Hey All,
Here are a few things I've been reading and pondering lately. If you'd like to share some of your favorite writing, please do let me know. I'm always looking for interesting things to share, regardless of the topic, medium or industry.
Enjoy and if you're feeling inspired, pass it on.
1. The Content Promotion Lie
With Festivus coming up, it's time for me to air some grievances. This post is all about "promotion" and "distribution."
It's time to have a serious talk about the two most misleading and distracting words in the content marketing business. (And the quotation marks are very deliberate.) I break it down here and offer an alternative that will help you grow your site and maybe even sleep better at night. Enjoy.
2. Lazy Leadership
Andrew Wilkinson on "Why I rarely go to the office, only see my team a couple times a week, and let other people make important decisions."
This is a great post on being smart about leading and growing a company. A must read.
A couple years ago, I thought my laziness was my achilles heel. I watched as my entrepreneurial friends pushed boulders up hills and worked themselves into the ground, while I just hired people to do the stuff I hated. I felt guilty about it. It felt like cheating. But over the years, I’ve realized that my so-called laziness is actually a huge advantage.
3. SEO Siloing: How to build a website silo architecture
Study this. It's a vital part of content strategy that most people overlook. And it's part of my Big Wins framework for content marketing.
In short, you need to move away from this:
And towards this:
4. The Difference Between Trying and Doing
I'll be honest: Michael Hyatt's blog really didn't appeal to me for a long time. It felt like another self-help guru churning out advice I've read a hundred times.
I gave it another chance recently though and I'm really enjoying it. He offers up some really smart frameworks that can help you think about the problems in your work and life. This post is a great example of that.
The point is that when we say we are trying we don’t really have to do anything. It also provides us with an excuse for why we didn’t accomplish the outcome we say we want.
Do you understand the difference? You either do something or you don’t do it. Trying is really the same as not doing it. It just makes it easier for us to let ourselves off the hook when we fail.
5. Random Links
- "Michael Jordan had a 'love of the game' clause in his Bulls contract that allowed him to play ball anywhere, anytime he wanted." (ESPN)
- Go sign up for Jocelyn K. Glei's newsletter. It's great.
- If you are under 30, I highly recommend this book.
- "This ability to imagine the end-result of our work is an incredible superpower that we often forget we have." — Janessa Lantz
- How Much Environmental Damage Did Your Thanksgiving Dinner Do?
- If you're tired of tech news, check out CircleUp's blog for great stories on consumer startups.
Have a great week!
Jimmy