What’s the Best Prescription for Posting to Your Blog? Is it QD, BID or PRN?

                                                                   
               “…RSS fatigue is already setting in…” Seth Godin

 I can think of many things where more is better. A few things that come to mind are:

·         The number of karats in a diamond

·         The number of people you know that you can call upon when the “chips are down”

·         The number of mornings you can remember when you really took a moment to enjoy a new day with all of its possibilities

·         The number of times you said, “I’d never do that” (like parachute from an airplane) but you did it anyway and loved it

·         The number of times you took the high road when taking the low road was oh so tempting

But there are many things in life where less is more. We may each have our own list of what those are but one thing that is probably pretty common is the number of blogs that hit your inbox/feed daily by the same blogger.

I haven’t decided what the cause of this “too frequent blog posting phenomenon” is but here are a few theories I found while researching the topic and a few of my own.

Why do people post blogs daily and think that people will read them - daily?

·         There is a lack of understanding of human nature – none of us read anything every day unless it is from our maker, our boss, our loved one, a client or maybe a book we can’t put down (yes, I intentionally left out the newspaper since most people do not read the paper anymore and if they do, they do not read it from cover to cover like my dad did!)

·         In this relatively new era of freedom to communicate one’s thoughts with the masses, some may begin to think that others need to hear their thoughts daily

·         There is a misguided understanding that blogging is a replacement for “cold calling” and the more we write, the more chance we have that someone will read it and reply, take action or evangelize our brand

It is suggested that there is a connection to the quantity of posts to the volume of traffic. However, as seasoned marketers know, you want to choose quality over quantity every time. If you are using your blog for branding, you want loyal readers. You drastically raise the stakes on losing those loyal readers if you bombard them with too much information. They will tune out, log off and unsubscribe.  

If you are using your blog as a lure to get traffic on your page because you are advertising anything and everything on your site then you are hoping that you will create more ‘clicks’ on ads that pay you by hyper-posting. If this is the case, you probably aren’t writing for a loyal audience and you might want to consider some less work intense ways of driving traffic to your site. Blogging can be work. Try keywords, links, ads and other traffic generation tricks. It might work just as well for you and you might not offend true blog readers by filling up their ‘head space’ by over-posting to the same audience.  

So what is the right prescription for blog posting? I think your safest bet is PRN  (as needed). When you have something to say to the audience you are or want to reach… then say it. Don’t post just to post. We’ve all been guilty of saying too much too often, but I know that I get the best response when I write less frequently and only when I have something to say to my audience of SMBE’s and entrepreneurs. I also know that people I may initially “follow” get tossed in the Junk Mail or Block Sender Folders when I receive daily messages that clog my brain. The sad thing about that is that some of these things might be good for me to read, but I just don’t have the bandwidth to read all of it.

So, when it comes to the right prescription for blog posting, I think that substance over quantity will help all of us  to achieve true communication with those who we are trying to help, educate, engage, or…..

Related Articles: How Often Should a Blogger Post by Darren Rowse

                               The Noisy Tragedy of Blog Commons by Seth Godin

An Exploding Industry is Blazing Down the Road Towards You!

Will Food Trucks Help to Revitalize Community Based Commerce?

Food Trucks have become a socio-economic phenomenon that are encroaching upon brick and mortar establishments at a rapid pace. The unique splendor of the movement is that they are locally focused, locally owned , locally supported and provide a real sense of community by providing a place to gather together; the likes of which we haven’t really experienced since the local drive-in burger joints, followed by ‘dragging’ down the boulevard on Friday nights.

This micro-movement really appears to have all of the indicators of providing a bright light of opportunity for growth in an otherwise bleak business and financial forecast. The even better news is that the “Food Truck Craze” is not just happening in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco or Boston. The business model is popping up everywhere – even in small towns. And, the food varies as much as the clientele offering everything from cupcakes to Croque Madame.

Many of the trucks promote (and insist) that they serve only locally grown food and purchase all of their supplies from local businesses. This bold and heroic statement might be the beginning of the real support of local community that we have all so longed for and yet, in many ways, felt powerless to affect.

For this, and many other reasons (like the food is fantastic!), I ask you to support your local Food Trucks and Street Food vendors and introduce as many as you can to this exploding industry.

How do you find a Food Truck? Most rely on the internet and walk-by/drive-by traffic, but there are local online sources popping up that specialize in listing the truck, its location, menu and sometimes it even provides a feedback mechanism for customer reviews/ratings. One that I found recently listing a new Truck that is opening next weekend is:  Food Truck Listings and Location Sites. Do a search and I bet you will be amazed at the array of variations available to you right in your area!

What exactly is a Food Truck? Back in the day, we called them Roach Coaches and this really wasn’t a fair name as the food from the trucks was always fresh and delicious. The problem was that they were usually isolated to construction zones and some industrial parks, so there was limited exposure and limited growth potential. Now however, they are hitting posh working areas and some are even teaming up with local coffee or dessert houses and are parking adjacent to them so that the businesses can share the customers. (Again – sounds like the old days when we helped our neighbors and looked for win-win relationships instead of only looking out for ourselves!) If I haven’t provided an adequate explanation of what a Food Truck is, here is a good one: Food Truck

What is the economic outlook for this business model? There are many articles and sources but here are two that I found interesting: Local Food as Economic Development by Ken Meter    The Road Ahead for Food Trucks by Suzy Badaracco

Are these trucks regulated for safety? The simple answer is yes. You will definitely want to check in with your local governmental agency for rules, regulations, permits, etc. but here is an example of Food Truck Food Safety Guidelines that I found to give you an idea of what is expected.

As with most niche’ industries are there off-shoot industries popping up around the Food Trucks? Yes and I only scratched the surface in the list I have provided for you. I know that with the ingenuity of the people that are starting these hip and entrepreneurial businesses, there will be like-minded people who will carve out new creative businesses to support the explosion of what I hope will be our revitalization of support for community based business. Here are a few auxiliary businesses that I found, but there are and will be many more: Mobile Cuisine Magazine   Truck Insurance   Mobile Food Franchises   Food Truck Industry News  

Finally … I would not be a good Aunt if I didn’t tell you about my niece’s new venture with two partners - all veterans of Chairman Bao. They open the Brunch Box truck window this weekend in San Francisco and if you can make it - you’ll be delighted with the amazing menu. Here is a great article with info about their business: sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com

MMussard is a marketing, operations and executive consultant in Los Angeles. You can read her blog at http://justaskmary.blogspot.com

An Exciting Trend that Cures the 'Where Should We Eat' Blahs...

A fascinating food experience is transcending and defying 'brick and mortar' restaurants! Remember the 'roach coach'? Well how about strolling up to one and being able to order Croque Madame?! Awesome, right?
High end eateries are coming to a place near you and I dare you to try one and be not only amazed but impressed.
For those lucky enough to be in San Francisco, check out what's rolling into your hood soon: www.brunchboxsf.com
I'll write more on this bursting industry later but for now, get ready to delight your tastebuds for brunch--yes brunch quality food--- at brunchboxsf.com
I'd love to hear what you think if you are lucky enough to live in SF and get to try this new experiential delight and transformation of the delivery method of high quality food.
Enjoy!

It's Vacation Time...Anyone Going to Pyramids? Read This First!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8224527/nile_beans_strong_advice_on_how_not.html

The Mechanic and Cleaner Published on Assoc Content from Yahoo..

In case you missed it...
First post published on Associated Content from Yahoo!

The Mechanic and the Cleaner

www.associatedcontent.com

I saw the movie "The Mechanic" last weekend and the violence aside, I related it to what I do as a consultant. Really!

A (Cautious) Nod to the Writer in Each of Us

I’m certain you’ve heard the saying, “there is a book in everyone”.  Although this may be true, I am finding it increasingly more important in this DIY society to ask some very important questions before you venture off into the “Hemmingway Period” of your life.

If you have a burning desire to share a delightful or maniacal character that you have developed with the world …or, you want to share your life story with others so that others can be helped to achieve the success that you have attained … or you want to help others to avoid and not repeat your mistakes, then it has never been easier to write and publish a book than it is today. I just got off a site that offered self publishing, rights filing, maintenance, etc. , etc., etc. for $199.00. What a deal! Or is it?

Inexpensive publishing options aside, I strongly encourage you  to consider the following three questions, at a minimum,  before you quit your job, go into the “Hemmingway Phase” of your life and write a book and publish it for under $200 and expect to make a living off of it.

Please ask yourself these three questions before you even consider the idea of writing a book as a profit generating tool:

1.       Does anyone really care what I have to say? Now this may sound harsh, but put more politely, have you done your market research and determined that there are not 100 other books written on the same topic? If there are, unless you are a celebrity or a well-known author with hundreds of thousands of fans -- no one cares.

Now, I don’t mean to be cruel, but it is true. There are people who care but the people who do care are probably your friends and family. If so, write your heart out and give them your book as a Holiday or Birthday Gift. That would be a well-spent $200.

Seriously, this truly can be a satisfying experience for you and for your friends and family who are interested in what you have to say, and more importantly, care about you. My dearest Aunt just sent me a book that she wrote with the aid of an historian about her life. She only printed about 15 copies and gave one to each member of her immediate family. As she and I were chatting one lovely afternoon (any afternoon that I can chat with her is immediately turned lovely), she told me that she had written this book to share the family’s heritage so that it would not be lost. I remarked how proud I was of her for doing that because many people think about it but few actually do it – but she did it. And, I can tell you from personal experience, it was beautifully written and did portray a time gone by and I loved every word – because I love her.

Had my Aunt’s book been written by someone I didn’t know, I would not have even read through the first chapter. But knowing her and the other people in the book gave me delight and insight into their lives that I had not totally known. I devoured every written word. I cherish the book and I love it so. Why? I love it because I know the author and I know the subjects in the book. If not for those important facts, I would never have cracked open the cover.

2.       Am I self publishing because I am afraid of rejection from publishers? If this is true, you need to really do some self examination and consider what is ahead of you. Whether self published or not, you will need to market, promote and sell your book. This process inherently holds rejection as well. Sometimes, a lot of it. So, if you are self publishing your book because of your fear of rejection from publishers, you will never make it through the marketing, promotion and sales process – NEVER!

I have a few clients who have written books and most are published by a publisher – but most will tell you that they could wall paper a room with their rejection notices - and then on that one bright day when they finally received a publisher’s approval, they framed their acceptance notice!

For those that have self published, they generally struggle terribly through the marketing phase. They have a difficult time going through the methodical process of identifying their audience(s). They can tell you all about the characters in their book, but they cannot articulate one market segment that would be most likely to buy their book.

This isn’t good news. The challenges of selling a book are hard and they are harder for those that are self published and/or on POD (Print on Demand) status because the bulk of the cost of promotion, labor of promotion and ideas and access to promotable events falls to the author.

3.       Have you established a budget to market your book and can you live (possibly on peanut butter sandwiches) until it reaches significant sales goals? Many authors that I speak to go “radio silent” when I ask them what their marketing budget is to promote their book. This breaks my heart as I know that this means that they have little to no chance of selling enough books to make a change in their lives.

One person I spoke to had what I considered to be a book “with legs” to it. In other words, this book could become a movie one day. It had the possible attributes to become a franchise, much like Harry Potter did. The characters were strong and unique and had a great target market segment of tweens and teens. It contained an archeological element like Indiana Jones. It had fuzzy characters and I had visions of licensing toys, rides at amusement parks, lunchboxes, sequels, etc. around this fantastically creative and fun story.  And when I asked the author what his budget was to market the book, he stated that he spent all of his money self publishing the book and didn’t want to send it out to potential publishers/promotional machines. It was his baby and he was sure it would just sell itself once he got it listed on one of the major .com book seller sites. The last time I checked, he still had all of the original first run copies of the book. Sad.

So please heed my humble but honest and caring advice. If you do write that one book that you have in you, please don’t assume that it will sell itself. Do everything you can to get it published by a mainstream publisher. That entity has the know-how to assist you with the critical aspects of the visual packaging of your book’s cover, spine and back. In addition, the established publisher has the contacts, relationships and experience to “plug you into” a promotional campaign that includes a well-planned launch, media coverage, book signings, reviews and the paperback announcement. If you are unable to get a mainstream publisher to publish your book, hire a professional marketer/promoter with a track record of success. Don’t fall prey to the “self help” seminars, webinars and “how to” guides that are out there. Most of them are bogus, over priced and based upon theory not practice or actual results. In this case, after you’ve put your words to paper, put your money where your mouth is and hire a professional who will get you and your book to stand out above the crowd. Don’t be another self published author who pours their soul into a book and then waits for it to sell itself. It is highly unlikely that you will succeed with a “build it and they will come” strategy.

Guest Blog: I Fought the Blog and the Blog Won! By Gordon Durich

 As a "traditional" writer for many years, the idea of blogging seemed at first foreign. However, in 2011, the world is full of blogs - some that hit the mark, others that seem, well, rather like a gripe fest. I mean not to minimize this form of popular culture and its prominent validity as a commercial form of mass communication. It is just that I was used to writing copy for publication in print form and then having my ink edited (and sometimes censored) to fit the tone of the medium for which I wrote. In the world of blogging, there seems not to be such a thing as editing!

My writing initially bore a naive and often gushy over-congratulatory and probably over-academic viewpoint. Then, I "sold out" and started writing more "business" pieces than I had ever thought possible. This was not by choice, but for survival - the almighty dollar. I began to write a lot of blatant advertorial copy for local small businesses. I churned them out and the business owners loved every glowing word.

This whole new trend of online blogging is a curious beast and for a time, I resisted it.

In spite of this, I have come to learn that blogging can in fact lead to a new career for some who can manage to put words together in a fetching way. Why not make a living by using the written word in a new forum and format? Look at the journey of Julie, the based-upon-a-true-story character in the fanciful Meryl Streep movie "Julie and Julia" who turned her obsession with Julia Childs into a professional goldmine. I think that's when I really "got" it.

So now I find myself joining the ranks and writing online – blogging!  

In Public Relations and advertising, a simple slogan can tell a story. And yet blogs are all about words, words, words. I would love to see blogs by the likes of Mark Twain, George Orwell, Og Mandino and some of the Greek philosophers. Could they keep up with the routine of cranking out the daily volume of words that the bloggers from San Francisco to Sydney are doing?

We may all be living in a world of monomania, but there is always a void to fill. It's either "them" or "us" and someone has to keep the wheel spinning. What will replace the blog? I can’t wait to see ... but in the meanwhile, I’ll continue to write - online that is.

Gordon Durich studied Media and Creative Writing in Melbourne, Australia, worked as a features writer and in Public Relations. His mentor is Phillip Adams, Australian media guru and broadcaster.  He writes for AOL Patch.com and the odd print publication, odd being the operative word.

Gordon Durich gdd2@roadrunner.com  Also, on Facebook  and LinkedIn.