Whew! Looks like I made it just in time. If you get my newsletter, I apologize, as some of this might be redundant, but so much has happened this week that I had to give you the full scoop.
This is a very exciting time for bloggers like you and I. We’ve got IZEA rocking in Orlando, the Problogger community just opened, and Blogworld Expo is coming up in a little over a week. As a matter of fact, I’ll be there from Wednesday through Sunday and I would love to meet up with any of you that can make it. I’m staying at the Las Vegas Hilton and you’ll probably catch me at the bar meeting with David Risley, or at a pre-game Tweetup with Chris Brogan.
Getting a book deal is one of those goals that many of us dream about, but few are able to achieve. It isn’t because we aren’t talented writers, but it is much easier to say that you are going to write a book than to actually go out and do it. Not only is the effort one that usually outweighs the monetary return, but the armies of gatekeepers that stand in the way of you getting that deal signed often intimidate authors into giving up.
I admit, I’m a bit of an act first apologize later type of guy. When I started the project update, I wanted to share behind the scenes info with you to help you understand how I’ve built my business in my spare time and created a wealth of opportunity for when I leave the Army. However…I’m starting to realize that doing this every Saturday might get a bit redundant for both of us. I’ve also had a few new ideas that I’d like to throw at you so I can continue to work on bringing you interesting, yet useful content on a weekly basis.
As a result, I’ll be changing the Saturday updates to a bi-weekly session. In fact, I still might add a bit at the end of the normal Saturday post, but for the most part, you’ll find that the bulk of project stuff will be released on the 1st and 15th’ish of every month. In between those updates, I’ll be adding a new segment that I’ll call “Ideas that Change the World.”
I thought about this while I was cutting my grass tonight with scissors to a length of 2 inches per blade. I realized that there are so many cool technologies and ideas spreading across the world that I’d be doing you a disservice (just kidding about the grass by the way, at least the by hand part!) by not sharing them. One of the things I am most passionate about is future technology and how it will integrate with human spirit. Robots excite me, social media excites me, great design excites me, and good books and music excite me. This new series will share all of this and more.
Like everything, it is a test to see if it sticks (mostly if I find it useful for longer than a month), but we’ll start off by sharing our very first idea, which comes courtesy of one of my favorite Game Changers, @garyvee
Changing the World of Email Updates
Email updates you say? Sounds boring right? Well guess what…normal email updates are. Sure, you get my blog posts delivered to your inbox on a weekly basis, you get to hear my behind the scenes action, and you get to join the Webrepreneur Community, but that’s so passe. Today, we’re stepping it up a notch and changing the way that email is used for blogs.
On Gary Vaynerchuk’s blog, you’ll find an opt-in box…but this is no ordinary opt-in box. It takes a 2nd look, in fact I didn’t even notice it until I’d been on the site for the 4th time today, but when you click on the (learn more) link, you’ll see something very cool.
Rather than bore you with regular updates, Gary is integrating his blog, with Twitter, with his behind the scenes newsletter, and a mix of other cool stuff he finds. Although I just subscribed and cannot tell you exactly how he’ll use it, I can tell you how I will. I’ll combine the following feeds into a simple feed for you:
1. My blog posts
2. My newsletter
3. My Twitter feed
4. My Posterous
5. Facebook Updates
6. Other blogs or interesting content
To me, this is the start of lifestreaming on a higher level. This is business gone lifestreaming and I think it is beautiful. Thanks Gary for continuing to innovate. What do you think?
Content Is King, But It’s Not What You Think
We’ve all heard the adage that content is king, but usually that refers to the content in a blog post, eBook, or another form of web content. However, I’d like to propose that within that meme, there is a king of kings when it comes to content and it probably isn’t what you think.
Before we get started though, I want to share a story about what inspired this post. You see, I lost a friend recently to a longtime battle with lung disease. He was a good man and although I’m sad he passed, his life taught me so much more than his death. However, what really hit home for me was when I was on Twitter asking for a moment of silence and I was flooded with responses from people I’d never talked to before. At that point I realized that what makes social media so wonderful, is that if you take away the spammers and bots, you end up with a community that embraces each other…often without asking for anything in return.
The Power of Social Networking
At that moment, none of us were trying to make money or launch a product, we were simply trying to pay our respects to a lost friend of mine. I didn’t want anything but to just hang out and talk with people to share my respect for this man. Incredibly, and what is really cool, is that these people I’d never met before were sending me replies and DM’s as if we’d known each other for years. Such is the power of social networking, particularly Twitter.
What’s Your Agenda?
Now, let’s get back to the king of content. You see, when it comes to content, I believe there are 2 types: content that has a hidden agenda, and content that seeks nothing but to be shared. In my opinion, the latter of the two is by far the most powerful and important. You might say as a rebuttal that all of your content falls in to the 2nd category, but let me ask you…are you sure?
Look, I’m not trying to claim sainthood and say that no one should sell anything, but I am saying that your intentions should always be clear and good hearted. If you want to sell something, make sure it benefits people and that you believe, without a doubt, that it does. Don’t try to trick people into clicking your link or buying your product if you aren’t relying on transparency and there is not congruency in your message.
I’m tired of meeting people and getting to know them only to find out that they are not what they seem. Let’s face it, that’s easy to do online. The way I see it is this: If you are trying to build a long-term relationship with people online as a brand or business, then you need to be able to look them in the eye and level with them. You need to be comfortable sharing information with no hidden purpose or agenda other than to enrich other people’s lives. You need to be the best at what you do.
I don’t expect your business to become a charity, but I believe there are times to focus on profit and times not to. Don’t be afraid to share your secrets and don’t cling to everything you know like it is your last dollar. I’m betting that a lot of what you know was inherited from others and rather than trying to squeeze a dollar out of someone, why not help them earn one first. Life is too short to worry about money all the time and I’m a firm believer that if you do what you love and help others do the same, then you are already wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.
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