so genius | That Instafamous Guy

Mar
20

20,000 views our first 2 Months – The 3 Keys to Success

Category: So Genius Tags: blogging, community, empire avenue, MARK SCHAEFER, Marketing, Michael Q Todd, so genius, social media, triberr 31 Comments

This will be a short post with a very simple strategy to execute… just bribe people to come read your blog. It’s easy, pay everyone between $1000 – $2000 to read and comment on every post you write and BOOM – you’ll get 20,000 visitors in no time. That’s all, thanks for coming. Problem Solved, right? Well, if you’re like me and DON’T have hundreds of thousands of dollars to budget on your blog, don’t worry, there’s still hope.

Before I reveal my 3 secrets and go all infomercial on you, I want to extend a HUGE Thank You to the So Genius readership. If it weren’t for you, I probably would have already joined the blogging graveyard with an epitaph that read “another boring blog that no one cared about.” Fortunately, the personal stories that you’ve shared and thoughts you’ve conveyed over the last two months have allowed me to further develop my craft. It’s a two way street and hopefully these 3 strategies will inspire someone who is considering a blog to get out there and DO IT. It’s a very rewarding (and therapeutic) experience)

AVOID THE POPPYCOCK

My first mildly successful post was “No One Wants to Read Your Mindless Poppycock – It’s time to {grow} up.” It was both a tribute to Mark Schaefer’s world famous {grow} blog community mixed with the key ingredients necessary for creating an entertaining blog that will keep readers coming back. Ultimately, if you’re still writing poppycock that any old Joe Blogschmoe can write, the rest of the keys won’t help you. After you finish writing every post, ask yourself this crucial question. “Is this something only I could write?” Oh, and be honest with the answer because guess what? You’re not Mashable or Spin Sucks, the world will continue to spin if you don’t publish that post. It’s better to post once or twice a week and wow your readers than throw-up on them every day until they just don’t come back anymore.

TRIBERR

If you’re wondering what the heck Triberr is, you’re not alone. I am surprised at the number of bloggers who still either haven’t heard of It or just plain don’t utilize it. Big Mistake for a couple of reasons. Triberr is a loose-knit community on the surface but has hundreds (if not thousands) of micro-communities that are composed of like-minded bloggers called tribes. It’s based on reciprocation like I scratch your back and you share my blog post. Roughly a quarter of all the traffic I’ve generated on this site has been a direct result of Triberr shares and that’s only counts what is measured. Also, you’re going to be exposed to oodles of other blogs to read and comment on – which is key to building foundations for relationships with other bloggers.

WALK THE AVENUE

I’m such a Houdini. At the beginning of this post I talked about bribing people to read your blog and you thought I was just kidding…. But I’m not! I don’t care if your name is Blog God, you can benefit from Empire Avenue’s mission system and gathering of the most passionate engagers on the social web. Where else can you offer virtual currency as a reward for engagement on your site? No where else that I know of! Even more important is the relationships that you’ll build. I estimate the liklihood of establishing a MEANINGFUL connection on EAV to be 500% greater than any other Social Media site. For more info regarding the in’s and out’s of how to “play” Empire Avenue, I recommend checking out Michael Q Todd’s blog as he has written dozens of articles that highlight what I’m attempting to explain in one paragraph.

Your Turn

What do you brings you back to certain blogs? Is this the design, format, or schedule? Share your thoughts with the audience on what you like to see or let me know whether you found these three tips useful.

Mar
16

By So Genius Blog

HOW TO: Change the World two Words at a Time #YOUMATTER

Category: So Genius Tags: Angela Maiers, Dan Gilbert, Jure Klepic, so genius, So Genius Award, social media, You Matter 13 Comments

Originally, this post was intended to be a one man show that features our latest So Genius Award winner, thus kicking off a new weekly segment. No need to worry, though, as we’ll still unveil Jure Klepic’s So G Award; but there’s a movement going on that’s bigger than any one person. Jure epitomizes this mission so deeply, that I actually thought he started project. As it turns out, however, someone else gave birth to the two words that are helping to change the world – YOU MATTER.

WE MATTER

When was the last time someone said that you mattered? For many, it’s been far too long. Some may not even remember the last time. However, If you are friends with Angela Maiers, creator of the you matter project, it’s rare that a day goes by without her reminding you of how important you really are. Need some inspiration to fuel your potential for the upcoming week? Please watch Angela’s AMAZING Ted Talk to get your fix. Really, this isn’t just about words… it’s a message that can change the way you look at the world.

THE MORE YOU GIVE

It’s human nature to want to belong, to feel appreciated for what you do. This is a two way street, my friends. Dan Gilbert, a successful Midwest businessman, once told me his key to success. “The more you give the more you get” is the mantra he lives by. That, in itself, is not a new concept but most people seemingly have it bassackwards. Many first wait for someone to help them before they help someone else. Some expect an affirmation of their own contributions before they appreciate the things people do for them. I’m sorry to inform those people that YOU HAVE IT WRONG. Angela has laid the groundwork, but it’s up to us to set aside the me-first attitude that prevails in our society and start paying it forward. So, your mission for the rest of today and through the weekend is find a way to acknowledge the people that make a difference in your life. When enough of us buy into this philosophy, we really will change the world.

SO GENIUS AWARD: DIFFERENCE MAKER

Jure is a difference maker

I sure hope Jure doesn’t mind getting buried at the end of this post. Actually, nevermind, I know he won’t care because he is more concerned with others than himself. I remember my first interaction with Jure, it was shortly after the first time that I retweeted him when he didn’t just thank me, but actually asked how my day was. While this probably shouldn’t have been so astonishing, it was on a few different levels. I had been on Twitter for maybe four months and it was the first time that someone I didn’t know actually cared enough to ask about me. It says a lot about someone’s character when they ask about you for no ot than to acknowledge you. Initially, I thought jure just had a thing for superheroes, but it so happens that he lets EVERYONE know that they matter. He is a true difference maker; and for that, he deserves our praise. Now it’s our turn to tell Jure how much we love him by leaving a shoutout below.

Mar
12

By So Genius Blog

The Queen is King of Social Media – Part II – Be the Change

Category: So Genius Tags: Gini Dietrich, Glass Ceiling, Michele Price, so genius, social media, Women in Social Media 19 Comments

This photo was taken on March 8^th, 1975 during an International Women’s Day(IWD) march in Australia. Fast-forward 37 years and, regrettably, women are still fighting against the same stereotypes, discrimination, and sexism that have plagued them since Adam blamed Eve for making him eat the apple. In the first post, we clearly established that there is still a glass ceiling in social media. In this post, I asked two of the strongest women I know – Michele Price and Gini Dietrich – to discuss how we’re going to breakthrough it.

PROLOGUE

Before I turn it over to my guests, I want you to look at the picture again. Look at the passion that these women displayed while standing up for a unified cause. It’s rather inspiring if you ask me, but where is this fervor from the women in today’s society? I think it’s largely absent. We just celebrated IWD, but quite frankly, I saw a bigger buzz on national talk like a pirate day. That’s arrrrrghregious.

So where did all of the strong feelings from women go over the last 20-30 years? Search timelines for the Women’s movement – I dare you. Google says nothing has happened in the movement since the early 90′s, unless you dig to page 2… and who ever gets THAT far? Ladies, don’t give up – stand up – and create some new search results for our Googling pleasure!

MICHELE PRICE @prosperitygal

What I find amusing is before Chris, Scott, Jay, and Scott were popular as they are now, conferences put them in the line up. Had these same events taken a more balanced perspective in thinking about their audience, they would have served them a different variety of speakers. Instead they take the easy way out and continue to bore us all with the same Men-ummhh excuse me -people.

WHO is in the audience? Are they really 100% men? Why would the same business principles be different for conferences? “Serving your customers well.”

Being willing to be unreasonable is where breakthroughs originate. If conferences feel having women are unreasonable-wonder what the breakthrough results might be for the conference that made a point of having it’s keynotes be MORE women. Imagine the social media impact that would occur -generating more buzz.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable adapts the world to him. All progress depends on the unreasonable man” George Bernard Shaw.

Who will be the catalyst and make a commitment to to “BE” that progress. Good gracious women of the early 1900′s are turning in their graves seeing us relive the same things over and over. Where is the progress? Women submit when there is a call for speakers.

I am going to have a nice strong cup of coffee now as I am thoroughly disappointed that we are even having to have this conversation in 2012. Thank you for having the courage to say it out-loud and point out where the Emperor has no clothes.

GINI DIETRICH @ginidietrich

Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, gave a compelling commencement speech last May. She talked about how women tend to take our foot of the career pedal because we “think” we might get married and have babies someday. We feel guilty for pursuing the corner office or climbing the corporate ladder because we might not be there in a few years.

This is crazy. Yet she’s right.

So many of us are taught, since we’re very little, that getting married and having a family ismore important than our careers. Sure, we also grow up thinking we can be President of the United States or doctors or lawyers or business owners. But hardly any of us grow up thinking we’re going to do both.

Because of that mentality, the glass ceiling still exists. Business leaders find it difficult to put women in positions of power, especially if they’re engaged to be married or expecting. They just don’t know what will happen once we get married or that baby is born. So they don’t give us a shot. And the gender doesn’t matter. It can be a male or female boss.

There is only one way we can get past this. Put your foot on the pedal. Go as fast as you can. Climb the ladder. Start a business. Become a leader. Author a book. Go on the speaking circuit. And worry about what happens when it happens, not before. As it turns out, women are really good at multi-tasking, especially if they’re doing several things they love to do. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Michele and Gini are highly successful, motivated women making a difference TODAY. We need to start another movement – the women in the Women’s Day march 37 years ago only had handmade signs and their voice. We have Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to raise awareness. Just last week, on our fanpage, we recognized nearly 50 women for their greatness in Social Media. We’ve done something, now the question is, what are you going to do?

Photo courtesy of The National Archives of Australia

Feb
23

By So Genius Blog

The Queen is King of Social Media – So Where’s Her Spot on the Throne?

Category: So Genius Tags: Ann Handley, Jessica Northey, Mari Smith, New South Digital, Sexism, so genius, social media, Women, Women in Social Media 5 Comments

Content is King – have you heard the news? Of course you have! It’s been trumpeted loudly for the past 6 months, usually by men. We go beating our chest and tweet out infographics, statistics, and articles – Mmm content, yummy. Content is King we say – but is it? Our battle cry might just be a coping mechanism to compensate for what men are lacking, kind of like the guy with really a BIG truck. If Content is King, then an engaging community is Queen.. and we know who REALLY runs the kingdom, don’t we? Oh yes, that’s right, the Queen IS King of Social Media, both figuratively and literally.

That Instafamous Guy

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