Which creates rather a catch-22 – a boring blog no one reads, or an interesting blog which could lose them their edge over their competition.

I do pretty well on adsense from the bounce but I need people to actually stay for my other monetized ads to work.. I can shorten up my tutorial and make it an easier read but the subject demands an in-depth explanation … any suggestions?

True – on all accounts.

Business is definitely about relationships. I say again and again that people do business with people not with businesses. So it’s the relationship that makes all the difference.

And I think of relationships as what connects people and how, through that connection, they behave toward each other. The best of relationships are mutually beneficial.

Great stuff here, and of course another great lesson to learn from Dawud:

We are not just responding to a question, we are conversing… like at a coffee shop .

I heard from a friend recently:

Business is about building Relationships.

Relationships are about being in service to others.

Therefore Business is about being in service to others.

People often forget, or dont know this..

Dawud and LaurenMarie,

Thanks for commenting at my blog

Exactly. Your readers want to know you. And how can they get to know you if you’re not the one writing the content? Well said.

LaurenMarie & Jean,

Mark’s a pretty good writer himself. Both Marks actually (Mark Silver and Mark Goodyear). Mark Silver’s article is a nice example. I’m glad you both read it.

Jean,

True. I am asking you – everyone – to think a bit more about what motivates them to action. It’s an important thing to do in all parts of life – personal as well as business.

I think I understand what you mean with Ferriss. Yet remember, he’s trying to create buzz around a book that’s now #1 on NY Best Sellers List. So he’s purposefully being sensational. I don’t want to be sensational, but I do want to be remarkable; I want to be remarked about, on and with. Conversation, sharing ideas, that’s what leads to knowledge – and relationships.

It’s lovely that you’ve created the life you love. I certainly agree that his book isn’t for everyone. But it is for a huge number of people who struggle with their workflow or the pull of the office. What I ultimately see Ferriss’ book as isn’t about time as much as about control – who’s controlling you in your work and how to get out of that dynamic. Is it your boss, technology, the inbox or just information as a whole. That’s what I see Tim Ferriss addressing. And it’s and important thing for most business people.

And…thank you for always joining the conversation here.

Dawud,
Your blogs are definitely remarkable, judging by all the comments you receive. But I don’t think you’re polarizing or are eliciting rebukes and attacks. That was the part of Ferriss that bothered me. I think you’re encouraging people to think more deeply about some issues and share their thoughts and experiences with others. You’re promoting conversation rather than debate. That’s why I keep coming back.

So far I’m not inclined to buy Ferriss’ book, mainly because it doesn’t seem to apply to me. It seems to me he’s telling people how they can create a life they love. I’ve already done that. So instead I’m rereading Edward de Bono’s I Am Right and You Are Wrong. One of the points he makes is “We need to shift from argument to genuine exploration of a subject.” I keep visiting this site because that seems to be what you’re doing, too.

Mark, that was an awesome article. I liked everything you said. “What they did do was combine platforms, and express them in a unique way. And impacted millions of people.” What an inspiring line! I’m going to go define my platforms. Thanks!!

As an editor and sometime ghostwriter, I’d say you you can’t buy good content. You can hire someone to finesse the content. You can hire someone to help pull the good content out of you through interviews and other processes. You can even hire a research editor to gather related pieces of content, but someone has to assemble those pieces into something new.

But if you want that content to present your perspective, if you want that content to be your content somehow, then you have to add your two cents. Or two dollars. Or two hundred dollars.

You’ve got to add your voice to the conversation in a way that does more than just summarize what’s been said.

Ownership is a big issue for many small businesses. That’s why it’s important for people to recognize that what they’ve learned has been digested, at least to some degree, and then regurgitate (sorry) out through their perspective.

Though I’m not fond of absolutes, there’s really no other way. Everything we experience is subjective so it has to be filtered through us.

Original content does get in the way. And so do all the issues people seem to have with writing in general.

That’s why I’m such a fan of conversation. People have much less fear around sitting in a coffee shop talking to someone about their business than they do creating a marketing message that will go out to the masses.

Yet, their marketing message – regardless of how big – is not for the masses. Ultimately it’s not even for their target audience. Rather, it’s for the individual they can help – one-by-one. That’s where the conversation happens.

Several people have said something along the lines of “It goes without saying that you get ideas from outside you.”

Here’s the thing: I don’t think it does go without saying. At this point I’ve worked with thousands of small business owners over the last 9 years, and this ownership issue is a big one.

And one of the biggest misunderstandings I run into is the concept of ‘original content.’ Business owners of all sorts read stuff they really like and admire and learn from, but then they think they can’t touch it- that they’ve got to somehow come up with their own ideas.

Or, if they do use someone else’s content, that they have to forever be a ‘wannabe.’

I wrote an article (sorry, I was an article writer long before blogging came around):
Cookie Grandma’s Secrets to a Unique and Powerful Business.

That’s why I like to emphasize this point of both the inner and the outer aspects of having a unique voice- so folks don’t end up either sounding like a parrot, or a navel-gazer.

I agree. There’s nothing wrong with debate. It’s healthy. And if the people debating are ‘mature’ (sorry, bad word) enough, then they have the chance to learn from each other. If not, there’s little point.

Standing in what you know – even if it changes later – take great courage, faith and trust in yourself, your message, and your business.

Thanks for these great points. Now, let’s go over to your blog and start a debate…

Andrea,

I know what you mean. I enjoy writing more and more the longer I blog.

There’s a number of reasons I feel writing your own content is so important. The biggest one, though, is most small business owners struggle in being an owner. So when they’re forced to write their own content, it brings them into direct ownership of their business. It’s one of the great helpers for people ‘showing up.’

I’m heading over to your post now. Everyone, come with me…

‘PLR’ (Public Label Rights) is part of the rites of passage for an Internet Marketer, and I believe it can be helpful for those who are already in a niche market or perhaps need help fleshing out an existing site, but after shelling out lots of dough, it turns out I like writing, and I like the things I have to say, especially since they are usually inspired by real life events, or something I have learned from someone else’s life. Cant go wrong there! I used to take some article I would purchase, and butcher it up to pieces and end up with maybe one line of the original + took twice as long to edit than had I written it myself!

I may have defeated the original purpose of my blog, but I am having a lot more fun and making more friends in the process… and then.. somehow, this real content from the heart, is taking me and my blog places I would not have expected!

Btw, if you are ever concerned about the time it takes to write content – I wrote a post that offers quick advice that really helped me.. http://getstartedtodayonline.com/the-best-copy-tip-ever/

Be well!

Andrea

Many bloggers (me included) seem to hover over the skin of good content and hesitate to take that next step that can lead to healthy debate. Figuratively speaking the adage “put your money where your mouth is” can be a splash of cold water in the face.

Polarizing people takes courage and faith in yourself.

I’m so glad you stuck with Ferriss (and me). Let me know what you think of the book.

And I did see both Brian and Darren’s posts today.

I agree with Tim for the most part. I just have a different way to express what he saying. I don’t mind debate and even conflict, but I won’t argue or allow things to degrade. Nor to I tend that way. But I do want to talk about topics that do insight emotion and have many different facets. That’s what’s alive for me.

And I agree with him on being remarkable and courageous. To be successful in business, you have to stand out from those around you. But not to everyone. Just to your focused market.

And leadership is definitely more about courage than genius. A leader stands out front, often by themselves, and carves the path for those who follow – often through difficulty and into the unknown. That takes courage.

Perhaps I’ll write a post soon on courage. Sounds fun. I’d love to hear your responses, Jean.

LaurenMarie,

You got it. I do go against the grain in that I don’t just look at the bottom line. When I look at businesses, I see people with conversation and relationships waiting to happen. So I focus on nurturing that while watching the bottom line.

Ferriss, I feel, is right on measuring. Certainly we should trust our hearts – and even our souls. Yet, we have a mind also that needs to be used to evaluate how our business is doing. That means measuring, testing, tracking – looking at the numbers.

I don’t see our internal guidance and external statistics as being at odds like many might. Rather, I see them as having more of the picture of how your business is progressing.

I think it kind of is your approach, Dawud, (minus the making people hate you) because you go against the grain that says business is all about the company (at least that’s the attitude of many companies even if they say it’s about the customer). You make it just as much about the relationship as the business, which many would disagree with. They just haven’t found this blog yet apparently. I know you would defend your views if someone questioned them and all of the posts I’ve read so far are very “remarkable.”

“Tim Ferris, best-selling author of The Four-Hour Work Week and newest darling of the blogosphere did an interview with Darren Rowse today. Here’s what Tim had to say:

‘Do not try to appeal to everyone. Instead, take a strong stance and polarize people: make some love you and some hate you. Hate is an extreme, but here’s the gist: what you write, in order to create the highest pass-along value, needs to be “remarkable”. Is it something that is worth remarking upon?

Polarize your audience, elicit some attacks — which create disagreement and rebukes and debate — and be anal about the numbers. Track what works and what doesn’t. Fine tune what works and test it again. Rinse and repeat.’

Leadership is not about genius. It’s about courage.”

That doesn’t sound like your approach. Sounds like a good blog topic to me. I’d love to hear your opinion.

I’m really looking forward to Dawud reading Tim Ferriss’ book and telling us how he has integrated some of the content into his own life.

Without a doubt. As I said in my response to Mark, I take learning and integration as a given. And I know that what I learn outside myself is then expressed from within myself. So, I guess it’s just a matter of perspective.

What inspires you? …keeps your juices flowing when you write?

Carloyn,

Hey sweetie. I can’t imagine buying content. What’s the point of blogging if you’re not sharing who you are and what you know?

So tell me…who are you and what do you know?

When we stick exclusively to our thoughts and experiences, we get repetitive and stale; maybe the well doesn’t exactly dry up, but it’s obvious that it’s not being fed.

As for buying good content: say what?!?

You know, Dawud, if I wasn’t writing about something I’m passionate about, I would’ve given up a long time ago (I say a long time, but I mean less than a year ago when I started).

Mark makes a good point though. The well can dry quickly if you don’t also absorb yourself in outside influences. It’s why I spend some time almost every day catching up on my feed reader and visiting design-related websites. Of course clients can provide a lot of food for thought, and even your children (thinking back to one of your recent articles).