All posts tagged Blogging

Taking My Own Medicine (and Pulling Ads)

by Adam Lehman on February 28, 2012 in Blogging with 1 Comment

If you’d poked around this blog, you’ve seen a few advertisements on the sidebar.

I’ve experimented over time with ads. I’ve run adsense, affiliate links and pumped in a solid host of Amazon Affiliate links.

I’m done with that.

Why I Pulled All the Ads from my Blog

  1. My whole platform is honesty and authenticity. Sure it’s nice to get an email telling me I’ve just received $60 because someone clicked on a banner ad and then bought something, but it’s not me. When this platform grows further, I’ll monetize it in a way that will be MUCH more valuable to my audience, not just some hope that it’ll grow.
  2. Ads train people to ignore what they see here & across other parts of the web. You’re busy, I’m busy. We don’t have time for this game.
  3. In all honesty, Ads are an attempt for me to look bigger than I really am. That’s fake. No thanks.

 

 

You’re Allowed to Sound Like You

by Adam Lehman on February 21, 2012 in Marketing with 1 Comment

In the world of social media, it’s so freaking easy to sound like everyone else.

You write a blog like Seth Godin. You tweet like Guy Kuwasaki. You facebook like Mari Smith.

In working with brands, it’s SO hard for them to develop their own voice. They want to talk about their offering like the offering they idolize. They want to use the same channels as their hero. They want to copy someone else’s model for success.

Hint: those people became successful by using THEIR OWN voice.

Take a deep breath. Write down what makes you unique. Don’t worry if you have some of the same skills and unique traits of others. But write & tweet & post using YOUR unique voice.

 

What is AdamLehman.us about?

by Adam Lehman on February 20, 2012 in Blogging with No comments

I’m working through Bryan Allain’s “31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo”

On day #3, Bryan challenges readers to write out a response to the question, “So what is your blog about?”

Here’s my answer for this blog:

I publish insights about leadership, marketing and life. These might be interesting industry trends or lessons I’ve learned in work, life & relationships. I try to concentrate on authenticity. With so many people and brands out there inflating their image or ego, I like to observe and report about the realities of the world.

Colplay has a line in their song “Politik” related to this:

“give me real, don’t give me fake.”

Why you should unsubscribe to this blog (or how this blog is changing)

by Adam Lehman on December 15, 2011 in Blogging with 3 Comments
Unsubscribe!

So anyone who is a subscriber to this blog is going to notice, but I’ve changed a lot. I used to post multiple times a day. I used to post all about church and youth ministry and whatnot.

That is going to change.

Because my life has changed.

I’ve got a new job, a new career & a new area of focus.

This site is going to be dedicated to honest business, marketing and leadership. It’s going to get real.

I’m going to highlight stories of leaders, companies and marketing campaigns that exude “authenticity.” I’m going to help people understand how to leverage the internet to be genuine and connect with an audience that truly gets what you’re into.

So in an effort to be 100% real, I’m going to take my own advice.

Maybe you liked the old AdamLehman.us but the new stuff doesn’t sound that interesting to you. Then do this:

unsubscribe.

And if the new stuff sounds awesome, go subscribe!

The site is going to go through a massive redesign (courtesy of the sexiest graphic designer I know). The content is going to shift (I may delete a lot of old stuff).

*This is a result three core influences that it’d be a crime for me not to share:

  1. Chris McAlister has helped me get a better understanding of how I’m uniquely wired.
  2. Bryan Allain’s eBook  gave me tools to systematically rework my blog in a way that will make me proud.
  3. The company I work with NuGrowth Solutions provides B2B sales and marketing support. They’ve given me so much encouragement and support and guidance.

 

Blogging Used to Be Different

by Adam Lehman on June 25, 2011 in Blogging with 2 Comments

I like blogging. I like it a lot. It gives me an outlet and offers an opportunity to connect and dialogue.

Well, ideally it does…..

Blogging – 5 years ago – was a sort of cluttered mass of people writing about what they ate for lunch, how a band they loved was rocking it, or what book they were reading. It was much more like my current twitter stream than my current google reader subscriptions.

Before I understood how Google Reader worked, I simply had 20 blogs bookmarked and I’d manually go through and open each one to see if they’d posted anything new.

It used to be raw.

Now it feels a lot like a corporate vehicle. The interaction between crowd and content provider is much the same as me and my cable company. They show me things I like so my eyeballs see the advertisements.

I get it. It’s fine. The game has matured. No big deal.

But I miss it a little bit…..

Question: 5 years ago, how was blogging different for you?

Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting

by Adam Lehman on February 17, 2011 in Blogs with 17 Comments

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Lots of people consume content from the web.

Not a lot of people comment. And even fewer of those do it well.

Here are the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting:

I. Thou Shalt Not Spam

Spamming is the worst. Bloggers hate it, readers hate it. Nobody wins. Don’t go around posting meaningless links on unrelated blogs just to boost your traffic. I will punch you.

II. Thou Shall Not Snark (Too Much)

The internet was built so that socially awkward nerds would have the ability to make anonymous snarky comments without fear of wedgies. Snark is fun, too much is annoying and can even be detrimental to a blog’s community.

III. Thou Shall Comment Often

2 things make bloggers really happy: a spike in traffic and lots of dynamic discussion following their posts. (I currently have a widget on my sidebar that awards the top discussioners on this blog). Leave LOTS of comments and join in the conversation

IV. Thou Shall Keep Comments a Reasonable Length

If you notice 739 comments before yours, please don’t post a comment that is 17 paragraphs in length and totally ignores the previous comments. If the blog is deep and thoughtful, don’t comment with “Cool Post Dude!”

V. Thou Shall Subscribe for Gravatar

Gravatar is a service that automatically connects an avatar with your email address. That way you don’t have some faceless icon floating next to your comment. You’re a living, breathing human being (or a blog reading zombie) and your comment should look like one.

VI. Thou Shall Include a Link

Most services give you the option of including your own URL as you leave a comment. Make sure you put something here. Link to your blog, your facebook or your twitter. I’ve connected with LOTS of my commentors (I recently grabbed coffee with Benjer McVeigh, a connection that started via blog comments).

VII. Thou Shall Spell Correctly

Confession: I’ve literally edited the comments that have been left on this blog. I’ve edited spelling & gramatical errors. I feel like a bad person, but it makes my website look like the central hub of 4-year-olds. I have enough spelling errors on my own, I don’t need commentors adding to the mess.

VIII. Thou Shall Not Pick Fights

If you’re a God-loving Christian, please don’t hit of the blog of an atheist and start a dispute over the existence of God. And if you hate the Yankees, don’t poke around a New York Sports Blog just to voice your disdain. It’s annoying and distracts from a blog’s community. Also, if you’ve had a horrible day at work, lay off the commenting.

IX. Thou Shall (or Shall Not) Subscribe to Comments

Sure, subscribing to comments seems to be a normal way to keep up on any conversation that is going on regarding the comment you left. However, unless you’re asked a question, don’t feel obligated. I want you to be the type of people who comment often, so subscribing to ALL of the comment threads could be overwhelming.

X. Thou Shall Comment. RIGHT NOW!

Seriously, let me know what you love or loathe about commenting in the blogosphere.

Show and Tell

by Adam Lehman on February 6, 2010 in Ramblings with No comments

My wife has a new blog with all the beautiful art that she’s crafted. Check it out.

blog.allisonlehman.com