David S. Finch

Weekend Reader: Sunday Morning Edition

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10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design : "With the power of the Web, and more eyes watching than ever, it’s important for a business to communicate its unique message clearly. The easiest way to recognize a company and distinguish it from others is by its logo. Below, we go through 10 common logo design mistakes that you should avoid if you want to create a successful and professional logo." [Smashing Magazine]

How to Kick Ass with a Mobile Website : "People browsing your website via mobile devices are an ever-increasing segment of total website visitors. The proliferation of smartphones and increases in mobile browsing are key trends for 2009, with smartphone shipments worldwide set to grow by 23% this year, (despite a 9.1% decline in the mobile handset market). This not just a western phenomenon; in developing nations the cost of a computer makes a web-enabled mobile device even more attractive. With many companies looking to expand into new markets during the recession, this is an interesting point to note. Importantly, as mobile web use grows, the personal experiences of users are more likely than ever to be shared both online and in ‘the real world’." [Marketing Pligrim]

How To Write a White Paper to Attract Clients : "Do you have a new idea, business model, product or service? Do you want to get noticed by using a marketing method that might only cost you time? Try writing a white paper to attract people to your door." [Dumb Little Man]

Cultivate an Active Network : "It’s never the number. It’s what you can do with it. This applies to lots of things. It doesn’t matter if you drive 3000 people to your store, if no one rings the cash register. Who cares how many people follow you on Twitter if you can’t motivate them to participate with you on any level? But how do you cultivate an active network?" [chrisbrogan.com]

The natural evolution from side project to full-time business : "Some have doubted our advice that you should hold on to your day job and start something on the side. They argue building a business requires such persistent effort that you need to devote all your time to it to do it right. And it’s true that building a business requires plenty of time and effort. But the idea that you need to quit your job to do it right is misguided. If you quit your job, you shift everything. You don’t gain time, you lose it. You put a shot clock on your business. You box yourself into a position where you have to profit immediately or the whole thing goes under. You’ve got to make it work now or give up forever." [37 Signals]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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The State of PR, Marketing, and Communications: You are the Future : "While the communications industry has iterated with every new technological advancement over the last century, including broadcast mediums and Web 1.0, none however, have forced complete transparency prior to the proliferation of the Read/Write Web aka The Social Web aka Web 2.0. It is this element of fundamental transparency of Social Media combined with its sheer expansiveness and overwhelming potential that is both alarming and inspiring PR professionals everywhere. At the minimum, it’s sparking new dialogue, questions, education, innovation, and also forcing the renaissance of the aging business of PR itself." [PR 2.0 - Brian Solis]

How to Alter Your Work Schedule to Accommodate Personal Projects : "One of the advantages of working from home is the flexible schedule. No matter how many things you need to accomplish, or how many simultaneous projects you have, you can still control when you can perform certain tasks, as well as how long they take. While this is more true of freelancing than it is for employees, it’s this schedule flexibility that makes the prospect of teleworking more attractive." [Web Worker Daily]

What Social Media Isn't : "Social media is everywhere and for a lot of businesses they approach it likes it’s the magic wand that’s going to be the savior to their business. When you begin to talk to them, usually the conversation starts like this. “Can you help us with that Twitter thing and that Facebook thing, not to mention it’s vital if you can produce for us one of those viral videos. Second, this has to help our business look hip and cool and last but not least, we don’t have the time to really be involved in any conversations.” [Social Media Explorer]

Writing Engaging Content : "Social media and the explosion of (potential) digital destinations has bubbled up the question about content. What is best to write about? How much do you need to write to attract readers and buyers? How long should posts be? And occasionally, still, what is a blog? One thing is for sure, everyone is looking for definitions and "how to's". [Conversation Agent]

8 Ways to Create Paperless Business Cards : "What’s that, you’re still printing your business card on paper? That is so last year. These days, business cards are going all virtual and that’s a good thing. Not only are paperless business cards good for the environment, and easier to carry, they’re also unlimited — you’ll never run out when you’re networking at an event or conference." [Mashable]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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The A-Z of social media for brands: "You might be familiar with social media, but hopefully you'll give me a pass as some of this stuff bears repeating. However I think this A-Z is going to be more useful if you’re somebody who is trying to convince your boss that adopting a social media strategy is a good idea" [eConsultancy]

Thinking Bigger: Finding Your Next Big Idea : "It can become easy to present stale strategies because you haven’t rebuilt your seedbed of ideas. Pushing yourself to think bigger is just as much preparation as it is discipline. Your creative preparation is often times impacted by your level of exposure. The more your exposed to variety the more easier it can be to push past boundaries and enlarge your ability to think bigger than you have in the past." [Social Media Explorer]

The Ideal Small Business Marketing Plan : "The real debate is not whether or not you need a marketing plan, the question is, what goes in your plan? In my exposure to formal marketing plans, There’s too much focus on numbers and goals, and not enough on what really matters. You don’t need forecasts and metrics, you need foundations and initiatives. Here’s what you should include." [The Marketing Spot]

Why NPR is the Future of Mainstream Media : "Compared to cable news, where most networks are shedding viewers, and newspapers, where circulation continues to plummet, NPR is starting to look like they have the future of news all figured out. Or at least, they appear to doing a lot better at it than the rest of the traditional media. But what is NPR doing differently that’s causing their listener numbers to swell? They basically have a three-pronged strategy that is helping them not only grow now, but also prepare for the future media landscape where traditional methods of consumption (TV, radio, print) could be greatly marginalized in favor of digital distribution. [Mashable]

9 Ways People Respond to Your Content Online: " Use your creativity to generate content that will inspire and transform the lives of the audience in a positive way. Remember that it costs time (and indirectly – money) for your audience to read what you write. And, they expect a good return for that investment. You will know whether you are succeeding in influencing your audience in a positive way because the audience will tell you. No, maybe not directly but by the way they respond to your content. [Lateral Action]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Late Edition

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10 Easy Tutorials to create a Mobile version of your blog in minutes !: "If you haven’t switched to a mobile version of your blog/site, then you are really missing something. Today a good amount of people search for information on mobiles/mobile search and its not far away when all websites “will have to” go mobile if they want to catch up. As in all cases, the early birds will have their extra share. If you haven’t switched to mobile versions of your blog, here are 25 cool tutorials that will help you do it now." [Daily SEO Blog]

10 Sure-Fire Ways to Maximize Your Online Distribution Channel: "It doesn’t matter what venue you choose to attend, there’s a common question that someone will be asking, “how do I get more traffic to my web site?” Which is often time followed up by the second question, “how can I make more money with my web site?” The answer to these types of questions aren’t found hidden within the hard drive of your favorite influential blogger, but are revealed from a core of principles and disciplines. If you’re consistent in these practices, you can watch your readership grow and traffic increase. Here are 10 ways you can begin immediately to maximize your online distribution channel." [Social Media Explorer]

The Next Media Company: "We talk a lot about what it’s going to take to keep The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal and all the other papers of the world alive. We talk about the future of publishing books and magazines, and what it’s going to take to change the music industry. Let’s stop for a minute. If you were given a few million bucks from a venture capitalist to build a media company, what would that look like?" [Chris Brogan]

Organic social media vs. marketing campaigns : "mong the boatload of ways you can slice and dice social media from a business perspective, there are these two: Your use of social media can be organic and it can be campaign-based. [Shel Holtz]

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Weekend Reader: Late Edition

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Ingredients for Creativity On the Go: "Whether you’re a location-independent freelance writer or an illustrator who likes to travel, the key to getting creative things done on the go is to be clear in advance about what you want to accomplish. If you’re trying to churn out a final draft of an article, you’ll need a different backdrop and different tools than someone aiming to crank out a rough draft. Before traveling, I take some time to review my creative projects and figure out what stage I want to bring them to. I also make sure to pack the tools for recording random ideas and inspiration." [Essential Prose]

9 Practical Ways to To Help Stay Focused : "Your attention is everything these days. As the media and the people in your environment will always find new ways to distract you from what's important, it's even more important today to maintain your focus. By doing so, you remain to be "the eye of the storm," calm and focused. Being focused is more of an art than it is a science. Here are 9 practical ways to stay focused. [Dumb Little Man]

There Is No Social Media Kit : "We want shortcuts. We want a kit of parts, turn-key, that we can plug and play. (We did love the Chia Pet after all. Just add water.) We’re accustomed to standards and rules of engagement and largely accepted practices that someone has captured in a textbook somewhere. We look to “best practices” and the road that someone has safely paved before us. It’s reassurance for us that we’re “doing it right”. [Altitude Branding]

How to Increase Your Creative Output : "Having a high creative output is a difficult productivity skill to master. Anyone can reduce their internet usage, cut distractions or write to-do lists to double their efficiency. But doubling the amount of code you write or music you compose is much harder. Inspiration is 99% perspiration. Despite the difficulties, I think working hard to boost your creative output is worth it. A higher creative output means better quality work and more work accomplished. [Scott H. Young]

55 Ways to Get More Energy : "If you’re tired all the time, a change in what you eat (diet) or what you do all day (activity pattern) may be all you need to turn things around 180°. You won’t be able to do everything on this list all the time — you’d tire yourself out trying to get more energy — but do try them all to see which ones work for you and your schedule. Add a few of these tips to your regular routine. Or mix them up to keep things interesting. [Zen Habits]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Late Edition

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How To Make Your Offline Presence Work For You Online: "I was recently working on a social media strategy for a popular city newspaper and it got me thinking about the benefits a business can get from a well-thought out crossover between its offline and online presence. I've tried to write this post so that it's useful for any sized business that has some kind of offline presence, from a shop, through a publication to any kind of offline advertising or PR. If you're spending money offline, you should consider how that investment can be taken advantage of online." (SEOmoz)

25 Must Read Social Media Marketing Tips : "The benefit from a firm grasp of social media for companies is impossible to ignore. Whether you work in marketing, advertising, public relations or interactive, there are distinct competitive advantages for both individuals and businesses from a better understanding of the social web." (Top Rank Blog)

7 Ways to Use Social Media to Build Stunning Brands : "Social media is perhaps the most misleading name for a marketing-related concept ever, given that it’s grown to represent a philosophy of consumer empowerment and brand/customer partnership - far beyond it’s humble roots of user-generated content." (Convince & Convert)

What makes Zappos so successful? : "You likely have heard of Zappos.com, but just in case you haven’t, let me briefly tell you how they have revolutionized the shoe-buying experience. They offer a great amount of information so that it is easy to purchase something as complex as shoes online. For example, they offer customer reviews that are very specific about each product, and they showcase multiple views of each shoe. Moreover, they promise free shipping both ways – including returns." (The Society for Word of Mouth)

A Brand Manager’s Call for Change: "Let’s face it; it used to be a lot easier to be a Brand Manager. People were looking for brands that delivered functional benefits like “better tasting” or “longer lasting.” They heard about those brands through a handful of media vehicles like TV, magazines, radio and billboards. And when they decided to buy that “longer lasting” brand they saw on TV, they went to the neighborhood store, which was happy to stock the trusted brands. The purchase funnel was a simple, straightforward process that Brand Managers could easily follow and plan against." (Hard Knox Life)

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The Weekend Reader: Sunday Late Edition

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Monetizing an Email List From Your Blog : "In my condensed guide to making a 4-figure income from your blog I touted the benefits of capturing email subscribers from your traffic. Getting the email is not really much good on it’s own - the question is how to make money from that list and my approach is a bit different to most." (Caroline Middlebrook)

Assembling the Social Media Team : "When you’re assembling a team of people to head social media efforts, it can be a daunting task. What characteristics and skills do you look for? What departments/disciplines should be represented? And how do you prepare for the inevitable turnover? Let’s take these in turn." (Altitude Branding)

Twitter Following Practices : "I thought I’d detail some of the processes and thinking behind how I manage and maintain nearly 10,000 followers on Twitter. Before we dig into tech stuff, I have two stated goals for Twitter." (Christopher S. Penn)

15 Quick Pitch Tips for Kick Ass Presentations : "The pitch isn’t the only thing that will make your business successful; far from it. But it sure does matter when you have an opportunity to get on stage and present. Those opportunities may be few and far between, but you don’t want to blow them. And opportunities to pitch your business should happen all the time - because ultimately we’re always pitching, whether it’s investors, customers, business partners, candidates, spouses, or random people we catch on the street. Pitching and presenting are critical skills for startup owners." (Instigator Blog)

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The Weekend Reader: Early Edition

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The Three Essentials of Breakthrough Content Marketing: "You need to know what works today to find customers and persuade them to buy. And the answer to that question is content marketing. But it takes more than “content is king” to work in this tricky environment. You need to focus your attention on these three key elements to make content marketing work for you." (copyblogger.com)

Make Media Work for You- Elements of Good Online Content : "If I’m going to tell companies that content marketing is important, I should probably give my thoughts on how to make it useful. I’m thinking about blogging, podcasting, shooting photos, making video, and all the other tools social media allows us to use to tell stories (not market). In my ideas, I give you nuggets of what matters to me in media making, and what I believe will matter to your prospective audience." (Chris Brogan)

Thoughts on Measurement : "Measurement has always been positioned as a benchmarking tool to prove results. And in social media right now that’s important because folks seem to be struggling to demonstrate results. Yet in the midst of a campaign, measurement can show you what’s working, what’s not, and how the effort will play out. This gives cause communicators the opportunity to change course midstream — if necessary — to affect a different result. So K.D.’s point is prescient for the communications strategist: Good generalship demands that you do more than just report results." (The Buzz Bin)

How to Revise an Email So That People Will Read It : "People think that the first draft is the big event and that revision is cleaning up afterward. But the first draft is really setting up the chairs, tables, and cups, and revision isn't cleaning up after the party, it is the party." (Harvard Business Publishing)

How to Deal With Slow Internet Connections When You Travel : "As someone who spends several weeks each year moving around a developing country, I’ve had to put up with slow, unstable connections while trying to keep up with my work. Through these experiences, I’ve realized that while slow connections can be a real pain, it’s possible to work around them." (Web Worker Daily)

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The Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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50 Content Ideas that Create Buzz : The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited by Emanuel Rosen is a treasure trove of ideas and case studies on the way people share information and how ideas spread. Rather than give you a review of the book, which you can find on Amazon, I thought it would be useful to share some ideas and take aways that apply to content creation - the new business of marketing and communications.

How to Build Your Ultimate Contact List : "I view my contact manager as a one-stop shopping source for the information I need. If it’s a prospect’s phone number, there it is, right below his name. Or, if I need to send a friend an e-mail about that lunch we’re planning, there’s a clickable link that fires up Mozilla Thunderbird, and off the message goes."

The Best Social Media Marketing : "We recently went through a fairly lengthy process of weeding through hundreds upon hundreds of examples of social media marketing done by companies to find the best for a client presentation. It was tedious beyond belief because there’s actually quite a lot of crap. I’m guessing there’s probably a similar search or two going on out there at the moment, so I thought I’d share our best of list, You may not agree but at least it might save you some time."

4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business : "Before any company employees start tweeting, it would be a good idea to remind them that the same rules that apply to other web participation (like blogging, for example) also apply to Twitter. "As Twitter is a public forum, employees should understand the limits of what is acceptable and desirable," says Jeffrey Mann, research vice president at Gartner. "If organizations have not defined a public Web participation policy, they should do so as quickly as possible."

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The Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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8 Benefits to Writing A Book and Six Ways to Publish It Online: “Online self-publishing services have given users the tools they need to create, publish and promote their work. These sites allow authors to bypass the process of finding an agent and pitching to publishing houses, a venture that can take months, if not years.”

Write a Short Book to Brand your Speaking Business : "The myth continues-that a real book must be in print and it must be over 160 pages. Speaker need to rethink the premier approach: Write a short book and self-publish it, to get more bookings, get your word out to thousands, gain credibility, as well as vast virtual promotion and an ongoing increased stream of income."

Pirate Moves- Equip Your Ship : "When creating a marketing strategy that incorporates social media, this exercise comes in handy. What follows is a sample of an idea. You can do this exercise yourself. It’s basically the first line of the post: close your eyes and think up everything required to build a project including social tools."

Condition Readers To Share Your Content : "The unconditioned response of subscribers is when you publish, they’ll read your content. In other words, it’s natural after people subscribe to a site that they read content in RSS or click through to read it on the page - that’s why they subscribed. But, merely reading is not enough if you want to grow. You need to develop a conditioned response in users to share what you’re doing with their personal networks."

Tim Ferriss Explains How To Start A Business and Live His Lifestyle : "Tim Ferriss stopped by our office this week and we had a very interesting conversation about how to start a business, how to build your community, how to manage your email and finally how to live Tim's lifestyle."

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