bwagy, the blog of Ben Young

Why do I have Monday Ideas Post?

Firstly it fulfills my criteria of being, short, snappy digestible bites that make you think.

It has a dual edge though.

As an entrepreneur (or just someone that questions everything?) I come up with ideas all the time, as I’m sure a lot of my readers do or at least someone you know.

Quite often we will hold these ideas close to heart, not express them, only to regret it.

Or we lose focus with every new idea.

This is the dual edge, Monday Ideas Post also let’s me have an outlet for ideas I come up with so I can remain focused but also as an opportunity for discussion.

It’s about making you think just as much as its about making me think.

So

What outlet do you have? How do you get ideas out there? What do you do to find out if your idea is rubbish so you can remain focused or move onto the next great thing? 

(Hint: like any muscle, the more you exercise this part of your brain, the better you will get at it)

I was reflecting on an opportunity that is coming up, a big budget with a big client…

What would I do? and the common thread was to

Invoke action. Why?

Well new initiatives are now transparent (and you should stimulate this) which communicates a message.

For example::

• CEO on Twitter -> We are listening.
• Customer Helplines with real people (no computers…) -> We value you
• Product Development stemming from customer feedback -> We’re here to help you succeed

Assume everyone who reads your content has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Which means

• Keep your message clear
• Break it up & segment it
• Into small digestible bites

Increase readership, retention, referrals.

Succeed.

I don’t need to tell you that attention spans are increasingly shortening… as you’ve already stopped reading by now (see what i mean).

Think about Newspapers, and actually read the content in them, it’s typically very low key and more press releases and quotes than actual editorial.  

They weren’t always this way.  Once their distribution was locked down, the game shifted from how can we maximise readership (through great content) to how can we maximise profits.

You see the same things with bands, how often do you hear so and so has sold out now the’re big.

Blogs are the new content medium, surely they’re not the same? Or are they?

Think of some of the more popular bloggers, once they hit a certain readership or tipping point they too appear to slack off.

Others don’t, some to take it as a good sign and work harder.

They’re in it for the long term.  

You see with blogging, once the distribution is set (through feedreaders / email subscriptions / syndication) the foundation is weaker.  It is easy for one single reader to drop off.  

You need to keep on your toes, keep active and use engagement or return visitors or attention time as a measure of success.

(and someone to give you a dead arm when you slack off)

That’s why you see such great content out there, for free, competition is fierce.

To bring those up to speed who don’t know what the 12 Hour Startup is, i first posted it as a Monday Ideas post here, then did a follow up after presenting it to 200 or so people at a local web meetup.

Since then I have had emails or comments about some existing examples:

• Atlassian has done Fedex Day | A good model for the 12 Hour Startup
• Ryan Carson building Matt a web app in 4 days | Just shows what can be done in these compressed time frames. 
• Tom was built as the result of a 12 Hour Startup initiative I undertook

Very neat.

To help spread the idea I submitted a proposal to ChangeThis.

They distribute manifestos, small 10 / 20 page ebooks on ideas, based on facts, the good ones spread, the bad don’t.  

The idea is to leave change in their wake.  Excellent concept, I suggest you check them out here.

I would like to produce a manifesto on the 12 Hour Startup (to spread the idea) and it would be great to have your support.

Simply visit here to vote. 

Click the button that says ‘Yes, write this manifesto”.  It only takes 20 seconds.

Thanks ever so much.

Also check out the other proposals and existing manifesto’s there are some real gems in there like, Art of the Start, Bootstrappers Bible and The Long Tail.

I read a lot of books but almost never upload a review.

Why bother uploading a book review? It’s trapped in their system forever.

If your really passionate about a book forget writing a review.

What I suggest is you create a manifesto sharing the best parts of the book, your commentary, or some insights.

Give people a taste of what the book provides.

Sell them by helping them (giving them an inside look) and giving them a taste.

I thought, the best way to do this, is by showing you.

So I have prepared a manifesto on, Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson.

You can download it here (if your having trouble downloading) or view below (best viewed fullscreen).

If you enjoy it, print it out, share with your friends and grab the book.

Makes sense huh? have a book of your own? Trying to convince a friend to read this great book you love?

Make a short manifesto, sell by showing, and help your idea spread.

Here’s just a list of all the cool things you can do:

• Run your own tv show | Wine Library
• Have your own Podcast
• Be an author through lulu.com or Createspace
• Be a rockstar using iTunes + Myspace + Last.fm
• Build your own entertainment network by syndicating youtube videos
• Build your own Facebook with Ning
• Design your own products (virtually anything) through Ponoko
• Brand your own products, drinks, beds, jeans by sourcing products through AliBaba
• Design your own t-shirts with Threadless
• Become an expert in your area through blogging
• Talk to anyone, skip secretaries, connect with them via Twitter / Facebook / Linkedin

Are you planning ahead? or trying to build / create something new?

Quite often during this process.  I will say stop.

Take a step back.

Take an overview.

What happens next? What are the next steps?

Are we doing the best thing to make that happen? yes / no?

How can we make sure Step 1, sets up Step 2 and 3 (all in light of the bigger picture).

For example, I am doing a joint venture to do a series of workshops.

We wanted our selling point, so I took a step back and said, What is the conversation that’s going on in our target’s mind?

What are they going to say to their boss that makes them say yes I will pay for that.

Stop. Take a step back.  Think two steps forward.

Today is as some of you may know BlogActionDay.

Blogs all around the world are going to talk about Poverty.

Their take on it.

Objective: stimulate conversations around poverty.

Many of you will know i’m a huge advocate of Kiva, discussing it here Giving something back.

However.

We all know Poverty exists. It is just out of touch.  We can’t touch it, or feel it, or have it affect our daily lives.

It is easier to let it exist, somewhere over there, out of sight out of mind.

To be frank, it’s bullshit but it’s a fact. 

So how could we change that?

How can we make Poverty real.  To everyone.  

If we expose it, people will just block it out.

Stop looking at the bad.

Start looking at the good.

And no i don’t mean, the upsides of poverty.

Share the good times, the experience, the world through which people in poverty live in.

Take Mara Triangle for example, a wild life game reserve in Kenya.  They brought it direct to us via their blog and twitter.  Raising both money and their profile.

Or 

EnglishRussia.com, something cool happens daily on 1/6 of the earth.

Take one or both of these models.  

Bring the experience direct to us.  Give us stories to discuss, give us a conversation to tell our families, give us a connection.  Give us meaning!

That’s how marketing can help Poverty.

Thoughts? 

Blogging is a marathon.

There are hills, dips, long stretches.

The context weather changes…

Keep your eyes on the end goal and keep

Taking step after step.

Momentum is valuable, maintain it, if you lose it, it’s like starting running after you’ve stopped (painful).

Just keep taking those steps, even if they’re baby steps, do it!

Work in a startup? Different context.  Same application.

(and for those that haven’t yet read, look at my Blogging Strategy, takes 30 seconds to read)

Traditionally media were given press packs.

However I think there is a huge lack of Blogger packs.

(Isn’t it frutrating as a fan of a product to have to rip logo’s from the site, photoshop them, find quotes)

In fact I haven’t seen any.

I am building my own at the moment.  Kind of a mix of the social media press release.

If someone is going to blog about me, why not give them free stuff to help them, such as:

• Photos
• Quotes
• Background Story
• Graphics / logo
• Contacts / Social Profiles

Let your fans talk about you easily and give them materials so they can make it their own way.

Great for people setting up communities around your brand, facebook pages, groups.

Help your fans help you.

What else do you think a bloggers pack needs? how should it be prepared?

Through polarising people.

You are either at this extreme or that extreme.

Create a void space for others to rush in and converse.

I don’t want to be at that end or that end, i want to be here.

What can you do to create that void? how can you give people a voice to talk? How can you ignite their own passion?

Simple question.

Hard answer.

Every fortnight or so, someone will approach me and ask, hey Ben I want to pick your brain.

We have a Marketing Budget and want to do something online.

What do you think we should do?

Hang on. Stop.

Who are we selling to first?

What is the objective?

Sure this is new marketing. Fundamentals are still the same. So take a step back and ask Who are we selling to?

(Next question: why are they buying?)

Of recent there have been posts around Do What you Love, Life Marketing, Those that turn up

What do these have to do with Marketing?

Simple they are all marketing.

If you as a person, are doing what you love, turning up where others are not, thinking of the bigger picture, what do you think this says about you?

What is the conversation going on in people that surround you?

The conversation is going to be much more engaging than otherwise.

Now imagine:

• Your company is built up on people that do all of these
• Your customers deal with these kinds of people day to day
• In rough times what kind of people are going to stick it out?

Let’s connect three ideas:

Great but not Great Enough + The Infinity Assumption + Do What You Love

Creating content that is great enough, making the infinity assumption and around topics that I love.

This is what life marketing is about.

Now it’s not reputation mangement or image management, it’s about life marketing.

Content you create is going to be out there for life, sure you can control it, but in all likelihood it could just as easily be read by your great great grandchildren.

So think about it, does my online image not only represent me as a person professionaly but as a person.

It’s doubly, triply important now.