By Gloria
The world's best and most popular blogs are the product of someone's passion. Bloggers let their obsessions show! Blogs become successful because of the blogger's personality, knowledge and expertise. When you blog, use first person ("I")and be authentic.
Content and good writing are important. Some of the best blogs have won major journalism awards--a good example is Talking Post Memo. Another highly regarded blog is The Huffington Post , called the “most powerful blog in the world.” Co-founded by socialite Arianna Huffington in 2005, HuffPost has a highly successful business model: its hundreds of guest bloggers don't get paid for their posts at all, yet they include celebrities, politicians, and well-known academic and business leaders.
Other blogs that consistently make the "top blog" lists are the New York Times’ Freakonomics ; the geek blog BoingBoing ; the political Crooks and Liars by "Vlogfather" John Amato; Mashable , the largest and most popular blog focused on social networking; a favorite site for movie buffs called /Film (Slashfilm); and, of course, Seth Godin’s Blog .
Characteristics of Top Blogs
Top blogs ask questions and engage readers in an interactive way. Top bloggers do not shy away from controversy. They are always be civil but state their opinions forcefully. And they are original!
The most interesting blogs include other media--photos, artwork, charts and videos. It is important to use headers and/or numbered/bulleted lists for search engine optimization (SEO) reasons.
The best blogs link to other bloggers all the time. Link to other bloggers in your profession or industry--hopefully they will reciprocate. For the same reason, comment on other bloggers' blogs! The blogosphere is a place for dialog, not a soap box.
Hmmn. What's YOUR favorite blog? Mine is my own company’s blog, Be Heard . No kidding! Not only does it cover a topic I'm passionate about--public relations--but it's written by nine other people besides me. And they all have interesting things to say.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Five Crucial Leadership Skills
Artwork courtesy of: thegoldguys.blogspot.com/ and www.lumaxart.com/
By Gloria
Entire books have been written on leadership, and you can spend thousands of dollars on leadership development and training. Establishing yourself as a leader in your industry or profession is a long-term process.
Leaders inspire others with their vision and motivate people to follow them. They are take-charge types who direct the actions of a group to achieve a common goal. There are many leadership styles—authoritarian, democratic, Laissez-Faire—but every leader has a plan. If you lack a plan, you cannot effectively lead others, because you don’t know where you’re going yourself.
To become a more effective leader, focus on developing the following five skills:
Strategic-thinking skills
You have to know exactly where you want to take your business, if not the details of how to get there (that’s what your employees are for!). Concentrate on the big picture and how you will communicate that shared vision to everyone.
People skills
Your employees are your most important assets, so treat them well. Give them an environment and where they can perform well, supplying them with all the necessary tools, and then provide them a way to continually learn and grow in their jobs. Then pay them what they are worth, and you will have very loyal employees.
Public speaking skills
As a leader you will be called upon often to speak in public, whether it is at business meetings, conferences or press conferences. If your speaking skills are rusty, join a local Toastmasters club.
Listening skills
Speak out in public but don’t neglect to listen to what others have to say, especially one-on-one. People love to talk about themselves. Let them do it. Ask questions and listen to their answers. You will walk away with valuable information, leaving behind someone who appreciates you because you took the time to listen.
Decision-making skills
Whenever other people will be impacted by a decision, involve them and seek their input. Then when you make the decision, not only will you have the information you need, but you will have the buy-in from those affected by that decision.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Establishing Yourself As An Expert
By Gloria
Publishing magazine articles or a book on your area of expertise is de rigueur for establishing yourself as a leading expert in your field. Having published work out there gives you instant credibility and can get you on radio and television shows and speaking circuits. To get yourself known in your field, you should publish articles and books, even if you have to use a ghostwriter.
Let’s talk about magazine articles. Whether online or hard copy, magazines share certain general characteristics.
While consumer magazines are produced for a wide, general audience, trade magazines and regional magazines target niche audiences. Trade magazines are professional journals or technical publications aimed at a specific industry. More than likely, you are quite familiar with those in your own field.
So how do you get published in a trade or regional magazine? First of all, you read every single issue for a while until you have a feel for the editor’s preferences. Then you contact that editor with a query, usually via e-mail.
Convince him or her that you have something of importance to share with readers. Tell the editor about your credentials and offer to provide your media kit. Hook that editor’s interest with a unique slant or a timely topic.
Query only one editor at a time. You don’t want to alienate anyone—because the editor you alienate today may be the one you hope will accept your next article tomorrow.
Use your own experience as inspiration, and that way, you’ll avoid re-telling the same tired, overdone stories that magazine editors see over and over. This is not to imply that writing articles is a simple, straightforward process. It isn’t. Writing is difficult work, so don’t hesitate to request writing or editing help from your staff, your network or a professional source. Getting published is worth every dollar you pay a ghostwriter or editor.
Let’s talk about magazine articles. Whether online or hard copy, magazines share certain general characteristics.
While consumer magazines are produced for a wide, general audience, trade magazines and regional magazines target niche audiences. Trade magazines are professional journals or technical publications aimed at a specific industry. More than likely, you are quite familiar with those in your own field.
So how do you get published in a trade or regional magazine? First of all, you read every single issue for a while until you have a feel for the editor’s preferences. Then you contact that editor with a query, usually via e-mail.
Convince him or her that you have something of importance to share with readers. Tell the editor about your credentials and offer to provide your media kit. Hook that editor’s interest with a unique slant or a timely topic.
Query only one editor at a time. You don’t want to alienate anyone—because the editor you alienate today may be the one you hope will accept your next article tomorrow.
Use your own experience as inspiration, and that way, you’ll avoid re-telling the same tired, overdone stories that magazine editors see over and over. This is not to imply that writing articles is a simple, straightforward process. It isn’t. Writing is difficult work, so don’t hesitate to request writing or editing help from your staff, your network or a professional source. Getting published is worth every dollar you pay a ghostwriter or editor.
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