Successful Blog

Stretch Your Style

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By Jael Strong

When I was growing up, it was a family tradition to gather around the television set on Tuesday nights to watch Matlock. We’re suckers for a good who-done-it, but we’re also suckers for a quirky character. And there were certain things about Matlock that were certainly a bit odd. Today’s subject: Matlock’s suits, a quirky element to the brilliance that is Matlock.

If anyone out there is a Matlock fan (and I know that planet is crawling with us!), you know what I am referring. Matlock had plenty of suits, a rather large closet full if I remember correctly. But here is the clincher: They were all identical. This light grey suit, unremarkable in so many ways, was a hallmark of the show. When I think Matlock, I think “grey suit.”

Choose your style

Most of us do not wear the same clothing every day. We have varying outfits and styles. On the other hand, though we may not stray too far from the mainstream, we do tend to take on a style that is uniquely our own. People are able to say, “Sue would love that dress” or “Steve would never wear that tie.” The fact that people are able to say these things means that we have, even unintentionally, projected a style.

The same is true when it comes to our blogs. We may be known as a straight shooter. We could have the reputation of striking up controversy. We may be flamboyant, creative, or humorous. These are generalities that become more fine-tuned as we add certain lingo to our blogs, images, and concepts. Over time, our blog develops a style that is readily recognizable as our own.

Is this a good thing? Absolutely. Developing a style that is uniquely your own as a writer is a must. There are dangers of course. For example, not everyone can pull off the proverbial grey suit. If your style never varies, this could go one of two ways. One, people get tired of seeing that grey suit and eventually they tune you out. Two, they only want to see you in that grey suit; they love the way you wear it. If you insist on keeping your style narrow (à la “the grey suit”), your preference would be for the second option.

Now, stretch

Stretching your style is a great idea. Matlock did occasionally don a plaid shirt when he sat on the front stoop and serenaded us with his guitar. There is a lesson here for us (yes, we can learn so much from this show). Don’t avoid other styles of writing. In fact, make it an exercise to include variations to your style in your blog. Add humor. Don’t shy away from controversy all together. Be straight forward, but don’t fear complex topics. Identify your style, then grab it at both ends and stretch.

As you dabble in varying styles, you may discover that your style needed a change. You may find that you like some styles of writing better than others and that people seem to be responding more to your varied approaches. Or you may discover that the grey suit is perfect for you, just don’t be afraid to toss in some sequins from time to time!

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Jael Strong writes for TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written both fiction and non-fiction pieces for print and online publications. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas.

Thanks, Jael

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Leadership … It’s All in Your Head!

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The theme of SOBCon this year, The New Leaderrship and Loyalty Businesss, has me thinking, why do we work so hard to do what we do? … and how much of our success and leadership is in how we see ourselves?

It can’t be solely economic. We could find easier ways to put in a good day’s work for a good day’s pay.

It’s not just political. We can raise our station in life and our job roles by trying less visible, more traditional ways.

It’s a reaching out to leadership. Leaders are givers. Leaders give their learning, their loyalty, their love to build something lasting and solid with others that no one person can build alone.

Why do we choose the road less traveled, the rockier road that’s bound to be just that much harder if only because it’s not paved? In the end does that make us leaders or victims of the route we’ve chosen to take? At it’s core, it’s the “what” or even the “how” of what we do that makes a leader, but the “why.”

Leadership … It’s All In Your Head

Still, the calling to build something lasting and solid is simply a calling without the leadership thinking to fuel the “what” and “how” of making that vision a reality. To attract those other someones who help build that solid something a leader has to have the right “why” working. the right “why” is leadership thinking. Leadership is really all in our heads.

Did you ever notice that what people value most is what they give away?

Leaders understand that giving to others won’t get us what we not given to ourselves.

I have a friend who is a promiscuous truster. He extends his trust almost immediately to everyone he meets. He NEEDS to trust other people in order to get their trust back. His need to feel trusted gets filled that way. He’s often the victim of untrustworthy types find him attractive and find it easy to take advantage. He often burned, sometimes badly. My friend’s problem is that he doesn’t trust himself first.

The “why” he’s doing it is because he NEEDS to be trusted that is what undercuts his leadership.

Suppose that he decided (killed off all other options) to find himself trustworthy first?

That would simply be a change in thinking — all in his head.

He would move from possible victim to leadership.

If he found himself trustworthy, he wouldn’t NEED to trust other people almost immediately but he still could.
Now he would be doing it from a position of strength. Now he could trust almost everyone until he got to the untrustworthy takers. Now, because he didn’t NEED their trust (which he wasn’t getting anyway) he could smile and leave them alone.

Leaders own what they give away.

Doing that is all inside our heads. How is the leadership inside your head going?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

See also:
Top 10 Ways to Start Living Your Life

Tailoring Twitter: Get Busy Folks to “Get” Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!

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I’m Too Busy for Twitter

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Last I worked the social media station for McGraw-Hill Education at the National Conference of Teachers of Mathematics, a gathering of about 9,000 attendees. As it happens this attendee group is math teachers, school superintendents, math tutors, and people who build products for, consult with, and sell products to the education industry. Every administrator, every teacher, every editor, designer, consultant, sales rep, and presenter I spoke with has a huge job — days filled with helping others gain expertise and find knowledge, breaks and evenings filled with planning how to do that more effectively.

Sounds a lot like every client, customer, web publisher, manager, and business person I know.

I bet you know a few people like that too.

And I bet you’ve heard these words more than once, “I’m too busy for another social network.”

Here’s how I was able to change that view for over 90% of the folks with whom I spoke in less than 2 Minutes Flat!

How to Get Busy Folks to “Get” Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!

My purpose for being at the event was to show every version of busy people how Twitter can make their jobs easier, faster, and more meaningful. Naturally, I’d start by asking questions and listening. The conversation would go something like this.

“Are you on Twitter?”:

“No. I’m too busy. I don’t have a smartphone. I don’t need another social network.”

“Oh, don’t I get that. Time is so important to all of us. By the way, you do this on your computer, whenever you feel like it. There’s no obligation to show up. Will you give me two minutes to show you how I think Twitter will make your job easier?”

“Okay I’ll listen for two minutes.”

“Let’s start with your job. What is your role in the world of mathematics?”

Then I’d point to a Twitter screen loaded to a hashtag … in the is case it was #mathchat And say, “let me show you what’s happening here.”

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I’d go on …

“All day long people who care about math post resources, questions, answers, ideas, insights, best practices and they tag them with this hashtag #mathchat so that other math folks can see them.”

I’d fire off a few examples and point to some in the stream, such as

  • The teacher who asked “Is anyone at a school that’s giving students iPads, I’m wondering how that works.”
  • Here’s two activities for the classroom.
  • Here’s an article on how a teacher made Calculus the most popular class in the school.
  • Look at that! There’s an event for middle school teachers in your state next month.
  • Yesterday I saw a tweet from a teacher who was looking for a video on nanotechnology for his students.
  • And did you see the Tweet right there, where @mheducation is offering their Math Apps for free during this conference? .

    • When I asked the question on #mathchat, why might a math person want to use Twitter, they said

    • So you don’t feel alone.
    • To get ideas.
    • To ask questions and get answers.
    • To get insights and best practices.
    • To connect with math people all over the world.

“And don’t worry about time. You don’t HAVE TO be there. Twitter is like this conference exhibit, the resources are available when you need them. They don’t come bother you. You go visit them when you can.”

The other things that’s really cool is that every week for one hour math people from all over the world meet at the same time under this #mathchat hashtag to talk math in real time — it’s like a mini math conference every week online — you can just listen in or talk and make friends who do what you do.

That’s when I handed them a sheet with the information from these two blog posts.

Tailoring Twitter: Does Your Twitter Profile Attract the Right People?

and

Tailoring Twitter: Building a Powerful Network that Fits You Perfectly

and some information on how to find a list of the most popular hashtags in their industry.

Now you see how a single hashtag can get right to the deep value of Twitter for almost anyone one.

How can you use this to tailor Twitter — to make it faster, easier and more meaning — for the folks you know?

Be Irresistible!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Related:
Tailoring Twitter: Does Your Twitter Profile Attract the Right People?
Tailoring Twitter: Building a Powerful Network that Fits You Perfectly
Tailoring Twitter: The ROI of Curating Content on Twitter

Join @MackCollier for the next #SOBCon chat April 21

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Mack CollierWant to learn more about business blogging strategy? Then plan to join us for our April monthly #SOBCon chat with Mack Collier (@MackCollier on Twitter). Mack is a top social media and blogging consultant, trainer, and speaker specializing in helping companies use social media to better connect with their customers. If you’re active on the Twitter chat scene, you’ll most likely recognize Mack from the active Sunday night #blogchat sessions which discuss a different blogging topic each week.

This is your chance to get insight on your business blog from one of the best in the business.

Join us on Thursday, April 21st, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (CDT) and learn how to better connect with your customers.

Thanks to Week 286 SOBs

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Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

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They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

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Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss