Successful Blog

How to Beat 80% of the Competition from the Start

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Do Worry, Do Something Anyone Can Do

When I was at WordCamp LasVegas, I met the guys from Voodoo Ventures. That’s a picture of Gerard Ramos, Lorelle VanFossen, me, and Chris Schultz after we spoke — all of us a presenters and in the conversation I’m about to share.

Chris, Gerard, and I sat for a couple of hours talking talking business, strategy, brands, and futures. In the course of that conversation, I was relentlessly asking questions, as I’m prone to do when I’m in that mode.

One series of such relentless questions was this one.
What do you bring that others don’t? Why will I be grateful that I’m working you and no one else? We already know that your work is quality, your people are top professionals, and you solve problems without causing them. What’s your secret ingredient that no one else does like you?

Chris Schultz [please know I’m paraphrasing] said

I’ve got 80% of the competition beat from the start, just because I show up. I answer every email — AFTER I read them to end. I return phone calls. I keep my promises. I do what I say I will. I listen and respond. And I like what I do and the people I do it with.

That’s a difference I’d pay for at most any place I do business with.

What about you? How easy is it to find service like that?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Why Madonna Can Reinvent Herself and We Cannot

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Authentic Either Is or Is Not

Ever watched a musician or a politician change their persona? It seems that for every tour or campaign, they’re reinvented in a way that makes us take another look. No one seems to think anything of it.

And if the music tour flops or the election is lost, the musician or politician simply reinvents their persona and the organization starts over with a new definition.

I’ve been thinking about business and personal branding in the context of social media. A personal brand for business in social media is more complicated. We can’t change a social media personal brand the way that rockstars or politicians do. They have whole organization behind them and between them and their fans.

In social media, we live with our “constituencies.” We act. We interact. We earn or lose respect. We reveal our thoughts, values, and beliefs. We give our word, make promises, and develop reputation. We connect with authenticity and trust, or not.

But I submit that …

We cannot rebrand or reinvent real relationships with real people.

It’s the difference between a handshake with stranger and holding hands with with a best friend. It’s why Madonna and Clinton can reinvent themselves, and we cannot.

How can personal branding fit in authentic relationships?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

A Twitter Survey, RSS Feeds and Jethro Bodine: How to Use All Three to Increase Subscribers

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A Guest Post by Duane Lester

I wanted more subscribers.

All over the Internet, I see Feedburner chicklets with more subscribers than my blog. I wonder what exactly makes a reader pull the trigger on a subscription? So I turned to a great resource, my tweeps.

Using Tweetlater I scheduled a Twitter survey — the same question day and night. For 24 hours, I asked what it took for them to subscribe to a blog.

Here’s what they told me:

  • sarahtymeson Guess it depends on what site has & what I’m looking 4… i.e they offer training in an area & I’m looking @ getting n2 that area.
  • PEP010 I hate excess email, so a website must offer well-done material that’s directly relevant to my work needs.
  • susan_s_smith content in my areas of interest, but it must be written well
  • readmylipstick Sites s/b related to my interests, well put together, recommended by friend, no pop ups, no noise / fluff / flash, good content
  • clarky07 for me its usually not that much. an insightful article or comment about something i’m interested in will do it.
  • OmegaSpreem If they have lots of new content on a regular (more often than weekly) schedule, I’ll subscribe to their RSS feed.
  • blogdesigner useful information and a feeling that doesn’t overwhelm me with "faceless blogger" personality is a must (coupled with useful in
  • my3boybarians sense of gaining something by reading it.
  • HighPlainsBlogr RE http://is.gd/crlI : Generally links to articles, etc. I enjoy. Frequency of "match" boosts odds – name recognition w/prev posts.
  • ppmartin Theres is no "rule" before I subscribe to a website, it all "depends".
  • EndTheRoboCalls Free, remarkable, useful, save time, save money
  • lynngg For a website? All over the place. For a blog, write like Hemingway.
  • crystalclear3 If a website has a topic I am interested in with good writers, then this makes me a subscriber to their RSS feed
  • lukegoossen value… the more value I find initially, the more likely I am to subscribe… to get more "value added" content
  • rinosafari For me, mostly interesting content. Good first impression is key, or I’m usually outta there.
  • rinosafari Also, regular updates are important, though it doesn’t have to be high volume. Visual site appeal comes in at distant third.
  • Mauricio_TN 1st, I would have 2b highly interestd in the subject matter, 2nd I would have to trust the owner/author is an expert in the field
  • redbloodedgirl To subscribe: consistently good content, good writing, unique perspective, original. Not "me too" or just agreement with me.
  • meanolmeany Strictly the content, on any topic. I read about 100 sites completely a day with Google Reader.
  • sharilee To subscribe, I need to see really rich content, something that will help me be smarter. Sadly, not much that compelling out there
  • RadioPatriot I want timely accurate info in user friendly format — HATE ads & widgets that slow up the download
  • InstructorG Re: answer to survey = immediately useful information
  • JesseNewhart cutting edge content
  • GrayRinehart I take RSS from blogs >> websites. If I go to a blog > 5 times, or know the blogger, or love it at 1st sight, I feed from it.
  • Jaustin intriguing content of which there has potential to consistently be more of. Like new software downloads or new commentary
  • infidelsarecool Constant fresh content, unique and interesting headlines, first-movers of news, content including multimedia [pics,videos]
  • chasrmartin mostly, the RSS icon. I put them in "possibles" and see later if I come back to them.
  • freedomist has to be something I need or want but can’t get elsewhere or has to offer me a chance or means of helping my own cause/bus.
  • lleger If I find myself continually checking a site for new content–because I know it’s good content–then it’s time to subscribe.

In order for a reader to subscribe:

“a website must offer lots of new, consistently good content, something I can’t get elsewhere.”

Really not a blockbuster surprise. We all know that content is king. The intriguing part of the survey came from the following responses:

  • Subscribe with money? Or just fill out the form that pops up?
  • not really sure how it works, if I knew how to do it and what it did I might subscribe
  • If you mean pay for it. I don’t believe I would.
  • Do you mean like newsletters? I sub’d to 1 recently; a site w/ supplies of interest to me. So I can see what’s new. That kinda thing
  • minimal info required – email maybe, zip code yes, real name no, address no, phone number no.

These responses reminded me of two things. The first a lesson I learned in military journalism school. The second was was an article at Copyblogger.

Write for Jethro

In military journalism school, we were taught to write our news stories for Jethro Bodine. (For those who don’t know who Jethro Bodine is — he was a character on a TV show, the Beverly Hillbillies who couldn’t add past 10.) If we wrote so Jethro could understand it, we were confident anyone could.

Pay attention. I am not saying that Twitterers are as dense as Jethro. I’m agreeing with Willy Franzen.

In this article from Copyblogger on how to increase subscribers. Willy Franzen at Copyblogger asks:

Are you being completely clear with your word choice? When you ask your readers to subscribe, are you asking them to do the virtual version of writing their name underneath? Or are you asking them to agree to pay you a sum of money?

In other words, are you writing for Jethro?

It’s a valid question.

I checked my site. I wasn’t. I had the square orange RSS logo in the top right corner. Savvy Internet users know this symbol for the blog’s RSS subscription. Would Jethro? No. Neither did some of my readers. Some who did, didn’t know
what to do with it.

To fix this, I added

  • a question the reader may have been asking: What is RSS?

    • and linked that question to

  • a page detailing the ins and out of RSS, including a video from Creative Commons.

Now when a person has a question about RSS or subscribing in general, this will lead them to the answer. And along the top are links to all our feeds so they can start right away with us.

Two small additions that could result in an increase in RSS and e-mail subscriptions. Are you inviting readers to subscribe assuming they understand what you mean, or are you writing for Jethro, ensuring you get maximum subscriptions?

Duane Lester writes for All American Blogger. He’s a friend, an SOB, and a Navy journalist who finds the answer to what he wants to know.

Thanks, Duane.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Perfect Blogs, 404 Errors, and Humanity

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What Makes a Perfect Blog?

When I talk to an organization considering a blog, they often are aiming for a perfect example of the genre. It takes a while to coax them into realizing that perfection isn’t what they think it might be …

  • to their product team, a perfect business blog showcases the product features in shining glory
  • to their marketing group, a perfect blog is one that gets customer attention and participation
  • to their sales group, a perfect blog generates qualified leads for products that sell and stays sold
  • to their design team, a perfect blog is aesthetically pleasing
  • to their coders, a perfect blog has no 404 errors
  • to their lawyer, a perfect blog is far from controversial
  • to their CFO, a perfect blog costs next to nothing
  • to the CEO, a perfect blog is one that does all of those things
  • to their customers — it connects them to people, ideas, and answers.

In that sort thinking, a perfect blog is something different to everyone.

My experience is that we do best when we move thoughts of perfection to paths of connection. People talking to people is what turns a blog into a community.

The perfect blog is code filled with humanity.

How do you bring the human connection into your blog?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

I Leave Today for WordCamp Las Vegas … and Other Stuff

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My Presentation Will Be Up on Sunday

I’m speaking on Sunday afternoon at WordCamp Las Vegas. No powerpoint, but I’m putting up fairly cool resource document with hyperlinks on Sunday for the folks who want the good stuff.

WordCamp Las Vegas will be at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, on January 10 and 11, 2009. The complete schedule is here. I’m speaking on Sunday after lunch. I’ve got a brand new me with a brand presentation to share.

Anyone who’s been to a WordCamp event knows they’re a great deal. $20 gets you a t-shirt and access to some outstanding speakers, including Matt Mullenweg, Aaron Hockley, Lorelle VanFossen, Dave Taylor and many more. And did I say I’d be there?

Please, please say “hi” if you’re there too!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

SOBCon09 is May 1, 2,3 in Chicago. Register Now!

Story Telling: Building Community for Post-Secondary Students

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As the Holidays drew to a close and people geared up to go back to work and class, I started thinking about classes, (I could have stayed in school forever – loved it!) and how I wish I had of been blogging when I was in university. Turns out there are lots of students out there not just connecting up on Facebook, but blogging, and for different reasons. I don’t have actual numbers but I talked with some post-secondary students to find out just what blogging and being part of that community means to them.

Teresa Wu blogs with a clear love of writing. She agrees with my suggestion that it does help with academic writing in that she learned to think very clearly about what she wants to say and how it will be perceived. Interestingly enough she said, “It gives me a community to bounce stuff off of, whether that’s just… pictures of my new brother’s new puppy or sharing the ways in which I promoted my humor blog.“Again, the value of community.

Writing with a purpose in mind and great enthusiasm is David Spinks. “The purpose of my blog is not only to share my thoughts and ideas on social media in hopes that people will find my writing to be valuable and communicate back, but also to complement my professional career, and establish myself in the field.” He knows what kind of community he wants to build and is doing it! His love of what he’s doing is contagious – you want to be a part of his community.

Blogging builds community. We see and hear that here, on Successful & Outstanding Bloggers. We’ve heard about it from others, and we know it ourselves to be true. We read, share our thoughts, ideas, expertise and good “finds”. We talk about ourselves. We write comments on blogs we read and share our opinions, ask questions and provoke debate. We link out, link up and search for links. We join in, build and grow. Our strategies may vary. Some choose to build community to market for public relations, or as corporate communications. Others may blog for the love of writing, to engage, share and help out. It’s all the same, really: to build a community. Just the intent may differ.

You are part of a blogging community. Thank you for welcoming me here to this one. Please share something that’s happening in your community.

Kathryn aka @northernchick

Photo credit: forever digital