I am honored to be part of the Stiletto Magazine Blog Tour to mark the launch of this new women's publication. I invite you to read on to learn a little bit about this dynamic women's magazine.Q: What topics are covered in the magazine?
A: The focal point of Stiletto Woman Magazine and our editorial vision is to empower today’s modern woman. Our intent is to tell real stories, provide real inspiration, and impact real life! Therefore, each edition we publish has a defined purpose with targeted content.
We aim to publish work that has substance—that is relatable to most. Next year, Stiletto Woman Magazine will be published tri-annually, where two issues will be dedicated to real life circumstances of everyday women.
For our premiere 2009 Amazing Women issue, you will find the ranking of the Top 50 Most Amazing Women on the Web. In addition, you can read articles about time management, living sensibly in this economy, how to be a better leader in the workplace, and more.
Our next release will be the Winter Edition, Women’s Health issue, where we learn more about how to live healthier lives from experts. You’ll find stories of women who have had health challenges—some of them have overcome, while others battle daily to conquer their medical conditions.
Subsequent to that, the Fall Edition, College Mom’s issue, will address concerns specifically related to adult education. You’ll find stories of challenge and triumph. We’ll look at issues from various perspectives, again with expert opinions to help guide and enlighten the discussion.
Q: Do you accept articles, essays or illustrations for the magazine?A: Yes. We are accepting articles and essays for the magazine. Our approach is to reveal women’s lives in authentic ways, so we definitely want your story! We are open to reviewing ideas about columns, and off-topic articles that are timely.
If an artist is interested in submitting work, please don’t hesitate to do so, as we are delighted to consider various forms of artistic expression. We adore good design, graphics, and illustrations. In the new media arena, we are setting new heights, and finding ways to explore our distinctiveness in the abundance of online/offline women magazines, so having superb artwork would be a great way of doing that!
To submit your work to us, log on to stilettowoman.com, and click on the magazine link. From there, you’ll find information about submitting your material. If you have questions you’d like to ask before submitting, please email us at info@stilettowoman.com.
Q: Do you have any free services available for your supporters?
A: Yes. We have a range of free services available. Some are available online, while others are accessible locally. We encourage all women to take advantage of every opportunity available.
We offer a free complimentary coaching session to all new clients. We have dedicated six-week empowerment programs for small business, personal development, and parenting. We also have an affordable al a carte option and a monthly program for those wanting support in a specific area outside of the dedicated six-week programs. To get an introduction to any of these, or to simply see if our coaching style is right for you, our complimentary coaching session may be a good option.
We offer free reports on various topics. Currently, we have The Brand Report, a quick resource that outlines information on business branding and development. We have the Startup Report, a quick resource that outlines information on how to get a business started in the right direction. We have the Career Image Report, a quick resource that outlines career, resume, and interview information.
On the local level, we are debuting Stiletto Women Connect, where we build women-only Connector groups within communities. These membership-based forums will help women cultivate specific areas of their lives and broaden their network of support. Opportunities to partake in special workshops and events at no cost are available to members.
For fun, we also give away giftcards, as a token of appreciation to our readers and supporters. With these giveaways, there’s not much required. You can easily get a free meal at Red Lobster, grab a free movie from Blockbuster, or get a Target shopping card, etc by simply communicating with us.
So, yes we are always looking for ways to give back to our community of supporters.
Q: How did you choose the Top 50 women?
A: We started with over 100 women. Each was diverse and inspiring in her own way. We couldn’t believe the range of talent and level of commitment the women had. We knew it would be a tough task to narrow it down. Therefore, we didn’t review the candidates based on a single idea or site alone. We evaluated them on the following criteria:
1) Idea Innovation. We looked at originality, how imaginative they were, how creative they were in executing their ideas, and communicating the brand.
2) Professional Leadership. We assessed their background, their ability to lead, the ethics they upheld, and sense of character.
3) Supportive Community. We wanted to see their desire to help others. We looked at their social impact, and sense of community.
4) Site Design. Being that we’re looking at women who have a presence online, the web site or blog site had to exhibit professionalism. It needed to be effective in delivery, with good layout and design.
Our panel of eight professional women then used a scoring system to select the top 50! It was important for the magazine to exhibit diversity—not solely in the range of women featured, but also in the types of businesses, web sites, and blog sites showcased. You won’t find many large corporations or illustrious personalities mentioned. We deliberately profiled authentic women you might not hear about every day.
Q: What do you have planned for next year?
A: Next year, as mentioned above, Stiletto Woman Magazine will be published tri-annually, with two issues dedicated to a single topic—one that addressing issues particularly related to women.
We will be looking to extend Stiletto Women Connect throughout various communities. And finally, we have another project that we’re currently refining. We can’t give it away just yet, but it’s fresh, and original. It involves helping prepubescent girls gain the empowerment they need to make good decisions as teens and young women.
To keep up to date with our happenings, stay tuned to stilettowoman.com, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get the inside track!
