What do you feed a hungry ego? Pens!

Blogs are great for the ego. Here on Just Frances, I rule the content; it’s all about me and I can say anything I want. (I will always aim for a PG or PG-13/12A rating, however.) Those who know me well know that I’m a bit of a megalomaniac. Those who don’t know me well probably assume that I am. In fact, I admit that I am.

As part of that megalomania, I have a not-so-secret fantasy to be a world-renowned social media go-to girl where my blog is quoted in leading media outlets around the world and is one day found on Technorati’s “Top 100 Blogs” list along with Gizmodo and Boing Boing. But that’s a fantasy I don’t see happening any time soon!

But a few weeks ago someone asked what I was doing to build exposure to my blog and I realised that I wasn’t doing anything. I include the URL in my email signature line; I post stories to my Facebook and Twitter accounts; I mention it in passing to family and friends; a few people link to my blog from their blogs. But that’s it. I wasn’t actively “doing” anything to help my cause.

I started to realise that as a communications professional – one who hopes to study the impacts of social media on modern society for her master’s dissertation – I really have no excuse for not working to gain more exposure for my blog. I mean, I have the know-how; I can market the heck out of myself if I’d just let my ego convince my self-esteem that I’m pretty awesome. After all, I am made with 100% pure awesomeness!

And so, I ordered pens! I found a vendor who would do a small batch of pens with my own graphic for a very reasonable price and ordered 100 of the little guys. They were meant to be printed so that the logo was right-side-up when the pen was held in the left hand, but (sadly) they arrived printed for right-handers. I’m a bit frustrated by this misprint but have sent a message to the vendor to see about rectifying the issue. I’m too excited to wait, however, so am announcing their (misprinted) arrival now!*

So here’s the deal: For this plan to work, I need to get these pens into the hands of others so that more people visit Just Frances! If any of my faithful readers would like a couple to pass on to their friends or random strangers, let me know and I’ll get some out to you. Of course, you should keep one for yourself, too. You can use the contact form at the top of the blog or pop me an email if you know my address, but speak soon; supplies are limited!

Help me fulfil my egocentric desire to become a social media maven. You know you want to!

* Depending on what the response from the vendor’s customer service department is, I may delay handing out pens until left-handed ones arrive. Stay tuned for an update! (But feel free to put in your request for pens now!)

UPDATE: The vendor is re-doing the pens with the “left-handed” logo I’d requested, but I get to keep the “right-handed” pens, too. This means I have twice as many pens, but also means you can request the style you’d prefer!