Top 18 #IZEAFest Take-Aways

Welcome back!

Here’s my top lessons learned from IZEAFest.

1. Training for public speaking is invaluable, especially in this age of Twitter streams on giant screens while you’re on stage.
2. Be useful — this theme came up over and over and over and over — I think Warren Whitlock put it best, “If I ever feel like I’m not getting enough, I know I am not giving enough.”
3. What are your keywords?  Keywords provide a framework for your blog.  We did a great exercise at the conference that you can do at home — just brainstorm single keywords or phrases that describe you or your blog.  Develop a framework.
4. Your content must have a perceived value for others.  It doesn’t matter if you are completely in love with your content.  What does your audience think about the content?  Do they find it valuable?
5. Brian Clark of Copyblogger emphasized over and over the value of a quality headline.  You must have a unique, ultra-specific promise of valuable, can’t-miss content all within your headline and this must continue through your opening, body, and conclusion.
6. Don’t pander to everyone — this one really hit me — I try to please all the people all the time.  Instead, pick one niche and dominate it!  There’s an audience in every niche out there.  Which one is yours?
7. Visit Yoast.com for Wordpress SEO lessons and plugins.  The SEO session made my head hurt.  Rae Hoffman and Michael Gray are crazy smart SEOs that lit sites up at the show.
8. Create an umbrella for yourself and your business.  If something doesn’t fall under the umbrella, you say no without guilt.
9. Influencer’s respond, they don’t react.
10. Avoid the NASCARification of yourself — you can’t be everywhere, all the time.
11. One of my favorites, “What happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook.”
12. Your blog is a business storefront.  Are you treating yours like one?
13. Be there before the sale.
14. Ask yourself what can I help someone with, today.  What can I give to my community?
15. You’re likely not commenting enough on other people’s sites.  Quality, heartfelt comments — not crap.
16. Kill your babies.  Your stuff is not so amazing that you can’t kill it.
17. Another classic Chris Brogan quote: “Once you’ve mastered Super Mario Bros. level one, you move up to level two.  Don’t stagnate!”
18. Finally, and the most important take-away from the weekend — Take some damn initiative.  No one’s coming to save you.

What would you add to the list?

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