Success takes time, especially when you’re first getting started. In this video, you’ll learn why it’s a good thing to start off small and/or sucky — and how it’ll help you get further faster.
Every pro starts off as an amateur.
Don’t get hung up in a perfectionist mindset.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcvXcZd5TSQ
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There’s no reason to get stuck when you have a list of ways jog your memory like this.
So here’s over 10 ways to come up with that elusive blog post topic.
Choosing the right topic to write about on your blog is vital if you want to write a post that engages your reader.
Rushing the choice of topic can set you off in the wrong direction and end up wasting both your time and that of your reader.
While sometimes the idea for a post hits you and needs little adaption – I find that many (if not most) times the first idea that comes to me for a post needs a little molding (or marinating) before it’s just right. I will often come up with a post idea and end up evolving it into something that is quite different – but which is much richer in terms of how interesting it is.
Here’s how choosing a blog post title often works for me:
- I’ll jot down an idea for a post topic in a text document on my desktop (this usually happens while I’m doing something else).
- Once a day I scan my ‘idea’ text documents and look for a topic that connects with me for that day (I like to work on things that give me energy).
- With that document open I’ll begin to brainstorm points that I could write about, title ideas and think particularly about reader needs that the post might overcome). I often use a mind mapping technique to do this brainstorming – it can actually lead to hundreds of post ideas.
- As I brainstorm a post begins to take shape and more importantly the topic emerges. While I have points and title ideas jotted down it is the ‘topic’ that I’m particularly trying to nail down at this point. Anything else is a bonus and will help cut down work later – but it’s the topic I’m attempting to identify.
- Quite often as I engage in this process I’ll end up with more than one topic – many of these i’ll put aside for another day but some will emerge into a series of posts.
Other tips on choosing a topic for your next blog post
- Identify a Need - As mentioned above – I’m particularly trying to name a need or problem that my reader has. I find that if I can have this in my mind as I write a post that it not only ends up being a well focused post – it ends up being useful to readers. So as you choose a topic to write about – identify concrete needs that you’re aiming for the post to fulfil and questions that you want the post to answer.
- Picture a Reader – Chris Garrett often talks about how he has a number of readers in mind as he blogs – he keeps their situation, needs, questions and challenges in front of him as he writes and even pictures them in his mind as he chooses topics and writes them. In this way he doesn’t just end up theoretical or abstract topics – but is closer to writing concrete and applicable posts that will connect with readers.
- Break out of the Echo chamber – one trap that many bloggers fall into is producing blogs posts that simply regurgitate what others are writing on their blogs. If the topic I’m wanting to write about is one that others are also covering one of the things that I attempt to do in this phase of choosing topics is to find a new angle. How can you bring your own spin to the topic? How can you give your readers something unique to ponder? Read more about breaking out of the echo chamber (and also here).
- Write Something that Matters to You - I find that when i write a post that matters to me (as opposed to one that is merely reporting news or tapping into a popular topic) that it tends to connect on a deeper level with readers. I guess it is logical really – when something matters to you it shines through in the way you communicate about it and this has a way of engaging others who also think it matters. Another way to say this is to ‘let your topics choose you’ rather than you choosing what topics you want to write about.
- Write Something Topical - Writing on a topic that is currently popular or that people are searching for information on is defitely something to keep in mind as you select a topic to post on. Use a tool like Google Trends to watch trends of what people are searching Google for, keep an eye on social media sites to see what people are voting for there – these topics can be well worth tapping into – particularly if you find a fresh way to explore them (see above point on breaking out of the echo chamber).
- One Topic per Post – this will vary a little from blog to blog depending upon your niche and style of writing but I find that posts that really hone in on one particular topic and communicate one main idea tend to do best. There is nothing wrong with writing long sweeping posts that cover many things, but do keep in mind that most people’s reading style on line is to scan content, flip between pages and not to dwell on any one thing for too long. So refine the topic for your next blog post down to one simple idea. If you have more than one write a series of posts or put those that you’re not going to focus upon into your ideas journal for another day. After all, you’re writing a blog and can expand upon your other ideas every day for the rest of your blogs life.
- Plan Ahead – one thing that has helped me a lot in my blogging when it comes to choosing topics to cover is to think ahead about my blogging and develop an editorial calendar. I do this in my computer’s calendar program (I use iCal) where I have a calendar dedicated to each of my blogs. I don’t use this all of the time but find it particularly useful when I know I’m going to have a busy week or two (or when I’m traveling) as it helps me to think clearly and plan ahead for my blogging. Chris G has a nice post on planning blog post topics with an editorial calender.
- Looking for more ideas? – Darren has even more ideas for you.
Growing up, no one predicted Hillary Biscay would someday become a world-class athlete. As a competitive swimmer, she competed for 10 years at the local level, way behind most of her peers. But this late-bloomer found a way to keep showing up and training hard, even when her choices didn’t make sense to anyone else.
Today she is a triathlon champion who has finished more than 60 Ironmans, making her one of the most prolific leaders in her sport. In this talk, Hillary explains the mindset that has helped her reach her goals and the mental tricks she still uses to keep crossing the finish line.
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In this video Lon takes us back to some basics you need to cover in order to make your videos. Have a look and see if you are still doing the basics effectively.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJJV_mcWD3g
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Lon’s 3 top tips are:
1. Don’t complicate things!
2. PLAN more to work less…
3. Get good templates, tools, and resources
And Lon posted this additional video on his blog post all about mind mapping for video planning.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6QKBZ-66g
Have you ever wondered whether or not you are having success with your social media accounts? Success can be hard te measure given that most of us have so many different social media accounts.
I was delighted when I came across this article which gives you 6 things to do to get that elusive success measurement.
Top Ways to Measure Social Media Like a Pro
Social media measurement is a challenge faced by most businesses today.
Think about it. When was the last time you tracked the effectiveness of a tweet? How about the positive response of a Facebook post?
My guess is that you’re in the same boat many businesses and brands find themselves in. To reel off social media data is next to impossible.
More than likely, those details are in an Excel spreadsheet. One that even the most trained professional can’t navigate.
If you’re eager to wrangle your social media measurement once and for all, then read on.
Below you will find six actionable ways you can begin to track, measure and measure your social media results.
How to Measure Social Media
1. Don’t Rely on Typical Data
Likes and shares feel great, but are they contributing to your bottom line?
While it’s important to gain visibility, driving real results should be your number one goal.
Do not limit your analysis to the typical likes, shares, comments and +1’s. Instead, analyze social media data from a holistic point of view.
How do those likes and shares translate into paying customers? Where do they fit into your integrated social media strategy and how are they supporting monetary growth?
Test each entry point (e.g Facebook landing page) and split test your content. Pay close attention to Google Analytics to see what’s converting into your next steps.
2. Define Success
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. ” – Henry Ford
Don’t base your social media success on a “Me-Too” model. Develop your own definition of success.
What does it look like to your company? What are you trying to achieve and how does social media complement your marketing strategy?
Whatever the case, get everyone on board that vision and move forward in unison.
Otherwise, you’ll never know when to bake that victory cake.
3. Set Measurable Goals
Social media goals should be in line with the overall goals of your business or organization.
Just as you need to create your own version of success, you also must know your specific goals.
A FEW GOALS MIGHT BE:
- Reach new markets
- Improve brand reputation
- Generate leads
- Drive traffic
- Improve customer support
- Reduce overhead
- Establish brand advocates
- Turn a single event into ongoing marketing dollars
- Decrease current advertising spend while increasing results
4. Understand Lead Conversion
Are you currently tracking your lead generation efforts? Do you know what social channels are generating traffic?
Read more about lead generation at the source article
Leadership is one of those qualities that is hard to define. There are military leaders, political leaders, business leaders, community leader and the every day leaders aroud you who touch your life on a daily basis.
So it was interesting when I came across tthis article that asked what kind of leader I was. Investigate further and get some insights into what kind of leader you are:
I was chatting with a client today about creating some leadership training, and they asked me what was the one thing I would want people to take away from the training?
As I thought about that, it really got me to focus because trying to boil 3 days of training down to one core message is a very interesting process. It really makes you question what’s truly important.
Anyway after a while thinking I came up with my answer, and much to my surprise it wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t be authentic, or look to create influence, or build trust, it was something much simpler.
My answer was be the kind of leader that you would want to follow.
This is such a simple concept but not one I have ever seen written down anywhere, I haven’t heard it mentioned on a course, or read it in a book.
But if I could have just one thing that people remember from the training, then it would be that.
When I got to thinking about that, and how we were describing what a good leader would look like in the training, it then made me question this.
Should we be describing the type of leader people should be, or should we be asking the people taking the training what kind of leader would they follow?
Too often we think about leadership from the position of the leader, but maybe we should make the change and thing about it from the position of the follower.
Get the people being trained to define the types of qualities that they would look to follow, get them to describe the behaviours that would inspire them. Let’s face it as trainers we don’t have exclusive rights to the correct answers, and when it comes to leadership there is more than one way to skin a cat.
Read on For more of Gordon’s insight.
Is blogging one of those rush jobs for you?
Do you take the time to put just the right amount of polish on your posts?
Do your really know what is essential in a blog post?
Well in this article from Daren he will give you those essentials:
It hits you like a TON of BRICKS! It’s an idea for that KILLER blog post that is just bound to bring you all the traffic that you’ve ever dreamed of.
With the idea fresh in your mind you sit down at your keyboard and BANG it out – desperate to hit publish as quickly as you can for fear that someone else will beat you to the PUNCH!
As SMOKE rises from your keyboard you complete your post, quickly add a title to it and proudly hitPUBLISH!
Visions of an avalanche of visitors, incoming links and comments swirl before you.
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Instead of rushing through a post – I find that if I pause at these key moments my post rises to a new level of quality and posts tend to get more traction with readers. They don’t guarantee the perfect post – but they certainly take you a step closer to a good one.
- Choosing a Topic – take a little extra time defining your topic and the post will flow better and you’ll develop something that matters to readers.
- Crafting Your Post’s Title – perhaps the most crucial part of actually getting readers to start reading your post when they see it in an RSS reader or search engine results page.
- The Opening Line – first impressions matter. Once you’ve got someone past your post’s title your opening line draws them deeper into your post.
- Your ‘point/s’ (making your posts matter) - a post needs to have a point. If it’s just an intriguing title and opening you’ll get people to read – but if the post doesn’t ‘matter’ to them it’ll never get traction.
- Call to Action – driving readers to do something cements a post in their mind and helps them to apply it and helps you to make a deeper connection with them.
- Adding Depth – before publishing your post – ask yourself how you could add depth to it and make it even more useful and memorable to readers?
- Quality Control and Polishing of Posts – small mistakes can be barriers to engagement for some readers. Spending time fixing errors and making a post ‘look’ good can take it to the next level.
- Timing of Publishing Your Post – timing can be everything – strategic timing of posts can ensure the right people see it at the right time.
- Post Promotion – having hit publish – don’t just leave it to chance that your post will be read by people. Giving it a few strategic ‘nudges’ can increase the exposure it gets exponentially.
- Conversation – often the real action happens once your post is published and being interacted with by readers and other bloggers. Taking time to dialogue can be very fruitful.
Taking extra time at each of these 10 points looks different for me in every post that I do – but I believe that every extra moment spent of these tasks pays off.
