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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Why Taking A Risk Is The Only Way To True Success

Some words of wisdom By Chad Howse  

What used to be safe, is no longer. What’s “safe” in today’s volatile economy and society, is risk.

Not long ago it was safe to go to college, get a degree, then get a job in the field of your study. That's no longer true.

Today, someone is working the job you want to have. They have experience, you don’t – and no one’s hiring. You have to make your own way. College is no longer your best investment unless you’re going into a field that needs a degree (doctor, dentist etc…); even then, success is far from guaranteed, and paying that investment back is even harder.

And so, you’re left to your own devices. You’re kicked to the curb, forced to see what you can offer the world – and if they’ll accept it. Or, you can go another route: you can find something that excites you, and give it to the world.

The Global Economy

The world is your oyster. The internet has opened borders, broadened your niche, market, and potential client base. You can now reach anyone with a computer – like I do with my business. You don’t even have to learn their language, there are apps that can translate the text for them.

All you need to do is give people something unique, in a unique way, and with passion.

The good news: you can reach far more people than you used to be able to.

The “bad” news: average doesn't cut it any longer.

Doing an average job used to mean security. Today, an average – or even a good job – may mean you’re replaced by someone who does what you do, only they do it exceptionally.

With the expanding of the client base, the broadening of what can be done, and the incredible lack of employment, should you seek a career, or risk it all and create your own path?

What does a “career” offer?

The likely risk of being laid off (seniority is king in the work force).

Low pay – as an entrepreneur you can essentially, determine you own pay by you actions. A workers pay is determined not always based on merit (unless you work in commission, even then you’re getting a small piece of the pie), but on seniority.

It takes the control of your life out of your hands.

What does “risk” offer?

More control over the funds that come in, as well as what’s taken from you in the form of taxes (although the government needs to improve this).

Control over what you do with your life. So many spend their lives doing things they don’t like to do – essentially living a life they don’t want to live; what’s the point?

Risk offers a purpose.

Death is a magnificent thing: It gives your life, and this very moment, a very special and unique meaning. With each day you’re closer to the end. Each moment is one that will never be had again. Death should give you reason to risk, to try, to persist. To live a life spent doing what you hate doing, is a life lived in hell.

To risk nothing is to gain nothing.

In business, the greater the risk, the greater the room for gains. In the stock market that risk isn't always founded on sound principles, but a lot of time when you’re talking about growing a company, or even finding success in life, great risk leads to growth.

Any great accomplishment has been done so in the face of “safe logic”. They've gone with their gut rather than the path walked by those before them. They've forged a new path.

Have the courage to step out from the crowd. Break through the limitations that bind your mind to the life you’re living right now. You deserve something greater.

We Live in Scary Times

They say that the unemployment rate in America is at 8%, but that’s not counting all of the people who have simply given up. Some economists believe that unemployment is actually closer to 15%, and could reach up to 25% in the next decade.

The future isn't uncertain, it’s very certain that the jobs you hold now may not be there in a decade. What will you do then?

The safest thing a person can do is take matters into their own hands.
This may mean joining on with a start up, something that entails a lot more risk, but you typically need less education, you’re working for a company who’s making a difference, whose leaders are leading with passion and have a lot of skin in the game, and you’re innovating.

This may also mean starting your own company. The internet has given you endless possibilities to create what you want to create, to reach who you want to reach, and to help who you want to help.

The world needs new companies, leaders, and entrepreneurs if it’s going to survive this economic collapse. It needs leaders that hire, not drones that follow. The old dinosaurs are beginning to fade away, will you take their place?

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13 Ways To Unlock The Hidden Power Of Your Network To Increase Your Net Worth

Some Great Advice From Porter Gale 

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Ever wondered how you can use transformational marketing in this new digital age to increase your net worth? Well Porter Gale the Former VP of Marketing for Virgin America shows you how.

The following is an excerpt from  Your Network is your Net Worth: Unlock the Hidden Power of Connections for Wealth, Success and Happiness in the Digetal Age. By Porter Gale, former VP of Marketing for Virgin America.

The 13 Steps to Transformational Networking

1 – Assess the barriers that are holding you back

Your first step in transforming your network is to assess and define the barriers that are holding you back. Do you need to break a habit or routine? What is keeping you from connecting or reaching your goals?

Develop a list of your potential barriers. If you have a long list, don’t worry. Just focus on one at a time.  Addressing them will help you experience positive change and make connecting with others an easier and more enjoyable process. Take action, start a conversation when you’re feeling uncomfortable, or ask someone to join an activity: the results may happily surprise you.

2 – Define your core passions and purpose with the Funnel Test

With the Funnel Test you can review your passions and define a purpose to anchor your networking and ultimately help you increase your happiness and prosperity. Start by identifying three of your passions that clearly defines your core interests. The area where your three passions overlap is your sweet spot.

Next, write down how you are cultivating your passions and make a commitment to improve in these areas. Now come up with a with a selected word for your tone. Like a funnel, where the contents flow from top to bottom, envision all of your actions being influenced by your tone. Last, streamline your passions and create a purpose statement of less than twenty words that describes your purpose and use it to guide you down your chosen path.

3 – Create a mind-set of positive productivity

Positive productivity involves developing a mind-set of conscious effort to make the most of your time, connections, and relationships to increase your happiness, success, and true wealth. Try toexpand your circle of friends and professional allies; focus on networking opportunities, and positive productivity will help turn obstacles into growth situations.

Remember: In our global, networked economy, you can’t allow your social capital to lie dormant. Each day, to get more energy, be productive and active, and you’ll be unconsciously taking steps to build your future happiness. You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish if you take one step a day toward a personal or networking goal that you are trying to achieve.

4 – Develop a Give Give Get attitude

A key to value-based networking is helping others when you don’t expect anything in return. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

If you put giving back and helping others at the center of your networking and relationship building, you are likely to have more impactful and stronger relationships. By seeing networking as an opportunity to help people, you’ll discover that your actions change you for the better and help to transition out of negative states of emotion. Remember that the idea is “Give Give Get”; that is, put greater energy into giving than receiving. What you will find is that the giving will come back to you tenfold.

5 – Commit to shaking it up

Shaking up your routine and exploring new opportunities can change your life. Sometimes change is by choice and sometimes it is due to external circumstances. Regardless of where it comes from, it always has the potential to bring positive growth and learning.

Sometimes change is self-motivated, and sometimes it is a result of outside influences. It’s not always easy to predict, but when you anchor your core values and practice positive productivity, you will more successfully navigate the highs and lows of your journey. Look at ways you can proactively shake it up by changing your routine, trying events designed to meet new people, embracing unemployment (if it happens), and getting outside of your comfort zone.

6 – Accelerate your connections with technology

Technology has increased virtual intimacy and reduced the degree of separation between connections. New and old networking relationships may be just a tweet, a post, or an email away. Toss out the old ideas: networking is no longer about climbing a ladder to success with a Rolodex stuffed in a leather briefcase. A different networking strategy is paying dividends in our global, mobile economy: one that includes understanding your values, having a positive attitude, and connecting with collaborators for mutual inspiration, innovation, and support.

Embrace rather than shun the new online tools and social sites. If used properly, you can make new connections, improve your happiness, and impact your future prosperity.

7 – Cultivate relationships that support your purpose

As your network builds, the way you interact and treat your professional and personal colleagues, especially in your core circle, will have a dramatic impact on your ability to achieve your purpose and find happiness and success.

Your core circle affects how you spend your time and where you socialize, your networking success, and ultimately your happiness. Outside your core circle is your secondary circles, which have a highly important impact on your networking. Your goals are to build authentic, honest, emotionally based connections and to identify if you need any additional support or resources to help you realize your passions and purpose.

8 – Visit power pockets to accelerate networking

Look at environments, clubs, and events to see how they can accelerate or diminish your efforts and ability to live your passions and purpose. If you think of your network as a web of interconnected relationships, it is important to look at where you could get stuck and where you can accelerate your efforts.

Review the importance of your work space and the benefits of what I call “power pockets”: places and events that accelerate networking and support your passions or purpose. Think about your community or places that you visit for travel, identify two to three power pockets, and make an effort to visit or work out of a location that’s not your office. Remember that under the surface, there is learning to be had from every connection.

9 – Hone your connecting skills and learn from hub players

Create value and opportunity by embracing highly networked individuals who thrive at bringing people together. Hub players are the people at the center of the social or business sphere, and they excel at connecting themselves and others. If you are not a hub player or the idea of making small talk at a party makes your skin crawl, don’t worry; those skills can be learned and practiced over time.

When you reach out to a hub player, you’ll find the same dynamic that occurs when you meet a new friend, but with exponential levels of energy and feedback. If the two of you share professional interests and embark on a collaboration, get ready to discover new areas of learning and change.

10 – Create content, products, or services to share your purpose

Having a mindset of being a producer will help you focus when generating content or developing products or services to increase your visibility, build your network, or increase your reach. The goal of being a producer is to add value to the collective good based on your passions and purpose.

As a producer, you should actively seek to create content, products, or services that support your passions. When you do so, those activities will often result in creative enjoyment, sharable assets, and possibly financial gain. The more you enjoy your producing process, the easier it will be for you to share your output and excitement with others.

11 – Develop partnerships to extend your reach

Reaching critical mass can be accelerated by connecting with core influencers, exploring partnerships, and unleashing the power of groups. Use your passions and purpose as a filter to focus your connecting efforts and achieve your goals.

Building your audience and the reach of your personal brand or message online takes effort, but the returns can be multifold. Classic brand-building techniques such as creating partnerships, identifying key influencers, combining press and social media, among others, can be used to target your message and build a following.

12 – Learn to make successful asks.

Get your foot in the door, secure a meeting, or simply get advice; the Ask is a skill people hone over time. With the support of your network, learn to ask for help, move your projects forward and live your purpose.

Succeeding at the ask requires a blend of courage, passion for your work, preparation, innovation, and resilience. Also, remember that often magic doesn’t happen overnight. “Don’t leave before the miracle” is a phrase to remember as you focus on turning your passions and purpose into reality.

13 – Decide what brings you happiness and success: head, heart, or wallet?

Decide what brings you happiness and success: head, heart, or wallet? If your network is your net worth, what role do the people in your core and secondary circles play in your happiness and success? Do the contents in your wallet make you happy? Is happiness and success driven by what you know? Or who you know? Or both?

Remember to look inside first, outside second. Surround yourself with a values-based team, and creatively focus on living your passions and achieving your purpose. If you’re facing pivot points, get productive and don’t let your social capital lay dormant. Help others, be of service, and, remember, Your Network Is Your Net Worth.

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 http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/13-ways-to-unlock-the-hidden-power-of-your-network-to-increase-your-net-worth/

Build Your Small Business Brand by Avoiding These 5 Common Pitfalls

Some Great Advice from Meaghan McClellen


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Every business starts out with the hope of a bright future, but some companies just can’t build a solid reputation or overcome obstacles as they climb the ladder.

Building your company’s image, or branding, is as essential as the products or services you actually provide, and you’ll want to steer clear of these common mistakes.

 

Common Pitfalls of Branding

Offending Consumers

Crass humor, stereotyping and patronizing customers is rarely an effective branding method, but accidental offense is also avoidable. A diverse company and marketing team is one way to make sure you won’t step on any toes. In fact, if you can locate the consumers that the competition offends, you might find yourself a profitable niche.

Being Too Rigid

CEO of GoDaddy, the Web hosting and domain company, Bob Parsons, is a creative leader. Not only is he the one who came up with the idea of GoDaddy girls, but businessman Bob Parsons explained his advertising strategy in an interview with Inc Magazine, in which he said there was no real advertising budget. Bob Parsons simply open to opportunities, even ones that pop up at the last minute. Allowing yourself to roll with the punches is necessary. Others will want to work with you when you develop a reputation as flexible.

Poor Name Choice

Choosing the right name for your company comes before Web sites, marketing campaigns and printed materials. For many, their own name also represents the business. You may play on words or use industry ideals. Whatever your name, it must represent your company. Changing names at a later date is confusing and costly. Because you’ll use your company name in so many places, consider the following:

• Is it too long or short?
• Is it difficult to spell?
• Is it overly common like “John Smith”?
• Can you use it as a domain name? Who Represents might be a good business name but “whorepresents.com” is slightly less than ideal.

Test out your company name with friends, family and associates before you print it on your business cards.

Broken Promises

While your company might not be running to become President of the United States, you can learn something from the oversized branding that presidential hopefuls, and even winners, participate in. Political campaigns like Obama’s in 2008 involved a lot of big ideas, promises and hope. It was certainly the idea of “Yes we can” that helped to get Obama into the Oval Office, but then reality hit. Obama wasn't able to make every promise into a reality. Partisan arguing has led to a less effective socialized medicine law, for example, that still has some conservatives upset. Even when you do make good on your word, people will have something negative to say, so it’s best to only make promises that you can fulfill from the start.

Lack of Passion

What is causing your customers’ unhappiness? What issue can you solve for them? Once you answer those questions, advertising and branding falls right in place. The things that worry consumers and pull at their heart strings often encourage them to open their wallets, but if you lack emotion, you’ll miss this opportunity instead of empowering consumers. Furthermore, everyone wants to feel as though they’re talking to a real, live human being and not a computer. This is where showing emotion helps you stand out from the crowd.

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http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-10-biggest-small-business-startup-mistakes-how-you-can-avoid-them/

The Social Media Revolution

The Power Social Media Gives Your Business Should Not Be Underestimated  


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have been aware of the benefits of social media for a while now and have used this blog as a pulpit and soapbox to shout from this digital hilltop. I have personally experienced the power of this new media to accelerate brand awareness and to spread my stories.

You can exhort and preach to the CEO’s and executives about social media’s power and some will “get it“, but until you start to experience it for yourself  the flame will not blaze brightly.

I look at my blog’ s Google analytics from time to time and the Global reach that you can achieve with social media never ceases to amaze me. I don’t know of any other media that could achieve that in less than 2 years without spending a cent in traditional advertising or marketing dollars.

The Harvard Business Review analytics Services recently conducted a survey of 2,100 organisations and discovered that 79% are currently using social media channels. They also asked them what they saw as the benefits of social media and here are the results and feedback from the real world.

The 12 Major Benefits Of Social Media

1. Increased awareness of the organisation

2. Increased traffic to website

3. Greater favorable perceptions of the brand

4. Able to monitor conversations about the organisation

5. Able to develop targeted marketing activities

6. Better understanding of customers perceptions of their brand

7. Improved insights about their target markets

8. Identification of positive and negative comments

9. Increase in new business

10. Identification of new product or service opportunities

11. Ability to measure the frequency of the discussion about the brand

12. Early warning of potential product or service issues

Note: Below are the graphical results of the Harvard Study

What often does scare the CEO is that as well as the benefits that social media does bring, there is a downside encapsulated in this comment by Paul Gillin the author of “The New Influencers”

“Conventional marketing wisdom long held that a dissatisfied customer tells ten people. But…in the new age of social media, he or she has the tools to tell ten million.”

The challenge is to not let the fear of this unknown overwhelm the benefits that the social media revolution can provide to an organisation.

What benefits have you experienced with  social media either for yourself or your company all comments welcome - below

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http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/02/14/12-major-benefits-of-the-social-media-revolution/

105 Tips To Make Your Blog Rock

Ideas and suggestions on how to capture the right audience and write interesting articles 

Check Out This Page for More Topical Stories  http://tiny.cc/0vxlww

Another great piece of advice from Jeff Bullas

So you want to start a blog or you already have one and no one is turning up to read it. Well it’s time to “Just Do It” and make the blog rock.

Below we will show you

• The importance of passion
• How to find your audience
• Help your audience find you
• How to write and develop content that your market cares about
• Find and use the right technology essential to build a blog with the right foundation
• Different techniques to write headlines that make people read your posts
• Simple ways to produce a video blog
• Secrets on how to use social media to spread your content
• Why you need  to grow a substantial Twitter follower base
• Ways to use Facebook to market your blog
• 4 Different ways make money from your blog
• The essential elements to create a personal  brand that will change your life and dramatically increase your income
• How to become an expert and thought leader in your industry

And much more. There may be one tip that you can action today

105 Tips To Make Your Blog Rock.

1. Be passionate!! Don’t start a blog if you are not passionate about your topic. Passion will give you the energy and the juice to make your blog and life a success, it is the elixir for being relentless. For more on this read “10 Secrets To Being Insanely Successful” or “How To Blog With Passion and Purpose

2. Read and develop content on industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

3. 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”

4. Write about customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name

5. Publish content on what not to do! – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)

6. 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”

7. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets

8. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning

9. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas

10. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

11. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about

12. Video interview successful people in your industry. Check out  ”Social Media and The CEO: Video

 Interview With Greg Savage Of Aquent”

13. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

14. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button 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)

15. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

16. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

17. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting  and then embedding links from Slideshare

18.  Run polls and surveys on your blog

19. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read the rest of the article

20. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade and any awards

21. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

22. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

23. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy consumption

24. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

25. Take screen shots to place in your post using software like Snagit to highlight points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

26. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

27. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). For more on why this is important read. “10 facts Reveal The Importance Of Ranking High In Google”

28. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

29. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or button

30. Have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally.

(Gini Dietrich from Spinsucks.com contributed to the list with the following eleven additional tips)

31. Ask your readers what they want you to write about

32. Let your readers pimp their own blogs in your comments section

33. Ask questions

34. Create contests (which goes along with your poll/survey idea)

35. Install the SEO All In One pack on your WordPress blog

36. Use StumbleUpon to increase your readership

37. Create content for “Associated Content” by republishing your blog posts there (it helps with 

readership and news outlets will republish your content on their sites)

38. Comment on other blogs and news articles to show your thinking/expertise, but also link people back to your blog

39. Make sure, when you use Twitter to promote your blog post, tweet it more than once.

40. Subscribe to SmartBrief newsletters, RSS feeds, and Google alerts in order to find ideas for new content (that’s how I found this blog!)

41. Post and link your content on the Delicious social bookmarking site. (This will again help spread your content by placing it on a highly trafficked site)

42. Try your hat at a guest blogger or two, this could add credibility to your site , especially if the person is influential in his or her space. Courtney Wiley of  iNgage Networks also made this suggestion

43.In the meta tags for your photos, make sure the labels/words are what you want them to be – search engines can’t “read” photos, only the labels/meta tags. Dave Heinrich from WebTechUniverse.com also contributed with this tip which is vital and I do this with every image in my posts

44. When people write a comment actually take the time to email them directly and thank them for the comment and if they ask a question, then answer it. You will find that this will create a WOW factor and spread the word about the blog. If you took 10-15 minutes a day to respond to 5 comments via email you would make great impact on over 1,500 people during a year who would each spread the word to potentially 1000′s more. This could be the making of a tribe!

45. Comment appropriately on the top blogs ranked by Google on the major key word or phrase you are trying to optimize for SEO. This will create a a link back to your site and linking is key to increasing your own rankings with search engines

46. Write a blog post listing some important bloggers in your industry (such as the top 5) and point out how they make their blogs successful and you might find they return the love!

47 Interlink to other posts in your blog when writing a post especially those that are relevant and have been successful (this again is great for SEO)

48. Outsource content development for sections of your blog that are appropriate such as ‘resource’ sections.

49. Update an original post that provides more value to your readers (this post is an example)

50. Take readers comments and include and promote them in your blog  (like we have just done)

51. Take a selection of your best blog posts and make an ebook out of it. Then distribute the ebook on the Amazon Kindle Store and Apple iBookStore. This will find you new readers for your blog. And you can monetize it in a whole new way by charging a dollar or two for your ebook. (Thanks to Vikram Narayam )

52. Collaborate with other Twitter users within your niche to promote each others content

53. Make sure that everyone within your company has their own Twitter account and promotes the blog and company social media accounts on that account

54. When speaking or presenting, record it on video and upload it to company YouTube channel. It will be a constant resource for clients as well as adding to your websites SEO.

55.  Make excerpts of  key points on the video and turn them into short blog posts.

56. On your YouTube channel make sure you have optimized the video for search engines through tags, key phrase in the description as well as the link to your blog in the  description section.

57. The SlideShare account where you have uploaded your PowerPoint presentation should also be optimized for search with your blog or website URL in your public profile

58. The Slideshare account should also have your top keywords and phrases in the  ”Public Profile” about section so that search is optimized.

59. Keep most blogs short with no more than 400-500 words as most people don’t have much time and will be only spending a minute or two on your blog (average time on this site according to Google Analytics is 1 minute and 39 seconds)

60. If embedding a video in the post again brevity rules with the rule of thumb now at a 1-2 minute video

61.  Take each post and post it on the New Digg (20 million visitors a month), it is quick and easy to do and will take you only a minute or two (it involves copying the URL and pasting it to Digg, add the headline and choose the section then hit

62. Take the results of your polls or survey and turn them into a blog post. A lot of people want know the results as over time the blog post is buried in the archives

63. Use a twitter app such as SocialOomph.com (Professional edition) to schedule tweets your posts on a regular basis. Another software application you can use is MarketMesuite.com which allows you to personally brand your scheduled tweets.

64. Collaborate and communicate with other successful bloggers in your niche especially those that enhance and add to your skill set (they will encourage and support you)

65. Implement an email acquisition strategy that includes a pop over form that hovers over the screen for first time visitors (offer free eBook or video tutorial as an incentive and a gift for people giving you their name and email address) . One platform that provides this is Aweber.

66. Another email subscriber tactic includes a suggestion to refer a friend to join the email list

67. Place a video on your Facebook fan page inviting visitors to subscribe.

68. Link to your blog on your Facebook fan page

69. On your email subscriber form don’t ask people for their life history keep it short and only ask for name and email address

70. On LinkedIn  Make sure your Profile is public with Your Blog, Website and Facebook pages entered in your Settings (Profile Section) where you are allowed 3 website URLs

71. On LinkedIn make sure you have blog widget loaded (this is at the bottom of your LinkedIn Home page by clicking on the +Add an Application Button) this will then display your blog and the 3 latest posts in a window on your home page for all visitors to your profile

72. Add the Twitter feeds application using the Tweets add on in the same section this will promote your blog posts when you tweet them

73. Promote your Slideshare presentations on LinkedIn using the Slideshare Presentations again in the +Add an Application button (remember your optimized Slideshare account will have your blog URL which will drivetraffic to your blog)

74. Get the latest information and ideas by creating alerts using Google Alerts on your favourite topics. For me that might be something like “Social Media Case Studies” so that any new content on the Web that fits that phrase will be fed to you by Google, either as it happens or daily. (Suggestion maybe create a separate dedicated email account eg alert@jeffbullas.com so that it doesn’t overwhelm your personal or business account

75. Hire a copy writer to hone your content for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so that your key words and phrases that are important when potential readers and clients go looking online find “you” and not your competitor on Google’s search engine results page

76. Video interview successful people in your industry and then make it easy for them to share the interview with their network (this will surprise you as to how powerful this is in leveraging and spreading your content)

77. Run Ads in the sidebar such as  Deck ads.  ( you can make a few thousand a month off  ”The Deck” ads.if the traffic volumes are significant)

78. Bundle up the best blog posts about about your niche and turn it into a PDF book. You could sell the PDF for lets say $19. (37signals who took its own experiences as a web startup and published them on their corporate blog and monetized that over 2 years into a $750,000  revenue stream by publishing and then repackaging it)

79. Take the PDF and turn it into a paperback at a print on demand publisher Lulu.com. You can sell the paperback for $25 and they make a few more thousand a month on royalties. (37 signals book “Getting Real” was published from the PDF source material  and the paperback is currently ranked the 2nd best seller on Lulu)

80.Take the content from the book and produce a conference series. You could hold a few conferences a year and make about $50,000 per conference. (37signals has produced about 5 of these conferences) So if you add this all up:

• $100,000 on The Deck ads
• $350,000 on the “Getting Real” PDF
• $65,000 on the “Getting Real” paperback
• $250,000 on the “Getting Real” conferences (before that they were called Building of Basecamp).

Total $765,000 over a few years off the same content repackaged in a variety of ways.

This content was simply about insight and ideas about how they run their business.

So there it is, over $750,000 from Blog entries, PDF, paperback, and conferences.

To read more on this check out. “4 Ways To Make Money From Your Blog Content: A Case Study”

How could you adapt this model to your industry?

81. Take the content, expertise and network contacts that you have developed from your blog and produce a Webinar. Social Media Examiner have done this successfully twice and  have registered up to 2,000 people online and made over $900,000

82. Mount a video camera in your car if you are in an industry that involves getting out and about such as real estate and make a video blog while you are “on the job” (but not driving of course). Ian Watt from Vancouver does this and creates short video blog posts talking about the industry he is obviously passionate about.

83. Turn your blog content into an online course and publish it and sell it using applications such as wiziq.com, odijoo.com, litmos.com

84. Offer a premium paid newsletter for a low cost of $1.99. An example here is that a restaurant could offer a monthly newsletter with recipes for seasonal foods or a Gym could offer a weekly newsletter with keeping fit and staying healthy.

85. Use Alltop to promote your content.

86. Put a big button on your blog that invites and makes it easier for people to do “business” with you such as investing in your blog or collaborating in joint ventures..

87. Join as many Facebook active Facebook fan pages or groups relating to your blog topic as possible

88. Monitor your brand with Google Alerts or Tweetdeck so that you can thank people that publish your content and protect your brand from misconceptions.

89. Offer consulting services in your area of expertise that are highlighted and prominent on your blog.

90. “Persist” and don’t give up and your blogging journey may surprise you!

91. Place a LinkedIn share button next to your retweet and Facebook share buttons as a lot of  LinkedIn users now have 200-300 connections and a LinkedIn share can potentially have that many impressions per share

92. Consider having more perennial or evergreen content on your blog that doesn’t date and is timeless. The latest news posts are still useful but can quickly become out of date.

93. Write blog posts that answer the problems that your readers and viewers have in your industry niche. To read more on this check out “Why Solving Problems Beats Marketing

94. Write subtitles that keep people engaged with your content. If they just see a wall of text it is easy for readers to turn your blog off and go somewhere else. An example of this can  be found at this article “”Why Social Media and Traditional Marketers Should Stop Bitching” – and the first sub title is “The Challenge For Social Media”

95. Write how to posts, that make your site a constant resource for people. This will achieve two things 1. It will bring them back time and time again 2. It will increase readership time on your blog

96. Improve your writing by subscribing to writing blogs or attending writing classes.

97. Obtain a great domain name. This applies if your own name is already taken as a domain name. A writer friend of mine Nicholas Brasch recently started a blog called writer.com.au. How cool is that!! Oh yes check him out he is an awesome writer.

98. Find your writing voice. This is the type and style of writing that suits you and is you. It might be idiosyncratic and you may get critics but it will be authentic and if you write and blog that is what you need to be..”Real”

99. Make it easy for people to view your blog on a mobile phone as more people are read from smart phones that are connected to the internet. There are simple plugins for WordPress that enable you to do this in about 10 minutes. I have just checked my Google analytics and nearly 5% of my readers have raed my blog from a mobile platform in the last week. This trend will continue and the percentage will go up.

100. Install Google analytics (this can only be done if it is a self hosted account) this will highlight things that you can fine tune and improve.

101. Have a “contact us” form on your blog that makes it easy for people to contact you for those speaking, consulting and business opportunities.

102. Continue to follow people on Twitter in your industry niche  to build up your Twitter following. This gives you a larger audience to promote your blog to. For more on this read “Today’s Twitter Tip: How To Get Targeted Niche Followers”

103. Read all the time and different styles and types of writers. This will give you great ideas to write about and continue to position you as a thought leader as you continue to learn. Phillip Adams once said “Show me someone who reads a book a week and I’ll show you a good person”  and also I will show you a better writer.

104. Write about industry News – whats happening this week, this month

105. Learn how to write awesome headlines for your blog articles. It’s been reported that up to 50% of all tweets that are retweeted are due to the headline only! For more on how to do this read “Have you Been Making This Huge Mistake On Your Blog”

If you find you are getting frustrated and the writing is hard and some days it isn’t happening then remember this quote from Tolstoy the famous Russian author who wrote “War and Peace” .

“I don’t like writing but I love having written”

What other tips would you like to add? I look forward to hearing about your blogging tips.

Image by JAG1 Photos

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