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Your Mental Health Matters

As Mental Health Month comes to an end, my hope is that we do not stop focussing on our mental health. This year living through a pandemic has been tough on many of us. Many lost loved ones, lost jobs, and had to adjust to a new normal. Although we have found ways to connect utilizing technology, there are many that are left out of the technology bubble that would allow them even that bit of connection.

So, when we ask people how they are doing, let’s not rush by as if we do not want to hear the answer to the question. On the flip side, when someone that you can consider has your best interest ask you ‘how you are doing,’ let them know the truth. People can not help you if they do not know where you are hurting.

There are a few free options that are very beneficial to calming our minds. Meditation, yoga, journaling, and reading a good book come to mind. For some, they also enjoy exercise, gathering with neighbors, cooking, and so much more. Your charge today is to figure out what brings you peace. What is that you can do that will allow your mind to wonder ad not think about the trials and tribulations that you may be going through at the moment.

Remember, someone would love to be in your shoes even with the problems that you think that you have to carry on your shoulders.

Resources:

Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or go to the nearest emergency room.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En español 1-888-628-9454

The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.

Crisis Text Line

Text “HELLO” to 741741

The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S. The Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, connecting them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.

Veterans Crisis Line

Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255

The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that connects veterans 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a trained responder. The service is available to all veterans, even if they are not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can call 1-800-799-4889.

Disaster Distress Helpline

Call or text 1-800-985-5990

The disaster distress helpline provides immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. The helpline is free, multilingual, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency.

View the NIMH 5 action steps for helping someone in emotional pain infographic to see how you can help those in distress.

Find a Health Care Provider or Treatment

Treatment for mental illnesses usually consists of therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Treatment can be given in person or through a phone or computer (telemental health). It can sometimes be difficult to know where to start when looking for mental health care, but there are many ways to find a provider who will meet your needs.

Primary Care Provider: Your primary care practitioner can be an important resource, providing initial mental health screenings and referrals to mental health specialists. If you have an appointment with your primary care provider, consider bringing up your mental health concerns and asking for help.

Federal Resources: Some federal agencies offer resources for identifying health care providers and help in finding low-cost health services. These include:

National Agencies and Advocacy and Professional Organizations: Advocacy and professional organizations can be a good source of information when looking for a mental health provider. They often have information on finding a mental health professional on their website, and some have practitioner locators on their websites. Examples include but are not limited to:

State and County Agencies: The website of your state or county government may have information about health services in your area. You may be able to find this information by visiting their websites and searching for the health services department.

Insurance Companies: If you have health insurance, a representative of your insurance company will know which local providers are covered by your insurance plan. The websites of many health insurance companies have searchable databases that allow you to find a participating practitioner in your area.

University, College, or Medical Schools: Your local college, university, or medical school may offer treatment options. To find these, try searching on the website of local university health centers for their psychiatry, psychology, counseling, or social work departments.

Help for Service Members and Their Families: Current and former service members may face different mental health issues than the general public. For resources for both service members and veterans, please visit the MentalHealth.gov page Help for Service Members and Their Families page or the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ mental health page.

Reference: National Institue of Mental Health

How COVID Changed Marketing

Reflections From The Front Line

By: Morgan Johnson 

On May 24 we hosted The Front Line at Ponce City Market, a panel discussion that was open to
the public. At this ͞fireside chat͟ event we had a very interesting and insightful time where we had an opportunity to discuss some real issues of media in our society. For both topics we discussed that evening, each of the eight panelists had many unique and valuable points.  

The first topic on the table was the popular discussion of fake news vs. real news. The panelists that spoke about this with us were Yalanda Lattimore, Melissa Carter, Nicole Smith and Jovita Moore. Considering their different media backgrounds, a passionate discussion arose regarding their views on the definition of fake news, as well as their perceptions on where the responsibility lies. As far as the definition of fake news is concerned, the general consensus  seems to be that fake news typically comes with an agenda from the source putting it out.  

Different opinions started to become apparent when we tried to figure out the source of the
fake news issue. One half of the argument seemed to believe that deciphering real news was the responsibility of the audience, while the other half believed it was the job of the media to do their research before putting out media. 

Overall, I learned that it is important to be thoughtful in the media outlets we choose and be patient and trusting, instead of skeptical and  not willing to wait for accurate and thorough information.  


The second conversation revolved around social media for social good. Our four panelists, Karin
Lopez, Jen Cox, Lynn Medcalf, and Pamela Booker all use their social media platforms to make the world a better place. They offered very useful advice on how we can do the same. There I learned the importance of starting at home with something you believe in and then sharing it with the rest of the world. It is important that in the age of social media, that we use our  accounts to further society like the women we heard speak. 

Blogging and Vlogging – Just Do It!

 

As I speak with potential clients from around the world, it is amazing how similar we all are in the desires that we have to grow our businesses. One of the biggest challenges we see our entrepreneurs struggle with is deciding on the content that is appropriate for them to share. Generally speaking, there is always great content around you as it relates to your business. You simply have to bring that in to a format that others can consume as well.

Easy for us to say, right? We eat, breathe, and sleep content.

I think that you can acquire this skill in some part too. Create an avatar that is the ideal client for your business. Define everything that you can….age, life style, income, likes and dislikes. And then speak directly to this avatar. Think about how you bring this person value. How what your share could help them get past a pain point in their business or personal endeavors.

Then, start blogging and vlogging. Yes, blogging and vlogging. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be consistent.

Here are some interesting stats:

  1. 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep.
  2. The average word count of top-ranking content (in Google) is between 1,140-1,285 words.
  3. Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their efforts.

We are living in an era where your customers want to see you. They do not want to see your logo or your pushy, salesy content all of the time. You have to earn the right to sell to your customers in today’s marketplace. Blogging and vlogging will help in so many ways. Not only does it help you to keep current information out in the universe, but it also allows you to get seen as an expert by media.  If you continue to prove that you know what you are talking about, then you will start to see the fruits of your labor.

It is a marathon not a sprint! Start today and take a look at the results that come in month over month.

 

 

 

Enlight Can Boost Your Visual Storytelling Tremendously

Enlight-Announcement-FBDuring the month of May, we are reviewing apps that can assist in business productivity.  Enlight is one of the first apps that we decided to dive in to because visual storytelling is so important to incorporate in to your communication strategy. Visual content in social media is even more important now than it was even a few years back.  Millions of dollars are still spent on billboards, commercials, and print ads that no one is paying attention to anymore. People skip ads, tune out billboards, and do not pick up the newspaper as much as they used to.

Nothing like Enlight exists on the market. In addition to upgraded versions of existing tools, Enlight offers new features that, until now, were only seen on desktop editing software, if at all.”  said Zeev Farbman, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightricks.

As a small business owner or the director of a corporate communication department for a Fortune 500 company, it is vital to get your message in front of your target audience at the right time in their preferred method of communication. Developing ways to make your messaging visual can set you apart from your competition and help you actually catch the attention of individuals that need to hear your message, know that your brand exist, or be informed about what is going on within the organization.

Enlight can help even the novice take their images to the next level.  The tools are explained very well in the tour that they have set up within the app. We do think that you have to have some knowledge surrounding photo editing tool terms in order to hit the ground running with the app.  This should not deter the person that is not familiar with the terms. This individual should just

Here are the highlights of our review:

  • Enlight is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photo & Video category for $3.99.
  • This is perfect for the novice interested in improving the quality of their images.
  • The user interface is very easy on the eyes and makes the experience enjoyable.
  • We did not experience a lot of crashing with this app.

We are days away from launching The Mompreneur Lifestyle on SelsiTV

Are you ready to go on a journey with us through what it takes to be a mompreneur? We hope that you will watch our episodes, make comments, and ask questions that you would like to see us discuss.  We are not promising to have perfect video editing and sound effects, but we can assure you that we will have AWESOME content that any mompreneur can use immediately.

Stay tuned for additional sponsorship information and information for how you can be a guest on the show. Here is a preview of the intro:

Mompreneurship: Raw & Uncut

Please go ahead and subscribe to our channel in YouTube.  You can get right to it by clicking here.

Mom 2.0 Summit — We’ll Be There!

This is one of the top summits to attend for all things related to Mommy Blogging. As an official Mompreneur, we love connecting great brands with the mom audiences. This will be our first year attending this summit, but we are sure it will not disappoint.  The connections made at a summit like this will help us to better serve the needs of our clients.

Take a look at the intro video:

100 Days of Blogging

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It’s time to put what the experts say to the test! You probably hear all of the time that ‘content is king and consistency is vital.’ So, Selsi Enterprises has come up with a simple project. We are going to put out great content on a consistent basis for the next 100 days.

We would like to have some of you join us in this effort. The more people that join in, the better we will be able to test our theory. Leave us a comment if you are interested in diving in with us. When you share your blog post with the world, use the hash tag #100Days.

Happy blogging!