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 [...]

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, [...]

Simple and easy are often used interchangeably, and in many cases they are. But simple and easy are different words with different meanings. What is simple is not always easy. This is an important distinction, because we often look for so-called ‘secrets’ the probloggers guard only to find that what they do is fairly simple [...]

I know, you guys. I know. I know there are a thousand posts out there with this kind of title. I’ve made fun of them. I have begged whatever internet gods may be to stop people posting topics like this (also, topics like “The X Guide to Such-and-Such” and damned if I didn’t write one [...]

“You’re nobody ‘til somebody loves you,” sings sexy crooner Michael Bublé. He ain’t wrong. You’re nobody in the blogosphere until you’ve been shown a little love by the influential sites that serious bloggers read, Tweet and flock to. You know the ones – they boast six-digit subscribers, have a cult following on Twitter, and bring [...]

I had a crush on the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Looking back, the obsession may be attributed to attending Blue Angels air shows as a child. Or, perhaps a more practical reason was the cause – the jet looked really, really fast. And like any obsessed seven-year-old boy, F-16 posters hung above my bed and I’d [...]

You don’t get to be on big-name sites like Men with Pens, Copyblogger, Problogger and Daily Writing Tips by fluffing deadlines like some flaky moonlighter. And Ali Luke (yes, she’s back!) knows that very well. Unfortunately, meeting deadlines is still a huge issue. Writers aren’t known for their planning and scheduling skills, after all – [...]

“YOU write it,” I told Adam, nearly shoving the awkward task of writing an unveiling announcement for the Men with Pens/SXSW Meetup Event into his lap over Twitter DMs. “I can’t. I just can’t. And you know me well enough as a person. YOU do it.” “ME?!” Adam was stunned. “But I… wha-… I… ME?!” [...]

You gotta love Aslan. I mean, come on – there’s nothing more impressive than the kingly Narnian to capture attention. Which is exactly how Marcus Sheridan caught mine. He caught it twice when he sent me this guest post. At first, I was too busy for the video… but then I watched. Then I read [...]

There are days when you don’t have a post ready. When you suddenly realize that you’ve blown your own regular posting schedule and that no new post is going to go live. Your stomach clenches. You panic momentarily. You kick yourself. No post. How could you have forgotten? What will you do?! Oh god. That’s [...]