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Breakthrough

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 18 Comments

When I see a sky like this . . .

Breakthrough_by_Liz_Strauss


I can’t help but be reminded — punch holes in the clouds to let the sunlight stream in.

A simple act can kickstart a wealth of ideas.
Look out the window. Find a breakthrough.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Do Something!

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 30 Comments

Don’t Leave a Great Idea Sitting Here!

Steps-up_by_Liz_Strauss

A friend from my days in publishing has thousands of ideas to every one of mine. Being with her is both exciting and frustrating, because she imagines potential futures, but can’t see whether they’ll play out usefully.

On the Internet, it seems that everyone has thousands of ideas . . . even me. With so much information and conversation around us, each day brings a passel of potential futures to discuss and dream.

We learn about how to build things. We talk about what we could do and be. We imagine repurposing what already is. We innovate, create, and ideate, almost without thinking.

The problem is that too often we don’t DO anything.

If the idea is as great as we think it is, why don’t we build it, create it, execute, and deliver it?

Some ideas can’t stand up the stress of such things. They start unraveling.

Other ideas could be wonderful futures but no one cares enough to produce what they describe. Doing something is where the real work begins. We have to show up, step up, and invest ourselves to build a reality.

What will you DO with your ideas today?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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How What You Know Can Kill a Business and Thanks for Listening When I Call

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

Once You’re Inside . . .

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We all do it. We misfire on a key point that shoots us in the foot every time. It’s a major disconnect that I see almost everywhere.

We think we can be the business and still represent the customer. As a result, we end up only thinking that we’re delivering on what the customer wants or needs. The reality is

We can’t be the business and the customer at the same time.

A certain kind of thinking goes into building a product or service. Decisions are made about how the offer works and why it works as it does. When it comes time to judge the value of the finished offer, those who did the thinking can’t forget what they know about how it was made.

It’s impossible to participate in the thinking that builds something and then to respond as if you don’t know what that thinking is.

Unfortunately, businesses everywhere — from entrepreneurs to corporations — try to do exactly that. What happens then is that we offer our customers, clients, readers a flawed product or service assuming that they know why we made it as we did.

I reviewed an interactive site where, four clicks inside I was lost in “helpful” information. I was unable able to find navigational signs to get to the content that was past the “lessons” up front.

Their intentions had been excellent service, but the result had the opposite. The developers didn’t know about the barriers . . . because they knew why each “lesson” was there.

That’s how what you know can kill a business. It’s hard to not to know what you already know. It’s hard to see the disconnects from inside the system.

So if you’re one of the folks that I call to talk about what I’m working on . . . thank you so much! The questions you ask really help to keep me on track.

Have you bumped into products that offer you plenty of extra “stuff,” but not the one thing that you want?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

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7 Incredibly Intelligent Ideas for Blogging More Efficiently

Filed Under Basics, Great Finds, Successful Blog, Writing | 29 Comments

Be a Power Blogger

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This week, b5 business bloggers were discussing ways to bring more value to our readers. The question was barely asked when Eric Eggertson offered an answer on how to blog with power and more efficiently.

Eric Eggertson knows a bit about where he comes from. He’s been involved in corporate communications since 1987. He’s conceived and executed internal and external communication strategies for government agencies, non-profits and co-operatives in Saskatchewan. He blogs about public relations and has been doing so since January 2005 on the Common Sense PR blog for b5 media.

Eric Eggertson of Common Sense PR

As soon as I read Eric’s email, I asked if I might use his email as a blog post. I thought what he had to say should be published. He graciously agreed.

“Be my guest, Liz!” is what Eric said.

So I give it to you raw and unplugged, like the value content that it is. By the way, Eric didn’t name this post I did. I think his ideas truly are incredibly intelligent and I’m hoping you’ll put them to use right away.

7 Incredibly Intelligent Ideas for Blogging More Efficiently

by Eric Eggertson

  1. When there’s a lot of discussion in the comments of a post, or if there’s some critical info added in the comments, create a short post quoting the most relevant info and pointing people to the contents of the prior post. This isn’t cheating. It actually really helps people who subscribe via e-mail or RSS, as they may not be aware of what’s being said in the comments.

  2. When someone writes about something you’ve posted, and their post adds something significant to understanding the issue, create a short post quoting briefly and pointing people to the other blogger’s post. This helps people who don’t see the Trackbacks and Pingbacks to your post (ie. RSS/e-mail subscribers).

  3. Create a short post linking to the top posts for your blog, or the most controversial, or the ones you sweated over that everyone ignored, or links to all parts of a series.

  4. When you write a guest post on another blog/site, create a short post linking to the post. Even if the item’s a bit off topic for your blog, this may be worth doing if you want people to get to know you a bit better.

  5. Break bigger pieces into smaller ones and spread them out over a few days. Use the first one to introduce the topic and solicit responses, then post the others, including any reader feedback.

  6. Ask readers for suggestions for further reading/best tools/best tips/weirdest news, etc., then post the results as link lists. You can do a separate post per topic. This isn’t cheating. Some of the best items on some blogs are short links to other sources, without a lengthy explanation of all the background about it.

  7. When you see something that is striking, unusual, awful, humorous, etc., post a short item about it, without feeling you have to find a weighty rationale for pointing it out. Think of it as the equivalent of a little item tucked in the margin of a magazine or a book - 15-30 words about it.

Seven incredibly intelligent ideas to make your work worth more to your readers, and at the same time make your life easier. What more value could a blogger or a reader need for the holidays?

How many of these will you be using before the year is over?

Thanks Eric, for letting me share these with the folks who read Successful-Blog!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

If you’re a new blogger, check out the New Blogger page.

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Holiday Bloggers’ Block — What to Get to Let Ideas Come to You!!

Filed Under Idea Bank, Successful Blog, Writing | 15 Comments

Get Out of Your Head!

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When people speak of writer’s block, often what they mean is that they don’t know what to write about. Without that goal, they can’t get started. It happens to bloggers too.

Whether we’re writing a single blog post or setting out to start a new blog, we have to know what we’re planning to communicate and the direction we want that communication to go.

In other words, we need something to say.

Get some help . . . by letting the ideas come to you.

  • Get out of your head and away from your computer. Ideas form and grow in our subconscious — quit thinking. The harder we try to access ideas the less likely we are to get through.
  • Get moving. Physical movement — walking, taking a shower, unpacking boxes, cleaning the refrigerator — gets our thinking mildly distracted by tasks we know how to do. That releases our subconscious — the proverbial back burner — to use the information we already have to think something new.
  • Get some input. Call a friend. Read a book. Go to a movie. Immerse yourself in something rich with thoughts, story, and color. Leave the quest for ideas back with your computer.
  • Get some perspective. Go back to read your archives, even if your blog is only one month old. You’ll see how you’ve grown and while you’re reading, you’ll remember what sort of ideas draw you in.
  • Get some sleep. Take a 20-minute power nap. Don’t sleep longer. It’s not an escape. It’s a task. Before you close your eyes, ask yourself to have a passel of ideas when you awake.

Ideas tend to hide when we try to hunt them. Those we find seem shallow and less than appealing. Ideas and people have that one huge thing in common. They’re easier to work with when they come to you.

Get it? Good.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
Don’t Hunt IDEAS — Be an Idea Magnet
Got the Idea. Now What Do I Do with It?
Finding Ideas Outside the Box
Eye-Deas 1: Have You Started Seeing Things?

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