To Speak With The Voice Of Your Soul

“If you want to speak with the voice of your soul, you have to quiet the voices in your head.” – Me

I was talking to some friends after the Sacramento Speakers Network meeting tonight (the greatest networking group ever!), and I heard the phrase above come out of my mouth.  I was stunned.  It was a big “A-ha!” moment for me.  I’ve been trying to figure out how to succinctly describe what a Blog Whisperer does, and suddenly there it was: what I’ve learned to do, and what I’m enjoying helping other people to do, is to quiet the voices in their heads; when they learn to do that, they can start to find and speak with their true voices.

I know from my own experience how debilitating those voices can be.  Have a look at some of the early posts on this blog; they sound like they were written by a robot, and, in some respects, they were.  The stuff I wrote was aimed at…no one in particular.  I was writing to appeal to as wide an audience as I could manage, and no one cared.

And yet, I was convinced it was the correct way to write.  Don’t offend, don’t alienate, don’t polarize…those were my mantras.  When I finally started to quiet my mind, though, I started to hear a different voice.  The new voice was vaguely familiar, but it had been a long time since I’d heard it.

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Why Do So Many Blogs Fail? The Same Reason Businesses Do!

Last week, I signed up for what looks to be a cool new service called SeededBuzz (I saw that a few of my friends had “liked” their ad on Facebook, so score 1 for the effectiveness of Facebook ads).  The basic idea is that you can submit your best blog posts (called “planting a seed”) , and other bloggers can pick up on the theme and write posts of their own based on your “seed” post (otherwise known as “buzzing” your “seed”).  Once you get a handle on the goofy terminology, it can be a great way to meet, connect with, and befriend other bloggers.  And it works!

Meet Tia Peterson, creator of BizChickBlogs.  Tia knows her stuff: she’s been designing websites and messing with WordPress since graduating college, although she won’t tell us how long ago that was.  Her tips and advice for bloggers are spot on.  I met Tia via (heh…that rhymes) SeededBuzz, and this is why I love blogging: it’s all about the connections!

Anyhow, a few weeks ago Tia wrote a post that considered the question of why so many blogs fail.  I think that’s an interesting question, especially considering my new Blog Whisperer project.  The reason I started MyBlogWhisperer.com was the fact that so many of the blogs I was setting up for people were left vacant once they were completed.  When I would ask the owners of said blogs what was going on, I’d get different versions of the same answer: they felt like they didn’t have anything worth saying.

And I think that’s the number one reason most blogs fail: FEAR.  So many of us have been filling our heads with negative self-talk for so long that we refuse to believe that anyone would want to hear anything we have to say.  I’m here to tell you, though, that they do!  Believe it or not, there are thousands of people just like you who are looking for someone to give voice to their thoughts and feelings.  That someone can be you, if you’ll just get out of your own way.

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5 Mistakes That Are Killing Your Marketing – And How To Stop Making Them

First of all, I have to say a big “Thanks!” to Dave Navarro of Copyblogger fame for his great article today about how to write headlines.  That’s one thing I’ve never really paid attention to, but I’m going to start.  Thanks Dave!

So…are you curious?  Wondering what these five evil mistakes are and how you can stop making them?  Well, I’m going to be recording a podcast with SMB technology guru, noted speaker and award-winning author Karl Palachuk on his Cloud Services Roundtable Podcast next Wednesday at 9:00 AM.

If you want to listen to the podcast interview for free, you’ll have to register and listen live; otherwise, you can sign up for the membership and download it at your leisure.  After the podcast, I’ll be diving into a 5-part series on this topic here on the blog.

And for those of you who are curious, here are the five mistakes we’ll be talking about, the five mistakes that are killing your marketing campaigns:

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Speaking of Transparency

Since I’ve been advocating the spirit of transparency, I have a confession to make: I have absolutely no idea how to launch a product.  And before you start sending me tips for doing it right, I should also add that I’m not sure I want to know.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a project for a new program I’m going to offer starting in September.  The site for the program is MyBlogWhisperer.com, and it’s designed to help bloggers get out of their own way and start writing or recoding and sharing what’s in their heart.  I’m really excited about the program, and I can’t wait to take my first registration.

Here’s the thing, though: I feel weird promoting my own stuff.  I know I’ve got something valuable to share, but I don’t feel inclined to make a huge deal out of it.  And I definitely don’t want to be a cheeseball internet marketer pitching the product of the week.  I just want folks to know what I’m up to and, if they like the sound of it, to join me in the class.

So, wise readers, how do I do it?  How do I balance the desire to build some positive buzz and get the signups coming in without resorting to “yellow highlighter” tactics?  What do you all think of the page and the program?  Please let me know your thoughts, and thanks for reading!

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Learning To Let Your Light Shine

Last post, I discussed the problem with the “fake it ’til you make it” approach to business, namely the difficulty it creates for building open, honest, transparent relationships with your clients.  I promised to follow with a post discussing the benefits of transparency in your business, so here goes.

#1 – Transparency Builds Trust

When I read a post by Johnny B. Truant that detailed a financial difficulty he had in the past and how he dealt with it, I felt an instant affinity for him.  I could tell as I was reading the post that this was a guy who really got it, a guy who could relate to the struggles I was going through and, as a result, I trusted him immediately.

Funny how that works, isn’t it.  I mean, I’ve never met Johnny; for all I know, he could be a guy who beats up Boy Scouts and steals money from nuns to support his toad-licking habit.  Whatever he is, though, I trust him because he had the guts to tell the world that his life isn’t always sunshine and roses, and that occasionally he gets kicked in the crotch, too.

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Posturing Is For Posers, Not For You

pos·tur·ing

1 : to assume a posture; especially : to strike a pose for effect
2 : to assume an artificial or pretended attitude

This post has been stewing in my brain for days, and I think it’s about time I get it out.  If it seems a little disjointed, well, consider the source.

I’m calling out the “fake it ’til you make it crowd”; I think it’s time to put that idea to rest.  While the philosophy seemed like a good one at first blush, I’m beginning to understand that “faking it” is just another way of hiding from the fear of being open, honest and transparent.

The thought is that by pretending you’ve already arrived at the destination, somehow the journey will be less arduous and time-consuming.  If you’ll just act like a successful business person (i.e. “fake it”), so the theory goes, people will assume that you are a successful businessperson and will want to do business with you (i.e. you’ll “make it”).  Sounds good, right?  You can move to the front of the class without doing any homework or passing any tests; who wouldn’t want to do that?  Where do I sign up?

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Are You Still Branding? – Guest Post by Todd Pillars

I’m part of a discussion over at LinkedIn Groups (I didn’t link to it to protect my their identity)  about branding and whether or not it’s still relevant. They’re tossing around terms like media channels and marketing equations. They are confusing brand equity with market share. The marketing insiders just don’t get it. Granted they are talking to other marketing professionals. However, if they are true to their own brand then it is bound to leak through – ask any I.T. marketer about verticals, optimization, and integration.

I’m of the belief that, while the spirit of branding is still applicable (only it’s called promotion), the term branding is WAY over used. And because of the communication platform of the Internet (I tried really, really hard not say Social Media) branding has given way, thankfully, to “having a conversation”.

I used this example:

You have a company of 500 people. 400 people manufacture, package, and ship your super-duper baby spit-up remover. 50 of them are out there selling it. 10 are marketing folks. 40 provide support services and management. What’s the chance of all 500 employees living the brand? A snowball’s survival comes to mind.

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The Secret to Ultimate Satisfaction: I’m Just Going to Be Me… – Guest Post by Dan Waldschmidt

Guest Blogger Dan Waldschmidt

I’m just going to be me.

I am tired of being the person that you think I should be.  I’m just going to be the best “me” possible.

And isn’t that what you really want from me?

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A Quick Update

You may have noticed (at least I hope you did) that the frequency of posts here has dropped off a little in the last few weeks.   I thought I should drop a quick line to let everyone know that I’m still here.  I’ve immersed myself in a new project that’s kept me pretty busy (more to come on that later this week), but I’ve almost got it finished so regular posts will resume soon.

In the meantime, I’ve arranged for guest posts from a few of my favorite bloggers; I hope you enjoy reading them.  In fact, I’m planning on making this a weekly feature, so if you’d like to make a contribution to the Motivation 101 blog (or if you know someone who would), please drop a quick email to jerry@jerrykennedy.com with your name, blog URL and a brief description of the post you want to write.

Well, that’s it for now, other than a quick shout-out to my friends, the Nomad Canfields.  If you haven’t checked out Joel and Sue and their daughter Fiona chronicling their attempt at running away from home (they’re in Vancouver, BC, right now), you should  have a look at their blog, Canfield of Dreams.  You might recognize Joel as an infrequent contributor to this blog or as the other guy in the legendary Business Heretics videos (actually, it was all his idea).  Anyhow, have a look and tell them I said you should stop by.

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If You Motivate An Idiot… – Guest Post by Carl Taylor

Carl Taylor, Entrepreneur and Author

There are a lot of websites and speakers that are trying to motivate you. They motivate you to take action, to get off your ass and achieve more. But if you’re an idiot and someone motivates you, you are now just a motivated idiot, and you are going to do idiotic things faster.

Motivated idiots are those people who go to their first property seminar, hear a sales pitch disguised as education that says you must invest right now in this off the plan unit block, immediately sign on the dotted line and a few years later wonder why they don’t have the returns they expected.

I’m not meaning to have a go at seminar selling, or even property seminars; they are viable business methods and have their place.  What you should be focusing on is “their first” as in it was their first seminar. The presenter did a great job and got them motivated, but at this stage they were just a motivated idiot and they made an idiotic decision because they didn’t know what questions to ask.

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