In this round of social media reads we have another excellent batch of posts to get the wheels turning.

• 12 Important Steps some Bloggers Forget (Jeff Bullas)
• 13 Tools to Simplify Your Social Media Marketing (Social Media Examiner)
• 15 Blogging Lessons From Foodies (DKS Systems)
• 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue [Infographic] (Copyblogger)
• Hoo-ah: How the US Army Has Become a Social Media Leader (Read Write Web)
• Influence: The Best Argument for Embracing Social Media (Kruse Control)
• Pinterest Takes A Small Step Toward Fighting Copyright With Opt-Out Meta Tag  (Marketing Land)
• The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors (Search Engine Land)
• The Seductive Art of Blog Commenting (Unmemorable Title)
• When Social Media Goes Bad: 7 Guidelines For What To Do In A Social Media Crisis (Heidi Cohen)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

In this round of social media reads we have another excellent batch of posts to get the wheels turning.

• 5 Essential Keys To Successful Blogging (Contently)
• 5 Rules To Turn Your Local Business Into A ‘Social’ Business (Search Engine Land)
• 8 Great Ways To Use QR Codes For Marketing (Marketing Land)
• 9 Ways to Make Your Marketing Analytics Actionable (Hubspot)
• 10 Ways Social Media is Transforming Our World (Jeff Bullas)
• 56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest (Copyblogger)
• Facebook Deprecating 50+ Page Insights Metrics – Are You Ready? (Search Engine Watch)
• Facebook to Release Timeline for Brands This Month (Ad Age)
• How Much Is Too Much Self-Promotion? (Round Peg)
• How to Make Your Content Go Viral (Social Media Today)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

In this round of social media reads we have another excellent batch of posts to get the wheels turning.

• 7 Crucial Tactics for Writing a Wildly Successful Guest Post (Copyblogger)
• 7 Terrific Twitter Tips To Use Today (Small Business Trends)
• 26 Tips for Writing Great Blog Posts (Social Media Examiner)
• 105 Tips To Make Your Blog Rock (Jeff Bullas)
• Build Your Links the Right Way (SEO Positive)
• How to Build a Traffic-siphoning Marketing Funnel (Pro Blogger)
• How to Create a Social Media Editorial Calendar (Search Engine Watch)
• Pinterest Drives more Traffic than LinkedIn and Google Plus (Jeff Bullas)
• The “New” SEO Secret Weapon (Copyblogger)
• Facebook Timelines for Brands? Time to Start Thinking Inside the Box. (Marketing Pilgrim)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

Here are your hand picked top ten social media reads for the week. Enjoy.

• 5 Questions that Are Killing Your Blog (MENG)
• 6 Powerful Guest Post Tactics that No One’s Talking About (Pro Blogger)
• 7 Fundamentals of Successful Blogs (Smedio)
• 9 Tips for Integrating Social Media on Your Website (Social Media Examiner)
• 10 Things A Brand Should Never Do On Twitter (Social Penguin)
• Content Chemistry: The Periodic Table of Content (Orbit Media Studios)
• How to Recover From a Social Media Hangover (Copyblogger)
• Why Build a Fan Page If You’re Going To Abandon It? ( Your Social Media Mogul)
• Why Pinterest is 2012′s hottest website (CNN)
• Why Would You Have 50 Twitter Accounts For Your Company? (Jeff Bullas)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

‘ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging‘ is a practical eBook jam packed full of activities for bloggers wanting to start a new blog, get back into blogging or to just get some ideas on how to revamp your current blog.

The eBook is broken down into 7 chapters/days and has 32 tasks/exercises for bloggers to do. Think of it as 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (see previous post) but for those just in their first week.

Blog topics covered include:

• Learn foundational brainstorming techniques.
• Create a content plan—and content, of course!
• Build a social media presence.
• Create practical quality assurance tools.
• Set up a publishing process.
• Master the components of a blog post.
• Develop your blog’s ongoing strategy.

We’ve already picked up a copy of ‘ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging‘, so if you have any questions about it, or just want to discuss the eBook, contact us.

Here at Watershed Studio we’re always scouring our RSS and Twitter feeds to see what’s going on in the world of technology and social media. Here’s Volume 5 in nice, easy to digest, posts. Enjoy.

• 7 Social Media Lessons From Phil Collins
• 10 tips from @pistachio on using Twitter for events
• Automation on Twitter: Should you do it?
• Common Mistakes Your Business Must Avoid On Twitter
• Does Your Social Media Policy Violate the Law? (Kuno Creative)
• New York Times Asks Twitter to Disable Paywall-Jumping Feed (Mashable)
• Social media like Facebook and Twitter turn local TV newscasts into a two-way conversation between viewers and on-air talent
• Social Media Marketing is Failing (Douglas Karr)
• True Story of a Twitter Marriage Proposal (Wired)
• Tweets That Will Get You Fired (Forbes)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

Indy Media School is offering the following web and social media training courses
in February 2011.

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Thursday, February 10, 2011  from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Thursday, February 24, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Here at Watershed Studio we’re always scouring our RSS and Twitter feeds to see what’s going on in the world of technology and social media. Here’s Volume 4 in nice, easy to digest, posts. Enjoy.

• 5 Easy Steps to Creating Reusable Social Content
• 7 Reasons You Aren’t Being Followed Back on Twitter
• 7 ways to get more comments on your blog posts
• Five Resolutions To Grow And Maintain Email Lists
• Great Social Networking Cleanup of 2011
• How Facebook eclipsed Google in 2010
• HOW TO: Calculate the ROI of Your Social Media Campaign
• How Twitter became the new water cooler
• Why Celebrities On Twitter Have Little Influence…. It’s Because Most Do Not Use The @mentions
• WordPress Challenges Bloggers to Post Daily in 2011

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

Indy Media School is offering the following web and social media training courses in January 2011.

Basics of Blogging

• Thursday, January 27th, 2011 from 6:00PM – 8:00PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Thursday, January 13, 2011  from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, January 17, 2011 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Social Media 101

• Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 6:00PM – 8:00PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Thursday, January 6, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, January 17, 2011 from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
• Monday, January 31, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Monday, November 15, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, November 29, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Monday, November 8, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, November 22, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Monday, Oct. 4, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, Oct. 18, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

The Watershed Studio September 2010 Newsletter is now online.

Fall is officially upon us and Watershed Studio, Surge Bucket Media & Indy Media School have decided to pack up their recording gear and head out into the big city and mingle with our fellow citizens as part of the October Oddness 2010 Meetups/Tweetups.  We’ll be podcasting, snapping photos & recording videos as we facilitate these events in conjunction with our gracious event hosts.  If you live in or around the Indianapolis area we’d love to see you and your family out at an event or two.

As we all know, this is the time of year when things start picking up in preparation for the Holiday season and year’s end.  We’re here to assist if you need anything at all, be it blog related, social media related, marketing related or anything in between, so please contact us and we’ll be happy to help out in any manner.

In the meantime, check out these blog posts from September:

• Dilbert: Social Media Marketing Manager
• Ten Social Media Reads, Vol 3

Dilbert never ceases to amaze me at how spot-on the strip is.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve talked to people who work in “the real world” and they say things like:

• “We have a company website…but it’s blocked during business hours.”
• “We have a Facebook Fan Page/Group/Etc…but we don’t have access to Facebook.”
• “We have a Twitter account…but we can’t access Twitter at work.”
• “No, I don’t read business related blogs…that’s against company policy.”

And the list could go on and on.

In this day and age the companies who are embracing the technological changes are going to be the ones to prevail.  The rest will eventually be left behind and forgotten about. That is what we believe. That is what we adhere to. And that is what we preach at our Indy Media School classes.

Basics of Blogging

• Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 9:30 AM – Noon
• Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 9:30 AM – Noon

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Thursday, September 9, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Tuesday, September 14, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Thursday, September 23, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Social Media 101

• Saturday, September 4, 2010 from 9:30 AM – Noon
• Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 9:30 AM – Noon

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Tuesday, September 7, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Thursday, September 16, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Basics of Blogging

• Saturday, August 7, 2010 from 9:00 AM – Noon
• Tuesday, August 17, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Tuesday, August 3, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Tuesday, August 31, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Monday, August 9, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Here at Watershed Studio we’re always scouring our RSS and Twitter feeds to see what’s going on in the world of technology and social media. Starting today we’ll share some of the top reads we come across in nice, easy to digest, posts. Enjoy.

1. 7 Surprising Statistics About Twitter in America (Jay Baer – Convince & Convert)
2. Delivering Wow! (Jeff Stanger – Blue Trolley Press)
3. Five ways to integrate social media into your overall marketing mix (Catherine Parker – Memeburn)
4. How to be the Life of the Social Media Party (Darren Rowse – ProBlogger)
5. How to Use Proactive Social Customer Service to Build Your Brand (American Express OPEN Forum)
6. IndyCar Drivers now tussle through Twitter posts (Curt Cavin – Indy Star)
7. More small businesses use Twitter, Facebook to promote (Jon Swartz – USA Today)
8. Social media: why there’s no point trying to escape (Shane Richmond – Telegraph Media Group)
9. The Power of Social Media: Educate Embrace and Empower (Kyle Lacy)
10. When Someone Blindsides You With a Negative Blog Post (Liz Strauss)

If you have any social media reads that you’d like to suggest, please contact us or Tweet us @watershedstudio.

Basics of Blogging

• Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Thursday, July 29, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Tuesday, July 6, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Tuesday, July 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 9:00 AM – Noon

What is it that separates the millions of mediocre bloggers from the ones who build traffic and achieve amazing results? What is it that propels some onward and upward into fame and fortune while others find themselves struggling just to get a small handful of readers?

If you’re like most bloggers, then you’ve probably been kicking yourself trying to figure out the answer to these questions…trying to find the key that unlocks the large steel doors that are holding you back from the success you’ve been looking for.

In his book, Blogging to the Third Power, Nicholas Cardot shares what he has discovered as being the essential elements necessary to connect with people on a large scale.

eBook Edition: Click here to view more details
Print Edition: Click here to view more details

For anyone that has wanted to launch their own blog on their own domain and web server, but hasn’t done so yet, WordSprung has launched a new FREE service which will get you up and running with your very own WordPress powered blog.  For more information check out the details of WordSprung’s FREE Basic WordPress Self-Hosted Blog Installation Service.

I’m often asked by clients how they can increase their blog readership and user interaction to which I’ll rattle off a few tried and true practices that we recommend and I will often create a custom “to-do” list for the client.  If they follow through on those items, it will pay off in the end.

That question is usually followed by the question, “is there a good book that you’d recommend. “  And up until now that answers has been “no, not really”.  While there are more book/ebook products out there than you can imagine, most are overpriced and the few I’ve seen first hand are, how to put it nicely, useless garbage.  Beyond that, there are blogs out there that are helpful, but these don’t typically get laid out in a portable, easy to follow manner, so I can’t really tell a client, “go read this blog and do what so-and-so says”.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

I’ve been following Darren Rowse since 2002 due to a blog of his he kept up frequently at the time and it happened to be the same time I jumped aboard the blogwagon.  Before I knew it I watched his ProBlogger site just explode right before my eyes (in 2004) and Darren was going gangbusters with what seemed to me to be very little effort and he was making a living at it.

All of that to say, Darren is a guy that I trust.  So when I saw his latest ebook offering, 31 Days To Build A Better Blog, available for a mere $19.95, I sent over a few bucks in order to take a look to see if this is something I’d be willing to suggest to our clients who have been begging for something like this.

After giving it a quick run through, I’d classify this more as workbook than an ebook.  It’s laid out very nicely and similar to many print study type books I’ve seen.  Without giving away the subject matter, I can say that it includes many of the tasks I recommend to clients as well as a few I hadn’t thought of before.

But before you purchase a copy, I must preface it with you must be willing to set aside the time and commit to doing these tasks (and no, it doesn’t need to be in 31 consecutive days).  While I stated that it looks like it takes little effort to do, in actuality I can tell you that it does take a time commitment.  If you want to improve your blog you cannot continue to do what you’ve always done and expect different results.  But if you commit to it, you will see measurable results.

As an example, I’m going to personally commit to taking one of the Surge Bucket Media blogs and running through this wokbook over a two month period at least once and then reporting back on the results.  If you purchase a copy as well, I’d love to hear your feedback.