Online Resources To Jump Start 2016
If you’re walking along a city sidewalk and contemplating…well, life, perhaps, with your head down, your hands in your pockets, the brilliance of a shiny, new penny on the ground might burst its way into your consciousness.
Will you bend down and pick it up? Or will you pass it by, too absorbed in your reverie?
In my day, and even now, picking that penny up was compulsory. A shiny new penny, or even a coarse, old penny, was a sign of good luck. “See a penny and pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck,” we used to say to ourselves, as we stopped in our tracks and picked up that little coin.
It’s a small amount of change, isn’t it? Today it doesn’t buy anything. There are no penny candy stores anymore. But, the concept of bringing yourself luck by picking it up still stands.
Roy Williams in a recent Monday Morning Memo introduced the idea of ELBs. “Exponential Little Bits.” He writes, “…tiny but relentless changes that compound to make a miracle. The power of an elb lies not in its size, but in its daily occurrence. For an elb to work its Exponential magic, the Little Bit must happen every day… every day… every day.”
Like that penny, a daily ELB can bring you luck, if you make use of it. It isn’t in the stopping to put the penny in your pocket, nor posting a note on your computer to do your ELB Today. It’s in the belief that you can and you will bring yourself luck, and that you will move closer to success by implementing the ELB, no matter how small. And it’s the reason I wrote this Online Resources to Jump Start 2016.
Here are some resources to help you on your way…
- Let’s start with Roy Williams and his Monday Morning Memo. Tom and I attended Wizard of Ads several years ago, long before BlogPaws, and it was an amazing experience. I read Roy Williams’ Monday Morning Memo weekly and it never fails to inspire me.
- Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone with Nick Podrasky, a local fella here in Colorado. He’s the name behind Tessera Marketing and one smart guy. More than that, he’s personable. I learned a great deal in that hour with Nick, and I am grateful that he was willing to chat with me. Nick is also the founder of a private Facebook page for pet professionals in the Denver area. I mention him for those of us in Colorado, and as a nudge to others – who are you connected to that can make a difference in your day?
- I would be remiss not to mention our own Robbi Hess. As you see on this blog, regularly, Robbi is a trusted resource for planning and focusing on the tasks of the day. Pay attention to her work on BlogPaws, as she searches out and tests new ideas, resources, and tools, every day.
- Copyblogger Media delivers quality content daily. It’s a site to read daily, but also to study. How can you be more like them? What can you do with your content to be as successful as they are? Here’s a GREAT post about landing pages. It’s great because it’s humorous as well as informative. Note the structure, the flow, and the conclusion.
- Podcasting is alive and well, and I mention it because I *hear* that some people think it’s dead. Nay! It survives well and it’s a tool you might choose for your 2016 marketing plan. Social Media Marketing has a podcast channel worth checking out. Can you imitate it and become the channel for the pet community? Of course you can. Have at it.
- Gary Vaynerchuk. Need I say more? Perhaps there are a few of you who do not know Gary, so this is your introduction. Gary is the penultimate success story in social media. The man is a powerhouse and not because he picks up every penny he sees (he likely leaves it for the next person, because Gary is a doer, a go-getter, an achiever, and he makes his own luck). Watch this keynote with Jack Welch, yes, that Jack Welch, and learn. Then, subscribe to his YouTube channel and learn from him. (ask him to come to BlogPaws; if enough people ask him…maybe he’ll come…it’s worth a try, right?)
- Got an ebook you’re hoping to market and sell in 2016? (No? Why not?) Here’s a resource to make sure it’s up to snuff. FlightDeck. “FlightDeck interprets and explains the standard errors and warnings, helping you understand what to fix and how to fix it.”
- Looking for a resource to help you on the path to “reinvention”? Hollis Thomases is holding an online video conference titled Mega Reinvention 2016 I believe is worth checking out. It’s scheduled for January 2nd- 31st, so there is plenty of time to register and plenty of content to absorb. Plus, she gave me a 50% off code. Yep, I’m that important. Check it out. Start the New Year right. (the code is: HTRW4321 and yes, you may share it!) Hollis was a speaker at the very first BlogPaws, by the way. She’s always been there for me. I recommend this video conference highly.
- For those looking to make a few dollars freelance writing this year (okay, none of us want to make ‘a few dollars’, we all want to be paid what we’re worth and that’s way more than a few dollars, but remember – YOU set the price! Know your worth!), here’s a great place to find gigs: WriterHelpWanted. The level of opportunities is vast.
- Need more free resources? This LeadPages Library is chock full of content for your use. Note the podcasting section! (I like that he uses a Library Cat as his avatar)
These are but a few resources to tap into. Only YOU can decide where you want to take your blogging business this year. BlogPaws is working hard to prepare another amazing conference, but even that is no guarantee to success. The only guarantee I can offer is this – if you do NOT pay attention to the penny on the ground, if you ignore the ELBs, you will get left behind.
If this content was helpful, I recommend registering for our 2016 conference where you’ll have a chance to both learn and network! Plus…our conferences are pet friendly! See you there!
Photo: GrandCat Baily from the camera of Yvonne
