“If you’re not doing something different, you’re not doing anything at all.” — Sam Phillips
10 Ideas Worth Sharing This Week
Think You Can’t Do Something? Read This.
This isn’t a pep talk.
You want to do something in your life, but convinced yourself you can’t for one (or more) of these reasons:
You’re scared. You’re worried. You’re insecure. You’re clueless.
But you’re wrong.
You don’t need a pep talk to overcome these issues, you need the truth about your excuses.
10 Ideas Worth Sharing This Week
“You can be passionate about anything.” — Jerry Seinfeld
50 Benefits Of Forcing Yourself To Think Of 50 Ideas
I dare you to come up with 50 ideas.
Think about a problem you want to solve, an issue you hope to overcome, or a message you want to convey and write down 50 ideas of how you can do so.
When you commit to generating 50 ideas for something, here’s what happens:
10 Ideas Worth Sharing This Week
This week’s ideas include everything from how Bruce Lee can increase your willpower, to how to become a better negotiator, to how clickbait can make you healthier.
Let’s do it…
10 Ideas Worth Sharing This Week
“If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re doing it wrong.” — Casey Neistat
Don’t Know What You Want? Take Two Minutes To Read This.
Life’s full of questions, but only one you have to answer.
10 Ideas Worth Sharing This Week
“Luck is created by the prepared.” — James Altucher
How You Answer These 4 Questions Determines Your Social Media Success
If you ask me for social media strategy advice, I’ll ask you four simple questions.
And they’ll have nothing to do with social platforms.
Because the clarity of your goals, audience, and value are a bigger determinant of social media success than any follower, engagement, or algorithm strategies.
Your answers to these questions form the foundation of a meaningful social media strategy.
1. What do you want to accomplish?
Forget social media. What’s your actual goal?
To sell a product? Create an opportunity? Build a movement?
Your answer to this question reveals your success metric.
Success is based on the accomplishment of your goal and that goal is always bigger than social media.
It’s not a follower count. Not engagement. Not views. Those are a means to an end.
Don’t let social media stats distract you from your actual goal and don’t be fooled by the hype of social media metrics.
Social media is a tool you use to accomplish a goal. If the goal isn’t achieved, there is no social media success.
2. Who do you need to reach to accomplish your goal?
Who will buy your product? Who can grant the opportunities you seek? Who will join your movement?
Your answer to this question reveals your target audience.
These are the only people that matter. The ones you need to reach. The masses are meaningless.
Your social strategy needs to reach them where they live.
Focus your efforts on the platforms they like, not the ones you like.
3. What’s unique about you?
Why should someone choose your product over the competition? What separates you from the crowd? Why support your movement ?
Your answer to this question reveals your content strategy.
Play up what’s unique about you. Don’t post anything similar to what your competition does.
Provide more value to your followers than you do for yourself in your posts.
Never forget: It’s easy for people to unfollow you. Treat every post as an audition.
4. If I could guarantee your product or content would be seen by any 500 non-famous people in the world right now, who would you choose?
Are they young or old? Married or single? Rich or poor?
Are they college-educated? Where do they work? What do they read, watch or listen to?
Who do they love? What do they hate? How do they spend their time?
If your answer to this question doesn’t match your answer to Question #2, your strategy will fail.
This question was a test – did you pass?
If you didn’t choose people who match your target audience, then you’re already off track.
If you did and your answers match, then go find where those people are on social media and establish yourself there.
Provide them with compelling, valuable content that reflects what’s unique about you and leads them to take the action you need to accomplish your goal.
If you do, your social media strategy will succeed.
The Two Minutes It Takes To Read This Will Improve Your Writing Forever
You’re busy, so I’ll keep this quick.
Following are the simplest tips I can give you to easily — and forever — improve the quality of your writing.
Delete the word “that.”
At least 90% of the times you use the word “that” can be removed from your writing and it will instantly make your sentence stronger.
Example: “You believe that I’m lying, but I’m not.” becomes “You believe I’m lying, but I’m not.”
Delete the words “I think.”
It adds nothing. Remove it to strengthen your point.
Example: “I think this is a good sentence.” becomes “This is a good sentence.”
Avoid words that end in “-ing.”
In most cases, the “-ing” softens your word and adds no value. Your writing will read better if you avoid it.
Example: “The experiences we’re seeking end up being underwhelming and even disappointing.” becomes “The experiences we seek often underwhelm and disappoint.”
Short sentences. Short paragraphs.
Most sentences can be cut in half. Don’t be afraid to have a two or three word sentence.
Keep paragraphs to less than three sentences.
White space is your reader’s friend.
Shrink your opening sentence.
Make it compelling, but keep it short and conversational.
Example: “This is a post that’s going to help you become a better writer.” becomes “I can help you.”
For more writing advice check out How To Become A Better Writer and subscribe to my newsletter below.