The first thing in the day…
The first thing you do when you sit down at the computer
Let me guess: check the incoming. Check email or traffic stats or messages from your boss. Check the tweets you follow or the FB status of friends.
You’ve just surrendered not only a block of time but your freshest, best chance to start something new.
If you’re a tech company or a marketer, your goal is to be the first thing people do when they start their day. If you’re an artist, a leader or someone seeking to make a difference, the first thing you do should be to lay tracks to accomplish your goals, not to hear how others have reacted/responded/insisted to what happened yesterday.
This is now taped to my computer screen…
Source: Seth Godin
Search Plus from Google
Google just launched (at least for me) new integration between the SERPS (search results pages) and Google+ on google.co.uk.
Not sure what this means, or how it will affect search marketing, but I’m fairly sure that it’s not going to help much. I do know it’s going to focus attention to the echo chamber of your online contacts, probably diminishing the value of exploring the web for new information.
The concentration of information, and increased gatekeeping, by Google is worrying. Maybe a bit Orwellian?
On giving free advice
There’s an interesting piece over at Forbes that I saw today, arguing against giving away free advice. After all, if you’re an expert, learning the knowledge that advice is based on took money, effort, and a lot of time.
Why give it away for free to those who will use it to leverage their own success?
The following are some really worthwhile points about free advice:
- The person receiving it will pay for advice if it really is valuable to them (just like your clients or employer already does)
- You can always use the advice to trade for something valuable to you, such as a fee-paying referral or advice in return
- If neither works, don’t be rude, but do send them on to other truly free resources. Yes, Google is your friend here
It’s worth reading the piece: Referenced article
Cycling in London
There should be many more bicycle parking that’s secure in London. Here’s one near St. Paul’s Cathedral.
A great and simple conversion rate case study
If you’re looking to find out more about just how much Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) can really help, check out this article on optimizing a Twitter follower call to action. Dustin achieved a 115% lift by experimenting with his Call to Action (CTA) phrasing.