To show our appreciation of small business owners and solopreneurs, Dialing 8 is giving away three annual (full access) memberships to The Dialing 8 Project.
You can nominate yourself, your local small business or independent, or even a friend or family member just starting out. Just have them (or you) fill out the form below.
Winners will be notified by email on Friday, February 17th.
How many of you have a camera on your phone, raise your hand …
Whether you have a smart phone or not, the opportunities for taking your own stock images are plentiful. Additionally, improvements and growth of mobile apps such as Photoshop Express and Instagram make capturing, editing, and sorting images a breeze.
I’ve seen a lot of folks invest 20 minutes writing a blog post, then spend another 20 minutes looking for the right image. Better to take a few minutes here and there to be prepared.
Create some stock images of your own. Have a library ready to help tell your story. Just as you should Listen to Your Day in writing your blog, Watch Your Day for capturing great storytelling images.
Are there times you grow a bit weary of the memes of Th*ings People Say, Funny Cat posters and looping mini-movies in your social streams?
Don’t Be. It’s a learning process. And we’re all in beta.
Some of these messages are probably not intended to entertain or inform you – but they don’t have to be a complete waste of time either.
As you see these items scroll by over and over again, recognize patterns of popularity and sharing and SCAMPER your findings into your own content.
In many ways, these creations of clatter can be an example. Allow these experiments of non-critical content to be a research project of what might be.
A tweak here, a substitution there – and maybe you’ll find a gem of your own.
Fans are Fanatics.
Searchers Find.
Shoppers Discover.
Trekkies Trek
Ask the sports fans … the crafting hobbyist … the thrift store shopper. Watch the Trekkies.
Is there just one place, one site, one convention?
Or is it all of them?
There’s always room for one more good one.
That baseball fan getting ready for her fantasy league draft? She’s not looking at just one site or one magazine. She’s got them all. That quilters in your life? They don’t just go to one store, they know them all.
Before you doubt yourself or change what you’re good at because someone else is already doing that …
There’s always room for one more good one.
Next time you go to the book store, check out your favorite section. Not only are there many titles to choose from, there are more coming.
Be you. Be the best you that you can be. And remember …
This weekend, I turned my Facebook profile into a Business page.
Most of the connections I had on Facebook were from business contacts, most of what I shared was about business. I was most of the way to a business page already.
I had been thinking about making the move for awhile. When Tracy Sestili said Bye-Bye to Facebook, I started making my move by following her lead. (By the way, Tracy is a solid-state, straight-shooting social media strategist – one to follow).
Tracy’s steps and reasons are sound. While Facebook is a closed system in many ways, it remains a confusingly open system in other ways. From a privacy perspective, Facebook has pieces in place – but good luck for the average user to find and use them.
So, I decided to create a “stealth” personal page, following the first six steps Tracy outlines in her exiting post. On the last step, rather than delete the account, I transferred to a business page.
The only real difference in converting my profile rather than cancelling creating a new business page is those who were either “friends” or subscribed, become “likes” on the business page. My messaging still is part of the stream (and since most of what I posted was business …).
For me, I still want a presence on Facebook for “Mike Sansone”, though the only parts I want public and searchable are business postings. My personal page is for a very small group of people (mostly family).
I know a lot of business owners who want the same. To keep business separate from personal. To be able to maintain focus and balance. Many are just not comfortable with “transparency” on Facebook at this time.
“If we must claim an ROI for social media, it will be found in the very fuzzy edges of the inventory we place with care and craft on our social media shelves”
- Gerard McLean in Stocking Your Social Media Shelves
The greatest running backs in the NFL seem to have one element in common. It’s a practice rarely seen on highlight reels or still shots.
It’s not so much the fancy stuff. Not the stiff arm, the high-leg, or the spin. The one trait all the greats share is one that does NOT stand out. But it’s the one that kept moving them forward.
Even when they hit a brick wall of defense, the greatest running backs keep pumping their legs.
Short steps. Rapid pace. One after the other.
They keep their legs moving.
Jerome Bettis was one of the best at this, especially near the goal line. Legs always moving. His strides weren’t long, his legs kept moving. Even when it seemed he wasn’t going forward anymore, his legs kept moving. When he was tackled, he’d get back up and … his legs kept moving …
When it comes to your blog, bring your fingers to the keyboard like Jerome Bettis near the goal line. Your fingers keep moving.
When it seems no one is reading your blog – your fingers keep moving. When it seems you don’t have anything to write about – your fingers keep moving. If you make a mistake or someone disagrees with you – get back up and make sure your fingers keep moving.
Can you drive this thing?
Written by Joe Pawlikowski
Sometimes simple phrasing can make a huge difference. A while back Mike asked the question, should every business blog, and concluded that no, it’s just not for all businesses. That’s a fair enough answer. But allow me to add an amendment.
Everyone should blog about his or her business.
This doesn’t necessarily mean blogging for your business. But anyone, excepting people with strict non-disclosure agreements, can blog about a business. It can provide plenty of benefits.
All fledgling bloggers stand to learn plenty from the experience. Here’s what anyone stands to learn in the first few months of blogging:
Blogging naturally connects us to others. Whether it’s from people leaving comments or other bloggers stopping by, there are plenty of opportunities to build relationships. And you know what they say…
It’s not what you so much as who you know.
When I first started blogging, someone advised me that you never know who’s reading. Many bloggers get invited to conferences and other events, which we’ll cover in just a tick.
Once you’ve gotten into the blogging groove, you could become influential in your field. Employers like that. So do conference organizers. A well-written blog can earn you a speaking gig. Grab a cheap flight and you’re ready to spread your influence further.
How about your boss? Think he or she might like knowing that the company employs a knowledgeable resource on an industry? Do good work, and people will notice.
No, not every business is equipped to blog. But every individual is. No matter what your industry, as long as your company doesn’t expressly forbid it you should be blogging. It can amount to writing your own career ticket.
Joe Pawlikowski edits blogs of various stripes, including his new work from home blog.
A lot of my business conversations are convened around a coffee table at my neighborhood Panera. I’ve always said, that when I’m in public – I’m accessible, otherwise I’d meet in private.
On any given day, I know at least one person at several tables. As folks I know (or simply acquainted with) walk in Panera, I give them a wave or nod – often waving them over for a quick introduction. They go about their conversation, I go about mine. Maybe we’ll gather again in a few minutes.
I don’t hear everything they say. I don’t want to. If I heard every sentence from every table that sits someone I know …
I’m confident if they say something really good, they’ll repeat it to me (or I’ll hear it from someone else).
I have a list of folks I follow as much as possible (and you can too, here’s a starter list), but there is no way I can catch every thing they say. I’d never get to Panera – or to bed. And if they something really good, someone will retweet it.
Give Yourself Permission to Not Listen (to every word)
