I wanted to write this quickly as a thank you.  I appreciate more than you know all of you who have read and followed my ramblings through this site.  I loved reading your comments and everything you added to the conversations I started.  This is definitely not the end, but a brand new beginning and I would be most honored if you would join me on that journey.

I will no longer be blogging through this address but will actually continue my mental meanderings at www.joeystrawn.com.  Everything I have written and all your comments have been moved to that site so nothing will be lost in the move.

Other than the look and the web address, nothing will change.  If you subscribed to this site, I hope you will subscribe over there and if you enjoyed these posts, I hope you will still enjoy them going forward.

Again, thank you for your dedication and I look forward to talking with you on the new page.

Sincerely,

Joey Strawn

I wanted to write this post to tell you about a few important things that have happened recently and what that means for you guys.

1)  I recently launched my own, self-hosted website and will be blogging there from now on.  If you recently subscribed to this page, thank you, I would suggest subscribing to the new page to receive the new posts.  The address is www.joeystrawn.com.  There will be no other changes and I have already moved all the posts from this page to that one, so you will lose nothing in the switch.

2)  As of right now, my most recent posts are not being displayed on the homepage of joeystrawn.com and can be found under the “Blog” category page.  I plan on having this fixed within the day.

3)  As there is a whole lot of movin’ and shakin’ going on today, I did not write a new postbut did provide my friend Frank Dickinson with a guest post entitled “I, Me, Mine”.  Please jump over there and show him some support (http://bit.ly/dcXgXN).  There will be new posts on joeystrawn.com starting in the next few days.

4) I bought a new car.  That has nothing to do with this blog or your readership, I’m just happy about it.  Yay.  It’s a Kia.

Okay, that’s about it.  If you are still getting this page in your searches, just head on over to www.joeystrawn.com and we can continue our conversations there.

Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you soon.

jS

When it comes to the Mogwai (and your audience), there are 3 main rules, but a lot we can learn from them.  You must listen to Mr. Wing, now.

It’s A Big Responsibility

Mr. Wing won’t want to sell you the Mogwai.  It’s a BIG responsibility and he has to be sure that you are up to the task.

Anyone can start a blog.  You can go to Blogger, or Typepad, or WordPress and start one right now without even finishing this post if you so choose.  And if you are simply writing for your own creative output, who cares what your audience thinks?  Stop reading this right now because the rest won’t benefit you.

But if you actually care about having an audience (and let’s be honest, if you’re starting a blog, you care; if you didn’t you’d just write in your Moleskin) you need to realize that they come with instructions of care, or rules.

For our purposes, we will use the Mogwai Rules:

1) Do Not Shine Bright Lights or Sunlight At The Mogwai

Too much sunlight will kill a Mogwai, and too much time away from the computer screen will kill your audience.  Oh, sure, your family and friends will read your posts, but you want to build a steady following, right?  Give them a reason to read.

There are so many distractions online and offline that if you are not coming up with clever, compelling reasons for your audience’s eyes to be on your post, don’t bother writing one.  What do you bring to the table that is uniquely you?

Gary Vaynerchuk talks about wine, yet how many magazines and shows are there about wine?  Tons.  You’ve heard of Gary because he is unique.  He totally brings himself into what he produces for his audience.  How can you bring yourself into what you do?

Creating compelling content can be tricky, but here are some things I like to do:

• Keep a brainstorming journal – I carry one around with me everywhere and whenever something sparks my imagination I write it down.  You never know when you will get that next great blog post idea.
• Editorial Calendar – I have a white board (I use Ideapaint) in my office where I keep a pseudo-calendar for posts.  I know that I will post 3-4 times a week, but I keep a running list of ideas and topics so I don’t constantly step on my own toes.
• Read, Read, Read – Read blog posts you’ve never read before, walk into a bookstore and pick up a random book and buy it, browse through your Evernote and re-read blogs that inspired you in the past.  Make sure you are constantly taking in good, new material.  Good stuff in, good stuff out.

2) Do Not Get Your Mogwai Wet

Every set of rules has one that is meant to be broken.  This is that rule.

When the Mogwai get wet, they sprout new Mogwai.  They cocoon and within a few days you have a whole army a furry little minions waiting for your commands.

Don’t let your audience just sit there.  Throw some water on them, surprise them.  When you ramp up your audiences emotions and get them wet, you’ll be surprised how quickly they multiply.  Overnight, your readership of 12 can sprout to 212, or 2,012.

How much water are you willing to throw?

3) Do Not Feed The Mogwai After Midnight

This is the most important rule of the Mogwai.  By breaking this rule a small mid-western town was destroyed and many people died.  Your blog post will most likely not have the same effect, but it is still an important rule.

Timing is everything.  You hear that phrase from sports, to finance, to real estate, and beyond, but it holds true in blogging for an audience as well.  If you write the best post in the world and post it at 2 AM then leave it alone, how effective do you think it will be?  What if you never mention it again?  Sure, there’s a chance someone will run across it accidentally on Google, the send it to a friend who knows Jimmy Kimmel and you will be famous, but that’s a long shot.

Here are the best steps I have found (timing-wise) to help engage your audience and keep them around:

• Be consistent – That doesn’t mean post every day (although that helps).  Just keep a steady rhythm to how you post.  People like when they feel like they can figure out a system.  Post Monday, Wed, and Fridays; or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays; or just once a week on Monday.  However works best for you, but be consistent in you posts.
• Be On Time – I like to post between 9 AM and 11 AM CST.  That way it doesn’t hit before a lot of my readers wake up, but also give me the rest of the day to Tweet the link and for it to make its way around to my audience.  Find a time that works best for you, because there is no right answer for this one.
• Be Present – This is the worst mistake I see people making.  They will blog heavily for 2 weeks because they are so excited and then “things come up” and they disappear for 2 months.  What do you think happens to the small audience you cultivated during those two weeks?  They aren’t your significant other and waiting for you to finish your jail time.  They will move on to post-ier pastures.  If you’re going to blog, be there.

Your audience can be a fragile thing.  You must take care of it until it has grown enough to sustain itself.  You are it’s owner, it’s protector (so don’t sell out your audience’s emails for marketing purposes, but that’s another blog post).  Love them and they will love you.  Feed them and like a stray cat, they will keep coming back.

I know I’m not perfect and might have missed a few key points, and that’s where you come in, faithful reader.  In the comments leave what you think should be added to this list.  It could be from Gremlins (Don’t let your Mogwai watch Disney movies in a locked theater) or something completely unrelated to 80′s horror-comedy.  I want to hear your thoughts.  Make Mr. Wing proud.

Today is my last day.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how happy it makes me to be able to type that phrase.

I have been with you for many years and have continuously dreamed that one day I would be able to leave.  My dream is finally becoming a reality and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve that without your moderate indifference and disregard for talent; for that I thank you.

To those who managed me during my time here (Fear, Ineptitude, Indifference, and Want), I could thank you enough, and choose not to let words describe any feelings of appreciation towards you.  Your lack of leadership and inability to inspire talent was truly inspiring.

Throughout my tenure, I was given the completely mundane chance to work for faceless and interchangeable supervisors on an endless chain of identical projects that allowed me to shine in no way.  I learned very little, if nothing at all, from the experiences.  Thank you for your “belief in my abilities” and quantifying my benefit to you by ways of “meets expectations.”

To my fellow co-workers, I knew many of you very well during my time here and would like to take this opportunity for some personal goodbyes.

To Doubt, I cannot say that working with you was a pleasure.  I’m not sure I felt much of anything at all and whatever I had felt was constantly brought into question.  I wish you a backbone and the personal strength you so desperately lack.

To Gossip, you should really learn to keep your mouth shut, I’ll even provide the stapler, if necessary.  Your countless hours of distraction are something I could never pay back, as I gained nothing from them.  I leave you nothing, which I’m sure you will tell everyone about.

To Laziness, you always had ways to make me not write my blog posts.  Your constant jibes of “Why are you reading Permission Marketing?  Here look, a Garfield comic.” truly increased my ability at underproduction.  I’m sure you will do fine without me.  I’m sure you won’t do much at all.

To Greed, I truly enjoyed watching you take credit for many of my colleagues actions, raising yourself up onto a platform you did not deserve.  My actions while under your supervision were truly demoralizing and I hope one day you have the chance to apologize for the things you took.

To the Executives of Selfishness, despite your claims of unsatisfactory workmanship from my co-workers and myself, I tend to think you were really unsatisfied with yourself.  Your unethical behavior, jealousy and cronyism were a pure joy to work around each day, despite my inner desire to succeed.

There are many people I care about being left behind in your service.  They toil for you not because of any false love or admiration for what you stand for, but simply are stuck under the supervision of the previously stated managers.  I hope you find the will to embrace them and let them go for your own good.

So, in parting, I would like to pass on a word of advice to whomever might take my place in this position.  It would behoove you to take note of what you see surrounding you each day.  Note the atmosphere at determined stagnated progress and ask yourself, “How could I do more?”  The faster you learn to think for yourself, the faster you will find a new position.

I leave you with little more than I came in with those many years ago.  I hope you continue with your relentless pursuit of averageness and are able to employ many more nonentities to complete your tasks.  Don’t bother trying to reply to this as I am more than likely doing something productive with my life and wouldn’t be able to slow down if you paid me (because that’s what you used to do).

Insincerely,

Joey Strawn

(Image Credit: danykomio)

The phrase above might as well end with “…even if it smells like shit.”  If you are the only flower in the desert of course you smell good, if only because you are surrounded by decrepitude and death.  Unfortunately, we do not blog in a desert, or a bubble, or a box.  We blog on an internationally connected network of computers.  So yours better not stink.

So how do you tell if your blog stinks?  I’m sure that you don’t think it sucks the big crapoosky, but what if everyone you know is just being too nice?  (BTW, If you do think your own blog sucks and are still writing it the same way, we need to have another discussion.)

Here are some things to consider to see if your blog passes “The Stink Test”:

1) Would You Read It?

Who are you writing for?  If you are trying to fit into some arbitrary style that you think people want so you can get a guest post on Chris Brogan‘s blog, you’re in it for the wrong reasons.  I’m not saying that writing to the best of your ability and being asked to guest post for Mr. Brogan wouldn’t be exemplary, but don’t be someone who’s not you.  If you wouldn’t read your post, why should I?  Believe it or not, people can actually tell if you care about what you write.

2) Yeah, But What’s Your Answer

Okay, we know there are lots of issues out there: What’s the best SEO technique?  How can you get people to read and comment on your blog?  Why don’t I have followers on Twitter?  I don’t give two shakes of a zedonk‘s tail about your blog if you only list what I already know.  Even if they aren’t not perfect, give your solutions.  People want answers, not more problems.

3) Top [Insert Number Here] Lists Are Stupid

…except for this one and any others I might have posted.

I’m not saying don’t use them, but don’t make every post sound like Gary Vaynerchuk‘s impression of David Letterman.

4) Too Much Dick and Jane, Not Enough Tale of Two Cities

We all like pictures.  They are neat and can really get your point across.  Eventually it’s time to grow up and actually put down some content that is useful to the people that you are reaching out to.  I can use “tips to improve my online marketing strategy”, your video of a kitten riding a turtle….not so much.

The same is true of ads on your blog.  I LOVE making money, but when there are more ads on your page than copy something needs to change.

5) Spellcheck, MotherF*&#$r

Srue, its tru we all can figur out waht you maent to say, butt tak the tyme too cehck for grmamtical mitsakes.

We’d all appreciate it.  I’m not saying be perfect, but it eventually becomes evident and your trustworthiness wanes.

6) No Blog Is An Island

There’s this wonderful thing called the “Internet.”  It’s been around for a little while, you might have heard of it.  Connect to it.  Your ideas came from somewhere, so give credit where credit is due.  If you talk about someone or something on your blog, link to them.

Also, don’t filch content: 1) because people will figure it out and 2) because it’s a douchey thing to do.

Another component of this is self-promotion.  If you spend time and energy writing this blog and then do nothing to promote it, you have no one to blame for poor readership but yourself.  If you’re serious, get out there; if you’re not serious, get out of my way.

Okay, there’s your Stink Test.  I’d suggest running one every few months to see how you are doing.  If you notice, I didn’t mention anything about reader numbers and RT’s because building a readership takes time and effort and it’s easy to get distracted when numbers are your main focus.

You may never be a Chris Brogan or Seth Godin, but you can be you; and that’s all we can ask of you.

What would you add to the Stink Test?  What would you take off?  Why?  Let me hear your thoughts.

I’m all ears.

P.S. I found the video of the kitten riding the turtle AFTER I wrote this post and just typed in the most ridiculously cute thing I could think of.  Finding it was a fluke.  I love the Internet.

Filed under: Blog Tagged: blogging, Chris Brogan, social media, spellcheck, The Stink Test, writing ]]> http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/the-nose-knows-does-your-blog-pass-the-stink-test/feed/ 8 throughanewlens desert_flower (1) http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/they-call-me-the-viper/ http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/they-call-me-the-viper/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:46:05 +0000 Joey Strawn http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/?p=547 Continue reading →]]> A student in Columbia, TN has recently been reported as dressing up as a super hero and patrolling the town square at night, Kick-Ass style.  He goes by the the name The Viper (side-kick pending).  Read and watch the story here, I’m not making this up (Viper *not* pictured).

Now, I’m an avid reader of Christopher Penn’s blog “Awaken Your Superhero” but I’m not sure that’s what he is talking about.  His feeling is that we have all have the power to intake  unlimited streams of information from across the globe that generations before us only dreamed about being able to do, and it is our task to awaken our superhero and understand our powers and place within that ability.  You can see why I love to read it, but maybe this is another side to that coin.  What kind of person takes their passion and creates a superhero?  What kind of inner drive propels a man to do that?  Are you that type of person?

Should you be?

Leaps Tall Blogs In A Single Bound

What’s the one question you get asked all the time by your clients/friends/co-workers/etc.?  Have you started a business venture or blog around that idea or need?

Why not?  You could be a lot of people’s superhero.

Inspiration doesn’t strike everyone.  It’s very possible you will be uncomfortable when you do it.  You’re friends will look at you strange and ask too many dumb questions.  But you’ll understand.  Have the confidence to look a little silly, especially if it’s going to help people.

Create your superhero.

Faster Than A Speeding RSS

When’s the best time to create your superhero?  Why not now?  What’s stopping you?

For most of us it’s fear.  Fear of the unknown, of not making money, of not being able to provide for your family, of not knowing if you will succeed for fail miserably.

What if I could assure you that everything would work out?  Would you start today?

You might, but it wouldn’t mean much.  Superheroes don’t know the outcome.  No one told Bruce Wayne whether or not the Joker would fail, he had to make it happen.  There wasn’t a single fortune-teller to assure Superman that Lex Luthor wouldn’t take over Metropolis because if there had been, Superman probably would have just stayed at home.

You have to act, and you have to act fast.  That brilliant idea you have is probably already being thought of by someone else.  Start today.

Create your superhero.

It’s A Byte, It’s A Bit-Plane…

…no, it’s you and your superhero.  Let’s narrow down how to arrive at your superhero:

• What would your name be?
• What powers would you have?
• How would be your greatest enemy?
• How would you travel?

What do those questions have to do with anything, you ask?  What would you name your endeavor (be it a book, business, or screenplay)?  What special niche do you fill that can solve your audience’s needs?  What problem are you trying to solve for your clients?  What media would you rely on to effectively reach your market?

The End?

I know I didn’t provide a lot of answers in this post, but is that really what you want?  Your superhero is uniquely yours.  No one is allowed to know the secret identity of a superhero, even the ones that hero protects.  How you arrive at your destination is your own journey, I’m just here to encourage you to do so.

We all have a superhero hiding inside us, waiting to help those in need.  It’s our job to put on those green tights and patrol Columbia, TN (or wherever your patrons roam) and get out there.  It may seem silly to some, but they aren’t under the mask.  They aren’t the hero of this story.

Create your superhero.

What are your thoughts?  What have you found that has helped you along the way that you think can help others?  What’s stopping you from donning the red cape of glory and hitting the streets?

I’m all ears.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Here’s what I got out of it:

My Reading Analysis

Over the course of the 5 days I had 432 articles or posts come into my Reader by way of my 42 subscriptions or posts being shared.

It took me a total of 7 hours and 30 minutes to read everything that came in. (Mind you, one of my RSS feeds is to my LinkedIn account and there isn’t much reading involved in those updates)

I shared 24 items.

I deleted 8 blog streams.

I added 3 blogs.

So, What Did I Learn?

1. My first big revelation was that I read too much.  7 hours may not seem like a lot of time when spread out through the week, but I always found myself itching to see if anything new had been added to my Reader.  That 7 hours also doesn’t include the time I read other things like business books (which I finished one last week) and fun books (started another).  Is reading too much really a problem?  I don’t know.  As of right now I haven’t seen it disrupt my work progress, so until I see that, I’ll leave things how they are, because…
2. …I love to read.  That’s another thing I realized.  Most people would cringe at the thought of reading for 7 hours.  I found myself wishing I had more time to soak up more information and stories.  It’s been a pattern all my life.  I was always the kid in school that had a book to read and talking about them (I probably read through the entire Goosebumps series 2 or 3 times).
3. I put more stock into things I choose than things that are shared with me.  Of all the articles that were shared with me (about 215), I found myself skimming through and re-reading only if I found worth.  The streams I chose to add myself I read each and every article.  I’m not sure what that says of me.  Maybe I’m a narcissist (hey, I’m on Twitter aren’t I?), maybe I have trust issues, maybe I just like the blogs I like.  Who knows?
4. I read a lot of the same types of things. My Reader consists of 70% social media blogs, 20% movie blogs and 10% random friends’ blogs and general business.  Most of my information comes from the social media sect.  I have tried to include a lot of differing viewpoints within that group, but that fact remains, I read what I care about.
5. Planning helps. The first half of the week I approached my Google Reader like I always had: throughout the day I would routinely check in whenever I saw something new come up and read it.  That was getting to be time-consuming, so on Wednesday I applied a new approach:  I set aside 30 minute increments (if necessary) 3 times a day where I would go and read.  I found that by planning and scheduling my time I was in a better mindset and took in more information.

Epilogue

All in all it was an eye-opening week.  It’s interesting what you find when you really sit down and take a look at how you spend your time and even more eye-opening when you try to figure out why you do it the way you do.

I’d like to thank both Justin and Ian for this idea and I’ll be looking for new areas in my life I can apply a tactic like this to.  Hey, maybe they are onto something here.  May be I can be better organized…….

…maybe.

Did you partake in Read It All Week?  What were your thoughts?  Maybe you didn’t but are interested now.  Whatever it may be, leave your thoughts in the comments, I love to read them.

Another Friday, another need for a Haiku, so here goes:

Of service so cold,

And Twitter feedback so hot;

Silence is not gold.

Add your Friday Haiku in the comments.  Remember, 5-7-5.

Let’s start a revolution!  What do you say?

Photo Credit: slytherin_prince

Yesterday, I picked up Zaxby’s for dinner for my wife and I and I noticed a sign that said something like: “Our 20th Anniversary Birthday Cake Milkshake Now Available.  Available for a limited time only!”  So I of course bought one, these kinds of specials don’t come around all the time, right?

In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (non-affiliate link), Dr. Robert Cialdini talk about what he calls “The 6 Weapons of Influence”.  One weapon, which is an advertising and marketing tactic used for years is what is known as “Scarcity”.  Simply put, the tactic of scarcity creates not the desire to have something, but the desire to “not lose something.”  Opportunities seem more valuable when they are less available.  This is nothing new, we see it everyday.

Scarcifying Forever

This post isn’t about the time-tested tactic of scarcity and whether or not it’s effective (we all know it is), I’d like to ask a question today because I don’t really know the best answer.

Here’s the question:  How can the principle of scarcity be applied to what we do online since once something’s uploaded, it’s there forever?  Basically, how do we scarcify forever?

Here is what I imagine people will say and my thoughts/concerns in advance:

• If it’s a video or ebook, only offer it for a few weeks for free them make it a “subscribers only” item or available for purchase.  This is actually the best idea I had thought of, but I’m still wary because once you put something out there on the Internet, how can you stop it from still being available other places after the deadline?
• Use copyright on the information and them simply discontinue to service/product after the set date. It might be now illegal for someone else to copy it around the Internet, but lot’s of illegal things happen online.  What would be the best metrics/resource service to use to make sure it’s not still floating around out there?
• Offer it for a “limited time only” in hopes to get people attached to the service or idea with the plan to continue it anyway. Sure, but that kind of feels like a cop-out.
• Why would you offer something for a limited time only?  Don’t you want repeat business? The principle of scarcity works because the impending absence creates an additional value to what you are presenting.  Yes, I would like repeat business.

Okay, those are my thoughts, but I need yours.  What?  Not all blogs have all the answers.  I’m out here learning just like you.  So, leave your comments and ideas and maybe we can get a good discussion going on this topic, but act quickly, this blog is available for a limited time only and will self-destruct in 30 seconds.

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Filed under: Blog ]]> http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/blog-available-for-a-limited-time-only/feed/ 5 throughanewlens Chief_quimby limited_time_offer For a Limited Time Only polaroid-flat-panel-tv seth_boom http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/content-hunters-social-media-edition/ http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/content-hunters-social-media-edition/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:43:52 +0000 Joey Strawn http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/?p=507 Continue reading →]]> My wife and I moved into our first house last September.  The process we went through to find the house lasted about 4 months, caused many marital disputes, 3 abandonments of looking at houses all and hundreds of miles put on my car.  It was one of the most enjoyably terrible experiences of my life, but one thing that came out of it was an unfounded appreciation for the show House Hunters on HGTV.  (Alright, alright, I freaking love that show now…Man Card revoked.)

If you’ve never seen it, House Hunters follows a couple and their Realtor as they look at three houses in the price range and then choose which one to buy.  It sounds super exciting, doesn’t it?

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

House Hunters works because so many people have been in the position of buying a house and know the frustrations that go into it.  It also works because if you’ve looked at houses, you know what your preferences are and you superimpose your desires onto the couple in the show and decide which house they should buy.  The simple truth is that the show is 3 people spending 30 minutes on TV looking at 4-bedroom, 2-bath houses.  How many different ways are there to look at the same house?

If you have looked at houses in your life, you know the answer is, “About a million different ways.”  As I mentioned, my wife and I spent 4 months looking at 6-8 houses every weekend before we found the one that worked.  Sometimes you have to look at the same type of house over and over again with subtle differences in layout or surroundings before you find the one that fits your needs.

Why wouldn’t it be any different for the information and content your audience takes in?

Different Strokes For Different Folks

Not everyone learns the same way.  It is regularly accepted that people learn in 3 main ways: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  Why is it then, that so many communicators and marketers simply say their piece and move on?

Blogs are great (I have one obviously), but they are not the only way to get information across.  I also speak and do personal consulting when asked.  I also am writing an ebook and have plans to have a video portion on my upcoming website.  Why wouldn’t you take advantage of the multiple ways you can approach your audience?

“Well, I’ve said what I needed to say.  I wouldn’t want to sound repetitive.”

That’s a good point, but what if 1/3 of your audience isn’t as savvy in the blogosphere as you are?  What if they spend their time on SlideShare or Youtube?  Shouldn’t you be there too?

Content Amortization

How should you roll out your content so that different sects of your market can take it in?  So you’ve written a great blog post, it gets more traffic and unique readers than ever before.  Could you expand that idea into an ebook or presentation?  You’ve got a speaking gig next week on “The Power of Twitter As An SEO Tool.”  Why not film it and either put it on your website, on Youtube, or make it part of a video training series?  You could even put your powerpoint from the speech on SlideShare.

Your content should be part of your marketing strategy and you’d never make a great commercial and say, “I spent a lot of time and energy making this great and persuasive, I’d like it to run on one radio station only the one time for maximum effect.”

Too Many Ostriches

The danger in getting your content to as many people as you can is the risk of spreading yourself too thin.

I am on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Brazen Careerist, and Yelp.  While that may seem like a lot, there are hundreds of social networks I am not a part of because I would not be able to use them effectively.  When we were house hunting we would look at 5-6 houses in a day because we wanted to look at each one thoroughly.  Theoretically we could have seen 20 houses each day, but we would have had to simply drive up to the front, say “yes” or “no” and drive away.  Not a very effective plan if you ask me.

Find out where your audience is hanging out and be there.  Be active and engaging and start to build real relationships with the people that you say you care about.

But I’m no guru, no saint.  What do you think?  Is there benefit in being in multiple places or do you think your time is better spent creating one fantastic medium?  Do you think you have to choose presence over quality?  (Personally, I think you can be great at many things, but that’s just one man’s opinion.)

Leave your comments and let me know how you feel.  Where all are you located, maybe we can hang out and watch House Hunters together.

Filed under: Blog Tagged: content, HGTV, House Hunters, marketing, social media ]]> http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/content-hunters-social-media-edition/feed/ 2 throughanewlens HouseHuntersLogo 1238560909HhlCSm5 http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/inception-marketing-an-infection-of-ideas/ http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/inception-marketing-an-infection-of-ideas/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:07:01 +0000 Joey Strawn http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/?p=488 Continue reading →]]> “What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities.  An idea can transform the rules and rewrite all existence.”

- Cobb (from Inception)

What’s the best idea you’ve ever had?  Maybe it was the idea to start your own business, or to switch those stocks at the last minute, or that invention that will change the face of blah, blah, blah.  What did you do with that idea?

In the new movie Inception (which I’m sure will breed many posts similar to this one), the premise is that ideas can not only be extracted from the mind, but also that they can be placed to grow on their own in someone else’s mind…..called the process of inception.

I got to thinking about this and it hit me: this is basically what we strive to do as marketers and business-owners.  We want people to take action and feel positive about that action and ultimately it is better if they believe they made the choice themselves.  We plant ideas with the hope that those seeds of ideas will grow into appropriate action.

Monkey Dream, Monkey Do

I’m not going to ruin anything about the movie for anyone, but here is basically how they do it in the movie.  First, they encounter the target in reality and infiltrate their dream.  Once there, the team interacts with the target’s reality to become a part of what they now believe to be real.  Through a series of (highly entertaining) maneuvers and ploys, the target’s subconscious presents the idea to himself, so when he wakes it’s as if he has had an epiphany.  Inception.

There are whole other layers to the movie that involve what is reality and what is perception, but for today’s purposes, I’m just going to stick with the theme of ideas coming to fruition.  It’s a little something I will call… [Hans Zimmer music playing] Inception Marketing.

Inception Marketing

So what is Inception Marketing?  If I were to define it (since I thought up the term) I would say it is “The calculated effort of a marketing team to present an idea to their target market with the intention that the idea will seem as if it came from within the market itself.”  The idea is that once your target market believes they thought of the idea themselves, they will be more likely to take the action your teams wants.

To pull of a plan of this magnitude, many things must be in place.  The first of which is…

The Team

Every great plan needs a great team.  Make sure yours has all the right components.

• The Point Man – The point man (or woman)’s job is to do the research about the target.  Extensive research about any mark is a necessity when planning a venture of this size.  You must know what your target’s interests are, how they take in their information, what they are most likely to respond favorably/unfavorable to, whether they have mind extraction security (that was in the movie and seemed awesome, disregard that one).
• The Architect – Someone on your team must have the architecture for your plan in their mind.  Your strategy must be understood by every member of the team and it is the architect’s job to relay that information and structure.  Make sure you are all on the same team when it comes to the twists and turns to come.
• The Forger – In the movie, this member impersonated someone close to the target in their dream.  For our purposes, the forger is the member based in the reality of the consumer.  Someone always must keep a tab on how life is for your target, someone that knows who the target trusts.
• The Tourist – Get an outside perspective.  Sometimes we can be so focused on the job, we forget to look out the window.
• The Extractor – This is the actual path the idea will take into the mind of the target.  The Extractor will have a great understanding of the target through the team’s endeavors and should have a clear path into the subconscious of your target.  Proceed with caution.

Now that your team is assembled and undertaking their responsibilities, it’s time to implement…

The Plan

If your Point Man has done his or her research and your Architect has a brilliant strategy constructed and your Tourist and Forger keep you in the mindset of your targets, your Extractor should have no problem getting into the minds of your target market.  The strategy will focus around one very important aspect of influence and trust:  the trusted referral.

John Jantsch has a great book titled The Referral Engine (non-affiliate link) that deals with this specific topic and rather than re-hashing everything he says, I’ll focus on the main issues.

Groundswell movements and social media tactics can be very powerful because of the level of trust incorporated into the systems.  Ideas are more quickly accepted when they come from within that market itself.  You must engage your audience and talk with them.  Nobody likes to be sold to, but everyone likes to buy/act and when your idea is suggested through conversation, active participation and trust, your Extractor can easily implant an idea seed. Once that grows into a full idea, like a virus it will overtake the market organically (and non-detrimentally) into the action your team desires.

Okay…

…I know this post was a little sensational, but there’s truth in there.  The truth may be that you are a small business owner and you are every member of the “team” but you still have to have your research, understand your strategy and market, and have a way to get them your idea.  You may not have the technology to infiltrate someone’s REM sleep cycle, but you DO have the ability to enter into their world via social media and conversation and make yourself trustworthy.  And it is true that once an idea grows organically within a market, it is more likely to be trusted and acted upon.

The future may not be here just yet.  But just like Mitch Joel suggests, don’t be a futurist because you never know what might happen, be a presentist.  Take a grasp on the present and find your way to make your target market trust you.  And trust is always bred from honesty and transparency.  Nothing will turn your dream strategy into a marketing nightmare faster than devious practices and outright lying.

But what do I know, I might just be a dreamer…but I’m not the only one.

What do you think?  Is there a future for Inception Marketing or is it already the present?

Filed under: Blog Tagged: blogging, Christopher Nolan, groundswell, ideas, Inception, marketing, social media ]]> http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/inception-marketing-an-infection-of-ideas/feed/ 16 throughanewlens great-idea a-team http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/steve-jobs-is-the-devil/ http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/steve-jobs-is-the-devil/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:27:02 +0000 Joey Strawn http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/?p=477 Continue reading →]]> “Steve Jobs is the devil” About 8,730 results (0.33 seconds)

This was an actual search I did just moments ago.  And this was the picture that I found:

To be honest, it didn’t surprise me to find so many posts that included the exact phrase “Steve Jobs is the devil.”  Why, you may ask?  Well, constant reader, that leads me to my observation over the past few days:

Everybody Hates You…

…especially if you are famous or influential.  There have been a multitude of stories recently about the iPhone 4′s reception issues.  You can see a few of them here, here, here (this one’s from the WSJ), here, here, here, here, and here.  I don’t expect you to read each of those articles, so here’s a condensed version of the conversation going on:

Public:  ”The new iPhone 4 is here!”

Apple:  ”We knew you’d like it.”

Public:  ”We LOVE it.  It’s so sleek and updated and revolutio……wait, why isn’t it working?”

Apple:  ”What do you mean, it’s working fine.”

Public:  ”No it’s not, it keeps dropping calls and getting bad reception.”

Tech Guys:  ”We looked into it and it’s because of how the antennae is built.”

Public:  ”See?”

Apple:  ”You’re just holding it wrong.”

Public:  ”Holding it wro….what?  Fix it.”

Apple:  ”It’s not broken.”

Public:  ”It is so.”

Apple:  ”Nuh-uh.”

Public:  ”Uh-huh!”

And so on and so forth.

This post isn’t designed to shed new light on the iPhone 4 reception issue, rather I’d like to take a look at how quickly we are to judge and make sensationally scathing remarks about situations we may or may not be involved in.

We Love To Hate

Steve Jobs, LeBron James, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga (what, just me?), and countless other celebrities and mini-celebrities are hated on almost a daily basis.  It’s like we have a drive to lift someone up and place them on a pedestal only to try and knock them off and watch them fall (Anyone remember Britney Spears).

For the last few days I, along with many others, have been following an online dialogue about a consultant’s right to ask for money for a “can-I-just-pick-your-brain” lunch.  Disclaimer:  I am not a highly paid consultant, nor do I work for one, nor do I have close, personal relationships with anyone involved in the following discussion. If you are unaware of the discussion, you can catch up a little with these links.

• Original Post Response to Tweet
• Response to Response to Tweet
• Related Response To Conversation

And throughout the conversation, there were a myriad of tweets going back and forth about the whole thing which I do not have the space here to repost.  Let’s just put it like this:  people agreed with both sides.  Influencers all across the board from @Chrisbrogan to Peter Shankman (@skydiver) to Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) to Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder) and Christopher Penn (@cspenn) all pitched into the conversation referring to blog posts they have written on the same topic.

My opinion on the matter is irrelevant (I agree with the side of them that say their time is valuable b/c they have built themselves a business and a brand and you wouldn’t expect the same from a carpet cleaner or accountant), what was interesting was how the opinions were divided.  Most people who are established in the industry and are looked up to as influencers and social media celebrities saw no issue with charging for their time.  The other side of the coin was filled with people who are working in the field, but haven’t risen to the level of fame as the others.

We love to hate those on high.

I Want To Be Hated

Don’t lie, you do to.  We all strive for the level of success where people’s opinions of us don’t matter and people are jealous of what we’ve accomplished.  It’s the American Dream.  You just know there was some guy on the Mayflower that said to himself, “One day they’ll be sorry. One day we’ll show ALL those Englishmen how great we are.  Maybe we’ll even save them from Germany or something.”

There is good news though, if you have no desire to be famous and no drive to get there, you won’t.  You will always be in the place you are, but for the rest of us, we will strive to be loved (hated).  I read blogs every day and have a shelf of educational books I’ve read (and not read yet), and I engage in social media platforms because I want to be better.  I want to get to a place where people ask for my opinion and want to pick my brain over coffee constantly.  And I’ll tell you, when I get there, I probably won’t have a problem saying, “Of course, my rate is $____ per hour.”

If you are striving for success with me, I’m glad to have you on this journey.  Hopefully we can learn from each other along the way.

If you get there before me, I’ll be happy for you……and also secretly wish that you burn in hell.  But when you’re there, would you pick me up an iPhone 4?

What do you think?  Should there be a price for success?  What have you truly earned when you are in a place of influence?

Filed under: Blog Tagged: influence, iPhone 4, iPhone recall, Pick your brain, Steve Jobs ]]> http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/steve-jobs-is-the-devil/feed/ 4 throughanewlens steve_jobs love-hate-baby http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/im-the-new-stephen-king/ http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/im-the-new-stephen-king/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:07:06 +0000 Joey Strawn http://throughanewlens.wordpress.com/?p=469 Continue reading →]]> I found this writing analysis yesterday where you post a segment of your writing and it compares it to classical and modern writers to see whose style you most closely resemble. After I inserted a few blog posts, here was what my badge looked like:

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I have to tell you, I wasn’t displeased.

Stephen King just happens to be my favorite fiction author of all time (although Chuck Palahniuk is a close second) and I have read 96% of his writings at least once, most twice.  I credit his books The Stand, It, and Salem’s Lot for my love of the horror genre and I truly believe The Dark Tower series is the best series of books written by an American author in history (disagree if you want, I respect your right to be wrong).

The Sincerest Form of Flattery…

The  truth is that I never once sat down and said, “Joey, this blog post needs to sound more Stephen King-y”.  It just kind of happened because that’s what I surrounded myself with literature-wise for most of my life.  Whether you want it to or not, the things you surround yourself do and will rub off on you.  Whether it’s your speech patterns (y’all), your musical interests, sports interests, or writing habits, you are made up of thousands of memories that collect into the mosaic that is you, but here’s the kicker: that’s not a bad thing.

Where this can really come into play is with your ideas surrounding success and personal growth.  I had this conversation not two days ago with John Morgan (@johnmorgan) or BrandBreakout.com.  The people you surround yourself with and the constant intake of information regarding what is “possible” and “acceptable” in business sink in a great deal more than you might want to admit.

Möbius Strip Tease

At this point in the post we could go round and round about communication theories like Social Influence Theory and Cognitive Dissonance, but instead I’d like to keep it simple.  Peer pressure is real and you are affected by the people and things around you.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what are you going to do with this new-found knowledge?  As I see it, you have two options:

1. You can accept the fact the the people you surround yourself with play a factor in how you view the world and go out of your way to surround yourself with quality people. Or…
2. You can do nothing.  (This is only the wrong choice if you are NOT currently surrounding yourself with quality people.)

Change Your Lenses

Make an effort this week to surround yourself with 10 new people.  Make sure they are people who you consider successful and whose opinions could actually improve your life situation.  You could do that on Twitter (probably the easiest way with things like #FollowFriday), you cold use Google Blog Search or Digg to find articles from people you respect and start commenting on those blogs (check out my blogroll if you want some good places to start too).  This doesn’t have to be a losing battle and you don’t have to get rid of your old friends, just make room in your life to let in  some positive reinforcements.

All great strides in life involve sacrifice.  Make sure the strides you are making are with people going in the direction you seek.

But hey, you don’t have to listen to me, I’m only the new Stephen King.

What do you think?

P.S. – Stephen, if you happen to read this, thank you and keep up the great work.

“Why do I have them,” you may ask.  ”Why do I have so few,” some other of you may ask.  But the simple answer is that they each mean something to me.  I’m not going to go into the deep meanings of each of them, just to say that I am of the persuasion that if you are going to get something forever inked into your skin, it should have some special connection to you.  I will never be the guy who has a manatee on fire on his calf or a drunk penguin on his ribcage (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

I have them because I am passionate about what they mean to me.

What are you passionate about?  Better yet, what about you/your brand are your customers passionate about?  The best brands create an emotional connection between their customers and themselves.  They intertwine themselves into the lifestyles of their target markets.  How else would you have things like this:

Or my personal favorite….

These are brands that have literally woven themselves into the skin of their fans.  But how did they do it?

Let me suggest 3 ways to Ink yourself onto your consumers:

1. Create a Compelling Story – Everybody likes a good story.  People automatically relate to one or more persona within the setting.  Don’t simply exist in the ether waiting to be consumed, sit down and write out why you are what/who you are.  What are your goals?  Who are you fighting for?  What problem are you trying to rid the world of?  Make yourself something worth being a part of.
2. Practice What You Tweet – If I find your story compelling and then decide to interact with you, then you are…how do I put this…shitty, Stephen King cold craft your literary wiles and I wouldn’t be swayed.  If you say you have a great product and then you don’t, guess what, people will find that out.  If when I spoke, I had no knowledge of what I was talking about and instead showed slides from a visit to my Aunt Muriel’s, no one would ever have me speak again.  And word would spread, fast.  Make sure if you say something, that it’s true.
3. Engage, Engage, Engage – Alright, you got me.  I’m here and your product is up to snuff.  Now what?  Keep interacting with me.  Don’t let me forget what you do and why I keep coming back to you.  That’s why I try to do nice things for my wife for no reason at all, to remind her why I’m awesome and why she stays with me.  Brian Solis has a great book titled Engage (non-affiliate link) and he says it better than I ever could, so pick up that book and read it.  you’ll thank me.

This isn’t earth-shattering stuff, I know that, but I think it is stuff we tend to forget in our world of “the next best thing”.  If you craft a compelling story and then live up to the promises in that story you will bring the right people to you, then all you have to do is treat them like people and engage them.  Then, maybe next Mardi Gras, some drunk frat boy will yell out, “You know what brah, wouldn’t it be awesome if I got [insert your brand name here] tattooed on my back?”

Yes, that would be pretty awesome.

What do you think?

jS

[Roll Credits]

That’s how these things always end.  Sunday night, movie night with my wife.  She doodles in her sketch pads, I talk on Twitter and take part in #blogchat and all the while, a random movie plays in the background.  But every now and then, we watch a movie that is nearly impossible for me to ignore and George A. Romero‘s Day of the Dead (non-affiliate link) is one of those films.

Now, I’m talking about the 1985, gory & vulgar beyond belief version, not the 2008 re-make without the heart (no pun intended).  For whatever reason, I have to watch this movie whenever it’s on and since I was taking part in a Twitter chat about blogs at the same time, it’s only natural that I started to compare the two and I have created this list of Ten Ways Your Blog Can Be Like A Zombie Movie.  I’m not saying all blogs will fit all the categories, but these are habits (good and bad) that we can fall into and incorporate into what we write.  For your convenience, I’ve broken the list into two parts: the first is good Zombie habits (or Bubs) and the second is bad Zombie habits (or Zombies).  Let’s begin.

5 Blog Bubs

1. We Rely On Our Basest Instincts – A writer writes, that’s what we do.  Just like Zombies regress to their basest instincts in search of food (which just happens to be human flesh) as communicators it is our natural inclination to share what’s in our heads.  We want to be heard.  And isn’t that what any form of blog or social media initiative is in it’s basest form, a cry to be listened to?
2. Move Slow, But Pack A Punch – Zombies may walk slowly, but if they catch you, goodbye body parts.  That’s what we should aspire to as communicators.  You may not blog every day and you may not post a video each week on your site, but when you do, make sure it connects and floors the people you are chasing.
3. Go for the Brains – Zombie meal of choice?  Brains.  Marketer message destination?  Brains.  There’s a lot to be said about using sex to sell or fanning the smell of fresh bread to entice, but the truest connections will be made on a cerebral level.  If you can grab the hearts and minds of your audience, you have them for life (just don’t ingest them all at once).
4. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment – Any good Zombie movie has a scientist trying to figure out the best way to deal with the “Problem of the Undead” and will use them to experiment on.  We have multiple blank slates on which to experiment.  Use Twitter, Facebook, Slideshare, Youtube, blogs, Direct Mail, advertising, and a plethora of other tools to find out what will reach your targets more directly and effectively.
5. Shoot First, Ask Questions Later – You won’t notice a lot of Zombie films set before the 1400s, you know why?  No guns.  Any Zombie movie worth it’s salt has more guns per square foot than Ted Nugent’s basement.  In a Zombie attack, you shoot first and ask questions later.  In your blog, if you have an idea but it may be “too out there”, write it anyway, THEN ask questions when you see what kind of response it gets.  I’m betting your zombie post will have more life than you think.

5 Blog Zombies

1. Don’t Be A Zombie – You have to put your heart and soul into what you believe in or it will never come to life.  Don’t just stumble through your passions like a Zombie.  If you have no heart and no soul for what you are doing, then stop doing it because all you’re actually doing is eating the life out of everyone around you.
2. Conformity Is Not Superiority – Yes, Chris Brogan writes a good blog, so does Seth Godin and so does David Meerman Scott, but guess what, you aren’t them, so don’t write their blog.  If all you do is copy what has already been done, you might as well wander the streets aimlessly in search of other people’s brains.  Zombie #134 is not the star Undead-er in Day of the Dead, Bub is because he is different.  Be Bub.
3. Too Much Power Can Be A Bad Thing – You can almost always pick out which humans are about to be Zombie-fodder in any Romero movie and the easiest ones to pick out are those that want too much control.  The villain in most Zombie flicks isn’t the horde of impending undead, it’s the self-established “leader” with too much greed and not enough sense.  Don’t be that guy (or girl).  Control what needs to be controlled and let the rest go.  And definitely don’t let the power go to your head (it might just get ripped off).
4. Too Many Restraints – Shackles, chains, gates, handcuffs.  Zombie movies are full of restraints and ways of keeping people and Zombies trapped where they are.  We also tend to put restraints on ourselves when it comes to social media.  ”Twitter’s not for that.”  ”You can’t do that on Facebook.”  ”Don’t write your blog about that AND that, no one will read it.”  The glory of social media is that there really are no rules.  Feel free to run wild and see who follows you there.
5. Zombies Are Dead – Don’t let your blog (or Inbound Marketing strategy) simply be the walking dead, stumbling around with no life.  Zombies are on autopilot; you shouldn’t be.  You may be acting on your basest instincts, but make sure you aren’t just going through the motions.  If your blog is dead, kill it.  It’s your job to find life and hold on to it.

There you go, 10 ways your blog can be like a Zombie movie.  Please post in the comments if you have any additions, I’d love your ideas/thoughts/comments.  Don’t just be the Reading Dead, show your life.

What do you think?

[Fade to Black]

[Roll Credits]

jS