This week we hit the very big milestone of turning in the completed manuscript so I figured it would be a good time to update everyone and to answer some questions that we’ve been getting asked over and over. Thanks to everyone for all the words of encouragement you’ve been sending lately. We appreciate each and every one of them.

Part of any good content strategy is to insure that you are not the only one creating content around whatever it is that you want to raise awareness for.

What I mean by that, is if the only people creating content about our book is ourselves, then that isn’t very successful. It is always better when people are excited enough to create the content for you in their own voices. This can often scare a brand who is use to the old days when they could control every word and visual about them. That is no longer the case.

So recently when I was having coffee with my friends Mike & Christine from Awareness and they asked if they could film a quick video interview with me about the book I said sure. As you’ll hear, there seems to be a trend of filming on busy streets when it comes to this book. *laugh*

Be sure to read the whole post that goes along with this video and learn more about all the other great content they are sharing on the Awareness Community site.

We are big fans of the team at Awareness and as a special inside scoop, there are rumors that we’ll be doing a webinar with them later this year. Shhh….it is our little secret. *grin*

Walk with me a bit down memory lane will you?

I’m one of those guys who likes to capture every moment even if I don’t have plans to ever share it with anyone. As a photographer I’ve always believed in capturing the moment when it happens because you can’t turn back time if you later decide that you wish you had. More then once I have wished I documented something, but for one reason or another I didn’t. That is why I try to make sure I have some form of camera with me wherever I go.

In that vein, when I signed the book contract from Wiley for Content Rules I was in front of my computer so I fired up the web cam and took this photo to send to Ann to show her it was official. Plus, I figured at some point I’d want to post it so others could get a giggle out of it.

Of course my slightly cautious look gave Ann a good laugh so she returned the favor by taking one herself and sending it to me.

Why am I sharing these with you? (more…)

What’s a word that means a combination of excited, and thrilled, and pumped, with a tiny morsel of terror tossed in?  Trepidicement? Thrillfear? Whatever it is, that’s how we’re feeling today, because we’ve signed a deal with Wiley to co-author a book!

The title is Content Rules, and it carries such a long-ass subtitle that it still requires a trip to Amazon to get it right: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. The book will be published in December, and you can already pre-order a copy.

The long, descriptive title is intentional, because we wanted to make crystal-clear what this book is about. “Content” is a vague, amorphous word—it means radically different things to, say, a technology guy than it does to a marketer.

For businesses, “content”  is championed as the cornerstone of new marketing. Marketers are being told to “publish their way” into the hearts and minds of their customers, and Inbound Marketing experts talk about “remarkable” content as a cornerstone of a marketing strategy. But still: there is no comprehensive field guide for how companies can develop and share that content.

In other words, plenty of books tell you to package your ideas as “content” to market your company. But no one is talking about the art of how to develop your ideas into great content.

How does a company make the leap from “marketing-speak” to become a publisher on the Web? How do you know what to say? How can you create stories and videos and blog posts that people will love? How can you cultivate fans and spark devotion? How can your ideas ignite your business? How do you know if it’s working? (more…)