It’s been quite a roller coaster ride this past week, here at NewBizBlogger. It has been a bit over 3 weeks now with the Twitter Challenge. Although I’ve managed to keep the momentum going for 90% of the time, it has not been the easiest challenge.
Let me just state that it has been fun and I’ve made some pretty great connections over the past few weeks that I may otherwise have not made. That in itself has made this challenge all the worthwhile.
The only downside that I’ve noticed from my increased participation in Twitter is that I’ve noticed that the majority of users appear to NOT use Twitter as a means of interaction but rather a medium to solely advertise their websites, products, etc.
Of course this may be different in other industries, but in the Online Business industry this unfortunately appears to be the case more often than not.
That being said, for users whom do use it to connect and communicate with others, they make using this tool all the worthwhile. I still believe Twitter is a powerful social medium for your business and for making connections and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. 
More on this next week…
Cool Stuff To Check Out
This past week my blogging buddy Kevin Douglas from Smart Income Blog was kind enough to feature me, as well as five other bloggers, in discussing which information products we have used that have helped us in our business.
My choice by far were OptimizePress and Aweber. (affiliate links ).
However, what really stood out for me was one recommendation made by Mark Bell from BloggersJournal.com. He recommended Shoemoney Xtreme by Jeremy Schoemaker. Although technically I am not in the Internet Marketing industry, I do dabble in affiliate marketing.
However, what I loved most about Shoemoney Xtreme is that right from the beginning Jeremy provides you with a 1/2 hour video on marketing. Even for those not in the Internet Marketing industry, this is a fantastic value-driven video on the topic and well worth the watch!
Julien Smith has once again made my list with his post on (curse alert!) The Short and Sweet Guide to Being Fucking Awesome.
I can’t even do it justice by trying to explain it… you’ll have to check it out for yourself. However, I will leave you with one a quote from it that I just loved!
From this day forth, your purpose is to be the most fucking awesome person you can imagine being.
Nice!
Ingrid Abboud posed a great question this week in her series post Bring IT! Her question was: How Much Should You Reveal About Yourself to Become (or be Labeled as) a Successful Blogger?
Very intriguing question. As you may or may not know, I posted an article last week on Your About Page is NOT About You! , where I spoke about the importance of creating an About page that talks about you in reference to what you have to offer your visitors; the details about you personally come second to this.
But how much are you willing to reveal about yourself?
Interesting indeed. Head over to Ingrid’s blog and share with her your take on it.
We all know the importance of having a great headline, right? I came across this post a few days ago by Nicholas Cardot called 15 Tips To Awesome, Eye Jerking Post Titles. The title alone makes you want to read it!
He covers such topics such as:
- Be bold
- Be direct
- Get personal
- Ask questions
- Use a list
- And much more!
It’s a power piece with a lot of juicy tips and I absolutely recommend that you read it and take action on it.
Nicholas Cardot – you rock!
Jay Baer from ConvinceandConvert.com recently posted an article title Why Your Special Offer Isn’t.
The companies that succeed and break through the pile of social flotsam will be those that base their social efforts on humanization and storytelling, not on post-modern couponing and eyeball purchasing. The winners will focus on people, not logos.
It boils down to what I’ve always said, consumers are more educated than ever due to social media access. The six degrees of separation in some mediums such as Twitter have become null. Think about it. I can put out a Tweet to President Obama today that he may well read and respond to due to social networking sites such as these.
My point is this: Do wait to have to play catch-up. If you haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, now is the time!
One of my favorite finds this past week by far has been Seth Godin’s TED talk on ‘The Tribes We Lead’. I have to hand it to him, not only is he very knowledgeable about what works in business today, but his passion just shines through in his speaking! It’s extremely inspiration!
Watch it and then go and build your tribe!!
Shout Outs & Thanks
Thanks to the following sites for their great support this week!
Brad Harmon from Big Feet Marketing
Lye Kuek Hin from Find My Blog Way
Ingrid Abboud from Nitty Griddy
Gail Gardner from Grow Map
Rammesh from One Dollar Corner Dot Com
Kevin Douglas from Smart Income Blog
David Shaw from David Shaw Blog
Hector Cuevas from Hector J Cuevas
Resources
Webinars, if you don’t know, is a very effective way to get the word out about what you do and what you have to offer. There are many resources to look into but if you are first starting out, I would recommend a free resource. As you become more comfortable with the process and as more people come on board to view your webinars, than you can invest in a paid service.
I, not too long ago held an informal webinar for friends using Freebinar.com, which by the way, was nerve-racking and exciting at the same time. With this free service, you are allowed up to 150 attendees… perfect for the newbie at this!
It’s simple, sign up for an account and you will receive a URL such as freebinar.com/newbizblogger1 where your attendees will visit to access your webinar.
Give it a shot.
Last Thoughts
Seth Godin’s remark in his speech on “who exactly are you upsetting, because if you are not upsetting anyone you are not changing the status quo” really hit a nerve with me this week.
I, like most people I know are non-confrontational. I will if I need to be, but I don’t make it a point to be confrontational in life and in business. I always felt you can work best working with people and not against them.
However, I think there is something to be said about taking a stand and not requesting, but demanding that others stand with you. To look past the immediate protests on what you are up to and to the seek the big picture and the greater good.
It can be an intimidating place to stand but a truly inspirational one. I was taught growing up that if you put your focus on others and not on yourself and your woes, than your problems won’t seem all that bad.
Maybe that’s the key then: focus on making the lives of others better and in turn make yours.
Your thoughts?
Once again…
Just for fun…
THAT’S A WRAP! HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND!
Where should I start Michele?
I always look forward to Friday, not because it’s the weekend but because I know you’ll wrap up the week and give me some great material to read over the weekend.
Hi John,
You sure know how to put a smile on my face. I think that’s your talent – making others feel good. You are in the perfect industry!
Enjoy the reading and enjoy your weekend John!
Hey, Michele. Thanks for the shout out and the link.
Keep up the good work with your Twitter challenge. It takes time finding people who actually think the way you do about how to use it.
Nicholas’s 15 Tips To Awesome, Eye Jerking Post Titles is a great read. I highly recommend it.
Thanks for another great mashup.
Any time Brad, my pleasure. As for Twitter, I’m patient.
All the best!
Hi Michele,
I noted the same deal with twitter: seems be like a broadcasting station these days. Tweet my stuff, tweet my stuff, tweet my stuff. Few people actually listen, and fewer make connections.
It’s key to offer value and keep asking questions though. I’ve been answered by crickets for months on end but still answered questions again, and again, and again. All the time. Eventually people responded. I made valuable connections, generated leads and expanded my presence by persisting like absolute heck when times were tough in the connecting department.
As for Seth’s comment I intend to agree. I am non-resistant yet do p*** people off a bit of the time with gifting. Many people think I’m a scammer. Pretty, lil’ old me?
Seriously, many people hate me more now than used to and that’s a great thing. I’m bumping up against resistance I feared to face a while back. This means I’m growing.
Thanks again for sharing the wonderful list of resources. Keep doing what you do Michele
RB
Hi Ryan,
Your persistence is inspiring. It’s great to hear from someone who has a large following and been at Twitter for some time that it’s still a worthwhile venture.
And thanks for sharing your story about your cash gifting business. I think when people take the time to get to know you, that they see you are not a spammer; you are doing your thing and what you believe in and they can either come along for the ride or not! So keep on pissing people off! By the way, you can say the word piss on my blog, I won’t take offense to it.
Thanks for the wonderful comment!
Hi Michele!
Very juicy information Michele, I am not a fan of twitter but I do build my networks there slowly and just connecting with whom interest in making connection rather than used them as another advertising media.
Seth Godin is a genius & marketing legend.Thanks for sharing good tips & resources.And thanks for mentioning me on your shout out Michele. Have a great weekend
.
Any time Rammesh, my pleasure! I agree with your about Seth Godin. I didn’t get him (or his site) until about 6 months ago. After watching him on an interview, I was hooked! He knows his stuff for sure.
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping in.
I’m still figuring out Twitter as I go along, and many aspects of it really bug me. But it can be quite useful in many ways, and I have definitely made some quality connections there.
I never automatically follow people. I always look at their Twitter page and their website first, and I only follow back less than half the people who follow me, mostly because the rejected ones only tweet about a business, or in some cases I think their business in unethical.
Hey John,
Seems like you and I have the same MO. Unless I’ve heard about the Twitter user previously, I always look more into them. Yeah, it’s time consuming and probably not the most effective use of my time but in the long run I have a better chance of following quality (and real) people as well establishing a quality group of followers.
Thanks for your input… great hearing from ya!
I know what you mean Michele – A lot of people do use twitter mostly to advertise their own site and products rather than for conversation. Even I get carried away at times but you know I try to make it interesting by throwing in conversation and asking questions oftentimes.
Thanks for sharing Seth’s video. Awesome stuff.
Later on..
Hi Adam,
Don’t get me wrong NOTHING wrong with advertising your stuff. I do that as well. I mean we are in business, right?
I just think it would be nice to keep a happy medium like what you and I do. Let people know you have a business to run and you WANT them to check it out, but at the same time you are a real person open to having real conversations. Ya know! 
Great of you to stop in!
I agree Michele. After all, it is important that we let our readers and followers know that there is a real person – with kickass personality – behind the business (O:
I have two favorite quotes, mottos, whatever.
Help another and it WILL come back to you 10fold, as you aid above and it does work.
You don’t know what you know until you teach it to another…it kinda fits, no?
One other thing, you do recommend the Shoemoney Xtreme, yes?
Hi Dennis,
Good mottos to live by!
As for the Shoemoney Xtreme, I’ve already received the 2nd video and it’s been very informative. I have not invested in his system… I’m sure that offer is to come 
, so only can speak of the free video training I’ve viewed thus far. Definitely worth looking into I think.
Ciao for now.
Anyone else nervous to see what the system costs? He did after all back out of what was sure to be a lucrative book deal…..
Hiya Michele.
Would saying that you’re fabulous and awesome be unoriginal? Well, so be it – cause that’s what you are
!
You know I love your Friday wraps as you always manage to provide us with some real goodies – including one of mine this week
. YaY and thank you for mentioning and linking to my new series Bring IT! I was overwhelmed and ecstatic by the level of sharing that took place.
A couple in here that I’m looking forward to reading. Obviously the one with the catchy cursing is one of them lol.
Thanks again Michele and best of luck with your Twitter Challenge.
Happy Sunday to ya.
Cheers
Hi Ingrid,
My pleasure.
Great to hear you’ve gotten much support with the Bring IT series. I think it’s going to be great and definitely a very good idea. Great way to get into people’s heads and get in juicy conversations.
Best of luck and thanks for stopping by. Always lovely hearing from ya.
Hey Michele,
Great roundup as usual. Checked out all of the links and although all pretty decent, the one about being “fucking awesome” really stood apart from the rest. Awesome article really! Took the time to check out other stuff on InOverYourHead and let me tell you – it is a top-notch blog with great thought-provoking articles. Thanks a lot for shedding light on that one!
Other than that, hope things are going well with you! Have a great new week!
Hi Daniel,
I was turned onto InOverYourHead about a month ago and love it! I can’t get enough of his straight up, no BS attitude in his writing. Fun yet educational isn’t it?
So great to hear from you… all the best!
According to your criteria above, I have reason to believe I have the makings of a kick ass blogger.
I love it when a hot lady like yourself confirms what I already know.
You’re good
Been lagging behind my “blog hops” and as they say, better late than never
I think I missed this one because of the title, lol, excuses… So is this a new one from now on?
Anyway, I tend to agree with @Daniel and that “f**** awesome” guide does stand out, wonder why? Great stuff Michele, as usual. Good to hear that you are near to “wrapping up” your Twitter challenge. Would love to see the whole “picture” on how this turned up. Talk soon
Hey DiTesco,
Yeah, I think I may keep this title. Seems to be more a depiction of it’s purpose. Plus is may help with some keyword juice.
Don’t blame you for like the article by Justin. Something about being raw in your writing can be so appealing to a lot of people. I think my next site may showcase that side of me…we’ll see.
As for lagging on blog hops, yeah, I know what you mean. But we have to remember that we have a business to run and we have to set priorities in our day to day action plan; unfortunately commenting on other blogs, although necessary for your marketing, does not always fall high on the list of priorities. Ya know?
Anyway, as always, great seeing your lovely face around here. Just makes my day.