Tag: Blog

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MW Cerkas's avatarThe Inspired Verse

Have you ever consciously noticed or ‘felt’ a very positive impression about someone after having met them?   It’s almost as though they emit an aura of energy that you can sense not only when they are physically present, but also even when you simply are thinking about them.

For me, thinking, acting and being positive has become a way of life.  I constantly search for the ‘good’ in every person, experience and thing.  I have become a much more resilient, content, peaceful and happy individual as a direct result of approaching life with a positive mental attitude.  This includes reacting to everyday occurrences (good or not so good), meeting others, responding to things I encounter (reading a book, listening to a song, watching a movie, observing nature).

The concept of Free Will plays a major part in this approach, i.e., acknowledging that each of us has and makes a…

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25 Blogging Tips for Newbies and Veterans

Goins, Writer via 25 Blogging Tips for Newbies and Veterans.

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…on 12 of life’s most important lessons

David Kanigan knocks it out of the part with this one…

“The more we know about ourselves, the more power we have to behave better. Humility is underrated. We each have an infinite capacity for self-deception — countless unconscious ways we protect ourselves from pain, uncertainty, and responsibility — often at the expense of others and of ourselves. Endless introspection can turn into self-indulgence, but deepening self-awareness is essential to freeing ourselves from our reactive, habitual behaviors.” Go to the source for 11 more: Twelve of life’s most important lessons… – Lead.Learn.Live..

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Never Allow People to Suck the Joy out of Your Day

Never Allow People to Suck the Joy out of Your Day [BLOG] « Positively Positive.

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Something interesting happened this week…

Image representing Alexa as depicted in CrunchBase

For the first time in my 7 years of blogging, my personal blog [this one] has a higher Alexa ranking and is getting more traffic than my business blog. A couple of datapoints…

You can read more about the different version of WordPress here. My conclusion? WordPress.com is a very powerful and viable platform for ‘thought leadership‘ marketing. Why mess with the hosted version unless you really need a feature that WordPress.com doesn’t offer? WordPress is “good, fast, and cheap”…

Continue reading “Something interesting happened this week…” →

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12 Ways to Know If You Are a Leader

“While everyone has the potential to be a leader, most never take up the mantle. They are content to let others take the risk and do the work.

Several years ago, I read a post by Tony Morgan called “10 Easy Ways to Know You’re Not a Leader.” I took that list, and then inverted and expanded it.

Here are twelve ways to know if you are a leader.” Go to the source if you’re interested in Michael Hyatt’s 12 Ways: 12 Ways to Know If You Are a Leader | Michael Hyatt.

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In Monday’s epic post I mentioned the UM Dartmouth study on the death of blogging. Here’s the response I should have written if I were as smart as Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks…

When I speak to CEO organizations, I typically run through a series of quick slides that show where technology is right at this moment.

For instance: There were 107 trillion emails sent last year, Facebook is at more than 900 million users, Pinterest is closing in on 15 million users, and there are three billion videos streamed on YouTube every day.

I do this to show how many people are using the web, to preempt the “My customer doesn’t use the Internet” conversation (yes, I still hear that).

But the stat I want to talk about today is the number of blogs on the Internet. According to Technorati, there are 158 million blogs floating around, which is partly why I’m so surprised to keep reading that blogging is dead.

I get it. It’s not an easy think to keep up. My guess is many people or companies say, “Let’s start a blog!” and then do nothing with it after a month or two because it’s so labor intense.

So, let’s say for argument’s sake, half of those blogs never see the light of day, either because they’re abandoned or no one reads them because they’re too self-promotional. That leaves us with 79 million blogs, which isn’t a small number.

USA Today reported this morning that more companies are abandoning their blogs in favor of Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Add to that, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth released a  study earlier this year that says the percentage of companies that maintain blogs fell to 37% in 2011 from 50% in 2010, based on its survey of 500 fast-growing companies listed by Inc. magazine. Only 23% of Fortune 500 companies maintained a blog in 2011, flat from a year ago after rising for several years.

So, I see. Based on Wall Street and fast-growth companies, blogging is down, and now it’s time to claim the whole blogosphere is dead.

Here’s the thing, though. Those companies aren’t blogging because it’s hard. It’s hard to generate good content even once a week. It’s hard to cultivate a community. It’s hard to grow traffic. It’s a thankless job most days. So people throw something up there that talks about how great the company is, if only to check off “blog today” from their check list.

And the blog fails.” Full story at:  Is Blogging Dead or Are Companies Not Trying Hard Enough? | Spin Sucks

Go to the source if you want the rest of Gini’s perspective…

Thanks, Gini, for connecting the dots in a way that makes sense. Me? I always tell my clients that blogging is one of those things that takes more time than money and the organic Search Engine Optimization [SEO] is better than paying for Search Engine Marketing [SEM]. Gini, however, did a much better job deconstructing the UM Dartmouth study…

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I coach a lot of people on how to use WordPress effectively for ‘thought leadership’ marketing. One of the most important things to include in every post is a relevant picture. Why? HubSpot says:

If you’ve ever read a book with a child, you probably know they find pictures more interesting than words; but are adults really that different? I wouldn’t be surprised (or offended!) if you found yourself gravitating more towards the picture in this post than the copy. But images drive more than just attention — they drive engagement. In fact, just one month after introducing timeline for brands, Simply Measured reports that engagement is up 46% percent per post, and visual content (photos and videos) have seen a 65% increase in engagement.

via Why Marketers Should Invest in Visual Content Creation.

Effectively using images in a blog post is an issue however, that separates blogger sheep from goats. In this screencast I focus on a couple of ways bloggers can easily get images into their posts with an emphasis on my favorite blogging tool, Zemanta for both WordPress.com and hosted WordPress…

http://youtu.be/w5DJPH_lFWA

[View the story “Other ‘images in posts’ screencasts” on Storify]

Other ‘images in posts’ screencasts

Storified by Todd Lohenry · Mon, Apr 16 2012 12:10:24

I love Zemanta!toddlohenry
How I used Zemanta on this posttoddlohenry
Google Reader and Zemantatoddlohenry
Blogging with Internet Explorer and Windows Live Writertoddlohenry
Windows Live Writertoddlohenry
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More ideas for my WordPress.com blogging friends…

Image representing Google Alerts as depicted i...

Out of ideas for your blog posts? Make them come to you using Google Alerts!

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your queries. Google Alerts – Monitor the Web for interesting new content

You’ll find a fine list of Google Alerts tutorials here…

If you really want to take it up a notch, learn how to use Google Reader to create a virtual newspaper to track the sites and searches that interest you. I’ve written a free ebook on the topic of ‘personal news aggregation’ or ‘How to create your own personal news agency’. It’s free for registering at http://e1evation.com/pna/. Oh, and I started a new category called ‘blogging tips’ for you. If you want more, come follow me at http://e1evation.com…

Questions? Feedback? Get on it! :-D

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English: The logo of the blogging software Wor...

http://storify.com/e1evation/this-week-in-blogging-at-e1evation

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WordPress logo blue
Image via Wikipedia

Blogging is fundamental to an effective content marketing campaign. In my humble opinion no other tool is more effective in driving people to your thought leadership position. Why?

  • Blogs are easy to update and can contain a wide variety of content
  • It is easy to optimize their content for Search Engine Optimization [SEO]
  • Most blogging platforms are open source [i.e., FREE]

When you consider that 2012 is the ‘year of content content marketing’ and that you can add a blog to your website for free, my question to you is what’s holding you back?

I see three reasons why people hold back…

  • Perception
  • Fear
  • Time

I think the answer for most people is simple. The words blogging and blogger bring up images of 40 year old white guys sitting in their pajamas in their parents’ basement spewing out politcal rants. While that demographic has clearly capitalized on the benefits of blogging, it doesn’t take away anything from the power of blogging for content marketing.

Here’s another one:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/e1evation/status/166135819520843776″%5D

I wouldn’t be too concerned about that one either. You or your brand can become a thought leader in your space if you engage in a content management and content marketing campaign tailor made to demonstrate your expertise.

Blogging, on one level, isn’t much different than writing an ’email to the world’ — from that perspective, most people or organizations are already producing more than enough content to feed an interesting blog.

Comment or use the ‘connect’ form so we can talk about how this applies to you and your organization. In the meantime, here are the best articles I found on blogs and blogging this past week. Enjoy!

<script src="

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

http://storify.com/e1evation/blogging-trends-for-2-5-2012.js”>%5B<a href="

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

Good stuff I read this week…

http://storify.com/e1evation/blogging-trends-for-2-5-2012&#8243; target=”_blank”>View the story “Blogging trends for 2/5/2012” on Storify]

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IBM Lotus Web Content Management
Image via Wikipedia

Later today, I’ll be posting on some major changes that are happening in my business and on this site — you’ll want to be sure to check back later! In the meantime, every day I pull together the best of what I’ve read on one aspect of my focus. Mondays are all about content marketing and here are some of the best thought on the topic I’ve found in the past week…

[View the story “Trending topics in content marketing for 1/30/2012” on Storify]

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Image via Wikipedia

Sundays are all about blogging here at e1evation. My fundamental belief is that blogging is foundational for content marketing success and that a blog should be at the center of everything you do online. Why? Here are a couple of reasons that come to mind at the moment…

  • You own your blog. You do not own Facebook. You wouldn’t build your dream home on rented land — why build your brand on something you don’t own and control?
  • Blogs give you more control over how you express yourself.
  • Websites that blog actively get 7x more traffic than static sites.

It would seem that big brands are starting to get the picture…

The big three social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, were the most widely used in 2011, followed by YouTube, and publishing a blog. Across the various platforms, brands cited the following adoption levels: Facebook (87%), Twitter (83%), LinkedIn (76%), YouTube (66%), and blogs (57%). In 2012, blogs are expected to gain the most ground: An additional 28% of brands that don’t currently publish a blog plan to do so in 2012—bringing the percentage of brands that publish a blog to 85%. Social Media – Blogs Top List of Social Media Investments for 2012 : MarketingProfs Article

To my mind, blogging is the ultimate ‘content marketing for thought leadership’ tool. Maybe it’s time you took a page from their playbook and started business blogging as well?! Contact me if you’re not sure where to start…

Here are some of the best blogging articles I found this week…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

Sundays are all about blogging…

http://storify.com/e1evation/trending-topics-for-1-29-2012

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Cover via Amazon

I maintain that ‘how do I add content marketing to my plate and still get home for supper?’ is one of the most pressing issues in social media today. The pundits all say that this is the year for curation and content marketing but not a lot of experts are giving direction to thought leaders who hope to execute such a strategy effectively. In this 11 minute video I explore the use of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done‘ principles to content marketing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-0UlkmVB0M&feature=youtu.be

Questions? Feedback? Please comment below…

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Twitter

Twitter has become increasingly important to me since the changes Google made to Google Reader on 11/1/11. Here’s how I’m currently using Twitter for maximum impact in my curation workflow…

Twitter has become increasingly important to me since the changes Google made to Google Reader on 11/1/11. Here’s how I’m currently using Twitter for maximum impact in my curation workflow…

http://storify.com/e1evation/tactics-for-thursday-the-4-ways-i-use-twitter

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English: WordPress Logo English: WordPress Log...

The problem isn’t writer’s block…

…it’s actually writing the damn post.

You don’t need ideas, open Google Reader or join #Blogchat.  You’ll have enough ideas to write posts for the next year.

The problem is, when you actually WRITE the post, then it’s real.  Then you are dangerously close to publishing it.  Which means suddenly everyone will see it, and read it, and judge it.

And yet, you are often the harshest judge of your own work.  Too often, you assume that your post isn’t worthy of the reader, before they have a chance to dismiss it.  So it stays in your Draft folder, mocking you.

You can’t ‘sell’ until you ‘ship’.

Source: Stop Lying to Yourself, Your Problem Isn’t Figuring Out What to Write About… | MackCollier.com – Social Media Training and Consulting

Go to the source if you’d like to read the rest of Mack’s article. Or, maybe you should just start writing!

:-D

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…no matter how hard they try…

If you visit your favorite blogging tips and marketing tips blog today, you will come across a lot of tips, ranging from tips on writing well to tips on building an audience.

The reality is that a lot of new blogs spring up every day, and the majority of these blogs are bound to fail right from the beginning. It’s not because there is something wrong with their approach, but because they fail to neglect something really important: their wellbeing.

Do you know that blogging is not only a physical challenge? It is also a mental challenge.

There are a lot of things we bloggers go through every day that no amount of practice will help make easier, but by focusing on being okay in every aspect of our lives (mental, emotional, physical, etc.) we’ll find those challenges easier to deal with.

In this article I’ll be touching some subjects bloggers hardly discuss online, and I’ll be giving tips to help you deal with them.

Source: Why Most Bloggers will Fail, No Matter How Hard They Try

Go to the source if you’d like the rest of author John Smith’s perspective. Comment or ‘connect’ to talk about how this applies to you and your organization…

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WordPressOne of my new, favorite bloggers Heidi Cohen has these thoughts on blog design for you to ponder…

Writers at heart, many bloggers rush through selecting their blog design elements without much thought when they first start. But the reality is that design is core to your blog’s brand and readership. Therefore, out-of-the box blog set-ups most likely won’t work for you.

Blog design doesn’t require artistic training. It requires strategic (read: high level) thought, determining your blog’s goals and target audience (aka: persona) before you jump in and start blogging.

Review the blogs you read frequently to become familiar with your options. Consider which blogs you like and which elements of those blogs attract your attention. Make a list of those elements you want and those that you don’t want.

Here are twenty-one blog design elements that you don’t have to be a graphic designer to select…

Source: How To Design Your Blog | Heidi Cohen

Go to the source if you are interested in her 21 elements. Me? Through a long and rigorous evaluation process, I have decided to become a Woo Themes developer. I won’t bore you with the details of my search, but it literally lasted years. Woo offers over 100 themes that look good ‘out of the box’ but are also very easy for me to customize to a client’s specifications…

Heidi’s right! Much more important than the design is the actual strategy. Adam Osborne said “Adequacy is sufficient. All else is superfluous” and I agree. When it comes to design, I believe a tweaked Woo theme may be all you need – as I tell my clients, ‘Google doesn’t search for pretty’. I focus instead on delivering to my clients a system or toolkit with a repeatable process that is easy to use based on the premise that if it’s easy and fun to do, they might actually do it. On the back end, I have been working hard this year to link my ‘e1evation workflow’ more deeply to the value demands of my target audience by linking keywords to the problems my target audience is trying to solve. If you use a repeatable process like mine for your blogging and use a Woo theme for your site, you will draw your target audience in and the design won’t scare them away!

Heidi’s thoughts on determining your blog’s goals and target audience are must read before getting started — comment or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to you and your organization…

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Craig BadingsCraig Badings has put together an epic post on thought leadership trends for 2012. He starts…

I asked 12 people who I consider to be leading global commentators on thought leadership as well as a couple who have produced some amazing thought leadership programs in-house over the years to comment on four critical thought leadership questions for 2012.

Source: Thought Leadership – 12 experts on the key thought leadership trends for 2012 – content curation

In it, he quotes my friend Dana VanDen Heuvel on the topic of curation alone as a means of thought leadership marketing…

“No, I don’t think so.

“I think content curation may perhaps be a reason why critics are inveighing against thought leadership in the first place.

“Of course it is a useful way of identifying and re-branding an issue. But I think the trend will be to move towards more sophisticated thought leadership initiatives. For that to happen, a thought leader must be authentic.

“Authenticity, transparency and trust are values that will become even more important in the coming years.”

Source: Thought Leadership – 12 experts on the key thought leadership trends for 2012 – content curation

I agree with Craig, Dana and the general consensus of the article. Curation alone does not a thought leader make. It is, however, an effective means of bolstering a thought leadership position.  “Content curation as a blogging model is widely misunderstood by most bloggers and marketers.” says curation enthusiast Jack Humphrey:

You absolutely must tie the content you curate into a post (i.e. links to different angles from different authors, bloggers, and news stories around the same topic) with original commentary.  Commentary that makes sense and seeks to draw new connections, parallels, or shed new light on a topic others are writing and sharing information about.

Source: The Content Curation Guide for Bloggers | Internet Marketing Consultant Jack Humphrey

I was recently taken to task on my curation style and I readily admin it may not be for everybody. In response I wrote this:

I always attribute content that I curate under Fair Use Guidelinesso that everyone benefits; the original author, the reader and me and I always encourage my readers to go to the source and read the original author’s entire article. I frequently use a curation post simply to share great content with my clients – my standard close of ‘Comment, call or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to you and your organization…’ – is an invitation to get customized ‘value add’ that I deliver via telephone to fill windshield time as I drive across the great State of Wisconsin.

Source: Content Curation and Adding Value | Power Tools for Thought Leaders

How you do it is up to you, but I strongly encourage you to consider Craig’s article before embarking on a thought leadership marketing strategy. Perhaps it would be a good idea to read his entire 4 post series? Should you decide to pursue thought leadership marketing, please connect with me so we can talk about how the ‘e1evation workflow’ can help. I’ve developed a ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ cycle of thought leadership marketing that can help take your strategy to new levels. Questions? Feedback?

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Still not convinced on the topic of curation? Read on…

Curation is now a necessity. The web is full of content. More than a person could consume in several lifetimes if all they did was sleep a couple hours per day and surf the web, life after life.

Google can’t help us with our internet A.D.D.  Nor can Facebook or Alltop.

The best we’ve been able to do so far to harness the massive information overload is use tools like Google Reader and RSS feed aggregators like Alltop.  They’ve helped, to be sure, but no one is going through all that information and picking out the best of the best and making sense of it all for you.

Rather than start a new site with the goal of creating a bunch of new content, it’s time for people to think about being content curators.  Organizing and commenting on the best content around a certain topic.

Curators still use blog software to publish their content, but the vast majority of each post is made up of carefully reviewed and organized 3rd party information.

via jackhumphrey.com

Jack Humphrey says it well here and I encourage you to follow the ‘via’ link and read his 11 reasons. Me? I am the self-styled ‘king of curation’ and my ‘e1evation workflow’ allows you to curate content better and faster than any other system I know of with maximum effect. Comment, call or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to your organization…

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