I’m just now getting around to booking my flight and hotel for South by Southwest, but I’m excited to be doing it at all because it’s one of the best networking events of the year. And by “networking,” I of course mean eating giant cupcakes, visiting funky coffee shops, and somehow sending Pace Smith into hysterics by getting Problogger’s Darren Rowse to walk into a room and loudly say, “Maple syrup!” Don’t ask.
Ah, business. It’s best when it’s not business.
If you’re going to be there too, be sure to look me up. I’ll be the one who got tricked into getting Copyblogger Media brand names tattooed on my forehead.
Here’s what happened this week on Copyblogger:
Monday:
The Idealist’s Guide to Raking in Tons of Cash
Think that profit and idealism are on opposite ends of the spectrum? Most people do. Imagine yuppies on one end of the cafeteria and hippies on the other and you’ll get the picture. Turns out, though, that the two actually complement each other — like that one time the hippies and yuppies got together for that posh Grateful Dead rave at the upscale club downtown where they serve hemp martinis.
Tuesday:
7 Mistakes that Lead to Guest Post Failure
Normally, I’d joke about how I did the opposite of what this post recommends and got mad at the results, but in this case I actually started out that way because I was scanning. “Okay, to guest post, be timid. Cool. Then, don’t startle the readers. Check.” It was around the Sex Pistols thing that I figured it out. So, like, DON’T do what’s in this post if you want to guest post successfully.
Wednesday:
The Jersey Shore Guide to Irresistible Personal Branding
What can you learn from The Jersey Shore? Well, those folks can actually help your own brand and you should check this post out, but the real secret is that it’s best to refer to yourself using a name that starts with an article. Preferably a definite article, not an indefinite one. Because there’s a huge difference between being “The Johnny” and “A Johnny.” I’ve tried the latter. Apparently it doesn’t help you stand out much.
Thursday:
The Guilt-Ridden Writer’s Confession
This is an interesting little post about how writing compels a writer to write even when it isn’t going well, makes you feel inadequate, etc. Speaking for myself, my own writing is even nastier than this post would suggest. Sometimes my writing beats me with a rake and calls me names. I even have a restraining order against it. And yet, I remain co-dependent.
Friday:
Ready for the event of the year? Want to get down with the Copyblogger crew and readers? Want an open bar? Want to jam to rap music mixed with classic rock? Want to see Martha Stewart do keg stands? You can get all but one of those at the Copyblogger event at the South by Southwest festival next month in Austin, Texas.
Friday, again:
How to Write (and Execute) a Powerfully Simple Business Plan
Finally, I thought, a Copyblogger podcast about execution! I got so excited that I dusted off my guillotine and tuned in post haste, but turns out that this one was actually about the importance of a business plan, and how you can write up and use one. So if you’d like to do that, tune in. But really, there’s very little in there related to beheading, sizzle chairs, or lethal injections.
This week’s cool links:
- Titillating is not the same as interesting: Apparently I either agree with this or am part of the problem, because I just keep giggling at the word “titillating.” (That’s a verb infinitive, right?)
- How to Survive the Social Crash: Hmm… maybe don’t start taking out loans secured by your number of Twitter followers just yet.
- Are You Too Busy to Write? Seven Ways to Blog More Productively: There are a certain number of tips in this post about how to do something or other, but you’ll have to read it to find out how many and what.
- Using a Social FAQ to Kick Start Content Marketing: I just love the power of the FAQ. It’s like going into people’s brains and answering questions before they’re asked. (NOTE: Do not literally go into anyone’s brain.)
About the Author: Johnny B. Truant specializes in selling through stories and is the proud creator of The Badass Project, a site profiling amazing people who make your excuses look stupid.
Reader Comments (5)
BTW, after Wednesday’s post, Lisa Barone & I got together on Twitter and decided she should officially now be known as The Complication.
I beat you to announcing Lisa’s new nickname, also on Wednesday, on Twitter. 😉
Once again, we see that effective promotion beats just having an idea and doing nothing with it. 🙂
I don’t know either of you.
The article on Tuesday “7 Mistakes that Lead to Guest Post Failure” reminds me of advice several successful money making experts have recommended to get more traffic to your web site.
One of them – Superaffiliate Lynn Terry of whom I write about on my blog – says the most effective way to get traffic to your site is to do guest posts on popular blogs. That was a surprise to me since Lynn is such an expert on the effective use of SEO and keywords to get targeted traffic to her site.
But the advice makes sense because in guest blogging the guest blogger stands on the credibility and trust of the blog for which they are writing.
Thanks for the (contrary) advice about effectively writing a guest post!
This article's comments are closed.