Archive - March, 2007

2W2B: Building State of Mind Muscles

By on March 29, 2007 in Books with 9 Comments

This is part of an ongoing series as I journal my way through Lisa Haneberg‘s book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough. Today’s entry is from the preparatory Chapter 1. The 14-day journey begins on Sunday.

I believe in the power of questions as a conversation ignitor. In particular – the conversations we have in our own mind – conversations we sometimes take for granted.

Lisa lists five ‘states of mind’ that we can exercise in order to recognize and manifest possibilities:

  • Wonder: Do we recognize the extraordinary beauty that surrounds us, even in things seemingly ordinary? Do we stop and smell the roses? My buddy Brett does – and captures them for keeps.
  • Inquiry: Lisa talks about Provo-Evo Communication, a combination of provocative and evocative questions. If you’re an anthropologist, you’re probably doing some form of this already. If you’re not, I dub thee reader as such (now go, be inquisitive)
  • Abundance: My favorite of the five. Abundance mentality or scarcity mind-set? The former will lead to plentiful collaboration; the latter will lead to controlling ownership (and potentially a closed mind) Want others to stand with you?
  • Exuberance:Herein lies the main ingredient of being contagious in a fantastic way.
  • Courage: A state of mind that opens doors and possibilities that fear would never realize exist.

Five states of mind to exercise on this journey. Having these mindsets will surely transform the conversations we have in our own head, with our peers, and with our customers.

Previously:
- Intro: Preparing for a Breakthrough

SOBCon07 Golden Tickets Give-Away

By on March 28, 2007 in Blogging with 8 Comments

TicketOne of my favorite movies as a kid was Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Love the Golden Tickets. I always wondered, was the ticket a plant? Willie Wonka wanted to meet Charlie.

My buddy Phil Gerbyshak shared a great idea with me tonight – The Successful Online Bloggers Conference (SOBCon07) should have Golden Tickets!  I agree.

So, each week until SOBCon07 (May 11-12), I’ll be gifting two tickets to unsuspecting bloggers. These tickets are good for admission and hotel stay on the Friday night ($500 value).

This week’s winners and Successful Online Bloggers:

  • Chris Brown from Branding & Marketing. Remember the ‘Z-List’?  Chris was the first to grab Mack’s cue and run with it. A relationship architect!
  • Mack Collier from A Viral Garden. Remember the ‘Z-List’? Mack planted the seed. A relationship cultivator!

Chris and Mack, I’m looking forward to meeting you! To claim the Golden Ticket, simply register for the event but skip the Paypal piece.

If for some reason, you can’t make it – pass the gift along to another blogger. Just post and link to who you’re transferring the ticket to and tag your post with ‘SOBTix07′

Hey, Blog Coach: “What About SEO?”

By on March 28, 2007 in Blog Coach, Marketing with 12 Comments

Forget About It. Well, almost.

Customers and prospects often ask me, with a wink and a twinkle in their eye, about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) "tricks" and how they can quickly rise to the top of the search results. My answer is often along these lines: "Forget about SEO and just engage with human beings in mind."

Mind Your Own Business
Since my work is with busy business owners and leaders, learning the complex world of SEO will often do one thing – take them away from their business and their customers. Sometimes, hiring a reputable SEO pro, a solid (and up-to-date) web development team or a blogging coach will help – they can do most of the background and coding stuff that can put your site on the right path. But for you:

  • You have a business to run. That takes up most of your day.
  • You have customers and prospects to engage. In part, that’s where writing the blog posts and comments come in. Do you have time for SEO?

Content is king; Community is the kingdom it serves
If content is king, what is Google’s content? A relevant and valuable search result, right? If the user doesn’t continually find solid results in their search, Google will lose users to Yahoo (and vice-versa). Therefore, Google’s job is to provide relevant and valuable results to…human beings.

Help Google; help yourself. Provide content that’s relevant to your business and helpful to people searching on items relevant to your business. By doing that, you’ll find yourself rising to the top.

Ryan Healy says: One primary objective: Readers or Search Engines – not both. Wise advice.

I think it’s a fine idea to be familiar with SEO strategies, just don’t make it your focus. If you’re for more, Lee Odden provides a great library of resources: TopRank SEO Resources

2W2B: Preparing for a Breakthrough

By on March 27, 2007 in Blogging, Books with 1 Comment

2w2bkcover2 I’m excited about Lisa Haneberg‘s new book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough, I accept her invitation to jump into the future with exuberance! And you’re coming with me.

The introduction explains that part of the daily process is sharing the goal, taking action and making requests. The suggestions Lisa offers fall into one of four categories, including ‘Obliterating Resistance’ – just saying that out loud almost motivates me to finish this book tonight.

The first four chapters (and a Prime the Pump exercise) prepare us for the Two Weeks to a Breakthrough, which begin here on Sunday. Each entry from this effort will begin with 2W2B in the headline.

Lisa will soon begin her Year of the Breakthrough tour on Hazel (her motorcycle). The tour is sponsored by my new favorite magazine, Motto. Lisa will be stopping in Central Iowa in mid-June (Panera U?). Can’t wait!

Obliterating Resistance…the kind of phrase that improves your posture.

The Final Four: Marketing Bloggers Bracketology

By on March 26, 2007 in Marketing with 8 Comments

John Moore at Brand Autopsy has dissected and bracketed the  tourney of Marketing Blogs, coming up with this Final Four (all #1 seeds Correction: MP:DailyFix in as a #3 seed):

Seth Godin vs Church of the Customer
Creating Passionate Users vs Marketing Profs: DailyFix

Each of these Final Four talks about customer experience more than anything else. Their presence on the floor makes their readers better.

Invited to the dance as a #14 seed, I was immediately ousted by AdJab (probably wasn’t even close…a sentimental favorite who recently hung it up). Interesting battles between CK and Drew, who shared a pre-game meal just last week. Props to fellow Iowan, Mike Wagner for making the Sweet 16.

If we’re having a pool…I’d think it’s going to be Seth and CPU, and the emotional favorite right now has to be CPU considering what’s going on over there (scary stuff).

Thanks for the hard work, Dr. Moore.

BlogTalkRadio Nuts & BlogBolts: Copywriting

By on March 24, 2007 in Marketing with 4 Comments

Join myself and Wayne Hurlbert Sunday night at 7:00 PM CT as we continue the Social Media series on BlogTalkRadio: Nuts and BlogBolts.

This month, we welcome some of the top copywriters in the blogosphere to a round table discussion of how social media is effecting the profession and practice of copywriting and copywriting tips and techniques that bloggers can use on their blogs.

Joining in the conversation will be:

Don’t miss this show. You can listen live or download the podcast after the show.

Listen Live

Brand You with a Blog

By on March 23, 2007 in Blogging with 15 Comments

It’s almost graduation time. Are you ready to enter the workforce? Are you already there…sort of?

If we were to do a web search on your name, what would we find? Would we find your resume? Your blog? A MySpace journal? Maybe something someone else has written about you?

If it’s positive, fantastic. If it’s negative, you need to do something about that. If there’s nothing – that’s almost as bad as something negative.

Just like any other company or independent business person, you have a brand message. How are you delivering that message?

You Are Your Own Brand
Branding isn’t a term limited to companies and their customers. You should have your own brand. What’s the tagline on your business card? Do you follow through on that promise? When people talk about you – do they know how to describe what makes you unique?

If you don’t have a business card, go to www.vistaprints.com for an inexpensive solution. Create a tagline that remarkable and follow through on that promise. Give them to everyone and let them help you spread your message.

Create a Web Presence
Do you have your resume online? A blog site that talks about your professional life? A blog – which is a series of web pages – can help you position yourself as an expert in your field. In addition, a well-maintained blog or web site will help trump any embarrassing moments you may have elsewhere on the web.

At www.godaddy.com, you can quickly get a domain name for less than $10 – your name (first and last name) if it’s available. Then you can start your professional blog at www.wordpress.com (it’s free), which allows you to post entries on your blog and create separate pages for you resume and cover letter. Print the address of your blog on your business cards and employment applications.

Distinguish Yourself
Once you have your web presence and business cards setup, create a generic video interview. This can be a generic job interview, a personal profile (think Larry King) or a comfortable getting-to-know-you piece. Put that video on YouTube, and then post it on your blog site.

This accomplishes a couple of things. First, it differentiates you from others. Not a lot of people are doing this right now – but it may become normal practice in the next few years. Second, you offer value to those that are considering your for work or collaboration.

The more transparent and authentic you can be; the more findable you are – the better chances you have for success.

Further reading for furthering your career:
- Life Beyond Code: Distinguish Yourself
- The Occupational Adventure
- William Arruda on Personal Branding
- Career Intensity
- Helping Give College Grads a Fighting Chance

Hey, You Got Twitter on my Google Maps

By on March 22, 2007 in Cool Tools with 2 Comments

Seth Godin quickied a definition of mashup recently. A few people have asked me for examples or a more complete definition.

I could show them twittermaps, which is a mashup of the applications Twitter and Google Maps. I could point out that the name of this site is a mashup of the words Conversation and Stations or ConverStations.

I think I’ll lean on my favorite mashup of all-time: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a mashup of chocolate and peanut butter. But hold the phone there, doctor – notice how even Reese’s continues it’s mashup experimentation?

Reese’s consistently tests new products with cookies and pieces, ice cream sandwiches and breakfast cereal. They experiment putting things together – often for a limited time – to introduce new ways for fans to enjoy their goodness or to introduce their goodness to new audiences.

How are you mashing up your products, services…messages?

Whistle Stops on a Wednesday?

By on March 21, 2007 in Whistle Stops with 3 Comments

Whistlestops_39 You bet…but there’s some great conversations going on that we should check out:

  • Designing Conversations in Beta by David Armano at Logic+Emotion (feed): The Cluetrain runs smooth on tracks laid with posts like this one.
  • User Community and ROI by Kathy Sierra at Creating Passionate Users (feed):Kent Blumberg and I discussed a question about business blogging via email today. This should be part of our answer.
  • 18 Stupid Mistakes Bloggers Make in Their First Year by Christine Kane (feed): Bloggiversaries are a great time to reflect on lessons learned. Christine brings everyone into the conversation on this one. A must-read!
  • How to Surf the Attraction Economy by Kevin Roberts at Branding Strategy Insider (feed): Get your ‘sisomo’ on with this guest post from the author of LoveMarks
  • How Do You Fuel Anticipation? by Drew McLellan at Drew’s Marketing Minute (feed): You’ve closed the deal, but how do you keep things at a high-level of excitement while you’re working on the project?

Hit It or Quit It! Are You Stuck in The Dip?

By on March 20, 2007 in Books with 2 Comments

Banana_dip Seth Godin‘s post, The Relentless Rush to Be Mediocre, reminds me of the conversation I had with the business man who said, "I Just Want to Be Average."

Sometimes, it takes a bit of fanaticism to be the best at what you do. If you’ve lost that, it’s a clear sign maybe you’re ‘cooked in the squat‘ or ‘stuck in the dip‘. But there are other signs, too.

Even though you’ve mapped out a great plan on paper – the terrain can change when you hit the road.  Recognizing which dip to hit running, and which dip to drop is a key to success.

I’m looking forward to Seth’s newest book, The Dip – A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick). Due to ship in May, you can get a taste on The Dip Blog.

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