Dear Boss, I've noticed that you spend a lot of time outside of what you do best just trying to bring in new customers.  We've got a pretty good team here, but they could use some training and team building.  They need to hear all of those ideas you come up with.  You...

Have you ever had one of those dreams where your brain makes a mashup of everything you did the day before and includes it all at once?  No?  Well, maybe it's a creative thing. Yesterday I wrote this article, kept score for two girl's softball games at a local...

 What's written up there on the wall? Nothing, J.O.  It's just brick. Wrong.  There is a very clear message written there. I don't see it. It says, 'Nature is Relentless.' What does that mean? It means that nature will always work against you.  Your nature is to blow...

"Make a new plan, Stan," as Paul Simon would say.  That's what we're talking about today.  We finished last week with a list of the Top Ten Bad Content Creation Plans.  If you didn't read that, you might want to click the link back there and check it out.  It's the...

Have you ever heard a public service announcement and just said to yourself, "Duh!"  I hear these things sometimes and I just shake my head in disbelief that someone (maybe even many someones) were foolish enough to attempt whatever act of complete insanity made that...

Have you ever played the Warm Fuzzy Game?  If not, you've probably participated in something like it during a team-building exercise somewhere along the way.  Early in my career, I worked a lot with teenagers and I would use this game to illustrate a point.  I gave...

Try to imagine this conversation: Janitor:  Good morning, Mike! Michelangelo: Good morning. Janitor: Whatcha painting today? Michelangelo: Ceiling. Janitor: I know, but what are you painting on the ceiling? Michelangelo: Don't know. Janitor: Well, surely there's a...

Remember in school when the teacher would announce that you would be reading some giant novel like Moby Dick and the whole room would grown?  I do.  I also remember the feeling of complete relief when we told that we would also watch the movie in class over a period...

George: This steak is really good!  This may be the best steak I've ever had! Fred: I'm glad you like it. George: It's awesome!  I wish I could make steak like this. Fred: Well, now you can.  (Looks conspicuously at the camera)  And you can too! with Meat Magic Super...

The most common question that I get from people when I talk about Digital Marketing and Content Creation is: C'mon, Man.  Does this stuff really work?  I mean it sounds good and all, but does it really bring people to your site? Well, the easy answer is, "Yes, of...

Did you ever have one of those, "Alright Son, here's the deal..."  talks with your dad?  You know, the ones that happen right after you've done something stupid and the old man, in a moment of complete honesty, lets down the veil of parental perfection and sets you...

In my post entitled 3 Equations That Control Your Destiny, I mentioned a book called The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.  In that book he categorizes people into Technicians, Managers, and Entrepreneurs.  Today, I'm going to take this concept in a new direction,...

It's Sunday night.  We're almost ready for bed, but first we have to cart the garbage cans to the end of the driveway along with that little red box.  Well, mine is red.  I don't know what color yours is, but if you live in the suburban United States, you probably...

Hey, good job! You really helped me out. I love reading your stuff. I've learned some things that I have been able to use, and my business is better because of it. I appreciate the hard work you put into your blog. I look forward to reading the articles you write. OK,...

Is Anybody Out There? I mentioned in yesterday's article that comments are the things that separate a successful blogger from someone who's just talking to himself.  That was meant to be funny, but it's also true.  You've been there, right?  You know what it's like to...

"We need to talk," she says.  Oh Man, that can't be good.  Did I do something?  Did I not do something?  To be honest, I don't remember.  I think I've been pretty good about things lately, but you just never know.  It's usually when I think I've done well, that I find...

The Six Magic Words There are six magic words that will make almost anyone, almost anywhere, listen to almost anything you have to say.  Want to know what they are?  I'm going to tell you, but first I want you to imagine something for me. What if you found a complete...

What is the most difficult thing about managing your own website?   When I recently asked several of my clients this question, the unanimous answer was, "Creating content."   I'll admit that content creation can be the toughest part of managing an effective website –...

Welcome back for the final installment of my series on How to Create and Keep a Posting Schedule.  So, far we've discussed the best days to post, how often to post, and how to schedule your posts.  Now we actually have to write your posts.  Today, I'm going to give...

On Monday we discussed which days were best for posting.  We also looked at which posting schedule is right for you.  If you missed How to Create and Keep a Posting Schedule (Part 1), I highly recommend that you go back a read it before continuing (or at least read it...

When I first planned this article, it was supposed to be a one-off piece (meaning one article published one time).  However, the finished outline ended up being over 4000 words.  I guess I didn't realize how much time and effort I put into creating and keeping my...

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." ~ Zig Ziglar Every writer wants to be published This is a basic cosmic truth as far as I'm concerned.  Every artist wants to be seen, every musician wants to be heard,...

WANTED Website Manager Must be 80% writer, 10% manager, 10% computer geek.  If you ever got less than a B in English, don't bother applying.  I will check your transcript. Responsibilities: MUST CREATE (not scrounge, collect, curate, or whatever lazy people call it...

Isn't it interesting how we, as human beings, think that changing the title of something actually changes the characteristics of that something?  For instance, what used to be "cold calling" is now "reaching out."  We used to "explain" things, now we "unpack" them....