Today is Blog Action Day. An important opportunity for bloggers of all sizes to influence the thoughts and actions of the mass and media. Collis, Cyan, and their team have done a phenomenal job organizing this event and having it recognized worldwide.

We were one of the …

There are plenty of guides, books, articles, and directions as to formulas for effective advertising. Donald Gunn narrowed it down to 12 back in 1978, Suzanne Pope, 11 or so over at Ihaveanidea. I want take 4 directions that may or may not be labeled exactly as to the two lists I mentioned, and give examples of how you can use them, whether that be in networking, marketing, or face-to-face with your customers.

Stories

It’s not a matter of writing stories, but creating them. FedEx is known for their fly through a blizzard to ensure their package arrived on time story; a timeless classic in every b-school. A more recent one got to me and is an even better example from a customer’s perspective:

While they say “no risk, no reward”, I’d like to change that a bit for the purpose of this article. How bout, “some risk, no immediate reward”?

In almost every industry, service providers work on a per project, per milestone, or per hour basis. The tasks are determined before the assignment begins, by yourself and your client. An amount and method of payment is agreed upon. And you begin your process, whether that be creative, financial, manufacturing, etc…

That model appears to be going through a process of evolution in the creative world and migrating across numerous markets. The new approach takes from the entrepreneurial notion of banking on equity. If you’re a sole proprietor, the entire equity of your business is in your hands. Your actions determine your earnings (or losses) and your lifestyle is molded by the outcome of those actions (no sales, no rent).

NOTE: This post came from a conversation Eric and I were having at 3:00 am EST.

Followers are just as important, if not more important than the big name bloggers. Without them, those powerhouses wouldn’t exist. They are a metric of pop culture in our community. We need them. But I don’t think any of us like to be labeled as a follower.

In every single industry, in management positions, there’s been individuals making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. That’s nothing new. When you can count the amount of bloggers making such an amount on your fingers and toes, it doesn’t look like the most promising industry to be in.

Guest post by Dan Schawbel, owner of the Personal Branding Blog and publisher of the Personal Branding Magazine.

Personal Branding applies to everyone throughout the world, but who really benefits most? As a youth, you have the flexibility and lack of responsibilities necessary to focus on your brand and improve it. The faster you can discover who you are in your youth, the more prone you are to a successful career. As you age, your responsibilities increase, such as leasing an apartment, purchasing a car, marrying your fiancé or having your first child. When these milestones in your life occur, they force you into making decisions outside of the “branding realm.”