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What I Learned About Content Marketing From Buying Snow Tires

April 25, 2012 By Beth 5 Comments

Snowy Road - What My Snow Tires Taught Me About Content Marketing

I have lived in Colorado for thirteen years. And every year for the past twelve winters, I have hated driving in the snow. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, where the Department of Transportation dutifully brings out the snow plows when the white stuff starts falling. In PA, the roads are consistently and quickly cleared. I never learned to love driving in the snow in Pennsylvania, but I tolerated it. I trusted that the plows would be there for me and make the roads safer and that I could get from point to point without putting my neck on the line.

When I moved to Colorado, I was completely shocked when I experienced my first major Boulder snowfall (we often get 6-12 inches of snow at a time.) During that first snowstorm, nary a snow plow could found on the roads of Boulder and the surrounding areas. And because no one was out clearing or treating the roads, the driving conditions were horrendous – huge slushy snow piles, slick ice patches, cars sliding all over the place. It was terrifying. I was also completely confused.

I asked a friend why Colorado cities don’t plow, and she told me that the Colorado snow melts so fast that it doesn’t make financial sense to clear it – if you just wait a day, it’s gone anyway! So why bother to pay for plows?

“But people have to drive in it while the snow is on the roads!” I argued. “What about the people who have to get around on the day of a big storm, and can’t just wait until the snow melts to get where they need to go?”

My friend shrugged. “Drive an SUV,” she said. “Or get snow tires.”

I privately rebelled. Studded snow tires cost an average of $400 for a small car, even more for larger vehicles. I wasn’t paying that much for tires just to compensate for Boulder and the Colorado Department of Transportation shirking their responsibilities. I would tough it out in my little car with good all-weather tires, and hope for the best. Colorado snow be damned.

I suffered through twelve – count ‘em, TWELVE – Colorado winters, stubbornly refusing to invest in snow tires and cursing CDOT (and the weather gods) every time it snowed.

I started to suffer from terrible anxiety every time I had to drive in the snow. I would avoid it at all costs, and when I did have to drive during a storm, my hands would shake. I would curse and cry and freeze up and generally fall apart (note: not the best state of mind when trying to drive on icy roads.)

The Final Straw

In December 2011, I had made a plan to drive up to a mountain town to meet a friend. When I was halfway up the mountain, the forecasted snow flurries changed to several inches of icy snow, creating slick and dangerous road conditions. I got stuck four times, my car completely unable to get traction on the snow. I finally turned around, realizing I just had to give up on reaching my destination that night.

The next day, I complaining to a friend about my horrible night getting stuck in the snow, and she confronted me about my snow tire avoidance. She told me having snow tires wasn’t a luxury in Colorado – it was a necessity. “Listening to you complain about getting stuck in the snow when you don’t have good snow tires is like hearing you complain that you’re cold in a sub-zero day when you’re not wearing a coat. Enough is enough. Get yourself some snow tires.”

With gritted teeth, I did so, the next day. I paid a ridiculous amount for top-of-the-line studded snow tires. I was mad, but finally willing to just bite the bullet and do it.

The next time it snowed, I started my engine with suspicion in my heart. “How can these tires possibly be worth it? They won’t make that much of a difference,” I said to myself. “I wasted my money.”

I wasn’t even five minutes away from my house when I realized that my snow tires had changed my life.

With my new tires, I didn’t slide or skid. I didn’t fishtail around corners. I didn’t need to worry that I couldn’t stop at the bottom of a hill or start again after stopping at a red light. I could just….drive. My anxiety disappeared completely, and my entire relationship with snow (and Colorado) transformed. I actually LIKED the snow and could recognize how beautiful and peaceful it was. It was incredible.

What I Learned from My Snow Tires

What’s the lesson in this? What do snow tires have to do with content marketing?

Whatever it is that you are resisting – starting a blog, beginning your Facebook business page, starting an email list, buying a new tool for your business – ask yourself WHY you are resisting. Are you scared? Stubborn? Unconvinced? Resisting just for the sake of resisting? All of the above?

There are content marketing strategies and tools that can completely transform your business. If you are dragging your feet about using them, investing in them, or putting them into practice, do whatever you need to do to get past your resistance.

Start that blog. Put up that Facebook Page. Buy that new software that will save you hours and hours of wasted time. Sign up with a business coach.

Get past your pattern of denying yourself something that can make a huge different in your business and your life.

Once you get started, you’ll likely love the result and ask yourself why you waited so long. I know I did.

So take it from me – survivor of many a Colorado winter. Not doing something – when you are resisting just for the sake of resisting – causes far more suffering than just biting the bullet and doing it. Because once you get started, it will be like sledding down a steep hill – exhilarating, enjoyable, and totally worth it.

Thoughts on this article? Stories about getting past resistance that you’d love to share? Leave your comments below!

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Challenges, Content, Tools
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Are You Afraid of the Big Bad Blog (Comment)?: An Introduction to Comment Etiquette

April 24, 2012 By Beth 1 Comment

Gray WolfNOTE: This is a guest post from Stephanie Adams, MA, LPC of Beginnings Counseling and Consulting.

Have you ever seen a blog comment that just made you cringe? Maybe it was spelled poorly. Or it might have been so absurdly off-topic that you felt sorry for the writer. Or perhaps – heavens! – it was just plain rude.

If you’re like me, you’ve seen bad blog comments before. Additionally, you may have reacted like I did, by backing off from interacting with the blog world for a while. If other people thought (incorrectly) that their comments were appropriate, what if I were to make similar mistakes? How embarrassing!

That simply won’t do!

Fear not, gentle readers. You don’t have to sit on the sidelines of the blog world! Blog commenting etiquette is simpler than you might think! Ultimately, it’s about courtesy and friendliness. With that in mind, I’ve listed some Do’s and Don’ts for you below to help you bring both to your blog communication.

DO’s

  • DO read the blog post before you comment, and make sure you understand it. I can’t count how many times I was glad I did another quick read-through before clicking “Post Comment.”
  • DO read the comments already posted before you write yours, to make sure other people haven’t already said the same thing. Is there an echo in here?
  • DO list your website if the comment box has a space for it, but DON’T put it in the body of your message, which can make it look spammy and self-serving. Okay, so that’s technically a “don’t.”
  • DO contribute useful information, which means not repeating and rephrasing the same things. It’s repetitive and redundant.
  • DO ask questions if you have them. It keeps the conversation going, and isn’t that what it’s all about?
  • DO have a photo as your avatar whenever possible. It keeps it personal! It’s not absolutely necessary that it be blue and speak Naavi.
  • DO reply to a blog comment back to you as soon as you see it, or it’s likely you will forget. Plus, people will be so impressed by how involved you are! Tip: check the box that says “Notify me of follow up comments via email.”
  • DO be complimentary – the blogger worked hard to produce this article for you!
  • DO comment back on comments others make on your own blog. Good opener: Thanks for your comment! Bad opener: O lowly blog reader, congratulations on reading my post.
  • DO comply with any posted rules, like no foul language.
  • DO politely and privately contact the blogger if you have a concern about the content or integrity of their post. This leads in to my one and ONLY (OFFICIAL) DON’T, and it’s a big one.

DON’Ts

  • Don’t argue with people in comments – your commentary will be publicly available on the web for a long, long time. Want someone looking you up for a job someday to see ranting and raving? No! It’s not cool, and it defeats the whole point of commenting on blogs, which is to have a conversation. Once people start being rude, it stops being a conversation, and becomes a fight.

I base these particular recommendations on my experiences reading blog comments and commenting myself. But keep in mind that if you just focus on maintaining a genuine connection with others, you’re already halfway to your goal.

After all, you write comments because you want to exchange ideas with the blogger. You want to contribute to the conversation – and conversation is based on connection! By using thoughtful, connection-focused commenting etiquette, it becomes much more likely that people will listen to you, allowing you to continue contributing and conversing!

As a professional counselor by trade, I have learned that when someone makes the relationship the priority, everyone wins. So with blog commenting, and with life in general, focus on connection. Other people will feel valued, and you will find yourself feeling more confident in your comment savvy. Then you don’t have to be afraid of the Big Bad Blog Comment…or of anything else!

Stephanie Ann Adams, MA, LPC is the co-author of “The Beginning Counselor’s Survival Guide: The New Counselor’s Plan for Success from Practicum to Licensure” (available now in paperback and e-book) and the owner of Beginnings Counseling & Consulting, where she provides counselor innovation consulting and life counseling for emerging adults.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Content, Guest Posting
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The Fastest Way to Get Flat-Out Rejected for a Guest Blogging Gig

February 3, 2012 By Beth 3 Comments

Rubber Stamp that Says "Denied"Recently, a woman wrote to me and offered to do a guest post on my blog. She introduced herself and told me a little bit about what she was up to in the world. Her niche had nothing to do with blogging or social media, but that wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me, so I kept reading.

She told me she’d like to guest post on my site, and gave me a link to her website.  Then she asked, “Can you please send me some topics that you would like me to use for a guest post?”

Hmmmm.

A few days later, I got another request. This woman wrote a very similar short intro, then asked me if I would consider publishing her guest post on my blog. Then she gave me a great idea for a post topic, and even told me why she thought the post would be a good fit for my site. It was clear she had done her homework and really thought out the details of her request.

Which potential guest blogger do you think I said yes to?

That’s right – I said yes to the one who approached me with an idea.

If you want to do guest posts, don’t expect the host blogger do the work and give you topics to write about. Prepare a couple of great post ideas, and send those with your inquiry.  Make it clear that you know the blog really well, and that you know what will (and will NOT) be good material for the website.

The key to getting guest blogging gigs is having awesome ideas for blog posts.

Yes, I think it’s important to build relationships with the bloggers you’re trying to approach. I think it’s also incredibly important to practice writing as much as possible so that you become the best writer you can be.

But I also think that a popular blogger is going to be a lot more excited to consider your blog post if you have an awesome idea.

Here’s what I suggest:

  • Do your homework. Read the blog inside and out, so you have a really good grasp on the subject matter, the tone, and the kinds of posts that do well on the site (look for lots of retweets and comments for proof of popularity.)
  • Then make your pitch. Keep it really short.
  • Use your first paragraph to introduce yourself and tell them a LITTLE bit about you. Then say “I’d like to write a guest post for [your awesome, popular blog]. Here are some possible posts I could write…
  • Then list your possible topics. Give ‘em a maximum of five ideas – you don’t want to overwhelm the blogger.

Hopefully you’ll hear back from the host blogger quickly, and she’ll say “Yes! I’m totally interested in your post about Hamsters During the French Revolution. Please send me the post by X date, and if it’s a good fit for us, we’ll publish it.”

If not, well…then you need to go back to the drawing board. But if you keep reading that blog and keep sending in original, well-targeted post topics, sooner or later you are going to get a yes.

Need ideas for posts? Trying downloading the utterly awesome Copyblogger headline hacks report and pick through its foolproof headline formulas.  Start your list of post ideas, then keep adding to it.

Want to try it? Send a short guest post pitch to a blogger you’d love to write for. Make sure to keep your note short and sweet, and only pitch IDEAS. Don’t send a whole blog post. Make your ideas great, and make sure they fit the topic of the blog.

Then tell us about it in the comments, or share your story on the Blogging with Beth Facebook page.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Traffic Ideas
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How a Tomato Changed My Life

October 25, 2011 By Beth 19 Comments

For months, I had struggled with getting stuff done. I tried task lists, different systems for organizing my inbox, playing soothing music while I worked, and reading various books on productivity.

But the to-do list kept getting bigger and my desire to complete anything on the list kept getting smaller.

Then I discovered a little productivity tool that changed my life. It’s a little timer in the shape of a tomato.

I originally heard about working with the tomato timer by reading a post on the awesome travel blog Married with Luggage, written by Betsy and Warren Talbot. The post is called On Kitchen Timers, Writing, and Discipline. In her post, Betsy talks about how she started using a simple productivity solution called the Pomodoro Technique, and how this simple idea was helping her stay focused on her writing.

After doing a little reading on what this Pomodoro business was all about, I was curious to try it. Here are the basics:

1. Get yourself a kitchen timer. The man who originally coined the term “Pomodoro Technique” used a cool timer shaped like a tomato (thus the name – “Pomodoro” is the Italian word for tomato.) You can use any ordinary kitchen timer.

2. Pick one task on your to-do list. Best items to pick are the ones you’ve been putting off for a while.

3. Set the timer for 25 minutes.

4. Work on the task – and ONLY that task – until the timer goes off. If the phone rings, ignore it. If your cell phone dings with a new text message, don’t deviate from your work. Work until the timer goes off, no exceptions.

5. When the timer dings, take a short break (about 5 minutes) to do something else. Dance around the room, grab a drink, read a quick article.

6. After you complete four Pomodoros, take a longer break.

That’s it! The Pomodoro technique is a no-excuses way to plow through your to-do list and get a ton of work done. There’s something freeing about knowing that you only need to focus on the task at hand for 25 minutes. We can do anything for 25 minutes, right?

I’ve used this technique for:

  • Household chores
  • Writing blog posts
  • Processing my inbox
  • Internet research
  • Limiting (and maximizing) my social media time
  • Paying bills
  • Brainstorming of all kinds (guest blog post ideas, new products, presentations)

Apparently there’s a lot more to the technique if you really want to dive into it further. You can check out the Pomodoro technique website for more information. If you’d like to buy an adorable timer shaped like a tomato, you can get one from Amazon.

If you’re having trouble getting things done, and find yourself distracted by all the bells, whistles, ringing and alerts of our technological world, try a little tomato timer. It might just change your life.

Update: Don’t forget to check out the description of Betsy and Warren’s upcoming book, Dream.Save.Do! And thanks to Betsy for giving us a link to a cool online Pomodoro timer (see her comment below for link!)

This post is part of the October Word Carnival on productivity. Check it out for more great advice on being productive!

http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Tools Tagged With:
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Why WordPress?

September 9, 2011 By Beth 15 Comments

Recently I needed to create a document for a client that she could take to her organization’s board of directors, to sell them on the idea of using WordPress. The board members had never heard of WordPress and weren’t sold on the idea of moving the organization’s outdated, HTML-based site over to a WordPress platform.

I got done with the document and sent it, but then it occurred to me that there may be other folks in need of a “Why WordPress?” document for their supervisors or boards. So I’ve decided to give it to you!

I’ve put the text of the document here, but if you’d like a printer-friendly PDF to print out and give to your boss (or any other WordPress skeptic you’re trying to convince) you can get that here:

Why WordPress? (PDF Format)

Here’s the text of the document.

Why WordPress?

Are you considering creating a website in WordPress, or moving your current HTML site to a WordPress platform? If so, you may be wondering – what the heck is WordPress? Why is everyone talking about it? What’s the big deal? This document was created to give you some of the benefits of WordPress, and explain why the whole world seems to have gone WordPress crazy!

WordPress is an open-source content management platform that was initially developed in 2003 as a blogging tool. WordPress has grown and expanded over the last eight years, and has become the world’s most popular content management system. It is used for blogging as well as for both personal and business websites.1,

Because WordPress is open source, the software itself is completely free. Anyone who wants to use WordPress needs to buy hosting for their site, usually at less than $100 per year.

Here are the advantages of using WordPress:

1. WordPress allows site owners to have complete control over the content of their sites WITHOUT having to know HTML. It is an easy-to-use application that allows you to publish pages and blog posts, edit previous pages, upload images, embed videos and keep your site updated – all without knowing a lick of HTML. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can learn to use WordPress!

2. The fact that your site can be managed without knowing HTML or PHP eliminates the need to pay a webmaster or web developer every time you want to make a change to your site or publish new content. This can result in HUGE long-term savings over the life of your site.

3. WordPress works beautifully with search engines. WordPress software is beautifully optimized for the search engines, which means that your web pages get found more quickly and come up in searches more often. And because it’s easy to publish new content, you’ll be much more likely to update your site on a regular basis, which is the BEST thing you can do to be found regularly by Google. Some of my clients have published content on their WordPress sites that is indexed and found by Google by the same afternoon.

4. The WordPress platform comes with an entire library of plugins, which are powerful tools that work in conjunction with WordPress. Some common plugins can do things like:

  • Help you better optimize your site for the keywords you want to be found for
  • Link your site with Google Analytics, so you can easily track traffic to your site
  • Add Twitter and Facebook “Like” buttons to your pages, so your readers can easily share your content on social media sites.
  • And more! There are currently over 15,000 plugins in the WordPress plugin directory.

5. The WordPress platform will allow your site to grow with you. WordPress is a fast, powerful publishing platform that allows your site to grow and expand as your organization does. You won’t need to switch platforms in two years because you’ve outgrown your web tool – WordPress will allow you to grow as fast and as big as you want, and it will be your partner in web publishing!

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Wordpress Tagged With:
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A Royally Cool Blog

April 11, 2011 By Beth Leave a Comment
Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey - The Royal Wedding will take place here! Sweet!

I stumbled upon an unexpectedly cool blog this week. It’s called The Royal Wedding, and it’s the official site of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which is happening event in London on Friday, April 29, 2011.

Whether or not you’re interested in the Royal Family of England, this blog is still a good example of how to build a cool site around a big event. The blog features regular updates about the wedding (in a “Latest News” section), photos and videos of Westminster Abby and the bride and groom, a slide who of the procession route, and even links to Like the wedding on Facebook or follow news of the event on Twitter using the hashtag #rw2011.

I personally love the idea that the PR department of the Royal Family decided to include a blog in their efforts to build buzz for the wedding. Can you just picture THAT meeting??

And the royal PR department is smart to do this – polls in the UK are indicating that the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is doing wonders to increase support of and interest in the Royal Family, and by creating blogs about big (BIG!) events like the wedding, the media folks for the Royal Family are making the Queen and her family look cooler, hipper, and more likeable than they have in decades. And that translates directly into even MORE good opinion poll ratings.

The blog is well thought out and well executed, and it makes the Royal Wedding look like an event you’d like to attend (or watch, for the mere mortal Americans who need to watch from afar.)

Contrast the uber-cool Royal Wedding blog with the official website of the British Monarchy.  While the official site does feature a YouTube video, which is a step in the right direction, it feels decidedly stodgier than the wedding blog. There’s lots of great information on the site – and lots of pictures – but there are far fewer ways to connect.

I must admit, the blog convinced me – I’ve got my calendar marked for April 29, 2011, and I’m going to watch the whole affair!

So if you’ve got an event coming up that ties in to your business or your personal blog, consider starting a new blog (or creating a special section of your existing blog) to put up special occasion content. Then publicize the heck out of your event using that new content. People love parties and events, so take advantage of that with your web strategy. You’ll be royally glad you did.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Blogs I Love, Content Tagged With:
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Switch: How to Make Your Blog Better with Storytelling

March 18, 2011 By Beth 2 Comments

Switch Book CoverThis is Part One of  series about the book Switch: Making Change When Change is Hard by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. Look for other posts in the series next week.

I’m currently halfway through reading a compulsively-readable book. I can’t seem to put it down. I’ve been reading in bank lines, in the car, in restaurants, and in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.

The book is called Switch: Making Change When Change is Hard, and it’s one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. Heck, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, period. And one of the things that makes it great is that most of the content of the book is stories.  I love books like this.

I’m a big fan of author Malcolm Gladwell. In Gladwell’s books – The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers – he uses real-life stories to introduce his concepts and illustrate points. His books are so much fun to read that don’t even realize you’re learning a ton of information as you’re reading his stuff. He sort of sneaks it in. :)

Chip and Dan Heath (who are brothers) have a similar writing style in “Switch.” And story-telling doesn’t just make a piece of writing fun to read – it actually makes the author more convincing, too! It’s hard not to buy into a concept when you’ve just read a really interesting story that illustrates that concept perfectly and shows you how it works in real life.

Storytelling-style writing is also easy and fun to pass around. It can be fun, memorable, sometimes funny, moving, emotional and inspiring – all things you’d potentially want to tell your friends and family about (or post on Facebook!)

So how can you introduce more stories into your online writing?

1. Include a story in a blog post. Instead of saying “My life is different than it was when I was 21,” show your readers HOW it’s different. Add a lot of relevant detail and make the story really come alive.

2. Use a case study. If you’re blogging for your business, tell your readers a story about one of your recent clients and how they used your product or service. Give background on the client and talk about where they were before they used your service. What difficulties were they having and how did your service fix their problem? Hint: This is a great way to include a client testimonial, too! And why do you think testimonials are so powerful?? Because they’re STORIES!

3. Create a video that uses storytelling. Use Powerpoint slides, screencasting or just point a Flip camera at yourself and start talking. Tell a story in the video the same way you would tell it if you were talking to a friend.

Stories are powerful. Incorporate them into your posts whenever you can, and you’ll be well on your way to creating highly compelling content that people will pass around and link to on their own sites!

Check out Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. The Heath brothers also have a very cool blog.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Content Tagged With:
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Why Blogging Isn’t Going Anywhere

February 23, 2011 By Beth 5 Comments

About every other month or so, I have a client or a workshop attendee who asks me if blogging is a dying art. They tell me they heard from a friend of a friend or another social media expert that Facebook and Twitter are replacing blogs.

The answer is longer than I can usually give when I’m short on time and the person is standing in front of me wants a black and white YES or a NO answer.

But I have a little room here, so I’m going to pontificate.

Here’s why blogging is going to be around for a long, long time:

I want you to think about your online marketing strategy in terms of a bicycle wheel. Your website and your blog are the HUB, the center of the wheel – they hold everything together. Social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are the spokes.

But the spokes always lead back to the hub. Without the hub, the wheel loses its center and the bike doesn’t move forward. But without the spokes, nothing will connect the hub to the outside rim, and the bike doesn’t move forward.

That’s why it is critical for anyone who is developing an online marketing campaign – whether you’re a business owner, a personal blogger or an author trying to market a book – to grow and nurture both your blog AND your social media tools. They work together.

Note: If you feel more comfortable doing so, you can mentally substitute the word “website” every time I used the word “blog”. It doesn’t matter whether you call it a blog or not, but what DOES matter is that you have a place on your site where you can consistently and easily publish valuable content for your audience. The key to success online, whether you call it blogging or not, is providing something valuable for your audience. And for that, you need a content management platform.

It turns out that WordPress, the world’s biggest content management platform, started out as a blogging tool. And it’s a fun, incredibly easy way to publish great content on your site. It’s also growing by leaps and bounds each year, as more and more people discover easy ways to use it to grow their sites and their audiences using blogging and content management tools.

So before anyone yells panic about blogging, and decides to ditch WordPress and their online content efforts, please consider this scenario:

Which is more likely to be found by the search engines two years from now – a meaty, informative blog post you write and publish today, or the Tweet you wrote two minutes ago? That’s right – the blog post wins.

Which one will be most likely to get you search engine traffic, develop relationships and encourage conversation? Probably the Tweet, right?

And you need both to make your online life sing. So when you sit down at your computer to build your platform and develop relationships with people who can move you toward your goals, please remember to nurture that bicycle – you’ll need the wheel hub AND the spokes to get where you want to go. Otherwise, you’ll just be stuck in one place…and with life moving this fast, you’ll want to be able to ride around with the wind whipping through your hair!

Wheeeeeeee!

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Social Media Tagged With: , ,
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Introducing Beth’s Blogging Byte!

February 13, 2011 By Beth 3 Comments

This week, I started doing something I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS – I starting sending out a weekly blogging tip to my mailing list. It’s called “Beth Blogging Byte”, and if you’re on my list, you’ll see it every Wednesday in your inbox. Each issue of the Blogging Byte will give you a specific action to take that will make your blog or social media presence better. Most weeks, this content is ONLY going to be available to the people on my mailing list, so if you’d like to make sure you get these actions, please sign up for my list here. When you sign up, you’ll also get access to my super-awesome Blogging with Beth Library, which includes advice on blog post ideas, using RSS on your site, and traffic-building!

This week, though, I’ve decided to share the Blogging Byte content with you, so you can see what you’ll get when you sign up for my list. If you like this article, please retweet it or share it on Facebook!

This Week: How Being Vulnerable Can Make You a Better (and More Successful) Blogger

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the TED conferences. The TED events are a global set of conferences, formed to disseminate “ideas worth spreading,” and there are over 700 presentations and talks you can view online at TED.com. One of my all-time favorite TED talks is a presentation by researcher/storyteller Brene Brown. Here’s her incredible talk about connection, vulnerability, and what it means to be human.

If you haven’t seen this video yet, please take a few moments and watch it now. It will change your life. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you to watch it. I’ll be here when you get back.

Okay – assuming you went and watched it – I want to talk about why Ms. Brown’s discussion on connection is so important for bloggers. It’s important because I believe the greatness and popularity of a blog are in direct proportion to the ability of that blogger to be vulnerable in her writing.

Want an example of the kind of vulnerability I’m talking about? Read this post by one of my current favorite bloggers, Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Girl.

I’ll practically guarantee that unless you have a heart of stone (and I know you don’t, dear readers), you will moved by this post. Yes, it’s sentimental, and yes, she’s really putting her emotions and her baggage out there for everyone to see. And that is what makes it GREAT.

Ree Drummond is not afraid to write from the heart. And writing from the heart is the reason The Pioneer Girl has landed two book deals. It’s the reason she been on the Today show many, MANY times. And it’s the reason that her blog receives several million hits a month. She is coy about publishing her traffic stats, so I don’t have exact numbers. Suffice it to say that The Pioneer Girl makes a very nice living from her blog.

Writing from the heart is what connects you with your readers, and it is what will keep them coming back to your site again and again and again. They come back because they like YOU and want you to be vulnerable in your writing. So give your readers what they want. It will be good for you, too.

Here’s your action for this week – Be vulnerable on your blog. Write a post about something a little more personal than you normally do. Share something with your readers that they don’t know about you. And yes, business bloggers, this DOES include you, too! Your business is about YOU, and your customers do want you to be open and vulnerable with them.

After you’ve completed this week’s task, post on Facebook with your success!

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Blogs I Love, Content
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How to Manage Your Time and Stay Motivated

February 11, 2011 By Beth 7 Comments

We had a fantastic meeting of the Colorado Blogettes tonight at Boulder Digital Arts. We called it the CONTENT EXTRAVAGANZA, Part ONE!! And yes, you need to say it in a very excited voice with multiple exclamation points!

Instead of just having a single presenter for tonight’s meeting, I really wanted to hear from the Blogettes members about their best strategies for content creation and management. We had a lively and interesting talk, and I learned a lot!

I think one of the most interesting parts of the discussion was about managing time in order to write and publish on our blogs. We also touched on a parallel topic – staying motivated in our writing.

I gave the Blogettes an assignment at the end of the evening. I asked them to add a comment to this post and share their best blogging time management and motivation tips.

Okay, I’ll go first! My favorite way of staying motivated is to look at my Google Analytics numbers, and notice how much my traffic spikes on the day I write a new post or send out a newsletter (for my business, emailing out my weekly newsletter with top-quality content is just as important as writing new posts).

After looking at the traffics spikes,  I then take a look at how low traffic dips in between posts. It’s clear that my readers are just waiting for me to write new stuff so they can read it – they WANT to hear from me! A few weeks ago, I even printed out a screen shot of my traffic stats and hung it over my desk, so my motivation is right there at eye level.

I say it to my classes all the time – the more you write, the more traffic you will get. If you write it, they will come! That’s the best motivation I know.

What are your best tips for staying motivated and/or finding time to write? If you’re not a Colorado Blogettes member, we’re still love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and share your ideas and tips with everyone.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips, Content Tagged With: ,
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