Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging
We’ve come full circle. We’re returning to social media engagement. As I daily peruse the social media sphere and the lists of bloggers who still write daily, good for you, I am conscious of one thing in this chaos of disruption.
Human engagement with connectivity remains the number one most important metric of social media.
Says Social Media Explorer today (exact quotes) by Peter Friedman: [Read more…]
Photo Credit: Jayme Soulati via iPhone 4S on AA flight to LA
Ever thought of writing a book? Don’t tell me you haven’t! Everyone is writing a book, and that either makes you feel left out or jazzed up.
If you have a bucket list, writing a book may be one of your yet-to-achieve items. Because self-publishing is the latest trend to hit the book world, there’s no better time than the present to jump on board and self-publish already.
Self-publish? How did that word hit you?
Some have a negative reaction to we who self-publish our first tome. My first business book has been out a few weeks, Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey. The concern is that bloggers who write books are not legitimate authors. (I know this to be true, as I heard it from someone directly.)
Bah-humbug!
When you have an archive full of content hardly seeing the light of day, then why not compile these posts into a collection of insights?
Bloggers have keen opinions and are usually remarkable teachers. They offer vibrant thought, lead perspective and showcase talent from years of writing and perusing others’ writings. Check into your archives and see if a book is ready to pop from under the covers. Maybe you need a nudge of inspiration to help push your book into reality?
1. Showcase Confidence. Overcome what’s challenging you about writing a business book. Business development, building your list, power for the brand, and achievement for the soul are significant reasons why authorship works. Understand that a book builds your cred; it’s an opportunity you’ll never regret.
2. Got topic? As mentioned above, start with your blog. Comb your archives and see what strikes you. There are topics you’ve tackled more frequently than others, and these posts become book fodder.
3. A blog is owned media! You own your blog and you write your posts. Owning all this content means you can re-purpose it into a business book easy enough. Add them to a document, sort, update, tweak, and off you go!
4. Do self-publish the first title. There’s nothing wrong with self-publishing; it enables a faster go-to-market strategy. It eliminates time on the front end and provides more time to market the title. Now that budding authors have the opportunity to self-publish, carpe diem! Did you know that Mark W. Schaefer self-published The Tao of Twitter?
5. Is an e-Book a book? If you prefer to launch a book online only, stop worrying that people won’t consider your e-book legit. It’s a common emotion, but guess what? You are writing the book for YOU. If people read and like it, that’s another discussion.
6. Invest in you. Write for you, write to achieve, write to invest in your future and your credibility. Printing a book on your own will require a financial investment; however, plan for it. Money is required to publish a book; but, it won’t break the bank.
7. Time is of the essence. As a professional blogger, you are familiar with time commitment. Your growth is along an ever-steepening path. Add your book project into the blogging queue. Instead of posting four times weekly, then only post two for awhile and use that writing time for your book. You learn to manage time better when it’s time spent building your brand.
8. What will peers and critics say? Ignore the naysayers. There will be people who don’t regard your work with value; others will say you’re not a “true” author. Put on the ear buds and listen to happy music! Perhaps you’re a blogger who wrote a book (like me), or you’re a bona fide writer who wrote a book…pray tell…what’s the difference?
9. Writing a book is necessary. Are you trying to monetize and earn money online? A book provides so many opportunities to help monetize from building a list, earning authority, speaking engagements, and business development.
10. Will anyone buy it? An investment in time, talent and thought to craft your first title is NOT about making a profit. You are writing a business book to accomplish so much more for your growth professionally. If people buy it, then that’s a bonus. Lower your expectation about selling hundreds of books. You can be surprised later.
11. After the first title, more follow. Mark Schaefer does not recall this email to me about three years ago. I asked him where his book was, and he said, “Why should I write a book, everyone is!” Now look at him with three highly successful business books under his belt. Once you sit down to write the first, there’s a second title just beneath the surface. I know this from experience. My first title is just published, and my second is being written in my head right now.
The experience of the experience is the biggest reward you’ll have when you allow these inspirational nudges to push you into authorship. My bookshelf and Kindle always have room for one more title, and I bet yours do, too!
This post originally appeared on Mark W. Schaefer’s blog, Businesses Grow, on July 3, 2013.
The e-book and soft cover are available via Amazon, right here!
When I started my social media marketing agency 5 years ago, I did it for a variety of reasons.
One of the BEST parts of social media is getting to know people. I have met some amazing people that I would never have had the opportunity to meet were it not for social media. I met my friend and mentor, Mark Schaefer because of Twitter. I don’t know what tweet it was that he saw, but he reached out to me and offered a half hour of his time to “mentor” me. I was floored and giddy all at the same time. Whether he liked it or not, he had a follower for life. I wouldn’t meet him in real life for at least another year and that was when he came to be the keynote speaker for me at ConvergeSouth. He came to speak because of our relationship that we had built online.
You can build amazing relationships with people online but at some point, you REALLY want to meet them in person. To put a face to a Twitter handle or avatar is the best feeling in the world. That’s why I go to conferences.. it’s not to learn (added bonus if I do!) but rather to MEET WHO I TWEET!
I think it’s so important to find these opportunities to connect in person that I started a group affectionately called the #BWTs.. Broads Who Tweet. My point is getting to meet my online friends makes me happy for days. The energy I get from our BWT weekends will feed my soul for weeks. I just love taking those online relationships to the next level.
BWT is a group of tech-savvy women who I had gotten to know over the course of time and we had built such great online relationships that we wanted to get together in person. We have a hoot when we’re together.. we laugh, we support each other and we talk non-stop. After a few lunches, I thought…Hey! Why don’t we go on a retreat! We can get away from the family for a few days, drink copious amounts of coffee and wine and learn from each other.
And just like that, the #BWT Beach ReTweet was born.
We’ve done two of these retreats, and I’m in the process of planning the third. These relationships began on social media. We’ve carried them into real life and formed real friendships. I know that I can call on any one of these women to help me with something and they will be there in a flash. And they know that they can ask the same of me. It was because of this group that I joined forces with my friend Adrienne and together we created a new, bigger and better social media agency. It doesn’t get much better than that, friends.
You never know where you will find your next friend or your next tribe. Some last, some don’t. I’m grateful that I have them and all of you. Every chance I get to grow my social media circle, I do it because you never know where it may lead.
Kristen Daukas is the Director of Social Media for Atlantic Webworks. When she’s not creating magic for clients, she’s busy trying to keep her sanity as she navigates the water of raising three teen and tween daughters. She also enjoys long walks on the beach in the moonlight with her husband. And she thinks she’s really funny. Come share a tweet and circle her at Google+!
I got bought, and I bet you’ve been bought at some point or another, too…right there in the online product reviews of Amazon.com. I don’t feel good about it, I actually am upset that I caved.
Let me share:
1. Kidlet wanted a new iPod case; none of them were available or appealing at Best Buy.
2. In a search on Amazon for “iPod cases” this Harry Potter SkinIt brand “case” appeared.
3. We bought as it was the most reasonable price; it arrived and to my chagrin and lament, it was a sticker.
4. Then I felt dumb; ah-hah, the “SkinIt” brand was all about skins as stickers and not skins as gel cases or what not. How was I to know? A mom trying to appease a pre-teen with what she wants with nary a look at the fine print.
5. We went to Target and found a white case; kidlet trimmed the SkinIt to fit and now she’s happy. But, Mom wasn’t.
When the request came to write a product review (it caught me at the right moment as I had ignored the request many times previously), it was the right moment. I gave it 2.5 stars and said that maybe I was a dumb mom for not knowing SkinIt meant sticker.
Wait several days and here comes the product team for SkinIt. “We have refunded the prices of your purchase, will you please now alter your product review to something more positive? After all, the fine print says explicitly that this is not a case at all, blah, blah. Here are the steps you take to change your review to a positive one.”
From the “I got bought” trashy feeling to the “really? Are you kidding me?” and the “I’m so pissed off” emotions, I ranted and raved internally and was none too happy with this chain of events.
Options were to:
1. Oblige them with a new glowing review.
2. Do nothing.
3. Delete the comment totally.
4. Rant and rave in the comments section for all the world to see.
5. Write a blog post on the experience.
Before I share my decision, let me share one of my peer’s blog posts with you; it was so timely it was uncanny.
Mark Schaefer’s Dongle Blog Post
Mark Schaefer, blogger at {grow}, shares a scary post about the world in which we now live policed by onlookers and bystanders (no longer innocent) looking for an instant of fame (in this case negative) to influence the what-used-to-be-jokester mentality of peeps having fun in and amongst themselves.
In a gist, two guys yak together about the “big dongle;” the girl in front of them snaps a photo of them, posts it to Twitter with an “I’m offended” comment and what ensues is where nightmares are written. I want you to read Mark’s post to get all the gory details, and how this is relevant to me is the following:
1. Your fellow man is no longer trustworthy.
2. The online world is scarey and full of those wanting to take advantage.
3. Employers are caving to the online pressure of negativity by a few who have taken advantage.
4. Innocent people (who joked amongst themselves) are losing jobs as a result and fighting back via cyber attack.
5. And, me? I wrote a negative online product review because it was true and was bombarded with the appeal of a refund and strong request to alter the truth.
What did I do? Number 3 and number 5.
You might like Mark Schaefer’s latest book, Born To Blog:
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