by Kirby Hasseman
It’s that time of year. What time of year, you ask? It’s that time of year that the mornings get cooler, the leaves begin to change colors, and football is on TV! Hooray! It’s also the time of year that most organizations need to start thinking about “thank you.” It’s time to make sure your customers, employees, sales team and board members know how much you appreciate them. (It’s time to bridge the Appreciation Gap…I talk about that here). But what do you get them? How do you make it special? We can help. Today we take a look at some really cool executive branded gifts your team will love. Sonosphere Bluetooth Speaker: This is the perfect executive gift for that person that spends time at their desk. The Sonosphere will serve as a constant reminder of your appreciation for them. And since the minimum is 1…you could even personalize it. iLuv Personal Assistant/Bluetooth Speaker: Speaking of tech, how about tying your bluetooth speaker into your personal Alexa assistant? Yes…that would be cool. Your special guests can do just that with this cool piece! RamblerPack Backpack: Simple. Functional. On trend. This backpack fits in all 3 of these categories. Make sure you can head from the office, to the gym, to wherever and do it in style! Check out details on this one here. Urban Peak Gift Set: I love this gift set so much I got it for my team last year! This awesome cooler bag (great functional size) pairs with all of the drinkware you could need! It comes with 3 Vacuum sealed pieces with the 30 oz, the 20 oz and the 3 in 1. This is cool for everyone on your list! Coleman® 36-Hour 42-Can Marine Soft-Sided Cooler: If you want my favorite cooler on the market right now, you have found it. I even wrote about it here. This is a great size because it holds 42 cans, but is still manageable. It keeps ice for 36 hours and it has a cool accessible top that I love. You can find more info here. Thumpah Bluetooth Speaker: Get the party started, well, thumping with this super cool bluetooth speaker. If you have someone that wants to experience music on the go, this is your go to item!
Westbridge Leather Rucksack: this piece is sure to impress. Okay…so that is a great place to start! There are plenty of other options available! Need more ideas? You can shop online here. Or we can help you as well. Just click here if you need more ideas or if you want to set up a consultation. Finally, make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
“For myself I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.” Winston Churchill The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast is back! Our goal here is to attack 2018 with a vengeance! The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast will provide some inspiration, motivation and education to make it happen! Consider this your 10 minute “kick in the pants” to get your week started off right! Today on the podcast we discuss why I don’t see the downside of being an optimist. We also dig into a book called Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza. There’s a lot to discover and a lot to discuss. Listen in now…and let me know what you think! As always, thanks for listening in! If you want to check out the book Becoming Supernatural from Dr. Joe Dispenza, you can do that here. Thanks for listening! Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
How many of you have ever started a new year (or a new quarter, or a new week) with the very intense desire to improve your fitness? Raise your hand…everyone. You had decided that “enough was enough.” You were going to put in the work. You were going to follow the plan. You had a goal in your mind. You had new “workout shoes.” You were fired up and you were committed. And you failed. Sound familiar? It does to many of us…me included. We know what to do. We just struggle with the discipline to do it. You know the quote I use all the time… The greatest distance in the world is the distance between “I know” and “I do.” I think the same is true for success in content marketing. As a matter of fact, I see a lot of similarities between success in fitness and in social media! Don’t believe me? Here are 10 ways Content Marketing and Fitness are the same! 1. Success takes a long time: One of the common misperceptions that causes frustrations in both is that results happen quickly. They don’t. The best plans for both start extremely slow and show only incremental progress at first. 2. You need to focus on the day…not the goal: If you continue to look at the marathon, you will get discouraged quickly. You don’t need to run 26.2 miles on day 2 of training for the marathon. You just have to run 2. The same is true with content. You don’t need a million followers. You just need to do the work today. 3. Consistency is Key: You can’t work out for a week and take 2 weeks off and have 6 pack abs (trust me, I know). The best success comes from consistent work. 4. It’s important to track progress: Most training plans have you weigh yourself at the beginning (and take pictures). That way, when you are frustrated, you can see how far you have come. The same is true with content. Start with your traffic baseline. The progress will be slow…but then you can look back later to your progress. 5. Most people start fast…and can’t keep it up: I started P90X the first time and went out of the gates like crazy. Then I could not lift my arms for a week. We have all see the company that started off with a Facebook page like crazy…and then have not posted in 2 months. 6. Most people use the same excuses about why they can’t do it: I know. You don’t have time. Bullshit. Yes you do. Do it or don’t do it. Your call. But time is not your issue. 7. The best plans do a little every day: You don’t have to go out the first week and run 25 miles. It’s often better to start slow and build up. The same is true on the content side. Start slow. There is no point firing out at a pace you can’t maintain. 8. The best people are intentional: You don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) work out every day. You need to create rest days to let your body recover. But you need to do it on purpose. If every day becomes a rest day, then the routine is over. If you follow a plan, it’s much easier to stay on track! 9. The first 3 months are the hardest: In the program P90X, it’s 90 days for a reason. In that time you can create a habit in your day to workout. And you START to see results then. The work isn’t done. But that’s when it starts to become a part of you. 10. Most people know what to do…but aren’t willing to do it: Fitness and fad diets are huge business. We all want the shortcut. But if we eat less (or better) and work out more, most of us will get results. The fact is, we know that. Most of us are just not willing to DO it. These are just 10 ways that Content Marketing is like Fitness. There are more. So let’s put the excuses to bed. Create a plan. Then, let’s get to work! Make sure you never miss an update (like a mental workout). Sign up for our VIP newsletter here!
by Kirby Hasseman
My friend was frustrated with me. And I didn’t blame him. It was my fault. Let me explain. I had reached out to a friend in my industry. He was successful. He had some of the results I wanted. So I took the leap and reached out to him to ask him some advice. As is so often the case in these situations, these successful people are happy to help. They WANT others to succeed. So he took the time to answer my questions. But then something weird happened. I argued with him. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t call him names. I just didn’t listen. I spent the time telling him “why that would not work for me.” Finally, with a sigh, he just said, “I don’t know what to tell you. That’s just how I do it.” What he didn’t say, because he was too gracious was, “But you asked me, asshole.” We do that a lot don’t we? As we are working to climb the ladder of success, we want shortcuts. We want to tap into the wisdom of others, but we don’t always want to put in the work. We spend a lot of time in our own heads, explaining why that would not work for us. “Sure that works for them, but they are rich.” But were they always? “I could not do that because…” “I don’t have time to do it that way…” “Yeah but…” “My customers would never pay for that…” Regardless of the excuse, it’s exactly what they are. That’s why, I think, we struggle to take the advice of those we ask. It just seems too damn simple! We want there to be a magic formula that will guide us to success. But as I often say, simple is NOT the same as easy. It’s not about the idea. It’s about the execution. It’s about putting in the work. So the next time you ask a mentor, buy a book, or listen to a podcast for advice…take it. Don’t argue with it. Don’t make excuses. Get out of your head and do the work. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s time to sign up for the VIP newsletter. You can do that here. We send out a weekly recap of our content in one email. And of course, if you want to look for some great gifts, check out our website here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I hear the world “authenticity” thrown around a lot today. Heck, I even find myself using it a lot. It’s almost become one of those business cliche’s that pops up in every meeting. These are the words that lose their meaning, because they are used so much. (As a side note, friends and I would play Buzz Word Bingo at an old job. We would keep track of all of the cliche terms, and when we heard them all, we could yell “Bingo!” It was really funny…once.). There is a problem with authenticity though. It’s a term we like when it serves our needs. We don’t ALWAYS like authenticity. There is an asterisk beside the term. *We like authenticity in specific circumstances. *We like it for ourselves: We love the idea of authenticity when we are talking about ourselves! Yes…people will love the real me! “If I am genuine and honest and transparent (another new buzz word), the world will flock to love me.” But are we as excited and enthusiastic when other people are THAT genuine? *We like it when we agree: We love the idea of someone who is authentic and is saying what we believe. We can’t get behind that enough. We might (as a culture) even label them as brave for doing it. Good stuff. But what about those people who authentically disagree with us? Do we label them as “brave” or as “evil and misguided?” *We like it when we understand: This is a close relative to above, but it’s not exactly the same. We might not TOTALLY agree, but we have friends that do. We at least understand the plight. So you we can gladly laud them for speaking up! But what about the causes or efforts we don’t understand.? You get the point (I hope). We can’t just love and admire the authenticity of a few. And in the interest of transparency, I preach being authentic. I think, to find your voice, it’s incredibly important. But if it’s a characteristic that is to be admired and cultivated, we need to open our minds…authentically. We have a new piece of content every day. Want to keep up? Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. Our goal is to provide you value, so make sure you never miss a post.
