In my previous post I talked about how I had just finished reading Michael Hyatt’s book Platform and how I was going to experiment with its practical steps for promoting one’s self or business by applying as many of Michael’s suggestions as possible over the next 3.5 months, with the experiment being concluded at the end of October, 2013. The first step in this experiment involves creating a prioritized checklist of everything to be done. As I check off items, I’ll also post about each one, explaining exactly what I did, so that it’s easy for anyone else who wants to follow Michael’s steps to get the details. This list will be updated as I go through the book, unless I can find a checklist somewhere on his website. Ok, nope, I can’t find a checklist. I’m going to go through the book (or have my VA go through it) and make a complete checklist. But not stopping there, I’m going to also put anything on here that I think of myself that Michael may not have included. Heck, I’m going to put things on here I’ve already done. I still get some satisfaction out of that.
These are not prioritized yet. Once they are, I’ll remove this line.
Narrow the focus. What’s the point of this blog? Who should read it? Why? What will they get out of it? While there are some technical improvements to be made to the site and the content, as detailed below, I need to figure out what my mission is with this blog. When I first started it, I wrote about anything I thought was interesting. Then I restricted it to business topics and my meandering thoughts on them. That’s all well and good for Guy Kawasaki, but I’m not that Guy. There are a limited number of people who are interested in me. And I don’t want to focus on me. I want to focus on you. But who are you? Or who is the you I want to reach? I’ll have to think a bit on this.
Create a better “about” page. Start with the reader’s priorities.
Add a colophon. A description of the blog and its technology, who designed it, etc.
Add sharing icons at the bottom of each post. When is someone most likely to share a post? I’m guessing it’s not before they’ve read it, nor days after they’ve read it, but probably immediately after they’re read it. Makes sense, doesn’t it? So it would seem to me that adding social sharing icons for Facebook Twitter, etc. would be best to do immediately at the bottom of the post. Update: Done (although some betting formatting is required).
Add email signup form to bottom of each post. Likewise, it seems that while having the email signup form at the top of the page is fine, I should also have one at the bottom by the sharing icons, where someone is at their most vulnerable in terms of being willing to signup for updates. That’s a task for my programmer while she’s also making the social icons look a little better. Update: Done.
Related posts. I’ve got a plugin that’s supposed to be displaying related posts at the bottom of the post, saying “Hey, if you liked this post, you might like these posts as well…”. But the plugin isn’t working, so there’s another task for my programmer. Update: Done.
Tweet every day. This will be a hard one for me. I’ve never been an active Twitter user. I just use it to auto post things from the blog and Facebook. I don’t know what my resistance to it is, but I suppose I need to get over it and spend some quality time with Twitter each day during this experiment. Perhaps I’ll be a true convert by the end.
Update all media to be “on brand.” My @donloper profile doesn’t match my blog. Neither does my Medium page. We’ll have to fix that. Enjoy them in their current forms while they last. Update: Twitter complete. Update: Facebook page launched, after some quandarying about it.
Email list signup form. I’m loving MailChimp for this.
Add Feedly button. For RSS subscribers. Personally I love Feedly. I suppose I could add a Flipboard button too, but don’t want to crowd it up. Update: Changed my mind on this. I think I’ll just put an RSS icon at the bottom of each post alongside the social sharing icons.
Get a great head shot. Kind of hard given the material, but I guess it’s all we have to work with. I do need to get a new one, especially since I’m sporting a new hair-don’t at the moment so no one can recognize me from the photo on this site.
Secure raving endorsements. Hmmm, for this blog? For me? For MWI? Gotta think about this one. Not sure if it applies to what I’m trying to accomplish on the blog right now.
Set up your blog. Well, that’s certainly done, or almost done at least. If you have any suggestions for improvement please comment below.
Write regularly. I’m going to work on posting once a day. Update: This is hard! It’s not a shortage of ideas, it’s time. But I have been unusually busy moving to a new house in a new country and launching a branch office of my business, so that’s my excuse. Lame, right?
Use images in blog posts. Haven’t done so well at this in the past. Will work on this going forward.
End every post with a question. I started doing this occasionally, will do it every time from now on.
Make the posts short. I could do better at this. I tend to get a bit long-winded. This post being a case in point.
Maintain a list of post ideas. No problem there, I got tons.
Add a full biography.
Tell people how to contact me.
Include a video.
Consider a disclaimer.
Include a speaking photo.
Try out Scribe plugin.
Become more engaged in comments.
Write guest posts for other bloggers.
Invite other bloggers to guest post on my blog.
Liked it? Share it!
Wait. This post didn’t end with a question. 🙂