![is photography dead? [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://b753274.smushcdn.com/753274/wp-content/uploads/mobile-photography.jpg?lossy=1&strip=1&webp=1)
I’ve done quite a bit of traveling outside the country over the last few years. And you’d say that I was a fool if I told you that I didn’t have a camera on me for any of those trips. Could you image being 10 yards away from a real, live lion in the wild in Africa and not getting a picture of it?
However, I left the camera at home on my most recent trip to Haiti. Why? Mobile photography. (more…)
Nearly every blogger I know has the goal of getting published. Unfortunately, few ever reach that goal. Some struggle with the high perceived investment of time and/or money. Others feel like they may not be able to overcome certain technical aspects of publishing. Regardless of the obstacle, if you’re one of those bloggers who dream of getting published, then I’m here to share a shocking truth with you.
It may not be the easiest thing you’ve ever done. And it is a lot of work. Our dreams and goals rarely ever just happen to us. But if you’ve been blogging for a while (six months or more), then the truth is…
Let me tell you a little story that might encourage you. I had been blogging for a few years when it happened for me. And I was struggling with the idea that I wasn’t even close to getting published when someone gave me some encouragement. Then an author friend challenged me to consider the work I’ve already done. At the time I had about 600 posts on my blog. And at an average of about 500 words each, I had over 300,000 words of content already published!
Considering that an average 200-page book is about 60,000 words, I quickly realized that I had written enough content to fill FIVE full-length books!
So I had already done the work, I just needed to figure out how to convert some of that existing blog content into a book that I could market and sell.
To make a long story short, within a few months I self-published my first book. But that’s not even the most exciting part of the story! While I was in the launch process of that first book, a small, start-up publisher read the book, and offered me a contract to write another book with them. Then, within a few months after that deal I was signing yet another book contract, but this time with one of the major publishers in my niche!
How can I say something like that? Well, the truth is that I’m nobody special. Which means that if I can do it, then so can you. I’m so certain about this, that I’m going to help you make that happen! I know for a fact there are far better writers out there than me. But for whatever reason they feel like the obstacles preventing them from getting published are just too big. So I’m here to tear down those obstacles, and help you achieve your dreams.
The first step in this process is to stop listening to the lies that you can’t do it on your own. Do you know who says more than anyone else that you’ll never get published without a literary agent? You guessed it, literary agents!
The publishing industry is getting flipped upside down these days, thanks to a little device called the e-reader. That means anything is possible!
My goal is to help you learn how you can leverage the latest technology and trends in the publishing industry to take the steering wheel for reaching your publishing goals into your own hands!
I’m developing a course as we speak that will help you learn everything you need to know about how to take the work you’ve done on your blog and turn it into a published book that you can market and sell. My plan is to deliver three key resources to help you out at whatever level you need:
1. FREE webinars where I’ll teach you more about the process of getting published
2. A full training program that will walk you step-by-step through the process and give you deeper how-to instruction an every task involved
3. Personal coaching from me to answer questions and offer advice to help you be as successful as you can be
Dude… seriously… let’s rock this thing! Let’s get you to where you want to be in your writing career!
[NEW E-COURSE] 30 Days to #SelfPub: How to Take Charge of Your Publishing Goals https://t.co/HfPFEjWhN3 #write31days #amwriting #nanowrimo pic.twitter.com/ESfVog52wK
— Fistbump Media (@FistbumpMedia) November 1, 2016
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I’ve talked to several business clients recently who want to establish a presence on Facebook, but they aren’t sure what it means and how they can use it to their advantage. This infographic provides some interesting insight into the motivations of Facebook users and how/why they interact with businesses. (more…)
As I meet with clients who want to set up a presence on the social media platform that everyone seems to be on, one thing that I’m regularly impressed with is that their experience extends far beyond the date that the Facebook page was created. So how do you highlight that expertise in your field? The answer is… by using the Facebook timeline!
Before we talk about how to do this, let’s first lay some ground work to level-set what I’m talking about and the potential impact of not taking advantage of this tool.
When you create a Facebook page, the history starts (by default) with that date and a “Joined Facebook” milestone. The problem with that is there’s more to you and your organization than the day you decided to join Facebook! You likely have a rich history of events and milestones that have brought you to where you are today, and it’s important for your customers (and potential customers) to see that.
It builds trust.
When left alone, visitors to your page only have the frame of reference related to when you joined Facebook. So there’s a missed opportunity to share with them why they should buy with you. You miss the opportunity to make them say “Wow! This dude knows what he’s talking about!”
An empty timeline is the biggest travesty that I’ve seen so far with businesses on Facebook.
So what do you do about it? We add that history, that’s what!
The first thing you’ll want to do is to define where the history begins. It might be when the company was actually formed. Or maybe there was some other event that kicked off the experience that you wish to highlight. If your company is a more recent launch, you experience likely predates your launch. So you’ll want to start your timeline with when that relevant experience begins.
This initial ‘start’ information can be set in the Basic Information section when you Update Info in the Edit Page menu.
As you can see, there are several different types of starts that can be selected, depending on the beginning you want to highlight. The key here is to be creative, and focus on the first event that adds value to the expertise you want to highlight.
The next step is to add the milestones over the history of the company that show people who you have the expertise they need. And where you can… add pictures! The key here is to create a sort of highlight reel of the company history. Here are some starter-ideas to get you thinking about the types of events that you may want to add:
– Milestones in the company’s growth
– Associations and affiliations joined
– Awards and recognition
– Community/public service projects
– Industry and product shifts that changed how you work
One of the best examples I’ve seen with building company history in a Facebook timeline is with TheHighCalling.org. The website, which is relatively only a few years old, is part of a bigger story that extends back to the early 1900’s when one family opened a grocery store… with a motive for making a bigger difference. Here are a few snapshots of how that timeline plays out…
As you can see, there’s a progression to the story line that eventually leads up to who this organization is and what they stand for. And that’s the best way to think of it… as if you were hanging out with a bunch of new friends at a dinner party, and they want to hear all about how you (and/or your organization) got to where you are today. When you think through that story line, there will most definitely be a series of events that have shaped what the business looks like today.
The most important rule of social media platforms is that they are social. Organizations have an opportunity to develop relationships with their customers, and knowing one’s history deepens those relationships. Granted, not every customer will read through your entire timeline history. But even if they don’t, putting yourself out there like that shows that you’re making the effort to be known.
So show your customers why you matter. Show them who you are. Show them that you are willing to establish a long-term relationship. Show them why you are credible.
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I remember the day the earthquake hit in Haiti. I was in my office with a TV on one of the news networks. I looked over at my Twitter app when I noticed a stream of tweets about a the quake, and many even had pictures. Several minutes later the news networks started reporting on it, and those same images found their way onto TV. It’s interesting how social media scooped the major news networks. (more…)
