ProBlogger - Latest Posts

Elite Retreat 2009 [NEW YORK] - An Exclusive Learning Experience

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 06:11 PM PDT

I hesitate to promote this due to the price tag but it’s one of the best high level online training experiences that I’ve had - Elite Retreat.

In 2007 I spoke at this event in San Francisco (although got as much out of it as any of the attendees) and it was a fantastic experience. A very small group of attendees and some true experts in a variety of different online disciplines. To attend you apply and then are hand selected to attend (to ensure the most suitable people come).

This year it is happening in New York and the speaker list is again excellent. In fact as I just said on Twitter I’m very jealous not to be a part of this one because keynoting and heading up the speaker list for the event this year is Seth Godin. Also speaking this year will be:

Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney and internet marketing guru), Neil Patel (social media expert), Andy Liu (CEO of BuddyTV), Chris Winfield (social media and search marketing), Kris Jones (affiliate marketing expert) and Stephan Spencer (SEO expert).

Again - this isn’t cheap and nor should it be.

At the event I attended the ratio of attendees to speakers was low and there was plenty of face time available with each speaker. There were also opportunities for interacting with speakers over meals as well as the opportunity to network with other attendees (actually some of the attendees were doing some amazing things too and I know that for a few that attended the event profitable partnerships began).

Only 35 attendees will be accepted and they’re not accepting the first 35, it’s all about choosing people that they believe ‘fit’ what they’re on about so if you do apply put some time into your application.

The other thing about Elite Retreat that made it special was the lack of ‘pitches’ from speakers. The sessions were pure content/teaching, pitches were not allowed and there was ample time for question and answers as well as looking at the sites of those attending to help them optimize them.

If you have the money to invest into your online business I’d highly recommend checking out Elite Retreat 2009.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Elite Retreat 2009 [NEW YORK] - An Exclusive Learning Experience

Share This

Why Did Your Last Blog Post Fail? 13 Questions to Ask

Posted: 13 Jul 2009 07:48 AM PDT

Have you ever had a blog post that you put a lot of time, energy and thought into - that completely flopped?

Nobody comments on it, nobody bookmarks it on Digg, nobody tweets a link to it…. it’s almost like it was never written.

If so - here’s a few questions to ask yourself about the post to help you learn why it might have failed and to help you improve for next time:

could the title have been improved?
did the opening lines of this post draw readers in to read more?
could I have added an image to give the post a visual point of interest?
could I have added a question to draw readers into discussing the post?
was the topic relevant to my readers?
did I promote the post to other bloggers or my network?
did I publish this post at the right time (of day or the week)?
could I have called my readers to perform some kind of action?
was this post useful - did it fulfill a need or solve a problem for readers?
did the post have sufficient depth? - could it have been more interesting with examples, illustrations, opinions, stories, quotes etc?
was this post unique or just a rehash of what others are writing?
did the formatting of this post help readers to read it easily?
was the post concise or could it have been too long winded?

Of course it is also worth saying that sometimes posts just don’t have the success we hope they will and that there’s no real reason for it. Conversely other posts which we don’t think will really work can soar like eagles!

That’s the way the cookie crumbles some days!

Further Reading: Many of the above questions are fleshed out with tips on how to make them a reality in my series - How to Craft a Blog Post.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Why Did Your Last Blog Post Fail? 13 Questions to Ask