I’m thrilled with the posts I found for this week’s roundup and I know you’re going to find at least one that teaches, inspires or shares something you didn’t know before. These are some smart people with some very smart things to say. Some of it might be a little tough love, but that’s the only way we can grow and learn. Some of it will get you saying, “Ah! Now that’s good to know!” So get going and start reading.
“No Salesy Stuff”, “Nothing To Buy”, “100% Value”: The Deadly Business Traps
Written by Kim Castleberry
Yes!! Sorry, got excited there. This is such a great, practical post that throws a much-needed dose of reality on the whole “give away valuable content” paradigm. Now, don’t get me wrong – there’s value in creating value, even if sometimes if feels like you’re working for free. But Kim puts a truth out there that we’d be wise to remember: you’re in this thing to make money. And to do that you need to sell. But you’ve heard the story. You cozy up to your emil subscribers, give them freebie after freebie, never daring to cross the line by – gasp! – going for the sale. Then the minute you humbly put something out there with a dollar sign attached your email list bails. Unsubscribes out the wazoo. And the problem is you. If you doubt that for a second then read this post and you’ll be forced to change your ways.
Read the article at just-ask-kim.com and follow Kim on Twitter @AskKim
Why Following Your Favorite Blogger’s Formula Will NOT Lead To Success
Written by Ryan Hanley
Yes again!! Today is a day for being excited. Here’s why I love this post: because following your favorite blogger’s formula will not lead to success. I just though that was worth repeating. Ryan tells it like it is, with another big, fat dose of reality. The world is overrun with secrets, formulas, steps, scripts and various other “proven to work” things, from little pills to big marketing plans. And yet if they were all so magical and worthy, wouldn’t we all just be rich and living on a tropical island by now? So once in a while it’s incredibly refreshing to read something that reminds you of the truth and tells you how to be successful the real way. Bookmark this. Read it the next time you’re looking for the “right” answer and still think you’re just one webinar or eBook or blog post away.
Read the article at RyanHanley.com and follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanHanley_Com
The Only Marketing Method That Works
Written by Mike Brooks
Yes to the tenth degree!! Someone bring the smelling salts. As if being admonished to sell wasn’t enough, as if being reminded that formulas don’t work wasn’t enough, now there’s this. And “this” is more truth. In fact, this is some truth you’re going to want to get behind and print out and hang on your wall and stick to your computer monitor. Mike has a little bit of a rant after my own heart in this post and tells you why buzzwords are leading you astray, why your marketing is really failing and what you should be focused on instead. I’ll give you a hint: just marketing. I can’t do it justice so you’ll have to go read this for yourself and get on board with your just marketing. It’s the only way to succeed.
Read the article at NuclearChowderMarketing.com and follow Mike on Twitter @MichaelSBrooks
Best WordPress Plugins: 40 Experts Share Their Favorite WordPress Plugins
Written by Devesh Sharma
I admit to being a sucker for the “expert roundup”. So today you get a bit of a roundup within a roundup. In this post, Devesh brings together some recognizable names in business and marketing to share their favorite WordPress plugins. I love this one in particular because there are so many darn plugins that it’s impossible to imagine what might be out there. And there are some pretty nifty things out there! You’ll find some common favorites and you’re bound to find something you didn’t know about before. A few of my favorites are on this list and I even found some interesting ones to save for a rainy day. See if any of these can add valuable functionality to your site.
Read the article at WPKube.com and follow Devesh on Twitter @devesh
10 Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About Triberr
Written by Dino Dogan
Maybe I should start by asking if you know anything about Triberr. We published an article this week to help you get on board if you don’t. If you’re a blogger or blogging for business then there isn’t much you’ll find that’s better than Triberr for growing your audience and building your community. In this post Dino shares some cool things that you can do in Triberr. Some of those things are simple ways to make the experience better (like getting your post “boosted” so it will be seen and shared more often) and some of those things are ways to use Triberr to make money blogging (by blogging… which is what you do so well anyway!) So get on board and then check out some of these quick tips to really get your blog-growing groove on.
Read the article at DinoDogan.com and follow Dino on Twitter @DinoDogan
What did you think of this week’s roundup? Did you find something here that inspired you?
Thanks for including my link, Carol. Much appreciated :).
You’re welcome, great stuff!