A Guest Post by Markus Urban of Art of Blog

In December of 2009 I decided to undertake a lofty challenge – to create a website/blog in one week and get 100,000 unique visitors within a week of launching it. I knew it was possible, and the sheer enormity of it was exciting enough for me to go ahead with the project.

I created the Art of Blog “One Week Challenge.” Along the way I wanted to share everything I knew about creating a world-class website. The plan was to launch a photography site called Hot Shot Photo and detail the progress as I went along.

I failed at what I set out to do.

However, I learned many valuable lessons along the way and I want to share them with you:

1. It doesn’t matter where you start, just start

One of the biggest obstacles to my online career has always been inaction. I would read dozens of blogs and countless articles about “how to do this and that”, amass great knowledge about what works and what doesn’t, and generally fill my head with enough blogging/business ammunition to do anything I set out to do.

The problem was that none of it mattered one bit if I didn’t put it to use. The sheer number of possibilities and options had become paralyzing and at the end of the day I would end up doing nothing.

The key was to start. Something. Anything. So I decided to move on something that really inspired me – the desire to share everything I’ve learned over the years and undertake a huge challenge. I took the first step. That’s what really mattered.

Takeaway: All there ever is – is to start. Start somewhere. Start with something that inspires you.

2. Timing is crucial

Like in comedy, timing is everything. One of the biggest mistakes I made was creating this challenge right before Christmas.

There were fewer people tweeting, a lot of the world was distracted by the holidays, and it was more difficult to gain traction during such a quiet time in the tweetasphere / blogosphere.

When Christmas came around, I focused on my family and friends and let the project take a back seat, weakening its momentum.

Takeaway: Be aware of what’s happening within the time frame that you set out for yourself. Avoid predictable distractions and conflicts.

3. You know a lot more than you think you do

I came to this realization after about the 10th video I published. I realized how much there is to know about blogging. Even though I had been putting out a ton of information out there, I was only beginning to scratch the surface.

When we’re caught up in what we do and what we’re interested in – almost every day of our lives – we forget just how much we know about the topic of our expertise.

I would be willing to bet that you highly underestimate what you know. Once you start putting it out there, whether in video form, through writing, or whatever – you will realize just how much you know.

Takeaway: Become aware of what you know – and realize that you have a lot to share with the world.

4. Get people involved

No man is an island. It became a lot easier to continue working when I had support and interest from my friends and colleagues. Not only did they encourage me along the way, but I was able to get them emotionally vested into the project by asking for their feedback.

People who found the project interesting would retweet and share it with their friends. When I mentioned them in the posts or asked for their input & help – then published posts and videos – they were vested into the project and would help spread the message.

Their input was helpful, and so was their desire to spread that which they helped co-create.

Takeaway: Ask people for feedback along the way, attribute their contributions, and they will be more likely to help you spread your message.

5. Put yourself out there

A good friend of mine Vo Megastar always says “put yourself out there. go hard. and someone will notice.”

A lot of people fear being seen. Mostly because they fear failing and being seen as a failure. If you can just take a look at that fear – accept that it’s there – and act anyway, you will be ahead of most people.

You have a unique life experience that no one else has – you have unique combinations of knowledge and a personality no one else has. Don’t be afraid to share that with the world. You will connect and make a difference to people who can identify with your style.

When I first started recording videos, there was that fear of “being seen” that eventually lessened. If you take a look at videos of people starting out, you will usually see then being somewhat uncomfortable in the first minute or so before they settle in and start talking like themselves. It’s ok – we all have that.

Takeaway: Just put yourself out there. You are great just the way you are. And you’ll be surprised at all the positive feedback people will give you.

6. Keep it Simple

One of the things that derailed the project was the complexity of it. People were confused about the concept. The series on Art of Blog was meant to be a behind-the-scenes series detailing the creation and launching of Hot Shot Photo. It was a website series about another website.

A lot of people thought that Art of Blog was the website that the challenge was about. It created a lot of confusion.

There was also confusion about what the “One Week” meant. Was it build and get 100,000 visitors all in one week? Was it build a site in one week, then reach that goal in the following week? To be quite honest, I didn’t define that clearly (even for myself) from the get-go, which fueled this uncertainty.

Takeaway: Define your purpose or goal in super clear terms, and keep it simple, right from the start.

7. When you fail, own up

If you set out to accomplish something and don’t fulfill it – don’t run and hide and hope no one else will notice. Always own up to it.

Own whatever it is you do – the successes, and even more so the failures. Everyone knows what it’s like to fall short. You will get a lot more respect from people when they know you have nothing to hide.

Takeaway: Own everything you do, whether it’s positive or negative.

8. Failure is never failure

Failure by itself never really happens. It is only when you accept that something failed, is it ever failure in reality. You can just as easily look at what opportunities present themselves from the wake of that which you didn’t accomplish. Wired recently ran a whole series of stories about failures that later turned into huge opportunities for many famous actors, politicians, and thought leaders.

Action begets opportunity. Even action that “fails” ends up opening more possibilities and opportunities that present themselves.

Takeaway: Always keep moving, embrace failure, and see where you end up.

9. You Never Know Where it Will End Up

Part of the fun of launching a project is that you never know where it will end up. Be open to that – give up control and see where that ride takes you – and most importantly – enjoy it along the way.

One of the great things that came out of this entire series is this post itself – the one you are reading right now. I got connected to Mary and we discussed writing this very post.

Here I am – a while later – writing this post on a very prominent website, sharing what I learned. Did I know this would happen along the way? No, but it’s wonderful.

Takeaway: Keep your mind open and embrace the opportunities that present themselves along the way. Embrace new directions.

10. Don’t Take it All So Seriously

At some point throughout this whole process (especially when I ended the challenge and changed direction) I found myself worried about what it will all look like.

Then I took a a step back and remembered why I was doing any of this in the first place. I want to have fun and create a life of freedom for myself, where blogging is just one aspect of my own self-expression. I want to help people out – and that’s exactly what I ended up doing.

It’s important to step back and keep it all in perspective. Why are you blogging? Why are you writing? What got you into this in the first place. By all means, come through on your promises to people and keep true to your word, but remember to have fun along the way.

Takeaway: Win or lose, have fun and remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Don’t take it all so seriously.

Markus Urban is a lifestyle designer, travel show host, cat herder, and entrepreneur who can’t keep still (except when meditating). He runs a series of sites about blogging, technology, photography, and unconventional living. Follow his lifestyle adventures on Twitter.

This guest post is by Sarah Wilson

I can get disproportionately excited about new online devices that help me write more efficiently. Like, a while back, I was frothing about Instapaper, a 2.0 equivalent of the Post It note. Here’s how Instapaper works:

You’re wasting time online and stumble on an interesting blog post or New York Times article. You can’t read it now; you’re meant to be finalizing a spreadsheet or something. Printing it out is just wrong. After all, you have one of those Please Consider the Environment email signatures. And you offset your Virgin Atlantic flights. Perhaps you could email it to yourself and flag it. But that seems way too clunky and cluttery.
What to do?

• Install Instapaper (go to instapaper.com) in three easy online steps, or thereabouts.
• Drag the “Read Later” button to your Bookmarks menu.
• Next time you’re reading something you want to go back to, simply click the “Read Later” button and your article is filed in a special folder in cyberspace. For perusal at a more languid juncture.
• Finally, head to instapaper.com every now and then and read what you’ve stored. You can also file the clippings into folders. I’ve divided mine according to the three different magazine columns I write, plus one for my blog, and another for general interest.

More recently I’ve come across Readability, which can then convert my saved reading into a more readable format. Here’s how Readability works:

Again, it’s a new FREE! button that changes stuff you’re reading online into clear, simple, old-school text, getting rid of pop-up ads and annoying eyeball clutter.

• Install the Readability button. Seriously it’s one step.
• Actually it’s two. Once installed, you then adjust your preferences. You can choose between “newspaper”, “novel”, “ebook” and “terminal”. And change the font size and column width. Journalists will love that you can convert to a newspaper format. I read mine like this. Newspapers and magazines were designed to have the best type of font (serif) and column width (narrow enough such that your eye can flick quickly from one line to the next) to make for simple, elegant, fast reading. Just so you know.
• When you’re reading something online, just press the readability bookmarklet on your toolbar and it converts the text into a far happier format. A treat for sore eyes!

Is it just the Capricorn in me, or are these really nifty?

Well, I certainly used to think so. But this week I had a look in my special cyber folder and the sheer volume of tagged URLs sent me into a spiraling fug. It resembled the stack of books piled next to my bed that I’ve “been meaning to read”. And the folders of saved emails that-might-come-in-useful-down-the-track. And the basket next to my couch bulging with newspaper clippings and back issues of Vanity Fair with cornered pages, marking Christopher Hitchins essays I might need to refer back to one day.

And it suddenly occurred to me – my entire life is flagged-for-follow-up. I’m one big backlog of informative material waiting to be attended to. If only there were a rainy Sunday long enough to get through it all, I might finally … get on top of myself.

I hang onto articles because I’m scared of what will happen if I need them one day, and they’re not there. This fear binds me to my stuff. Like many people, I buffer myself with my just-in-cases, instead of flying naked, instead of seeing what will happen if I head out into the clamber armed with just my inner-resourcefulness.

I’ve flown naked before. I hitchhiked through Greece when I was 18 with just the clothes on my back (so, not literally naked); I lived in Paris for a fortnight with no money, no passport, not a single possession to my name (I’d been robbed). Lately, I’ve been thinking I’d like to fly naked again.

I hate making sweeping generational generalizations, but it must be said that those Y kids can teach the rest of us a bit about flying naked. They don’t get excited about Instapaper. This is because they don’t hang onto things. They skim read at the time of receipt, delete and move on. (And they don’t really need Readability. They’ve grown up accustomed to blocking out pop-up ads and scanning different formats.)

The under-30 crew were schooled during a time when you could look up references online in 2 seconds, instead of via the Duwey system when the librarian got back from lunch. They’re au fait with flying naked. Back when I was studying law, some time after the last ice age, if you lost a case note, you were stuffed. Little wonder we hang onto every scribble.

But, let me be the one to break it: times have changed. Information can be Googled or Binged instantly, emails retrieved from servers. Further, ideas move around so fast. There’s no point hanging onto today’s idea because it’s bound to be RT’d or Digg’d to death by tomorrow anyway.

My 20-something brother doesn’t save anything. Why would you, he says. That’s just looking backwards. Where’s the flow of information? Roll forward and gather no moss, is his adage.

I still love my Instapaper and Readability discoveries. But what I loved more this week was going in to my special folder, selecting all and hitting delete. Then hauling my Vanity Fairs and New Yorkers into the communal foyer of my apartment for the neighbors to take. Information shouldn’t be held on to; it should be passed on, like a hot potato. Information in, information out. Sweetly, it’s left more room in my life and my special folder for fresh ideas.

Sarah Wilson is an Australian TV and print journalist (and former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine) who writes about how to make life better. Follow her adventures at sarahwilson.com.au or on twitter.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

Photo courtesy of B Rosen

By Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind.

Viral is one of the biggest buzzwords these days in blogging world. Everyone wants to create something viral, so their blog or product will “market itself.”

Despite all the buzz about creating “viral content” and a “viral blog,” not many people really understand how this is done. I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure I’ve got it all figured out. There aren’t really any secrets. But, there are a lot of little tactics that can add up to creating something contagious.

The trick with content

A lot of people will tell you that you can’t write a “killer post” every time. You’ll burn out, they say. Or they’ll say something about it not being healthy to be such a perfectionist.

I completely disagree. While I think it’s not healthy to aim for perfection, I’ve built a highly viral blog doing exactly the opposite of conventional advice.

Usually, part of the strategy for publishing more content that is “OK” and not great is following the law of averages. The more content you put out, the more chances you have of getting linked, the more chances you’ll get indexed in search engines and rank for those search terms. I understand the strategy, but I think it’s severely flawed if you’re trying to create something extremely viral.

My aim with every post I write is to create content that has a high probability of becoming viral. But I do this not by writing more, but by writing less.

If I can’t find something worth writing about, I don’t write. If it’s just a “good idea,” I don’t write about it.

It really comes down to this: If I don’t care about what I’m doing, why should I expect other people to care?

The contagion tactics

There are a bunch of different tactics and methods you can employ to increase your chances of contagion. None of these are magic bullets, but if you add up enough of them, you will have a extremely high probability of going viral.

1. Write only when you have something worth saying. I mentioned this already, but it’s worth repeating. If you don’t have something to say, don’t say anything. Don’t contribute to the noise. If you don’t have something to say, the best thing you can do is not add to the static. This is solely based on the fact that you don’t want to create a reputation of only sometimes creating amazing content. You want to create the belief in other’s minds that every time you post, it will be unmissable content.
2. Throw away lots of ideas. In the same way that you only publish your best stuff, you have to develop a habit of throwing most things away. If it’s not worth saying, resist the urge to word vomit. If you have an idea that you think is great, but you’re not sure, sit on it. Let it stew for a little bit. Most of the time, the reason for your indecisiveness is because your idea is not quite ripe. Let it ripen on the vine, resist the urge to pick it before it’s ready, which would leave you with something sour and ruined. Just as an example, I currently have over 30 drafts in my blog admin area. Less than 3 of those will see the light of day. The more you practice this, the more skilled you will become at filtering great ideas. You will begin to develop a remarkable ability to know immediately when something will be extremely well-received, or when it will flop.
3. Have a vested interest in what you’re writing about. Passion spreads through words. If you are passionate about what you’re writing about, you’ll naturally write something far more compelling than if you could care less. Only write about things you really care about.
4. Learn the principles of stickiness. Be simple, be straight to the point. Get to the core message. Tell a story, and surprise your readers with a twist they wouldn’t have expected. Give them a reason to listen by being highly engaging. Telling a story is one of the best ways to make your writing memorable. It gives the mind concrete details and images to associate with. If at all possible, find a way you can turn your message into a story, but only if you can do so authentically. Don’t make up a lackluster story just for the sake of having one. For more on this, pick up the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.
5. If you’re not writing, read or rewrite. If you don’t have something worth saying, practice rewriting and honing your skills. Or read as much as you can, but do so actively. While you’re reading, think about what makes the piece engaging or boring. What keeps you turning the page? What makes you want to fall asleep? In the same way you study reading, study what goes viral online in social media venues and what makes bestsellers in bookstores. Learn from them, but only mimic them when you can do so authentically.
6. Hone your craft. Whatever your field is, if you don’t have a desire to master it, you’re not likely to have a high chance of becoming viral. People will talk about what you’re doing, because you’re so ridiculously passionate about it, and your enthusiasm is contagious.
7. Walk the edges. See where you can find interesting intersections of seemingly disparate ideas. How can you relate sex to ice cream? Why is non-conformity really another flavor of conformity? What can politicians and lawyers tell you about smart career moves? Try to find ways to shed a different shade of light to something that has been stuck on repeat. Take a contrarian viewpoint (but only if it’s authentic). Whatever you do, don’t be another echo.
8. Start a revolution. If you have a passion for something that could be improved or could be organized as a collective movement, zero in on that. The most viral ideas are those that a large group of people care deeply about, where there was formerly no leadership. Step up and lead your own revolution.
9. Connect with influencers. In order to spread ideas effectively, the influencers in your field will need to know about it. It’s your job to find who they are and cultivate relationships with these people. Google alerts and conversation tracking on twitter are the best way to tap into whose having the conversations about your topic.
10. Give people what they want. This may sound obvious, but how much do you really know about your readers? Get to know them better; find out what they feel is missing in your field. Conduct a short 5-6 question survey with a few open and closed questions. Ask them how they feel and what they’d like to see.
11. Be insane. Be insanely useful, insanely creative, insanely helpful, or insanely controversial. Whatever you do, make it extremely remarkable. Kind of insane, or pretty good is not enough. You have to be insanely something.

This is, by no means, a bible on creating a viral blog. It’s simply a starting point for creating a blog with more buzz. The best thing to do is experiment. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and say something different.

Rethink the limits you’ve arbitrarily placed on your blog. You’ll often find they were simply imaginary lines.

This article was written by Jonathan Mead; revolutionary, raw foodist, dream coach, and prolific blogger. He is interested in unconventional paths to personal growth and advocates strange things like killing your goals. In his spare time he studies Jeet Kune Do and other ass-kicking strategies. He also wrote a pretty cool book, called Reclaim Your Dreams – An Uncommon Guide to Living on Your Own Terms.

Keep things simple.

By Leo Babauta

A good number of you are either published authors, or more likely people who want to be published authors. Well, I’m happy to say I’ve joined the ranks of those who are published!

My first book, The Power of Less, comes out tomorrow (Dec. 30, 2008), and I’ve created a site to give people more info to help promote the book. It’s super exciting! :)

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Don’t worry, be happy.

By Leo Babauta

If you’re a blogger or writer, now is the time to expand.

Yes, that’s right — in the middle of a tough economy, when everyone is downsizing and cutting back, you should be even more aggressive and look to expand your business.

As a blogger and book author, I’ve been giving this some thought. I’ve noticed major blog owners such as Nick Denton cutting back on his blogs as revenues decrease. I’ve heard other bloggers talk about decreasing revenues, and worry about whether blogging is dying.

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