Top 10's and Other Lists

Ten for 10 in 2010 – Blog Marketing

Nishiki Shotengai, Kyoto, Japan As we approach the end of the year, I thought it might be fun to share Ten for 10 in 2010 ? a list of people, blogs, apps, platforms and more that I think you might enjoy checking out in 2010.

These are just personal takes and, as with any list, this is subjective so please feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments after the post.

Today I look at ten ways to use your blog as a marketing tool in 2010 ? I hope you enjoy.

Secure Your Domain. This might seem obvious, but having your own domain tied into your business or service is so important. You can even do this on free blogging platforms, so there’s no excuse. Not only does it make your blog appear more authoritative but it helps with search engine visibility.
Update Your Signatures, Digital and Otherwise. One of the things many people forget to do is let others know they have a blog, so make sure you’re not one of them. Add the URL to your email signature, online profiles, company stationary, etc.
Define Your Voice. You don’t have to be a great writer, but you do need to be a passionate one. Love what you’re talking about; don’t be afraid to sound off; don’t just go with the flow of other bloggers in your niche. Simply put – be you.
Make Your Blog Porous. One of the best ways to market yourself is to open up your knowledge. Too many bloggers don’t really share (even though they say they do). So open up your blog to sharing some of your best practices, and empower your readers – trust me, it works.
Create Great Ideas. Any business thrives on how creative it is to a solution and how that benefits customers. Make your blog the same – use your readers as testers for ongoing new products and services, and incorporate some of their ideas. It’s the best focus group you’ll ever have.
Soap Boxes. People read your blog because they’re interested in the topic(s) you write about. It’s why they’re your customers, or customers of your industry – use that. Invite manufacturers or service providers to share their news and stories on your blog. In return, you’ll have an “in” to their audience – it’s a win-win.
Be Visible. While the social space has made business transactions easier, we still prefer face-to-face contact. It helps build trust between partners we find out more about each other, and we can see what we’re buying – your blog can do the same. Use video to offer a more personal approach, as well as offering first views of cool new products or services.
Share the Wealth. You don’t have to be the only voice in town – the online space means there’s much more opportunity for business, and you don’t have to be so protective of your “customers” (readers). Encourage them to visit other “stores” – for instance, Jim Connolly has one of the best marketing blogs around, and Michael Martine offers excellent blogging advice. Share your peers and build your customer knowledge base, and they’ll appreciate you more for it, and share you with their peers.
Community Spirit. One of the best ways to use your blog as a marketing tool is to encourage an interactive community. This could be via a forum, member list or email list. Give your customers somewhere to share views, ideas, issues, and be the host with the most and act on their suggestions. Again, you’re building brand loyalty and showing you really do care.
Sell Yourself. You have a blog; it’s for marketing your business; so why not sell directly from it? There are a host of e-commerce solutions available to suit your needs, and they’re pretty easy to set up. Use your blog for exclusives – buy one on your blog, get one half-price on your main site. It builds connection to your main business and offers loyal customers an incentive to shop with you.

These are just ten ways that you can use your blog to market yourself or business/service more in 2010. There are many more, and please feel free to leave your favourite methods in the comments below.

I hope you can join me tomorrow when I share ten bloggers to look out for in 2010 (and there may even be a special video message to lead into the New Year with!).

Cheers!

photo credit: yeowatzup

Ten for 10 in 2010 – Favourite Blog Posts

2007 As we approach the end of the year, I thought it might be fun to share Ten for 10 in 2010 ? a list of people, blogs, apps, platforms and more that I think you might enjoy checking out in 2010.

This time around, I look back at my ten personal favourite blog posts here on this very blog. The reasons are numerous, and some were wider read than others, but these are the ones that I enjoy revisiting the most.

I hope you enjoy.

Lessons from Pyromaniacs. Drawing inspiration from the Pyromania album by UK rock band Def Leppard, Lessons from Pyromaniacs looked at how being open to new ideas, and involving those around you, can truly take you to the next level.
Personal Superheroes. I’m incredibly fortunate to know some truly amazing people. In March, two of these stepped up and went way beyond the plate and became Personal Superheroes to me. Here’s why.
When Was the Last Time. Sometimes we become so involved with our online activities and connections that we can often miss what’s happening on our own doorsteps. When Was the Last Time reminds us there’s a bigger world out there.
What a True Hero Looks Like. Hero is a word that is used way too often, in my book, and has lost its meaning because of it. What a True Hero Looks Like offered up Ashley Hegi as someone that deserves the title along with some inspired comments.
The Little Boy That Could. Sometimes our fear of the new stops us from bypassing the old. Yet as the comments that followed The Little Boy That Could show, we can support each other and take these steps. Then the world truly is our oyster.
Lessons in Social Media from Super Mario. Inspiration can come from the strangest places. With Lessons in Social Media from Super Mario, I look at why Brogan, Vaynerchuck, Solis and others may not be the real “names” in social media.
Why It’s All About Community. If you chat with (or read) me on a regular basis, you’ll know that to me community is everything, both online and offline. Why It’s All About Community offers a mix of the two to show why.
Shit is Still Shit No Matter How You Dress It. I think this one is here because it’s possibly the post where I came out from under the “Always Nice on Social Media” rock and spoke out. Check out Shit is Still Shit for yourself to see if you agree.
Response to Barbara Talisman’s Misinformed 12for12k Post. Earlier this year, I came under a personal attack over the ethics of my 12for12k project. The support I received to my Response to Barbara Talisman’s Misinformed 12for12k Post left me touched, humbled and speechless, and something I can never say thank you for enough.
The Powerful Effect of Simplicity. We all have bad days and weeks, and feel everyone and everything s against use. But as The Powerful Effect of Simplicity shows, there are people out there just waiting to make it right for us.

So there you have it – ten of my personal favourites that I’ve blogged about over the last 12 months. The reason they’re in the Ten for 10 in 2010 list is that some may be new reading for you as we enter the New Year. I’d love to know your take on them, or which posts you enjoyed this year – the comments are yours.

I hope you can join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at ten ideas to make your blog your marketing tool in 2010. Cheers!

photo credit: streetpreacher83

Ten for 10 in 2010 – John Haydon

This is a guest post from?John Haydon , who has a brilliant blog over at JohnHaydon.com. John inspires me every day and is one of the most giving and genuine folks around.

Every New Year, I think about what I’ve accomplished the previous year. When I’m done, I’ve felt refreshed and ready to get to work.

But many times, looking back doesn’t feel so good. Five years ago I had a bone cancer scare. Three years ago, I went though a divorce. I went from seeing my son seven days a week to less than three which, as any father knows, is heart breaking.

In 2009, I also had a string of heartbreaks, challenges and set-backs. I’ve also had many, many victories. Having hope and conviction is easy when you’ve just had a victory. Not so easy with set-back.

I promise this ends on a positive note, so stick with me, ok?

Firewood

There’s a Buddhist saying that “a fire burns brighter when logs are added.” The idea is that only through challenges does one forge a brighter, more expansive way of living. I mention this because we sometimes tend to see obstacles and set-backs as a negative. We fail to see the growth rings.
Maybe this is because it’s easier to just say?“Oh, I’m sorry… that must be tough”, and think we’re lucky not to be in his/her shoes.

But why?not be in their shoes? Why?not be excited about an opportunity for self-transformation? Is it that deep down, we don’t believe in ourselves?

We see people “crushing it” all around us. Not?despite the obstacles, but?because of the obstacles!

How Mama and Mark Crush It

Mama Lucy lives in Tanzania with her kids. When her children were old enough to attend school in the 1990s, her country had no schools. She had to take her kids to Kenya to get an education – separating them from their home. She stood up against this injustice by building a school with money she earned on as a chicken farmer. And now she has a school with over 350 kids.

Mark Horvath had a promising career in television, but because of his drug addiction, he became homeless. He lost all his possessions and his family. With nothing left, he considered suicide. But then he had a spiritual awakening that put meaning around his struggles. Through his faith he quit drugs, pulled his life together, and eventually launched?InvisiblePeople.TV.

The one thing Mama and Mark have in common is fire. They both burn for different reasons, but have used their struggles as the fuel.

Remember that feeling of failure I mentioned? Now I know that feeling is based on a misconception that winning in life means no challenges. Winning is inside – how we respond to life. To “crush it”? is to burn brightly. To “crack” is to confuse ends and means.

So for 2010, my goals focus on cause rather than effect. On learning how to better start a fire, and fan it with hope.

My sincere thanks to John for sharing his thoughts on what made his past year, and what he hopes for next year – I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I hope you?ll join me tomorrow when I offer up ten of my personal favourites from this blog over the last 12 months.

Ten for 10 in 2010 – Amazing People

As we approach the end of the year, I thought it might be fun to share Ten for 10 in 2010 ? a list of people, blogs, apps, platforms and more that I think you might enjoy checking out in 2010.

These are just personal takes, and will probably either see you agreeing or thinking I?ve lost the plot ? and either one is fine by me! As with any list, this is subjective so please feel free to leave your own recommendations in the comments after the post.

This time around, ten people that are doing amazing things and you should really get to know in 2010. I hope you enjoy.

Mark Lovett. One of the things that stood out for me in 2009 was the emergence of Mark Lovett and his Global Patriot project. The idea – to spread patriotism globally. Take the love for your country and offer it to everyone – not a bad aim, in my book. Mark also presented three Music as Medicine concerts in support of Doctors Without Borders, and showed how music truly does bring us all together.
Darius Bashar. Hailing from my neck of the woods, Toronto native Darius Bashar is a man on an incredibly inspiring mission. Co-founder of the brilliant Daily Challenge initiative, Darius’s goal is simple – to use technology and the Internet to inspire people around the world to do good. Works for me.
Samantha Nutt. Founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada (12for12k’s first charity in 2009), Samantha Nutt is simply an amazing person. Tireless in her mission to help kids trapped in conflicts, she live tweeted from one particularly dangerous warzone earlier this year and shared the stories of the people affected. You need to know Samantha today.
Mark Horvath. Anyone that knows me will know I love Mark Horvath and what he does. His Invisible People blog is relentless at bringing the stories of the homeless to a wider audience, and he braves the streets of Los Angeles and beyond to offer a voice to the voiceless. One of life’s true heroes, Mark Horvath is someone I admire immensely.
Susan Murphy. I love people with passion, and they don’t come much more passionate than Susan Murphy. Her energy is boundless; her enthusiasm contagious. She’s a creator of stories and a sharer of personal wealth. She teaches kids how to be great. She lives life the way it’s meant to be lived. Simply put, Susan Murphy is showing us how to be amazing every day.
Nate St. Pierre. If there’s one person I feel a real affinity to even though we’ve never met, it’s Nate St. Pierre. Nate has a project called It Starts With Us, where his belief that real change around us is inside us comes to life. Nate is someone I believe is going to be a life and game changer in 2010 – make sure you hop on board early.
Gabe O’Neill. To me, our kids are the ones that we need to help grow and instill belief in if we want to become better people, and no-one epitomizes that like Gabe O’Neill. Co-founder of the amazing Kids Are Heroes project, Gabe inspires children to learn from each other and be inspired to create change and hope. Something us adults could learn a thing or two from.
Sasha H. Muradali. One of the amazingly talented Generation Y folks that I’m blessed to know, Sasha H. Muradali is an incredible individual. She wears many hats – PR, marketing, community manager, fashionista, awesome blogger – and is forever positive, no matter how down she may be personally. A bright glow in an often dull space, Sasha should be on your radar in 2010.
David Spinks. Another Gen Y superstar (what are these folks drinking?), David Spinks has been on my awesome list for a while. He’s one of the smartest minds around, he writes an excellent and thought-provoking blog, and he’s helping Scribnia become one of the best platforms around for bloggers and authors everywhere. Oh, and he also co-runs a great Under 30 Pro Twitter chat every week. Kudos, sir.
Amy Neumann. A veteran of the Internet and media industry for 15 years, Amy Neumann is much more. Continuously looking at ways to improve charity awareness and non-profit work, Amy takes the expertise of consulting with Fortune 500 companies and shares her smarts with non-profits. One of my favourite folks around.

So these are ten amazing people I feel you’d really benefit from knowing in 2010. But these are just ten among many more – who would be on your amazing list? Please feel free to leave your own recommendations in the comments.

I’ll be taking a break both tomorrow and Boxing Day, as I look to spend some much-needed time relaxing with loved ones. Hopefully you can join me again on Sunday December 27 when I share more Ten for 10 in 2010 goodies.

Cheers, and a very Merry Christmas to you!

Ten for 10 in 2010 – Shannon Boudjema

This is a guest post from?Shannon Boudjema, who writes over at ShannonBoudjema.com. Shannon is one of the most passionate folks I know, lives social media, and is someone I’m proud to call my friend.

My hat is off to one incredible year for the social industry. I think if I had to sum up 2009 socially, it would be the year that Social came of age.

We have seen staggering results, plausible case studies, and some very smart people with passion and vision doing things that have never been done before and what?s more, they?ve all lived to tell the tale. But as we all know, coming of age means life lessons, experimenting, getting things wrong, set backs and acquiring a bunch of experiences that ultimately define you as an adult.

I think 2010 will see even faster growth, twice as many start ups as were seen in 2009, more tech solutions that simplify how we gather and process content thanks to the biggest mash up of all revealing itself in this coming year.

Looking forward to:

Seeing how authenticity will shape brands in this space beyond the social network profile. Will authenticity be something that we see threaded throughout business this year or will it remain confined to just the parts the consumer can touch? ?Everything from hiring socially to operating within collaborative spaces to bringing the social philosophy to call centers that utilize social tools to fulfill the needs of their customers long before the dreaded complaint.

Watching how the Peer to Peer relationship evolves to reshape how we do business and its effect on the workforce model taking it from a more structured corporate model to a flex-force, entrepreneurial model – a model that in itself will bring change to how we buy, sell, engage and search. It?s true, we have seen this to some degree already with affiliate programs, modern day barter systems and individuals forming strategic alliances but 2010 is likely to see this grow and take shape in more sophisticated ways.

Figuring out how we resolve ?Free?. I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Anderson?s book. He provides a lot of great content and perspective. I also like the book because it was that book that led me to Douglas Rushkoff, who offers some smart insights on how we get past free.

Seeing the end of:

Get Social Quick Schemes. People don?t get rich quick and unfortunately they don?t get thin fast. Getting social quick is also a band-aid for something that requires a fruit salad. That?s right? the get social quick schemes that promise huge amounts of twitter followers are not the answer. A facebook fan page without fans is of no value. But the truth is, these executional fixes are more damaging to you? doing things right the first time are always in your best interest, and more often than not, will be more effective with your time and your money.

Quality being valued over quantity ? There is a place where Quantity rules ? the quantity of traffic to your site is directly proportional to that site?s revenues. But that?s not what I?m talking about. So what would you prefer, 1000 engaged and active users or 35,000 bots, spammers, and people making noise? In a space where authenticity rules, why are we so scared to be authentic? For those who aren?t comfortable or don?t know how to best engage this space ? learn how to do it right or hire someone brilliant.

Haters being ignored! I firmly believe that your haters are one of your biggest opportunities in this space. Hear me out! Who cares if you tapped a fan club who pledge their love to you. Great! You?re fortunate and we?re pleased for you. But what about those people who are thoroughly annoyed by you?

Those people who tell anyone who will listen how crap your product, service or brand is. Imagine if you could sit down with these fine folk, have a candid conversation, objectively listen and come away with insights that will not only improve business, but if committed action is taken, will turn the hearts of your haters into some of your biggest brand fanatics. ?Hmmmm, this just gave me an idea?.

A few resolutions!

We need to know what to call this space. Social Media, New Media, Digital, Social Media Marketing, Social Technology?? Social is the correct part of the title. Media? Not so much. But then I don?t think it?s New Media either? if it is, then what do we call New Media when it?s no longer new? And p.s. ? it lost its newness about five years ago.

Rear view mirrors play an important role in our life. They keep us safe and they prevent us from doing things we?d only regret. It let?s us look behind ourselves to scan the environment and gather information in order to make informed decisions about our next step forward. In other words, looking back isn?t always a bad idea? and looking back in Social has been made ridiculously efficient by the lovely Peter Kim. Bookmark his wiki warehouse of Social case studies.

However the cards may fall, my prayer for you is that 2010 is your best year yet. So be balanced, be kind regardless of it being reciprocated and always be the first one to smile and say hello!

My sincere thanks to Shannon for sharing her thoughts on the year just passed and the year ahead, I think you’ll agree she says much of what we’re all thinking about (and feel free to leave your thoughts about the year ahead in the comments). I hope you’ll join me tomorrow when I offer up ten people doing amazing things.

photo credit:?sunsurfr