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How Freaks and Misfits Can Succeed in Business: A Conversation with Chris Brogan

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Do you refuse to settle?
Do you want to do things your way?
Do you have a different way of looking at the world?
And, most importantly, are you looking for a way to make your weirdness an asset?
If you answered ÛÏYesÛ to any of the four questions above, then IÛªve got a great book recommendation for you.
And the author of said book (you know him well) is this weekÛªs guest on The Lede:

Chris Brogan ÛÓ New York Times best-seller and the founder of Owner Magazine.
In this episode, Chris and I discuss the following, all of which are central themes in his new book The Freaks Shall Inherit The Earth:

Who is a ÛÏfreakÛ?
Why are some freaks successful while others struggle?
What are some practical ways we can add more discipline to our daily lives?
What must a freak absolutely, positively master to succeed?
What is on ChrisÛª list of things to not do?
What is the difference between fitting in and belonging?
Why do so many of us not do the things we already know we should be doing?
How do you take the first step (and keep going)?
What action does Chris want users to take after they finish the book?

And that one time Chris and Brian Clark went rogue during a panel presentation ÛÓ and the important lesson Chris learned from Brian (even if it took Chris many years to actually act on the advice).
Listen to The Lede Û_
To listen, you can either hit the flash audio player below, or browse the links to find your preferred format Û_

React to The Lede Û_
As always, we appreciate your reaction to episodes of The Lede and feedback about how weÛªre doing.
Send me a tweet with your thoughts anytime: @JerodMorris.
And please tell us the most important point you took away from this latest episode. Do so by joining the discussion over at Google-Plus.
The Show Notes

The Freaks Shall Inherit The Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdoes, Misfits, and World Dominators ÛÓ by Chris Brogan
ChrisBrogan.com
@ChrisBrogan
Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust ÛÓ by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
Social Media 101 ÛÓ by Chris Brogan
Google-Plus for Business (free webinar and book) ÛÓ by Chris Brogan
The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Happen or Just Making Noise? ÛÓ by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

The Transcript
Click here to read the transcript
Please note that this transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.
The Lede Podcast: How Freaks and Misfits Can Succeed in Business
Jerod Morris: Welcome back to The Lede, a podcast about content marketing by Copyblogger Media. IÛªm your host, Jerod Morris.
Are you a freak? By that I mean, do you have a different way of looking at the world? Do you want to do things your way? Are you not a fan of settling or compromise? Yeah? And are you looking for a way to make your weirdness an asset? Then IÛªve got a great book recommendation for you.
ItÛªs the new one by Chris Brogan, entitled ÛÏThe Freaks Shall Inherit The Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdoes, Misfits, and World Dominators.Û I ordered this book the day that it came out, I read it, and I got a lot out of it. So I asked Chris to come be a guest on The Lede, and he graciously agreed.
In this episode of The Lede, I will play for you my interview with Chris, in which we talk about a number of subjects including why some freaks are successful and others struggle, the difference between fitting in and belonging, and much, much more. ItÛªs really an action-packed 15 minutes.
Oh, and that one time he and Brian Clark went rogue during panel discussions.
Interview with Chris Brogan
Jerod Morris: Are you someone who really wants to blend in and be part of the background, or do you secretly have a wild side and are awaiting the battle cry? This is the question posed in the intro of the new book ÛÏThe Freaks Shall Inherit the EarthÛ written by a long-time friend of Copyblogger, Chris Brogan, who joins me on this episode of The Lede.
Chris, welcome to the show. HowÛªs the book release going?
Chris Brogan: ItÛªs fun. IÛªm enjoying it. I just found out the day that we were recording this that we signed global rights for China, so thatÛªs kind of fun.
Jerod: Wow! Congratulations.
Chris: Thanks.
Jerod: Now, have you had books translated in China before?
Chris: I have. IÛªm very lucky that people were kind enough to buy Trust Agents in China and Korea, and a few other countries that were kind of fun and interesting. And then strangely, Social Media 101 and Google Plus for Business, my very-specifically-about-social-media books, were translated everywhere. My books that are about business usually donÛªt get as much of an opportunity.
Jerod: Well, very cool. Congratulations on that, and before we jump into some of the themes of the book, whereÛªs the best place for people to get their hands on a copy?
Chris: Just go to callingallfreaks.com. ThatÛªs probably the easiest way to do it.
Who is a ÛÏfreakÛ?
Jerod: All right. So letÛªs talk about a few themes, and it seems like the first thing we should do is define this bookÛªs audience. So who are the freaks that youÛªre speaking to in this book?
Chris: These are people who want to take some kind of ownership of their life. TheyÛªre the people who have almost a tattoo-level passion about something in their business or whatever, that theyÛªre just into this thing.
Sometimes theyÛªre the employee-preneur, theyÛªre the CEO of their own cubicle. Other times they run their own company. And itÛªs just the kind of people that really want to do the kind of work they want to do with the people that they want to do it, and in the way that they want to do it. ThatÛªs who I think a freak is.
What are some freaks successful and others not?
Jerod: I really enjoyed the book, so I definitely urge people to go read it. I really liked it. My favorite chapter was number 2, which is ÛÏThe Wild Colors and the Solid Spine,Û which is a great chapter title, by the way. And this is the chapter where you explain why some freaks are successful, and why some others are not. What keeps a lot of freaks from achieving their goals?
Chris: I have to tell you. So first off, itÛªs funny because I had to change the subtitle of that chapter because I had said something about what makes some freaks successful, and other freaks live in their momÛªs basement, or beggars Û_
Jerod: (Laughs)
Chris: Û_ or something like that. And my girlfriend Jacqueline said, ÛÏYou know, thatÛªs not really polite.Û
Jerod: So you changed it to ÛÏstrugglers.Û
Chris: Strugglers, because maybe youÛªre a late bloomer or something. And itÛªs funny. First off is that a lot of times people are kind of cuckoo but donÛªt realize that it has to have some kind of end value, and thatÛªs one of the first mistakes that some freaks are having trouble with.
ThereÛªs a difference between someone whoÛªs a freak about, I donÛªt know, collecting pens. There could possibly be a business somewhere in there if youÛªre the kind of person who really loves pens and wants to help other people find the right pen for the job, or something. ItÛªs a little less likely if you collect toenails. So you know, youÛªve kind of got to find that. So thereÛªs sort of a ÛÓ do you know something, or are you into something that someone else might possibly be into, and if so, is it the kind of thing where they might somewhere along the way pay you for it.
And then along the way, there are all these missing ingredients that cause us not to do what weÛªre doing. Discipline. We worry about fear. There are all kinds of challenges with people saying that they donÛªt know what to do, so that they donÛªt know where to go next. There are a lot of things that get in the way, and so I just tried to knock as many of those down as I could.
What are some practical ways we can add more discipline to our daily lives?
Jerod: And you mention discipline, and IÛªm glad you mentioned that, because that was the section of this chapter that I liked the most, probably just because itÛªs been something IÛªve been working on myself. So I wanted to tell you, one of your tips ÛÓ you have that six-step framework for building discipline ÛÓ itÛªs start and keep a streak going. IÛªm proud to say IÛªve mostly succeeded doing that. IÛªve been posting something IÛªm grateful for every day since I read that section with the hashtag ÛÏfreak streakÛ on Google Plus, and IÛªm up to 25 now.
Chris: Wow!
Jerod: So thank you for inspiring that. I think it really does help. Can you explain that really quickly ÛÓ why thatÛªs important? Just to kind of start a streak and commit to it, and how that can help you kind of get that framework for discipline?
Chris: Well, discipline, if there was sort of a small, little piece of a formula for it, it would sort of be ÛÏexperience + training + timeÛ or something like that. ItÛªs one of these deals where as you learn some stuff and you train yourself to learn how to do it a little bit better over time.
The plus time part of it, keeping a streak going, a lot of times somebody will say to me, ÛÏIÛªm really crappy at public speaking,Û and IÛªll be like, ÛÏWell, how often have you been on a stage?Û And theyÛªll be like, ÛÏTwice, and both times were horrible.Û And I was like, ÛÏWell, how many other things in your life have you done only twice that you were really damn good at?Û You know?
Everything that we do in life that weÛªre pretty good at, weÛªve done a bunch of times, whether or not thereÛªs practice of some kind in between. I mean, Yo-Yo Ma, quite famously ÛÓ somebody said, ÛÏYou still practice four hours a day? Why do you practice four hours a day? YouÛªre Yo-Yo Ma.Û And he said, ÛÏIÛªm Yo-Yo Ma because I practice four hours a day.Û And so to me, thatÛªs the deal. Keep something going. And if itÛªs worth doing, itÛªs worth doing daily.
What must a freak absolutely, positively master to succeed?
Jerod: And part of the problem, I think, people have with that is finding the time to do it. And so another quote you have from the book that I loved is:

Let me be clear. You will not inherit the earth, nor will you be successful at most anything, if you canÛªt figure out and master time.

And you go on to provide some really great, essential time-mastery hacks. Which ones help you the most in your daily life?
Chris: Oh yeah. First off, there are a couple of things.
IÛªll tell you one of the first things I always tell people that always blows their mind, is I only schedule my days 40 percent full. And people are always mind-blown by this. ÛÏWhat? I mean, weÛªre all so busy!Û And I always say, ÛÏYou donÛªt run your car at 100 percent all the time. You donÛªt run your computer at 100 percent. ThereÛªs no other system that you run in your life at 100 percent. So why would you run your day at 100 percent? That means one sick kid ruins everything. It crashes down. You forget your passport, so youÛªve got to go back to your house before you go to the airport. I mean, if you donÛªt have the time to do these kinds of things, this is why you make many more mistakes.
So another thing that people do is they waste their time. ItÛªs really funny. We treat money as if itÛªs super-precious and we hoard it when we shouldnÛªt, and we treat time as if itÛªs absolutely something weÛªve got an endless supply of and we waste it, when we donÛªt have that kind of time.
So to me, I have a huge list of things I donÛªt do. I have a huge list of thingsÛÒI mean, even this podcast. You said, ÛÏHey, I want to interview you for the thing,Û and I said, ÛÏGreat, if you do it briefly.Û That was the first thing I said. IÛªm protecting my time here. So I think those things are important.
I think always having some kind of a plan. Any time you go into anything without a plan it stinks, and itÛªs not to say that you need to be sort of anal-retentive the whole of your life. But even going to the beach. If you have a small, little checklist itÛªs going to save you from the ÛÏOh yeah, I forgot sunscreen,Û moment. So I think that there are just a lot of opportunities to do a lot more with time.
Jerod: ItÛªs a good thing you said that, too, because I had about two hoursÛª worth of questions I could have asked.
Chris: Well, sure! ThatÛªs the thing. I listen to a lot of podcasts which feel like they seem to have all the time in the world, and I feel like we donÛªt even have all the time to listen in the world. How do we have all the time to do these interviews?
Jerod: No, itÛªs a great point.
What is the difference between fitting in and belonging?
Jerod: So shifting gears really quickly. Early in the book you talk about the difference between fitting in and belonging, which I thought was really interesting. And itÛªs an important distinction within this context of ÛÏfreak.Û So whatÛªs the difference between fitting in and belonging?
Chris: To me, the whole thing about fitting in versus belonging is all about this whole sense of shaving off your unique edges and hiding what makes you who you are. ThatÛªs what fitting in means.

Fitting in means ÛÏstop doing those things that make you kind of a weirdo.Û
Belonging is when you find the weirdoes who totally get what youÛªre into.

If I head out to a group of people and I say something about Burpees: ÛÏEveryone loves them!Û Û_ Cross-fitters and Spartan race people all totally get that joke, because Burpees are evil. And if I make a joke about ÛÏroll your wendy-20 save against stupidity,Û the Dungeons and Dragons kids know what IÛªm talking about. And we love that moment. We love that moment when weÛªre kind of amongst people who know what weÛªre doing.
Somebody recently was having trouble with their iPhone, and they just pulled the iPhone out of their pocket, turned it to one edge, and blew on it like they were trying to blow the dust out of the video game cartridge from the old 1980s video games, and I was like, ÛÏWow.Û He was like, ÛÏMy people here.Û And so itÛªs in those moments when we find people that we belong. ThatÛªs who we really want to do business with.
So what I really have deeply in my heart is that thereÛªs just a whole other way to look at everything that weÛªre not doing right now, which is very much that weÛªre worrying too much about fitting in, and weÛªre not worrying enough about belonging with the people we want.
Why do so many of us not do the things we already know we should be doing?
Jerod: Another great quote of yours that I like because I think itÛªs so practical is, ÛÏYouÛªll find that a lot of what I preach comes off as common sense, yet whatÛªs most magical about it is that so few people practice these skills.Û Which really echoes some advice that Darren Rowse gave at Authority Intensive recently, when he essentially said that he doesnÛªt have any secrets to share, but itÛªs that success was more about doing the things we already knew we should be doing. Which sounds so simple, but why do so many folks seem to struggle with that?
Chris: First off, weÛªre addicted to distraction. We love thinking ÛÏMaybe someone else knows a better way to do this, and I should learn that, because IÛªm probably not smart enough to do it.Û ThatÛªs a huge one.
Another is that we quite often have this feeling that weÛªre not good enough. ThatÛªs one for sure.
And another is just that we get lazy, and weÛªre complacent. We think, ÛÏOh yeah, this is good enough for right now,Û and we love ÛÏgood enough.Û
ÛÏThe enemy of the great is the good,Û is one of those old quotes thatÛªs totally and utterly true. But what I find is that the things that I do daily, and the things that I do work on that are the least sexy things that I do, are what are yielding the most results. And that the more I do those things, the more IÛªm seeing a great result from them. And IÛªm getting into it.
The things that turn me on the most, kind of my new personal porn, are things that everyone else has done and dismissed years ago. I love e-mail marketing more than any other tool. I love Evernote and adding tags to things in Evernote that IÛªm actually going to refer to, as opposed to these people who just store stuff like chipmunks with big mouths.
How do you take the first step (and keep going)?
Jerod: Now, you mentioned something interesting. You said one reason why people donÛªt do what they already know they should be doing is they donÛªt feel like theyÛªre good enough. And maybe that kind of goes along with this idea of ÛÏfreaksÛ and feeling like maybe you donÛªt fit in. Having to find that belonging. How does someone who feels like that who isnÛªt quite sure, but thinks differently, how do they take that first step to start doing those things? How do they start to believe that they are good enough?
Chris: One of them is to start thinking about where you feel most comfortable with people, and where can you see yourself letting go of some of your fear. ThatÛªs a huge thing to think about. Where do you feel that when you talk to the people, you can actually exhale as well as talk? ThatÛªs maybe a good starting point.
And from there, what can you do to be part of that community in a way that you can actually serve them? I actually got that advice from Brian Clark.
He and I were on the stage. We were in this horrible panel. I shouldnÛªt be mean to people. But the person interviewing us was not especially good. She didnÛªt know us very well. She didnÛªt have any real questions of any great value. So we just decided to turn the answers. Everything she said, we just turned the answers into what we felt like talking to each other about.
And one of the things Brian said was, ÛÏI see, Û pointing to me, ÛÏI see you kind of running all over the place, chasing every fly ball thatÛªs out in front of you,Û and at that time in my life the opportunities were coming at me faster than I could handle. And he said, ÛÏYou know how I parse these? I just think, ÛÏWhich one of these is the best for my community? Which one of these will give me the best opportunity to help the people that have given me their attention?Û And I thought, ÛÏWow! ThatÛªs a great sorting hat.Û
And then I proceeded to not do that for five years, because every bit of advice Brian gives me, it takes five years to actually execute. But I always do it.
The other thing too is if youÛªre starving, itÛªs not the right time to start thinking about what kind of garden to plant. You have to eat first. And so I always say to people, ÛÏSeeds are for planting, and sometimes for eating.Û And if youÛªre in the ÛÏstarvingÛ mode, thatÛªs not when to make these decisions. At that point, just eat. Go get a job. Go do something. Go get some cash. Then figure out where you want to be when you grow up.
And thatÛªs kind of where it gets trickier. I tell people all the time, Take small bites. Try not to let your failures mess other people, but just get into failure. And the more you can get into failure, the more you can learn from it, and start to reset and build better stuff.Û
What action does Chris want users to take after they finish the book?
Jerod: Wow. ThatÛªs great advice, Chris. My final question for you. This time has gone so fast.
Chris: Wow, Jerod!
Jerod: So the final section of the book is called ÛÏTake Action! Fight Crime! Save the World!Û Complete with exclamation points, which I love. And that first phrase is really the crux of the section. Take action. What action do you want people to take after they finish your book?
Chris: I laid it right out. This is a frustration Julian Smith and I have had since the first book. We wrote ÛÏTrust AgentsÛ together, and we wrote also ÛÏImpact EquationÛ together, and weÛªve both written books since. And hereÛªs what happens. You can see because of Twitter.
IÛªll see somebody and theyÛªll say, ÛÏI just finished Trust Agents,Û now reading ÛÏCrush It.Û ÛÏJust finished ÛÏCrush It,Û now on to this.Û They read books as if itÛªs bingo. And theyÛªre not saying, ÛÏNow taking an action based on the book.Û
So for years all the books that Julian and I have ever written, in any form or fashion except for my book of poetry, all have instruction in them. And so in this case, I went even crazier and said, ÛÏIÛªm going to make a chapter like, Û÷do this damn stuff!ÛªÛ and it kind of recounts whatÛªs in the rest of the book.
But I want people to declare that theyÛªre a freak. I want people to define what makes them successful. I want people to figure out some skills that are going to help them get there, and figure out the framework that goes in it. And then there are just all the other steps of what it takes to do the book.
And I think that really, the next to last thing in there is, I tell people, ÛÏbe ready for the bad times,Û because thatÛªs the other thing that screws up everybodyÛªs attempt to be a freak. They somehow forget that maybe thereÛªs going to be a bad moment, and they somehow cash it all in when that bad moment hits.
Jerod: Excellent advice, Chris. I really, really did enjoy the book. Thank you for writing it, and I encourage everybody to get it. Thanks for your time, and sharing some of your thoughts with us on The Lede.
Chris: My utter pleasure, Jerod. Thank you.
Jerod: All right. I will talk to you soon, Chris.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Lede, and my thanks again to Chris Brogan for taking the time to join me. Once again, if you are enjoying these episodes, if youÛªre getting a lot out of them, we sure would appreciate a rating or a review on ITunes. Tweet about us, e-mail the show to a friend. We would appreciate any way that you can help us spread the word. And donÛªt forget, if you like Stitcher, you can now subscribe to The Lede on Stitcher. Just go to copyblogger.com/stitcher, and you can add us to your playlist.
All right. WeÛªll be back next week with another episode. Until then. Talk to you soon, everybody.
# # #

*Credits: Both the intro (ÛÏBridge to NowhereÛ by Sam Roberts Band) and outro songs (ÛÏDown in the ValleyÛ by The Head and the Heart) are graciously provided by express written consent from the rights owners.
About the authorJerod MorrisJerod Morris is the Director of Content for Copyblogger Media. Get more from him on Twitter, Google+, or at JerodMorris.com.

The post How Freaks and Misfits Can Succeed in Business: A Conversation with Chris Brogan appeared first on Copyblogger.

Effective Social ÛÒ Matt Daley ÛÒ Podcast Episode #247

by admin

In this weekÛªs internet marketing podcast Andy talks to Matt Daley, Paid Performance Account Manager at SiteVisibility, about the benefits and risks of social media use for small independent retailers, and whether such retailers can be successful both on and offline. Matt notes that central to effective social media usage is a strong business strategy, which will in turn dictate which social channels are best used. He talks about the potential risks of an online presence for all retailers and finishes by highlighting the strengths and differences between the range of social platforms.

Post from Apple Pie & Custard blog by SiteVisibility – An SEO Agency Effective Social ÛÒ Matt Daley ÛÒ Podcast Episode #247

Why You Should Curate Content (And How to Do It Right)

by admin

Why are we doing a four-part podcast series about content curation? Because itÛªs a concept that is easy to understand, but not always easy to execute. It requires commitment, strategic thinking, and that most precious of resources: time.
But when you do it right, and do it right consistently, content curation can be a foundational building block of your authority.
And if you follow Copyblogger, you know how important developing and maintaining authority is.
In the first episode of this series, Demian and I discuss what content curation is, the benefits of doing it, and provide an overview of how to do it effectively.
Specifically, we tackle topics like:

What, exactly, is curation?
How newspapers have been curating for more than 300 years
The benefits of curation, including its role in getting in front of other peopleÛªs audiences
Are people really reading as much as we think (hope) they are?
How reading turns you into an authority (and how that turns into revenue down the line)
Should you share a link you havenÛªt read?
Is reading the ultimate cure for ÛÏWriterÛªs BlockÛ?
What are the biggest challenges to curating effectively? (And how do you overcome them?)
How ÛÏcurating the curatorsÛ can help you master time management
The importance of being process-oriented
What are the three types of curation?
What kind of content should you share? (And what should you not share?)
Should you mix business with pleasure when curating content?

And we give you a preview of what the next three episodes in this series will be about.
Listen to The Lede below …
React to The Lede Û_
As always, we appreciate your reaction to episodes of The Lede and feedback about how weÛªre doing.
Send me or Demian a tweet with your thoughts anytime: @JerodMorris and @DemianFarnworth.
Specifically, we want to know what your content curation process is. What tools do you use? How do you stay consistent?
Also, what do you struggle with? What are your biggest challenges when it comes to curation? Let us know so we can address these in the next three episodes.
Do so by joining the discussion over at Google-Plus.
The Show Notes

The Smart Way to Use Other PeopleÛªs Audiences ÛÓ by Eric Enge, for Copyblogger
The Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post: The Data on Headlines, Length, Images and More ÛÓ by Kevan Lee, for Buffer
For Those Who Want to Read, Lead ÛÓ by John Coleman, for Harvard Business Review
The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth ÛÓ by Chris Brogan
How to Remember Everything ÛÓ by Brett Kelly, for Copyblogger
How to Absorb a Book Into Your Bloodstream ÛÓ by Demian Farnworth
30 Ways to Build the ÛÏKnow, Like, and TrustÛ Factor that Grows an Audience ÛÓ by Georgina El Morshdy, for Copyblogger

The Lede is brought to you by Authority Rainmaker, the live event that will help you accelerate your business with an integrated content, search, and social media marketing experience. The Transcript
Please note that this transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.
The Lede Podcast: Why You Should Be Curating Content (And How to Do It Right)
Jerod Morris: Welcome back to The Lede, a podcast about content marketing by Copyblogger Media. IÛªm your host, Jerod Morris.
This episode begins a four-part series about curation that will span the month of June, and IÛªm happy to be joined by Demian Farnworth for the entire series.
Why a series about curation? Because itÛªs a concept that is easy to understand, but not easy to execute. It requires commitment, strategic thinking, and that most precious of resources: time.
But when you do it right and do it right consistently, curation can be a foundational building block of your authority. And if you follow Copyblogger, you know how important developing and maintaining authority is.
In the first episode of this series, Demian and I discuss what curation is, the benefits of doing it, and provide an overview of how to do it effectively. Here we go.
What is curation?
Jerod: All right, Demian. So letÛªs talk about curation here, as this is the first episode in our new series on curation.
Probably the first place to start is just really simply, before we get into the ÛÏwhyÛ and ÛÏhow,Û what is curation? When we say ÛÏcuration,Û what do we mean?
If you look at Wikipedia, they provide a couple of good, succinct definitions. Content curation, Wikipedia defines as simply ÛÏcollecting and sorting content.Û You also have digital curation, which is defined as the preservation and maintenance of digital assets. I look at it simply as distilling information for myself and my audience.
When we think of curation, a lot of times we think of it from an audience perspective; but I do think this idea of personal curation is often overlooked, which weÛªre going to highlight in some of the future episodes.
But for you, Demian, when you think about curation, how do you define it for yourself?
Demian Farnworth: Let me make an historical note here really quickly.
Newspapers in the beginning, American newspapers 300 years back, that was basically all that they did. There was no individual, independent reporting. A newspaper on the east coast would get a story, they would write the story, and it was pretty basic. ÛÏSo-and-so committed a crime against somebody else.Û Or ÛÏBritain declares war on the US,Û like that. Well, that information was then just basically transferred to other newspapers who curated this information. They looked for news like that, and just shared it with their audience. ThatÛªs how that sort of information proliferated across the nation and the continent.

So this idea of curation is age old. ItÛªs always been around.

Why should an online content creator also curate?
Jerod: So why curate?
Demian: The bottom line is you are already reading, or at least you should be, and if youÛªre reading, sharing that information with your audience is a great way to feed content that you donÛªt have to create.
So if you have an audience on Twitter or Google+ or Facebook, everything that you read, whether itÛªs online or even offline, you can turn into a post that you curate and you share. And that also builds relationships with the people who create the content you share. ItÛªs basically networking.
So when you come across an article about reading, for example: You like it, you read it, you sift through it, then you sit down and you write a quick post about it on Google+. But you also mention the author who wrote it, and you give a short commentary on it, possibly; and then you share it. So youÛªre making a connection with somebody else, and youÛªre showing somebody else that youÛªre sharing with that you appreciate their work and their sharing it, and youÛªre giving it to your audience.
This is basically what the web is built on: this idea of getting attention through other peopleÛªs audiences. ItÛªs an idea that Eric Inge shared in an article on Copyblogger not too long ago, with this idea of getting in front of other people. So when you create good content, too, the hope is that it gets shared. So if youÛªre already reading, you should be sharing.
Are people really reading as much as we think (hope) they are?
Jerod: And before we go any further, you say youÛªre already reading. Are we taking that for granted, that people are already reading? Because I feel likeÛ_
Demian: (Laughs)
Jerod: Û_ you see all these stats that literacy rates are down and people arenÛªt spending as much time reading online. I just read a statistic about blog posts that people only actually read 28% of the words in your blog post. So make it scannable. Put big images, right?
I want to make sure that we donÛªt just glaze over that and take it for granted that are reading, and if you arenÛªt, you really need to read. Especially when we talk about curation, itÛªs what online leaders do. Because doing so effectively makes you a person that people turn to for answers; and if we look down the line, whatÛªs the benefit of that? Well, eventually those answers can become so valuable they become solutions, products, or services that have price tags attached to them.
So itÛªs very important, and thereÛªs an article that weÛªll put in the show notes by The Harvard Business Review called ÛÏFor Those Who Want to Lead, Read.Û ItÛªs a concept you see a lot of places. IÛªve seen a blog post by Michael Hyatt about it, where if you really want to be a leader, online or off, you need to read. Whether itÛªs blog posts, whether itÛªs books. And there are a number of benefits that are cited:

Reading improves intelligence that leads to innovation and insight
Reading across fields improves creativity and increases verbal intelligence, which makes you a better communicator.
Reading novels can actually improve empathy and understanding social cues.

So there are so many different reasons to do it. And Demian, I want to let you go back. I didnÛªt want to take for granted that idea that people are already readingÛ_
Demian: No.
Jerod: Û_because if theyÛªre not, itÛªs really important to start if being a leader, whether in the online or offline version of that, is something that you want to do.
Should you share a link you havenÛªt read?
Demian: Great point. Now, IÛªm glad you interrupted because a quick little side-story: Not too long ago I was involved with an online study through Columbia University, and they were studying how people read long-form content. One of the requirements was that you had to read long form, long form being very long articles online: two, three, four, five, six-plus pages. And then they wanted to see how you shared that content.
It was a three-week study, and each day you read content. YouÛªd get an e-mail at about 4:00 in the afternoon that was a basic survey: What did you read? Share the link if you can. Did you share it with anybody? And one of the questions was, ÛÏDid you share anything that you did not read,Û and we all have done that before, right?
And so I found myselfÛÒand this is sort of that Hawthorne effect ÛÓ I found myself saying, ÛÏIÛªm not going to share anything unless I have read it.Û Because even though this survey was anonymous, I was embarrassed. ItÛªs kind of goofy that I would share something that I havenÛªt read. And itÛªs kind of a running joke, but yeah. You should be reading in that sense, and so IÛªm assuming that people are, and just from some of the things that you stated, from a leadership standpoint, reading is huge.
Is reading the ultimate cure for ÛÏWriterÛªs BlockÛ?
Demian: But from a creativity standpoint reading is huge, too. I canÛªt see how anybody could ever complain about writerÛªs block who is reading consistently and constantly, because you should be always chock-full of those books.
And itÛªs not just a sort of superficial fast blazing through, but itÛªs actually the deep reading where youÛªre making notes. You are summarizing chapters as you finish them. You are even blogging about it in some circumstance, and it helps you digest it. So a good thing to challenge that assumption.
If you are already reading, youÛªre already reading online. One of my processes, when I actually do read something that I like, if I see something I canÛªt read right away, IÛªll save it to Readability. And then later in the afternoon or later when I have some time, IÛªll go into the Readability app on my phone and start reading these articles. And then once IÛªm finished with that, I may go back and share it online.
So that was my point. If you are already reading, then you can very easily just slip into sharing it and curating in that sense.
Jerod: So to summarize. To kind of put this in order, you need to be reading. And assuming that youÛªre doing that, now that youÛªre already reading, leverage that time. Leverage that knowledge now to establish yourself as an authority as that thought leader, and share that information with your audience. And you do this by curating sources and bits and pieces of information, and then dispensing them.
What are the biggest challenges to curating effectively?
Jerod: So thatÛªs the why, right? ThatÛªs why you want to curate. LetÛªs get into a little bit of the how, Demian, because I think people probably understand some of the ÛÏwhy,Û but they look at it and they think, ÛÏMan, that really takes some commitment, that takes some time, that takes some strategy.Û And anybody whoÛªs thinking that is 100% right. It takes all of those things. So how do you do it?
Well for me, and Demian, IÛªll see if you agree with this. The single biggest challenge I think people face is this time element, right? How do you manage your day to do this? Well, to me, and IÛªll give a little hat-tip to Chris BroganÛªs new book, ÛÏThe Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth.Û Stop thinking of it so much as time management, and think of it as priority management, right?

So if becoming an online leader is a priority to you, then curating in some form or fashion needs to become a priority.

WeÛªre going to talk about the different forms of curation as this series goes along, because itÛªs not just link curation. There are other kinds too, and we will get into them. So your have to get better at priority management, putting your most important priorities first. Because then your time management kind of flows from that. And that helps you master time.
But do you agree with that, just kind of the mindset that you have to put it in that category of ÛÏhave to doÛ things?
Demian: Again, I think it gives this idea that part of it, too, is as readers we should be reading, and so we should in some ways be on top of current trends, current demands, sort of ÛÏwhatÛªs the pulse?Û And thereÛªs that priority there, that pressure to do that there. And yeah, of course the time management piece is huge.
How ÛÏcurating the curatorsÛ can help you master time management
Demian: The one tip that I would say, ÛÏThis is what you should walk away with,Û when it comes to curation, is find the resources that are aggregating the content thatÛªs out there.
Because the other side of the time management coin is the information overload. Each day there are so many respectable publications publishing content that itÛªs impossible for you to go and check every single one of those, unless that was your job. But thatÛªs very few peopleÛªs job. You have other things to do. So what IÛªve found is trying to find the resources that are aggregating the best content, and subscribe and follow those.
Jerod: Kind of curate the curators?
Demian: Exactly. Curate the curators.
The importance of being process-oriented
Jerod: There are also tools that can help you become process-oriented, and this is something that we will hit on in probably every episode: the importance of being process oriented. ThatÛªs strategic thinking.
And you want to have tools that help you do that. So IÛªve become a big user of Evernote. Using Buffer to help schedule your social media posts is very big. Even a tool like FollowerWonk can help make you more efficient, because you can find out information like, ÛÏWhen are my Twitter users the most active?Û So that you can schedule tweets at smarter times.
Demian, really quickly, do you have any specific tools like that? You mentioned Readability, but any other ones like that that you live by, that help you with your curation process?
Demian: I would say itÛªs probably just a hand-held notebook, too, or actually marking in books. Because I think thatÛªs the thing, too: We look for information thatÛªs online and when we think about curation we think about online content, but I think thereÛªs a lot of information online or offline that you can actually share. So a pencil and being able to mark inside of a book, and having the little post-notes too, are super cool.
But like you mentioned too, Buffer for scheduling social media posts, and I also use Evernote.
Jerod: And IÛªll give a little tease. In one of these episodes weÛªre going to talk about knowledge curation, which is basically curating your own knowledge: when you read a book, how do you record and remember what you read? ThereÛªs a blog post by you, Demian, that helped inspire me to become a better reader, and weÛªre going to talk about some of those topics in those future episodes.
What are the three types of curation?
And those future episodes will include link curation. I think this is what people think of a lot when they think of curation. That Friday link post, or the links that you tweet out.
Then there is also idea curation. So as ideas come to you, as you find these great nuggets, or quotes, or ideas, how do you organize them? And then organize them in a way that they can be recalled efficiently later, when youÛªre writing a blog post and you need that quote that you saw six months ago? How do you do that?
And then knowledge creation, like we just talked about. When youÛªre reading books or longer-form content, how do you record, how do you remember that information and put it into some kind of format or organization that you can use later?
So thatÛªs what weÛªll be talking about in the future in this series, over the next three episodes of The Lede. WeÛªre really excited about it.
With that said, Demian, any final thoughts just on this general topic of the ÛÏhow and whyÛ of curation?
What kind of content should you share? (And what should you not share?)
Demian: When it comes to curation, what are you looking for when you curate content?
Jerod: What am I looking for, specifically?
Demian: What are you looking for? Do you have a set sort of idea in your mind, or Û_ ?
Jerod: If IÛªm curating a link or something to share with an audience member, itÛªs usefulness. So again, it comes back to that idea of knowing your audience, knowing what they need. I donÛªt just want to tweet out a repeat of something else. I think IÛªd like to not contribute more to the echo chamber, but find a unique idea on a common topic thatÛªll be useful.
Demian: ThatÛªs what I was after, this idea. Because IÛªll come across things that I think are shareable, but then I think, ÛÏNo, IÛªm not going to do this.Û And it usually comes to the point where itÛªs not useful, or itÛªs just because IÛªve learned things like, ÛÏThis day was the day that 256 people were killed in St. Louis by a killer tornado,Û and a link to a post. ThatÛªs regional, itÛªs kind of informational, and those rarely get any kind of traction. But itÛªs those ones that are useful that do it.
So is there content that youÛªll actually say, ÛÏthis is not shareable?Û
Jerod: Oh, sure. If itÛªs not interesting, or even if it goes to the other end of being profane or inappropriate.
What it all comes down to is, what you share is a representation of you. And I think itÛªs very important to remember that, and remember the responsibility that you have.

If you donÛªt treat it like a responsibility, that will come through over time to your audience, and they wonÛªt know, like, and trust you.

And curation really is just another way to build know, like, and trust. And so if you donÛªt take it as that responsibility, and if youÛªre not really careful with what you share so that thereÛªs value from the click that youÛªve suggested someone make, then youÛªre just going to be wasting your time with it.
ThereÛªs no one-size-fits-all answer to that question; I think everybody has to determine it for themselves. But it starts with knowing your audience. Knowing what your audience expects and how to help them.
Should you mix business with pleasure when curating content?
Demian: So youÛªre talking about branding, and I think itÛªs a great way to put it. Because weÛªre all sort of crafting this perfect online social image. But does that mean that you share something personal on your professional? Do you mix business with pleasure when curating content? What do you think is a rule of thumb for that?
Jerod: It depends on the place. On copyblogger.com, no. I tend to keep personal stuff out of there for the most part. But on my personal Twitter or personal Google+ account, yes. Because I think those are places where you do want people to get a glimpse of you. Now IÛªm not going to go complain there when IÛªm having a relationship issue, or put some link thatÛªs really personal to me, but I might talk about a sports topic thatÛªs specific to a team I like.
I donÛªt think thereÛªs anything wrong with letting people get to know a little bit about you, but you want to keep it to a minimum and make sure that itÛªs mostly about them.
What about you? ItÛªs a tough question. Again, there are no real easy answers or one-size-fits-all answer to it.
Demian: There really isnÛªt. Because again, thinking of crafting your online image and curating content is the way that you do that. Because really, thatÛªs what weÛªre doing, right? WeÛªre saying that this is something that I enjoy, and this defines me in some sense, right? Whether we oppose it, whether we are for it.
And when I think about my, say, Twitter account or Google+ account as personal versus professional. I really think ÛÏThis is a reflection of who I am.Û So the majority of the time I will share things that are professional, that are about writing, that are about content marketing. But there will be occasional things where I might mention something about football, or I might mention something about Christianity, to kind of help fill out that personal view that people have of me.
And IÛªve found that thatÛªs been helpful, because you get people who come out of the woodwork and say things like, ÛÏOh, I love football too,Û or who will be encouraged by that, not just in a sort of one-dimensional, professional standpoint. But there will be other things about you that people will recognize, and then give you, in a sense, more places where people can hang their hat.
Jerod: And curation is about relationship building, I think, at its essence. And so when you do that, and when youÛªre building relationships effectively, some of those more personal things are going to come out. And I think thatÛªs good.
Demian: Just donÛªt let those e-mails from the frat days get out.
Jerod: Ha! Yeah, exactly. By the way, how about this flip all of a sudden to you asking the questions here?
Demian: (Laughs)
Jerod: That was a nice little spontaneous change, I like it.
Demian: You bet. I had questions I needed to ask.
Jerod: That was good. All right. Cool. I think this is a good intro to the topic, Demian, and IÛªm looking forward to these next three, because I think itÛªll be a unique take and a unique way to break these three areas down. And we talked more philosophically today. I think there will be a lot more specific tips people can walk away with in these next three episodes, to really help you start curating if you havenÛªt. And if you have, become more efficient, become better, become more effective at it.
Demian, IÛªll talk to you next week and weÛªll go on with episode #2.
Demian: Sounds good, Jerod. Thank you much.
Jerod: All right, man. Take care.
Demian: Bye.
Jerod: Thank you for listening to The Lede. If youÛªre enjoying these episodes and finding them useful, please consider giving the show a rating or a review on ITunes. We greatly appreciate it. Or, if ITunes isnÛªt quite your thing, you can listen on Stitcher. Go to copyblogger.com/stitcher, and if youÛªd like to share it elsewhere, weÛªd love it if you tweeted about the show, or just sent an e-mail to a friend and told them about it.
And again, make sure you go to the Google+ conversation, tweet us at @JerodMorris or @DemianFarnworth. Let us know some of your tips and tricks about curation. What sources do you use? What tools do you use? WeÛªd love to know some of what youÛªre doing out there so that we can report back, share, and really crowd-source the most effective curation process possible.
Okay, everybody. We will be back next week with another episode of The Lede, the second episode in our series on curation, where weÛªll talk specifically about link curation. To do it effectively you need to be very process oriented. WeÛªre going to take you through some of our processes, and show you some best practices for getting the most out of your link curation. Talk to you soon, everybody.
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*Credits: Both the intro (ÛÏBridge to NowhereÛ by Sam Roberts Band) and outro songs (ÛÏDown in the ValleyÛ by The Head and the Heart) are graciously provided by express written consent from the rights owners.
The post Why You Should Curate Content (And How to Do It Right) appeared first on The Digital Marketing Podcast Network.

Paid Social Media Advertising ÛÒ Matt Daley ÛÒ Podcast Episode #248

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In this weekÛªs internet marketing podcast Andy talks to Matt Daley, Paid Performance Account Manager at SiteVisibility, about the benefits of the recent update for paid advertising on Facebook. Matt agrees that the update is beneficial for users and end users alike, and explains details of the newly introduced ÛÏAd SetsÛ. In the second half of the podcast Matt reveals SiteVisibilityÛªs Top 5 Tips for new businesses venturing into the world of paid advertising on Facebook. He finishes by explaining the features of the Power Editor for paid and organic posting on Facebook.

Post from Apple Pie & Custard blog by SiteVisibility – An SEO Agency Paid Social Media Advertising ÛÒ Matt Daley ÛÒ Podcast Episode #248