My goal is 2012 is to post at least once a week, most weeks twice a week, to this blog. I’ll do it first for myself, as I need to get my thoughts on paper.

And I’ll do it for you, dear readers, as I owe you more consistency than I’ve given you in the past. Look for new posts on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.

I’ll also do it for my business, and you should too. There are MANY reasons to do this for your business website, and I’ll share my 3 best reasons writing at least once a week will be good for your business.

Value – more information about how to use your product or service, innovations in your space, interviews with experts and customers, and relevant events that are in your local area are all great ways to add value to the lives of your readers.

Relevancy – The more information you write about your topics of expertise, the more relevant your website and by extension you and your business look on those topics. Take time to understand your topics, and why they matter to your readers, and write about them at least once a week.

Freshness – I share this in all my presentations about why you should write articles frequently. If someone comes to your website and the most recent article was published in November – of 2010 – they’re going away and not coming back. Think about this: Nobody reads the Sunday paper on Thursday. Would YOU read the Sunday paper on Thursday?

If you need help, create an accountability circle or find yourself an accountability partner. I found one in Lisa Sullivan. No, you can’t have her. Find your own Or ask your spouse to be your partner on this. My wife is a GREAT accountability partner, reminding me she enjoys reading my writing a lot. Thank you both for your help.

YOUR TURN: Do you write every week on your website? Why do you do it? What motivates you to keep writing?

Image credit to http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenorton/2229437427/in/photostream/

This morning I stopped at my one of my favorite coffee shops, the Alterra Café on Prospect Avenue on the east side of Milwaukee. It’s a favorite because the coffee is strong, the wireless is free, the food is flavorful, and the staff is outstanding!

The best part of this place is something they started in the last year, and it’s called the “brew bar.” Instead of getting a plain old cup of coffee from the big pot of coffee like everyone else, you pick the flavor you want and a barista makes a cup fresh, just for you.

Here’s the process for this amazing cup of coffee:

• Order your favorite blend of  coffee at the register
• Step off to the side by the brew bar
• The barista grinds your beans right in front of you, just enough for your cup
• Grounds are poured into your funnel filter on top of a ceramic cup with a hole in it
• Water is poured over the top of the grounds in a slow circular motion
• Coffee drips out the bottom of the ceramic cup into your cup until your cup is full
• Enjoy a cup of hot, fresh, delicious coffee

It’s a little longer than the process at Starbucks, but the quality of the coffee makes it worth it on special days!

It got me thinking about the process I take for writing an article like this one:

• Inspiration/idea hits me
• Think about idea
• Come up with headline
• Open laptop
• Open Windows Live Writer
• Write as much as I can
• Review headline
• Write a little more
• Find an applicable image (usually a Creative Commons one on Flickr, though sometimes I have my own, like on this article)
• Insert image
• Publish article

Sometimes I skip the process and just write. Most of the time, I enjoy the process of it all. I find when I follow the whole process, I enjoy the process of writing a lot more.

I actually find that’s true in my life. When I define and follow the process, I enjoy it a lot more.

What about you? Do you have processes you follow? Do you have processes that need to be defined so you can follow them?

There are many ways to write an article, and while I won’t attempt to cover them all, I’ll share a few of my favorite ways to do so. I am doing this live in my Social Media Saturdays course to demonstrate how easy it is to write an article for my blog.

First – Start with an introduction. What am I going to say? A few sentences or a few words is fine. See above for an example of an introduction.

Second – Think about what you know about the topic. Share a story, think in a list, or just start writing. See what develops and edit later.

Third – Is there a picture that can supplement my story? If so, now’s a good time to find the picture. I like to use Flickr photos that are creative commons licensed so I am free to use them with attribution.

Fourth – I write. I just write as much as I can. I might also take time to schedule the post for later on, save it as a draft, leave it as a brief stub, whatever.

Last – I worry about formatting. I add bullet points, clean up the look and feel, whatever needs to be cleaned up.

What are your best tips on writing an article?

To do list photo credit

My friends Stephen Smith and Brad Shorr are among the smartest guys online. They really *get* writing for the web, as both of them have been doing this for quite a while, and have worked with freelancers like me to write great copy.

I must admit, I can’t afford to use either of them very often, because they get over $100 an hour for copywriting help, and for even the most basic of things, I end up investing $500 or more for their services. Can you relate?

So when Stephen and Brad decided to collaborate on a course about Writing for the Web, I was very excited.

And then I saw they priced it an amazing price, and I knew I had to share it with you. I’m not sharing the exact price because they could change the price at any time.

You could hire Brad or Stephen to write your copy for you, and invest your learning dollars in an expert. I’ve done it, and it is a fantastic investment.

If your budget is smaller, you could instead buy a copy of Writing for the Web and learn how to be a better writer, at your own pace, over and over again, until you master it.

5 great reasons to purchase Writing for the Web

1. Increasing your visibility on search engines generates qualified leads and strengthens existing brands.
2. Content optimization allows small and midsized firms (read: folks like you and me, fighting to get ahead) to compete against large ones.
3. Most small and midsized firm websites have lots of room for improvement in search engine optimization.
4. You know your products and services…you just need a little more tweaking.
5. You’re not being found for what you’d like on the Internet, which means your company is practically non-existent.

Oh…and one one more CRITICAL reason you need to buy Writing for the Web:

6. It works!

I’ve been using the information I learned from Writing for the Web to optimize my website. While I’m no overnight success, I find myself near the top of the search engines for several of the articles I’ve recently written.

I thought it would be a LOT harder than it is to optimize my website. Boy am I glad I was wrong!

Full disclosure: I do get a small commission if you buy through any of the links for Writing for the Web on this site. If you prefer to buy this for yourself without an affiliate link, that’s okay by me. I believe in what Brad and Stephen are doing so much, I’m going to offer you a non-affiliate link. Click here to buy Writing for the Web without giving me a few bucks.

I’m at the 3rd annual SOBCon (Successful and Outstanding Bloggers) conference, and I wanted to add a little bit about this for those of you who couldn’t join us in Chicago, or who would to learn more before you come with me next year.

I’m in a session right now with Stephen Smith and Brad Shorr about how to do a better job of writing your blog. I don’t do all of these (yet).

• Grade your blog/website at http://website.grader.com/
• Categories should be broad in scope but limited in number
• WordPress related posts plug-in
• Use tags and add a tag cloud
• Use hyphens not underscores in post-slugs and in categories
• Use header tags (but not H1 tags)
• Make sure your hyperlinks is in a separate color from the rest of your text
• Use title tags on your hyperlinks to provide a little more information
• Name your pictures something friendly and descriptive so folks can find them when doing a Google search (I have an image of Klinger from MASH that I used to get several THOUSAND hits a month on. I removed it because none of it was for what I wanted folks to find me for)
• Use an ALT tag and a TITLE tag on your images whenever possible (I always ALT, wasn’t sure about TITLE)

If you want to listen to a very in depth conversation about this, check out Writing for the Web Inside and Out at the SOBCon blog, and soon, the slides will be on http://www.slideshare.net/SmartWealthyRich

And if you want to follow me on Twitter, I am trying to live Tweet stuff, or just go to the Twitter search for SOBCon and see what EVERYONE has to say.

a.k.a. How to learn from Seth Godin about titling your blog posts.

Seth Godin riffs today about “how to title stuff” and shares 3 simple ways to title stuff, like books, blog articles, and the like.

1. Pick something descriptive, generic and boring that tells you what’s exactly what’s inside.
2. Pick a more clever name that gets folks interested in more.
3. Pick a name that gets talked about.

Obviously Seth has done a great job of creating the 3rd, a name that folks talk about. Like Purple Cow. Meatball Sundae. The Big Moo. Sneezer. Idea Virus. You get the picture.

How does he do it? If I knew that, I’d be Seth Godin, only not so bald. Like you can be “kinda bald.” Whatever.

What I do know, from reading Seth’s books, his blog, watching him on video, and trying to “think more like Seth” is that it’s different for each one of us. It’s different because we all have different audiences to talk to. It’s “who” we’re talking to, not “what” we’re saying.

You know your audience. You know what they want.

Think about who is listening to your message. Think about what they are interested in. Then develop a cool new term that they can grasp hold of and talk about.

I also know that Seth would say, long term, it’s much more fun to be remarkable, than it is to be boring.

So be like Seth! Try to inject a new word into the vocabulary of our lives.

My word is Relationship Geek and I encourage you to click the link and listen to the podcast attached. Maybe it will be remarkable, maybe not.

What are you willing to try to be more interesting and have more people talk about you?

The Age of Conversation is now officially upon us. What is the Age Of Conversation, you ask? GREAT question!

A few months ago, two geniuses came up with the idea of asking marketing bloggers to lend their ideas to how to continue the conversation with a book where all the proceeds would go to a charity. Remarkably, over 100 authors gave their commitments in under 7 days. Contributors come from 24 states and 10 nations. All proceeds go to Variety, the Children’s Charity. WOW!

This book is all about how citizen marketers are changing the way marketing is done, and how the Internet can bring people from all over the world together to make a big difference in the lives of others.

My chapter is titled  "Continuing the Conversation: The Importance of Follow-Up" and it’s all about the oft overlooked art of the follow-up.

The book is available in hardcover ($29.99), paperback ($16.95) and ebook ($9.99), and you can pick up your copy at Lulu today!

Some additional reading for you:

• Read a nice roundup of the Age of Conversation author bios.
• See what AdAge has to say about the Age of Conversation
• Visit the official Age of Conversation website/blog

And here’s the full amazing list of contributors:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

Just got back from the Successful and Outstanding Blogger Publisher Conference in Chicago, and am proud to say I have at least 50 new friends, and at least 50 other new people I can share ideas with. If you’re looking for a full recap of the day in one article, Easton Ellsworth has a great recap called Thoughts on Better Blogging.

I’ll share a few things I learned at this great conference, and how I’ll apply them to my life.

5 Things I Learned at SOBCon: Phil Gerbyshak

1. Smiles and Hugs are Powerful Medicine – Friday night at conference kick-off, Christine Kane performed and proved why she is my favorite musician. And I thought it couldn’t get better. And then Wendy Piersall bounced into the room, and hugged EVERYBODY! Thank you Wendy! Your energy is inspiring! Check out my Flickr photo gallery for many smiles and hugs, and know that 1 smile, 1 hug, can change the world! It changed mine!
2. Knowledge Sharing is the Life to Live – If you’re thinking that someone out there is going to steal your ideas, then you are living a scarce life my friend. 110 people at Conference, and 110 different ideas on how to improve your business. WHOA! Share what you have, and you get more. It’s quite simple. Thanks to everyone who shared their ideas with me. Rodney Rumford, the fact that you shared as much as you did about a fairly new company still in alpha inspires me. Thank you!
3. I’m a Publisher, NOT a Blogger – Mike Rohde said it best when he said “Why do we define ourselves by our medium. People with websites don’t call themselves “websiters” why do we call ourselves “bloggers?”" Liz Strauss talked about this, and then David Armano really made this point. Think about what others value that you do, and talk with their vocabulary, not in “blog speak.”
4. Open the door and let ‘em in – When you write, make sure you leave some room for others to talk, or you’ll be writing alone. And isn’t more fun to write with someone amazing who inspires you like Lisa Gates? So leave some room, and don’t tie it all up neatly. This is a place for you to continue the conversation, and help me improve.
5. BE BOLD – Lorelle VanFossen reminded me of something I know and talk about, but that I don’t always do: BE BOLD! (NOTE: I am working on a bold move that will be done by September 1st. More on that soon.) Life is too short to be meek, so we must be bold and take action today. We are so close to breaking through, we just need a small push. Partner with someone who will push you to take action if you’re afraid. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE! Kammie says this all the time: Let your passion meet your purpose and GO GET IT! I’m almost there friends. Thanks for continuing to support me on the journey
   

I could go on about what I learned, and I will be writing a few articles around some of the ideas I learned, but for now, I wanted to ask a few questions:

• What are you afraid of?
• What’s the worst that can happen?
• What’s the best advice you’ve ever received and why was it so good?
• How can I help you make it better?
• Anything else I’m missing?

Thanks to all my new friends who shared their life with me this weekend in Chicago, and to all the new friends I know will come into my life the rest of this year. If you’d like some photographic memories of what I did this past weekend, I managed to take pictures with many awesome people this weekend. I posted them at my Flickr photo gallery. I hope you enjoy them.

Technorati Tags: sobcon, sobevent, sobcon07

Lisa Gates over at Scaffolding for Writers (subscribe to her feed and get smarter) tagged me and asked me to share the answers to a few questions about her site. I found the questions so interesting, I thought it would be great if I asked you, my wonderful friends, to tell me what you think about Make It Great!

I know I do not have all the answers to any question, so asking you to share with me what you know will greatly help me be a better blogger, and a better person. Thanks for taking a few minutes to answer any/all of these questions.

1. Whom do you think I’m talking to?

6. What do you think is missing?

7. What is the one thing (wishful?) you truly don’t like about this blog?

I am in the midst of changing some things here, and I really would love to know the answers to these questions before I undergo a massive overhaul of things.

Thanks for helping me Make it a GREAT day!

Technorati Tags: surveys, blogs, scaffolding, writing

If you’ve been debating whether or not you have time for a Mastermind group, or what are some good reasons to join a Mastermind group, I wrote an article about this at Evan Carmichael’s place, in an articled called "Why Join A Mastermind Group?"

The Mastermind group I’m a part of with get started next Monday. I can’t wait! We had hoped to start our phone calls in November, but instead we just worked collaboratively via a cool private site at Gather.com. I must admit, the timing is even better now as a new year offers me a great time to start fresh and get help to achieve my goals.

[Phil Gerbyshak believes in the power of working with others to achieve his goals, and a Mastermind group, whether virtual or in-person, is a great way to do more, achieve more, and be more.]

Technorati Tags: mastermind group, goals, 2007, achievement