Paul Michael Design Sells High-End Jewelry for Geeks

Most jewelry stores carry a variety of pieces that fit into the same general categories: chain necklaces, diamond rings, watches, gemstone earrings, etc.

Maybe you’re looking for something unique. You might find an interesting combination of colorful gemstones. Or perhaps there’s a pendant that can be personalized with engraving.

Outside of that, the market for jewelry made with high-end materials is pretty limited. However, thanks to some independent jewelry designers, that could be changing.

Paul Michael Bierker is one of those designers. In his collection, you won’t just find those simple diamond earrings or heart pendant necklaces that can be found just about anywhere. Instead, his jewelry appeals specifically to people who are likely to consider themselves “geeky.”

That’s right. Jewelry pieces from Paul Michael Design are inspired mainly by sci-fi, fantasy and superhero movies. His most popular items are those inspired by R2D2. But he’s also made Wonder Woman rings, Dr. Who charms, Captain America necklaces, and more.

Not every single piece is necessarily inspired by comics or pop culture. He also tackles custom orders from customers who simply can’t find the kind of unique jewelry they want from traditional retailers. Bierker told The Huffington Post:

Usually it’s like, ‘I’m so happy someone finally understands what I want.'”

Judging by the recent success of superhero movies like “The Avengers,” this niche can certainly be a lucrative one. More established jewelry brands don’t offer much in the way of sci-fi or fantasy inspired pieces. So it’s also a relatively untapped market.

The pieces are so unique and sometimes even custom made, in addition to being made with quality materials. So customers are willing to pay big for Bierker’s jewelry. He says items can cost anywhere from $80 to tens of thousands of dollars, adding:

I have done bespoke geeky in excess of $15,000 dollars. Our prices are always based on materials and difficulty of manufacturing.”

Bierker’s success demonstrates the power of finding a good niche and excelling within it.

Independent designers who want to create those simple, classic pieces must compete with the major players within the industry. But Bierker creates items that can’t be found anywhere else.

And consumers are paying for them.

Image: Paul Michael Design

This article, "Paul Michael Design Sells High-End Jewelry for Geeks" was first published on Small Business Trends

27 Killer Strategies for Brainstorming Blog Post Ideas

Remember when you first started blogging?

Your mind was flooded with great blog post ideas – coming up with them wasn’t challenging.

Instead, executing on those ideas is probably what was keeping you up at night.

Then one day, you’re not sure how or why – your flow of ideas started to slow.

Your posting schedule became less consistent, and the pressure to come up with new topics only increased your anxiety.

But you were no closer to a solution.

We’ve all been there.

Some call it writer’s block, others just chalk it up to a lack of inspiration. But whatever you call it, one thing is clear: you need new blog post ideas, and you need them quick.

Here are 27 strategies that will help you come up with more blog post ideas, and fill up that content calendar.

1. Mine your hobbies

I love reading posts that offer a unique perspective on a popular topic – your audience might be the same.

Make a list of hobbies and cross reference them with your industry. It’ll result in a headline like: 7 Things I Learned About [industry topic] from [your hobby].

2. Read a great book

Non-fiction books feature tons of information, studies and antidotes that you can use to brainstorm new blog post ideas.

One easy technique for using this tactic is to go through the Table of Contents and use the chapter headings as new blog posts.

3. Get another perspective

Nothing quite says brainstorming like gathering a group of people together around a whiteboard.

If possible, find people in parallel industries to offer different perspectives (e.g. If you’re writing about marketing, get small business owners, web developers and graphic designers to contribute).

4. Review old content

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you should have a list of popular posts on your website.

Look through your archives and brainstorm new ways to attack old content.

Repurposing your content can open up the door for tons of new posts.

5. Word association

An age-old favorite: word association.

It’s a simple process.

Start with an industry-related word or phrase. Then write the first thing that comes into your head upon reading that word.

Keep going until you’ve found several angles that will make for some unique posts.

6. Use Google’s suggestions

You know how Google suggests phrases as you type your search query? That’s right – we’re going to use it to brainstorm.

Type in your phrase and use the suggestions to come up with blog post ideas:

7. Read the news

You can newsjack stories that directly affect your readers.

Or you can take an indirect approach by finding a popular news story outside your industry and writing about how it could affect your audience.

For example, as a marketer, the drought in California isn’t directly related to my niche. But I could still use this newsworthy topic to write a story like How the California Drought Will Affect Silicon Valley Startups.

8. Go somewhere else

Some places are just more inspirational than others. That’s why I love the idea of PeerSpace (it’s like AirBnB, but for creative spaces).

Even something as simple as a park pavilion or private room in a restaurant can do the trick.

9. Use freewriting

Freewriting is the foundation of several brainstorming techniques.

You simply write nonstop for a set amount of time. Don’t make corrections or edits along the way. Just keep writing until your time ends and see what ideas have come out of your session.

10. Dive into Quora

Quora is a wonderful community, full of people asking and answering questions.

You can follow interests related to your industry and then when you need new blog post ideas, dig through the stream and look for questions or answers that could help your audience.

I’m such a huge fan of this technique that I’ve actually incorporated it into the strategy documents I share with my content marketing clients.

One tab on the document automatically pulls in a list of related Quora questions, giving us plenty of ideas that we know people are looking for information on.

11. Keyword research

Solid keywords are the cornerstone of blog posts, which make them a perfect brainstorming tool.

I try to make an effort to discover new keywords on a regular basis.

Some of my favorite tools for the job include: Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and BuzzSumo.

12. Make a mind map

Start with big ideas or general keywords (e.g. Internet Marketing). Then, break it down into smaller sections (e.g. Content Marketing, PPC, SEO).

Continue to get more specific, giving you a bunch of topics that will make for great posts.

13. Use an idea generator

Several companies have created blog topic generators. When all else fails, use one of these to spark content ideas. (My favorite is the one by Portent.)

14. Mistakes and learning

Make a list of the challenges, mistakes and failures you’ve overcome.

Chances are, your readers are facing similar things and need the concrete solutions  you can provide from your experience.

It’s a perfect opportunity to create helpful content.

15. Use a brainstorming spreadsheet

Hubspot has a brainstorming spreadsheet that adds a bit of structure to the process. It’s a visual, detailed way to generate ideas based on a general topic.

16. Search social media

Tools like Topsy help you search through the topics that are being shared most on social media. Go through the popular posts related to your industry and mine them for content ideas.

17. Write down your ideas

The best ideas seem to happen when I’m not trying to create them. Carrying around a notebook helps me capture my ideas – whether I’m out and about or waking up from a dream.

When you get in the habit of writing down ideas, you may find that they flow a lot easier as well. Give it a try!

18. Take advantage of your comments

Find a blog in your industry with an active comments section (or, if you have a discussion section on your own blog, use that).

Read through each comment and look at what people are asking. Those questions can lead to great ideas for blog posts.

19. Use the Medici Effect

The Medici Effect refers to the way in which seemingly unrelated things often intersect. When coming up with blog post ideas, look for commonalities across different topics.

For example, let’s say I ran a blog about helping freelancers succeed. If I came across a post about the best morning routines for executives, I could then translate that topic into something specific to my audience.

20. Do competitor analysis

Go through the content that your competitors are creating. I like to start in their Most Popular Posts section, or use one of the many tools online that make this even easier.

Analyze the post topics and their relative popularity. Then, look for ways you can expand on the topics, include better research or create a piece of content that’s better overall.

21. Take the headline challenge

Sit down and commit to writing 50 new headlines for blog topics.

Get started by using some of the web’s basic headline formulas.

Take the formulas and create headlines that are related to your industry – don’t stop until you have 50 options.

It might seem difficult at first, but once you get in the groove, ideas should start flowing quite freely. It may take you until you’ve got 50 versions written to come up with something good, but trust me – your great idea is in there.

22. Take notes as you write

When you’re writing a post, it’s easy to get off topic and start talking about something else. But before deleting that section and refocusing, make a note of what you were veering off about.

Come back later and make a new post from that idea.

23. Put on the pressure

I work better when I’m under pressure. If you operate the same way, give yourself a deadline for the post (or list of ideas).

You can up the ante by using an app like StickK, where money is on the line if you don’t make the deadline you set for yourself.

24. Interview your target readers

The best type of content directly helps and educates your readers. Use an interview to uncover their challenges, questions and knowledge gaps.

Not only is it great fodder for blog topics, but you’ll gain deeper insight into the mind of your audience, which will strengthen your overall positioning and voice in the new content you produce.

25. Attend an industry conference

Attend a conference, debate, or discussion group within your industry.

You’ll learn plenty from the experts that share their thoughts, as well as gain some great new insight by speaking with other conference attendees.

It’s the perfect atmosphere for coming up with great new ideas. Make sure to bring something to take notes with!

26. Skim through Google alerts

Create a Google Alert for keywords that are related to your industry to have the search engine’s top headlines delivered straight to your inbox. Sift through them and see if anything sparks an idea.

27. Write up a list of questions

Write down questions about your industry.

Question everything: the future, current tactics, the validity of present beliefs… Use those questions to springboard new blog post ideas that will engage your audience and interest your readers.

This is a big list, but it’s certainly not comprehensive.

Do you have any other brainstorming strategies you’d like to add? Share your suggestions by adding a comment below!

Author: Aaron Agius is an online marketer, web strategist and entrepreneur and you can check him out at AaronAgius.com

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The post 27 Killer Strategies for Brainstorming Blog Post Ideas appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

6 Unique Ways to Target Your Facebook Ads

Do you use Facebook ads to their full potential? Interested in reaching highly specific groups of people? Facebook ad targeting offers businesses many ways to serve the right ad to the right user at the right time. In this article I’ll share six ways to target Facebook users with your ads, many you’ve likely not considered. […]

This post 6 Unique Ways to Target Your Facebook Ads first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
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5 Steps to More Professional Personal Branding

In our digitally connected world, can you truly separate who you are personally and who you are professionally? No matter the privacy settings there are numerous opportunities for personal life to spill into your professional impression. Here are five ways that seepage is already happening and how you can manage it:

• Audio Brand
• Professional Communication
• Email Address
• Image
• Social Updates

1. Your Audio Brand

I recently interviewed Colleen Fahey, U.S. Managing Director for Sixieme Son, the largest audio branding agency in the world. She shared this: Audio branding brings life and continuity — so when you hear the brand, it sounds like the brand — making every touch point a relationship-builder. Audio branding:

• Emphasizes brand differentiators
• Creates brand association with specific emotions
• Influences sales
• Transmits values within and without an organization

As a personal brand, you also have an audio brand. What’s the music someone hears when they call your mobile phone? What music is playing on your personal website? When you do presentations, do you have any music that you queue it up with? Or is there music playing in the background? When people are on hold for you, are they listening to music? Music is something that we’ve heard even while in the womb. It evokes emotions and reactions that can go far back into our childhood or our subconscious. For personal brands, your audio brand is exuded in every interaction someone has with you or your communication tools that has some sort of audio associated with it. It transmits the values you have or those you don’t have. Today, audit what people hear when they reach out to connect with you. Does it mirror your brand or is there a disconnect? A disconnect leaves people with the feeling that something’s wrong with no real concrete instances except for “gut instincts”.

2. Your Professional Communications

Think that grammar in social media doesn’t matter? Your grammar matters in your LinkedIn profile and status updates. According to Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly, in a recent interview he shared that good grammar in your updates shows you’re someone that “pays attention to details” and you’re someone who is “detail oriented, shows good follow through and is very professional”. You might be wondering — can that really matter in today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected social society? Yes, it can. In a recent study conducted by Grammarly, here’s what they found: Grammarly looked at some of the top brand battles of all-time to see if there was a correlation between the winners of famous “brand wars” and writing ability. They compiled LinkedIn posts from each company (an average of 400 words per company), and asked their team of proofreaders to review each update for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Here is what we learned:

Coke vs. Pepsi

Coke makes four times fewer writing mistakes on LinkedIn than Pepsi.

Facebook vs. Google

Not only does Google dominate the Internet, but it also makes nearly four times fewer writing mistakes than Facebook on LinkedIn.

Ford vs. GM

GM makes 2 1/2 times more writing errors than Ford. What can we take away from this? Brand dominance can be a fickle thing. But, writing is often a good predictor of the top brands because it demonstrates professionalism, attention to detail and credibility. For your personal brand, look at your last 10 posts on any of your social networks. How’s your grammar? Grammarly Lite, which can be added to your browser, is a great tool to keep your updates and tweets as grammatically correct as possible. After interviewing Brad, I gave it a try and love how well and easily it works. (I do not sell or market their product).

3. Your Email Address

Invest in a website for your personal brand and create an email address with that site. A domain name can express professionalism in one email. Emails from Yahoo, Hotmail, Live, etc. give an immediate first impression to the receiver of an email from these domains. For example, when you get an email from someone with an address that is name@AOL.com, what are your immediate first impressions? Even if you have an email address from the company you work with or the college you attend, spend for your own domain, even if it’s your name. It exudes much more professionalism and speaks to whether you’re “on top of your game” better than any free email account can.

4. Your Image

You can look professional no matter your profession. I’m certainly not saying that everyone needs to be in a “suit and tie”. In fact, that apparel in many professions would not be a good fit at all. What is important to any profession is cleanliness and hygiene. Even auto mechanics are assessed for their professionalism on how well they clean up. For your personal brand, this includes everything that’s an extension of you. Your phone, your purse, briefcase and even the car you drive. Again, let’s not confuse that something has to be expensive to exude professionalism. You can drive a car that’s twelve years old or rock a suit that’s eight years old and as long as it’s clean and well kept, you exude professionalism.

5. Your Social Updates

There have been hundreds of articles on what you should post about as a professional. I’m more interested in when you are posting and responding. What time you do this matters to your professionalism. In your Monday morning meeting, if you’re liking Facebook posts on your phone, then anyone connected with you, in their ticker (depending on your privacy) is seeing your activity. At a meeting or event if you’re tweeting, that also is speaking volumes about your professionalism. If it’s a part of the meeting and event, that will reflect positively on what you’re doing and that you’re sharing/imparting knowledge from the event. If it’s you asking about when everyone’s going to happy hour in a tweet, when you’re in a meeting, there’s an entirely different impression that’s exuded. I do realize that there are many tools that automate the release of updates and posts. Again, don’t overuse these or you’ll leave the impression that you automate everything. A mixture of auto updates and real time updates provides a good balance for you and your brand. Look at the timing of your last social updates. To exude a professional, personal brand, timing is important (not everything, but important) and affects whether your first impression is worth a second look.

Republished by permission. Original here.

Professional personal branding Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "5 Steps to More Professional Personal Branding" was first published on Small Business Trends

Is Influencer Marketing a Trendy or Smart Strategy?

Around 2003, many businesses were built by buying pay-per-click (PPC) ads on the cheap.

A similar opportunity exists today, but this time around, social media influencer marketing is the trendy strategy. It’s a strategy to which advertisers — including small businesses — are paying close attention.

If the history of PPC is any indication, influencer marketing ad budgets — and prices — will continue to rise as more businesses pile on to what works. So it makes sense to get onto this trend early for your own advertising needs.

In an introduction to the 2014 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report from Burst Media, the company explains:

“On average marketers who implemented an Influencer Marketing program last year received $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 of paid media.”

Facebook is an obvious channel for some of this influencer marketing. Facebook advertising has been considered a game-changer. But concern exists that Facebook ad prices have risen to levels which might limit the potential for large returns.

And so the hand-wringing continues over which mix of channels and content-type can deliver the best ROI for influencer marketing.

Sponsored Selfie Added to Influence Marketing Mix

Influencer marketplace Tomoson is adding a new option to that mix in the form of so-called sponsored selfies.

As the name implies, influencers creating sponsored selfies just post a photo of themselves using, wearing, or posing with an advertiser’s products.

There’s an attempt to avoid the inconsistency in disclosure problematic in some influencer marketing campaigns too. Tomoson sponsored selfies are always marked with the #ad hashtag, along with #TomosonSelfie.

Businesses have paid Tomoson members to create sponsored tweets, blog posts and videos. So selfies are merely the latest option being offered to the company’s advertisers.

Why selfies?

Selfies are arguably the fastest to create and they’re a normal part of life for millennials and Generation Z.

In an email interview with Small Business Trends, Tomoson CEO Jeff Foster says simple product pics fall flat on Instagram. And when that happens, there’s abysmal social engagement — or none at all.

Selfies, on the other hand, have a record of promoting engagement on the photo sharing platform.

“We have influencers of all sizes, which is perfect for small businesses. Selfies drive real engagement and provide an excellent ROI.  If you have a budget of $500 to $1,000, that can go very far,” says Foster.

His company expects to roll out sponsored selfies to other platforms, including Facebook and Twitter too.

Not a Guarantee of Success

A few caveats must be mentioned, of course.

The success of an influencer marketing campaign will depend on the creativity of the influencers with whom you choose to work. For example, their ability to create engaging content is important.

Images, ideally, should be strong enough to convey a message with one glance, in contrast to a blog post which has the advantage of many paragraphs to make a point.

And even Tomoson admits the selfie method will work better for some products than for others. (It’s probably easier to promote a pair of sunglasses or a line of handbags than a new social network or CRM software.)

Instagram selfies are also not a magic bullet for boosting sales. Like any other marketing effort, you’ll need to use analytics to determine effectiveness.

But it is also a marketing strategy that must be committed to over time in order to see results.

“Influencer marketing is not something you can just buy, like at the grocery store,” says Dennis Yu, CTO of BlitzMetrics. “It’s something you embrace fully,” Yu says in an email interview with Small Business Trends.

Yu adds that marketing messages will still depend upon proper optimization and upon being targeted for an audience likely to convert.

Selfie Image via Shutterstock

This article, "Is Influencer Marketing a Trendy or Smart Strategy?" was first published on Small Business Trends

Can Business Versatility Hurt Profitability?

Can business versatility be a bad thing?

Well, if you’re talking about having an adaptable business that can evolve quickly to meet a changing market, the answer is probably no.

But if your products or services are too general or poorly defined, your company’s business versatility could become a liability.

As digital marketer Neil Patel explains:

Let’s assume that you’re a graphic designer. If you want to become an authority in your industry, being a jack-of-all-graphics-designs won’t help you, and it might make potential clients less inclined to hire you.”

Instead, Patel suggests working to “narrow your niche.” Target a specific part of a larger market. Be more specific about the products or services you specialize in. Patel adds:

For example, you could upgrade your skills to become a WordPress theme designer, logo/website header designer, ebook cover designer, or corporate branding expert. Don’t try to target every potential client out there.”

It’s easy to understand why picking more specific products or services can improve your odds of getting hired.

It might even increase the amount of money customers or clients are willing to pay for your services.

Think about what would happen if you were seeking out the services of a good attorney.

You want advice on how to protect a trademark for your business. Wouldn’t you seek out an attorney with trademark experience instead of seeking out a general practice firm?

Similarly, if you’re looking for a cover design for your latest ebook, you’ll want a graphic designer who may have designed hundreds of ebook covers before.

You’ll pick that designer over someone who may have designed one or two in between other completely unrelated projects, won’t you?

To narrow your niche, Patel suggests, among other things, that you first define your ideal client.

For example, you may not want to market yourself to clients in need of, say, graphic design for album covers. This is especially the case if you have no experience or interest doing this kind of design.

On the other hand, you may not want to define your niche too narrowly either. If there aren’t enough paying clients in need of ebook covers out there, consider adding WordPress design to your specialties, for example.

Having the flexibility to adapt to change when necessary is great.

But being all things to all people may leave clients wondering if you have the experience and expertise for the specific service they need.

Versatility photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Can Business Versatility Hurt Profitability?" was first published on Small Business Trends

Cinematic Pins from Pinterest: This Week in Social Media

Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Pinterest Announces Cinematic Pins: Pinterest unveils its “newest, most beautiful type of Promoted Pin. Controlled through scrolling, these […]

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