Social Media Science sounds like a fairy tale, but Dan Zarella proves otherwise in his new book on contagious ideas
. He focuses on social media because they are a "petri dish" for ideas, but the principles that he is able to extract from social media metrics can be applied to all of your ideas. This short book will tell you the best ways to spread your ideas and make them more contagious.
The author starts off by building his framework on three points. For your ideas to be more contagious, you must:
1. Increase the number of people exposed to your content.
2. Create more attention-grabbing content.
3. Include powerful calls to action.
Following this, the author provides relevant data to prove his claims. This information is invaluable, and very helpful to anyone who uses social media at all. For instance:
Do you know if it helps or hurts to call yourself a guru (or author, speaker, founder)?
Do larger groups or more active small groups spread ideas faster?
Are negative or positive ideas more contagious?
Should you talk about yourself?
How often should you share content?
What is the best day and time to attract "retweeters"?
What is the best time to blog for your click rate? For comments?
All of the answers to these questions, and many more, are in this book. Each section is short and to the point, no more than four paragraphs and a visual graph of the data that backs it up. This is a book that will pay for itself easily, and the information contained in it is valuable to every business, author, and marketer. Highly Recommended.
One of the most surprising things about the publishing business is finding out how many people want to write books. I honestly have more people who tell me they want to write a book then people who talk about reading books. Now more than ever, that goal can be realized quickly and effectively. Yet it is still hard for some to take the first step or to get over the hump and really get moving on an idea.
I finished one of the best productivity books I have ever read this week. The title is Eat That Frog, 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time. Chapter 4 discusses the consequences of our goals and what should be considered when we set them. The author suggests asking three questions of yourself to maximize your productivity, which I have modified for writers.
What can you and only you write that if done well will make a real difference? Peter Drucker, one of the best business thinkers ever, originally asked this question. For writers, it is the most important question that you can ask yourself. Until you have an answer for this question, don't start working on a manuscript. There is no need for another book that covers the same things in the same way with the same tone. Think outside the box, assess your passions, and write something that will make a real difference when you put your pen to paper.
What are my highest value writing activities? Ask yourself where you write best, when you write best, and how you write best. If you love one area of the writing process, like research, focus on that goal alone in the beginning and just move in the right direction. Identifying those times and activities that help create the most productive time for you will help keep you motivated and more productive. For instance, I have found that the mornings are my best time for thinking. If I wake up before anyone else and start working on my creative projects, I will often check off more things on my list from the hours of 6 to 8 then I would from 9 to 5. Find your highest value factors and maximize your productivity and time.
What is the most valuable use of my time right now? Ask yourself this question daily to keep you focused on the right things. Make sure that what you are working on moves you closer to your goal and that its not just busywork. Spend time on high value activities until they are finished. Apply the 80/20 principle to the list of activities that you have before your next manuscript will be finished. The 80/20 principle says that 20% of your activities will provide 80% of the benefit - focus on those activities. Hint: Spending time building your list on Facebook, Twitter, or making your website prettier will almost always be a low value activity. It will not move you closer to your goal of a finished book.
Ask yourself these questions and your writing productivity will skyrocket. Remember that strategy is really more about doing than knowing: you have the tools, now you just have to do it. What questions do you ask yourself as a writer? Have these questions had any effect on you? What will it take for you to get started?
Eat That Frog!
is a book that a few of my favorite authors have recommended, but I never picked up a copy until last week. Very glad that I did, it is an excellent time management/productivity book that gets right to the point. Even if you just pick three concepts to implement, any three concepts, I predict your productivity will double. Is there some obvious information in it? Sure there is, but like the author says in the introduction, this book brings the concepts to the forefront of our minds.
* Pros:
Very short book - can read in a couple of hours. Makes it easy to recommend.
Information is solid and practical. Almost like a Cliff's Notes of productivity techniques.
Some great questions to ask of yourself and to ask of those you are mentoring.
Practical steps to implement the techniques are given at the end of each chapter, making it easy to put into practice.
* Cons:
Not much new information . . . not necessarily a con, but it is what it is.
Further reading suggestions for any given topic would have made this an outstanding work.
In short, this is one of the best and probably the first I would recommend to others. Getting started on projects/businesses/writing books and getting more done in less time is a skill that all of us need, and this book will help you get there. Will definitely be buying more copies to give away to others. Highly Recommended.
