A lot to live up to with that headline but I’m confident I can do it.

When young people come across digital marketing, they often get overwhelmed with the amount of information available–I know I did. The trick is making a choice to focus on what’s in front of you and see if that makes you happy! I chose to get interested in Google Analytics first. I tried to master it and eventually got pretty decent, leaving it alone to focus on my writing. Once I got decent at that, I tried building this blog and seeing what WordPress was capable of. I’m actually moving back towards GA right now, and if you’re past the glazed-over-what-is-this-google-magic feeling with GA, check out this absolute MONSTER of a post from Amanda at Seer Interactive about profiles. Great stuff.

So if you’re reading this, you’ve made the choice. You’re trusting me to tell you what to watch. You’re in good hands, because I’ve probably watched months worth of videos since I graduated a few years ago. If you watch all of these videos and don’t come away with something, I will give you $5. That’s right. Stop me next time you see me. $5 is yours if you can say you (honestly) did not learn a thing. Take the opportunity I’m giving you to become better.

In honor of the Arrested Development season premier in two weeks, we’re doing a [final] countdown.

Rapid Fire Link Building Strategies by Wil Reynolds

This is the precursor to our final video. It introduces the idea of #rcs before the big video by Wil. If you’re looking for some link building tactics and an overarching strategy that will give you some direction, start here. Do yourself a favor and follow this guy on Twitter for a steady dose of awesome. I took a lot away from this video but the most important take-away is that you need to get outside of your box and do some darn critical thinking. Things as simple as Ubersuggest make your life easier!

 

Tactics follow strategy. So if you think that just knowing high level strategy is going to get your job done then you’re in for a big slash terrible surprise!

How to Get Your Ideas to Spread

This still rings true today and builds off of Seth’s original idea of Permission Marketing. Despite being over 6 years old, and a ten year old book, permission marketing is still not as widely used as it should be. This was my first introduction to the word remarkable.

I know what you’re thinking.

Yes, I had heard the word before; I was 22 years old when I saw this. But I didn’t fully understand what being remarkable was. Find out for yourself!

Seth’s Blog is the first blog that really took my thinking to the next level. Get daily inspiration directly from him!

Manifesto of Content Strategy

I love Rand’s energetic talk on content, which is at the heart of SEO and what we’re dubbing inbound marketing. What’s ironic is that what we’re calling inbound is actually just old school marketing that digital marketers got in a bad habit of…not doing. With SEO back in the early 2000′s, you could rank by outsourcing link building to India for $X/link. Not anymore! We’re bridging that gap between digital and classic. Love this talk, Rand is another dude you should follow.

Real. Comany. Sh*t.

I don’t want to touch on too much but this might have impacted my professional life more than any one thing. Perhaps without Seth Godin’s influence I might not have reached this point. Maybe I’d be out there working staffing or something. But without Wil’s #rcs talk, I wouldn’t strive to be amazing at what I do, not only forthe benefit of myself and my company but for the people who we serve. I want to deliver the best that I can for all of us. Wil taught me that.

I can’t embed this video but I can link to it, so check it out and try to coax me into going to Mozcon someday. I want to go!

Unrelated: I had the ultimate compliment paid to me by my lovely lady. I was listening to Wil’s #rcs speech while she was getting ready to go out and she said “He reminds me of you when you talk about marketing.” That hit the feels.

Tweet at me and let me know you learned something. It would mean the world to me.

Lately, I’ve been holding private Google+ Hangouts with my good friend Mr. Colin White. They’ve been engaging and informative because we are helping each other learn so much–so much that we should record them (hit that record button without telling me, it’s cool!).

We are not experts. We are students. Much of our discussion has revolved around the work that is done and the work that ought to be done. Please allow me to explain…

Seth Godin and other Godinites like myself refer to this as the fear. Julien Smith refers to it as the flinch. We are all scared to do what is hard. It might be the most rewarding work (DUH! It is.) but it also takes intensity and dedication. It takes guts and it rewards those guts with glory. Whether or not it’s good news or bad news, we have come to the conclusion that there is a market for another marketing agency in Central Florida. There was a momentary waffle; there was a waver. After witnessing the state of local business…there is not waffle, no waver.

The way to differentiate is to be personal, to be authentic. Build a sustainable marketing plan (stay tuned for more on sustainable marketing) for your clients. That’s a foundation of on-site SEO, community building (not “social media”), and real company stuff aka #rcs. (scroll down to the second video by Wil–best 45 minutes you will spend today)

All of that feel good stuff is great. But what does it mean?

Google this: (my city) car dealer

Tampa results indicate that 4 of the top results have a page title that is too long to display–easy win. I’m not going to mention names but there was a site with about 15 lines worth of meta keywords. Stuffing. my favorite part of Thanksgiving…

So if you want to be a great marketing agency, listen up. Get sustainable. Get real. Stop wasting your time to be where you are at. You deserve more than that! If a company has a great service then the world (or at least their target market) should know about it.

I hope you feel the same way.

I hope that we both have learned from this post.

Leave me a comment, please. I’d love to get smarter from writing this.

Stop saying that! Am I right?

I’ll figure it out is another version of I was thinking about starting. It’s infectious in the worst kind of way. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of saying this recently and it’s shown in my lack of productivity.

When I get into these–and I’m not going to call it a rut because life is treating me well–these negative thought loops, I end up losing out on productivity at work and at home. I’ve been stuck in my daily activities over some projects that are really blocking our overall progress as well as my personal progress at home. I haven’t been lifting. I haven’t been eating healthy. I have several unfinished blog articles and a handful of site architecture issues on top of stalled side projects.

And just like that, I recognize what’s happening and make hte decision that I’m changing it. It’s ironic that tone changes everything. Because…

I’ll figure it out.

This isn’t a lie. This isn’t filler conversation this time. It’s a promise.

I’ll figure it out.

As part of a series that has no hope of becoming a weekly post, I’d like to spend some time sharing some of the wonderful things I’ve read. Although I have not read many books lately, my article digest has exploded to where I am averaging about 5 per day over the last month or two. Holy smokes indeed. Add on a few long workdays, scattered lifting, and some extra-long Fifa 13 sessions and I’ve uncovered why I haven’t seen a single friend since my birthday last month. Take advantage of me being a lunatic and check out 5 of my favorite articles that can be construed as related to marketing. (I have actually seen friends…just briefly…)

If You Can’t Be a Creator Then Be a Curator!

Hey! That’s what I’m doing! The reason being a curator is so important is because the amount of content being created is so immense that people no longer have time to sift through it all. Do you know how many social networks, social tools, task managers, calendars, video streaming, epilepsy inducing crap there is out there?! Try and scroll through the apps available on your phone…that begin with the letter P. Leave me a comment when you get to the bottom. Comments will probably be auto-sent to my brain for approval by then.

People have begun to find value in curators because they act as a content filter. The same reason people grew up watching the news, or more likely for you Sportscenter, is the same reason people check Google News, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, or their RSS. They need a built in filter. You can become someone’s filter by gaining their trust and doing the work for them. Not for everyone but still a good read–especially when we all sing the same “create good content” song.

5 Google Analytics Tips and Reports You Should Embrace Now

MULTI. CHANNEL. FUNNELS. Good golly get into this little filter of wonder. Multi-channel funnels might be one of the biggest steps when it comes to attribution marketing in the digital age. Instead of only tracking last interaction conversions, we can properly track assisted conversions towards a final sale. Ideally, using the funnel path and assigning a value to an assisted conversion will give you a better idea of the value each of your channels has. For instance, those who sell high end items may not see a high number of last conversions through their email channel, especially if that email list is built on inbound marketing principles. What they may see is a high assisted/last interaction ratio, where their subscribers buy later.

Especially for those involved across social, cpc, email and organic–it’s a must in terms of time investment.

Are You Still Making These Six Senseless SEO Mistakes

Well, we got two birds stoned here by listing a Blueglass blog post and one that is about good content. I’ll let you delve into this one on your own. It’s a good read and really pins down some issues we all have as marketers.

Selecting an SEO Firm: The What, How, and Who

This article is GOLDEN simply because of the SEO RFP document that is attached to it from Vizion. It’s interesting because it enables you to understand what a great SEO company is looking for from you,  what you can possibly do better without an SEO company, or how you can lay a positive framework for an SEO company in the future. Really a great document and it gave me some things to work on with my personal projects and day-to-day.

Last, but not least…from my personal Continued Education Link Collection (CAPS SO YOU KNOW IT’S GOOD)

Real Company Stuff, #rcs

Quit the fluff, do #rcs. So much goodness I wish I was there live. Gotta love Mozcon.

As a side note, I’m really excited to be speaking on a panel of young professionals at the University of Tampa next week about being young in the real world and how you can make it big. Or just get a job and start doing your laundry on a regular basis–which is my expertise. Looking forward to doing more speaking in the future!

Through my own experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are all victims of information overload. I wake up to my Coolio ringtone, take a shower to my Spotify playlist titled “Feelin Good Louis”, drive while listening to the radio since I don’t have a darn input in my soon-to-be-sold car, stare at a computer and listen to phones ring all day, and then come home to a house where the TV is on from 5pm until 11:30.

WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING IN MY LIFE?!

Information overload. And it has to stop.

Let’s start by being fair. I love watching movies. I love the work I do. I love sitting on Reddit and learning all kinds of interesting things. I could stare at my RSS Feed for hours. But sometimes I need to say “Hey guys, I need a little space.”

And that’s the way you need to break down data at work as well.

If you have access to your company’s analytics, assuming you receive more traffic than a little old blog like EverythingSwan , then you understand how much data there is to be reviewed. Until I spent time going through my company’s data, I thought I would just pop in a break down searcher profiles, know out some negative keywords and call it a nice first day. Well, maybe I had a little more perspective than that.

So what is the point?

The point is that you need to stop spending  2 hours going through AdWords campaigns, 2 hours in Analytics, 2 hours in DFP, and your last two hours of work in spreadsheet mayhem you cooked up that still isn’t 100% correct.

Start with the basics, then expand from there. Start with the data that tells you something you know to be true and build off of that. I know the feeling of having 100 objectively (hah!) great ideas in your head at all times, it can be hard to ignore. Hopefully you have someone in your network, social circles, or in management that will let you know when you need to keep it simple. I know I benefit from that.

Remember: keep it simple at first, then build up from there.  photo credit: JD Hancock via photo pin cc

Most marketing people I’ve met have my same problems and symptoms that I do. We got into this field for a reason after all–we think we can do it all. The problem with doing it all is that you can’t! Sure. You read that story about that guy who runs his business for four hours a week and makes a killing. I read that one too, it was a great read. But this is for the people who don’t do that. The people like me and everyone else I know. I really like going into the office and working more than four hours per week right now. Maybe some day I can follow in Tim’s footsteps.

Let’s get back to the issue: you cannot do it all. If you try to wing PPC, Social, Direct, Email, Content, and any other kind of marketing you have going on then you will not be able to do it alone. But that’s where The Great Marketing Calendar comes in. (Kind of sounds like a magician but that could be because I just watched The Prestige recently.)

The Great Marketing Calendar is like having a personal assistant that remembers everything. She is detail-oriented, motivated, and is very flexible with her hours. Sounds like a shitty job posting that I would frown at after I wrote it.

This little lady will save you time and time again because it has everything you need to know. Internal deadlines? Content schedule? Blog ideas? Outgoing emails? No problem. While some people prefer to do it old school in Excel 2003, you can throw it on Google Drive and have access on the fly. Just sayin’!

You don’t even need to be in Marketing to use one. I actually based my first calendar off of CMI’s Editorial Calendar (link to the article, it’s in the content). You can tailor it to fit your industry and position very easily. I added sales campaigns that we run on a weekly basis and added tabs for content ideas or links to past content that could be re-used.

Maybe if I were doing one for my personal life I would include when to get haircuts. Or when my dog last had a bath. Or maybe reminders to tell my invisible wife how lovely she looks every third Saturday of the month. Everybody wins!

Starting a marketing calendar now is just the beginning of an overall organization that will make you feel great about your time management. And if you do not have one at work already, blow your coworkers away. Start a marketing calendar NOW.

Stay tuned for some detailed posts and actual usage!

Of course you’re not! Because you would know  if you were, am I right?

The point isn’t to make you feel bad for being knowledgeable because you should maintain a confidence about yourself. What you should also maintain is a sense of humility. Too often we forget that we still have much to learn, even about the things we consider ourselves the SME, or Subject Matter Expert.

I am guilty of this, but I find this incantation to be an appropriate reminder, as taken from the Socratic Method:

The first step towards knowledge is admitting that you know nothing.

When you know nothing, you have the opportunity to learn with every second that passes by (Hey! That’s opportunity!). When you greet every conversation with an open mind you will almost certainly pick something new up. That’s a phenomenal feeling to have.

Being the know-it-all isn’t anything to brag about anyway.

When you finally make it to the workforce, you feel amazing. An amazing company hired you and you get to learn amazing things from your amazing boss. Then you can make your mark on this amazing company (and the world!) because you are so amazingly creative.

Except it’s not.

B-b-b-but why not? It’s simply a result of the mental state that you’ve developed for yourself. What you keep telling yourself is: “If I just do this for long enough, then I can do that. That will be so much better.” The problem with that is that really isn’t much different from this. They are both still work, they both still require your time, and they both aren’t as glamorous as you make them out to be. Are you depressed yet? Don’t be. You can snap out of this state with some hard work and some mental mapping.

Start by identifying negative thought loops as they happen. As soon as you identify the negativity seeping in, quickly think back to what brought you there. Write it down if you have to.

Typically work thoughts are “I don’t feel like doing this”  or “I can’t believe they asked me to do this.” In either case, it’s probably not the actual work that is bringing you down, it’s the lead in. Frequently you come to terms with the worst-case scenario as the actual end result. “Man, I’ll never get promoted even if I work hard on this” is such a terrible thing to say to yourself. You’re sticking yourself into a deeply negative thought loop that is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy for your future. You want that prophecy to have a positive outcome.

OK. back to recognizing thought loops.

So you caught yourself thinking negatively, now figure out what set you off! Usually it is an interaction with someone negative or maybe a repetitious activity that does the trick for me. Once I recognized the person that usually had a negative attitude I could easily mitigate the interaction with them or, when I had to interact with them, I learned that I had to dictate the conversation and rely on positive, proactive behavior to get their spirits up.

As far as tasks went, some things I couldn’t avoid and others I could. I have spoken to supervisors when tasks seems redundant and meaningless. Sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn’t. If your supervisor understands you, they will likely explain why the task is important to the company or find a way to move you onto something more productive. But let’s be honest: not every day will be your day.

The thing about negativity is that it’s infectious. By identifying your own negative thought loops and turning them around, you’re improving not only your own state of mind, but that of those around you as well.

If I could impart one, final thought: Never let anyone own you or your mind. Only you have the power to control your state of mind and state of being, unless you allow others to. Don’t do that.

One of my favorite things to do is write. I like to write about things I know about and things I don’t know about. I like to write in my own tone and sometimes in somebody else’s You’d think I’d have more to show from a couple months with a blog, but in truth I have been writing and publishing more than ever. You can find me on the Webjet.com Top Fives Travel Blog every week writing about interesting things in the travel industry so leave me a comment and let me know how awesome you’ve been doing! Backlinks, YES!

Personally and professionally I may be the happiest I have been in years and there’s not a whole lot I can complain about. It’s hard to believe the places we’ve been and even harder to believe where we will end up, but I’m loving the ride. After vacation this week you can expect a few more releases over here. Be well.

In entry level marketing classes, they talk about noise as a part of person-to-person communication.

Encode. Transmit. Decode.

Everything else is noise.

The easy answer to noise is a content filter–get rid of the noise and keep the meat and potatoes. But what happens when a content filter becomes filled with noise? Do you filter the filter? What happens when you have to filter the filter of the filter? Let’s not test that any further, I already had two typos the first time.

What you need is one group, one filter.

One filter to rule them all…

A group that is relentless, dedicated and hungry (maybe one that takes ownership). A group that doesn’t get their “dream job” and say “Well, this is it. This is where I want to be.” It may be hard to find but in every instance I have ever come across it’s worth your time. Think of it as a real life version of the Would You Rather game. Would you rather coast through your life doing just enough or would you rather explore the potential greatness inside you?

While thinking about your answer, do you best and try to ignore the noise.