How to be a Pillar of Curiosity

Curiosity might have killed the cat – but it also made me a lot of money.

Show me a person who isn’t curious, and I’ll show you a fundamentalist, mindless, lifeless human being whose brain, heart and soul never expand.

HERE’S THE REALITY: History proves time and time again that the most successful, most celebrated and most influential people on the planet were the ones who asked dangerous questions despite overwhelming efforts to silence their enthusiasm and deflect their curiosity.

You need to be one of those people.

Here’s a list of sixteen daily practices for becoming a pillar of curiosity:

1. Start by (actually) caring. The word “curious” comes from the Latin cura, which means, “to care.” That means your mission is simple: Practice caring what things are, why things are and how things are. Even if you’re not all that interested.

Curiosity doesn’t discriminate. That’s why it’s called curiosity: It’s an equal opportunity explorer, treating all experiences with deep democracy. Start there and you’ll be ahead of 50% of the uncurious world. Simple but not easy. Do you have the courage to care?

2. Embrace the muscle of huh. Two ways: First, the Scooby Doo approach. That’s when you tilt your head at a curious experience, think, “Huh?” with the utmost surprise.

Second, the Edward Debono approach. That’s when you squint your eyes ever so slightly and mutter, “Huh…” as if your mind was just sent off to the creative races. Both are necessary fibers of the same muscle. Are you flexing them?

3. Scanning.Learn to find interest in anything. See yourself in everything. Study ordinary things intently and unfold and reveal the things most people wouldn’t think to capture. Plug whatever you perceive into the equations of your theory of the universe.

Ask yourself how it relates to you, why it’s interesting, how it’s an example or symbol of something that’s important to you. What mundane things do you find fascinating?

4. Refuse to discard hunches. Cherish all moments of brow furrowing. That means you’re seeing something. I urge you to (always) trust that peripheral perception. To remain awake to (and respect the integrity of) the words and ideas and experiences that seize you and refuse to let you go until you’ve given them careful consideration.

Remember: The most important three words of curiosity: “Now that’s interesting…” Are you stalking your hunches to the point of restraining orders?

5. Become a questionnaire. He who asks the most questions, wins. If someone stops you mid-sentence and says, “You sure ask a lot of questions!” congratulations, Curious George.

On the other hand, if that never happens to you, consider the following exercise: Stop making to-do lists and start making to-ask lists. It’s a paradigm shift. It’s hard to do. But it’s worth it. Are you a human question mark?

6. Dare to be dumb. Sherlock Holmes once said, “There’s nothing more elusive than an obvious fact.” I say, “There’s nothing less attractive than a person suffering from terminal certainty.” Either way, it pays to ask the questions most people would avoid for fear of looking stupid.

It’s like Shawn Mullins sings in Shimmer, “I’d drink a whole bottle of my pride and toast to change.” Are you willing to forego having all the answers?

7. Explore, then consider. Believe what you believe because you investigated the truth and decided (by yourself) to believe – not because someone told you to believe and you mindlessly followed. It’s like Seth Godin once said during a speech, “The opposite of fundamentalism is curiosity.”

Your challenge is to resist rule captivity. To ask the world if this is really a rule, or some mindlessly accepted pseudo-truism used by dangerous people who want to control you. Remember: If there’s no sign, it’s not a rule. Are you a fundamentalist or a curiosityist?

8. Speak in curiosity-based prefixes. For example: “I wonder what would happen…?” “What if…?” “Wouldn’t it be fun/cool/crazy to…?” “Have you ever thought about…?”

These phrases marshal curious forces, turn questions into quests and reinforce the right mindset needed to become a pillar of curiosity. Practice them daily and soon they’ll become second nature. Are you using curious language?

9. Keep a running list of questions. I’ve been adding new questions to my list daily for the past eight years. I’m up to about seven thousand. More importantly, I’ve created a classification system for my questions. This enables me to search and find (within about ten seconds) the exact question I need for the myriad situations I experience, write, consult, coach or speak about.

It’s truly one of the most valuable intellectual assets I possess. That’s why I rarely show it to anybody, keep it password protected and back it up monthly. How many questions are on your list?

10. Run sentence completion Google searches. I do this every day. It’s a fantastic research tool that’s easy, quick and fun to do. For example, let’s say you were writing an article on safe driving. Google the phrases “Safe drivers always” and “Safe drivers never.”

The answers that populate will stimulate your brain, answer your questions and propel your creativity. Are you googling strategically?

11. Stop making an ass out of you and me. Three truths: (a) Curiosity is the foundation of creativity, (b) creativity is nothing but active listening, and (b) active listening is blocked by assumptions. Therefore: Assumptions murder curiosity. If you want to stop them dead in their tracks, consider running regular assumption audits for yourself or your organization.

Ask questions like: What assumptions are operating here? What is the history behind our assumptions? What are we assuming that may be hurting us? What are we assuming that might be stopping us? What are we assuming that is preventing us from thinking well? Are we assuming that could be limiting our ideas here?

When you dismantle old assumptions, you rebuild new profits. Are you open to examining the assumptions behind your reasoning?

12. Dwell in situation novelty. Learn to freeze the fodder that surrounds you. Here’s how: When you see something, take a Mental Polaroid of it. Then clothespin it onto your psyche for further evaluation. Slowly, as it freezes, view it from all angles.

Walk 360 degrees around it. With a Davinci-like thumb on your chin, investigate it. Ask it questions. Poke it a little. Tease it apart and gently untangle its essence. Rip its clothes off, strip it of every outer layer until its naked truth plops down on that imaginary interrogation chair, staring at you. Sharon Stone style. Are you freezing your observations?

13. Commence an unrelenting quest for continuous learning. This is known as curiosita, according to Michael Gelb’s book, How to Think Like Leonardo Davinci. That’s what Davinci practiced, and he created the Renaissance. Not bad.

I wonder what would happen if you gave yourself permission to be curious in every domain of your life. Who knows? You could create the next cultural movement. Worst-case scenario: Your creativity triples. Sounds like a win/win to me. What’s your personal philosophy about curiosity?

14. Remain aggressively skeptical. Grow in your willingness to keep looking, even when you think there’s nothing left. When you leave your brow never (fully) unfurrowed; and when you expect to find more – you will. Curiosity is always rewarded. Always.

Just ask those pesky kids from Scooby Doo. Remember: There’s a fine line between aggressive skepticism and annoying cynicism. Which side of that line do other people believe you’re on?

15. Engage multiple senses. Ace Ventura comes to mind. As a pet detective, he practiced vigorous curiosity by touching, smelling, even tasting all the relevant evidence in his cases.

Sure, it appeared disgusting, peculiar and unprofessional to the pet’s owners. But Ace always got his man. Or in this case, man’s best friend. Are you tapping your sensory powers to heighten curiosity?

16. Follow your curiosity. Curiosity alone fails. It must be augmented with exploration, reflection and documentation. Otherwise you’re just a really tall five year-old. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Hell, we could learn volumes from those little rug rats.

But five year olds don’t have mortgages. You do. And because curiosity drives profitability, make sure you’re not just asking a bunch of clever questions and then calling it a day. Explore. Reflect. Document. Repeat. Every day. Is your curiosity more than just a mental one trick pony?

REMEMBER: Curious people count.

Be one of those people, and you can buy all the cats you want.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
[email protected]

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How to be an Artist

Artists are athletes.

But unlike runners, swimmers, basketball stars or cricket players, artists are hard pressed to find specific instructions on exactly HOW to be an artist.

Seth tackled this idea beautifully in his latest best-seller, Linchpin.

And since his work has always inspired mine, I’ve decided to write my own version of the same idea.

If you’re an artist, want to become an artist, or know someone in the same situation, consider these twelve ideas:

1. Appreciate creativity wherever you find it. Even if it’s a clever sign made by a homeless guy. Creativity is what you do, and you owe it to the world (and to yourself!) to recognize, applaud and embrace all forms of it.

In the same way that the Dalai Lama encourages us to “honor any expression of faith,” gaining an appreciation for any and all things creative is your responsibility as an artist. Just another way of saying namaste to your crafty colleagues. Where are you afraid to see creativity?

2. Be completely selfish. Gandhi says we must become the change we want to see in the world. Ginsberg says we must create the art we want to see in the world. Therefore:

Write the book you would want to read on the toilet.

Post the blog you would want to read while waiting in line at the airport.

Release the record you would want to listen to driving down the highway.

Paint the picture you would want to look at as you sit down to dinner every night.

You’ll thank yourself. Who are you (really) creating art for?

3. Be prepared to give yourself away. Real writers don’t care about selling books – they care about being read. The same goes for musicians, painters and performers: An audience is what makes the artist. Doesn’t matter who, where, or how big.

You’ve got to get out there and share your work with the world. You can’t stay in the basement your whole life. Otherwise you’re just winking in the dark. As George Carlin wrote in Last Words, “You’ve got to get up in front of people every day of your life or you’ll never learn who you are.” Who have you given yourself (or your art) away to this week?

4. Be unhesitating. Do you have something risky, dangerous and provocative to say? Go for it. Take a little artist liberty and slice into people’s hearts. That’s the best kind of art anyway: Bloody. Honest. Raw. True. Anything that disturbs people. After all, “Art is infection,” as Tolstoy reminds us.

The secret is to ask the following question as you create and, more importantly, before you share your art with the world: “What do I risk is presenting this material?” If the answer is “not much” or “nothing,” you haven’t cut deep enough. Go back and draw some blood. Get to the point where hesitation is possible. Then let her rip. What truth are you still waiting to express?

5. Develop a unanimous voice. As an artist, that’s all you’ve got: Your thing. Your sound. Your domain. Your territory. Your signature. Your unique delivery of creative material. Your voice. And if you don’t have consistent voice, you wind up creating work that’s unmemorable, unmarketable and unsustainable.

The key to developing and maintaining that voice is threefold: (a) use it every day, (b) improve it every day and (3) take time off to recharge it. Remember: Voice determines success. Is yours unanimous?

6. Stop copying the masters. That’s doesn’t make you an artist – it makes you a parakeet. Sure, you can expose yourself to (and draw inspiration from) other artists. But don’t be an echo. Don’t be a copy of a copy. Have faith in your creative originality.

And don’t feed me that “there’s nothing new under the sun” excuse. Screw the sun. When you dip your pen in your own blood, it’s always new. Are you the origin or the echo?

7. Draw people to the truth. Isn’t that the whole point of being an artist? Picasso certainly thought so. His theory was, “Art is a lie that leads to the truth.” Your mission is to take people there. Even if you have to fudge a little bit on the way. When you give a voice to your true nature, people will listen.

But if you’re not being yourself while you create, nothing you make will belong to you. That’s why you got into art in the first place, right? To express your truth? Draw people to it. Where are you drawing people with your art?

8. Employ only the approval of your heart. Create out of pleasure, not under constraint. Otherwise your art suffers the consequences of external expectation.

Screw your parents. Screw your husband. Screw your annoying art school friends. And screw those wannabe, jealous hacks that only come into your gallery on open house night to eat free cheese.

These people only wish they had some art to show for, but they’re too busy talking their ideas into the ground and listening to people who don’t matter. No wonder their collective creative output is a joke. Not you baby, not you. Whose approval are you still seeking?

9. Make your art incidental, not intentional. Art is the residue of a life fully lived. Forget about being a great artist – concentrate on being a great human. The art will come naturally and you’ll save a lot of money on supplies. After all, art is subordinate to life, not the other way around.

And as an artist, your first responsibility is to engage with life fully and creatively. Documentation comes in at a close second. Ayn Rand was right: “Plant the roots of your art firmly in the reality of your own life.” Are you first and foremost an artist with your life?

10. Remove the word “for” from your vocabulary. You don’t need a reason to create something. There is no “for.” Not for the money. Not for the girls. Not for the blog traffic. Not for anything.

You make art because you want to make art. Period. Anything else is heartless and should be burned at the stake. Give yourself permission to (not) need a reason. What’s your true artist motivation?

11. Seek out stretch assignments. Did you know Bob Dylan was a painter? When I first learned that, it helped me realize the following: It’s OK to try a new medium. Or express yourself in a completely new way. Or tackle a new topic you never thought you’d address. Anything to push your limits.

That’s the cool part about creativity – once you’ve expanded your artistic muscles, they never return back to their original shape. No stretching ever goes unrewarded.

The challenge is giving yourself permission. But the good news is that it always pays off. As long as you remember that if you’re comfortable, you’re not doing it right. Are you actively seeking out ways to be creatively stretched?

12. Never ship what you’re not proud of. I (just) learned that powerful lesson from the aforementioned Linchpin, the best book on being an artist I’ve ever read. Thanks to Seth, I now realize that something isn’t always better than nothing. When you sacrifice speed for quality, you lose. And so does your audience.

Sadly, way too many artists do this. And the final product winds up being an embarrassment to their true skill. My suggestion: Don’t fall into this trap. It’ll seduce you like a big-breasted redhead with full lips and ten-speed ass.

Practice a little patience. Exert a little self-control. Only ship (publish, release, etc.) when you’re willing to stand by your art firm and proud. What quality control questions do you need to ask yourself before shipping your art into the world?

REMEMBER: You are an artist. An athlete of the soul.

I hope these ideas help improve your game.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
[email protected]

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Little Known Ways to Leverage the Longcut

I was running late to yoga class the other day.

So, I decided to take a shortcut.

Not surprisingly, the shortcut took twice as long as the original route.

How many times has that happened to you?

ANSWER: Too many.

WHY: Because shortcuts are stressful, expensive and time intensive.

But we take them anyway to impress ourselves.

Or, on occasion, to impress the cute girl riding shotgun.

In fact, in the pre-GPS years, I can’t even begin count the number of shortcut attempts I made on first dates that ended up getting me lost.

As you can guess, there weren’t a lot of second dates.

HERE’S THE POINT: I’m a big fan of taking the longcut. And I’ve identified several types of longcuts you might want to consider.

1. Take the critical MASS longcut. Seth Godin’s blog explained, “Critical mass is the pay off from focused, consistent effort. Critical mass is what you DON’T get if you are constantly working the angles and looking for a shortcut.”

For example, John Mayer has over two million followers on Twitter. Now, it only took him a year or so to achieve that number. But it was (actually) the hundreds of shows and thousands of hours he’s been slugging out since he was in college that ultimately enabled that to happen.

LEVERAGE THE LONGCUT: When will you achieve critical mass?

2. Take the critical NUMBER longcut. Malcolm Gladwell explained in his book, Outliers, that 10,000 hours is the mark of mastery. According to Gladwell, it takes about 10,000 hours (approximately ten years) of deliberate practice to truly master a subject area or skill.

So, whether you’re a singer, writer, swimmer or dog trainer, rigorous training and precision drilling are prerequisites of mastery.

LEVERAGE THE LONGCUT: How many hours have you clocked?

3. Take the critical CONTENT longcut. Seth Godin also remarked, “It’s not so hard. If you make great stuff, people will find you. If you are transparent and accurate and doing what’s good for the searchers, people will find you. If you regularly demonstrate knowledge of content that’s worth seeking out, people (being selfish) will come, and people (being generous) will tell other people.”

Think about how much energy you waste on shortcuts every day. Now think about how that same energy could be wisely redirected into taking longcuts for things that (actually) matter.

LEVERAGE THE LONGCUT: How efficient are your patterns of energy investment?

4. Take the critical PATIENCE longcut. In a 2008 episode of HBO’s Real Time, Bill Maher said, “When did Americans become the ‘Something for Nothings’? When did we get this lotto mentality that our only chance for success was to be plucked from obscurity? Too many people get a lot for doing nothing – from models to Wall Street. And these ciphers aren’t reviled or dismissed; they’re adored for it. Maybe that’s what leads to a Guitar Hero Culture – everybody wants to be a rockstar but nobody wants to learn the chords.”

So, because of our hyperspeed, instant-gratification, A.D.D. culture, people naturally assume shortcuts aren’t just the answer – but that they’re norm too.

LEVERAGE THE LONGCUT: How impatient can you afford to be?

REMEMBER: Shortcuts cause stress, rarely succeed and often backfire. They never go unpunished. They are a refuge for slackers and a lazy man’s panacea.

Ultimately, shortcuts don’t lead anywhere but the Exit Door.

Longcuts, on the other hand, lead to the finish line.

Learn the chords.
Take the long cut.
Work your face off.
Develop bottomless patience.

You will win BIG.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

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8 Ways Make Your Message More Spreadable than Syphilis in a Slovakian Steam Room

Businesses that get talked about GET more business.

Period.

And if people aren’t actively telling their friends about you, your products and your services, they don’t exist.

Period.

Enter “spreadability.”

No, this has nothing to do with Ritz Crackers.

THE SECRET IS: You can’t “go viral” or “get people to start talking about you.”

What you CAN do is create an environment in which word of mouth is most likely to occur.

And you do that by making your message more spreadable.

Here are eight ways to do so:

1. Sell without selling. Spreadability is the result of subtly pitching your product in SUCH an entertaining way that customers never feel like they’re being sold. Joe Pulizzi from The Content Marketing Revolution wrote, “Stop thinking about pushing your product and start thinking about what your customers would do after engaging in your marketing. If the inclination is to spread the message, then you’ve done something right.” Are you SO good that people will voluntarily sign up to watch your marketing?

2. Think like a doctor. Marketers should hang out with doctors. Not because marketers are sick (even though some people might argue otherwise), but because there’s some overlap between the two disciplines. For example: “You can’t spread a disease that’s dormant.” That’s a medical truth. Interestingly, the word “dormant” comes from the Latin dormire, which means, “to sleep.”

Here are my questions: Which of your marketing efforts are asleep? Which of your marketing efforts are putting customers TO sleep? And who in your marketing department needs to wake up FROM their sleep? “Paging Dr. Bankruptcy, Dr. Bankruptcy. You have a patient waiting in Surgery 2.” How dormant is the disease you’re trying to spread?

3. The flu has feelings too. As cyberculture journalist Douglas Rushkoff suggested, “People don’t engage with each other to exchange viruses; people exchange viruses as an excuse to engage with each other.” And often times, they do so unintentionally.

And, as social networking blogger Izzie Neis explained, “From a marketers perspective, if you can engineer the perfect viral campaign, the people will be powerless to resist. They’ll be diffusing your ideas before they know what hit them.” How could you spread your virus to people without them even knowing, but without them even caring that they have it?

4. Reward the spreaders. Provide an incentive for users, customers, readers and viewers to spread your content. Give away freebies. Offer samples. Maybe even allow customers to tally a scorecard for every time they spread your idea. You could even structure an incentive system based on the customer’s number of “spread points,” much like airlines miles. Whatever it takes to ensure people truly believe they have something to gain by spreading the message. Because if they don’t, they won’t. What carrot can you dangle in front of your spreaders noses?

5. Sticky is for suckers. Sticky doesn’t necessarily mean viable. Spreadable, on the other hand, is powerful AND profitable. Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, wrote a fantastic article on spreadability in 2009. He explained: “In the era of convergence culture, spreadable content is designed in a way to be circulated by grassroots intermediaries who pass it along to their friends or circulate it through larger communities.”

Lesson learned: Surrender control. Enable people to take YOUR idea into THEIR own hands. Openly embrace a “fan” mentality and transfer ownership to the customer. Find people that have big mouths, market to them – give them megaphones – then get out of the way. That’s how spreadability becomes long-term viability. Are you (truly) spreadable, or just sticky?

6. Unspreadable is the enemy. Ever tried to spread refrigerated butter? It’s near impossible. You almost always puncture a hole in the bread, right? Not exactly an efficient way to make a sandwich. Interestingly, in my research on spreadability, I came across an article from the Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry. It’s called, Melting Properties of Butter Fat, The Consistency of Butter and The Effect of Modification of Cream Ripening and Fatty Acid Composition.

Fascinating stuff. According to the Hungarian professors who wrote the piece, there is a close relationship between the consistency of butter and its product characteristics:

“The cold, unspreadable consistency of butter after taking it out of the refrigerator is a rightful objection on behalf of consumers. And it can only be improved by the combination of the heat-step cream ripening and enrichment with low melting point triglycerides to achieve stable consistency at room temperature.”

Now, if you’re like me, you probably have no idea what the hell that means. But stay with me here. Because this article proves, scientifically, that spreadability is directly related to high quality ingredients. And that doesn’t just go for butter. In marketing, the same principle applies:

Shtick isn’t enough – you’ve got to support remarkability with substance.

Otherwise customers aren’t going to tell their friends about you. What does your product have going for it that surpasses baseline remarkability?

7. Medium AND message. As Duncan Watts says in the bestselling Six Degrees, “The structure of the network is perhaps more important in predicting the spread of content than the nature of the content.” Lesson learned: Viral marketing is a social animal. So, whatever message you’re spreading, don’t just focus on the content – but on the needs of the people you’re asking to spread that content. What do your followers crave?

8. Propagation planning. “Plan not for the people you reach, but for the people they reach,” says Griffin Farley, noted spreadability thought leader. That’s the central idea behind propagation planning, something I recently learned about from reading Griffin’s blog.

I also learned about propagation planning from Ivan Pollard, who said:

“Plant the message or bits of the message in various places in such a way that people pull the entire message or components of the message down. Let them play with the stuff you give them. Get involved with it. Package it back up again in a way that reflects their take on it (even if it is just adding a comment), then pass it on to people in their network or circle.”

In the process of doing this, says Ivan, the message gets stronger and more powerful as it moves on – not weaker and more fragmented. Think mash-up. Think parody videos. Are you forgetting about your customer’s customer?

REMEMBER: If you don’t spread – you’re dead.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk about being spreadable is making me hungry.

I see a box of Ritz Crackers in my future.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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13 Strategies for Creating an Aura of Superiority around Your Brand – Without Looking Like an Arrogant Ass

The word “superior” comes from the Latin superus, which means, “situated above.”

So, for your brand to be superior, you don’t have to be arrogant – you just have to be awesome. Plus, a lot of people have to agree with you. That’s the formula.

What about you? How do you demonstrate superior expertise? And are you turning out work that has a genuine superiority?

If not, today you’re going to learn a list of thirteen strategies for creating an aura of superiority around your brand – without looking like an arrogant ass:

1. Adopt a preeminent mindset. This is the first step in building awareness and exposure to become the default in your space. Mohammad Ali is the perfect reminder. Four words: “I am the greatest.” He said this phrase often enough that (not only) did he convince himself that he was the greatest, but he convinced the world he was the greatest too.

Now, certainly Ali was able to support his assertion with unparalleled fighting skill. He really DID float like a butterfly. He really DID sting like a bee. The question is: If Ali never declared that he was the greatest over and over, would he (still) have become the greatest?

Doubtful. Similarly, if you don’t believe in your own preeminence – in a non-arrogant way – nobody else will either. What are you the world heavyweight champion of?

2. Repeatedly articulate your EST. That’s not an acronym; it’s a suffix. As in: Craziest. Dizziest. Fanciest. Gutsiest. Heaviest. Juiciest. Knottiest. Laziest. Purest. Quietest. Rarest. Got it? Essentially, EST is a stronger, more specific version of the superlative best. And customers can’t help but be attracted to that. Your challenge is to answer the following three questions:

*What’s the ONE THING your company does that nobody else can touch?
*How could you reframe, repurpose or reposition that uniqueness in the form of an EST?
*How many different ways could you leverage that EST in your marketing so you become KNOWN for it?

Remember: Everyone possesses inherent, unique superiority, but not everyone articulates it. How much longer can you continue winking in the dark?

3. Be a recognized innovator. That means you have to be the FIRST at something. Doesn’t matter what it is. As long as it’s relevant and you did it before anybody else. Example: Do you think anyone remembers the second woman to fly across the Atlantic?

Nope. Earhart was the recognized innovator. Everyone else fell to the wayside. Therefore: Your mission is to become the first to do, say or be SOMETHING. What are you recognized as being the FIRST at?

4. Be a shortcut. In Scott Halford’s awesome book of the same name, he wrote, “If you’re not a shortcut, you’re taking up too much space.” Great point. Your challenge is to answer these three questions:

*What are you a shortcut for?
*What are you a shortcut to?
*For whom are you that shortcut?

Remember: We live in a fast paced, instant gratification, A.D.D. hyperspeed culture. Be quicker or be deader. Which one are you?

5. Be a statement of action. The simplest solution for solidifying a position of superiority is to just DO stuff. Every day. Action is the engine of credibility, the conduit of character and the stamp of superiority.

That’s the difference: Creating an aura of inferiority is nothing but a landfill of idea CREATION. Creating an aura of superiority is a like trophy case of idea EXECUTION. The choice is yours. Will you talk or DO?

6. Be proprietary. “Spend a lot of money making it yours. Otherwise you become a victim,” remarked bestselling author Jeffrey Gitomer. “You can’t trust your business to someone who might not BE in business.”

Good advice. Remember: The moment you use something that anybody could use, you are no longer unique. What percentage of the technology you’re using is YOURS?

7. Be the first, not the best. If people don’t think of your name first, they may never get a chance to see if you really are the best. That’s the reality of Google, and it might be hurting your business. In the words of the wise philosopher, Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”

Now, obviously if you recall Talladega Nights, you know that mantra is clearly insane.

Or is it? After all, when presented with an infinite amount of choices, customers are just going to pick the best. Which, on Google means “the first.” So maybe Ricky was right. Maybe creating an aura of superiority starts with a little shake and bake. What are you recognized as being the first at?

8. Convince people that you’re doing something important. In the world of fundraising, here’s the big secret: Stop asking for money and start making such a passionate, compelling case, that people ask for the opportunity to contribute to your cause. See? That’s the difference between selling and enabling people to buy. Which one are YOU doing?

9. Don’t be smart – be an intellectual. Here’s the difference: Smart is for students who study content for the purpose of memorization. Which means information comes in one ear and out the other.

Intellectuals are people who absorb ideas for the purpose of democratization. Which means people are extracting truth and redelivering it in a way that’s applicable and actionable across the board.

That’s why intellectuals are superior – because anyone can be smart. Which word would your customers use to describe you?

10. Go name something. In Seth Godin’s The Big Moo, he explains, “Isaac Newton created a word that described something that was already there, something that affected everyone, all the time. By naming gravity, he gave us power over it. He gave us a handle, which permitted both scientists and lay people to talk about and interact with this mysterious force.”

Lesson learned: When you name something, you can gain power over that something. You can do something about that something. You can get people to talk about that something. And you can become the superior voice on that something. Me? I started wearing a nametag everyday and ended up naming approachability. What could you make into a household word?

11. Position yourself as an aggregator of valuable content. Nobody wants to sift through the entire forty-seven-year catalog of The Rolling Stones’ library. They just want to buy Forty Licks and get on with their life. The cool part is: YOU could be that album. You could be the summary. The chronicle. The Cliffs notes. People will think you’re a genius. All because you aggregated.

The secret is learning to see to the heart of the matter quickly. Then, making the effort to uncover the essence of a system, distilling it and then deploying it to people in a simple, actionable way. Do this, and I promise your customers will LOVE this for three simple reasons: They’re busy, they’re lazy and they’re impatient. Thank God for your superior content aggregation. Are you a broker of information and wisdom?

12. Three words: And nowhere else. That means your company is The Only. The One. The unsurpassed stop. THEE go-to place. Fortunately, you may have already accomplished this. Here’s the test. Imagine a new customer calls tomorrow morning. He needs your help bad.

The question is: Has your company earned the right to say, “Mr. Jackson, you didn’t just come to the RIGHT place – you came to the ONLY place”? If so, congrats. You’ve passed the “And Nowhere Else Test.” If not, it’s time to get moving on deploying your matchlessness. What industry or niche are you the standard-bearer of?

13. Raise your thought frequency. Ultimately, that’s what drives your ability to engineer a continuous flow of superior breakthroughs. The cool part is, when you become known as an elegant thinker, people will pay money to watch you do it in action. Better yet, they will bring their friends with them.

As advertising legend Joey Riemann explained in his book, Thinking for a Living, ““Profits go to the prophets. Big thinkers are the most valuable human beings on Earth. And grey matter is real estate –what grows out of it will be your net worth.” How much is seeing the light worth to a company or person in the dark?

REMEMBER: It IS possible to become clearly superior – and to PRESERVE your superiority – without looking like an arrogant ass.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How will you create an aura of superiority around your brand?

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For the list called, “12 Dangerous Doozies to Avoid in 2009,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

Buy Scott’s comprehensive marketing guidebook on Amazon.com and learn how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business!

8 Ways to become More Buyable than a Bottle of Viagra at a Boca Raton Bingo Hall

“I just cannot WAIT to send you a check!”

How cool would it be if your customers thought that? How profitable would it be if your customers SAID that?

Very.

And the best part is, this concept has nothing to do with selling; but rather, enabling people to buy.

IN SHORT: Being buyable.

AND HERE’S THE DISTINCTION: Most salespeople constantly run around asking prospects, “Do you want to buy me?”

On the other hand, buyable salespeople don’t run – they position. And they do so in a value-driven, unique role so prospects say to them, “We want to buy you!”

MY QUESTION IS: How’s your buyability?

Not strong enough? Not a problem. Let’s explore a list of eight strategies for becoming more buyable than a bottle of Viagra at a bingo hall.

1. Migrate fans into paying customers. In order to do so, you MUST deliver unique value first. Ideally: Meaningful, concrete and immediate answers that will help your customers grow their business – delivered via email, blogging, a public presentation or an in-person meeting.

And, yes, this migration process may take months, even years. The question you have to ask yourself is: What are you willing to LOSE on the first sale in order to guarantee a relationship? Time? Lunch? Money? Free samples? A few hundred bucks?

It might be worth it. Start building your migration strategy today. How long will it take to turn strangers into friends, friends into fans and fans into paying customers?

2. Try your customer’s head on. First, ask yourself: “If I were my customer, what would I want to buy from me next?” Second, ask your customers, “What new offering would you LOVE to see from me that I don’t currently offer?”

Example: I recently asked that very question to the 20,000 subscribers of HELLO, my name is Ezine. I also offered a free book to whomever offered the best most helpful suggestion. Sure enough, heaps of emails came in. My customers’ feedback was priceless. I even modified one of my future programs accordingly.

Lesson learned: Your customers will tell you how to sell to them. Remember what sales legend Jeffrey Gitomer reminds us, “People hate to be sold, but they love to buy.” Are you giving your customers permission to tell you how to serve them better?

3. More isn’t more. All you can eat buffets are great for heart disease, but ghastly for business. Here’s why: Choice saturation paralyzes people into inaction. And confused minds never buy. Conversely, the less you offer, the easier it is for people to refer TO and FROM you.

Not to mention, when you remove choices, you also remove the threat of rejection. Your mission is to arrange things so that selling is easy. And the first step to doing so is simple: Offer less.

In Seth Godin’s very short ebook, Do Less, he writes: “By not cluttering your life and reputation with a string of low-budget process, you actually increase your chances of getting great projects in the future.” What if you stopped giving customers so many choices, or any choice at all?

4. Reopen the wound. Here’s the reality: If there’s nothing bleeding, customers won’t think they need you. This doesn’t mean you should act like an evil pharmaceutical company that manufactures bogus diseases so they can push pills (ahem, Restless Leg Syndrome).

Rather, your job is to serve as a reminder. As if to say to your customers, “I think you’re forgetting that you have this problem, and it hasn’t gone away. So, if you want to eliminate it, you need to call me.” It’s all about framing. Presenting offerings in a way where resistance is impossible. Helping them WANT it. What were you designed to cure?

5. Keep asking: What’s next? According to the owner of Honest Selling and the founder of Yellow Tie International, Gil Wagner, “These are the two strongest words for maintaining control of the buying conversation.”

I agree. Especially on email. Especially when you’ve done your part and you’re waiting for the prospect to make a move. Instead of appearing too pushy, all you have to do is ask, “What’s next?” Period. End of email. You’ll find that it’s is a conversation-advancer, a time-saver and an action-oriented request that demonstrates your willingness to cut to the chase and move forward.

I’ve been using it almost daily since 2005, and I’m constantly amazed how (a) how many sales I’ve closed because of it, and (2) how much customers appreciate it. Remember: The listener controls. Are you asking simple, yet powerful questions to become more buyable?

6. People sell – products don’t. People buy people first. Period. So, if you notice a lack of buyability, realize that customers aren’t resisting the product – they are resisting you. Conversely, buyable people (and businesses) are the ones customers think, “Dude, we would be nuts NOT to hire this guy!” How could you become more irresistible?

7. Become a known-entity. The best way to do so is to achieve what I call “Radar Equity.” And it begins by asking yourself five few questions:

a. Whose radar do I want to be on?
b. What do I want to happen as a result of being on it?
c. Who do I know that is already on that radar?
d. What steps have they taken to get there?
e. What actions could I take to emulate those steps?

Remember: The secret to Radar Equity is that you have to EARN the right to be on it. That means publishing. That means social networking. That means OFF-line networking. Whatever it takes. How can you position yourself so thousands of people whom you never met will get to know you instantly?

8. Put yourself in their future. “I’m going to be happier at the end of this transaction because I gave you money.” This is what your prospects need to think. So, the first step toward reaching that future is to activate mental ownership. And you do this by helping the customers visualize the END.

The benefit of the benefit of the benefit of the benefit. The customers of the customers. Not just a mowed lawn – their kids and dogs playing in the freshly cut grass. Not just a rental car – their feeling of getting the hell out of the airport quickly. How are you traveling through time to put yourself in your customer’s future?

REMEMBER: Selling is for amateurs – enabling people to buy is the secret.

Ultimately, buyability is about creating a value-forward relationship within the client environment.

Do that, and they might actually become excited about sending you a check.

Then you can buy all the Viagra you want!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you boosting your buyability?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “134 Questions Every Salesperson Should Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

How much time do you spend on marketing each day?

In the (awesome) book Free Agent Nation, author Daniel Pink cites a 2001 survey conducted by The Washington Post that indicates the following:

“Self-employed businesspeople spend an average of 43 minutes a day marketing themselves.”

MY GUT REACTION: “43 minutes? Are you kidding me?”

That’s 8%.

Which leads to my next question:

“What are you doing for the other 437 minutes?

ANSWER: The wrong things.

As a self-employed businessperson, marketing is everything. Period. Bad economy or not.

The biggest mistake you could make is to tell yourself one of the following:

o “As soon as the summer hits, it’s marketing time!”
o “I really need to be doing some marketing this week…”
o “This month all my attention is focused on marketing!”
o “I’ll get around to doing some marketing when I get back in town.”

False.

Marketing is something you do all day.

ALL day.

The challenge is to find a way to transform everything you do into some form of marketing.

Everything.

Here are few examples:

1. Every email. Ask yourself:

o Does your signature promote anything?
o Does your “from” line reinforce your brand?
o Does your actual email address stimulate curiosity or interest?

2. Every blog post. Ask yourself:

o How many links did you include in your post?
o Was there a Call To Action or Response Mechanism at the end of it?
o Did you send the URL to all of the people you referenced or highlighted in the post?
o How many prospects, customers and colleagues did you personally invite to read your post because it was right up their alley?

3. Every phone call. Ask yourself:

o Was your greeting memorable, unexpected and consistent with your brand?
o Did you send the other person a copy of the notes you took during the conversation to reinforce your listening ability?
o When the operator asked, “May I ask who’s calling?” did you leverage your answer as a brand moment, or just state your name?”

4. Every conversation. Ask yourself:

o Did you give this person a copy of your Philosophy Card?
o What free sample or giveaway did you leave behind to leave your mark?
o Did you incorporate your Trademark Answering Style and ask questions that your competitors didn’t?

5. Every spare moment. Ask yourself.

o Did you read Seth Godin’ blog or watch a repeat of Law & Order?
o Did you hit the snooze button nine times or get up early and write your next blog post?
o Did you stand in line at the Post Office and complain about it or use that extra five minutes to post something inspiring on Twitter?

6. Every networking event. Ask yourself:

o Did you nail your Networking Intro?
o Did you create Points of Dissonance?
o Were you The Observer or The Observed?

7. Every new idea you have. Ask yourself:

o Did you write it down?
o Did you buy the domain name?
o Did you do initial market research by googling the hell out of it?

All day.

REMEMBER: People and companies who only do marketing “here and there,” will only get new business … here and there.

43 minutes?

For your sake, I sure hope it’s a lot more than that.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How much time do you spend on marketing each day?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “46 Marketing Mistakes Your Company Is (Probably) Making,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

Buy Scott’s comprehensive marketing guidebook on Amazon.com and learn how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business!

How to Save Your Company $80,000 in Marketing Costs

Marketing is simple:

Create a product that people can stumble upon, obsess over, fall in love with, become addicted to and tell their friends about.

There ya go. I just saved your company $80,000 in marketing costs.

You’re welcome.

– – –

OK, so, maybe marketing isn’t THAT simple.

Today’s post is about how to make your website more findable, more obsessable, more lovable, more addictable and more spreadable. For each of these five attributes, we’ll explore one example, a few strategies and one exercise.

Let class begin…

1. BE FINDABLE. You need to create a Visibility Plan. Not a Marketing Plan. Not a Business Plan. A Visibility Plan. My immediate suggestions: Use Social Bookmarking tags. Blog every day. Tweet several times a day. Use Facebook strategically, not annoyingly. Post articles on www.ezinearticles.com regularly.

As far as SEO? Google Ad Words? Sponsored links? Sure. Go for it. Do what you have to do to get people to your site (unethical and illegal strategies notwithstanding). Remember, people can’t obsess over, fall in love with, become addicted to and tell their friends about something they can’t find.

EXAMPLE: I noticed an immediate increase in traffic, comments and outreach emails from readers of my blog the DAY I added the Share This Tool Bar at the end of each post.

Here’s how YOU can become more findable today:

a. Take every interview. It doesn’t matter if it’s USA Today, some blogger in Taiwan or a local high school journalism class. If somebody wants to interview you, your answer is, “What time is good for you?”

Interviews lead to more interviews. Interviews get traffic. Interviews are great practice talking about your product. Interviews instantly position you in a leadership role. Here’s a cool one I did with Dean Jackson the other day.

What’s more, sometimes your best interviews come from the most unlikely places. I know my best interview did. How many interviews have you turned down because the publication didn’t have the words, “New York Times” in the title?

b. Writing attracts traffic. Other than doing hundreds of interviews, my #1 source of traffic comes from writing. 1000+ blog posts. 700+ articles. 300+ tweets. That’s how people find me. LOTS of people.

As such, I’m one of the most googleicious writers on the web. And the best part is, each of the tentacles in my Octopus Marketing Strategy actually delivers solid, unique value. What did you write today? Is everything you know written down somewhere? And how many ideas did you lose last month because you said to yourself, “Eh, I’ll write it down later”?

EXERCISE: How did you “find” the last five websites YOU fell in love with? What were the exact steps that took you to those sites? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

2. BE OBSESSABLE. The word “obsess” comes from the Latin obsidere, which means, “to occupy.” Hmm. Interesting. I wonder if all this blather about “hits” is a misnomer. Maybe “hits” don’t mean anything. Maybe “hits” is an acronym for “How Idiots Track Sales.”

Perhaps what’s more important is how LONG people stay on your site, if they come BACK regularly, and if they’re the RIGHT people. To quote Seth Godin from Meatball Sundae, “How many eyeballs isn’t as important as whose eyeballs.”

EXAMPLE: My girlfriend is a knitter. She spends at least an hour a day on
Ravelry. She’s obsessed with it. So, out of curiosity, I looked over her shoulder one night to see what this online knitting community was all about.

After only a few minutes, I GOT it. I realized why she obsessed over Ravelry. (Keep in mind – I couldn’t knit a stitch if a Yarn Terrorist was holding me up at needlepoint.) But still, I got it. I saw the light (er, fiber.) So, do yourself a favor. Just go to Ravelry and poke around. You’ll see what I mean. It’s quite obsessable.

Here’s how YOU can become more obsessable today:

a. Be a destination, not a website. A “website” is not going to get people to come TO, hang out AT and tell their friends ABOUT anything. It needs to be much more than just information. It needs to be interactive. It needs to be participative.

It needs to be updated regularly. It needs to be THEE source, THEE go-to-place, the El Dorado, The Mecca … for a certain kind of people who want a certain kind of thing. In short: A destination. Why would someone come to (and stay at) your website for more than 60 seconds? Why would someone return to your website consistently?

b. Make passion palpable. The more your website (er, destination) revolves around passion, the easier it is for you to win. And the easier it is for your visitors to win. The challenge is creating an interactive environment where healthy participation naturally emerges. An environment that enables, supports and rewards authentic dialogue.

That’s the best part. If you create the right kind of environment, the right atmosphere, the right space and the right energy, the people inside of it will take care of themselves. How does your website build community? How many of your customers are talking to each other?

EXERCISE: Which five websites are you obsessed with? Why? How did that obsession grow over time? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

3. BE LOVABLE. Not cute or cuddly. Attractive. A dream-come-true for your particular niche, audience or customer. Something that when they arrive at the website, they think to themselves, “OMG. This is SO for me!” “Thank you Jesus!” and “Where have you BEEN all my life?”

Essentially, you need to be the answer to the following longing, which I’ve dubbed The Ultimate Dream Statement:

“I wish there was an (x) so I wouldn’t have to (y).”

EXAMPLE: Think about your iPod. You LOVE it, don’t you? Of course you do. Dude, I’m thinking about eloping to Tahoe with mine. (This is payback for my girlfriend’s love affair with her yarn.)

Anyway, I imagine that Steve Jobs was sitting around Apple one day thinking, “Man, I wish there was an easy way to compile all of my music onto a compact, digital storage device so I wouldn’t have to schlep 100 CD’s in my car, to work and on the plane!” 150 million iPods later, I’d say his idea was pretty lovable.

Here’s how YOU can become more lovable today:

a. Pleasure and pain. Those are the only human motivators that matter. Your challenge is to make people’s dreams come true while simultaneously helping them avoid something frustrating. I suggest doing a Google search for, “This site is awesome because,” and “I love this site.” See if you can’t find a few Top Ten Lists of highly lovable sites. Take notes. What sites do other people find lovable? How could your site mirror those qualities?

b. Free research. Listen to what people are complaining about. Do another a Google search for “I wish there was a,” and “so I wouldn’t have to.” You’ll find hundreds of blogs, message boards and forums, each of which will provide a window into the psyche of online buyers. Whom are you listening to? What do people need to hear to fall in love with you?

EXERCISE: Which five websites recently made you exclaim, “Dude, I LOVE this site!” Why? What about them, specifically AND generally, did you love? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

4. BE ADDICTABLE. Think Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Think, “I can’t quit you!” That’s what you’re going for. People who can’t quit you. Because if you can get to that point, they’re no longer people. They’re fans. And they’re lightyears beyond “satisfied” or “loyal.” They’re INSISTENT.

EXAMPLE: I get emails about once a week from viewers of NametagTV that say, “I just spent the last two hours watching videos on your site!” or “I think I’ve seen every video you have!” And I’m thinking, “Good. Thank you. Glad you liked them. There’s more where that came from…”

Here’s how YOU can become more addictable today:

a. Update content regularly. Websites are like newspapers – nobody wants to read them if they’re two years old. (Thanks for that one, Greg Peters.) Whether it’s videos, pictures, music, articles or recipes, your need new content. Like, every day. If not every day then every week.

Remember: Familiar structures lead to mental laziness. As a result, people’s brains filter out unchanging backgrounds because, in their minds, there’s no need to pay attention. It’s called The Caveman Effect. Learn it. When was the lat time you refreshed YOUR content? Is your website a dinosaur?

b. Have depth. Don’t have a few videos or pictures here and there. Have dozens. Hundreds. Thousands! The more the better. The goal is to gently and respectfully suck people into your vortex of content so they lose track of time.

Think Vegas. Think Casinos. “No windows, no clocks.” Minus the mobsters, of course. When was the last time someone told you, “I just spend the last two hours on your site!”

EXERCISE: What five sites are you currently addicted to? How did you become addicted to them? And what still brings you back every day? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

5. BE SPREADABLE. Businesses that get talked about GET more business. Period. And if people aren’t actively telling their friends about your website, it don’t exist. Period. So, the challenge isn’t to “go viral” or “get people to start talking about you,” bur rather, to create an environment in which WOM is most likely to occur.

EXAMPLE: Cake Wrecks is the single funniest blog I’ve ever read in my life. It makes my day, every day. I’m addicted to it, I’m obsessed with it, I love talking about it, and I’m (now) spreading the word about it. Oh, and did I mention Jen averages about 196 comments on each post? Holy Butter Cream Batman!

Here’s how YOU can become more spreadable today:

a. Make it Moo. Build remarkability into your ideas before they go public.
b. Free is key. If you want it to be viral, (some) of your content HAS to be free.
c. Images, not words. Stop lying to yourself. Nobody’s going to read all that copy. Write less. Hemingway said that shorter sentences win. They do.
d. Use RSS. It’s the best tool for building your permission asset.
e. Give fans megaphones. Find people that have big mouths, market to them and then get out of the way.
f. Simple. Simplicity is better, quicker, easier and most importantly, what customers crave.

EXERCISE: What are the last five sites you sent all your friends to, or blogged about? What motivated you to spread the word? And how did people respond once they took your recommendation? Make a list, extract the commonalities and then emulate those attributes in your own business.

– – –

NOTE: The secret to this whole process is remembering to listen.

And I mean REALLY listen.

So, any time people start telling you how they stumbled upon, why they obsess over, how they fell in love with, what makes them addicted to or how many friends they told about your site, STOP TALKING.

Write it down. Right then and there, right in front of them. Capture the exact words they say. It’s not only good market research; it also makes them feel essential, helpful and valued.

REMEMBER: Be findable. Be obsessable. Be lovable. Be addictable. Be spreadable.

That’s marketing in a nutshell.

Enjoy your $80,000!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who’s finding, obsessing over, loving, addicted to and spreading the word about YOU?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “101 Ways to Create a Powerful Web Presence,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

Buy Scott’s comprehensive marketing guidebook on Amazon.com and learn how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business!

72 Ways to Take Your Blog from Anonymous to Award Winning

1. Anytime you share link love, email the person you mentioned in your blog and thank them. They’ll probably find your post through their Google Alerts eventually, but still, a personal note from the actual blogger is always appreciated. It’s also more likely to stimulate word of mouth AND cement a new relationship, since it is grounded in value, respect and connectedness.

2. Ask your readers QUESTIONS. Here’s why: Questions aren’t questions. They’re catapults. That’s the best part. Once they’ve been asked, it’s neurologically impossible for the human brain not to seek answers. And when you change your questions, you change your world. You also change your reader’s worlds.

So: Ask dangerous questions. Ask disturbing questions. Ask dumb questions. Ask killer questions. Ask ouch questions. Ask penetrating questions. Ask upside-down questions. Ask soul-shaking questions.

When you do this, when you enhance your Questioning Practice, you stretch your (and your reader’s) mind into unexpected, unencumbered territory, surpassing that threshold level of understanding that so desperately tries to hold you back. What questions are you asking that the other 300 million bloggers out there AREN’T asking?

3. Use lists. Here’s a helpful list on how to use them.

4. Vonnegut was right. Be a great date for your reader.

5. BE HONEST: Would YOU read your blog every day?

6. Brainstorm. What have you accomplished that people would not only respect, but also desire to learn and utilize to gain the same benefits for their company? Blog about that.

7. But, don’t ask too many questions. This is a seductive writing trap that’s easy to fall into. And the challenge is, without context, without meat and without solid content to support your questions, you look like an amateur writer who couldn’t think of anything good or original to say, so he just decided to ask a bunch of questions.

8. Close each post with a Call To Action or Response Mechanism. If you don’t know what that is, wait until the end of this post. You’ll see what I mean.

9. Compile a Post Cue or Editorial Calendar in your Content Management System. This prevents you from throwing together some half-assed post last minute. I suggest staying at least two weeks – approximately 10 posts – ahead. (Wait. You DO have a Content Management System, right? If not, email me immediately.)

10. Create a writing schedule. This practice will force you NOT to rely on inspiration.

11. Don’t “use humor.” It won’t come out funny. Any over determined action produces its exact opposite, says The Tao De Ching. Just be funny. Allow your natural hilariousness to shine.

12. Remember: Don’t make your readers do your job for you.

13. Get Meebo. Coolest thing ever.

14. Secret: Give people ideas they can implement TODAY.

15. Give people the meat. If they wanted fluff, they would have taken their kid to Build-A-Bear.

16. Horn Tooting. Higher quality content earns you the right to be a little more self-promotional.

17. Ideally, your blog and your website should be the same thing. If I had to do it over, I would have designed it that way. However, if that’s not a possibility, no worries. Here’s what you do. Make sure your blog has a few static pages built in about you, your products and services and your philosophy.

If your blog host doesn’t allow that, just make your static pages actual blog posts with the comments turned off. Cool little trick. Click on the “Meet Scott” at the top of this blog tab for a perfect example.

18. Identify your TRUE expertise and inventory your negotiable personal assets. Then blog about that.

19. Imagine someone was going to pay you $1000 an hour to rent your brain. What questions would they have to ask you to get their money’s worth? Blog about that.

20. It’s not just about the experiences you’ve had. It’s not just about the lessons learned FROM those experiences. It’s the direct and practical application OF those experiences to the daily lives of your readers, hopefully having something to do with making more money.

21. Read the best Just read Seth Godin’s blog and Brian Clark’s blog everyday. Do what they say, do what they do. Learning from the best increases the chances that you will become the best.

22. Make a list of what do you do that people are eager to pay money for. Then blog about that.

23. WOM. Make it easy for people to share your blog using social bookmarking composite tags, i.e., “Share This” at the end of this post.

24. Make your own words up. Here’s a fun experiment: Go into the preferences section of Microsoft Word and click on “Custom Dictionary.” Then, click on “Edit.” It will formulate a list of every word you’ve right-clicked on and added to the dictionary while writing. You’ll be able to go back in time and see what terms you invented. Then, write out their definitions. Then blog about that.

25. Make your readers stop, nod, gasp and say, “Wow.” A powerful example is a question like, “What are you doing that makes absolutely NO sense?”

26. Be BEAUTIFUL. If it were physically possible to make sweet love to my own blog, I would do it. (Hell, I would even cuddle afterwards.) Anyway, before I get too graphic, here’s my point: Hire a professional blog designer. Don’t download one of those crappy templates from Blogger.com. DEFINITELY don’t try to do it yourself. And certainly don’t commission your sixteen year-old to whip it up on Photoshop during study hall when he should be reviewing for his calculus final.

Call Lucia Mancuso at The Blog Studio at 1-800-SEXY BLOG. (Just kidding. It’s 647-428-7038.) Tell her The Nametag Guy sent you, and I guarantee your blog will become gorgeous. NOTE: I receive no affiliate commissions or referral fees for this recommendation. I just think The Blog Studio rocks. And my blog won an award for a “Top 100 Business Blog on the Web” within three months of implementing their new design. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

27. Nobody cares what you’ve done. They only what you’ve learned. Is that what you’re blogging about?

28. Remember Seth’s Tip: Notice things and give them names.

29. Also: Pick a lane; take a side.

30. Picture the people who would give their right arm to acquire the valuable expertise you now realize you possess. Then email them every once in a while to tell them you were thinking of them when you published a specific post.

31. Post every single day. If you’re on vacation or sick, have about a dozen posts ready to go in case of emergency. Most blog platforms have future-posting capabilities.

32. Purchase URL’s for specific blog posts. For example, I have a series of articles called, “Attributes of Approachable Leaders.” So, I bought the domain www.approachableleaders.com and now redirect it to the post series.

This makes it easier to share the entire sequence with my readers. Plus, this strategy enables me bookmark key topic ideas for future products and protects my copyright, as trademark is a function of usage.

So for now, The Approachable Leader is just a series of blog posts. I’m sure it will become a book (er, “blook”) eventually. Either way, it’s still MINE. Remember: He who owns the domain owns the idea.

33. Recall what it is everybody is always asking you about. Then blog about that.

34. Remember the headline of this very blog post? Re-read it. Ask yourself what drew you to it. Then replicate that persuasiveness in your own posts.

35. REMEMBER: Nobody cares about you. And I don’t mean that literally. What I mean is, people don’t care how good you are; they care how good you’re going to help them become.

People don’t care what you do for a living; they care what you’re passionate about. People don’t care if you’re having a bad day; they care how you’re going to help them have a better day.

And lastly, people don’t care about your company, they care about the problems your company can solve. Got it?

36. Select either a Niche Topic or Niche Market. Generalism will only succeed if you are (1) really, really good, (2) really, really smart, or (3) have a really, really huge following.

37. Share link love in every post. But don’t overdo it. A confused mind never buys.

38. Sit down and physically write out your answer(s) the question: “If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?” Once you’ve got 5-7 answers, consider that to be a framework of your personal philosophy. Then, every day when you post, all you have to do is ask this follow-up question:

“Is what I’m blogging about right now giving my readers the tools they need to BUILD that world?” If it’s not, trash it. Simple as that.

39. Comments. Some blogs don’t allow comments from readers unless they’re registered users. I think this is a stupid strategy. So you get a few spam comments. Who cares? Community is more important. Dialogue is more valuable.

40. Some blogs require readers to subscribe before they’re able to read full posts. I think this is also a dumb, fan-alienating strategy. If you’re good, they’ll be back. If you’re really good, they’ll be back with their friends. If you’re really, REALLY good, they’ll be back with their friends and their wallets.

41. Stop quoting Einstein, Rumi, Jesus and Seneca. Quote YOU. If you want to position yourself as a Thought Leader, you need to quote yourself, or else nobody else will.

42. Relevancy. Sure, nobody cares about your dog, but they MIGHT care about the 47 lessons your dog taught you about customer service. Remember: Meat. Content. Guts. Lists. Lessons.

43. Relevancy again. Sure, nobody cares about your dog, but they MIGHT care about the blog your dog writes every day. Make it funny and cool and use great pictures. Create a personality and writing voice for your pet. Wiggle over to www.paisleyblog.com for an example. Yes, my dog has a blog. Why don’t you?

44. The attention span of a human being is about six seconds. If you do the math, that comes out to reading four lines of written text. So, unless you want to bore your readers and risk them tuning you out like a Tony Little infomercial, remember two words: LINE BREAKS. Understand The Caveman Principle.

45. Remember: Teach people the secret to something.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Want the remaining 27 strategies? No problem…

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the (entire) list called, “72 Ways to Take Your Blog from Anonymous to Award Winning,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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How to be a Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy

One of Edward DeBono’s most underrated books is called, How to Have a Beautiful Mind.

In the opening he states:

“As you get older, physical beauty tends to fade. But beauty of the mind is independent of age and can actually increase with wisdom and experience.”

LESSON LEARNED: Don’t be eye candy; be brain candy.

Eye candy is an idiom of physical attractiveness that means “someone with high visual appeal, yet little or no substance.”

Think Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in The Fast & The Furious.

Think Cameron Diaz, Lucy Lu and Drew Barrymore in Charlie’s Angels.

Those movies were easy on the eyes. Fun to watch. No brainers. Mindless entertainment.

In other words, they didn’t exactly stimulate your, um, cerebral cortex.

Brain candy, on the other hand, is a less common term. When you google the phrase, about a million hits come up, but few point to an actual definition.

In that case, allow me to define it…

Brain candy is an idiom of psychological attractiveness that means “someone with high mental appeal AND significant substance.”

Here’s how it works:

Brain candy is more ENDURING.
Because when you’re 65, your butt won’t look so hot.

Brain candy is more ATTRACTIVE.
Because it actually takes hard work; not just money, genetics and clothes.

Brain candy is more EQUITABLE.
Because it makes you, your brand and your organization more valuable every day.

Brain candy is more MARKETABLE.
Because customers will pay LOT of money for you to rock their (mental) world.

Brain candy is more APPROACHABLE.
Because when you’re aligned with smart people, you look smart. And that IS sexy.

Brain candy is more MEMORABLE.
Because while physical attractiveness captures someone’s EYE for a few minutes; psychological attractiveness capture someone’s BRAIN and HEART forever.

To see these principles in action, I’ve created a list of some of my favorite people who are, in my opinion, brain candy. (Not that these people aren’t pieces of EYE candy, too. But for now…)

NOTE: These people are in no particular order. I’ve sorted them alphabetically. Each of them is just as hot as the other 😉

Smokin’ Hot Pieces of Brain Candy

1. Adam Kreitman – www.wordsthatclick.net

2. Alan Weiss – www.summitconsulting.com

3. Andy Sernovitz – www.andysernovitz.com

4. Angela Leib – www.angelalieb.com

5. Arthur Scharff – www.presidentscouncil.biz

6. Bob Baker – www.bob-baker.com

7. Don the Idea Guy – www.dontheideaguy.com

8. Eric Maisel – www.ericmaisel.com

9. Harlan Hodge – www.harlanbhodge.com

10. Jane Atkinson – www.speakerlauncher.com