How Smart Risk Taking Can Impact Your Life & Happiness

Are You A Risk taker? Interesting piece by Rochelle Royal

According to the Oxford Dictionary the word ‘risk’ means, “A situation involving exposure to danger”. Realistically, this could range from something as simple as falling over when walking, to losing control of your bike, or even crashing your car; the list of possible dangers are endless.

Exploration in to the world of risk has shown that you can measure what kind of risk taker you are, much like an IQ score. A study with a large group of people will show that, on average, people are neither as low as a number one (averse to taking any risk as small as stepping out the front door) or are extreme dare devils (such as the famous Evel Knievel).

William Gurstelle, the Ballistics and Pyrotechnics Editor for Popular Mechanics Magazine has carried out years of research on risk aversion. It is his belief that a person’s inclination to risk-taking has a profound impact on their happiness and life satisfaction. This ties in closely to the endless asked question of whether we make our own luck in life.

Are people lucky or do they take the right risks at the right time? Science would tell us that lucky people take advantage of chance opportunities more than others; they are more likely to take risks. The more risks you take in life the more chance you have of doing something great.

Gurstelle’s research looked at the two extremes of risk-taking and found that the average person lies right in the middle. However, just to the right of the middle towards the Evel Knievel side of risk-taking lies what he calls the “Golden Third”. William Gurstelle argues: “People who fall into the Golden Third, who are more willing to take risks and capitalize on opportunities, experience the highest index of life satisfaction and fulfillment”.

How Risk Taking Can Impact Your Life & Happiness

THE GOLDEN THIRD

Once you enter the golden third, there is a fine balance in staying there. Advanced Riskology founder, Tyler Tervooren is committed to helping people utilise smart risk opportunities and live better lives through uncertainty. Tyler has granted us his time for an interview to share his insight and advice. The information provided should be able to guide you through the process of making good risks in everyday life.

Tervooren argues that: “Most people take risks because they don’t understand them”.

“We fear that which we don’t understand.”

When you take a risk, like applying for a new job, that doesn't lead to the desired outcome and you don’t understand why you didn't get it, especially if you have all of the relevant qualifications, you may be tempted to give up and stop trying again.

“Unless you understand how to take smart risks, this will be most people’s experience with it”. However, spend the time to research and understand what you are about to get yourself into, and then find a way to “dip your toe in”. Validate your big risk by taking smaller, less life altering ones first.

“Smart risk-taking can become a habit, just like anything else can. By repeating the steps necessary to take a smart risk – research, plan, test, evaluate etc. You can integrate that workflow into your habits so that it will always inform the risks you take”.

The fear factor to taking risk is likely to stay, as Tyler states: “as humans, we will stagnate unless we consciously push ourselves”.

Continuous discipline of the mind is essential to knowing how to take smart risks. As it is a fundamental part of the human experience, the more you practice and do it, the more it becomes natural: “Children learn to crawl before they walk. They walk before they run, and they run before they drive cars, fly aero planes, so on and so forth. At each step, there’s a fear barrier that has to be overcome”. With many sequences of successes before “you learn something and adjust for the next one which, of course, makes it that much scary to do”.

Advanced Riskology provides guidance on embracing the unknown without promoting any particular action. Tyler suggest that to live a fulfilled life we need to concentrate and improve on the risks that we are already skilled in and address the ones we struggle with, the ones that are holding us back from having the life we want.

He highlights:

“We tend not to notice that we’re good at something until we see others around us struggling with it”.

Even small moves in this area of your life will be uncomfortable, but if anything else Tyler assures that it simply means that “you’re headed in the right direction”.

Always remember there it is a fine art to stating balanced and living in the ‘Golden Third’ and straying into the reckless stage of many thrill seekers. A prime example of this in today’s world would be the guys from Jackass or Dirty Sanchez.

Jane Downshire, a qualified councilor for Teenage Translated, specialises in teenage development and emotional literacy. On a daily basis, she struggles with the challenge of educating the high risk-taking tendencies of teenagers.

Janey offers to share some advice on how to manage risk-taking effectively:

“People must reflect on their actions and assess the outcomes consciously. Without feedback on your actions you can become narcissistic and uncivilised. When the consequences of your actions bare no meaning to you, you can become destructive to the people around you”.

Furthermore, Lynsey Dixon, Head of Marketing at Tombola (an online bingo betting site), speaking on the subject of associated problems with The Golden Third and the ways in which individuals can seek help, said: “In the gaming industry it is important to remember that it is about enjoying the thrill of the game and not about gambling to make money. At tombola, we place huge emphasis on the overall experience. We take our responsibilities seriously and work with a number of organisations to offer support, help and guidance to those who need it and encourage sensible behavior. It is crucial that individuals stay in control when taking risks, regardless of the situation”.

Conclusion

Know that risk-taking is an important part of development and it is essential to maintain a level of curiosity, motivation and desire to move forward. However, always maintain a conscious awareness of your actions through active reflection and you will learn to enjoy the process of smart-thinking.

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What’s Your Motivation To Keep Moving?

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What’s Your Motivation To Keep Moving?

This is a Guest Post by Gregg Swanson, a mental strength and peak performance expert.  

Motivation is essential to achieve any type of success weather it’s in business, health and fitness, relationships or even a simply hobby.  Without motivation nothing happens.  

Motivation is generally defined as a “force, stimulus, or influence” that moves a person or organism to act or respond. According to Webster’s Dictionary, motivation is…

“the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action;” and “the reason for the action.”

Normally when we think about motivation we think about being excited about doing something or not. Well, if you’re going to want to reach your goals on a regular basis, you’re going to have to comprehend and use the power of motivation.

Motivation relates to the internal processes that “move, impel, induce, or incite,” people to do the things they do. It is “the call to action” that stimulates us to initiate behaviors in the world around us.

“Needs, drives, and desires” are typically cited as internal motives of our behaviors. “Incentives, rewards and reinforcement” are considered motivations derived from external sources.

One of the earliest theories of motivation was proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle suggested that motivation was the result of an “appetitive” function, which always operated relative to some result or end. According to Aristotle, this “end” was provided or created by the thought processes of ongoing perception, memory or imagination.

Modern cognitive theories of motivation also mirror Aristotle’s model, proposing that motivation is primarily resulting from internal maps or “expectations” of the potential consequences of specific actions. So, expectations relating to the projected outcomes of one’s behavior can be seen as a primary source of motivation.

From this view, how people feel, and what they do, depends on the value that they attach, and the causes they attribute to, anticipated consequences. Strong “positive” expectations, for instance, can push people to put out extra effort in hope of reaching some desired outcome. Expected consequences that are perceived as “negative,” on the other hand, will lead to either avoidance or apathy.

Many people experience problems around the process of motivating themselves or others. This is often because, as Aristotle pointed out:

“Appetites run counter to one another, which happens when a principle of reason and desire are contrary and is possible only in beings with a sense of time (for while mind bids us hold back because of what is future, desire is influenced by what is just at hand: a pleasant object which is just at hand presents itself as both pleasant and good, without condition in either case, because want of foresight into what is farther away in.”

The Four Questions of Motivation

An initial question that is applicable for motivation is what can we do to be productive, efficient, effective and happy?

Basically, what can we do be able to reach our goals and feel good about it?

Our lives are filled with a never-ending variety of things to do and experience. To the greater extend we create these choices of experiences. So the question is, how can we, through our motivated behavior, create experiences that are happy, fulfilling, and productive as possible?

There are four aspects associated with motivation: the whether, what, why, and how of motivation.

1. To what degree are you motivated to act, expend effort, or other resources in pursuit of a goal? Decide whether or not you are motivated.

2. What is it you are motivated to pursue? What is your goal or desired outcome?

3. Why are you pursuing this goal?

4. How will you achieve your goal?

Understanding the “Why” and “What” of Motivation

Self-determination theory (“SDT”) is concerned with the motivation behind the choices that people make without any external influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.

The SDT approach to motivation, pioneered by psychologists Ed Deci and Rich Ryan, is centrally about the “what” and “why” of motivation, supplying powerful concepts founder standing positive (and not-so-positive) motivation.

Two Types of “Positive” Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

The concept of intrinsic motivation is the desire to do something just for the experience itself. Intrinsic motivation is everywhere – it is seen when people are doing a jigsaw puzzle, when they are making love, when they are trying to master the art of flower gardening, and when they are absorbed in a fascinating work project.

Intrinsic motivation is present in babies just learning about the world, and provides the impetus for much of people’s cognitive development thereafter; from the teen years through old age.

When we are intrinsically motivated we are fully engaged, pushing the limits of our current abilities, and often experiencing states of “flow,” or being the “zone” in which we are totally absorbed by optimal challenges (such as learning a new piano piece, mastering a new computer program, or striving for victory in a hard-fought tennis match). Intrinsic motivation is a big part of what makes life worth living!

Identified Motivation

You can’t lose what you never had — so maybe you didn’t lose your intrinsic motivation because you never had any in the first place!

Maybe nothing could ever induce you to enjoy opera, ballet, or watching foreign films. Even so, might you at least have come to see the topic’s importance, even if you still didn’t enjoy it?

For example, the ballet you originally hated, maybe you began to see the athleticism in it and you started to find how they trained and then incorporated some of their training into your routine.

Maybe you did come to realize that there were aspects of watching ballet that were useful, and found these motivating, even if you never rose to that intrinsic level where the class was inherently fun.

This subtle difference represents a whole different type of motivation.

The Dark Sides of Motivation

To keep a “balance” if there are two “positive” types of motivation there are also two “non positive” types as well.

External Motivation

External motivation is easy to understand: these are the activities you are forced to do, for which you see little value, and are not particularly fun (this should not be confused with external goals which will be disused later). Redundant paperwork, some required training's at work, attending regular meetings where nothing is ever accomplished – these are just a few of these often aggravating activities that are the products of external motivation.

Introjected Motivation

Introjected motivation is similar, only in this case it is you, yourself, who is doing the requiring, pushing, and guilt-tripping. You can probably call to mind activities that you thought were neither enjoyable nor very valuable, and yet felt you “ought” to do them, or “should” do them.

Chances are you dragged yourself off to complete them just the same as if there had been a supervisor, military sergeant, or concerned mother looking over your shoulder.

Both of these types of motivation involve some sense of unwillingness, of being controlled by forces one does not fully own and endorse. Introjected motivation is not as problematic as external motivation, because at least we have begun to internalize the motivation into our sense of self.

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"If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius."

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Explanation: How Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter

Interesting Article From  How Life Works Guess we all need some Brain Training 

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http://tiny.cc/iswlww

As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be.  We suddenly can't remember where we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintance's name, or the name of an old band we used to love.  As the brain fades, we euphemistically refer to these occurrences as "senior moments."

While seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a detrimental impact on our professional, social, and personal well-being. 

It happens to most of us, but is it inevitable? 

Neuroscientists are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done.  It turns that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental workouts can significantly improve our basic cognitive functions.  Thinking is essentially a process of making neural connections in the brain.  To a certain extent, our ability to excel in making the neural connections that drive intelligence is inherited.  However, because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and fluctuate according to mental effort.

Now, a new San Francisco Web-based company has taken it a step further and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental sharpness.  Called Lumosity, it was designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford University.

Lumosity, is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills.  That's because they have integrated these exercises into a Web-based program that allows you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills.  The program keeps track of your progress and provides detailed feedback on your performance and improvement.  Most importantly, it constantly modifies and enhances the games you play to build on the strengths you are developing--much like an effective exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.

Does it work?

Apparently it does. In randomized, controlled clinical trials, Lumosity was shown to significantly improve basic cognitive functions. One study showed students improved their scores on math tests by 34 percent after using Lumosity for six weeks, significantly greater gains than those made by other students in the same class, who were not training with the Lumosity program.

The company says its users have reported clearer and quicker thinking, improved memory for names, numbers, directions, increased alertness and awareness, elevated mood, and better concentration at work or while driving.

While many of the games at Lumosity are free, a modest subscription fee is required to use the full program over the long term.

However, Lumosity is currently offering a free trial of their program to new users so that you can see how well it works before you decide to subscribe.  The trial is completely free (no credit card required) and the company believes the results will speak for themselves.

http://www.howlifeworks.com/Article.aspx?Cat_URL=health_beauty&AG_URL=brain_training&ag_id=291&wid=2598B1FB-FEB3-4820-88A7-6A9B8291BCD3&did=2685&cid=1005&si_id=795

How a Blogger Can Build a Global Audience from Zero:

Create yourself a Blog - Jeff Bullas Gives Step by Step Instructions 

How a Blogger Can Build a Global Audience from Zero: Part Two – Marketing and Momentum

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The blogger’s biggest challenge is to initially discover what will motivate them to get him up early or stay up late to create and market their ideas to a global audience.

Once you have discovered that “secret sauce” that provides you with the fuel and horsepower necessary to provide that energy, it becomes easier to then create the plans and then continue to build and maintain the blogging momentum, which we covered in part one and included the three initial steps that you need to take to build a strong foundation.

Step One: Identify your Passion and Innate Abilities

Step Two: Creating a Plan and Marketing Strategy

Step Three: Building the Blog and Blogging Basics

So passion, a plan and learning the blogging basics is just the start of the journey, you then need to come up with the ideas and then create the content that engages your audience.

Ideas or content can lie undiscovered for years in the vain hope that some one will stumble across them with a Google search. The most vital step after content creation in the blogger’s journey is to then learn the art of marketing.

The new social web provides that all important leverage  of “world of mouth”  to  reach and engage with a global audience.

In this article we will look at

Step 4: Creating content that engages your audience

Step 5: How to market to a global audience with social media

Step 6: Maintaining momentum

These final three steps will assist you in building a global and engaged audience for your blog.

Step Four: Creating Content that Engages Your Audience

The foundation for any long lasting engagement on the web that will keep people coming back is content that educates, inspires and solves problems.

Essentially there are 3 steps you need to consider in the process.

1. Come up with ideas for content consistently

2. Write headlines that will compel the reader to read

3. Structure the article so that they will keep on reading

1. Ideas for Content

Coming up with ideas  for content is a challenge for most bloggers.

So here are 17 Tips to help you assist you in coming up with ideas to create and develop content for your blog

17 Tips for Creating Content

1. Read other top blogs and develop content on industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments
2. Find out who your customers are and where they hang out and write and develop content that is then written in their language and publish it to those platforms. If you are writing for Gen Y then you will need to write in their language and publish to platforms like YouTube and Facebook. For more on this read  ”9 Questions To Ask Your Customers When Creating Content“
3. Write about customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name
4. Publish content on what not to do! – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)
5. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you and the client. On how to do this check out “How To Create And Promote Your YouTube Video In 8 Simple Steps“
6. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets
7. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning
8. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas
9. Look through your latest news releases for ideas
10. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about
11. Video interview successful people in your industry. Check out  ”Social Media and The CEO: Video Interview With Greg Savage Of Aquent“
12. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos
13. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button on your post section of your WordPress blog and write the headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it. ( I also use my notes feature on my iPhone to catch those moments of inspired thought)
14. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye
15. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own
16. Upload your Powerpoint presentations to Slideshare and then embed them in your Blog post this will allow people to view your PowerPoint presentations on the web anytime and anywhere
17. Run polls and surveys on your blog

2. Headlines

You have the ideas for creating the content but how do you get them to read it? The short answer ….”write a great headline”!

So what are the important elements in creating and writing a “great headline” and why is it so important?

Why is a headline important?

• Tests have shown that you can increase your conversion rate on a website or a link by 73% by the use of a compelling headline.
• Did you know that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the rest of the copy. This is the secret to the power of the headline, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of the entire piece
• Another test revealed that a good headline performed 259% better than the worst headline.

This means that up to nearly 3 times as many people would read your web page or view your video just through having spent some time ensuring that the headline is optimized.

So what are the basic requirements for writing that headline that will get people clicking and reading, viewing your content and copy whether that be video, presentation or text.

6 Headline Formulas

One way to start is to use a formula, so here are 6 headline types and examples  from Authority Blogger to get you started:

1. Get What You Want (In Health, Wealth, Relationships, Time and Lifestyle)

Example: “The Secret To Getting More Money For Your Property!”

2. Crystal Ball and History

Example: “10 Predictions on the Future of Social Media”

3. Problems and Fears

Example “Get Rid of Your Debt Once and For All”

4. Fact, Fiction, Truth and Lies

Example: “Little Known Ways To Make Money On The Stock Exchange”

5. How To, Tricks Of The Trade

Example: “How To Plan The Ultimate Holiday”

6. Best and Worst

Example: “The 10 Worst Mistakes Made by Bloggers

For more from the Authority Blogger blog here are 102 Proven Headline Formulas

Another very effective headline strategy is to use is ‘list’ headlines and these are some examples that I have used.

• 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog
• 30 Things You Should Not Share On Social Media
• The 7 Secrets to Ford’s Social Media Marketing Success

You will notice that it is a ‘list’ format and includes numbers. A mega list headline  is a large list such as the  50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog or the 102 Proven Headline Formulas and can be very effective. I have experimented with these types of headlines and they have produced some of my best blog traffic results.

Learning to get the basics of  headline writing will make a big difference to your website and blog traffic especially when used in your online marketing such as email and Twitter.

So how are your headline copywriting skills?

3. Structuring Your Content so it Begs to be Read

The reality though is that the headline is just the start!… you want your visitor to stay and  read the whole article rather than bounce out to another website in an era of ‘click and go’.

We live in the era of ever decreasing attention and the art of keeping the reader engaged has now become an ongoing creative and scientific experiment of verbal and visual seduction.

The Age of Skimming

So writing that awesome headline has made the reader turn up but then you have to continue to entice, tease and intrigue the reader with the promise of more information, possible entertainment or a solution to the problem so that they will read on.

Skimming the article is the norm and with so much information competing for everyone’s attention, honing those writing skills is required to ensure that the information your post promised in the headline is transparently and readily available as your readers eyes scan the page.

People are Seeking Answers

Readers are seeking solutions and answers to their problems. They are asking questions.

• Will this video embedded in the article deliver the information I crave?
• Will the embedded slideshare presentation provide content that will help me with my next corporate boardroom meeting that will impress my customer and my boss?
• Will the rest of the article enlighten me or bore me?

The headline is important whether it is a Facebook news update and especially if it is on Twitter. Twitter has made the art of the headline more important than ever before because you only have 140 characters to tempt the potential reader to take action and click on the link that is embedded in your Tweet.

The Headline is the Start of the Seduction

What you need to realize is that the headline is the start of the seduction and your reader needs to be continually visually arrested to keep them on your page.

Here are a variety of tips and tactics to continue to lure the reader deeper into your article beyond the headline so that they will not just click away to somewhere else.

The Intro

The introduction is maybe the next most important element after the headline. This is an art rather than a science but there are some good tactics to ensure that you don’t lose them in the first sentence or paragraph. Mastering the art of copywriting can be arduous and the master copywriter Eugene Schartwz often spent days crafting the first 50 words of the sales copy and as a blogger you are in the business of selling your article one post at a time.

When writing the introduction these are some ideas to keep in mind.

1. Pose a Question

Challenging the reader to think engages their mind and makes them want to find out the answer.

2. Open with a Quote

This may inspire the reader to continue to read in the hope of finding out what lies beyond the next paragraph

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” - Mohandas K . Gandhi

3. Provide a Personal and Powerful Story

The story teller has captivated people since fire was created and a personal or powerful story can be the honey to keep the reader and listener engaged whether that be around the campfire or within an article.

4. Quote an Enticing Fact or Statistic

If you are writing about Facebook it could be the fact that ”One in every eight minutes spent on the internet is on Facebook”  to draw the reader in.

5. Create Context

Lead into the main part of the article by creating the context for the rest of the story. Provide some background to the argument or solution you are about to put forward. It could be the condensed history of the topic or the facts and figures or the stating of the problem that needs solving.

6. Create a Mental Image

It could be a sentence opening with phrases such as  ’imagine this’  or ‘do you remember when’.

7. Analogies and Other Tricks

It could be a phrase such as “A writer without a blog is like a salesman without a telephone” that tempts and captures the readers attention.

Key Words:

This is one thing you should not ignore. What are the key words people will be looking for when they turn up. You also need to remember you are writing for two readers your audience and for the 1 million Google computer servers that are crawling and indexing your words, headlines and keywords. The challenge is to still write naturally but you need to be mindful of ‘Lord Google’.

Write Sub-Titles

Subtitles are your mini headlines that entice your reader to continue reading, they are teasers that may offer questions that promise more intriguing and inspiring content to follow.

Include Images

Images with screen shots with arrows and circles showing key points can be worth a thousand words and make learning clear and easy to follow through on. Make the solution a ‘no-brainer’.

Consider A Video

Sometimes a short 2 minute video can offer the reader a quick way to explain a concept or idea or solution that 500 words cannot convey. This could be embedded half way through the story. Remember you are writing for the web and rich interactive media is expected and demanded.

The Hyperlink

This is quite often overlooked and in a digital interconnected age the article that has hyperlinks promises a depth and a breadth of information that makes the reader want to explore. Links or additional resources at the end of an article that list valuable posts from your blog that are relevant are also valuable and encourage the reader to read more of your valuable blog content. I also recommend setting up the the links so they open up in a new browser window ensuring that the original page is still open and visible and waiting on their return.

Format For Scanning and Skimming

There is nothing more confronting than a wall of text that says to the reader..”If you want the information… good luck in finding it, because it may be buried here somewhere!”

So break it up into chunk sizes that is easy to digest and doesn’t create visual constipation.

This can be done in a variety of ways through

• Italics
• Call out box or block quote
• Short paragraphs
• Bullet points
• A short numbered list

Don’t Forget the Call to Act

This might be a phrase such as

“What is one thing that you can do do today that you have learnt from this post?”

The Closing

Closing is important and the main thing to remember is to close the loop by tying it back to the beginning. It could be a statement or a question.

Step Five: How to Market to a Global Audience with Social Media

Social media marketing has at  its core the foundation of valuable, shareable content in all the various forms of rich media whether that be text, video or images.

People watch YouTube videos because they are entertaining, educational or just plain funny. Viewers turn up to your Slideshare account and take the time to view a PowerPoint presentation because the content is compelling. LinkedIn works well for personal branding because you are providing answers to your peers to questions in the Q&A section and providing updates that answers problems, informs and educates.

Twitter teases you to click on links that are engaging blog posts or news that is topical and timely. The knowledge economy is all about the content. Facebook is where most of your audience is online so content needs to be posted and updated to the social giants ecosystem.

Social media marketing is the most efficient way to spread your content and ideas to a global audience. The secret sauce is to allow you to create a ‘social media synergy’ that totals a sum far greater than the individual parts. Most people think that Facebook “is” social media but I would encourage you to use a multi-channel social media marketing approach.

This approach is to guide you to go beyond being just ‘Facebook Centric’ and provide substance, endurance and longevity to your on-line presence and digital assets. This will assist you in optimizing and integrating the multiple social media platforms listed below

Some of these tips are basic for some but this is a checklist that may assist you in synergizing your online presence and bring traffic and viewers to your global digital properties.

50 Social Media Marketing Tips and Tactics

Blog

1. Produce inspiring, educational and awesome content that is so compelling that people want to share it, this is the foundation of your marketing. All media is about good content and social media is no different
2. Write regularly and consistently, people will then come and visit regularly and keep coming back because they know it will be new and topical (that is why magazines have regular publishing time frames)
3. Learn to write a headlines that make people want to read the rest of your article
4. Use ‘list’ posts (eg 50 Fascinating Facebook Facts and Figures) regularly. They may be a bit passe for some, but they work and tend to get passed around online
5. Place a Retweet button on your blog at the top of the posts (WordPress plugins make this really easy to do)
6. Place a Facebook share  button at the top of all posts
7. Include a Facebook ‘like box’ near the top right side of the blog so people can ‘like’ your Facebook page even while they are on your blog
8. Place a LinkedIn share button on your blog (LinkedIn has over 100 million users and they are typically high earners and influential)
9. Comment regularly on other bloggers in your niche
10. As you grow your traffic and followers, highlight this on your blog and demonstrate some ‘social proof’. This could even include the number of Twitter followers you have or awards you have won or your website grade or even your Twitter grade
11. Make it easy for people to subscribe via email (email marketing may be perceived as old school but it works big time!)
12. Offer to guest post on a another influential bloggers blogs and provide a link back to your blog as part of the agreement
13. Provide subscribe buttons so people can follow you on your other web properties (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc)
14. Provide a subscription button via RSS so people can have your posts pushed to them in their  ’Google Reader’ account after they are published

More reading

• 105 Tips to Make Your Blog Rock

Facebook

The blogger should think of Facebook as an extension of their blog. It is a another distribution point to place your content that makes it easy for people to share. Facebook provides bloggers with an audience of over 750 million people and this is equivalent to one in every 13 people on the planet.

So publishing to Facebook and engaging with your audience there is vital in your social media marketing plans. So  here are 8 tips to market your blog on Facebook

1. Update your Facebook ‘Page’ with your blog posts straight after publishing
2. Provide content and links on your Facebook page that will make them want to share and like your updates
3. Include Twitter in your menu (This is available as a standard setting on your Facebook fan page)
4. Run polls using the standard Facebook ‘Question’ feature (above the ‘Write something’ box) to engage your audience and involve them
5. Link to your Facebook page in your email newsletter
6. Run a competition on Facebook
7. Use a reveal tab that is set up as your landing page that provides access to unique content, this could be a video a content or even a voucher
8. Respond to all comments on your Facebook page in a timely fashion

More reading

• How To Take Your Company Facebook Page From Zero To 40,000 Fans

Twitter

1. Acquire  Twitter followers – quantity is important
2. Engage and develop Twitter followers within your niche using Tweepi (Tweepi.com makes it easy to follow followers of influential bloggers on Twitter) or Twellow.com (Twellow provides a tool that enables you to find powerful Twitter follower lists in your niche) – this is the quality part of the Twitter equation
3. Share the content of  influential Twitter people and let them know by including their Twitter name eg @Jeffbullas
4. Automate the tweeting of other bloggers content that you trust and add value to your followers with other peoples articles and content
5. Tweet regularly and consistently the posts of other influential bloggers in your topic category
6. Automate the retweeting of your great content so it is not forgotten and buried in the archives (SocialOomph professional can be setup to do this)
7. When tweeting your posts include # tags that deliver the Tweet to # groups/lists eg #SocialMedia

More reading

• How to Write a Mind Blowing Headline for Twitter so People will Read Your Blog

YouTube

1. Interview influential people in your topic category on video and post them to YouTube
2. Include your website/blog link in your profile
3. Automate sharing after posting (available under ‘Account settings” then ‘Activity Sharing’ , then choose the social accounts and as a minimum select Facebook and Twitter (Reader, Orkut and MySpace are also able to be enabled)
4. Write a headline that is ‘keyword’ rich for your industry and niche
5. Write a tempting and teasing headline that makes the potential viewer want to ‘hit’ the play button
6. Place a link to your blog at the beginning of each description for each video and make sure you write a description that includes keywords and inviting description
7. Include keyword tags for each video

More reading

• 9 Secrets of an Online Video Marketing Strategy

LinkedIn

1. Use all three website or links that LinkedIn allows in your profile (these can point to your website, blog and Facebook)
2. Make your LinkedIn profile ‘Public’ in your settings
3. Pose questions in the Q&A section of LinkedIn with links to your possible answer as a post link
4. Setup a LinkedIn profile for your blog (not just your personal profile)
5. Integrate your Slideshare into your LinkedIn account using the ‘Add an Application’ button at the bottom right of your home page
6. Integrate your Blog post feed into your LinkedIn account using the ‘Add an Application’ button at the bottom right of your home page
7. Add your Twitter feed into your LinkedIn account using the ‘Add an Application’

Slideshare

1. Turn your posts into PowerPoint presentations and post them to Slideshare
2. Write a good headline both on the presentation itself and the Title area
3. Include keyword tags that would be used to find the presentation
4. Promote your presentations on Twitter
5. Allow viewers to download your presentation to assist in making it easy for people to share
6. Post them to your Facebook page
7. In choose a license make it  CC (Creative Commons) License so people can use your content and then attribute and link to your blog

Apply some of these tips and you maybe surprised in the journey that unfolds as you and your company are discovered and shared and your goods and services are purchased because you were ‘found’.

Step Six: Maintaining the Momentum

Maintaining momentum in any sphere of your life is a challenge whether it is a business, a relationship or as a blogger and there are no easy answers.

What I have discovered is that  if the combination of innate ability and passion that you discovered and drove you from day one are true to your purpose then maintaining momentum will not be difficult.

What I have also found helpful are 3 key activities to maintain the energy and the forward motion

Reading – It doesn’t matter if it is offline or online reading this provides new ideas that will keep the inspiration flowing

Sharing – Talking to your tribe of like minded people whether it is on Twitter or over a coffee or lunch will provide you with new insights and fuel to maintain the blogging momentum

Disrupting – Push your self into new areas that will challenge you and will keep you learning and motivated

Starting the journey is the easy part but true success is the found in persistence that will bring true self discovery and maybe a life that becomes a masterpiece.

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/12/how-a-blogger-can-build-a-global-audience-from-zero-part-two-marketing-and-momentum/