Professional bloggers are mentors. You can be friends but don’t confuse being a buddy with being a mentor.  Your reader wants answers, they’ve come to you to get it. They already have friends on Facebook happy to provide emotional support. If you are still here then you’re probably wondering how to turn this “mentorship” idea into a plan for your blog. Let’s start with your editorial calendar.  Don’t start writing posts this year without an editorial calendar.  Your calendar will keep you on message and on objective for the rest of the year.  I’ll show you how in a minute. Clear distractions.  MORE >>

Creating good content and a strong following is hard work. Many have learned this lesson and many more are still learning. Just ask any major media outlet. The race for content that attracts an audience is very competitive and changes rapidly. The most compelling content is that which creates ideas for others to create opportunities. Idea That Encourage Creativity. bought my wife an IPad 2 for Christmas. Throughout last year we had several conversations about Apple products and their attractiveness. My wife loves her IPhone but kept discounting the need for an IPad. What Is Your Vision? An Inc. MORE >>

Today’s guest post is written by Lindsay Bell. We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax.”   - Samuel Goldwyn. Traditional advertising is dead. Content marketing is the new traditional advertising. Glad *that’s* out of the way. Ok, that opening statement is an exaggeration (bet it caught your eye though), but it’s no exaggeration to say that marketing and advertising have been irrevocably altered by a communications revolution. Social media, mobile technology, and word-of-mouth marketing have been serious game changers. Those are impressive stats. MORE >>

"Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals." " - Clay Shirky at TED Cannes in June 2010. This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people in the business, Clay Shirky. particularly like it because it illustrates the period many organizations find themselves in when trying to integrate social media internally. Before wikis were used by the Intelligence Community to develop reports on IEDs , people were creating user badges to show off their favorite NFL teams. But media abundance never works that way. MORE >>

What would it feel like to know that readers are using your insight and advice to change their professional and personal lives? It would be a rush right? That’s why we spend hours researching, brainstorming, and writing posts every week. That is why we blog. However, the disappointing reality for many bloggers is that they don’t have this kind of impact on their reader’s lives. They are barely a blip on their visitor’s radars. It’s evidenced by their inability to get their reader’s to take a simple action on their behalf. You are your reader’s “buddy” not their mentor. Guidance. Tools. MORE >>