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- 10 Productive Tasks You Should Be Doing On Google+ Right Now
This guest post is by Neil Patel of KISSmetrics.
Google+ had a hot start, but has since cooled down. For a lot of people, that means ignoring Google+. I want to warn you that is a bad idea.
Although the lights are on and it seems like nobody is home, trust me: there are people there. And they are the very people who can have a huge impact on your blog and business.
Why Google+ isn't going anywhere
Google+ is designed to draw you away from both Twitter and Facebook. And in time, it could do this.
Yes, Facebook has over 800 million users. People like to state that number and then say "Facebook isn't going anywhere." Fair enough. But people do migrate. It happened to AOL. And it could happen to Facebook. In fact, former Facebook president Sean Parker says influencers are already moving from FB to Twitter and Google+.
That's bad news for Facebook. But good news for you.
Of course I know that it's important not to waste your time. So the following list of things that you should be doing on Google+ will keep you both productive and effective, not just entertained.
1. Create a stream of thought leaders
Because of the appeal of Google+ by many innovators, thought leaders, and early adopters, you have a lot of forward-thinking people hanging out in Google+ right now. As Robert Scoble said, "Google+ is for the passionate users of tech."
Your mother won't use Google+, but that guy who can help bring attention to your blog sure will!
Being early to the party, and it is still early, has its advantages, namely you are more visible to these thought leaders and are more likely to catch their eye. But before you start thinking about hounding them, look to what you can learn from them.
Can you imagine the power and creativity you can tap into if you created a Circle dedicated to thought leaders in marketing, a Circle dedicated to social media, to technology, to innovation, and to blogging?
2. Get circled by thought leaders
In the end, it's not so much who you've circled in Google+. What matters is who's circled you. Again, because it's somewhat early, you can take advantage of the breathing room and get to know these people more intimately than you could on a crowded space like Twitter or Facebook.
But how do you get them to follow you? Here are some ideas:
- Comment like crazy: Just like you would on a blog, you should leave thoughtful and useful comments on things that these thought leaders share.
- Promote with precision: Everybody likes a little promotion, and when a thought leader sees you sharing his work, and even making meaningful comments about it, he or she is inclined to circle you.
- Share your work carefully: If it makes sense and doesn't feel pushy, share your own work when you comment.
- Fill out your profile fully: People are more likely to follow you when you have a profile that is thorough and interesting. Do not neglect this. Besides, your profile allows links, photos, QR codes and more. There’s no reason why you shouldn't use it to its fullest.
- Post with particular thought leaders in mind: This seems like a no-brainer, but you should post meaningful content. Go a step further, though, and post with a particular thought leader in mind. If he happens to swing by your profile, he'll see you have a lot in common with him and possibly circle you.
3. Use Google+ to source ideas
As you start to gain traction with these thought leaders and build a solid group of Circles, tap into all that knowledge and experience.
- Post a provocative, thoughtful question: Ask people their opinions about technology, the future of social media, and design. Ask them what they think of a particular high-profile blogger's position on a certain topic. What you are looking for is information to help you solve people's problems.
- Jot down ideas: As you follow the streams in your Circles, make sure you are keeping notes on things that you find interesting. You could find particular ideas for blogs or your own questions you want to ask.
- Engage in thoughtful discussions: Occasionally take the time to challenge and drill down in the comments with a post somebody left in your stream. It's worth the time to have a healthy debate. People will notice.
4. Collaborate with business colleagues
The Hangout feature of Google+ is for that person who is truly social. They not only want to hear your voice, they want to see you as well.
That makes it great for company meetings, conference calls, mastermind groups, ad hoc brainstorm sessions, or just simply hanging out. If your company has fewer than ten employees, or is even spread out across the nation or world, you can always connect everybody through hangouts.
And keep in mind that hangouts are meant to be loose, so bring your own drink, and remember that you can actually start a hangout on YouTube.
5. Manage large circles with Sparks
Think of Sparks as Google Alerts for Google+. Where the magic happens with this is when you track particular topics, then jump in to to share the content or make a comment.
This is a simple way to control large amounts of information, especially if you have a lot of people in your Circles. It also gives you the ability to interact on targeted subjects, lifting your profile as an expert.
6. Create smart custom Circles
When creating Circles, it's possible to run into "Circle fatigue" where you might just throw up your hands and say "What's the use?" But there is a very good argument for creating custom Circles.
Chris Voss, for example, created a "Commenter" Circle, which is a list of people who have commented on his posts in Google+ but are not connected with him. He then reciprocates with this group by commenting on their posts. It's a great way to engage the power users!
7. Use it as a niche blog
Listen, I don't recommend you pull a Kevin Rose and replace your blog with Google+. However, you should think about using Google+ as a place to share content geared to a particular, focused audience.
Perhaps you've been wanting to drill down in a particular area, but you’re fearful that doing so on your blog might scare away some of your loyal readers. Google+ is perfect for inviting them to join you.
For instance, say you are a web copywriter and your blog is centered on persuasion and conversion. While SEO is definitely part of your job, your audience might not appreciate you going down that path. Yet it's definitely a subject you want to explore more and build some expertise in so you can broaden your business. The level of engagement you'll get on Google+ is perfect for a tightly-focused group like this.
8. Use Hangouts as an educational tool
One way to start attracting more people to use Google+ is by inviting people to a Hangout in which you are going to teach on a particular topic.
For instance, you could teach a beginner's guide on public relations through a series of Hangouts. Of course you'd make this free, but in time you're audience will continue to grow, and so will your influence.
This way you are using Google+, your circle base is growing and you are actually creating content that you can turn into a podcast you could eventually sell one day.
9. Use Hangouts as a podcast tool
The Hangout feature in Google+ allows you to invite up to ten people to engage and chat via video. You can even turn this feature into a recording for a podcast. Let me show you the simple steps:
- Create a private Hangout for up to ten people.
- Make the video and chat private, but the viewing "public" so that people can watch but not engage.
- Record the video using a tool like Camtasia or Jing.
- Share the podcast!
What's really cool about Hangout is that the camera view will follow whoever is talking. So it's kind of like having a live producer directing camera shots, but it's automatic.
10. Looking for a job
Lastly, possibly one of the most productive things you could do is look for a job—especially if you’re out of a job or not happy with your current one. And since there are so many like-minded people in the same space, your chances of landing the right kind of job goes up.
Here's what you should do if you’re looking for a job on Google+:
- Announce you are looking for a job: Write a simple post that tells everyone you are looking for a job. State what kind of job you’d like and make a brief mention of your experience. Then ask if anyone can help you out.
- Ask for introductions: A great way to look for a job is to find companies that you want to work for and then contact them for positions. Well, with Google+ you can scan your circles and see where people are working. When you find a company you'd like to learn about, ask that person who works there if you could ask them a few questions and get a possible introduction to the hiring manager.
- Host a relevant hangout: Invite some people to hangout to discuss certain trends about your industry or invite a thought leader for an interview. Let them know you want to pick their brains about their area of expertise. This is a great way to network.
- Follow experts in your industry: Naturally, you should be following those people who matter in your industry. Go out of your way to be helpful to those people. Even offer to help them out.
How effective is online networking? Well, there are currently no numbers on Google+, but the number of people who find jobs online is about 2-5 percent. Regardless, online networking is still effective. According to the Wall Street Journal, 94 percent of people who found jobs did so by networking. That could be through family, friends and professional contacts.
So, it's worth the effort of networking on Google+. You'll never know who you'll meet or what you'll find!
Conclusion
Whether Google+ takes off or not, you can still use it to accomplish many productive and profitable things for your business. Besides, in the long run I believe that Google+ will play a large part in Google's search algorithm, and when it does you'll be ahead of the game!
What productive ways are you using Google+ to promote your business, your blog, and yourself?
Neil Patel is the co-founder of KISSmetrics and blogs at Quick Sprout.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
10 Productive Tasks You Should Be Doing On Google+ Right Now
Переслать - Social Engagement is the Way Forward for SEO
This guest post is by Sanjeev Mohindra of Makewebworld.
SEO is one of the most used—and most mysterious—words in the blogging world, but it is one of the best ways to gain free organic traffic for your blog.
Till now, the strategy for SEO has been to create a new post with good on-page SEO techniques, and do the promotion to create a great off-page SEO. This ends up generating a good rank for your post and brings traffic.
A change in tack
Have you noticed a shift in this strategy? Check out the below screenshot. I took this while I was searching for “Web world” on Google.
You can see that two articles from my site, Makewebworld, are featured on the first page of results for this very competitive term. Is it actually true?
Well, if you do the search you will not get the same result. My domain name contains the term “web world, nut other than that, I’m not optimizing my content for that term. So how would my site end up on the first page of Google results?
It happened because I was logged in my Google account while doing the search. I have shared these posts with my circles in Google+. So Google showed me results based on my user account, rather than general rank system.
Now take a look at the result below, which I saw when I logged out of my Google Account.
If I am not logged into my Google Account, I don’t see Makewebworld on the first page. It only shows when I am logged in.
Social engagement and SEO
Social Engagement is the new shift in SEO.
The search engines are moving toward a non-static ranking system, which will be based on a user and their groups. Google is trying to create a more personal and refined search in which a user has more chance of finding the required information (always a goal for Google).
I’m not saying that on-page SEO and off-page SEO techniques are useless, and only social is in. But the social element has started playing its part in SEO. Google has started mixing social recommendations and their ranked pages in the search results.
Social recommendations were there earlier, but they merely played a part in the rank system. Now it can take you to first page of Google for at least some users or groups.
Why social engagement is important
Why are the search engines making this social transformation? To understand the answers, we need to dig into some stats. If you are using Google Analytics for your blog, you can check the details under the Social tab.
The stats show that people who are socially engaged have much higher page visits and average times on your blog. They also have much lower bounce rates—in fact for Makewebworld I have bounce rates as low as zero.
Go check your stats and see if they’re similar. I expect they are. Google has started taking notice of these stats, since they say that these people like your blog and they want to interact with your blog.
Why wouldn’t their friends like your blog? Why wouldn’t they want to come back in future?
You can check how many social activities happen on your blog, and which content has attracted social activity, from your Google Analytics account.
How can you increase social engagement?
There are many way you can try to increase social engagement on your blog. Main aim is to have readers share your content across the social networks.
Install the Google+ button
If you have not done it yet, you should do it now. Google has already indicated that they are going to use Google+ button for many purposes, and that they’re moving to single account structure.
Google has started using Google+ recommendations in their search results, so if you don't have the button installed on your blog, you are likely losing some traffic.
It is easy to install Google+ button: check the official page or look up some free plugins to do the job. I’d suggest you treat the Google+ button as a backlink for your blog, because it can rank your blog higher for some people or groups of searchers.
As an author, you should also look for and verify your Google profile. Darren was one of the first few people who verified his account and shared the importance of it on Google+. If you’re looking for a how-to guide, check the Google Webmaster page help.
Install Sharebar
This is another good way to get a few extra social engagements. A basic rule of thumb is that people take action when they’re invited to. Sharebar is a great way to show social buttons all the time.
I know that this is not used on problogger.net, but do they need it? Each post on Problogger gets the required social attention. But if you’re not getting that kind of attention, do some split testing with Sharebar, or install it for a trial period on your blog.
Also, because it floats along the page movement it catches the attention. There are many plugins available like sharebar and you can use any of them.
Use Tweet Old Post and Twitter @Anywhere Plus
These plugins are good for Twitter activities. They really provide a nice and easy way to share your content.
Twitter @Anywhere plus enables the @Anywhere feature to allow readers to share your content easily on Twitter. This plugin utilizes includes easy tweet options for your readers.
Tweet Old Post is a plugin which will tweet your old posts randomly. It has options that allow you to avoid tweeting some content categories or posts, and it’s a really easy way to get some attention to your old content.
One other thing which I would like to point out here is your Twitter handle. Twitter provides a very nice and easy way to remind people to follow you if they tweet your content.
So if you use tweet buttons on your blog, you wanted to make sure that your Twitter handle is included in your tweets. If you have any issues, you can generate the Tweet button code here.
Utilize the Facebook Send button
Almost all blogs have Facebook Like buttons, but do you have Facebook Send button on your blog? Facebook Send is not similar to Facebook Like: Send has more visibility than Like on Facebook. I know that Google does not count Facebook shares in its ranking system, but Google does collect the data—you can see that in your analytics account.
They have started using the Google+ Shares and you never know when they will decide to start using the Facebook Shares. Shares have their own benefits in providing links and traffic to your blog, but they might have other benefits later on.
So what are you doing for Social Engagement on your blog? Let’s share and see how we can benefit from this shift.
Sanjeev currently writes at Make Web World and offers his latest ebook "5 steps to WordPress Blog" for free, you can get the ebook by subscribing here or can connect with him at Google Plus.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Social Engagement is the Way Forward for SEO
Переслать - Define Successful Blogging for You
At the recent ProBlogger training day in Melbourne, surprise guest Tim Ferris said something that resonated with many attendees (if the number of tweets it got was anything to go by). His message was simple: define what success means to you.
Many bloggers that I meet start out with a goal of having a successful blog, but have little idea what that actually means.
Image copyright GIS - Fotolia.com
They want “opportunities to open up,” they desire “influence,” they want “lots of readers,” they want to be seen as “authorities”…
None of this is bad—but it’s also quite vague and I wonder if it could be a contributing factor to wishy-washy results.
Good things do sometimes just happen to people, but more often than not, the people who achieve most with their blogs have in mind some goals that they’re looking to achieve.
My story of defining success
When I started blogging in 2002, I didn’t have any idea that blogging would last beyond a few weeks (I had a history of not sticking at things) and as a result, I had few goals. However, over the coming couple of years I began to see the potential of blogging to be more than just a hobby, and to even become a way of earning an income.
The problem was that my dreams remained very vague. While I hoped one day my income would grow, I never got specific with what I was aiming for and as a result, I never really gave it the effort that I should have.
It was only when I sat down with V (my wife) one day and we set a specific goal that things began to really take off. The goal was to be working full-time as a blogger within six months (note that I’d already been blogging for some time—the full story is here).
For the first time, I had a definition of what success was for me. I wanted to be a full-time blogger. I also had a timeframe in mind—six months to achieve my goal.
- Suddenly I started to take my blog more seriously, treating it as a business and doing the things I always knew I needed to do (but had always put off).
- Suddenly I had a concrete target to aim for—and motivation like I’d not had before.
- Suddenly I had consequences to face if I didn’t meet my target (I decided I’d have to go get a “real job” if I didn’t succeed).
- Suddenly I had something with which to filter the opportunities that came my way. when invited to do something, I was able to ask, “Will this take me closer to my goal, or is it a distraction?”
Defining what success meant for me drove me to action and sped up my blog’s growth. A few months later I needed to come up with a new definition of “success,” as I’d already achieved the full-time goal.
Define success… and then…
Recently I came across an old Moleskine notebook from the period after I’d defined success for the first time (2004). In it, I’d dedicated a number of pages to goal-setting and planning how I’d act on those goals.
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5-year plan: The way I did it at the time was to set a five-year plan. I had a full page of notes of things that I had wanted to achieve by 2009.
In it, I had some pretty lofty goals. i wanted to have written a book, I wanted to have started another photography blog, I wanted to be doing public speaking regularly, and more. Much of what I wrote back then I’ve actually achieved (some of it was way off track), but at the time I couldn’t have been further away from much of what I was dreaming of.
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1-year plan: With that five-year plan or dream in place, I then created a 1-year plan. At the top of that page I’d written “what do I need to do this year to take me closer to my goals for 2009?”
That page then contained my goals for 2005. They were smaller goals, and each of them was a stepping stone to the big dream.
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1-month plan: The next pages broke down my 2005 plan into monthly action items—things I’d need to do to achieve my one-year plan.
The key was to start with the goal (a definition of success) and then break it down into achievable steps.
This may all sound highly organized, but these plans were all hand-written and took up a total of five pages in a small notebook. I’d probably put it together in a few hours, yet these decisions gave me a powerful plan to move towards my definition of success.
What is your definition of success?
Your definition of success is likely to be a little different from mine. We all blog with different motivations and goals, and that’s totally fine. The key is to have something to aim for.
So what does success look like for you?
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Define Successful Blogging for You
Переслать - "Brushing it Off" Vs. "Brushing It Off"
This guest post is by Nick Thacker of Life Hacks for Living Well.
Are you "brushing off" the work you need to complete? Or are you able to "brush it off" when it's finished, ready to launch into the world?
I've had experience brushing off the things that needed to be done—and I'm sure you have, too—but I've also had the satisfying feeling of being able to put down my tools and say, finally, "I'm done."
I'm referring to that point you eventually reach, after many long hours and sleepless nights, where there's no more you can you can possibly do to improve your project, no more tweaking or adding or altering—it is done, as perfect as it can be.
But this "feeling," this goal I invariably set for myself prior to embarking on any project, is sometimes fleeting, lofty, and quite unreachable.
Sometimes it's a matter of scope—the project is too large to possibly accomplish by one person. Other times it's the lack of direction: we don't know where to go with our blog—or our business. But still other times it's just a matter of not understanding clearly our expectations, and the time it takes to complete them.
The right expectations
I was thinking recently about my experience as a Boy Scout during my grade school years. I enjoyed pretty much all of the events, camping trips, and fundraisers we did, but there was one annual event we participated in that was held in much higher esteem than the rest. My father and I, once a school year, would begin that journey every young man so impatiently awaits for the rest of the season—the coveted Pinewood Derby competition.
A "Pinewood Derby" is a small (about 8 inches by 3 inches), four-wheeled vehicle powered by gravity and graphite-rubbed plastic wheel bearings. The cars, two at a time, would be raced down a track made of wood. It sounds simple, but for young American boys everywhere, it was the raison d'etre for joining and paying your dues to the Boy Scouts of America.
Every year, my dad and I would start dreaming about what style and shape to cut, design, and paint my car. We would shoot for the most aerodynamic, stylistic, and awe-inspiring design that would still be allowed in the races (there were, of course, weight and size restrictions!). One year was a "hot dog" design that almost took home the gold, while another year was a failed attempt at a Camaro convertible with a spoiler.
We would start the project most years by planning, blueprinting, and marking the rectangular block of wood with cut marks in pencil (did I mention my dad's an engineer?). Only after planning, sanding, cutting, and sanding some more could we even begin to think about putting on the cool pewter attachments—engine blocks, headers, and so on. Finally, after letting glue dry, sanding once more, and then waiting a few more days, we would apply the paint to the finished product.
With me as Creative Director and Dad as Chief Technical Officer and Director of Engineering, the product, no matter how poorly it actually performed in the races, would be something prized and rewarding for both of us—it was something we would, literally, "brush off" when we'd finish, take it inside to show Mom, and then put on the trophy shelf after it had served on the racetrack.
One year was different, though. Dad was either out of town during the initial months leading up to the Derby, or I'd just decided I was old enough to get started myself. I had my wood block, access to power tools, and plenty of sandpaper.
Rather than waste time with the planning, creative process, and initial sanding, I decided to jump in get started making my dream car. I'd also decided to start about a week before the competition.
Needless to say, the car was shoddily built. It was sticky to hold, as the paint hadn't really dried well, the pieces constantly fell off (we had to bring a hot glue gun to the event), and it gave everyone splinters (I said this was part of the car's built-in defense mechanisms). I had mostly "brushed off" the steps that he'd taught me were necessary. Dad wasn't overly excited about it, but he knew a lesson was in store for his oldest son.
Sure enough, I realized (though much later in life) what the lesson was: while each stroke of the sandpaper and each slow pull of the paintbrush wouldn't make a marked difference on the outcome, it was the step-by-step process we went through to ensure every piece of the puzzle was in place that created the final wooden racer.
In short: the whole was much bigger than the sum of its parts.
Embrace the process
That year, I’d skipped out on a lot of the process, and because of that, I couldn't "brush off" my work and show it off to my friends and fellow scouters.
For my fellow bloggers, here's the takeaway:
- Don't cheat the system: If you're trying to start a blog, and you know that blogs need great content, don't spend money on a ton of ghost-written PLR articles that sound exactly the same.
- Don't cut corners: If there's a "standard process" that others in your niche have gone through—maybe they spent most of their early years doing nothing but churning out guest posts and commenting on blogs—don't think there's a "secret way" to reach the same level with much less work.
- Don't "brush it off": Don't brush off the little things. Every comment, every guest post, and every tweet that you send is an ambassador for who you are—what you are—online. I don't know you from Adam, so if I visit your blog and see posts written at a second-grade reading level with nothing but AdSense everywhere, what do you think that tells me about you? Come on, get it together!
Okay, okay, there's always the exception that proves the rule.
If, by chance, you do blog for money only—and there's nothing inherently wrong with that—then you'll have systems and procedures in place for that as well, and they need to be honored. The same rules apply:
- If you find that most money-making blogs are earning their income because of their massive amounts of content, why would you think you could do better only writing three or five posts per week? Spend some money on some well-written posts to fill out your site, and spend your time building your business.
- If you run a business of any kind online, don't cut the corners or "brush it off," or you'll most likely give people splinters. There's a reason Internet marketers spend so much time cultivating and building their email lists. Why would you think you're special and can just buy a billion email addresses for $50 bucks?
Don’t skimp
Don't skimp on the details—they're what are going to set you apart from every other teenaged marketing "guru" out there, and they're also going to give you more experience in much less time. As so many business experts and professionals have said, "fail often." Don't be afraid to fail—just know that it will be a failure that will help you "brush off" a project (in a good way!) in the future.
"Brush off" your project or business now, and you won't be able to "brush it off" in the future. Don't "brush off" your project today, and you'll be able to "brush it off" and show it off tomorrow.
Get it?
Nick Thacker is interested in learning and writing about ways to live better–his website is Life Hacks for Living Well, and is a repository of tips, tricks, and resources to getting what you want out of life, in a better way. You can subscribe to his feed directly by clicking here.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
"Brushing it Off" Vs. "Brushing It Off"
Переслать - What About Google -1?
This guest post is by Sriram Reddy of BloggingTipster.com.
Allen: Billy, Why are you looking so gloomy? Did your Twitter follower count halve overnight? Hehe…
Billy: No, I just had such a cheesy experience Googling for material for Prof. Dwyer’s assignment. There was an unusual amount of spam in the search results. I had such a hard time scanning through all those search results, but I finally found what I was really looking for.
I wish there was a way I could shield others in the Internet community from visiting some of those sites I just visited—trust me, they were a sham. If only there was a way I could bury some of those results in Google’s SERPs. Tough luck that Google doesn’t give me an option to discourage my friends from clicking through such results. Black-hat SEOs slowly seem to be getting the better of Google search.
Allen: Ahh, I agree Google’s hasn’t wiped out spam completely, but don't you worry: Google’s Panda algorithm is quite efficient in dealing with spammers. Even better, the recently launched Google +1 button is definitely going to add the human factor that Google’s page rank algorithm so gravely needs. It's a huge step towards removing spam.
Billy: Hmm, yeah I must admit I love the idea of +1′ing something. It makes me feel more in control. I can't help but think of large outfits that are going to abuse the +1 by recommending their members to +1 their own site through personal profiles.
While the +1 button will guide SERPs in the right direction, I wish Google would introduce a -1 button too, to neutralize the effect of gaming the +1 button by some publishers. The first thing I would do if Google released a -1 button, is -1 all the spammers on my research for Prof. Dwyer’s assignment. Trust me, I am so disheartened with my searches today.
Allen: Whoa! A Google -1 button! Don't you think we have enough social buttons to deal with already?
Billy: I firmly believe that if you had a bad encounter with a search result, then you need to tip off your friends and the world about it, so that they don't need to make the same mistake you made—if they choose to go by your recommendation, that is.
You know what else I would love to see on a Google -1 button? Wen people -1 something, it would be good to see their -1 displayed publicly across Google’s search results as annotations on the content they -1'ed—just like the +1s show up in results.
Let's take the example of the assignment that Prof. Dwyer gave us today. Everyone in the class will be searching for the same information on Google, and we will definitely all be coming across websites that are spam. If I wasn’t satisfied with a search result, I could simply click the -1 button. It would then show up on my friends’ search results that Billy -1′ed this. How cool would that be?! Since I had not liked the link, I'm sure most in our class wouldn’t waste their time on it.
Allen: Ah, that reminds me, I’d better finish up with Prof. Dwyer’s assignment soon, or I’ll be looking at my second grounding in a week.
Billy: Bah! For commonly searched terms the results by and large aren’t too bad. But for niche terms, I’ve noticed that I have to spend quite some time searching through affiliate links and aimless blogs before I find what I want.
I’ve heard that one third of all search queries are first-time searches. Since Google is still improving its search algorithm for first-time queries, it would be their advantage to use the help of people like us to vote out spam. This makes a strong case for a Google -1 button.
Allen: Maybe you’re pressing the Panic button a little too soon here. A -1 button would be worse than unleashing a fire-breathing dragon.
It would open up websites to social attacks. Organizations will go berserk -1ing their rivals out of competition. This would have much more serious consequences than organizations just gaming the +1 button. This would be abused far more than the +1. No wonder Facebook hasn’t rolled out a Dislike option!
Billy: I'm not sure if I would be too worried about publishers -1ing their rivals. Google is smart enough to handle such a situation. I’m sure it's not out of their reach.
Just the way a +1ers identity will be tagged to his +1 recommendation, -1s could also be tagged to people’s profiles as well. An algorithm from Google to give higher relevance to -1s from certain profiles than others which have had a history of gaming buttons would definitely turn the tables in Google’s favor.
Also, if a publisher has made a brand for himself online, even if a rival manages to mass -1 his content, how can we discount the publisher’s followers? They wouldn't want their favorite brand to be mass -1ed, would they? They wouldn’t hesitate to +1 to salvage their favorite brand.
Reddit, Digg, and Google’s very own Youtube work on similar models. They pull the best content to the top of the pile through a mixture of positive and negative feedback, and they are pretty competent at it. We know Google’s capable of taking this to the next level.
Allen: You are making sense, but I’m sure there are many companies out there that wouldn’t be comfortable with such a model. Especially small publishers.
Billy: Yeah, there might be some resistance initially, but a -1 button will really do wonders for the Web. Imagine a universe where there is no spam at all in Google’s search results. What won’t we do to see a day like that!
Most importantly, Google would be empowering people to choose what they want to see. If Google’s given me the option to decide what’s useful for my friends and the Web, then it should definitely give me an option to decide what’s bad as well.
Allen: Hmm.. You are making sense now … but I’m still not so sure yet. Anyway, it’s getting late, I gotta go. Catch'ya tomorrow.
…While the Google -1 button is still an idea that most of us fancy, this conversation between Billy and Allen was an attempt at seriously contemplating the Google -1 button.
Who are Allen and Billy? Allen and Billy (and Prof. Dwyer) are characters that landed from my imagination, as I needed two characters through which I could put forth my views and counterviews on the Google -1 button.
What do you think about the idea of a -1 button? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Sriram Reddy writes lock stock and barrel about sharpening blogging skills at www.BloggingTipster.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Переслать - The Expert Fallacy
This guest post is by Dan Meyers of Your Life, Their Life.
In general, most of our goals as bloggers center around becoming authorities on subjects—the kinds of authorities that others look to for advice. What’s the title that usually comes with this position? An “expert.”
There are some clear advantages to the title “expert” that are worthy of our efforts. We can gain notoriety and traffic as we leverage our expertise to thoroughly educate everyone. In fact, most people make a career out of their expertise, whether it’s in their normal daily job or in the blog world.
How can you become an expert?
Not an expert
- Read books.
- Interview people who’ve already done it.
- Just do it.
Most successful bloggers have used the formula above, along with some other steps, to get to where they are today. “I don’t know how to do it” is never an acceptable answer for someone who is smart and ambitious enough to learn howto do it.
Steps 1 and 2 will allow you to gain knowledge on a subject, but you really must take step three and just do it. It’s amazing how people start to view you differently when you have a blog on a subject. The instant credibility isn’t always deserved, but it’s a great way to kick-start your business.
We can all become experts on a subject if we learn enough about it. However, there are some clear dangers in becoming an expert—mostly dangers to yourself. Expertise can bring with it an element of “all-knowingness” that begins to turn people off. When you think you know it all, you often refuse to open your mind to outside ideas.
After all, even Einstein became so stuck in his ways that he wasn’t able to grasp the theory of quantum mechanics. He held fast to the theory of relativity that he created, and couldn’t see beyond it. Einstein wasn’t the only one stuck in his ways. In his book, Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion, Stephen Gatto explains, “Invention is the providence of youthful insight.”
After we get stuck in our ways, it’s hard for our minds to continue to develop new ideas and adapt to new circumstances. As the saying goes, to the man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
How do you know if your expertise is harming you?
- You think you have all of the answers.
- You don’t research or listen to anyone else.
- The only person who can stand hanging out with you is your dog.
What’s the ultimate solution to this catch-22? You should strive to be seen as an expert to outsiders, but at the same time you must fight the urge to believe you’re an all-knowing expert. This is easier said than done, because the more knowledgeable we become on a subject, the less we listen to other opinions or ideas.
How can we resist the urge to claim our expertise on a subject?
- Don’t let compliments go to your head.
- Realize you will never know it all.
- Focus on always learning and improving.
The keys to fighting the issues that come with expertise are continual education and an open mind. It also helps to realize what people say about experts!
Stephen Gatto explains his view on expertise when he says, “(expertise) is a lie because the changing dynamics of time and situation and locality render expertise irrelevant and obsolete shortly after it is anointed.” It’s pretty scary to think as soon as you become an expert, you become irrelevant!
Roseanne Barr said, “Experts say you should never hit your children in anger. When is a good time? When you’re feeling festive?” I bet this is the first time Roseanne was quoted on ProBlogger.
Finally, Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.”
Don't let expertise limit you and your abilities. I worked at a large consulting firm for seven years, which taught me how to continually change my area of expertise and adapt with the changing times, as explained in the post, “You are a now a Consultant.”
Do you consider yourself an expert on your subject? How do you prevent your expertise from crippling you?
Dan Meyers started Your Life, Their Life to help you take control of your life. Read how he paid off $50,000 of debt in two years and how his strategies can help you.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Переслать - Get StudioPress Themes and Premise Landing Page Plugin for Big Discounts Today
I’m excited today to let you know of two great Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals from the team at CopyBlogger. I use and love both of these products and know that they’ll help a lot of you in your blogging efforts. Note: For both deals the coupon code is ‘Thanks’. Don’t miss out!
StudioPress Themes: 25% Discount
I’m often asked about the design here on ProBlogger and who created it. The answer is simple – it’s built upon the Genesis Framework by the team at StudioPress (a Copyblogger Media creation).Genesis is a highly secure, fast loading and highly adaptable framework and the StudioPress designs are fantastic. I don’t regret switching to them earlier in the year at all. As a result I have no hesitation in recommending them and letting you know about their 25% off offer over the next few days.
Using the code THANKS at checkout, you can save 25% off of anything you'd like at StudioPress. For example you can get the following deals:
- Get the Genesis Framework for only $45.
- Snag most Genesis / design combos for a song and save close to $20.
- Wipe the entire shop clean and get the StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package. Get Genesis plus every design they've made, plus every design they make in the future, and save more than $74 off the regular price and over $875 off the retail price — and that’s just the existing 43 designs!
All you need to do is use the code THANKS when you check out and you’ll save 25% on anything and everything at StudioPress.com.
Premise Ultimate: 42% Discount
Readers of ProBlogger know that I have taught numerous times on the importance of ‘landing pages’ to help you convert readers to different types of actions. Landing pages are specifically designed pages to call your readers to action (whether that action might be to ‘subscribe’, ‘buy’, ‘advertise’ etc. I’ve written about the importance of landing pages here.
I’m also a big fan of Premise – a WordPress based software for developing landing pages by the team at CopyBlogger Media. Premise was very recently updated to version 1.2 and includes heaps of refinements including a new landing page type – the social sharing page.Premise Ultimate usually sells for $165, as it gives you a heap of value:
- All the landing pages you can build
- Use on as many domains as you want
- Access to ongoing optimization seminars
- Copywriting advice from inside WordPress
- 1,100+ custom graphics by Rafal
- Unlimited technical support
- Unlimited updates (you'll thank yourself for this next year)
During their Thanksgiving sale, you can get Premise Ultimate for only $95.
Just use the code THANKS when you check out and you’ll save $70 on the best landing page software available for WordPress.
Both of these deals ends promptly at 7:00 pm Pacific time on Monday, November 28, 2011. Hurry up and get claim your new WordPress theme and Premise Ultimate before the CopyBlogger team come to their senses!
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Get StudioPress Themes and Premise Landing Page Plugin for Big Discounts Today
Переслать - From Failed Idea to Profitable Product: What I Learned from Failure
This guest post is by Björgvin Benediktsson of Audio Issues.
The biggest insecurity we bloggers face is the question of whether anybody is actually going to buy our product. We can’t give away our content forever, and those Google ads are hardly going to pay the bills.
That’s why every blogger should offer his or her own product. You can recommend other products without seeing a noticeable return. The biggest return on effort is from your own product, whether it’s an ebook, a service, or a piece of software. But the creation of your own product creates a different kind of fear.
Everybody fears failure. It’s instilled in us from an early age. Most people don’t like losing, and try to avoid it at all costs. And if you’re going to create something to sell, the fear of it failing becomes all too real. Many times it becomes so real that people don’t even go through with their plans at all.
But failure is just a stepping stone towards success. If you can use the lessons you learned from a failed product, there’s always a better probability of success in your next venture.
What I learned from failure
My first product was pretty much a failure. It didn’t sell at all, and even though people thought the idea was good, when it came time to buy, no one did.
It’s tough to deal with failure, but I trekked on an created a new product—to great success. I didn’t get rich overnight, but on my small niche scale, I did pretty well.
So what did I learn from my first failure that you can use to your business success?
Do your market research
You not only need to know your niche, you also need to know what the people in your niche really want. A great idea is only good if people want to buy it.
I had this great idea for a productivity tool that, in the end, nobody really wanted. Sure, some people bought it, but it wasn’t a sustainable income. Instead I focused my effort on what I knew people wanted: information. I assumed that people would rather pay for information that they could use in their own endeavors.
Lesson learned: People would rather invest in information than anything else. In a specialty niche like mine, my readers wanted to learn techniques to better their own productions. They didn’t really need a productivity tool to keep track of their home recordings. Their computer already did that.
Decide to go digital
The first product I created was a hardcover book. The buying process was tedious, there were extra shipping costs, and my variable costs were relatively high, so most of my profit was eaten by the costs. I needed to keep the costs of the book down, but I also needed to recoup the costs of each book sold. Even though I used a print-on-demand service, the extra costs just weren’t worth it.
Lesson learned: Go digital. I decided to create an informative digital ebook, Mixing Strategies, which was only sold via direct download. Even though the model of selling ebooks has been around for a long time, I needed to learn why it was such a good idea on my own. With digital downloads, the variable costs of each download are non-existent so you can turn a profit quicker and more easily than with hardcopy products.
Find an outsourcer
I’m not much of a designer. I wanted my first product to look nice, so I outsourced my design work to Pakistan on the cheap. $100 later, I had a really nice looking product that I could sell. If I had done it myself it would have either never have been finished, or it would have looked very amateurish. By using outsourced freelance work, I was able to create a much nicer looking product than I ever could have myself, regardless of whether it would sell or not.
Lesson learned: Delegate tasks to those who know better. When it came time to create a new product, I had learned how easy it is to outsource work. I had learned how to ask for specific details and how to sift through the endless numbers of graphic designers out there. I was fine with paying for professional results, because I knew I would be saving myself a lot of time and effort—time and effort I could use towards other things.
Pre-market your product
I failed to create a lot of buzz around my first launch. I didn’t really talk about the product at all until I launched it. No wonder nobody bought it: I hadn’t built up any suspense about it. Whether you call it creating buzz, pre-marketing, or pre-selling, it was clear that I failed at it. Maybe if I had created a little more buzz, somebody would have told me that the product wasn’t such a great idea in the first place.
Lesson learned: Talk about your products. While I wrote my ebook I often asked my newsletter subscribers and other readers what they thought. I pitched them the table of contents and asked them questions that they would like answered in a book. I created buzz and anticipation by talking about the creation of the product. The result? I started selling copies almost before I had sent out the initial launch newsletter. I created so much anticipation over the months preceding the launch that people bought it immediately.
Offer launch discounts and build urgency
Not only did I not create any buzz for my failed product, I failed to create any fanfare around the launch. I simply launched the product, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. The best didn’t come. I didn’t create any sense of urgency, so nobody saw any point in buying it right away.
Lesson learned: Not only do you have to create anticipation, but once you launch, you have to create an urgency to buy. For the first ten days, I offered my product at a discounted price. This created a need to buy in my readers. They wanted my product because I had created so much anticipation, and now they could get it at a discounted price. The result? The sales kept rolling in.
Failure creates success
I wouldn’t have learned any of those lessons if I hadn’t created my first product. Even though it failed in most ways (it does still sell every now and then!), I still regard it as an accomplishment.
If it weren’t for this first product, I wouldn’t have learned how to find a demand, how to find great outsourcers, how to create buzz and ultimately, how to generate profitable sales. In my case, my initial failure only helped create my success.
How have your failures helped your accomplishments?
Björgvin Benediktsson is an audio engineer, musician and online entrepreneur from Iceland. He's been involved in the music and audio industry for almost a decade, playing in bands, working as a sound engineer and recording music. He's written one ebook, Mixing Strategies that's available at his site Audio Issues. Follow Björgvin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/audioissues.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
From Failed Idea to Profitable Product: What I Learned from Failure
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