BlogAsReligion

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-09

Baz — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:00:00 +0000

New at BlogAsReligion: Overview of the BAR Master Mind Map #

Overview of the BAR Master Mind Map

Baz — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Just what maketh a blog religion?

In short, a lot of things. Just download your copy of the Master Mind Map (MMP) and you’ll see.

At first glance, the MMP is a bit overwhelming. After all, there are a quite a few blips connected by just as many line segments.

Like Eating an Elephant

Remember the old joke, “How do you eat an elephant?” Understanding the MMP isn’t really all that complicated when you look at it ‘one bite at a time.’

The 5 Not So Secret Ingredients of a Blog Religion.

Before we get into the overview, lets review some basic information about Blog Religions. Let’s recall what a Blog Religion is…

As I wrote in this post, blog religions have five elements that distinguish them from every other website. They include:

An engaging leader
A core philosophy that attracts attention
Loyal followers
A meeting place
A sense of community

Let’s add a sixth element: Evangelists!

Evangelists include those that can’t get enough of what you write, produce, exude from every pore of your blog. And, more importantly, they spread the gospel according to you!

Furthermore, a blog religion is a blog constructed according to a precise plan or blueprint. The blueprint differs from that of most business websites and blogs, most of which are built on the store model. A store model blog has items for sale, sales copy, a way to make your purchase, and all the rest of the things you’d expect from a store. Think Levenger.com, one of my favorite store websites.

Contrasting the store model with a site like Harley-Davidson.com. As we all know, Harley riders wouldn’t ride anything else. They also aren’t shy about telling everyone they meet why they ride a Harley. Why do they do this?

Total and unabashed loyalty. Like Harley-Davidson, your bog religions can inspire loyal followers and zealous evangelists.

The View from 10,000 Feet

I recently flew back to San Jose, California from a trip to Anchorage, Alaska. On the decent into the Bay Area, we flew over the city of San Francisco, one of my favorite cities. Having lived there a number of years ago (not to mention being die-hard Giants fans), I’m in the city often.

What struck me as we flew over and I looked down on my old familiar haunts was the completeness of the view of the entire city from this altitude. I know San Francisco well and can get anywhere without consulting a map. But on this day, I was scoping out the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and the Embarcadero as if seeing it for the first time.

Lesson: The view from 10,000 feet is the best way to find your way around.

So let’s look at the MMP from 10,ooo feet. After all, it’s the best way to become familiar with what I’ll be teaching you in the next several posts.

The first thing you notice about the MMP is the color-coded sections.

There is the central theme of the MMP, Blog Religion, in BLUE.
Going clockwise, the GREEN section is first and it is concerned with how to monetize your blog.
The RED section talks bout who is reading your blog, where and how to find them.
The YELLOW section, though smaller than the rest, is vitally important. It’s about what you can’t and shouldn’t do with your blog religion.
The ORANGE section is concerned with your purpose; the sole reason your blog religion exists.

The MMP really boils down to the four colors we just mentioned. Each color designate a vital area of your blog religion. Each are important and need continual attention. (Hey, nobody said this was for the lazy!)

Where To Now?

I envision at least 10 posts that need to be written to introduce the rest of the elements on the MMP. I hope you’ll be along for the ride.

FUTURE POSTS IN THIS SERIES:

Purpose: The One Thing & Why It’s Vital to Your Success
The Three-Pronged Approach to Monetizing Your Blog Religion
- Consulting: A Necessary Evil
- Training: Now We’re Getting Somewhere
- Leverage: The Ultimate Monetization Plan
The Primacy of Audience
- Yes, Your Readers are ‘Psychotic Democrats!’
- Finding Your Fishin’ Holes
- Stocking the Fishin’ Holes with Social Media
Limitations: What They Are & the Lesson They Teach

If you like this post, please tell your other blogger friends by retweeting this post using the logo below. The more the merrier!

Baz Brief #16: 10 Tips from Bloggers Like You

Baz — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:34:50 +0000

Today’s Brief: ‘Ten Blog Tips from Bloggers Like You’

If you’re a member of Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger.com Community, you’ll already be aware of this.

A few weeks ago Darren issued a challenge for bloggers to create and forward a blogging tip they feel has been useful to their development as a blogger.

What followed is this first post.

Then the second.

Check out the short video posts.

You might learn something you can use on your blog today.

Get the ‘Blog As Religion’ Master Mind Map – Free!

Baz — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:19:37 +0000

Mind maps are just cool.

As Michael Martine over at Remarkablogger suggests,

It’s the fastest way I know of to “splat” out ideas and see them whole (and how each topic relates to others). “

I’ve used mind maps for years.

I’ve used them for planning blog content, outlining goals, and even designing a vacation. I’ve even given talks and lectures using only a mind map sketched out on an index card.

The use of mind maps are endless. But I find them most useful these days for planning.

There’s something very satisfying about seeing a plan as a mind map. As Michael mentions, it allows you to see how all your component parts fit together in a larger context. It can provide you simultaneously with the Big Picture as well as the Small.

The Blog As Religion Master Mind Map

Today, I begin giving away the BAR Master Mind Map to demonstrate how planning your blog’s structure and strategy can be combined into one document, thereby making it easier to grasp where your blog is today and where you might be going next.

This tool demonstrates both the strategy and structure required to build a Blog Religion.

I’ll be writing more about both in future posts, but for now why not get your copy and begin playing with your own Master Mind Map for your blog!

How To Obtain Your Full-Sized Copy

There are two ways to get your copy of the BAR Master Mind Map.

If you’re not a subscriber, simply fill out the form you see on the right with your name and email address and I’ll send you a couple of free gifts including this mind map.
If you’re already a subbie, look for a link to the mind map in the next few days via email newsletter.

Either way, you win.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-28

Baz — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Need Evangelists for Your Blog? http://blogasreligion.com/2010/03/the-3-step-process-for-inspiring-an-evangelist/ #

The 3 Step Process for Inspiring an Evangelist

Baz — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:00:26 +0000

She ran up to me on the crowded Manhattan street corner, took my hand and pressed it to her heart and said…

I’d follow you to the ends of the earth.

Then I woke up.

Yes, Catherine Zeta-Jones was only a passing dream, but it got me thinking…

What does it take to get someone to follow you online?

Then it hit me.

As suddenly as Catherine Zeta-Jones vanished from my REM cycle, I knew the formula for getting people to follow you online and rapidly become an enthusiastic evangelist for your cause!

And it’s as old as the Internet itself…and referred to by some as Attversumption.

Step 1: Attraction

That’s right. You’ve got to be attractive.

No, not Catherine Zeta-Jones attractive, but content attractive. Your content has to draw readers into your blog. And by content, I mean everything from blog design and blog theme to creative headlines and the scanable nature of your posts.

Attraction involves the visual component of your blog but also your personality. How you present yourself online goes a long way toward pulling people into your message.

Yes, message is also important.

You’ve got to have a compelling message that hooks your readers. And that’s the element in…

Step 2: Conversion

Your message can’t be something that everybody and their sister is talking about. It’s got to be unique in some way. Beyond uniqueness, a reader’s conversion to your message, your way of thinking about things, has to have what I call a Get-Me Factor.

What’s a Get-Me Factor? It’s that heart-felt realization we experience when we make a solid connection with a concept, a person, or an emotion. The Get-Me Factor isn’t something you can predict. Everyone’s different and everyone has different Get-Me Factors that work for them.

But once they experience the Get-Me Factor, their hooked! And then they take the third step….

Step 3: Consumption

Consumption is the third step your reader must take to become your enthusiastic follower. Consumption occurs when there is an exchange between you and your reader.

Don’t you mean a monetary exchange? No. The exchange doesn’t have to be a sale. The exchange can be a reader’s decision to follow you on Twitter, subscribe to your email newsletter, or your RSS feed.

If you sell your own products or consulting services, then the exchange may occur there as well. But really, consumption involves the reader/customer taking action.

Summing Up

It doesn’t take a miracle to inspire people to follow you. If you’ve got a positive message and an engaging way of sharing it, that’s half the battle. Putting it into the proper structure is the other half.

Sure, it takes time, dedication, and some sweat. But that’s life. Taking the time to work on attraction, conversion, and consumption are the first steps any blogger should take to inspire more evangelists.

What do you think?

Why not post a comment below and tell me if you think I’m on track or off.

Mark and Andy -
This email is not meant to be antagonistic. I do have some strong feelings to convey and, as you can each understand, the fluid nature of our positions within the company these days -and the lack of clarity around them coming from management- is a melting pot for such feelings. I’d not be able to say this in person, so this email is a way of getting it out and on the table. I hope we can talk about it tomorrow or sometime soon without a flurry of email exchanges.

I heard from Mary that Corinne to being looked at to become the Manager of the proposal team. I want to go on record as opposing this idea.

If we want to improve the proposal team, we need someone of Karen Reynolds’ professional stature. I know her salary demand was more than Granite could ever justify, however Corinne isn’t the answer. To that point, I’m no longer sure of the question. I don’t see what Corrine can bring to Watsonville other than a complete lack of experience with the Groups that Mary and I have spent two years cultivating relationships with; the Groups who already know how we work and with whom we’ve established a high degree of trust.

This move may not be your idea at all. If that’s the case, just listen to what I have to say and maybe it can help educate someone else down the road.

Here’s how I see things…pardon the baseball metaphor, but I think it works.

We want the proposal team to be better managed and motivated so as to perform at a higher level on a consistent basis. To do this, you’ll need to play hardball. That means doing one of two things. 1) Empower your ‘existing proposal managers’ to manage the proposal process or, 2) Hire a Big League Manager.

If you’re considering the latter, don’t bring in a Coach from the farm team if you want your existing players to remain productive.

A Big League Manager inspires their players in several ways.

1. They have experience. They’ve played the game; they’ve won the big ones and lost them too. They know the game from every level having been there. They understand the nature of each position on the field and make decisions accordingly.

2. They manage through coaching and encouragement and through team building, not from their higher box on the Org Chart or from their higher pay grade. (Interestingly enough, in baseball, the players often make way more than the managers.) Like in baseball, a proposal team wins because they’re a team, not because of who the manager is. Unless the manager is capable of pooling resources and talent, the Team won’t win.

3. They have their Team’s back. A solid team knows that their Manager will support them to management in a heartbeat. The Manager won’t downplay the Team’s ability or make excuses. They jump and help. They find training resources; they do what they can to improve each player’s ability to perform.They also work just as hard as the players.

Here are your existing players:

Mary – a seasoned proposal manager who understands how to run the show. She builds consensus and works well with outside firms and inside employees. Even though her title is Proposal Writer (a complete misnomer) she’s a Proposal Manager. She’s very skilled in marketing, design and layout of materials, and has good instincts when it comes to seeing what an owner is really saying through the convoluted language of the RFP. She’s been a team Manager before and I’d work for Mary in a heartbeat. In many ways, I already do…by taking her advice and learning from her example. She’s not someone Granite should risk losing. I fear that is closer than you may realize.

Barry – a writer with experience in running profitable business units before his life with Granite. You’ve probably never even seen my resume, but I ran several independent educational business units with great success. The last had a team of 50 people reporting to me. I turned around the business unit that was profitable by $400K in one fiscal year to being profitable by $1.2 million in the 12 months after I took over. How? By managing like a Big League Manager (see above). Where Mary is the visionary with insight, I’m the organizational overseer. I managed to take the vacuum left after Doug died and turn it into a functioning proposal group. I’ve been here since the beginning of this effort.

I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone that I’ve worked with some awful managers here at Granite and suffered when the company looked the other way. I’ve won more work for this company than Doug Salem did. At this point, I do not want to see what is working now sacrificed for the sake of someone new who already has the title ‘Manager’ already in place, i.e., Corinne. Also, remember that the last Proposal Manager the Central region hired didn’t work out too well.

My point is this: You’ve got a very talented Team already in place to assist Groups 2 and 3. Neither Mary (I don’t believe) or I (for certain) are willing to move to another location. If that proves to be our undoing based on how the org chart fleshes out, there is nothing we can do and my points are moot. But we both have proven management experience and are already embedded with Groups 2 and 3. Bringing in someone to manage and grow the team you already have, if that’s the goal, will take someone of higher caliber than who you might be considering. Simply filling an open position on an org chart isn’t going to make things better nor improve our win rate. Someone, somewhere should be thinking about this.

Finally, any good manager knows the group development cycle: Groups go through four generally accepted cycles before they coalesce into a high performance team. Forming, Storming, Norming, and finally Performing. The LPG was just getting through Norming and poised to begin their final phase of high performance when the reorg was announced essentially destroying the team and halting the process of development. I’d hate to see the same thing happen to the Proposal Team. It may already have and my insight might be limited due to to not knowing what’s being decided behind closed doors. If that’s the case, disregard the above.

Open to talk at your convenience,
Barry

Special Limited Discount Offer on ‘Becoming Irresistible!’

Baz — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:21:02 +0000

My friend Lyle T. Lachmuth over at TheUnstickingCoach.com is holding a writer’s conference at sea and I’ve been asked to be on the faculty.

Break Free & WRITE should be a hoot!

I can’t think a better way to get the creative juices flowing than to spend 7 fun-packed days on a cruise ship in the Eastern Caribbean!

In support of this, I’m offering my eBook version of Becoming Irresistible: How To Pack Your Copywriting Business With Five New Clients Every Month to seminar attendees at the rock bottom price of just $18.

So why limit this great, one-time limited-offer to those folk and not my own peeps? Good question!

The short answer is that I’ve just reduced the eBook price by 40% and now BAR folks can take advantage of this Special Discount offer as well.

But you should hurry as it won’t last very long!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-17

Baz — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:00:00 +0000

New at BlogAsReligion: Twitter – The Conundrum of Year #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-10

Baz — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Tribal Author – Spot On Book Marketing Advice http://blogasreligion.com/2010/01/tribal-author-spot-on-book-marketing-advice/ #

Twitter – The Conundrum of Year

Baz — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:28:37 +0000

What good are 10,000 followers if they’re not your target market?

From the beginning, I’ve had my doubts abut Twitter. No matter how I looked at it, the Twitter promise seemed false.

The promise, as I see it, is this: Increased exposure with minimal* effort.

*Minimal effort is a term with many meanings in Twitterland. Services abound that allow you to automatically follow, unfollow, automatically post to your Twitter account, all with seemingly minimal effort.

It seems like a no-brainer. I quickly learned that it can be a huge time suck and can take over your life if you allow it a place of primacy in your business life.

So I dumped it.

I rarely tweet at all. I have my WordPress blogs automatically tweet an update to the blog with each post, but beyond that I guess you could say I’m dormant.

And Still, My Twitter Following Grows

This is what really puzzles me about Twitter. I can not tweet at all and still attract followers.

Who in their right mind would follow someone they don’t know and don’t read? I’ve stopped following anyone because it seems like a false vote of confidence for whatever they’re doing.

Your Twitter Experience

What about you? Do you have a different take on Twitter? If so please leave a comment (preferably in more than 140 characters).