Facebook has won. One billion members with 50% active daily usage is astounding. Everyone, I mean everyone, I know is on Facebook and some are hopelessly addicted. However, I maintained a smug aloofness toward Facebook. While I enthusiastically endorsed Facebook as a B2C marketing platform, I routinely voted it off the B2B marketing island.
"Everyone is already blogging about my idea. How do I stand out?" The good news is that everyone has the same problem. Since it takes about 5 minutes to start a blog, anyone can start writing, recording, or vlogging about any topic. It's a level playing field and you have the same tools as most to get noticed.
Are you wondering how you'll survive the extinction of Google Reader? See my new Google Reader alternative and how I'm using it to create content in new ways. Free Videos Reveal 4 Proven "Reader Attraction" Strategies Want more blog readers? Get instant access to these 4 free videos now.
I'm a black man and a Paula Deen fan. Up until a week ago, this wasn't a problem but Paula recently admitted that she used the "n" word 30 years ago after being held at gunpoint by a black man. Since her admission during a court deposition, she has lost all of her corporate sponsors.
Last week I outlined how social media is useless without a thoughtful content marketing strategy. My man Mark Schaefer carried this one step further by brilliantly describing Content Marketing as a "do-over" for social media. Something is still missing though. I couldn't put my finger on it until I began dissecting the term "content marketing."
I've attended many social media strategy sessions that goes something like this... Twitter? Check. Facebook? We got a bunch of hip questions to ask so...check. LinkedIn? Tough crowd but we're going to join (AKA: hijack) a group. Put a check in that box. Pinterest?
In Born to Blog, Mark Schaefer and I proposed a new way to rapidly prototype a new business blog. We called it the "Minimum Viable Blog" (MVB) modeling the concept after the Lean Startup movement's Minimum Viable Product. The MVB is designed to rapidly launch a blog prototype to see if people want and support your content.
The season finale for Game of Thrones was a game changer. Almost no one saw the Red Wedding coming and viewers are wondering what's next. This is why the Game of Thrones is so compelling - it keeps you guessing. But for us business bloggers there is something else going on.
Have you watched Moneyball? I'm not a baseball fan but I love a true David and Goliath story. In this case, the Oakland A's are David, and Moneyball is about how this poor team of broken players set a American League record in 2002 by winning 20 games in a row.
It's theme redesign time. Soon you'll be seeing a completely new look for Pushing Social. I thought now would be a good time to dive into 7 considerations you should examine when picking a new theme. These are the 7 points that I religiously check off before I settle on a theme design.
Everyone says that you should be generous with your expertise, experience, and talents. They say share until it hurts because...you'll get it back with interest. Others offer a quasi-mathematical ratio that says - give 4,5,6 items of true value before you ask for something in return. Where does that leave you?
Is your blog paying for itself? Can you rely on your blog to add a few hundred dollars to the monthly budget? I asked my subscribers this question and I received an almost unanimous response - No. That answer freaked me out because blogs were supposed to be the "easy", "authentic", and "non-salesy" way to finally earn an income online.
Your blog's design is a big deal. It's now the price of entry for content marketing and blog publishing. Think about it. What are the top blogs you visit on a daily basis? Do they look like they were designed by a kindergarten Kickstarter project? Nope, I didn't think so.
There are two schools of thought on how to select your blog topic. School #1: Pick What You Love The premise behind this reasoning is that you'll be writing a lot about your topic. It's impossible to pour hours work into a topic you hate. This makes sense.
You need to post. It has to be good. You start typing.... Stop. Backspace. Start again. You get 15 crappy words on the page. Delete. This sucks...right? Ever wonder why you're struggling with a simple 500-word post? Here are three hints: 1. You Don't Have A Recipe I'm a decent cook but I can't just "whip something up".
Every once in a while someone reminds me that my business blogging advice doesn't apply to personal bloggers. Their comments usually end up saying that personal bloggers don't care about money, growing an audience, tracking metrics, or strategy. The liberated personal blogger is guided by one simple motive - "whimsy".
Blogging isn't enough. A reader asked me to describe all the marketing I did for Pushing Social. My list included... Email campaigns about 15 different campaigns Podcasting Video-based workshops Traditional Publishing - "Born to Blog" Self-Publishing Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn "networking" Joint ventures with incredibly smart thought leaders and...Blogging.
This question often shows up in my inbox "Stan, I'm not creative. It's painful coming up with blogging topics. What should I do?" A blank screen is pretty daunting. On-Demand Creativity isn't easy or fun for most. However it isn't an insurmountable challenge. In fact, I believe most people are fantastic blog writers.
"What type of posts should I write?" The answer to this question is the difference between a forgotten blog or quick and sustained success. Since this is the 2nd most asked question I get ( here's the first) I'll give you a quick glimpse at a strategy that works every time.
This is an unusual post for me but I didn't want you to miss out on something pretty special... On Wednesday about 100 Pushing Social Readers joined me for a fantastic live training event. I called it Side Income Blogging and I taught my Get Ready, Get Set, Go approach to earning a respectable side-income from just about any blog.
I bet you've read your fair share of headline posts. These posts give you a list of best practices that will attract people to your blog. Some are good. Some stink, but for the moment, it seems that the social intelligentsia agree that - The best headlines follow a formula Problem is the formula prescribed by most doesn't work.
Next week, I will be holding a free coaching session called "Side Income Blogging" which will show you the nitty-griddy details of making a nice side-income from your blog-based business. If you are interested in making a little cash from your blog then you need to be on this coaching call.
Candice Glover gives me chills. You don't know Candice if you aren't an American Idol watcher but you soon will. Not because she has a once in a generation voice.
Do you want to turn your blog into a full-time business? Are you betting that your readers will support your business with sales and profits? If so, you are my kind of people. From the beginning, Pushing Social was meant to be a business.
I met Chris at Social Slam last year and remember thinking that this was a dude that was going to shake up the marketing space. I'm happy to give him the stage today at Pushing Social. Enjoy (Stan) It's been said that sports mimic life.
