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Ten Best Ways to Find Outstanding Content

October 20, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Ten Best Ways to Find the Best and Most Outstanding Content | Image by PIRO from Pixabay

We’ve all been there–it’s just minutes before a deadline and you’ve got no content, let alone best content, to show for your efforts. Maybe you’re tired, or maybe your brain just isn’t functioning. Whatever the case, you’ve got to come up with something–anything–so what’s a content creator to do? Here are a few ideas.

Look back to move forward

That is, look at your own blog posts or content that you’ve posted online and see what’s performed well. Then try to duplicate that success. If you need to know how to do that, here’s some help: Social Media Value: Why It’s Important and What to Measure.

Check Facebook or your favorite social media platform

For me, that would be Twitter. You don’t have to use what’s trending, but that’s one way to go. What are your friends or favorite accounts talking about? Could you tweak their content to fit your platform? Or could you repost and give them a nod at the same time? You could also join a Twitter chat to get good content ideas.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/piro4d-2707530/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2398832">PIRO</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2398832">Pixabay</a>

Scan blog comments

Sometimes a person who comments on your blog will give you an idea you hadn’t thought of. Maybe you disagree with what they’ve said. Write about why you agree or disagree.

Use your audience’s pain points

Do you know what your audience’s pain points are? If not, here’s an article that might help: how to find your audience’s pain points and why you’d want to.

Create a compelling headline

Neil Patel suggests that most people will read the headline, but few will read anything else. So the headline is the most important thing. So spend most of your time working on the headline. Sometimes, as you’re creating a good headline, more ideas will pop into your mind.

Search for posts on each social media platform

When you’re looking for content for a particular place, search that platform first. Looking for an Instagram headline? Search on Instagram. Looking for good Pinterest posts? Search there first.

Keep an idea file

This works particularly well for blog post ideas. Of course, you can take pieces of that blog post and spread them around the interwebs, too. You never know when an idea might show up. So make sure you have a way to record those ideas before they fly away.

Use Pinterest as a search engine

And that’s because Pinterest is a search engine. I haven’t written about Pinterest in a while, but it’s very good for discovery. And it deserves to be used more. For instance, I just found this: 70 killer content ideas to post on social media. That took all of 30 seconds to find.

Identify trending topics

Trending topics can occur anywhere. If you’re on YouTube a lot, use those trending topics. Often, YouTube trending topics will appear based on what you watch. I’ve found many interesting videos based on YouTube recommendations.

Use lists

I might love lists more than anyone. These days, people say they don’t want to be listed, but those people don’t know what they’re talking about. One of my favorite posts is about lists: Twitter lists for the power user. Do you use lists?

Filed Under: Blog

#Digiblogchat October 18, 2022 Topic: Discovering Good Content

October 13, 2022 By Leave a Comment

#Digiblogchat October 18, 2022 Discovering Good Content | Image by Alexandr Ivanov from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, October 18, 2022 is Discovering Good Content! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Have you ever used trending topics to find good content? How’d that go? 

Q2. When you find good content, what do you do with it? 

Q3. What tools do you use to find good content? 

Q4. Do you start with a good image or good idea when looking for content and why? 

Q5. What are your audience’s pain points and how can you use those to create content? 

Q6. Do you ever review the content that has performed well on your site and try to reproduce it? Do tell!

Q7. When you get stuck looking for content, what’s your most useful idea? 

Q8. Could you share a recent business success or failure and how would that work? 

Q9. What popular superhero could you use to help promote your business? 

Q10. What tips could you share with others who are stuck trying to create good content? 

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#Digiblogchat October 4, 2022 Disinformation with @LazBlazter

September 29, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/thedigitalartist-202249/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2077138">Pete Linforth</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2077138">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat October 4, 2022 Disinformation with @LazBlazter | Image: Pete Linforth from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, October 4, 2022 is Disinformation with @LazBlazter.! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter, who also wrote the questions for this chat. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. What is disinformation from your perspective?

Q2.  examples can you share of content that was published using disinformation to achieve an outcome?

Q3. Is disinformation a legitimate business / political tool?

Q4. Is it reasonable to require major Tech platforms to regulate the publication of content or are Governments shedding liability?

Q5. Do you have a view on how Artificial Intelligence #AI can flag harmful and misleading content?

Q6. What motivates the use of disinformation in place of accurate and specific data?

Q7. Would shutting down opportunities to monetize unverified and harmful content improve the trustworthiness of data sources?

Q8. Alternatively, would incentives to validate information accuracy encourage more publishers to verify and endorse validation services for data integrity?

Q9. What steps do you take to assure your information and data integrity is secure, reliable and resilient to challenge?

Q10. Which platforms do you trust for content and how you avoid disinformation?

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#Digiblogchat September 27, 2022 Inflation-Proofing Your Business with @VirtuDeskCom

September 23, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/stevepb-282134/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=522549">Steve Buissinne</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=522549">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat September 27, 2022 Inflation-Proofing Your Business with @VirtuDeskCom | Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, September 27, 2022 is the Inflation-Proofing Your Business with @VirtuDeskCom! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. What is Inflation? #DigiBlogChat

Q2: The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its July 2022 Consumer Price Index report. According to the final data, prices rose 8.5% year-on-year through July, compared to 9.1% in the previous month—a slower pace than economists had predicted. What does this data mean for business owners and entrepreneurs? #DigiBlogChat

Q3: What are the current drivers of inflation? #DigiBlogChat

Q4: How does inflation affect your business growth? #DigiBlogChat

Q5: How do you prepare your business for inflation? #DigiBlogChat

Q6: What are the best strategies to make your business resistant to the effects of inflation? #DigiBlogChat

Q7: Is it a good idea to invest during inflation? Why or why not? #DigiBlogChat

Q8: How can the inflation reduction act help businesses in coping with inflation? #DigiBlogChat

Q9: What other revenue streams you can venture in during inflation?  #DigiBlogChat

Q10: What strategy from today’s chat will you implement in your business to combat inflation? Why? #DigiBlogChat 

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How to Succeed in the Last Quarter

September 22, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Your last quarter’s success is possible!

Did you, like me, suddenly look up and realize there are only three months left in the year, and wonder about your last quarter’s success? Time seems to be accelerating, and the Pandemic hasn’t helped us keep track of time. If that sounds like you, here are some ideas for you, as you navigate through the fall and into the winter and holidays. If time management is an issue for you, here’s an article that could help: Best Social Media Time Management Apps and Tools. Hint: Dashlane and NokoTime apps save loads of time.

Be realistic

By that, I mean you might write down some lofty goals, but there may be things that get in your way. And it’s important to give yourself a little slack. Could you write down your most ambitious goals, but back off them just a little? For instance, instead of building an entire team between now and New Year’s Day, how about hiring the main executives instead?

Create obtainable goals to reach a successful last quarter

You might be able to stretch a little on those goals, right? By the way, I’ve written about stretch goals before. You might like How to Make Stretch Goals That Will Make You Stretch. For instance, reframing goals can help you reach your goals. And making goals both fun and productive is also a good idea. Well, at least it’s an idea that has helped me.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/0fjd125gk87-51581/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1678307">0fjd125gk87</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1678307">Pixabay</a>

How to Succeed in the Last Quarter | Image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay

 

How to become productive again?

If your productivity has fallen off this year, it’s time to examine why. Was it because of laziness? Was there an illness in the family? Were there other tasks you had to do before work? Will these same reasons block your productivity during the last quarter? If your productivity is down and you don’t know why, maybe consider hiring a coach for a session or two to help you figure out why.

Holidays can be good times for networking

Holidays can sometimes look like obstacles to someone who’s ambitious and loves to work. But holidays are also great times to get out and meet people! So don’t believe that your productivity will necessarily fall because of the holidays coming up. Your last quarter’s success might depend upon that holiday party! Here’s a good article about reaching out during the holidays: Holidays Are the Perfect Time to Reach out to Your Network.

Don’t give up!

Just because it’s the end of the year, don’t give up! There’s still a lot you can do, and the holidays could even help you reach your own personal successes. Forbes has a good article that could motivate you: 11 Smart Ways for Leader to Assess Accomplishments Each Quarter. I like this: “Our team works backward by setting quarterly goals and then assessing all monthly and weekly goals to be whatever will help us hit the quarterly metrics.” which is part of their fourth smart way.

 

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#Digiblogchat September 20, 2022 End of Summer with @EmaPirciu

September 16, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/2023852-2023852/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1192669">Bianca</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1192669">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat September 20, 2022 End of Summer with @EmaPirciu | Image by Bianca from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, September 20, 2022 is the End of Summer with @EmaPirciu! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1.#ICEBREAKER: Share a GIF that illustrates your favorite end-of-summer activity.

Q2. When does summer officially end for you?

Q3. Share three things that enriched your summer in 2022. 

Q4. What’s something you had planned for this summer and didn’t accomplish? 

Q5. How can we get the most out of the last days of summer? 

Q6. What’s your favorite end-of-summer recipe? 

Q7. Can you think of an end-of-summer marketing idea that caught your eye this year?

Q8. Let’s build a playlist with end-of-summer songs. What music do you listen to these days?

Q9. One thing you like about autumn is _________________.

Q10. When do you plan to take your next vacation?

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Small Business Ideas for Social Media Newbies

September 15, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with some social media newbies–a small nonprofit in the local community. They were using social media, but not very much. They have a website, but not much experience on social media. Maybe you’re in the same boat? Here are a few ideas you might use.

Check your followers

Do you know who your followers are on Facebook? On Twitter? Anywhere on social media? This nonprofit was surprised that many of their followers lived in a different area than their services cover. More of the locals were covering the cost for people that were farther away. It’s pretty easy to get demographic info about your followers. Here is a description, from the horse’s mouth (Facebook): How do I see demographic data about the people who like my Facebook page? You might also give people a reason (or two) to follow your page. For instance, maybe people want to learn about your free events.

Use good images in posts

It’s ok to occasionally use a poster or graphic with lots of text on it, but how about something that draws people in instead? An image with people in it will draw others in, especially if it’s someone they personally know! One silver lining about the pandemic–it’s often easier to get photos of people, since they’re sometimes masked. Otherwise, you probably want to ask permission to use photos of people. If you don’t know what makes a good image, this might help: 10 Best Practices for Eye-Catching Social Media Images. One tip I like is to vary your social media images. People don’t want to see exactly the same images all the time. So experiment with images and see which ones get the most reach.

Small Business Ideas for Social Media Newbies | Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Ask what people want to see

It’s easy to ask what people want, especially if you’re connected to your followers in real life. You can ask people when you see them, or ask on your social media platforms. You will probably be surprised at what people want! I’ve written about How to Find Audience Pain Points and Why You’d Want to before. You don’t have to simply post about yourself, either! People may want information about other topics and solutions to their problems or issues. One of the easiest ways to figure out your audience pain points is to use a search engine like Google.

Get more people to follow you

This is something that doesn’t occur to a lot of people. Ask them to follow you. They often will. Also–pro tip–if someone has “liked” one of your Facebook posts and isn’t a follower, you can invite them to follow you. You can also ask super fans of your page to invite their friends. If you’re a nonprofit, you may have lots of employees connected to your page, and this is another good, simple way to get more followers.

 

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#Digiblogchat September 13, 2022 Downtime, Vacations and Time off with @CreativeWoodVT

September 9, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/walkerssk-1409366/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1824855">Walkerssk</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1824855">Pixabay</a>

Topic Tuesday, September 13, 2022: Downtime, Vacations and Time off with @CreativeWoodVT! | Image by Walkerssk from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, September 13, 2022 is Downtime, Vacations and Time off with @CreativeWoodVT! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Down time: do you unplug from work? Or no?

Q2. Down time: do you get enough? How much do you need?

Q3. When it’s time for a real break from work, do you prefer staycation or vacation? Why?

Q4.  Does your employer offer paid time off? If so, do you use it up regularly or save it up?

Q5.  Employers, do your employees earn paid time off? Do you support them using it?

Q6. Self-Employed, how do make sure you get the time away you need? Do you schedule in vacation time?

Q7. How important is the time away from work?

Q8. In your current situation, how much time away for vacation is reasonable? 1 week? 2 weeks? More?

Q9. Do you worry about work while you are on vacation? Or, are you able to totally relax?

Q10. For those of you who vacation on a regular basis, where is your “go to” spot?

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Best Ways to Reinvent Yourself

September 8, 2022 By 6 Comments

If you’re considering reinventing yourself, the good news is that things change. People move, friends act differently, and even climate change changes us. Your circumstances have probably changed, and you may be thinking about a new career. Or you may want to try on a new hobby.

Quarterly reviews

One of the best ways I’ve discovered to look at yourself is to do a quarterly review. What worked and what didn’t? What would you like to do going forward? Is there something that fell off your calendar or your radar? And make no mistake, doing a self-review will make you a better writer and blogger. I’ve written about improving your blogging here: How to become a better blogger: quick and easy ways.

Self-awareness is the key to reinvent yourself

If you’re not already journaling, or keeping track of your reactions to the world, a journal is a very good way to gain self awareness. Some of my best Aha! moments have been discovered through journaling. And a journal doesn’t need to be about your personal life. You may also want to journal about your career or work life. In Wikhow’s article, How to Start a Journal, Nicolette Tura describes how to get started: “Write about what you felt today. Pour your joys, your frustrations, and your goals into the journal. Use the act of writing as a way to explore your feelings.”

Unplanned changes

Recently, there have been a lot of unplanned power outages where I live. So of course everyone has had to adjust to these outages. Unplanned changes change our views of ourselves, too. Do we continue to live the same way? Or do we suddenly have to plan for possibly having no power? In my case, I opted for a back-up power supply. You may want to use time management to get that to-do list under control. Perhaps this will help: Best Social Media Time Management Apps and Tools.

How long does it take to reinvent yourself?

That depends upon how thorough a job you want to do. If you’re simply reinventing the way you look, maybe redoing your wardrobe and hair, that could be done much more quickly than, say, changing your career and getting a new credential. In his 15 Steps I Took to Successfully Reinvent Myself After Losing Everything, John Rampton describes attaching yourself to the right people, learning, and finding a mentor. He also mentions that “Reinvention is a process that could take years.”

How to reinvent yourself professionally

Of course, reinventing yourself professionally is much different than reinventing yourself physically. You’ve all seen those images on the interwebs of people who want to actually look like a Barbie doll. A professional reinvention is much easier, and the pain is, well, different. You’ll want to explore your interests, create a bucket list, and recognize all the resistance you’ll receive–from yourself as well as others. Then again, changing yourself could be a lot of fun if you’re interested in the journey! Have you ever gone through a professional change? How did you start?

 

 

 

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#Digiblogchat September 6, 2022 Discover Your Passion with @maricarjagger

September 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2853253">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2853253">Pixabay</a>

#Digiblogchat September 6, 2022 Discover Your Passion with @maricarjagger | Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, September 6, 2022 is How to discover your passion with @maricarjagger! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Have you always known what you wanted in life?

Q2. Have you ever wondered who is the real you?

Q3. How would you go about discovering your values?

Q4. What are the things you love to do?

Q5. What are your pet hates? And how do you deal with them?

Q6. What do you tend to do when you need a break?

Q7. What did the 5 year old you like doing?

Q8. Given a free day, how would you fill it?

Q9. Are you happy with who you are now or are you a work in progress?

Q10. Why is passion so important?

 

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