Tips & Websites for Aspiring Bloggers

Q&A
Q. Could you provide more tips for newbie bloggers?
A.  1. There are many categories of writing. Find the style that fits your skills, aptitudes, ability and interest. For instance, there is a now famous playwright who tried to write and sell novels for years but publishers wouldn’t buy them. Then he tried writing plays, and he found success.

Take a look at the lengthy article from the Guardian. Some writers simply don’t have the skills set to handle effectively every category of communication.

2. College educator and author Mark Schaeffer has a great blog “Grow.”
Three links are referenced at the end of this post.

References
The play’s the thing … unless you’re a novelist Hensher. Phillip. (2006).
The Guardian. Why many brilliant fiction writers turn out bad plays, and many talented playwrights produce bad novels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2006/jul/26/theatre

http://www.businessesgrow.com/2012/04/08/an-inside-view-of-the-blogging-process/

http://www.businessesgrow.com/2011/03/17/a-scorecard-on-the-7-blogging-essentials/

http://www.businessesgrow.com/2011/09/29/the-bloggers-electronic-arsenal/

 

 

 

 

 

 




Building Website Traffic Takes Time

YouTube Video  6:30 minutes
Internet entrepreneur discusses why the idea of “If he or she can do it so can I” will not work in many cases.

Although this video is three years old, the content is still relevant and illustrates the importance of tracking changes in any industry.

Lisa’s Website Traffic “Secret”

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Inside the Eyewear Industry

Sticker Shock
The 60 minutes segment for consumers on why glasses are so costly.
An inside look on the pitfalls and cutthroat nature of some businesses.
The program is a useful learning tool for potential entrepreneurs.
Many aspects of the piece can be applied to learning how to spot issues and problems in other industries under consideration.

CBS News segment
http://tinyurl.com/8u8cgrg




Q&A Blog RSS

Q. How do I subscribe to your RSS feed?

A.
Without knowing more about the system you are using, here is a link that should help with this issue.
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Feeds




Entrepreneurial Trends in the Academic World

Students Pursuing Business Startup
Four page article discusses how students in liberal arts, science and humanities are pursuing an interest in entrepreneurship  from psychology to entrepreneurial journalism. And research also indicates the benefits of taking business classes while in high school.

Roche, B.J. (2010).  Me, Inc. Studying entrepreneurship is not just for business majors anymore.

Boston.com
http://tinyurl.com/332qmlj

Whether or not you intend to pursue you an academic/entrepreneurial path, the second article gives a concise up to date overview of areas that have a shortage of graduates. The content is a good starting point for providing leads and ideas for further research.

Onlinecollege.org (2012).  Majors that have a shortage of graduates
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/10/15/13-careers-short-graduates/




Social Media as a Research Tool

Where Good Ideas Come From…
Best-selling author, Steve Johnson’s three-hour interview over the weekend included a Q&A, and diverse topics of interest to potential entrepreneurs.

One great tip Johnson provided involves the use of social media:
Develop a list of diverse people in different industries. 
You may or may not agree with their point of view, but follow them on twitter. The links that they provide to useful information is a good resource for uncovering information.

http://www.booktv.org/Program/13818/In+Depth+Steven+Johnson.aspx

 

 




Dee Adams’ Online Class

Research Tips
for Budding Entrepreneurs:

Update August 2014
Without question an ironic, tragic and complex turn of a case
On May 13, nine days after a lawsuit was filed over the royalties in Searching for Sugarman, the director of the documentary reportedly stepped in front of a speeding train in Stockholm. Weeks later, Rodriquez was sued for breaching his songwriting contract back in the 1970’s…for the music he never knew was selling in South Africa.

Sources
Scribed.com
http://www.scribd.com/doc/221603763/Sugarman

Freep.com
http://www.freep.com/article/20130517/COL18/305170139/rodriguez-pursues-royalties-sugar-man

Hollywood Reporter.com
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/searching-sugar-man-stars-amazing-700729

Evaluating Material from Reliable Sources
Government, academic, and other authoritative sources rank high on the list of resource providers that offer credible information, but consider the following examples:1. Rodriguez: The rock star who didn’t know it 60 minutes reported on a 70-year-old laborer living in poverty in Detroit last Sunday, except this wasn’t your typical day laborer… an informative segment that takes a strange twist: Consider:

Several years earlier, a cash-poor Swedish independent filmmaker becomes fascinated by the folklore of a deceased Latino musician with a cultlike following in South Africa. He bootstraps an independent project using an Apple app to create a film that costs a few dollars.

The filmmaker discovers that the musician, long thought dead, is alive and living in Detroit… a musician more popular than the Beatles in South Africa during the apartheid revolution, according to 60 minutes.

An amazing story, but with a gaping hole: Who exactly profited from the musicians talent, and who was responsible for his overall marketing while he sold half a million records in South Africa? 60 minutes failed to explore this topic, merely noting that Rodriguez didn’t receive any royalties for his early work…

2. U.S. Small Business Book on home-based business published by the U.S. Government: Excerpt:

“Do you close deals with a handshake rather than insisting on written contracts and guarantees?” Good entrepreneurs are often comfortable with something less binding than written contracts….”
The paragraph also noted that, for many entrepreneurs, honoring a handshake is a matter of honor… Really?

3. Excerpt from a business book published by a leading Publisher:
“Get, borrow or steal your startup idea, it doesn’t have to be original…” Really?

4. Entrepreneur Magazine published a print edition last year entitled Bootstrap Your Business. It was then placed online with a different title: How to Bootstrap Your Business.

An informative article, if you didn’t mind learning how the CEO of an online babysitting co-op freelanced as a management consultant while waiting for her startup to become profitable. Two other companies were mentioned in the article with descriptions of their progress, but the overall content would not inform readers how-to bootstrap a venture.

Conclusion: content from highly credible sources doesn’t necessarily mean the content is 100 percent complete or reliable; sometimes, content from a highly reliable source misses the mark completely.

60 minutes has a reputation for investigative, expose journalism, but that slant was not included in their segment on Rodriguez.

The paragraphs listed in the government publication and the business book are recipes for disaster. And, although Entrepreneur Magazine offers a lot of good content, the article mentioned based on the misleading title is lemonade.

References
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57526420/rodriguez-the-rock-icon-who-didnt-know-it/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

http://www.cbsnews.com/8334-504803_162-57527446-10391709/rodriguez-unplugged/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220733

Goodman, M. (November 2011). How to bootstrap your business. Entrepreneur Magazine.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220733




Tips for Potential Information Brokers

Deciding How Much to Charge
Useful information from coach Mary Ellen Bates site. For instance, her FAQ on how to price services contains many useful tips: “What’s My Hourly Rate?: How To Set Your Fee to Ensure You Make a Profit” are two of many free tools available for potential entrepreneurs considering entering the field.

Previous references to the information broker industry

https://nichecreativity.com/information-brokering-a-recession-proof-business/

Starting a Public Records Research Business