Whispers make the world go round, not just shouting. Why? It’s because a whisper is personal and direct. Communication on that level really works.
Often this is lost in the online world. Everyone is shouting these days. We’ve gone into broadcast mode more than even communicating directly to an audience of listeners. It’s like trying to use a shotgun to hit a bullseye. Oh you might get it, but not with the full force of what you want to say.
How can we improve? What’s the best way to focus our effort? Start whispering!
Whispering online is about communicating with your network. Whispers can be direct, such as direct messages in Twitter, or small audience, such as posting a pertinent picture to a Flickr group.
Another great way is via your blog and your friends’ blogs. Focusing your posts to talk to with a smaller group often results in a more conversational opportunity and more dedicated listeners. Also, commenting on your friends and associates blogs is a great attention getter.
Enthusiasm is important as well. It’s not enough to tell folks there’s gold in them there hills, but you have to say it like you mean it.
What can you do today? Get your passion out and exercise it. I’d like to help you spread your idea, your blog post, your cause.
Drop me a line. Leave me a comment here about what you want to share about yourself or your work, and let me join your whisper network. Too shy to post here? Drop me a DM on Twitter, or call me(636-486-4723) and tell me how I can promote you. It’ll be fun and interesting for us both.
Friendfeed is one of the hottest information and networking sites on the net, yet many a sharer languishes in obscurity. Their pictures of cute kittens go uncommented. Their loving diatribes on the social lives of elk go uncommented. And to top it off, no one comments on their blog posts.
Lack of attention totally due to a lack of worthwhile content? Okay, if it’s about elk, probably so. Chances are though that it’s not the content but the copy that’s lacking.
The current focus for lots of blogs is about tuning the copy for search engines. Is your main blog focus elk, then you’ve taken measures making it easier for Google and Yahoo to find your content. Meta tags inhabit your headers, and there’s a liberal use of related keywords. But that’s the wrong strategy for Friendfeed.
Good strategy for Friendfeed is not about catching the random searcher. Friendfeed is about snagging the eyes of your followers. Beyond that, it’s still about snagging eyeballs, the eyeballs of your follower tree.
Interesting pictures is #1. - Here’s a great example
This sort of thing will net you more than a few eyeballs. Most responded to in my experience are women, bright and shiny things, and lastly anything out of the ordinary. Really want attention, include all three.
Exciting headlines are #2. - How about a recent one…
Mentioning a hot online service isn’t enough in it’s own. It’s about presentation. Strong declarations are key, e.g. Love, Hate, Sucks.
New services aren’t the only headline grabbers. Other hot ones include:
Dropping Names, e.g. Robert Scoble, Louis Gray, Madonna
Announcing things, e.g. birth, death, loss of virginity
Questioning, e.g. How do I get people to comment on my blog?
Commenting comes in at #3. - Not just for friends…
One of the least obtrusive ways to get an item noticed is to comment on it yourself. Luckily the Friendfeed bookmarklet includes a spot for your to comment a item when you post. Many posters fail to use that to their advantage.
Posting a link passively, perhaps via Last.fm or Brightkite? Get into FriendFeed and comment on that post. Why does this help?
Answering the why of the post. We now know why you liked it, posted it, or just told us about it.
Being alive. This sends a signal to readers that you aren’t just blindly posting things, such as your location.
Inviting others to comment. It makes it more visible on the screen and provides a bump up as well.
Work in progress
This list is a work in progress. Obviously great posts might be mix of these or be liked for any other reason. Guidelines won’t guarantee lots of attention but they may save you from obscurity.
Got other great ideas for getting attention on social networks? Do share.
Bloggers goes to lots of events. We do meet ups, conferences, breakfasts and bar crawls. I’ve traveled cross town, across the state, and across the border to hook up with my contacts, share ideas, and talk in person. If you blog, you’ve done it as well.
We come away from those events on natural highs. We promise ourselves we’ll do some things. Perhaps for you it was simply to stay in touch. Other folks will promise to change their blog, some will say they’ll change their life. Some people even offer business opportunities. It’s a very exciting time in our lives.
Now months have gone by. The emails have dropped off. The blog is stagnant. Your business plan isn’t even started. What happened?
It isn’t just you, it’s a lot of folks. And it isn’t all on you to blame. You might be disagreeing about now, and maybe you’re right. I want to challenge that a bit though and tell you something that made SOBCon different than other gatherings you might have attended.
What I’m willing to wager is that most meet ups, conferences, and such you aren’t just running into a few like minded folks, you’re running into a whole slew of them. These are people you’ve corresponded with before. You and them share social networks and perhaps dozens if not hundreds of contacts. And those contacts will be there as well. Heck, you probably have dinners out with some of your fellow bloggers that you see at conferences and such.
Diversity is the first thing that made SOBCon stand out. This wasn’t a group of the top bloggerati coming together for the fourth time that year. You wouldn’t find a whole mess of successful online businesses. Not even everyone there could hear.
Old and common ground was shared by few, as business owners with no blogs worked side by side with professional bloggers. At the same table were folks like me, small time bloggers and working professionals looking to move into other areas.
Differences in goals wasn’t the only diversity. Australia, Great Britain, and Canada were represented, as well as men and women from all across the US. Layered on that were individuals with disabilities, most notably Stephen J. Hopson, and Karen Putz, both deaf.
This mix of personalities, desires, and backgrounds, rather than being a stumbling block, became a catalyst. We were each positively challenged from the boat ride on Friday evening until our departure on Sunday afternoon.
SOBCon had a lot more to offer than diversity. Keep your eyes open for the next part of how SOBCon Lives On.
20 Types of Pages that Every Blogger Should Consider: “There’s a lot of reasons why you might choose a post over a page or a page over a post (that’s for another post) - but today I thought I’d highlight a few ‘pages’ that I have here on ProBlogger as examples of pages that bloggers might want to develop to promote their blog to different groups of people. Some are more essential in my mind than others but all have been helpful in the development of my own blogs.”
With that statement, Darren Rowse leads us into the 20 pages all bloggers should consider. The idea is to provide permanent and useful pages on your blog for landing and internal referrals. Some of these pages are more critical than others.
Most important on the list would be the About and Contact pages. Darren has this to say on the About page.
Having an about page is essential in my mind as it gives new readers to your blog a snapshot of who you are and why they should subscribe to your blog. This is the page that I go to every time I hit a new blog - if they don’t have one it decreases my chances of subscribing significantly.
He couldn’t be more right. I visit lots of about pages, especially when I’m new to a blog.
Other pages brought up include a Subscriber page, and Series pages. A Subscriber page is used to clarify what subscription is and how to subscribe. This helps bridge the gap for those new to RSS and blogs.
Series pages allow you to consolidate a series of posts in one page. One could also be used to provide a central page linking to the individual posts in a series. This allows readers to select only the articles they are most interested in.
Overall this should be a must read for new bloggers or bloggers wondering how to get more ’stick’ to their blog.
Here’s five more things being in the Navy taught that apply to social networking …
Show Respect - show respect to those both senior to you and newer. These folks are all along for the ride like you are. They may be your partner sooner than you think, so treat them like they are now.
Always Be Polished - keep your best foot forward. This goes for your blog, your emails, and your social networking posts. It helps people respect and notice you. You’re easier to spot in the crowd.
Do Follow Up Work - If someone offers for you to contact them, do it. Follow up with people in a timely and organized manner. It shows that you care. Also, if you make a commitment, keep it. If you have an issue keeping plans, let the other parties involved know immediately.
Do Your Homework - no one wants to hear it but most of success is preparation. Plan for important events and meetings before they happen. Be prepared to execute and discuss ideas. Be ready for your time to shine.
Be Ready - This is more than studying up on the latest gadgets and geekery. It’s about being ready to work. Be ready to bend an elbow for others when it’s their time. Coming along side others and how you do it says more about who you are than what you talk about on a hundred social networks.
Yes these seem obvious, but I’d be unable to count how often these things are violated or misrepresented by those purporting to be social media and networking experts. There isn’t a one of these that each of us who blog, network and write couldn’t improve on.
Thanks for visiting the blog. If you’ve enjoyed this and other articles, be sure to subscribe to the RSS or to receive the latest blog posts by email.
You’ve just written a world saving blog post or book or both. It’s got to reach the world in short order. How are you going to convince your friends to talk about it to their connections and networks? Is bribery the answer? Offer them some participation prizes? We know that only provides temporary buzz.
It’s war out there. People in your network of friends and business associates are under a constant barrage of information. They’ve seen dozens of blog posts, new books, and freshly launched businesses. Chances are they are weary of it all. What’s a person to do?
Contacts need to become comrades in arms. Their energy and focus on your needs to be such that’d they are willing to help you put the war paint on. When that happens, they’ll be talking up you, your work and more without any prompting.
War paint? Yep. What I found out when working to get to SOBCon08 was more was accomplished by getting folks along side than pushing them to push others. Oh, I did my share of that, but what really worked was bringing my contacts to fight along side for me.
How to get them there is really the question? It’s partially about having something great to say, but it’s equally about sharing your story and making them a part of it.
What really sells people, especially folks like me, is getting involved in the story. What gets me talking about Apple and their products? Oh, good products for sure, but there are lots of good to great products out there. For me it’s the story. I can tell about my Mac conversion; I can talk about how excited Apple is about the users; I can’t help myself.
With my contacts, it’s hard not to share their stories when they share them with me and invite me to be involved. That’s crucial. You can’t just have a story to tell, but it’s got to be one that folks can join in on.
Cancer survivor stories might move us, but how much more moving when told by someone that you know, or someone that asks you to come along side, and lets you know how much it’s appreciated. A story where you get to be part of it.
If you’re paying attention, you’ll realize it’s not really about the book, or the blog post so much. It’s about who you are and how your contacts are part of that. The more involved you can help them to be, the more they are going to want to share on their own.
Honesty and transparency are key. If you’re going to ask folks to get involved, and give you their trust, get them to be part of and share our story, then be up front with them. Ask for their help, tell them the truth, and share the joy of your success.
Do you have cohorts willing to help you put the war paint on and face the world? Are you working on building those types of relationships? Waiting for your best seller to happen? How about getting your support team together while you wait. They are vital to your success.
Want to come along side me? Your support and encouragement is always welcome. Want me along side for you? Tell me your story and get me on board. We’ll go face the world together.
Keith Burtis of, Magic Woodworks, is interested in finding three very creative blog posts. He’s presenting at Podcamp Boston on that very topic. Care to help him out? Watch the video, visit his blog, leave a suggestion, or even reply on Seesmic. Are you creative enough?
An Utterz Ambassador? No, it doesn’t mean you’ll be talking to more cows, but it does mean you could be representing good old Bessie for Utterz. Utterz is kicking off a Memorial Day weekend contest to find a small group of folks to become Utterz Ambassadors. Here’s the scoop straight from Sim and crew.
Here’s the skinny: The Utterz team will be hand selecting a small group of Utterz users to help shape the future of Utterz for the entire community. If you’re selected to be an Ambassador, you’ll get to peek behind the Utterz curtain to learn what we’re working on now, as well helping us design and refine our upcoming feature releases. And of course, you’ll get “more cowbell”.
So how do you become an Utterz Ambassador? Easy.
Send us an email (ambassador@utterz.com) or create an utter tagged “utterz ambassador” (bonus points) describing why you’re the perfect Utterz Ambassador.
Be creative, have fun, show off your riffs, and prove your chops as an Utterz user.
We will begin the selection process Tuesday, May 27th, so be sure to get your submissions in before then. We’ll announce the newly minted Utterz Ambassadors by Thursday, May 29th.
You read it here; you could be the next Utterz Ambassador! There’s an Utterz blog post with the same information in a video for your more visually fixated Utterz fans.
So what are you going to do? Join the fun! Be the next Utterz Ambassador!
Whispers make the world go round, not just shouting. Why? It’s because a whisper is personal and direct. Communication on that level really works.
