This post is by Jason of World Fitness Network.
I took a trip down to Borders Bookstore the other day and strolled by the magazine section. I’m not usually very thoughtful about these kinds of things, but something really hit me this time.
I looked at the hundreds of publications on display and felt impressed by the number of magazines that were thriving on topics ranging from running, to arts, and even decadent bathrooms.
Who in the world reads a magazine about bathrooms?
Attention is a rare and precious resource. It’s arguably more difficult than ever before to demand someone’s attention for any length of time.
Attention is now something that cannot be taken, only given. As marketers it is crucial to understand these facts in order to better perform our jobs in a digital world. We must now optimize on numerous fronts. We must be witty, pithy, catchy, exciting, controversial, bright, unexpected, or some combination of all.
Looking for a credible source to strengthen your article, blog post or white paper? Need a quote from an expert to bolster your case?
There’s an excellent source you may not have considered—LinkedIn. Chances are you have received dozens of emails from friends, colleagues and total strangers asking you to join LinkedIn. Turns out more than 17 million business professionals are using the networking site.
What does this mean for you as a writer?
It’s time for the ubiquitous “best of 2007″ lists, so why not one for Copyblogger? I’ll go ahead and do a round-up of the year’s best-received posts, with a bit of commentary on what was notable from each month.
So, if you missed anything from 2007, here’s a second shot at it. While you do that, I’ll have time to figure out what to write for next year (don’t worry, I’ve already got a pretty good idea).
Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later.
For the first time, Seth Godin is releasing a new book, and I won’t be buying it.
You’d think that a shameless Seth fanboy like me wouldn’t be able to pass up the purchase. But it’s not happening this time.
At least for Copyblogger, that is.
It’s been a good run. From last fall, I’ve grown this blog from 6,000 subscribers to close to 29,000. My strategy for 2007 relied on appealing to social media news and bookmarking sites using the copywriting techniques I teach here, plus the goodwill of bloggers around the world who thought my content was worth mentioning.
Digg certainly played a part in that. Mostly, landing on the Digg front page a couple times a month resulted only in a server-shaking stampede of worthless traffic. But mixed in with the basement-dwelling little boys who momentarily refrained from Playstationing with their Wiis long enough to tell me I sucked, I picked up new subscribers.
No longer.
