Heather Villa » Weekend Reading

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 8/27/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:45:57 +0000

The Ben Franklin School of Persuasion – Benjamin Franklin was a serial entrepreneur, regularly seeing huge success implementing ideas which others thought were impossible or pointless.

Free Information Isn’t Enough Anymore – The next place of growth for service professionals and information marketers is to take all the free information you research and produce for your clients, synthesize it, and give it back to people in a practical, DO-able format.

Brazil ‘Fire Tornado’ Caught On Film (VIDEO) – This video is amazing. A lethal combination of strong dry winds and brush fires created a stunning, if slightly terrifying, ‘fire tornado’ in Brazil.

Finding your rockstars and giving them the stage – Find the people that are already singing your song, and give them the stage, the spotlight, and a microphone. We all want to be rockstars, and we tend to love the companies that make us feel like we are.

Does Twitter’s Fast Follow Mean Fast Fail? – An interview format with Chris Brogan and Shelly Kramer on the pros and cons of this new Twitter feature. You will be surprised at some of the answers.

Golden Business Rules for Social Media Engagement – We can’t be reminded of these enough.

Have a great weekend and check out more of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 8/20/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:45:39 +0000

Do It Right the First Time & Do It With Class – When you don’t give something the proper effort, often the results are not satisfactory. Then you find yourself in the position that you have to do it again. Not doing a task “right the first time” often creates more work.

Having a strategy doesn’t make you social – How do you avoid a social media backlash and better connect with your customers? If you are proactively monitoring your online reputation, and proactively reaching out to customers that have issues, you’ll all but remove any chance of a backlash.

Marketing Checklist: 7 Ways To Prove You Rule – Listed are 7 ways you can offer up the proof needed to close the loop on nearly any sale. From Pedigree to Social Proof this will have you well on your way to being a master of any sale.

Back to School Renewal – As our kids are heading back to school, we finally have time again for ourselves. Stacey offers some great ideas on how to make the most of the extra time and recharge our Mommy batteries.

When Live is Like a Russian Roulette – Vered offers an interesting comparison between Russian Roulette and life. The happiest of all are those who manage to focus not on the past (those tend to be depressed and full of regrets) or on the future (those tend to be worried and stressed) but on the present.

Hand Painting Art – Take the time to click on this one. Totally amazing and worth a few minutes of your day.

Watching TV: Simple Pleasure or Banal Waste of Time? – A very thought provoking article. I’m not giving up TV myself, but I may be re-evaluating my reason for watching.

Who Told You THAT Was a Good Keyword? – Finding keywords is easy. Finding the right keywords, organizing them into optimizable groups, and determining where and how they get optimized into the site is another story all together.

As always, you can see more of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Have a super, wonderful weekend!

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 8/13/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:45:53 +0000

Reminding Yourself That You Love What You Do – As creative professionals, it’s easy to get caught up in the business end of things and not actually spending much time doing anything for ourselves. If you are freelancing or working at an agency, it’s important to have something in your pipeline that’s done just for the fun of it.

Why a Six-Figure Income Doesn’t Count – Focusing on making six figures is often a path that leads to financial loss. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Impressive numbers are nice, but there’s only one number in the business world that counts: It’s not about what you make. It’s about what you keep in your pocket.

5 Ways The Intern Mind Trumps You at Social Media – Interns are mythical creatures. While their judgment makes them a liability and means they shouldn’t be let out without supervision, there’s also a lot to be learned from how they see the world. Interns actually hold many of the secrets for what it takes to craft a soft media voice.

5 Ways Companies Are Using Social Media to Lower Costs – There are two ways that social media can benefit your business: By generating sales, or by lowering costs. This post highlights some ways that companies can lower costs via social media, with some examples of companies that are doing just that.

Knowing When To Hold ‘Em…Or Fold ‘Em – We’re determined. We’re dedicated. We’re focused. Sure, these are all good and necessary traits for the entrepreneurial world. Yet, we’re so often tied to the “never give up” and “keep going at any cost” approaches that we can lose sight of why we are doing what we are still doing in the first place.

Trapped By the Hard/Easy Paradox – Imagine what the world would look like if we each chose to build our businesses around ease and grace and love and harmony and joy and let go of everything that was incongruent with that reality … what would your life look like?

Check out more of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 8/6/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:51:26 +0000

Why Entrepreneurs Need Community- Glen Stansberry shares some killer wisdom on the importance of community. This is a fantastic example of how community is pivotal to the success of an entrepreneur.

Why Are You Scared To Be Outspoken? – The question isn’t why we’re so outspoken and willing to expose ourselves, it’s why you aren’t? When you have a chance to tell customers your story and shape their experiences, why would you ever run from that? Exposing your brand via social media is only scary when you’re trying to hide your flaws. Fix them and then tell the world about it.

Who Cares About Bing? – The days of ignoring Bing are just about over. There are some major changes rolling out now. Here’s what you need to know and what you need to do about it.

How to Open Your Heart in the Mist of Confrontation – Imagine what the world would look like if each one of us made the choice not to react in the face of conflict or confrontation, but instead to take in the experience, stay open-hearted and grow as a result. The choice is yours – react or breathe. React or relax. React or love. Choose well.

5 Free Ways to Never Miss a Twitter @Reply – These services will let you know via e-mail each time you are on the receiving end of a @mention, or get a @reply. Have a read through these picks to see which one might suit your needs.

Kickass Clients and Kicking Ass- This post shares with you what makes clients “great clients”. Stop taking every ounce of business that comes to your door. You know the type of client you want (and frankly, your clients know they type of vendors they want as well).

Be sure the check out HeatherVilla StumbleUpon for a full list of my favorites.

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 7/30/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:45:34 +0000

Too Smart For Your Business? – When we make every decision from our intellect, we tend to over-complicate. We see all the options, have a million big ideas, and either want to improve upon everything or convince ourselves of what won’t work.

The Myth of the Personal Brand – By all appearances, the discussion of personal branding – and the hoards of people who claim to help us do it – is fueled by the social web. Before everyone had a voice, branding was largely the domain of ad people. Aaron hits the nail on the head here defining who exactly does the branding.

Drawing the Line: 6 Things You Shouldn’t Tolerate in Projects – Being successful is all about creating things you can be proud of and building long-term relationships with clients. From Client-Centered Design to Bad Names these personal do not pledges share some fantastic insight how to run your business better.

Almost invisible mirrored tree house built in Sweden – This was just too cool not to share.

8 New Link Types That Exist On The Web – Some of the link types most commonly used in social media and on blogs.

What’s Your BrandWord? -A business is a long-term plan to wealth. Many people do not track their branding power online – or worse, they don’t push their branding efforts far enough. The accumulative time you spend on building your BrandWord pays off quite nicely.

Looking At Life Through The Eyes Of A Child – Oh, if we could all live like kids again. This personal story hits on the things we can learn from children. – from the constant sense of wonder to the spontaneity of a child’s wisdom.

Favorite video: Your business card is CRAP – People still use business cards???? I found this very hilarious. Like Aaron, I don’t agree with most of it, but it is fun to watch.

Of course there are more. Check them out on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 7/23/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:32:51 +0000

Four Inspirational Moments in Film – Movies are a great source of inspiration. You can learn valuable lessons from watching how others deal with failure and overcome obstacles, as well as taking note of the perspective they take toward life. Listed are some great inspirational moments in film.

The World’s Best Frozen Margarita Recipe – Movies are a great source of inspiration. You can learn valuable lessons from watching how others deal with failure and overcome obstacles, as well as taking note of the perspective they take toward life. Listed are some great inspirational moments in film.

Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em: How business is like poker – Poker and business are very similar: They’re studies in money-making through opponent evaluation and risk acceptance. Aaron has a great comparison here between poker and business. By becoming a better poker player you will intern become a better business owner.

I’m Granting Wishes Today – Who has seen an authentic voodoo doll? I sure haven’t nor would I know what to do with one, until I read this. With a little bit of humor this personal story explains what to do with a voodoo doll if you ever come across one.

This is Why You Don’t Bury Your Blog’s Gold- Don’t bury your blog’s best content; find ways to share it with your readers. That can only help grow your readership and bring more exposure to your blogging efforts. Mack talks about quality not quantity when writing you blogs also, linking out to 2-3 of your most popular posts every week on Twitter.

Getting Ahead By Not Being A Cliché – Differentiation is like a bridge which creates the proper context for your work to reach the right target. When instead of being a cliche, you are different; this allows you to stand out. And when you stand out, three essential things happen: You get noticed; You get remembered; People get curious about you. This is the key to getting ahead by not being a cliche.

If you’re looking for more, see the rest of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 7/16/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:58:44 +0000

Think Before You Post – an Open Letter to All Consumers – We as consumers have never had it so good. Today many tools are available for us to express our likes or dislikes about a product or service. The best way to handle a grievance is to talk to the person or company involved privately using the channels they provide. If you do decide to post comments or critique someone online, wait until you are able to objectively view the situation. “I urge you to please think before you act online”.

Spit FAIL – I have had very distressing visits to the dentist, as I’m sure, I’m not alone. As usual, Kathy entertains us with her own personal story which shows that it’s not always to change things up.

Cocktail Lines and True Presence: the Power of Not Relying on Your Past – The past is never as relevant as we might think it is. Stand in your present power. An interesting look at how people introduce themselves and their businesses. What they do wrong and how to correct it.

10 Awesome Caves Of The World – A virtual tour of the most beautiful and astounding caves of the world. These pictures are exquisite beyond imagination.

Old Spice: The Man Your Content Could Smell Like – Why was the Old Spice campaign so remarkable? The genius of Wednesday’s campaign was that users could submit questions to the Old Spice man and, within minutes, watch a video response to their question. Old Spice did something social media experts recommend to brands all the time – they made personal connections with influencers. It’s a brilliant campaign. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

There’s No Idiot Check in MS Word- I’m sure a lot of people can sympathize here. With all the great apps being created some might think an Idiot Check function should be developed and replace the basic grammar check function. My suggestion - we should just develop a mind reader app.!

When to Let Go With My Cat Chibi – With so many people on Twitter following and being followed its hard to keep the good and drop the bad. As Chibi the cat will show you here if you’re following folks that are not benefiting you anymore its OK to drop them.

10 Steps to Creating a Successful Twitter Chat – Twitter chats hold a ton of potential for bringing together people and growing ideas. The steps listed here will have you well on your way to starting your own successful twitter chat.

Check out more of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 7/9/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:48:06 +0000

Want To Learn Faster? Stand Next To The Master – Learn the most, the best, and the fastest from others around you. Within this personal story are great insights on how to excel your knowledge by placing yourself next to those that are great leaders. “Think about it: what does mastery mean to you? Who are your masters? What’s stopping you from standing more closely to them?”

5 Favorite Link Building Tools – Having the right tools will save time, return better results in terms of both likelihood to acquire a link and its quality. This post offers some tools that will not only save you time but also improve your link building abilities.

Magalog – A sales tool with untapped potential – I had not heard of a magalog before reading Aaron’s post. He gives a clear picture of what it is and the beneficial uses. “One way to make sure your sales material gets into the hands of the people it’s supposed to get to, and to make sure it gets read, is to use a magalog”.

Understanding why Social Media works, in less than 3 minutes – Well put comparison with a video clip and social media that shows exactly why social media works for companies. “Just as Pixar makes inanimate objects more real, social media is making companies of all sizes more human.”

Google Caffeine – What It Means To YOU – This post discusses Old Google vs. New Google. It lists some of the advantages we will see in the upcoming future and how it will affect us. “In short, Google may have gotten faster and bigger – but did they really change THAT much?”

The Secret of Today Versus Todo – Most folks use a todo list on a daily basis. I know I do. This post goes over why keeping the todo list simple will benefit you more. Designate your top tasks that must get done that day and keep them on the top of your list but, always remember it should be as simple a possible.

No, You Can’t Automate Social Media! – There are disadvantages to automating too much of your social media. Even though one might have x followers on twitter, it’s not going to be beneficial if all the tweets are wholly automated. Don’t forget to be human too. It’s that easy!

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 7/2/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:58:41 +0000

The Changing Face of Facebook Marketing – 5 Things you MUST Know – Facebook seems to always be implementing a new policy. From Facebook Fan Page Admin Rule to Greater Facebook Integration you will find key lessons to help you along the way.

The Guy Who Lives on the Edge – A bit of humor for your day. One man and a rotten/spoiled tub of sour cream. Do you think it’s still good 4 days past the expiration date?

The Web Strategy Pyramid: A Well-balanced Web Strategy – Jason has come up with a fantastic guideline for boosting your web site. Broken down to each level, you will find advice on how to build a solid user-friendly web experience foundation. Starting at the lowest level (Content) and ending at the top (Pay-per-click ) Jason walks you through each phase.

Is Yours A Job, Career, or Calling? – As the old saying goes “if you find a job you love then you will never have to work again”. Broken down into three areas how would you pick your work level? For some the three categories listed here might all apply. Come Monday morning we should all be excited to start the work week not dread it.

How to Sleep Your Way to the Top – I do believe in the benefits of good sleep, but the Polyphasic Sleep method is not the way to do it. At least not for me. lol This article is just a taste of some ways lack of proper sleep habits can derail your freelance career.

Features and Benefits Are So 2009. Sell To Driving Emotion – Driving emotions sell products better than anything. This post uses three great examples of how driving emotions will be your best bet when targeting buyers. “So, if you really want to sell, don’t sell the feature, don’t even sell the benefit…sell the driving emotion”.

The Person Who Can’t Keep Appointments – How do you deal with people that are always late? This post talks about ways you can defend your time from those individuals whom are always late. From making them come see you to stop dealing with them entirely it’s all in here.

Is a Lack of Perspective Costing You Money? – Refocus your perspective. Discover how to prevent tunnel vision, in your own business, and when consulting with others. Take the blinders off and look at the bigger picture you are apt to market yourself better in the social media sense.

Business planning and a cross-country trip – Aaron takes an event from his everyday life here and forms it into a tool for learning. This post talks about businesses that fall into extremes for planning. He breaks down the benefits in taking a middle approach “plan-to-the-next-checkpoint” using a real life situation.

If you’re looking for more to read this holiday weekend, there’s a lot more on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.

Have a fabulous 4th!

Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 6/25/10

Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:45:26 +0000

The Bitch Slap: You Run a Business, Not a Free Clinic – Kind of a stand out name but it does catch your eye. Some pretty serious points here about not working for free. The best way to ruin a business is working for less than you should.

Are We There Yet? – Yes, we are there yet. We are there now. You’re already home. Confused? What a fun twist on overcoming the constant need to resolve uncertainty. Like a small child we all become impatient at times. Wanting the answer now, not willing to wait. Many great examples are listed here to alter the need for constant clarity in life’s situation. Sometimes it just is what it is.

A Kid, A Tie and a Chocolate Smile – One smile can do a world of good. In today’s world we rarely slow down to take in the good moments from strangers. In this post you will find out how one little boy in a busy city could transform a man’s day.

8 Websites You Need to STOP Building – Very funny! This comic like post will keep you laughing. It goes into several unnecessary points behind certain web sites.

5 Reasons Email is Now Snail Mail – Email in the past seemed to be super fast right? Not anymore. With more ways to communicate nowadays IM and Twitter have left email in the dust. Some interesting point are listed here as to the cause of slowness with emails. However, I have to say I’m still a fan of email slow or not.

Create Your Own Awesomely Weird Chocolate Bars – What will they think of next? Odd but somewhat interesting you will find the makings for the most unique candy bar in this post. From potato chips to herbs you name and they can put it in your custom chocolate bar. I think I’ll just stick with a normal good old chocolate bar.

Number of Twitter followers is the most overrated metric in social media – Mark makes some great points here about the volume followers. Sometimes more is just more and not benefiting you in the long run. He gives good examples of the outcome when having more followers than you can keep up with. “Numbers of followers/friends/readers matters, but in my opinion how connected you are to them is even more important in determining influence and reach”.

The 9 Stages to Social Media Acceptance – Social Media made simple. For newcomers the tips listed in this post will be most beneficial. The step by step process of what to expect when entering the social media experience will turn you into a master tweeter in no time.

If you’re looking for more, see the rest of my favorites on HeatherVilla StumbleUpon.