Successful Blog

Last Day to Save 25% on blogworldexpo Registration!

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Join Me at blogworld expo!

join me at blogworld

Are you going to blogworld expo, Sept 20-21 (Executive & Entrepreneur Conference Sept. 19)? I’m going. Will I be seeing you?

The speaker list is filled with folks you know and folks you should meet. The educational sessions offer tracks for executives, entrepreneurs, real estate bloggers, citizen journalists, folks pushing the edge, videobloggers, podcasters, with additional tracks on monetization, new media, and the business of blogging.

Now’s the time to make your commitment.
Register by August 22, 2008 SAVE up to 25%!
Use this promo code –> LSVIP <-- and save 20% more just because you read this blog!!!

And if you’re in the market for new business cards . . . stop by FrancescoMugnai.com for beautiful ideas like these.

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    See all 70 designs at FrancescoMugnai.com — go take a look now!

    Then bring one with you and we’ll exchange cards when we meet at
    blogworldexpo next month!

    –ME “Liz” Strauss

SOB Business Cafe 08-22-08

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Technosailor sees the gaps.
Gap Marketing is the idea that, when you’ve done everything you can to cover the large target audiences, there are still small gaps to fill.

Leadership Ramblings sees how leaders changes their view of leadership.
I started out on my young career wanting to be a manager, wanting to lead a team. My main motivation was that “being a manager” would look good on my resume. It would look good in the eyes of others. It would look good professionally, and it felt good personally. Essentially, I was in “lust” with leadership.

Beth’s Blog sees a distinction between starting a conversation and starting a community.
A critical factor for success in both is having an engagement strategy. An engagement strategy can help your organization attract more traffic, loyal supporters, more content, more links, and other values. But it requires investing the time to build relationships with people (yes, even one-on-one interaction) or “network weaving skills.”

Global Neighbourhoods sees the personal side of personal branding.
In social media, it seems like the people who give the most valuable or interesting information establish the strongest brands. They become trusted sources. The trust of others builds influence. Your personal brand may or may not help your employer. But what makes it personal is that it moves around with you wherever you go.

leah in chicago sees the value of being with people in person. Her cat might disagree . . .
It must be working, because now people say to me, “you go out every night, don’t you?”
My knee jerk reaction to that is to say, “No, I’m a total homebody, I never go out.” But then I go home and my cat yells at me, “Where have you been all week? I need some attention and a treat!”

BawldGuy sees the need for a little perspective.
At a family dinner tonight we had three generations at the table. We were at one of our favorite places, and were enjoying several appetizers. Grandma came up in the conversation as we were talkin’ about the Great Depression. The usual stories were told, but then my daughter asked me to tell her favorite Grandma story.

Here’s some perspective against which you can evaluate our current economic challenges.

Related ala carte selections include

David Bullock sees you on the Olympic track running against yourself.
It is you, your track shoes and your opponent seems to be the rest of the field.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Engaging the Offline Customer: Do You Talk with Non-Bloggers?

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by Scott McIntyre

Scott McIntyre — The Avid Blog Reader Without a Blog

Last week, I considered which features of your blog itself can create a positive first impression and be welcoming to the offline customer.

To briefly recap, I suggested that it is of benefit to both you and the non-blogger if they feel at ease on arrival at your site. By making it as simple as possible to navigate your pages, the first-time visitor is guided to your best quality content. This is further helped if you file that valuable information into relevant, streamlined categories.

It is also worth avoiding the use of too much ‘blog jargon’ which can confuse and make the blog experience ‘difficult’. And don’t forget to tell the new visitor, in easy-to-understand terms, of the value in subscribing to receive your carefully crafted content!

If you are mindful of all these elements, you will be well on your way to ensuring that your online offering is a place where the non-blogger wants to return.

So, how else might you develop a successful relationship between yourself and the offline customer? How can you begin to involve them in your community of readers? I’d love for you to share your views in the comments section below.

As I mentioned last week, the comments section is where the exciting activity takes place. There, your audience is able to have a conversation with you. The reader can shape the very content itself simply by leaving a comment. It’s a very powerful idea. But, how best can you encourage the non-blogger to participate in this dialogue?

Today, I’d like to consider five methods you can adopt.

Involving the Non-Blogger in Your Conversations

Imagine for a moment that you have come across your blog for the very first time. You eagerly read the articles. Then, you notice that lots of people have left messages with their views. ‘What’s all that about?’, you might ask. Even more bewildering is that box at the foot of the article asking you to share your views. What is the non-blogger going to do? Here’s a few things you can try to assist them to add their voice:

  • Don’t say it all.
    A comprehensive coverage of the issue at hand is one of the hallmarks of quality content. Your readers will be informed, educated, and provoked if you succeed in giving them the fullest background that they need. However, if every piece you write comes across as if you know everything about the topic, what else is there left for the non-blogger to say? Those other bloggers who leave comments know what commenting is all about. They are quick to join in. But, the non-blogger is likely to feel that their lack of expertise will not be considered valuable. If you leave enough words left to be said, then the non-blogger might just be brave enough to say them.
  • Ask questions.
    There is no more effective technique of encouraging a response than to ask a question, is there? There will most certainly be areas upon which your non-blogging reader has much insight to share. How can you assist them to do so? Ask them. This was how I first came to make my first ever comment right here on Liz’s blog. The writer of that article asked a question about which I believed I could help answer: How to attract the non-blogger to your blog? If you’re not used to it already, why not try posing relevant questions in your articles? You may be surprised at who shows up for the party!
  • Answer questions.
    One of the aims of your online offering might be to build your position as an authority within your niche. Being the ‘go to’ person in your industry can have immense benefits to your business. A good way of convincing your readers of your qualifications to be this person is your willingness to share your expertise with them. Ideally, either through your blog or via other communication channels, you can try to answer queries from your audience. There is, of course, a balance between doing this and the other demands on your time, but the advantages in your availability to reply to readers’ queries are considerable.
  • Reply to comments.
    I realise that every blogger has their own approach to this. Whatever method you adopt for interacting with comments is perfect- if it is what your reader expects. Some of you might reply to each individual commenter, while others ‘batch’ reply to comments. And there are some bloggers whose names never appear in their own comments section. Which approach do you think might appear most welcoming to the non-blogger and convince them that you want them to be part of your community?
  • Offer a friendly comments box.
    At the end of this article — and on yours too — there is the ‘Leave a comment’ section. From the non-blogger’s point of view, this can be a potential barrier to drawing them in. When you ask them to leave their email address, it is helpful to state that this will not be used by any 3rd party. When your comment box requires them to ‘Enter your url/ website’, some may leave their email address. I know that the majority of you have non-blogger friendly comments boxes, but with the addition of a few welcoming words, you might just gently nudge the offline customer into having their say.

As with any invitation to talk, encouraging the non-blogger to join in your conversations means making them feel that their input is valued. If you can help them to feel at ease with the idea of commenting, you both can strike up a long-lasting and fruitful relationship.

If you’re a blogger, leave a comment to let me know how you involve non-bloggers in the conversation? What might you do to encourage non-blogging customers to participate in your comments section?

If you’re a non-blogger, tell them what they can do to make you feel part of their blog community.

Next week, I would like to take a reader’s question and discuss it a little further here. So, if there’s a particular issue you’d like me to explore that relates to connecting with offline customers or non-bloggers, please leave a comment and I’ll aim to write about it in the future.

–Scott McIntyre

Related

Week 1: Connecting with the Offline Customer: A Non-Blogger’s Perspective
Week 2: Targeting the Offline Customer: Do You Blog for Non-Bloggers?
Week 3: Reaching the Offline Customer: Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 4: Attracting the Offline Customer: Why Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 5: Top 10 Social Media Tips for Connecting With Non-Blogging Customers
Week 6: Welcoming the Offline Customer: Does Your Blog Create A Good Impression?

Find a Moment of Gold

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Put Gold in What You’re Doing Now

Yellow_Lily_by_Liz_Strauss

We’ve all had one — a moment of gold, a moment when the sun shines on us, and we’re something made of success. How we got there was part head, part heart, and a whole lot of determination that knocked down walls as we went.

In a moment of gold, some folks don’t understand what makes that moment so worth celebrating. Ah, to them, what we’ve some seems a small thing, but we know that the distance from point A to point B was not a straight or simple line. Math might always be. Life hardly ever is.

With all of the choices that move us forward, with all of the wishes and plans that our hearts hold, we need to be sure that we savor our accomplishments and celebrate our successes. Those golden moments are what propel us forward to make more spectacular things happen.

Stop a minute. Recall the sunlight. Find a moment of gold from your past.

What can you take from that moment to fuel what you’re doing now?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Social Networking: The Garden Analogy

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Guest Writer: Todd Jordan

Networking withPurpleConeflowers_by_Liz_Strauss

Do you take your network seriously? How do you keep it and treat it? Is it cared for like a well maintained garden, or is it overrun with half grown connections and weeds? When’s the last time you bothered to nurture and prune it?

Sounds funny at first, but the truth is our social networks are an extension of ourselves. They speak volumes about us and our attitude towards ourselves and others. Like flowers, your contacts can wither and drop off. A once vital connection, bringing you many interesting tidbits or even work, can stop bearing fruit if you don’t pay attention to it.

If the overrun garden sounds like it might be your network, then it’s time to get to work on it. It won’t be pleasant at first, but the work soon pays off.

  • drop everyone that’s not following you – this is the hardest but most productive of all the steps you can take. Yes, you love following that news anchor but when was the last time he chatted with you? Like removing the undergrowth.
  • stop following anyone whose stuff you bypass or ignore – this one often feels awkward. Chances are these are folks we actually cared about at one time or another. This one also greatly improves your network. Like removing those trees that never bear fruit.
  • eliminate the spammers – oh, you think you’ve removed all the weeds? What about Jack, that guy that sends out endless messages about his kids, but has never sent you a reply. Or Joan, the lady from work, who friended you, doesn’t reply, but manages to talk to a hundred other friends. This is the weeds of your garden. They too choke off what you really want in your network.
  • move contacts and reduce redundancy – huh? this means don’t follow the same person on half a dozen networks where they post the same thing over and over. If you follow Bud on Twitter and FriendFeed, drop him on Twitter. It’s like having two busy gardens next to one another. You’ll only really tend to one. This last one reduces the clutter, freeing up the rest of your network to breathe and be usable again.

Yes, the analogy seems silly but these simple steps are no joke. If you can implement these in your networks, you’ll see things begin to change. With the dead weight gone, the rest of your contacts will begin to stand out. Good growth will begin again. You might even find some old friends you’d forgotten. But once things start blooming, don’t forget to keep the pruning sheers handy. A good garden requires consistent tending.

How’s your garden?

Managing Painful Situations: Writer’s Block, Migraine, and Trolls

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Get to Know What’s a Pain

Painful situations come in sorts of packages and combinations. Lately I’ve been hearing talk about three in particular — writer’s block, migraine, and trolls. When I think about about that set of pains, I realize that in some ways, they’re the same problem dressed up in different ways.

I know a couple of things about all three. I’ve been a writer since the last century. Been studying migraines since I got the first one when I was 12. And trolls . . . A cyber trolls once invited me to be CEO of his business.

Managing Painful Situations: Writer’s Block, Migraine, and Trolls

Writer’s block, migraine and trolls are a pain. Dealing with them is a management problem. I offer these suggestions that work for me.

  • Study the problem. Get to know the pain.
    Understand when it happens and how it works. Take away all of the personal issues. It’s not “your” writer’s block, “your” migraine, “your” personal attack. Those things outside you are just doing what they do. If you study them, you’ll notice they do the same thing every time.
  • Stop resources that support the situation.
    Your emotional buy in exacerbates the pain. Getting nervous about things, getting mad, insecure, or anxious only adds to the stress and undercuts your ability to move beyond what’s happening. Turn off the negative voices. Don’t feed the trolls.
  • Leave the war zone.

    • Get space to gather resources, rest, and perspective. Take a walk. See the sky. Feel the ground beneath your feet again.

Anyone who’s gone past writer’s block knows that moving away from the computer often allows the answers to come more quickly. Anyone who’s had a debilitating migraine knows a dark cool room works far better than a blinding sunrise to quiet the awful physical pain. Anyone who’s argued with trolls — are they really a pain or just irritants? — knows their words are deflated when left without rebuttal.

August_Sunrise_by_Liz_Strauss

On some days, we all give importance to things that get in our way. Keep an eye out for them. When you find one, just decide that you aren’t going there.

Have you got a strategy for managing painful and irritating situations?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!