Editor’s Note: This newsletter was originally published on Monday, April 18th, 2022.
It's About That Time Again!
As Easter comes and goes, it returns to the time for me to plant my garden.
Last year (2021) was the second time that I’d planted and grown vegetables in a garden. Like many others, I started it as we were all social distancing due to Covid-19. It turned out a little better the 2nd time around, but it has been a real learning experience for me – especially as someone who grew up on a farm as a kid.
I use raised beds with my vegetables growing in a mix of potting soil, organic compost/fertilizer, and vermiculite. Unlike my Dad who has been gardening for much longer and spends way more time and effort tending his, I have a few tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, and herbs.
While it does not “feed us”, it is fun to grow things and get the chance to eat foods that you know exactly from where they come.
Starting my third round, I plan to add a few new types to include more variety and keep improving my skills.
Now if I can just keep the rabbits out! 🙂
Note: If you garden, shoot me a message and let me know what you grow. It is exciting to hear how others do it because that’s when we are best able to learn!
Psychology says, Our brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than text.
— Harsh Makadia (@MakadiaHarsh) April 14, 2022
Here are 95+ visuals that'll give you the motivation and advice to succeed in your career and life.
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I have always labeled this “SwamiDave’s Rule of Choice”. It is almost Booger-McFarland-esque in its simplicity but is something we too often ignore.
This actually harkens back to my collegiate days when my family was getting started running a competitive Go-Kart track. Unlike the “go-karts” that you “race” at the beach or on vacation, these are competitive races for trophies (or money).
As we were getting ready to stock our concession stand, my Dad asked “What candy bars should we sell?”
Note: My Dad also owned a full-service gas station so he had access to most every snack and candy bar that anyone could want. In his initial thought, having a “wide range of choices” would be a great thing.
I thought for a moment and, in a moment of epiphany, came to the above realization.
My response was that he “should have no more than 3-4”. Offer 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Reese’s Cups, and maybe some other.
When he asked “Why?”, this was my response.
Me: “Everyone is going to visit your concession stand during the intermission between the heats and main races. With a couple of hundred people in line for that next 15 minutes, how many choices do you want to give the 5-year-old whose Mom asks him – ‘Which one do you want?”
From that moment on, SwamiDave’s Rule of Choice was born and it has guided much of how I design and interact.
Feedback from your audience and customers is imperative. It is a requirement for any business or endeavor.
However, having gathered the feedback, how you organize your offer to guide your audience to become your customer needs to be as direct as possible. Multiple options ultimately lead to indecision which is the antithesis of conversion.
Need some work on attracting audiences and converting them to customers? Shoot me an email and let’s chat!
ALL companies, large and small, are messy.
— Ryan Breslow (@theryanking) April 16, 2022
Like, REALLY messy.
And we all learn WAY more from sharing the mess than the success. Yet so few do.
Here’s our TOP 10 mistakes at Bolt over the last eight years, and our learnings from each one:
For those checking out the book reviews, I reviewed Twelve And A Half (Amazon affiliate link) by Gary Vaynerchuk. You can check out my notes at this link.
Keep a lookout as I have finished reading the following books and will be posting my notes for those very soon!
- E-Myth Revisited (Amazon affiliate link) by Michael Gerber [review notes link]
- One Million Followers (Amazon affiliate link) by Brendan Kane
- Content Inc. (Amazon affiliate link) by Joe Pulizzi
- Twelve And A Half (Amazon affiliate link) by Gary Vaynerchuk
Other Links
YouTube’s Keyword Search Tool (Coming Soon)
If you are already familiar with doing keyword/keyphrase analysis and producing content on YouTube, be on the lookout for the upcoming Keyword Search Tool. Google has already been returning YouTube videos in its search results, but an analysis tool that it more platform-focused could be a game-changer for video content producers.
Strategies for SMBs & Local SEO
Check out these 50+ hints and techniques for small-to-medium-sized businesses to improve Local SEO. If you are targeting a local area of service, the work you do building local-flavor content and developing a solid referral/review process works wonders.
For some more expert tips, check out this link as well.
Don’t Do These!!
There are plenty of posts and links telling you what TO DO as it related to SEO. Be sure to check out this one highlighting a set of “Don’ts”! Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) regularly change based on algorithm changes & not doing the wrong things is just as important (sometimes more so) as your efforts in doing the right things.
Let Google’s Global Head of Analyst Development teach you how to maximize your digital marketing efforts by harnessing the power of data.
— ELVTR (@elvtrcom) November 18, 2021
Good public relations is one sure way to get it done right. It’s all about getting your brand out there and making it more visible. https://t.co/Qnxk2iJvaY
— John White (@juanblanco76) April 18, 2022
