How to Write a Blog Post: 22 Actionable Tips

How hard could it be to write a blog post? If a teenager can do it, you can too, right?

Well, writing a blog post isn’t hard at all, but writing a great blog post is very difficult. Below are 22 actionable tips on how to write a blog post that will help make your content stand out from the crowd.

Write a blog post

Write a blog post

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Blog On Your Passion

Blogging can be a chore, unless you are passionate about the topic. So, first and foremost, pick a topic you are passionate about.

Don’t just pick a topic that you “think” you are passionate about. Pick one that you definitely know you’ll love. It has to be a topic that you love so much that you want to constantly learn more about it.

Break With Your Old Ways

Do you remember writing term papers in high school or college? If you don’t, lucky you! If you do, writing blog posts is going to be a difficult task for you. You have to ignore all the things your professors taught you about writing.

You aren’t here to write a term paper—you are here to create a conversation!

If my blog posts sounded as if I was talking at you instead of to you, wouldn’t you get bored and irritated with me? Make sure you do the same: talk to your readers—not at them.

Know What You Want To Write About

Before you start writing the first word, you have to know what the last word is going to be. I don’t mean this in a literal sense, but you have to know how you are going to…

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The One thing I Would Say to Every Coaching Client I Have Ever Had

The One thing I Would Say to Every Coaching Client I Have Ever Had

A friend asked me a question that infected my brain like a splinter. It was a ridiculous question that I thought myself smart enough to answer. So I did.

Hammer and nails. When you develop one thing, other things improve.

“When you think of all the people you have coached, what’s the one thing you would like to tell them all?”

The question seems ridiculous – leaders are individuals. But in my silly brilliance an answer came to my mind. Answers have never been a problem for me, especially wrong ones.

The one thing I would say to all the coaching clients I have ever had has four parts.

#1. Forget about perfecting any leadership skill.

Corporate knuckleheads need to measure stuff. They need to see how close to perfect they are and how far you fall short. 2+2=4 is perfect. But people aren’t equations.

Track improvement. But…

The idea of measuring something that can always be improved is hilarious.

#2. Strive to develop several leadership skills, but not at the same time.

Working to develop two leadership skills at the same time cuts effectiveness in half. Working on three leadership skills at the same time is a complete waste.

Humility develops one thing. Arrogance works on everything.

#3. Focus on three relevant skills. (See #2 above.)

Perhaps delegating, leading one-on-ones, and managing your calendar seem most relevant. Go for it! Don’t overthink it.

In a month or two, you’ll lose interest in improving your delegating skills. Pat yourself on the back and focus on the next thing.

When you develop one thing, other things improve.

#4. 80% is good enough.

Don’t polish the turd. Develop a skill to 80% and move on. The last 20% isn’t worth it.

How will you know when you’ve reached 80%? Go with your gut.

One thing: Constantly develop yourself. (Maybe the question wasn’t ridiculous.)

What’s the one thing you would say to ALL leaders?



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Episode 1413 Scott Adams: And Now For the Best Simultaneous Sip in the World!

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Understanding the Facebook Algorithm in 2021: Ranking Signals and Tips

As of 2020, Facebook has 1.82 billion daily active users and 2.7 billion monthly active users. And while Facebook usage is consistently growing, brands are noticing organic reach in a rapid decline. That’s where the Facebook algorithm comes in.

cover illustration

cover illustration

The average reach of an organic post from a Facebook page is only 5.2%.

This is partly due to changes made to the Facebook algorithm that prioritize posts by people over content made by pages.

You can still make the Facebook algorithm work for you, though. Want to maximize your organic reach by appealing to the Facebook algorithm? Keep reading to find out how!

What is the Facebook algorithm?

Basically, the Facebook algorithm is the platform’s way of deciding which posts to push in users’ feeds, and when those posts appear.

Posts don’t appear in chronological order. Instead, the algorithm assesses and scores posts before ordering them based on interest in a user’s feed. The algorithm puts the posts they think you’ll be most interested in at the top of your feed.

Facebook newsfeed

Facebook newsfeed

The algorithm is made of a set of calculations, which makes deciphering the details of why and how the algorithm shows what it shows no small feat. What we do know is that it’s main goal is to keep you scrolling through posts you’ll react positively to.

Facebook posts

Facebook posts

Why you should care about the Facebook algorithm

Small businesses account for 90 million Pages on Facebook. The competition is steep. If you don’t have a sizable advertising budget, your small business might have a hard time standing out.

If you work with the algorithm and put out content it’s likely to push to the top of your audience members’ newsfeeds, you can take advantage of organic reach and get eyes on your content without spending all your budget on Facebook ads.

How the Facebook algorithm works in 2021

The Facebook algorithm works by taking all the posts in a user’s network and ranking them based on what that user is most likely to engage with.

It boosts Facebook posts you’re likely to be interested in and hides the posts your behavior indicates you won’t engage with, then scores and ranks posts based on which posts will be most interesting to you.

Facebook algorithm post ranking

Facebook algorithm post ranking

Source: [Facebook]

If you want your posts at the top of the Facebook newsfeed, you’ll need to know about the ranking factors and signals the Facebook algorithm uses to make decisions.

4 Facebook algorithm news feed ranking factors

The news feed ranking factors are separated into four groups: inventory, signals, predictions, and relevancy score.

Inventory

Inventory is what Facebook calls all content on the platform. For example, posts from…

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14 Mobile Trends That Are Dominating 2021

In the past, I’ve told you to keep an eye out for the top marketing trends. But now I want to take that one step further and narrow that focus specifically to mobile trends.

As a business owner, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of modern marketing trends to be successful.

This guide is beneficial for marketers, app developers, and anyone else who wants to improve their business.

While I’m not saying you need to apply these trends to your own marketing, it’s important you’re aware of the new technology that’s available and surrounding you. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide to change your strategy based on this information.

I used research from previous years as well as some recent technological developments to come up with this list.

These are the top 14 mobile trends dominating the year so far. I expect these to continue trending upward.

1. Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence has penetrated our mobile world.

We’re getting one step closer to mobile devices morphing into robots and taking over the planet. Obviously, I’m kidding.

While that day has yet to come, we are seeing advancements in mobile AI. You may be familiar with some of these:

  • Alexa
  • Siri
  • Cortana
  • Google Assistant

All of these are examples of AI that may even be installed on your mobile devices right now. In addition to these popular forms of AI, mobile apps are now using software such as voice recognition to encourage hands-free use and ultimately optimize the customer experience.

AI software is used to help developers and marketers learn more about the user.

Businesses are trying to get more revenue by using this information to create relevant advertisements that target specific audiences.

2. Location-based technology

Your smartphones and tablets…

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2 Steps to Become Your Aspirational Self And Still Be Your Real Self

2 Steps to Become Your Aspirational Self And Still Be Your Real Self

Growth is becoming your aspirational self, not languishing with the façade of authenticity.

Don’t turn from challenge or opportunity with self-affirming nonsense like, “It’s just not me,” or, “That’s not who I am.”

“Authenticity” is self-sabotage when it prolongs inaction, incompetence, and pitiful self-satisfaction.

The question to ask about opportunity or challenge is how does it give expression to your aspirational self?

Goose The people you admire reflect the person you hope to become.

How to become your aspirational self:

#1. Define who you aspire to become.

Make a list of people you admire. Three will do, but if you have time, list more. Beside each person’s name write the distinguishing quality or qualities you admire about them. I did this with a leader this morning. He listed three names and three qualities.

  1. Mother Theresa – loving.
  2. Winston Churchill – courage.
  3. Steve Jobs – vision.

We explored what he admired until he distilled their admirable quality to one word. (It’s not necessary to limit this exercise to one quality per person.)

I looked at him and said, “This is who you aspire to become.”

When coaching, you could be less direct by asking, “How do these people reflect who you aspire to become? The next question(s) convert this exercise from insight to opportunity.

Squirrel How does this opportunity give expression to your aspirational self?

#2. Engage your aspirational self.

  1. With your aspirational self in mind, what’s next?
  2. How would your aspirational self handle this situation?
  3. What would you like to do today with your aspirational self in mind?
  4. How does becoming your aspirational self inform the way you would like to show up today?
  5. Which decision best reflects and satisfies your aspirational self?

The people you admire reflect the person you hope to become.

Tip: While performing this exercise, don’t focus on the accomplishments of admirable people. Focus on character attributes.

Who do you admire?

How might the people you admire reflect the person you aspire to become?



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The Personality Trait Linked To High IQ

The trait is particularly important for general knowledge because it makes people more curious and motivates them to learn new things.

People who are open to new experiences tend to be more intelligent, psychological research finds.

Being open to experience means taking an interest in things that are new, complex and even unconventional.

Openness to experience is particularly important for general knowledge because it makes people more curious and motivates them to learn new things.

Openness to experience is one of the five major aspects of personality, which also includes neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

Being open, imaginative and sensitive to emotions, though, has the strongest link to a higher IQ.

The reason may be that being intelligent makes people more curious about the world.

This ‘cognitive hunger’ drives people to discover more about the world around them.

Being able to appreciate beauty and being curious are very strongly linked to a higher IQ.

The conclusions come from a study of around 500 people who completed personality and IQ tests.

The results showed that the strongest associations were seen between openness to experience and crystallised intelligence.

Openness has a number of facets of its own, the study’s authors explain:

“The Openness to Experience construct involves the tendency to fantasize (Fantasy), aesthetic sensitivity (Aesthetics), awareness of one’s emotions (Feelings), preference for novelty (Actions), intellectual curiosity (Ideas), and preference for nontraditional values (Values).”

Crystallised intelligence roughly equates to general knowledge: knowing many things about the world.

More intelligent people were particularly appreciative of beauty: they had a strong aesthetic sense.

They were also likely to be intellectually curious and to have an interest in ideas for their own sake.

These two facets of openness were most strongly linked to higher crystallised intelligence.

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Ashton et al., 2000).

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Top 5 Best Simple Project Management Software – 2021 Review

Are you needing a simple project management tool but don’t know where to start? There are tons of tools out there that promise to help you tackle your projects, whether they’re big or small. The problem is too many choices often lead to analysis paralysis. To help with your project management quest, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best project management tools you can use that’ll enable you to crush your project goals and work quickly. Buckle in, grab your coffee, and get ready to look through the ins and outs of some of the best tools on the market.

The Top 5 Best Simple Project Management Software

  1. Monday.com – Best for simple customization
  2. Trello – Best for simple workflows
  3. Smartsheet – Best for Gantt chart projects
  4. Basecamp – Best for remote project management
  5. Asana – Best for project goal setting

Now, let’s see how each of these tools measure up and what they have to offer.

#1 – Monday.com — Best For Simple Customization

  • Drag-and-drop task management
  • Intuitive, color-coded dashboard
  • Customizable templates included
  • Three plans under $20/month

Try for free

Monday.com straddles between being simple and being customizable to the needs of your team. Its intuitive color-coded dashboard lets your team easily drag and drop tasks and assignments.

Planning, tracking, and delivering each project is made easy with visual templates that make use of automations and work views to ensure you’re never missing a beat.

Project delivery becomes easy with customizable workflows and project trackers. That’s not all. Monday.com also equips you with templates you can customize to the uniqueness of your project, whether…

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Is Anyone Listening? Does Anybody Care?

I really don’t like to raise hell about bad customer service online. If you’ve read any of my social media rants, you probably find that hard to believe. I’ve made a commitment to let very few things upset me except the health and well-being of loved ones. I reserve most of my emotional energy for that. Other minor problems and inconveniences I ignore.

But I make an exception for really bad service. I believe you should never pay someone to make your life less pleasant.

So why do I make a post like this?

I do it to break through indifference and get attention. Too many customer service reps or agents are empowered to do little more than apologize. And while that is nice, it isn’t always enough.

Recently I’d been having much too regular problems with DoorDash. If I couldn’t get an explanation or resolution online, I’d call and usually get a satisfactory response (although who wants to waste time and effort getting what they paid for?).

In the transactions with restaurants, drivers and DoorDash, I noticed lots of blaming: drivers blaming restaurant blaming DoorDash blaming…you get the picture. Ultimately a company is responsible for its employees, even if they are independent contractors.

In my last encounter (spoiler alert) before closing my account, I asked to speak to someone in escalations or a supervisor. I was told someone would contact me in 24-48 hours. My late and lukewarm meal would have been long digested by then. I said that was unacceptable and requested a callback within 10 minutes or I would close my account. It wasn’t a threat so much as a clarification of consequences.

In the interest of fairness, I did get a call back that didn’t ring through on my phone. Missed the call. My bad. But there was no message. I called the missed number.  It went to another rep who said they couldn’t connect me with whomever called.

Ok, so I’ll wait another 5 minutes for a callback (I waited 10 to be reasonable and it never came). I posted on Facebook and got a healthy response from others who had been frustrated by DoorDash.

Using LinkedIn, I tried to connect with two DoorDash executives. To date I’ve received no response. If there is something we all hate, it is indifference. It says “you don’t count enough to respond to.” When a leader doesn’t seem to care, how can you expect a driver or customer service rep to care?

So I quit. I closed my account and decided in the future to deal with the restaurant’s delivery or pick up orders myself. This helps the restaurant also as they no longer have to give up approximately 20% of the receipts to DoorDash for “service” which may ultimately and unfairly make the restaurant look bad, because what was delicious food when it left the restaurant became inedible as a result of poor handling during the delivery process.

DoorDash will neither fail without me nor…

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