Nick Usborne

Monday Spark: Have you lost your song?

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lost your songRobb Braun isn’t famous. At least, I don’t think he is.

What you’ll see in the video below is a talk he gave at Toastmasters. Not at some fancy conference.

But he has a great message. And he’s right. As kids we all had our own song, that sense of who we were, what we felt was special about ourselves, and how we saw ourselves in the world.

But as Robb says, over time most of us learn to quieten that song, because it rarely fits in with what is expected of us…from our families, our schools and our friends. We turn down the volume in order to fit in and not rock the boat.

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As a freelancer, you can make 6 figures a year with just three strong relationships.

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freelance business relationshipsIf you’re a freelancer, you don’t need thousands of friends, followers and connections.

You don’t need to spend hours on Twitter and Facebook, trying to hold the attention of tens of thousands people who are, essentially, complete strangers.

You really don’t need to be connected with that many people.

Just three. Maybe four. Could be five.

When I look back over the last 30 years of freelancing, almost all of my work has come to me as a direct result of the strong business relationships I have had with a very small number of people.

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Monday Spark: Spending 20 minutes a day outside makes you smarter.

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nature lifts your spiritsMost of know this intuitively, especially in the spring. We know that stepping outside for a while seems to lift our spirits and make us smile inside.

And the more of nature we see when we’re outside, the better we feel.

A view of brick walls and concrete does little to make us feel good. But the sound of birds singing, spring flowers pushing up through the ground, or an expansive view over rolling hills to the horizon seems to lift a burden from our shoulders.

It turns out that this is a proven, scientific fact.

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You aren’t part of that social media conversation if you’re not listening.

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popcorn conversationRight towards the end of my short book, Popcorn Content, I talk about the importance of putting your finger on the pulse of any social media conversation.

Let me expand on that a little.

I think for most of us our default setting with social media is to jump in and take part in as many conversations as possible, across multiple sites, like Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

We just want to be out there, in front of as many people as we can.

But deep down, I think we all know there is a problem with that approach.

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Popcorn Content: The craft of writing short-form content for social media.

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popcorn content for social media

Popcorn Content is a short book about writing social media content.

Read it and learn how to write short-form content that hooks, compels and engages.

Whether you are writing a tweet, an update intro for Facebook, a post headline for Google+, a comment for Pinterest, or a title for a YouTube video…you need short content that pops.

Is writing this kind of short content really a separate “craft”? Absolutely it is. The social media environment is fast-moving, and whatever you say or share not only sinks into the flow really quickly, but is also in constant competition for attention.

Whether you are trying to hook readers, or engage in conversations, your social media content has to jump off the page.

That’s what Popcorn Content is all about.

Your social media text needs to be front-loaded with the most powerful words and ideas. It needs to hook readers quickly before you lose their attention. It needs to be intriguing and immediate, so readers click through to read more. It has to be worth sharing, and easy to share.

In short, it’s a whole different way of writing.

So what’s with the “popcorn” thing?

Well, it turns out that popcorn and social media have a lot in common.

Popcorn is social. It is generally shared within groups, in theaters, with family in front of the TV, with friends at a party. It’s about sharing within a group…just like social media.
social media content postcard
Popcorn is a snack, not a meal. Same with social media. Sharing someone’s Facebook update doesn’t mean you now have a relationship with them…you have just taken one small step. It’s the snack before the meal. And it had better be a tasty snack.

Popcorn is fleeting. The bowl is full one minute, and empty the next. Same with social media. Your latest tweet is there now, and below the fold a few minutes later. This means you need to write a LOT of Popcorn Content.

Using social media is like walking into a crowd of strangers with a bowl of popcorn. By offering these small kernels of value, you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to people and take that first step towards building a relationship.

To beat the competition – and it’s fierce – you need to master the craft of writing compelling short-form content.

“Love the ebook and I plan to buy a copy for everyone in my global marketing department for a retreat we are having in early July. “

Kerry Fehrenbach
Vice President, Global Marketing
Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I)

Popcorn Content is  just 39 pages long. Yes, it’s short. No fluff. No blah blah. And it costs just $6.25. (Less than a small bag of popcorn at the movie theater.)

Read it now and write short-form social media content that hooks readers, engages prospects and drives sales.

“Popcorn Content offers a very good foundational overview of how to maximize social media communication for greatest impact. Nick Usborne paints a very engaging and realistic overview of social media marketing copy writing best practices and how they apply to the ever changing social media landscape. The bottom line is that this guide will pay for itself almost immediately if you’re willing to take advantage of the knowledge being shared.”

Rob Graham
TrainingCraft.com

Get it now at Amazon.com for just $6.25

Monday Spark: Sit down and do the best you can each day [VIDEO]

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creative inspirationYour job is to sit at your desk each day and do the best you can.

This applies to managing your time, being productive and, above all, doing your best work, whether that be writing, designing, coding or anything else.

Will the “muse” be with you every single day? In other words, will you be at your most creative every day? Almost certainly not.

But as Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, says in this video, “I would like the record to reflect that today I turned up for my part of the job.”

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