Category Archives: Blogging
The Five Star 5 – Just Go “Google” Yourself!
Remember way way back in the 1990’s if somebody wanted to find out what you were all about, they either had to ask somebody that knew you, or ask you directly?
Well this internet thing has been a real game changer for researching people quickly!
I hop on Google several times a month to see what shows up for my name, and the name of my blog.
What I look for is:
- What shows up on the first page (and what may have dropped off)
- What new search results are showing up
- What new “shares” of my content are showing up; where I owe somebody a thank you
- Is there anything negative being that I should look in to
- It’s just really fun to scroll through lots of pages of results as I reflect on my online journey!
Bonus – some people have very common names, so it is a good idea to see where your content may be getting confused with somebody elses’
Your brand can become very powerful, and what shows up on web searches can help big time by providing people with the opportunity to get to know you very quickly.
If what shows up online is all positive, then you are good to go! If you are seeing a lot of negativity, probably time to review your branding strategies and assess some changes for the future.
- When is the last time you “Googled” yourself?
- Were you surprised with some of the search results (good or bad)?
- Are you going to pay more attention to your online search results in the future?
The tools are there to take your game to the next level. You might as well embrace them and build as strong a personal brand possible!
Help – I Can’t Find You :-(
I spend a lot of time researching websites and social media profiles to see who is doing a FANTASTIC job providing awesome exposure for their brands.
Unfortunately, not everyone is rockin’ it in this area, and I want to make sure that this critical social media strategy is not overlooked going forward.
One area that really stands out for me is the ease that I can find social media “connect” buttons on a website or blog. I find that my eyes often focus on the top of the page, and many key people that I follow put them there, or somewhere on the first page of content. On the flip side, many people bury their social media connect buttons deep in to their website, and I have to go digging to find them. If I really like what they are doing, I will dig, but typically not – it is much to time-consuming.
What I am going stress next may seem obvious, kind of “Intro To Social Media”, but humour me for a minute.
The more opportunities that you give people to connect with you, the greater the change that they actually will! People tend to be too busy, many are looking for the shortcut, and want the easiest ways to connect possible. So why not give them many opportunities to do so?
Here are some places that I make sure that I promote other places that people can connect with me:
Twitter Profile – Insert a link in the space provided under the tag line where you would like people to land and discover more about you. Perhaps your website, blog or even a Facebook Fan page.
LinkedIn Profile – There is a place on the template to include other social media profile links (and links to websites & blogs).
Facebook Fan Page Profile – Under the “About Page”, there are fields to include an email address, other accounts (which includes Twitter), and websites.
YouTube/Google+ Profile – Under the “About Page”, there is a “Links” section. You can add social media and website info there.
Pintrest Profile – There is a place to put your website link, but you can choose another social media link if you don’t have a website or blog
LinkedIn “Thanks For Connecting Note” – Every person that I connect with gets a “Thanks For Connecting” note. I always ask people where else I can connect with them, and provide the links to where they can connect with me. A shout out to Paul Castain for drilling this in to my head early in my online journey! You can check out Paul’s incredible work at http://yoursalesplaybook.com/
At The End Of Blog Posts – This is a great place to remind people where else they can connect with you, and give an email address and/or phone number if they have questions, or heck maybe even hire you 🙂
On An Email Signature – I don’t recommend listing 8 places that they can connect with you after your name. That would be a little hard on the eyes. But list a couple of places, and change it up periodically; maybe once per month?
On Social Media Channels – Sounds kind of obvious, but you can Tweet “Hey stop by my website”, or post on Facebook how to connect with you on Twitter. You get the idea.
Post Other Ways To Connect On LinkedIn Groups – Some LinkedIn Groups have discussions that allow you to post links to specific social media profiles. If you want to know which groups I am a member of, shoot me an email at TimMushey@gmail.com
Please note – I have not taken the plunge yet on Instagram, Snapchat or other social media sites that the cool kids are on. But I am sure that there are similar features which allow you to include social media & website links (and potentially email addresses).
If you have any questions about improving your link coverage & website/blog visibility, please email me at TimMushey@gmail.com
Or reach out through the following social media channels:
Twitter
https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
(don’t forget to “like” to stay connected)
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/timmushey
Google+
https://plus.google.com/+TimMushey/posts
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/TimMushey
Good luck getting your content out there, and remember never pass up on an opportunity to tell people all the places that they can find you.
The Road “Accidentally Travelled”
On the way home from our family vacation this summer, I turned on to a highway that I taken at least 5 times over the past 10 years. Or so I thought 😦
Shortly after I passed through the first town, something did not seem right. The road seemed more narrow, and we were travelling through more small towns, at lower speeds. Finally after about 45 minutes, I said to my wife, “check out where we are on maps.com”.
Sure enough, I had taken a wrong turn, and we were going in a totally different direction. I was disappointed in myself. I had delayed the arrival at our hotel and “pool time” with our kids before bed. From that moment on for the next hour or so, I tried to speed a bit to make up time. Travelling with a seven and one year old, I wanted to get them out of the vehicle and playing as soon as possible.
Then my wife told me just to relax and enjoy the journey, it was no big deal. We would get there when we get there.
From there on, the rest of the ride was fun. We saw some towns we had never seen before, had supper at a “classic” diner, and even saw Santa Claus – yes Santa Claus in August! We passed through a small town that had a large statue of Santa right on their main street. The kids really loved getting pictures with him in the middle of summer. The sunset was gorgeous, and my wife took some fantastic pictures to help remember our extended travel day.
What I took away from this is things don’t always go as initially planned, but you have to embrace the “turns and twists” in the road. When I first got online four years ago, I thought I had to know exactly where I would be going before I launched a first blog and website. I have come to terms with when I launch something new, it may look totally different six months or a year from now, but I just have to get started. Putting myself out there will be the key to success, not trying to perfect something ahead of time in my head that is unproven.
- Have things not gone according to your exact plan online?
- How have you adapted to the changes that have come your way?
- How did your feel initially, and how do you feel now about the “online path” you are on?
If you feel “stuck” or are having trouble with any aspect of your online business, I am here to help.
Heck if you need a “gentle nudge” just to get started please let me know.
I have probably had many of the same feelings and experiences that you are having now.
Feel free to email me at: TimMushey@gmail.com
Or reach out via social media at:
- LinkedIn http://ca.linkedin.com/in/timmushey
- Twitter https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Is It Time To See “The Other Side Of The Fence?”
I looked at many notebooks of my writing one day and …
Thought nobody would care what I had to say
Did not feel confident in my abilities
Was apprehensive and nervous
Realized nobody else I knew was doing this
Did not feel I was creative enough
Something inside of me finally clicked and I took action!
I started a blog
I was still scared
What if nobody viewed it?
What if I did not make any new connections?
What if I faded away in to “Google anonymity”?
To my surprise, posts …
Were viewed
Attained “likes”
Lead to followers
Were shared via social media
Acquired comments
But you have to …
Commit to do the work
Put yourself out there
Engage your community
Care
Show up regularly
The game changer for me occurred early on after I received a personal email from a reader.
It was simple and to the point, but it meant so much.
“Thanks for the post Tim. It really resonated with me. Keep up the great work!”
Validation!
If you are on the fence, I understand (more than you know). Been there done that! Why not jump over? You might like what you find on the other side 🙂
- How has your writing experience been?
- Better than expected?
- More struggles than you bargained for?
Would love if you shared your thoughts in the comments section!
Ask A Question, Get AWESOME Answers!
When people are blogging, creating products and generally sharing cool stuff with the world, there is a natural tendency to just broadcast, broadcast broadcast!
They have so much to share, get excited and just keep putting it out there in the hopes that something they do will be the next big thing 🙂
The reality is there are probably many other people doing similar things, and that is ok.
Do you want a great differentiation strategy to stand out in an incredibly crowded online marketing space?
Ask your audience a QUESTION!
Seriously.
Just ask them.
You might love the responses.
It could be as simple as:
- What topics would you like me to publish content on next?
- What are you struggling with now?
- A specific question to your niche that you would like to research
Five ways to ask a question are:
- Through a LinkedIn group – Join a group, post a question and engage with the people who comment. I LOVE this strategy!
- On a Facebook Fan Page (or personal page) – Use a great picture with your post to draw them in. People tend to respond better with multiple choice questions on this platform
- On Twitter – Utilize hashtags to extend the reach beyond your followers
- Through a blog post – If you already have an audience, go a little deeper with them.
- Through your email list (if you have one) – If your list is HUGE (not a bad problem to have) you could select a smaller group of people, personalize the emails, and make them feel special. If your list is smaller, then you could email all of them the question. IMPORTANT – if your autoresponder system (automated email system) does not allow subscribers to reply directly to an email you send out, change the settings. This has become a big deal, and the ability for people to just hit reply greatly increases the chances that they will respond.
I have learned so much from my audience by posing questions, and am looking forward to posing many more in the future. Like anything else, it takes work, but I would rather ask these critical questions than just thinking I have it all figured out.
If you have any questions related to this topic or anything else content marketing/branding/social networking related, please reach out through a comment or on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.
As always you can email me at:
TimMushey@gmail.com
Not following me on Facebook? Swing by when you have a sec:
https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
Have a FANTASTIC day!
40,000 Blog Views THANK YOU!
Good Day Everyone!
When I started to write more than four years ago now, I had no idea where this journey was going to take me. I was just hoping that somebody other than close friends and family would take the time to read what I had to say at some point.
Through some incredible people who I follow like Pat Flynn from “Smart Passive Income” and John Lee Dumas from “Entrepreneur On Fire” I have learned about the power of sharing results of online businesses. Now these fine gentlemen have fully operational business that they make very good income at. I am not there at, but I have been very proud to share some key milestone moments along the way with my readers.
None of this has been done to brag, or pump out my chest to proclaim that I am superman or something.
I just want to inspire anyone who is struggling to get an online business going, start a blog, or even write their first article. Maybe you are stuck a bit (like I was recently) and are attempting to take things to the next level!
- You can do this.
- Your opinion matters.
- We all have good days and bad, but the good WILL outweigh the bad.
You just gotta keep moving forward.
I still remember the day that I first grabbed a pen and notebook and started to write my thoughts a few months after I lost a job in early 2010. I was early for a sales call at my new role and something sparked creativity inside of me and I started to make notes about a few business ideas I had.
I am so happy that I kept writing, and ultimately gave myself the opportunity to have my message heard.
I am working on my first website so we can “keep this party going” for many more years to come.
- Where are you at with your business?
- Things going as planned?
- Need a little reminder of how awesome you are, or need a little “nudge” to move things forward?
As always, feel free to leave a comment, or shoot me an email at TimMushey@gmail.com
Would love to hear from ya!
You can also swing by my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed and leave a comment there too!
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and being part of my incredible community 🙂
The Five Star 5 -Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!
Coming up with fresh, entertaining and captivating blog content on a regular basis can be tough. I am kind of lucky, in that my brain is always “on” and ideas continually flow!
But I still need to look for more inspiration, and came up with the three fantastic articles that have inspired me to keep evolving my content!
From “Copy Blogger” http://bit.ly/1cpJWdq
From “Start Blogging Online” http://bit.ly/1hLJ4Xg
From “ProBlogger” http://bit.ly/1bl3kfN
Here are a few things that help me gather information and create content.
- Always have a pen and notebook within arm’s reach. Do this electronically if you like, and NEVER assume that you will remember something later without documenting it!
- Create an “Inspiration File”. Archive articles or other content that has peaked your curiosity to refer back to later.
- Be aware of things around you. Great ideas can come from the radio, TV, people you socialize with, or observing others.
- Review old content or notes. A slightly different twist can bring new life to information.
- No idea is silly or crazy! No matter how out of left field something may seem at the time, you never know what might come of it!
Keep creating, be open to all possibilities with your writing, and HAVE FUN 🙂
The 3 “C’s” and My Blog Turns 2 Today!
My blog turns 2 today! Thank you for all the support. It means the world to me that you would take interest in what I am doing!
35,000 page views and 750 followers truly blows me away! The cool part is I am just getting started.
To stay focused on my blog and its intentions, I always refer back to the 3 “C’s”:
- CREATE fantastic content
- CONNECT with amazing people
- CARE about your audience (and they will come back for more!)
My wife took time out of her busy schedule last night to choose the picture for this post. I love it!
Thanks again! I am looking forward to creating content for many more years to come.
Let’s connect!
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
• Twitter https://twitter.com/TimMushey73
• LinkedIn http://ca.linkedin.com/in/timmushey
• Google+ https://plus.google.com/+TimMushey/posts
• YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/TimMushey
2013 Year In Review – Sell Lead Succeed Blog!
WordPress has a very cool feature that sends a “Year In Review” summary of all the activity on my blog.
I have always been open about how things have gone with my blog and social media presence, so this is a FANTASTIC opportunity to share my results with you.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at TimMushey@gmail.com
Have an incredible week, and thanks for making 2013 a very memorable year!
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 