My son is in Tae Kwon Do and his teacher’s name begins with Master. It got me to thinking about name titles and how it can effect you or your brand. You see, the title of “Master” before his actual name gives him credibility in other people’s eyes. Everyone calls him that. And everyone knows what it means.

It’s a brand of sorts.

Even something as simple as the title of Mr. or Mrs. gives an air of importance. People that you call Mr. and their last name is a more formal way to talk to them or present them. A brand of sorts.

You could even go a little further with it and get creative. Think about Houdini. Sure that is a household name and most people know who he is. But doesn’t the name “The Great Houdini” give it more of a ring?

In a way names have power and having a title attached to a name could add even more to that. Do you think a name title can make a difference?

~Chris

So do you think adding a title to your name could help you build a brand? Similar to a name of a blog? Would you be willing to use something a little out there?

Today we continue our story with the Man and his journey to Mount Success. He and his faithful horse have just taken their first steps into the Swamp of Failure. Let’s see how our hero does.

If you are just joining in this story, you may want to start from the beginning. Here is what’s posted so far:

The Intro
The Plains of Overwhelming

Let’s continue shall we?

He and his faithful horse slowly make their way through the swamp. It’s so thick they have to take one step at a time. Not only is it very muddy, it’s also very stinky. The swamp water and mud reek of old earth and dead trees. It’s enough to take one’s breath away.

Even at this early stage the trek has made some thoughts creep into the Man’s head. “Is it even worth it? Am I wasting my time? Should I really be doing this?”

He quickly blows these thoughts off but he can’t help but think about them once in a while. And he senses something nearby. Someone watching him.

Both horse and hero walk slowly with their heads bowed, concentrating on moving forward following the trail of flowers. A voice echoes through the trees and stops The Man in his tracks.

“You look like you could use a bite to eat!”

He looks around and sees a man standing by a stand full of fruit and water. He swore he could smell meat too.

“Come, come, enjoy this food and the journey through this swamp will be that much easier. You’ll be done before you know it!”

It wasn’t until he saw this convenient supply of food that realized how hungry he really was. He almost started turning towards the delicious cart of food when he felt a tug from his horse. He turned around to look at the horse and it stared at him with a warning glance.

“Come sir,” The cart man continued, “Just one little bite is all. The finest tasting fruit you’ll ever have!”

The horse nudged our hero again, reminding him of the temptations he had read about in the book. This was too easy, he thought.

The cart man seemed to have realized his thoughts as he gave him a nasty sneer. With a swing of his hand both him and the cart disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Whew, that was close. The man looked back at the path at his feet. The book said to watch the white flowers, they will lead out of the swamp. He followed the trail until it disappeared into the trees a few feet ahead of him.

The Man and his horse pushed on through the swamp, slowly, tediously. More and more doubts crept into his mind as he trudged on. Even his faithful horse seemed to slowing as he grew more and more tired. It seemed like the the mud was getting deeper.

The cart man kept showing up with more tempting offers and he kept getting closer, offering better and better offers to pull The Man away from the path. He kept getting closer and each time he became more transparent. It was the ghost of the swamp.

Eventually The Man was hearing the whispers from the ghost in his ear, taunting him, telling him to give up. He tried to ignore it. But sometimes he wanted to give up.

Between the ghostly figure that seemed to be in his head and the mud that was making it’s way up his thighs, he started wondering if he should just stop and let the grimy water take him. It would be easier. Easier than this hard work. Even easier than taking the shortcuts the ghost kept trying to show him.

But he kept his eyes on the white flower trail leading through the trees. His shoulders felt heavy and he kept having thoughts of running off the path into oblivion. It was just the ghost he reminded himself. A small nudge from the horse kept him moving forward.

He was so tired and focused on moving one step after another after the trail of flowers that he almost ran into the tree that the flowers led to. He looked up blinking the weariness out of his eyes.

The tree almost glowed in the dreariness of the swamp. It was fresh and alive. It had a big trunk and was covered in white flowers similar to the ones he had been following. It was beautiful.

Protruding from the trunk was a small branch. Hanging from the branch was a necklace with a small pendant on it. He hesitated to touch it when he heard the quiet voice of the ghost in his ears. He could feel the weight on his back with each word.

“Don’t touch that. Do you really want to do things that way?” The ghost whispered.

In this simple statement, our hero sensed some fear and knew this to be the necklace of confidence. He quickly grabbed it up and read the inscription on the back.

You have the power to create your own path. The hard times are only there if you let them. The path is clear if you want it to be. You have the power to make things work for you.

With that simple statement he had a simple realization. He heard a snarl fade in his ears and weight lift off his back. He had a choice. He could stay here and continually struggle or he could find a way to make things work his way and make his own path out of the swamp.

He walked around the tree to look beyond. It seemed even the mud was becoming less deep with each step. He looked beyond the trees and envisioned what he wanted. Before his eyes the edge of the swamp seemed to come into view. So simple.

It wasn’t long before his feet his solid ground and he heard the click clack of his horses hooves. They had finally made it out. The Man took a great big deep breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he saw a great green forest ahead of him. It looked beautiful. It looked inviting. He took a step and noticed the sunlight hitting something nearby.

He looked over and saw a huge book, a tomb of knowledge. It had followed him. He figured it was time for a break anyways so he sat down in front of the book and flipped through the giant pages.

~Chris

The Forest of Experience lays beyond. It looks like a perfectly normal forest but what obstacles does it hold for our hero? Stay tuned to find out.

When it comes to a lot of online content, such as ebooks, articles, blog posts, etc., the headline is the first thing people see. It is also the first step that decides whether they are even going to read your content.

A good headline is enticing, it creates curiosity. It makes you want to know what it’s all about. It makes you click, right? And that is what we want with our own content.

So how do you figure out what is a good headline and what’s not? A good way to learn what works is to follow by example. Look at what gets you to click.

Check out your email. We all get a lot of email everyday. And even though you probably spend a majority of your time skimming through it, there are some that just grab your attention and make you stop. You may even click on it. But it doesn’t matter, the headline already did it’s work.

These are the kinds of examples you want to look for. The kind that get your attention. If you read blogs on a regular basis, same thing, take a closer look at the ones that you actually slow down to read.

Take a look at these particular pieces. They probably did a couple things.

- presented a problem that you can relate to

- presented a solution that may solve said problem

- created curiosity

- it shocked you

It could have been one or a combination of these that stopped you long enough to read it. And that’s the trick right there. Look at the headline and see what it says in it that made you stop. Even if you didn’t actually click through, you still paused. And that’s what you want. That little moment right there.

People are in a hurry constantly or may have a “been there, done that” attitude or they may be lazy. Whatever the reason, the majority of people are not on the look out for your content (unless they know you of course). So you have to get their attention. To create a good headline creates a pause, no matter how small, in their busy day.

But there is also another piece to this little puzzle. What else in the headline grabbed your attention that may not be so obvious?

It seemed directed at you.

And in a way it was directed at you. When the author of that content created it, he probably had the idea of his preferred audience when did his work.

Who are you trying to attract when you are creating your content? That little bit of information can make a difference between a headline that works and one that no one notices. Think of one person that most closely relates to your ideal audience and form the headline to them. Cater to them.

Keep these things in mind when you see headlines, especially the ones that draw your attention. The point of this blog though was to point out a website that, for the most part, does some fairly effective headlines on a regular basis.

Yahoo.com

This may seem a little obvious or not, but it’s one of the pages I go to on a daily basis. For you it may be a different page. Maybe a news page that you come across often. But go ahead and click that link above and take a look at the links in the news section. See anything that catches your eye? No? Maybe try again later.

This site is one of the sites I see all the time as it’s the page I end up when I log out of my email. And there have been several times that I ended up clicking on a link (or at least wanting to) when I didn’t intend to. Then I end up reading an article that I didn’t have in my schedule.

Am I saying that they always have good headlines? Not at all. In fact there is a good portion of the time when I keep right on going without a second glance. But there are other times when I end up clicking on a story anyways. And that is an effective headline in some form or another.

So keep an eye out for something that grabs your attention and makes you pause. Take a look at this headline and figure out what makes it effective. Think about the message it is portraying and who it’s aimed for. Use that in your own headline work. Before you know it you’ll be able to make effective headlines without thinking twice.

~Chris

Do you have a website that has this effect on you? Do you catch yourself reading something you didn’t intend to and wonder why?

This a continuation from a previous post. If you haven’t read the first part go here. Grab that cup of coffee, let’s see how our hero fares in the Plains of Overwhelming.

The Plains of Overwhelming

The man makes his way into the tall grass. He glances one more time behind him as the rolling green hills fade away to make way for a sea of brown, swaying grass. Before long all he can see is brown grass, stretching as far as the eye can see.

He stopped to attempt to gather his bearings. He was heading north when he entered but since every part of the land looked just like the last it was hard to figure out if he was still heading in that direction.

A movement in the sky caught his eye. The man looked up to see a huge flock of griffins drifting through the air this way and that. The old man had said there would be a guide in the sky but which one was it? They were all flying in different directions. How was he supposed to know which one to follow?

Before long he noticed something different about one of the griffins. It had something in it’s talons. It looked like a large book. He double checked the other griffins and that was the only one carrying this huge book.

He followed the creature as it separated from the rest of them. He urged the horse onward as the griffin started picking up speed. Before he knew he had the horse at full tilt trying to keep up. His horse snorted as he pushed it to run faster. Just as the griffin was about out of the line of site, it dropped the book. The man watched it as it plummeted to the earth.

He kept running towards where he had seen the book fall and finally came across a huge book laying on the ground. As he looked through the book, carefully flipping each page, he realized that this book had all the knowledge in the world contained within it.

Imagine what he could do with all this knowledge. But there was no way to take the book with him. So he read what he could and left it there. He would spend the rest of his life here trying to absorb all the knowledge within. He had to chose what part of the book he wanted to remember, what parts were important to him.

Maybe someday he could return to learn something new but for now the tome would stay here, lodged into the dirt.

He took what knowledge he could from the book that might help in the swamp. He walked away from the Plains of Overwhelming with a sense of focus and direction. He could feel his goal getting closer. He could see it in his mind and that gave him the drive to nudge the horse forward.

They could smell the Swamp of Failure before they even set foot in it. It was wet and dirty. The smell itself was enough to make any normal person turn back. But he had direction and confidence from the knowledge he acquired from the large tome.

The horse’s hoofs sank into the wet muck but they didn’t sink too far. He climbed off the horse and grabbed the reigns to help the horse clamor through the sticky mud.

Will our hero make through the sticky, wet mud and dead trees of the swamp? What else does the swamp hold that will test our hero and his quest for the Cup of Dreams? Will the Swamp of Failure claim a new victim? Find out here.

~Chris

Grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit back an relax. I have a story to tell you.

There was a man that was given a quest. This man lived in a time of dragons, knights, and other mythical creatures that no longer exist. To say the least his quest was going to be a dangerous one. He would have to leave his family and his home that he knows oh so well. He has to leave a life that he has grown comfortable with.

But he still accepts this quest, as dangerous as it may be, because deep down he isn’t happy. There is a greater glory in his life that he feels he must achieve. There must to be some way to make things better. For himself but even more so for his loving family. Times are hard and he knows he can provide a better life. He knows it, deep down, that he can bring happiness to his family and the land they live in.

If he succeeds in his quest he will make the world he knows and loves a better place. If he reaches the mountain and claims The Cup of Dreams he will bring light to the rest of the world.

On the way are many obstacles. There are many dangers that stand between this man and his quest. He takes with him the tools to defeat his foes. But he will need much more than that to become the hero he so desires.

He prepares for the long journey ahead and thinks of reason for starting this journey. A few days ago an old man appeared to him in a vision. The man was old and wise and the man sensed something a little more to the old man. The old man gave him his quest, the quest that would save the world and bring a lighter, happier life to everyone.

Somehow he knew it was up to him to make a difference. And he listened to the old man telling him what he needed to do he started to wonder if it was possible. The journey for this quest was not going to be easy. The man listened intently to what he was going to have to do to reach Mount Success.

Your journey starts on the Plain of Overwhelming. It’s a large expanse of tall brown grass that blows in the wind. It seems to draw on for as far as the eye can see. Once you make your way into the Plains of Overwhelming you be able to see the end of it either way. You will have no sense of direction as everything looks the same. But there is one way to make it through. Look up and you will see a guide soaring high in the sky. A great big winged beast that will lead you across the Plains if it deems you worthy.

Once you enter the cave and claim the Cup of Dreams your quest will be complete. You will have brought glory to the land and to your family. I bid you farewell and hope to see you at the end of your journey to Mount Success.

With that the old man disappeared as suddenly as he came, leaving the man wondering. The vision was still just as vivid to him now as it was when it happened and he knew it to be true. He grabbed the reigns of his horse and kissed his wife and child good bye. He wondered if he would ever see them again. But this was something that had to be done.

Avoiding anymore delays from the longing in his wife’s eyes he spurred the horse on and made his way towards the Plains of Overwhelming.

Want to find out what happens to the man and journey? Click here to continue the story through The Plains of Overwhelming

~Chris

Welcome back to another weekly retweet roundup. It’s an interesting mix of posts with great marketing tips and a few posts that made an impact. Good stuff and I hope you take the time to check them out. If you have any suggestions remember to let me know in the comments . Enjoy.

My Top 3 Posts

Be a Kid Again and Make Your Blog Stand Out
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/be-a-kid-again-and-make-your-blog-stand-out/
I love this post simply for the fact that I’ve always tried to hang onto that childhood innocence. I’ve come to find out that it’s sometimes easier said then done. This was a great reminder of why I we should hang onto that.

My Biggest Freelancing Challenge (and How I Didn’t Solve It)
http://freelancefolder.com/my-biggest-freelancing-challenge-and-how-i-didnt-solve-it/
This is one of those posts I read and it feels like they are writing about me. I have children of my own and trying to run a business, blog, work a full time job, and spend time with the family is a challenge all on it’s own. But worth it in the end.

Money, money, money, money…
http://www.john-carlton.com/2010/07/money-money-money-money/
One thing I always remind myself is that money won’t buy me happiness. The problem it can take care is what I want it for. This a great post that covers this idea and gives some good hints on how to actually make money work that way for you.

Great Posts Roundup

7 Ways to Be Everywhere – Building a Brand Online
http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/7-ways-to-be-everywhere-building-a-brand-online/

5 Crucial Tips To Help You Secure A Successful Blogging Future
http://performancing.com/5-crucial-tips-to-help-you-secure-a-successful-blogging-future/

5 Ways to Drive Visitors Away from your Blog
http://www.bloggingpro.com/archives/2010/07/08/5-ways-to-drive-visitors-away-from-your-blog/

Why Links From Content Are The Best Kind Of Links
http://www.famousbloggers.net/links-content-search-engine-traffic.html

Want To Make Your First Website?
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/want-to-make-your-first-website/

The Force that Powers Persuasive Content (And 3 Ways to Intensify It)
http://www.copyblogger.com/persuasive-force/

5 Things Madonna Has to Teach You About Blogging to Success
http://www.blogussion.com/blogging-tips/blog-madonna-success/

Doing Nothing
http://feint.me/2010/07/doing-nothing/

Is The Internet Making Us Less Sociable?
http://www.webuildyourblog.com/2893/internet-making-sociable/

Cocktail Lines and True Presence: the Power of Not Relying on Your Past
http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/cocktail-lines-and-true-presence-the-power-of-not-relying-on-your-past/

10 Ways To Get More Followers On Twitter
http://twittervirtue.com/archives/10-ways-to-get-more-followers-on-twitter/

Over 50 Free SEO Tools and Much, Much More about Using SEO Techniques
http://freelancefolder.com/over-50-free-seo-tools-and-much-more-about-using-seo-techniques/

Did I miss anything?

~Chris

I learned a bit of a lesson recently that I wanted to share with you. I’m sure you have heard that planning is essential to a smooth running business. That’s very true. But it’s also importance for your planning and your goals to be flexible.

The world of marketing changes at a very fast pace (especially online) and you have to have a flexible business plan to keep up with things. So it’s important to have a business plan and that it’s flexible. But as I recently found out that I, as in myself, have to be flexible as well.

When I started this blog I told myself that I was going to post at least 3 times a week, every week. I didn’t want to miss a post either. And when I started the OMV newsletter I had to have it done every Sunday no matter what. I was firm with myself that I had to have it this way. This was my blogging plan. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I was not flexible at all. And when I missed a post I beat myself up over it. I got down on myself and gave myself 50 lashes of the whip. Well, maybe not the lashes but I may as well have.

This of course affected my other efforts and just kind of brought everything crumbling down. I basically sabotaged myself. It wasn’t until recently I discovered that even if my business plan (blog plan in this case) is flexible I wasn’t.

I realize everyone makes mistakes and no one by any means is perfect. Myself included. So I just had to let it go instead of holding a grudge against myself. I had to face it that with running a writing business I’m not always going to make the post when I want to. I just might miss a few things here in there.

And that is okay.

It’s important to be flexible. Both you and your plans need to be able to adjust to changes that will definitely come your way. It’s going to happen at some point or another, things just don’t stay the same. All you can do is check your priorities and stick to that.

I want to build a good, solid writing business. That takes a lot of work and dedication. If that means I may miss a few posts or miss a newsletter update, so be it. It doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my blog, it just means I need to make the most with what time I have.

The blog is still important but so are other things and adjustments have to made. And that includes learning how to be more flexible.

~Chris

Have you been in this scenario? Have you been too hard on yourself before?

Not only do I have a passion for marketing, writing, and helping others but I’m also a big nerd when it comes to entertainment. I grew up playing games and watching the newest movies. A well done and well presented fiction is just as exciting as reading about how to build a blog or make myself a better person.

I also listen to music constantly and it has always been a huge part of my life as well. I love the fact that something that is fictional and not real can have an emotional impact on you. To say the least, the entertainment industry is a big part of my life.

Which means I’m also a prime target for special editions. Or even better, limited editions! If I have the money I’ll almost always opt for the special edition then the regular edition. If it’s something that I like. Special edition of Lord of Rings? I’m on it! Limited edition Harry Potter set? Yes! Ultimate Edition God of War III? All over it.

What makes these “enhanced” editions so much more special than the regular ones? Besides the price?

It’s the same movie, game, cd, or book. It has what I am really interested in. The main course. And, it has a bunch of bells and whistles. I has a lot of things the regular versions don’t.

It has perceived value.

There’s that phrase again. So basically what these companies do is they release the original, bare bones version. Later on, or sometimes at the same time, they release the same product in new packaging and throw in some “exclusive” extras. They take the same exact product, add some bells and whistles, and sell it at a higher price.

Your average customer isn’t going to shell out the extra money to buy something like this when all they want to do is watch the movie, or play the game, or read the book. They don’t care about all that extra fluff.

But for fans of whatever it may be, buying these special editions is a done deal from the start. And the more extras there are the more excited they get. Tack on a limited availability and you have a collector’s dream.

The special edition is just another way to offer the same thing. It may sound like it’s just an easy way to make some extra money. Frankly that’s what it is. But that’s not a bad thing right?

Would this be something you would want to do with your products? A lot of marketers add tons of bonuses to their products to raise the perceived value.

Not only do you get a great product (hopefully), but you also get these other great products for free!

It’s a timeless tactic. Here is where the special edition idea comes in. When companies release special or limited versions of their product, there are groups of people that will buy it because of the extras. Then there are other people that will just buy the regular version because that’s all they want.

If you take your product and add a bunch of bonuses to go along with you’ll probably get a good response. But do you think it would be worth it to offer a cheaper version that just has the product itself without all the other stuff to go along with it? Would that widen your reach on possible customers?

It seems to work for the entertainment industry. I don’t see why having different versions of your products at different prices wouldn’t have the same effect.

~Chris

Have you done anything like this with your products? If not, would you want to? And have you seen another marketer take this kind of approach before?

First off, Happy 4th to everyone in the U.S. And secondly the posts this week are actually pretty motivational so it was kind of fitting. I enjoyed quite a few posts this week and it seems that Blogussion was just on a roll as well. Remember to let me know if you have any suggestions!

Do you know where the greatest treasures in the world are buried?
http://directyourcareer.com/blog/do-you-know-where-the-greatest-treasures-in-the-world-are-buried.html

Are You a Single or a Double? (The Opt-In Debate)
http://www.bloggingteacher.com/single-or-double-opt-in

Ideas And Markets For Your Writing
http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/2010/06/ideas-and-markets-for-your-writing/

YouTube Tips and Tricks For Bloggers – Part 1
http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/youtube-tips-and-tricks-for-bloggers-part-1/

Inspired Blogging from Cabo San Lucas
http://thewordpresschick.com/inspired-blogging-cabo-san-lucas/

Why You Should Not Fear “Big” Bloggers
http://bloggingwithsuccess.net/do-not-fear-big

Warning: Your Customers May Be Stupider Than You Think!
http://www.erica.biz/2010/warning-customers-stupid/

Why Making Enemies is Just as Important as Making Friends
http://www.blogussion.com/community/make-enemies-friends/

How to “Blog On Purpose” and Stand Out From the Crowd
http://www.blogussion.com/community/stand-out-from-crowd/

Interviews are Boring, Reviews are Fake & Lists are Kind of Lame. Let’s Get Real
http://www.blogussion.com/meaning/writing-real-useful-content/

Video: What Really Motivates People
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/video-what-really-motivates-people/

Features and Benefits Are So 2009. Sell To Driving Emotion
http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/features-and-benefits-are-so-2009-sell-to-driving-emotion/

YOUR Millionaire Mindset
http://lawofattractiondiva.com/your-millionaire-mindset/

Better?
http://doug-stern.com/blog/2010/07/01/better/

How to Create a FaceBook Landing Page for Your Blog
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/07/02/how-to-create-a-facebook-landing-page-for-your-blog/

How to Create The Circumstances You Want
http://www.rockyourday.com/creating-your-circumstances-part-1/

Did I miss anything?

~Chris

It may be past spring but it just seems like a good time to clean things up a bit. I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that some changes were coming and they are. More so with my actual business than the blog but they still effect it.

First off, you may have noticed that the consistency in my posting has, well, gone down the drain. It’s been one or two posts a week lately. That’s due to several factors but the point is I’ve been beating myself up about it.

I’ve been holding myself to high standards with this blog. That’s not to say I don’t want high standards by any means, I have just been holding myself against standards that aren’t appropriate for the time being.

But no one is perfect.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to get off my own back and let things go as they are. I’m still working a full time job and taking care of my family. If I am to reach my dream of working from home then I need to cut a few things and concentrate more on others.

But this blog is not going anywhere. In fact I still have some ideas in line for it and a new redesign at some point. So the blog is far from dying. And I had to remind myself that. It seems I was my own worst enemy in holding such high standards against myself.

The posting frequency may come and go here, as well as consistency (what am I saying? that’s already gone lol), but it’s still going to keep going. I’m cleaning it up and fixing a few things. It’s time to take out the dust rag, clean up, and polish some wood eh? So if you notice something different, it’s supposed to be that way. Hopefully.

Spring Fever! er.. Cleaning

Speaking of cleaning things out, I’m at the point where I have a ton of friends on Twitter and Facebook, but I don’t have much interaction. So what is the point of me having over 3000 followers on Twitter when I only talk to a fraction of them?

Qaulity versus Qauntity. This of course is another debate altogether but the point is I’m going to be cleaning those out as well. That way I have more room to concentrate on the people I can build relationships with. Which is what social networking is all about right?

It’s time to put things in order and focus on my dreams. Or rather to focus on achieving those dreams. The first main goal I have is to start making enough that I can quit my full time job and start working online full time. That in itself will be a huge landmark.

But, as I said, in order to do that I need to cut out some things and spruce up others so that I can focus more on my writing business and move towards my goals.

Focus and holding myself back. Seems that fixing one is helping the other. Amazing what a little effort can do eh?

~Chris