Spiritual Guide, Marketer & Podcaster
Everyone is jumping on the social media train these days, but many are doing it wrong.
What is wrong? Trying to be everywhere at once.
Social platforms differ in audience demographics, culture, and engagement. And to be efficient, it’s best to chose which ones fit your business type and master them before moving on. [Read more…]
A gift from my friend, Ali Mostofian 🙂
I can’t explain how much I learned in the past year. Looking back at the beginning, I am surprised I had the courage. I didn’t have much direction. I possessed a wide skill set and a business sense from growing up in small businesses, but my direction wasn’t in focus. And it still isn’t to a certain degree, but I’m learning that it doesn’t need to be. In fact, I want to give it room to grow. Many entrepreneurs change direction several times throughout their career and it will be with same for me. My passions will maintain, and as time continues I will innovate and try new routes. [Read more…]
Consistency: Constantly adhering to the same principles, course, form, etc. (www.dictionary.com)
In today’s market, everyone seems to be sprouting up with the newest, awesome-est idea. America is becoming an entrepreneurial nation, a nation reinventing itself through the definition of business. It’s an exciting time and I dream of initializing my own businesses. But in the midst of dreams and creations, it’s important to remember one fundamental ingredient: consistency.
Growing up in a family full of entrepreneurs, I watched businesses succeed and others flounder. The reasons behind different outcomes are interesting and family dinner conversations often debated the possibilities. Why was one marketing tactic successful or another fail? The magical list of do’s and don’t for finding business success always vary, however consistency remains.
Have you noticed – a lack of patience, the ADD epidemic, the speedy conversations and overabundance of acronyms in everyday life? I’m sure you have, unless you’ve had your head stuck in a hole. People are busy these days and their time is valuable. What does this mean for your business blogs? Unless you’ve worked the blog up to be very popular and capable of consistently doling out valuable information like Social Media Examiner – it’s best to keep blogs short and sweet.
And let’s be honest. Although some blogging outlets are widely known for excellent content, how much time do you have to stay on top of them? I can’t, no matter how much I would like to. But I want to learn, so my reading list is mostly comprised of blogs that teach me something in 400-500 words or less – something I can read while blow-drying my hair (yes, I really do this).
Everyone is in a rush in NYC!
1. Use lists. Listing out the reasons for your blogging subject allow people to scan through them quickly while getting the gist of what is important. Also, listing gives you more room to explain without alienating the reader. Meaning that if you like to expound, then you can without it stressing out the reader.
2. Outline your blog in advance. This will not only help you stick to what you want to convey, but make it easier to write. Take 5-10 minutes to outline your blog theme and the fundamental parts to explain. It’s a great way to organization the thought process before putting it down on paper and will take less time to write it than if you were trying to do it from memory.
3. Explain it as you would to a friend. Sure, sure you’ve heard this before. But seriously, explain it as you would to a friend who’s in a hurry. How do you tell a hurried friend? You give them the facts, add a bit of flavor and maybe an example or two, IF there is time. No need to explain it like you would to a child – give your audience the benefit of the doubt to understand what you mean. Believe me – most get it.
For those of us who are unable to write in small amounts (me, me, meeee), keeping blogs to a simple minimum isn’t easy. But it’s doable with some forethought. Remember, you want to teach your audience something new, but you don’t want them to get annoyed for taking so long to do it.
Final word of caution: Don’t sacrifice value for length and don’t cut a blog down just to do it. Be precise with your writing, succinct and you will be fine.
Now it’s your turn! Do you agree/disagree with my short ‘n simple methodology? Come on, let me have it.
If you know me, you know I don’t watch TV. But I often come across excellent advertising examples and save them to my YouTube channel (which I am just starting to work on).
So what makes an excellent advertising piece? Excitement, interest, curiosity, drama, humor, and a foreign location. Haha, there are many other things that can add up to an excellent commercial, but these match this particular one.
Check it out, and let me know what you think.
It isn’t glitzy or glammy, contain girlie explosions or sci-fi-like goo, but that’s exactly why I love it.
Superbowl ads used to be the pinnacle of the Superbowl celebration. I remember watching the sultry Cindy Crawford sip on the cool can of Coca-Cola and laughed when the frogs burped out “Bud-weis-er.”
But this year’s ads were overrun in effects, noises and well, fluff. What happened to the brilliance of wit, funny humor and wise marketing antics?
I loved this commercial because it’s simple, tells a humanistic story, markets the brand (Expedia) with integrity and class and didn’t need to rely on overstated technology – just a hand-held camera.
But I’d love to hear your thoughts. Agree/Disagree?
On another note, remember this one? (hahaa…)