. I now work intuitively, which gives me endless sources of inspiration and energy to do the work. I recently listened to a story from David Icke about the passing of Prince. He said that he had the chance to meet him and he could sense the energy around him, how limitless he was. Prince embodied the music, which made him prolific in his work. I feel similarly about my photography work. The truth is everyone can tap into this energy if they are in tune with their intuition. Both creativity and intuition are one in the same. But as a society we try to make creativity something academic and rigid. We judge the work and the creator. And as creators, we judge ourselves accordingly.
Prince certainly fulfilled his Life Purpose in his lifetime. I would like to help anyone out there who wishes to follow their purpose. Part of being able to find and follow your purpose is knowing yourself really well, and understanding the complexities of who you are. I’ve created a series of reports, called Your Life Purpose Report to help you using the powerful tool of Numerology. If you’d like to explore this further, head on over to my other website (decorated with my photographs!).
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I’m excited to share something that I’ve been wanting to get for a very long time. It’s a personalized embosser. I’m a lover of classy-looking stationery and this is it! I was over the moon about finding a vendor that does fully customized plates. When I placed my order, they sent an email asking me to submit my design. I was expecting that they would ask me to select a design from a catalog that they would personalize for me. But no, they said I could put my own logo and choose my own font for the design. I received the order in about a week’s time. It came with a case for storage. This is a hand-held version, which is great for saving space. I read a lot of reviews before buying and was concerned, but it turned out that there was nothing to worry about. The plates can be changed, which is really cool if I want more plates with other designs. My first attempts at using it was a failure because I didn’t install the plates properly, so it might account for some of the complaints I read on Amazon. It works brilliantly. I plan to use it for my packaging and sales documents. Some people use it for wedding invitations and napkins, which would totally work. I can also imagine using it on gift tags and stickers. It’s a really great gift for stationary lovers or the person who has everything. I made my order through Amazon, but if you’d like to check out this supplier, it’s a company called Imprue.
The other day, a friend and I were chatting about how much easier things get when you know yourself and you stick with what works. The conversation had stared about shoes and the fact that some of us need more support on our feet than others. I personally, cannot stand a shoe with too much structure. Simple ballet flats with less support is more comfortable for me than that with lots of support. My friend then mentioned that she had gotten a fashion consultation for what clothes work best for her. She said it made her shopping so much easier because she simply avoided the things she knew didn’t work for her and sought out the clothes that did.
I think in both career and business, it’s best to take some time to get to know yourself better and to figure out what solutions work best accordingly. There’s no sense in trying to force something to work when it just isn’t ideal for you. Working like this is working in resistance to who you are, rather than working to your strengths.
For instance, I learned of a typing system called Wealth Dynamics. It’s an archetypal system to figure out what methods of wealth generating is suitable based on your personality. I discovered that I am the Creator type, and that part of my challenge is learning to delegate tasks to others so that I can do more of the actual creative work. This made me realize how much I need to enlist the help of others to promote and sell my work. I’m currently in the process of creating systems in place to help me with this. But one aspect had bee missing until now: People who will help me generate buzz. This is why I have created an affiliate program for selling my work. Affiliate members will receive 20% commission on sales for helping me to reach customers. Interestingly, in the Wealth Dynamics profiles, the people whom I think are likely to do well with referral sales are the Supporter and Stars. Supporters love to connect with people and they are great at netowrking. And the Star is great at being an influence on others.
If you want to find out more about Wealth Dynamics, click here. I recommend finding out what type you are and working with it. Are you good at connecting with people, list building and generating web traffic? Maybe you’d like to join my affiliate program. I offer a great commission rate compared to other affiliate programs, and all you have to do is help me get the word out there about my work. To apply as an affiliate, go here.
Years ago, I worked in cosmetic retail and that was when I was introduced to aromatherapy. I was sent on a trip to Germany for product training where I learned about the many uses of essential oils.
Aromatherapy has the benefit of reaching past the blood-brain barrier to make an impact on your health and well being. It’s not just the scent that is working its magic, but the tiny molecules we absorb through inhalation that make a difference. Not only can it be used to enhance your mood, but it can also be used cosmetically to treat skin and address health issues.
But before you run out to buy oils and start using them, here are some basics you should know about using essential oils.
I really enjoy aromatherapy, as I have a large collection of essential oils. But I often come across unsafe practices of its use. I hope this will help you to get into aromatherapy and make the most of it. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions I could answer for you.
Another way you can enhance your mood at home is having beautiful artwork on your walls. Check out my photography prints here.
