Group items tagged

Interesting blog post for removing ability to comment on blog posts at Copyblogger by Sonia Simone, 4/2014. Seems that conversation has shifted from blogs to other venues such as Google+ and Twitter ... Copyblogger wants to shift comments to author's blog sites. Final reason is to get out from under the spam which they estimate is about 95% of the comments posted. This "experiment" as they called it interests me because it seems to elevate the role of aggregation tool to scan the web for references to one's work on a regular basis. And it is in line with some of the cMOOC approach--to let the conversation occur anywhere, then capture and make sense of it afterwards.

part of the interview with Sonia Simone and Jerod Morris at Copyblogger following their decision several weeks ago to close down comments on the Copyblogger blog site. Excerpt: "I don't put my business assets on a platform that I don't control. So I don't put my content on a platform I don't control unless I have it somewhere I can keep it and benefit from it. I wouldn't post original content to Facebook. I would just never - it doesn't make a lot of sense, other than just a post, a simple throw-away kind of a post. So our content lives on our domain, in our e-mail lists. These are assets we can control. " I'm not sure exactly what she means by "content lives on our domain, in our e-mail lists." Maybe it's as simple as it's Copyblogger's stuff, they own it, it's only used to achieve their business purposes and it isn't original stuff that is published elsewhere or stored there on someone else's platform for digestion and use? Blog post also introduces "digital sharecropping" to me. Interesting note about Google-Plus, too. "The nice thing about Google-Plus is I'm notified when someone actually mentions my name, or if I'm following that discussion then I'm notified within Gmail or Google-Plus, any one of the Google products. So it's nice in that way. There's a lot more ease of use. "

Another justification in Copyblogger for the WLStudio, May 2012

Once again, Copyblogger offers something very worthwhile! Clear and great ideas about how one's "brand" opens or closes doors. 1. Plan the effect you want to have--get to know your audience to use their words in your message 2. Dress the part--understand what motivates them and choose a website theme that uses brand colors, right fonts, and print materials to make a consistent positive impression 3. Stand up straight and make eye contact--own your look on a couple of social media platforms. Do blog posts, webinars, speaking gigs, and interviews. 4. Speak their language--goes back to #1 a bit; do a focus group to pick up their phrases 5. Direct their eyes to your best attributes--three things--size, color, and placement 6. Be yourself--find a way to make them talk about you; exude confidence in what you're doing.

Very helpful blog post by Beth Hayden, Copyblogger,on how to use Pinterest to market your business. We need to read and adapt these ideas for WLS.

Great blog post on drawing small targets for your business by Sean Smith, Copyblogger, Excerpt: Are you struggling to get traction? Are you dissatisfied with your progress attracting visitors to your blog, subscribers to your newsletter, followers on Facebook and Twitter, or whatever else it may be? Your target isn't small enough … so make your target smaller. Tighten your scope, find your tight-knit group. And reach more in the long run. Want to discuss? Reach out to me on Twitter or join the discussion on Google-Plus.

Copyblogger post by Henneke Duistermaat, July 2014. "Follow these steps: Over the next five days, block 30 minutes for reviewing your blog. On day one, create a profile of your favorite fan. On day two, write down your blog purpose and discover why your fans come to your blog. On day three, think about your favorite fan and write down at least 30 blog topics that he'd love to read. On day four, review your blog promotion strategy. How can you reach more people in the time available to you? Which activities can you cut? How can you experiment? On day five, consider your email strategy. How can you build a closer relationship with the fans on your list?"

Great blog post on how to approach a weak topic and change the angle into a series of related posts, each with distinct value, Copyblogger Stefanie Flaxman, January 2014.

nice blog post by Sean Smith on Copyblogger for content marketing for an inground swimming pool business and an online marketing business. Explains that responding to questions in a blog post is great way to educate and engage with potential customers.

Copyblogger post by Demian Farnworth on how children's books help you define your business message. December 2013 "As you read: Look at the emotions. What core emotion is behind each story? Is it fear? Joy? Sadness? Anger? Look at the characters. Who is the main character? Is he or she likeable? Who are the supporting characters? Who is the enemy of the main character? Look at the conflict. What does the main character want? What obstacle is stopping the main character from getting what he wants? How does the story end? Look at the language. The short words. The short sentences. The short paragraphs. The repetition and alliteration."

Copyblogger writer Brian Clark on 22 tips for creating compelling content that can be used to market your business. The infographic that displays it is wonderful, too.

Fits into digital literacies--attention and search

Great blog post for writing blogs and getting and staying unstuck

good ideas for setting up retainer projects as regular source of income

Great blog on website design--when to know it's done and requires only tweaking/updates by Pamela Wilson, March 2014. Emphasizes basics of home page, about page (which ours doesn't totally conform to), products/services (don't know anymore about how strong it is), and blog (credible job for us, I think).

An amazing interview with Maria Popova of Brain Pickings, July 2013 Highlights: What is your area of expertise as a writer or online publisher? I'm not an expert and I aspire never to be one. As Frank Lloyd Wright rightly put it, "An expert is a man who has stopped thinking because 'he knows.'" Brain Pickings began as my record of what I was learning, and it remains a record of what I continue to learn - the writing is just the vehicle for recording, for making sense. That said, one thing I've honed over the years - in part by countless hours of reading and in part because I suspect it's how my brain is wired - is drawing connections between things," "Do you believe in "writer's block"? If so, how do you avoid it? I think the operative word here is "believe." If you fixate on it, it'll be there. It's kind of like insomnia - the more you think about not being able to fall asleep, the less able to fall asleep you become. It's different for everyone, of course, but I find that you break through that alleged "block" simply by writing. As Tchaikovsky elegantly put it, "A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood." The writer's creativity … Define creativity. The ability to connect the seemingly unconnected and meld existing knowledge into new insight about some element of how the world works. That's practical creativity. Then there's moral creativity: To apply that skill towards some kind of wisdom on how the world ought to work."

Lovely blog post for flakes like me, Sonia Simone, April 2014 Excerpt/conclusion: "The plan in 7 reasonably painless steps When you've got something to do, figure out what you really want to get out of it. Do the Pivotal Technique. Think about what you want, then get clear about where you are right this minute. Notice the difference. Figure out the next action. Do what you feel like. Rinse, lather, repeat. Start a compost pile for ideas, notes, plans, and insights. Stick to a few primary areas of focus - three or four is a good number for a lot of people."

Interesting blog about About website pages

"Pinterest, with its 70 million users, is driving an avalanche of referral traffic to websites and blogs. Right now, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ … combined. And contrary to popular belief, maybe contrary to even your belief, that traffic is converting … because many pinners use the site specifically for product and content discovery. (Get ready for some compelling stats about this in a minute.) This makes Pinterest a powerful tool for ecommerce."