blog design, blogging, coaching, consulting, support, WordPress, writing

Coach Leigh Ann Dickey

July 13, 2015 emmapalova Leave a comment

Coach Leigh Ann Dickey shares her passion for design & blogging, inspires others

Name: Leigh Ann Dickey

Occupation: registered respiration therapist, self-employed, website design

Education: associates degree in health sciences-respiratory therapy, certificate in health coaching from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Oct. 2014

Residence: Gainesville, Georgia

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI – Leigh Ann Dickey wanted to share her story of losing 35 pounds when she joined the nutrition school. Dickey started out with a page on facebook, Instagram and a blog on WordPress two years ago using tutorials and mentors.

“I developed a nice site,” she said.

Coach Leigh Ann Dickey loves helping people.

Dickey was offering a weight loss product. But when she sustained a head injury on her bicycle, Dickey took the site down.

Since she has always liked design Dickey wanted to master WordPress. She already had a great feather in her cap; 12 years of HTML coding. Dickey completely coded her animal charity site herself from the start.

She took a WordPress class to get up to speed in 2013 & 2014. Dickey joined the Learn to Blog in 2014, but found out that she already knew a lot of the stuff from the WordPress classes.

The biggest challenge of blogging for Dickey was targeting her niche.

“I felt tossed around,” Dickey said in a Skype interview last week. “I was posting and sharing trying to target my niche. I went all over the place.”

She tried health & fitness, business coaching and design. It wasn’t until recently she found that her real passion was teaching and coaching. So, Dickey launched her Soulpreneurs this week. Soulpreneurs is a membership site on the Genesis framework.

But, before that Dickey started a WordPress support group on facebook.

“It used to be enough to have a facebook page two years ago, but now you have to create a group,” she said.

Two years ago with a budget of $150, Dickey could increase traffic to her facebook page to 3,600.

However, two years in an online business is eternity.

“That was old school,” she laughed. “Start a facebook group not a page. Find like-minded people. Join other groups inside of facebook.”

Dickey offered a lot of advice for newbie bloggers. Number one on the advice list is determining your niche.

“It all starts with ourselves knowing what we enjoy doing,” she said, “And then turn that into business. People should ask themselves what is it that they enjoy doing all day long.”

According to Dickey, the advantages of realizing what you really like to do are the following:

You best will know a lot about it.
It will be easy to develop products and services around your niche or like.
Then you have to boil it all down to specific types that is; rather than pets narrow it down to dogs and then go further, different breeds and such.

In response to what she likes about blogging, Dickey was very spontaneous.

“I enjoy the process of creating that plays into my geeky side telling the story,” she said. “I enjoy helping people.”

Blogging was a life changing experience for Dickey who had suffered a head injury.

“Blogging helped me get past something and I relate that to overcoming obstacles in business and in life. It’s just human nature to get that feedback.”

The second part of Dickey’s story with more valuable advice will appear later this week. Stay tuned and feel free to comment with your advice.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Uncategorized

Heading to BlogHer ’15? So are we!

July 13, 2015 emmapalova Leave a comment

I wish I could go.

WordPress.com News

BlogHer ’15, one of the biggest and best annual conferences for bloggers, lands in New York City later this week, from July 16th through the 18th. You’ll find hundreds of passionate bloggers, workshops to hone every aspect of your blogging, incredible keynote speakers like Ava DuVernay and Gwyneth Paltrow — and us!

At our Happiness Lounge in the expo hall, you’ll be able to get one-on-one help with your WordPress sites. Staff from across Automattic will also be leading mini-workshops on some of the topics you care most about, and our “WordPress Insiders” panels bring multiple WordPress.com staffers together for informal panels to give you a range of takes on everything from tools to traffic.

The WordPress.com booth hums with activity at BlogHer ’14.

Interested? Here’s the complete schedule:

Friday, July 17

10 AM: WordPress Insiders: Our Favorite Dashboard Tools
11 AM: Express Yourself: Quick Tips for Customizing Your Site

View original post 136 more words

blogging, business, newsletter, women's

Emma Blogs newsletter for July

July 9, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

July newsletter is finally here

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

With all the 4th of July holiday activities I fell a bit behind with the Emma Blogs monthly newsletter that I absolutely love to design on super easy MailChimp. I wish everything was that easy. The newsletter features correspondent Emma Palova-Chavent, MD and fellow word press blogger for the month of July Coach Leigh Ann Dickey. Palova-Chavent, MD resides permanently in France and works at the emergency center in Dijon.

Coach Leigh Ann started blogging on WordPress two years ago when she hit 40 and lost 35 pounds.

“i wanted to share my story,” she said.

However, after suffering a head injury on a bike,she wanted to figure out where she was going with her life. Coach Leigh Ann took the site down and went into design.

For full story about Coach Leigh Ann Dickey follow EW Emma’s writings on http://emmapalova.com.

The feature story 50 years of Fallasburg preservation takes you back in time. There is still time to make plans to visit during the Fallasburg Fall Festival on Sept.19 & Sept.20.

The featured photo on the blog with the banner is downtown Lowell getting ready for the annual Riverwalk festival that starts today and runs through Saturday.

Emma Blogs runs a summer special 25% off on blog and web design. Just submit the email with the newsletter.

To sign up for the newsletter, fill out the form at the end of this message.

Enjoy your summer.

Emma & the EW team

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Uncategorized

In a Rout and a Romp, U.S. Takes World Cup – NYTimes.com

July 6, 2015 emmapalova Leave a comment

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/sports/soccer/womens-world-cup-usa-defeats-japan-to-win-title.html?_r=0&referrer=

Posted from WordPress for Android

blogging, celebration, community, editorial calendar quarterly, events, Uncategorized

Happy Independence Day

July 4, 2015 emmapalova Leave a comment

Happy Independence Day.

celebration, traditions

Happy birthday America

July 4, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

Celebrate Independence Day

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI- I love the Fourth of July holiday for many reasons. Most of all the Independence Day reminds me of my independence when I decided on my own free will to leave my homeland Czech Republic to pursue a better future in America.

Most of my dreams have come true and I am working on the ones that haven’t materialized yet. I am grateful to this great country that I have the freedom to express myself without censorship, that I can fly as high as I choose to, that I can be a woman entrepreneur.

While honoring the past in Czech Republic, I am moving ahead with life in the USA. Sometimes seemingly small steps lead to bigger victories. The path is not always straight, it winds and twists much like life itself. We now have deep roots in USA with the fourth generation already born here on the continent right at Bronson and Borgess hospitals in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

I trust that Josephine, 19 months old and the new guy will be fully bilingual in this ever-changing world. I know they will be able to travel to the old country to trace their roots and marvel at the European culture, try some Czech beer and the national dish; pork, dumplings and sauerkraut.

Have a burger, a Budweiser and a great holiday,

Emma and the EW team

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

health, science

A bow to technology

July 1, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

Parents get a 3D glimpse of baby boy

By Emma Palova and Maranda Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

I marvel at the strides the technology has made since my first-born child Emma in 1979. With no ultrasound yet available, we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the baby. We had no idea what it was going to be. I really didn’t even have names ready. Finally, I decided if it’s a girl, her name will be Emma.

“Mom, you have a girl,” the doctor said leaning over me.

I was overwhelmed with joy and surprise. And now the family saga continues with the next generation.

My son Jake with wife Maranda Palova have already enjoyed a 3D peek at their son. Maranda is in the eighth month of pregnancy.

Maranda Palova’s account of the 3D experience

Getting a 3D ultrasound is a luxury; I never had the opportunity with my first-born, Josephine. It gives you a small glimpse of what you can look forward to, and I was lucky enough to see my little guy in action.

It was difficult to get an image at first since he was moving so much. But finally we were able to get a good look at his precious face. My first thoughts were WOW how amazing!!!

I could immediately tell that he had a few of my families traits, and seen a resemblance to my brother Tony’s’ features as a child. It will be incredible to see him for the first time and be able to compare that 3D image to real life.

As the technologist scanned more of his body we were able to see that he was also breech (when baby’s feet or buttock are to be delivered first). He still has time to flip into the head down position, but this concerns me and makes me wonder if and when he will do it because there can’t be too much room to flip.

We were also able to see he was quite the gymnast already; he was bent at the torso with his feet to his head. He is quite the character.

I can’t wait to meet him for the first time.

The 3D images are produced by sending sound waves into multiple angles that reflect back into a program reconstructing the images into a three-dimensional image. 3D ultrasounds can enhance medical conditions in an unborn child, but are usually not medically necessary.

About the featured image: this is a 3D ultrasound image of an eight month old baby Pala.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

blogging, content writing, writing

Greenwich Meridian memoir update

June 26, 2015 emmapalova Leave a comment

The featured image is the Greenwich Meridian memoir on the screen surrounded by various memorabilia like the economy class menu of the Czechoslovakian Airlines. I flew with them in 1989 for my second immigration to the USA.

Blogging anchored, Greenwich Meridian memoir evolves forward

By Emma Palova

EW Emma Writing

Lowell, MI- Now, that I am firmly anchored in the blogging world with Emma Blogs, LLC, a portfolio of blogs, I resumed working on the Greenwich Meridian memoir in mid-May. The blogging part may seem like a detour to many, not to me. I feel like I can take the book to its finale. I didn’t have that feeling before.

It took me a year-and-a-half to set up the blogging portfolio under the umbrella of http://emmapalova.com. Fellow blogger Leigh Ann Dickey said it took her two years to prove herself. So, don’t believe the hype out there like “Get a blog in 60 seconds,” or in five minutes, in an hour or in a day. And definitely, don’t pay any money for that pitch.

It just doesn’t happen. It’s like saying you’re going to learn calculus in a day. You may get the template like you would get a college-ruled notebook to start your math, and then what? Do you start with fractions, trigonometry or double integer?

Of course you start with the About page in the world of blogging. After all, you know the best what you are all about. Add a picture, it’s worth a thousand words.

Many blogging colleagues out there don’t know what their niche or target audience are. How are they supposed to pick a theme? Should they post every day and what should they post to attract that ever elusive traffic?

Maybe Stephen King asked himself the same question before his big Carrie break, “What should I write about so I make it big?”

I know I ask myself that question every week before posting, “What am I going to post this week or what is the next chapter outline?”

Other than King, I always think about German Martin Luther posting 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517 according to the student custom. The theses were a catalyst to a change.

Blog posts carry those same signs of a changing world. A shorter, faster world of pixels that has no time for long “expose” articles. Readers want to know everything and immediately.

Without the “how to” knowledge, blogging can feel like sailing on vast seas after you lost your compass. You started out right, what next?

Stay tuned for more.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

blogging, editorial calendar quarterly, writing

Summer 2015 editorial calendar

June 25, 2015 emmapalova 1 Comment

Editorial/marketing calendar for July, August, September

Dive into summer fun with Emma

The editorial/marketing calendar for Emma Blogs is flexible and I invite anyone who wants to contribute whether with stories, photos or ideas.

As you can see the topics range from blogging to vacationing, and everything in between. I am looking forward to the new summer series, Living in the country vs. living in the city. I bet anyone can attest that both have their advantages and disadvantages. So, feel free to write about your take on where you live and why. It will be hilarious.

Kathleen Mooney's abstracts. — Kathleen Mooney’s abstracts.

Also sign up for Emma Blogs July newsletter for blogging/design tips and How to get story ideas and bring them to fruition.

July

Blogger of the month

Creativity

Independence Day

Vacationing

Summers in Czech

Riverwalk 9, 10, 11/local

Summer series

Living in the country vs living in the city

August

Summers in Czech on the ranch

Vacationing

Mom’s birthday

Lowell youth fair/local/Aug. 6-13

Summer series

Living in the country vs living in the city

September

Fall fest with Fallasburg village bazaar /local Sept. 1&20

Fairs/expo Brno

Socialist brigades for students and army

Summer series

Living in the country vs city

Schools/universities

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

events, history

50 years of Fallasburg preservation

June 21, 2015 emmapalova 2 Comments

Fallasburg Historical Society celebrates 50^th anniversary

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Fallsburg, MI- It was Leonora Tower of the Vergennes Cooperative Club who started the West Central Michigan Society in 1965 with Norton Avery. The goal was historical preservation of the Fallasburg village once a thriving village six miles north of Lowell.

In 1990, the society changed its name to Fallasburg Historical Society, but the same people remained involved. However, the society became bankrupt in 2006.

That’s when the current president Ken Tamke got involved.

One room school house, a museum for the Fallasburg Historical Society

“I grew up around there, visited my grandparents all the time,” Tamke said.

His grandparents, the Bradshaws owned the farm on Fallasburg Point, which is now a fancy development.

His passion for historical preservation runs in the family. His dad was involved in history preservation in Berkeley.

“I am a big fan of history,” he said. “Historic preservation is in my blood.”

So, basically, according to Tamke, the modern society grew out of a group of women from the Vergennes Cooperative Club. Also involved was Marcia Wilcox, former Vergennes Township supervisor.

John Wesley Fallass founded the village. — Fallass House 1842

I love the place,” Tamke said. “It’s a little hamlet that became forgotten.”

Truly, time has stopped here. The village sleeps its dream from the thriving 1800s.

Founded in the 1830’s by John Wesley Fallass. The village of Fallasburg includes 42 acres along the banks of the Flat River, the covered bridge, a schoolhouse, village cemetery, the Fallasburg Historical Museum and the Misner House Museum, the Tower House and a barn.

The Fallasburg Historical Society exists for preservation, restoration, and maintenance of the Fallasburg Village, as well as encouraging public support through education, sharing information, and hosting many events.

The one room schoolhouse is actually the museum where artifacts are stored. It is open during summer time on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Fallasburg village was listed as the Fallasburg Historical District in the National Register of Historic Place on March 31, 1999.

“There were initial problems with that, but it did go through and doesn’t give restrictions,” said Tamke. “We’re very proud of this. It’s an honorary designation.”

Now, the biggest project ahead of the society is fixing up the Tower House to give it a new purpose since it sits close to the North Country Trail.

The society received a grant from the Lowell Community Fund and Lowell Cable Fund. The roof got fixed. But, the kitchen, the bathroom and other interior spaces need to be restored. The financial estimate from 1999 to fix the Tower House was $100,000.

Charming annual Christmas party in the Fallasburg village

“We want to repurpose the building as a meeting place for the historical society, the Lowell Area Historical Museum and other community groups,” he said. “We hosted weddings at the school.”

The quaint village attracts couples to tie the knot, and hundreds of photographers. The restored barn was the Barn of the Year 2014. Also new markers have been placed by the covered bridge. It is the goal to have unified markers by each building.

Fallasburg events include the first and brand new village bazaar will be held during the Fallasburg Fall Festival in September, along with the vintage baseball tournament with the Flats team in the field.

Tents with crafts, food and arts will be set up by the Misner and Tower houses. All buildings will be open for self-guided tours without any admission.

“We’re not affiliated with the arts council, it will be a concurrent event, ” Tamke said.