MARK DAVIDSON.org

Our Mental Attitude Carries Through Our Written Word

Mark Davidson — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:34:36 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Well, I keep blogging wrong. The key is to keep at it until you get good at communicating your thoughts and ideas or you give up. One of the two.

On my way to the office this morning, I decided to ask an old friend of mine what he thought of my latest blog post. He’s a professional writer and is an Admin for Fark.com. I called him from my iPhone while driving.

“Can you do me a favor and tell me how bad last night’s blog post was?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, man.”

“If you are going to go off and use profanity, you should just use profanity. Don’t block out the words. People like a good train wreck. They want to see it.”

“Yeah. I really can’t use profanity. It’s too polarizing and people get the picture anyway.”

“You know, when I’m reading blogs, I only read for two reasons. One, if they are entertaining and two, if they are informative. Your blog post is neither. It was another blog post about nothing.”

“Yeah I know. I tried to save it at the end by pointing out what I should have done instead.”

“Yeah. You should have put the valuable information at the top and not make people have to read through all that other stuff first. I get it. You can do whatever you want. Why should anybody care? Besides it seems like you made the same blog post, two posts in a row.”

You know what? My buddy of twenty years is absolutely correct. I’ve found that people will only care about me if I care about them first. When we write for ourselves, write lengthy self-absorbed diatribes or rants and don’t recognize that people who don’t know us won’t care what random thoughts are floating through our heads, we’ll lose our readers in less than two paragraphs. (I’m being generous there.) Our blogs posts need to have personal relevance to our readers. They either need to see a part of themselves in our stories and relate to us or we have to write something that is meaningful to them. Don’t waste your reader’s time. They are just one click away from bouncing off our blogs at any time.

The first paragraph should hook the reader. Give people a reason to read further. Creating compelling content that grabs the reader’s interest in the first paragraph is critical. We have to give people a reason to keep coming back to our blog to read future posts. This is how we build our audience. Make your blog posts meaningful to your readers. Spark an idea, be a catalyst for conversation, provoke an emotional response or help to solve a problem. This is what creates value for our readers.

After I hung up the phone with my friend, I thought about what I would write this evening. I formulated a logical and structured plan in my head. Unfortunately, I just got home after working a 15 hour day. That plan seems to have gone out the window. It’s tough to work a long day, come home and write a thoughtful blog post. Blogging regularly requires commitment and endurance.

To capture and maintain attention, we really can’t write for ourselves. Good writing is focused on the reader. We have to write for our audience. Human beings who don’t know us will be reading our written word. To get people interested in us, we have to be interested in them first. We have to give people a reason to care.

Our mental attitude carries through our written word. Our written voice is wrapped around our internal thoughts, so when we write about ourselves for ourselves or out of ego, that’s the unwritten subtext that we are communicating and there’s no hiding it.

Write for your audience.

Or write for yourself and understand why your blog stats aren’t increasing over time. It’s a personal choice.

Take Aways From This Blog Post

Most people will be interested in blog posts that are either entertaining or informative
Spark an idea, be a catalyst for conversation, provoke an emotional response or help to solve a problem
Your first paragraph should hook your reader’s attention
Don’t write lengthy self-absorbed diatribes
Blogging regularly requires commitment and endurance
Keep in mind that human beings are reading your post and that you’re writing for them because they are reading for themselves
Connect with your audience in a way that’s meaningful to them
Give people a reason to keep coming back

I Don’t Need To Write a Title

Mark Davidson — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:15:58 +0000

: Image by shanlung via Flickr

You know, I often hesitate to write blog posts on my own blog because I feel as though it should be a serious business blog. The problem is, I don’t want to write from a serious business perspective. I’m involved in marketing all day, every day, and when it comes right down to it, I don’t need to monetize my blog. When I write, unless I’m being directly paid for my words, I don’t want to have write in a serious business tone.

Another thing… I don’t feel like I need to prove how smart I am by writing a blog or sharing what I know. I think I’ve done that plenty on Twitter. Sometimes I just want to write because it feels good. For the sheer joy of transferring thoughts to words. Making the intangible tangible by publishing it publicly and in front of an audience.

I know what to do. I know that there should be some thought preceding a blog post. I should write something insightful or personally relevant to my audience. I also know that I should be offering some kind of critical analysis about social media, branding, online communication, or marketing through digital communication channels.

The truth is, I’m not getting paid to write this. I’m probably never going to make a dime off of my blog. Because of this, I’ve always hesitated to write posts. When I write under my own name and without writing for hire, I like to speak my mind and write in my own voice.

I have spent a good share of every day for the last ten years writing. I have nothing to prove. I almost started another secret blog that wasn’t attached to my real name (you may know this as a “personal brand“). Then I thought, that’s probably among the dumbest ideas I’ve ever had. So, this. This thing here. This is *my* blog.

I don’t have to labor over the editing. I don’t have to set this post aside for half a day and come back, re-read it and tighten the copy half a dozen times over. I can just write and post.

So, I am laying claim to my own digital space here on the internets. (And you have no idea how much time I’ve spent learning how to write just to turn around and break every single rule in the English language to develop my own personal and unique style of online communication.)

Now that I’ve removed all mental boundaries and restrictions from my own writing, I’m guessing that I will be posting a lot more. Sometimes about establishing an internet presence. Sometimes about business. Sometimes about social media marketing. But mostly, I think I’ll be writing more about whatever random thoughts are crossing my mind, just like I do on Twitter but in long-form.

One of the things we’ve all heard over and over again is that our blog isn’t about us. It’s about you. Or our community. Or some other bull **** like that. If your blog is about your audience, you are either a masochist or an internet marketer looking to drive traffic to feed your affiliate click-throughs and/or self-promote.

Honestly. **** that. If I’m writing for you and not for me, you’ll have to pay me. That’s transparency.

I’ve always said that good writing is manipulative. Well on this blog, all you’re going to get is bad writing. My writing.

Goodness. This is no way to write a blog post. I’m sure that I will come to my senses by morning.

I will post this however for anyone looking for to glean something useful from my ramblings. You really should have a purpose behind what ever it is that you are posting. Stream of consciousness or personal revelations are not going to help your business. It’s useful to think about what you want to say and construct your blog posts using some kind of a logical hierarchy. Every blog post that we write tells the world a story about who we are. Are we credible? Are we moral? Are we articulate, thoughtful or intelligent?

When you’ve completed your post, go back and re-read it. Make sure that your post communicates your purpose precisely and using as few words as possible. The more direct your communication, the greater the impact your post will have on your readers.

Editing is key. Tighten it up. Re-read. Step-away. Tighten it up some more. Then ask yourself, “Is this what I want to communicate about my subject and is this post telling a story about me that I want the world to know?” Your online presentation is tied to your reputation, which is a major part of your personal brand.

If you are observant, you’ll notice I did absolutely none of those things here. I hoped that helped.

With all that said, when I read this blog post tomorrow, it will probably drive me crazy and I’ll end up editing it anyway.

How To Write a Blog Post The Completely Wrong Way

Mark Davidson — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:18:37 +0000

: Image by The Next Web via Flickr

I had promised myself that no matter what, I would start blogging again. I told myself that I would write at least one blog post a week and publish it on Mondays. No. Matter. What. So here it is Monday, it’s 7:30 PM and I have no blog post. I don’t even have a topic in mind for a blog post.

So just to say that I did it, I’m going to write a blog post the completely wrong way. I’m not going to pick out a topic in advance. I’m not going to write it and let it sit for a few hours and then labor to tighten it up with some miraculous editing. Instead, I’m just going to write for the sake of writing.

I actually do a lot more writing than people probably suspect. (And I don’t mean my microblog on Twitter or my smart-ass comments on Facebook.) I spend most of my day writing. So why I don’t write articles for my own blog, I’ll never know. I wish this blog post had some kind of lesson in it. (It won’t.) I wish that I had a story to tell. (I don’t.)

A good share of the blogs I used to read are about social media. How to use it. How to measure it. I’m not going to write a blog about social media. There’s only so much I can read about a tool, or a set of tools. I’ve pretty much run my course with Mashable, Techcrunch, and all the personal blogs about using social media to build community, extend reach, create value, and engage an audience. I definitely don’t want to read posts on metrics, excel spreadsheets, buckets of key words or monitoring brands.

In fact, I’m breaking a massive rule right now, aren’t I? I’m making my blog posts all about me and what I want. (If you follow a good share of the A-list social media blogs, our own blogs aren’t supposed to be about us. Our blogs are supposed to be all about our readers.)

At the risk of receiving a strongly worded letter from Chris Brogan and being censured by the National Association of Social Media Professionals, I’m writing a blog post about absolutely nothing. What I’d really like to do is use social media for meeting women with questionable moral values, cracking open a beer, and watching the movie 300 on Blu-ray…

But this I will tell you! It’s Monday and I *have* written a blog post!

I Drank The Google Kool-Aid but I’m Not Buzzed

Mark Davidson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:04:10 +0000

I’m not sure why but I’m bothered by Buzz. I don’t like it, I don’t want it. But I have it. Sure I don’t have to use it. I think maybe it’s because for the first time, Google has forced a web tool on me. I’ve been using Gmail since 2004. If I love Gmail, and I do, I’m forced to have Buzz. I’m about 10 minutes away from re-installing MS Office so I can use Gmail as a relay for Outlook again. You know what I like? Choice. That’s what got me using Google web tools in the first place. Today is the first day, I’ve ever viewed Google in the same light as I viewed Microsoft in the mid-nineties.

I like to use my Google tools for productivity. I’m not sure how productive Buzz is going to be. I was hoping that Buzz would combine Wave‘s collaboration strength with Gmail. Instead what I got was an additional service with no perceived value or use. 10 minutes into it, I’m already over Buzz. I don’t think Google does social well unless you consider collaborative tools to be social media.

So rather than to integrate some of Wave’s collaborative strength with Gmail, instead what we got was, “Dear Facebook, you took the FriendFeed team so we just went ahead and built our own FriendFeed. How do you like them apples?” I liked it better when Google did Google really well. Now it seems that Google wants to do Facebook, FriendFeed, Twitter, and Apple really well.

Am I being too cranky here? After using Buzz, does anyone really think it’s a competitor to Facebook, Twitter, or FourSquare?

There’s a certain degree of artistry involved with online communications

Mark Davidson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:23:38 +0000

Step One: Learn all the rules

Step Two: Master all the rules through endless practice and repetition

Step Three: Proceed to break all the rules with accuracy and precision.

When I had originally written the above copy, I actually had jazz in mind but I found that it also applied to art and literature as well. I find that a lot of people don’t understand why Picasso is so famous to art history. “I can do that“. What they don’t realize is that Picasso was a technically proficient artist, long before he started innovating. Picasso was just as much an inventor as he was an artist. Prior to Picasso, the way he approached art had never been done before. We tend to take his art for granted now but in his time, his paintings were revolutionary… and he reinvented art over and over.

Oh, yes. When communicating online, it’s best to have an understanding of social dynamics and culture. However, to stand out from the crowd and have our message heard, we have to break the rules. It’s just best to know which communication rules and why we are breaking them. Otherwise, it’s probably likely for a PR meltdown to ensue. Even within the context of social communication, it’s important to innovate to capture attention, maintain interest, and help people to remember our message. Words are very powerful, they can shape perception and stir people’s emotions. But unless we can accurately predict how people will react or respond to our words, it’s best to play it safe.

Which Ads Scored During The Big Game? AdZone 2010!

Mark Davidson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:16:04 +0000

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Marketing on Steroids

Mark Davidson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:41:50 +0000

Guest post by Bob Angell

Believe enough time has passed where I can begin to discuss some of the Marketing concepts that were part of some significant Intellectual Property and Capital (IP/C) produced while I was at IBM.

Many years ago, most commerce took place at the neighborhood store(s) and most of the owners knew who you were, your family and the current economic situation you might be in. They knew your likes, dislikes and what you may or may not purchase. Fast forward 40 years and that is what every retailer would like to understand.

Given today’s technology, it is now possible for anyone to essentially profile who you are, your proclivity for certain activities in a variety of situations and whether or not you are “wallet” worthy for that experience.

Loyalty cards in retail settings attempted to provide some of this data by having you (the consumer) provide the demographics piece (to obtain the Loyalty card). When you used the card week-after-week at the retailer, the items purchased would provide them with an idea of who you are and what your spending habits might be. For most retailers the loyalty card is a waste of time and money because it is not capturing quality data.

For example, there is a retail store not far from my house where I make infrequent purchases that uses a loyalty card. Believe that when I signed up for the card I used some fictitious name (like Donald Duck) and used a bogus address, etc. I still get discounts for using the card (which I do), but the store gets squat on the who I am as a customer. In fact, if they are mining the data, it does not accurately reflect ANY market segment – its just garbage. Remember the GIGO principle – Garbage In, Garbage Out.

While working in IBM’s Data Mining Group and Retail Divisions, it became very clear to me that there had to be a better way for the Retailer who was serious about capturing good quality data. Retailers need to be able to identify who you are (not by EXACT person [actual 1:1 marketing simply does NOT normally work, and it is WAY TOO expensive]) generally and what segment of the general population you might fit into. Knowing this information, they [retailers] can maximize their portion of your wallet (wallet share).

When IBM’s Data Mining group would work with large retailers (mainly helping to maximize marketing campaigns) the goal was to mine down to the individual. This did not work very well and were satisfied with a very detailed group customer segment.

We developed and came up with the ability to identify the potential market segment you might fit into using sensors and data mining. Using the input, it would be possible to place you into a marketing segment.

For example, you might arrive in the parking lot at a big-box retailer in a brand new car with children in tow. There are several ways for one to view this situation as a casual observer. They are listed as follows:

The first and probable one might be that this is YOUR brand new car and these are your children.
Second, this might be your brand new car and these are YOUR grandchildren
Third, you might be a car thief and just kidnapped these children.

Whatever the reality of the situation, one needs a bit more context from other sources.

With the perfection of video, audio, biometrics, olfactory and other outside stimulus, one can begin to infer and very quickly determine the reality of the situation. Video provides the ability to do facial, cart and license plate recognition; Audio allows one to understand whether voices are natural or stressed, Biometrics can determine whether someone is nervous, sick, sad, happy or potentially receptive to a Marketing message; Olfactory stimulus can determine change in chemical composition(s) such that it might alert one to a good or bad outcome (cologne or gun-powder residue) on an individual. Also, with video input, you can begin to figure out the age of the individual(s) in question and begin to infer a few more snippets of data. Is the ability to infer perfect? No! Is it much better than the current situation? Yes it is!

By the way, these Marketing Messages can be delivered and processed in real-time. This is really important especially if you want to deliver and provide real-time marketing to your customers using Dynamic Digital Media or other similar methods. You can even infer that the customer might not have the “wallet” worthiness you would like and create a disincentive for them to shop elsewhere. With some of my work, we were even able to determine whether or not someone would be receptive to a marketing message.

I have used Retail as an example, but these methodologies can be used to cover a wide range of activities from keeping bad-guys at bay for National Security to providing real-time information to Physicians while delivering healthcare.

Therefore, here are 5 basic Marketing lessons learned as follows:

Marketing is MORE of a Science than it is an Art.
Marketing is NOT effective in MANY situations – you need to learn where, when and how it is to be deployed for maximum efficacy.
Successful Marketing is about creating an urgent need out of someone’s want. Knowing the person’s receptiveness to a given situation one can infer whether they are able to make this translation.
Understanding the person’s capacity, ability and desire for this Marketing conversion is also very significant. If someone is struggling financially and does not have the means to pay for an item, all the marketing in the world simply does and will not work.
Marketing to the masses is all about SMARTLY converting these individuals to act on their wants.

I’ve Been a Bad Blogger

Mark Davidson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:45:49 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

I’ve never really considered myself to be a blogger, I’m truly am a micro-blogger. I love the social interaction and I’m always at my best in conversation. A blog is a lot different than micro-blogging. With a micro-blog, the conversation is bi-directional. I make a micro-post, people respond, and then the conversation takes off. With a blog, I’m broadcasting a message.

Sure, there’s a response when people comment, but it’s not in real time. I’m not really engaging people. However, in order for me to walk-the-walk and actually do what I advise my clients to do, I’ve decided that I need a blog. Plus, it’s a good way for me to expand upon what interests me and provide valuable information to people.

It’s important to have a centralized hub outside of our social networking and social conversational sites. It’s also important for my business that people know more about me and what my expertise is. For current and future clients, I believe it’s much easier for them, if I can lead by example and illustrate a lot of the principles and strategies that I teach.

Even now as I write this, without the responses, questions, and interaction that I would receive from Twitter, I miss the social interaction. I miss the instant feedback. I miss the stimulation, challenge, and fun of responding on the fly. That’s really where I’m at my personal best. I love exchanging ideas with people. I love being challenged. I love fielding questions, interacting, and engaging with people.

However, I also understand the importance of having and maintaining a blog. It allows people a better opportunity to see what I’m about. My blog also allows me to provide information that just can’t be parsed into 140 character chunks.

Here’s what I predict is going to happen as I start blogging again for the first time since December. My best guess is that my initial posts will be stiff. I won’t be focused. I’ll over think what I want my blog to be. I’m also going to guess that initially, my blog posts will be longer because I won’t really know what I want to express or exactly how I want to express it. It will take me a little while to regain my voice.

I usually suggest to my clients that for their first ten blog posts, they shouldn’t worry about what they are writing or how they are writing; they should just start writing. After about ten blog posts, they’ll find their voice, their focus, and their direction. The most important thing about blogging is that we get started and write.

After about ten blog posts, I will have found my focus and voice. I’ll know what key-words I want to use for SEO. I’ll know what my tagline is going to be. The most important thing is to just start writing. Sure, blogging isn’t as fun as Twitter, but blogging is important… even for a micro-blogger like me.

Okay, so here are some tips:

This blog isn’t perfect. It’s good enough to get started. I think a mental barrier for a lot of people is because of self-created expectations. Many of the people whom I’ve worked with, want for their blogs to be perfect before getting started. Building a high-quality blog is a process that takes time. However, the clock doesn’t start ticking on that process until we get started.

I also wrote this post in one draft without doing any self-editing. Otherwise, I could get hung up on what I want to write, rather than to just write. The most important thing is to keep hitting the keys on my keyboard without worrying about the results. I trust that if I type, the words will come to me. The more blog posts I write, the better the quality will become, and the shorter my blog posts will be. The key take-away here is that I didn’t over think what I was going to write. I know from experience that even if this isn’t the best blog post I’ll ever write, I’ll get an unlimited amount of do-overs. Practice makes perfect.

This blog is far from done. As I post, I’ll make adjustments to the CSS to give my blog the look and feel that I want. I’ll add widgets, play with the ad placement, create a header image, and make constant and ongoing improvements. This blog is far from perfect but it’s good enough to get started and make adjustments as I go. The important thing is that I’m posting.

If you leave me a comment, I will respond. Thank you for reading my blog, it’s appreciated. Always feel free to bounce ideas off of me and to ask me questions. I think most people want to know about driving traffic, creating community, and generating interest. I’ll be blogging a lot about those topics in future posts. Thanks.