“Could you tell me what I could do better for next time?” I hear that question all the time. And by all the time, I mean ALL the time. It’s the invariable response when I have to (sadly) tell someone that their guest post just doesn’t cut it. They get the “Sorry, I’ll have to [...]
Why You Should Embrace ‘Icky’ Sales and Marketing
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Icky. It’s a word that makes me shudder. I shudder because this juvenile term is being used by fully grown adults. Business owners. People who should by now know a little more professionalism and who should speak words a touch above my 7-year-old’s current lexicon. Really, people. Icky? But using a childish term when you’re [...]
Why You Should Ditch Your Blogging Schedule
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For several years now, you’ve been given advice from probloggers (and not-so-probloggers) that just wasn’t very good advice at all. The advice made sense. The analogies were understandable. But the theory was wrong. I know, because I dished out that advice and followed it strictly for years. I was convinced it was good advice and [...]
What to Do When You Hate Your Blog
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Years ago, I started this blog with a pretty big mission in mind: to help you succeed. I wanted to tell you things you didn’t know. I wanted to point you in better directions. I wanted to share lessons I’d learned the hard way so that you didn’t make the same mistakes. I wanted to [...]
Damn Fine Words Writing Contest: The Winners!
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Today we’re announcing the winners of the Damn Fine Words writing contest… but boy, was it EVER tough to choose just two submissions. 25 people fought hard to win a chance to get into the Damn Fine Words writing course and learn effective techniques that would change their life. Some posts were straightforward. Some were [...]
How Achieving Your Goals Kills Your Motivation
Written by Patrick Vuleta - 21 Comments
Heard you need constant improvement to become a master? Heard you need those 10,000 hours of practice? It’s hogwash. A goal of ‘constant improvement’ won’t lead to success. I learned this when I signed up for Damn Fine Words, James Chartrand’s writing course. Signing up excited me. I was excited because I was taking action [...]
How to Find Time to Write: A Casual Conversation with Laura Vanderkam
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You’re invited to a very exclusive event. How to find the time to write. That’s one of the biggest complaints I hear from busy businesspeople, freelancers and entrepreneurs. (Even writers complain they can’t find the time to write!) There aren’t enough hours in a day. There’s so much going on. You’re barely keeping up. You’re [...]
Do You Have Useless Website Content?
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Your website content may be utterly useless. Sure, it’s interesting. It’s often funny. It’s accurate and informative. But it’s probably repetitive. Your website content most likely repeats several sentences throughout your site. Worse, it might even repeat sentences on the same page.
How to Stop Writing Boring Blog Posts
Written by Demien Farnsworth - 34 Comments
It’s been done tens of millions of time: a blog post is written. Someone has an idea to share with the world. Someone has a beef and they want to rant. Someone writes an inspiring poem. Because of the glut of so many posts, blog posts have become boring. When I scroll through my reader, [...]
How Taking an Online Course Can Transform Your Business
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When I was growing up, it was a given that when you finished high school, you went to university. This was automatic. This was guaranteed. If you went to university, you’d be fine. If you didn’t, you’d be screwed. But most people I know with extraordinarily successful careers say a university education can be a [...]
