🚩 TRUST-able #09 - June 2022

21 actionable recommendations for authors seeking higher reputation and credibility

`Rome’s Saint Peter’s cupola. This is the part of the city where I grew up until I was 18. The district is called Prati and while pretty quiet and downplayed when I lived here, it now buzzes with a great variety of restaurants and bars.

Welcome to issue #09 of this newsletter.

I have flown across the Atlantic and I am back in Italy for a couple of weeks. It’s been almost two years since my last time here.

Going to what once was home is always a good feeling, and the opportunity to see my big grown-up kids as well as family members and friends makes it all more enjoyable and exciting.

On the other hand people here are all running and stressed, and the deep, relaxed human vibe I have learned to love so much in Holbox is completely gone. 

Here, I feel, a more hedonist, materialistic, rushed and idiosyncratic world. Life is complicated by tens of worries and responsibilities dictated by modern city-life. 

I am surrounded by mega-tons of metal, concrete and asphalt and everyone seems to be walking in his own separate universe.

But what can I say: the food is absolutely out of this world and this city of Rome is a marvelous open theater where to lose oneself. 

The good news this month include:

1) Deep-Dive n.2 - SuperGuide n.2 on Content Curation

I have just completed the first draft of this new deep-dive / superguide on Content Curation. It contains over 180 annotated resources which I am making available for all Premium Subscribers (if you haven’t seen the first SuperGuide on Trust in Business go see it here). Specifically:

• Curation Definitions (30+)

• Recommended Books on Content Curation (9)

• Top Content Curation Tools (40+)

• Top Articles on Content Curation (20+)

• Great Examples of Content Curation (25+)

• List of Top Content Curators (40+)

• Videos about Content Curation (10+)

• Content Curation Formats (10+)

To subscribe to the Premium version go here.

2) Newsletter Editions
Besides having two language editions (one in English, and one in Italian) there are two distinct editions of this newsletter.

1. The free Substack email version, which you are reading now. This is the synthetic (short) version of this newsletter. This version does not include images and examples, nor the Recommended Tools section.

1. The G-Doc version. This is the version for those who want more in-depth stuff and resources. The Google Doc version includes images, examples, videos and extra notes which are not available in the short version. It also includes the Recommended Tools section and it runs up to 25-30 printed pages.
   
   N.B.: Premium subscribers get access to the monthly SuperGuide, covering a different theme each month. (see the first SuperGuide on TRUST in Business here.)
   
   Upcoming SuperGuide themes include:

• Future of Search

• Personal Branding

• Productized Services

• Create Value

• Information Design

• Content Formats
  
  

3) Great Opportunity from Google
Interesting for anyone who wants to develop his online marketing skills, while getting a recognized certificate (Google values it as a 4-year degree) at a cost unheard of.
Check it out in the “Stay Ahead” chapter of this issue.

The time is now.

Robin Good

1) How To Create Real Value

a) Define Strategy

Here’s a useful template to define your brand strategy.
Specifically, it helps you clarify:
a. Who you are,
b. Who you are talking to,
c. What you should be talking about with your audience.

Find it on slide 10 of this high-value deck.

A great example of creating value without writing another article.

Source: Steve Bryant - “Brand & Content Strategy 101”
via IdeaEconomy newsletter - June 8th 22 edition

b) Show

“Don't tell people what to do.
Show them what you did and how it worked for you.”

Pay attention to how many “experts” give recommendations on what to do but share no personal experience of the why they give them.

There’s unique value is in sharing how you did and what you discovered while doing it.

Source: Llull - The Steal Club Newsletter
via Jason Resnick

c) Create Rabbit Holes

“You’ve already created a lot of content.
Stop creating more content.

Instead, think about how these different pieces
relate to each other and the problems
your audience is trying to solve.

Then, never share one piece of content.

Create rabbit holes with related content.
Recycle your own or share content that validates your message.”
 

Source: Jonathan Gandolf - The Juice -  From Boring 2 Bingeable. Building Curated Content Experiences

2) How To Grow a Community

a) Find the Purpose

The key thing in building a community is having a clear, well-defined purpose that community members fully identify with.

This guide explains in simple words and with lots of examples (and templates) why defining such purpose is critical and how to do it.

Your Big Purpose - The breakthrough guide to building a thriving community

b) Create Shared Activities

Unless a group of people does something together, they are just a bunch of individuals who access the same space.

Focusing on periodical shared activities that can bring people to meet and know each other is one of the key foundations of community building.

Here is a good template to start working on this and a list of 13 types of shared activities.

via GetTogether World

c) Be Selective

According to People & Company, the best community activities often have the following traits:

• Purposeful: Brings your community’s “why” to life

• Participatory: Gives others the chance to contribute

• Repeatable: Takes place regularly, which builds a habit or ritual

Morale: don’t do just any activity to engage your community.
Make sure the activities you start have those three critical traits. 

Source: On Substack - How To Find and Engage Your Readers

3) How To Communicate Effectively

a) Read Out Loud

After writing, read your words out loud. 
Not out loud in your head, though.
Out loud, with your voice.

Listen to those words you’re saying as an outside listener.

If you wouldn't use those words in a real conversation with someone you know,
eliminate them.

Source: Jeremy Moser - “Copywriting Is a Key Marketing Skill…”

b) Write in Tiny Sentences

“Those who get to the point persuade fellow humans faster.

We just want people to get to the point, especially with words.

Gone are the days when we would listen to your entire argument in a 20-hour book. That only happens if we like you first, thanks to the tiny sentence you posted online.”

Writing in tiny, short sentences, makes reading and understanding easier.
It shows clarity of thought, focus and a desire to be useful.

Source: Tim Denning - Eleven Skills Which Are a License To Print Money

c) Present Effectively

Format is more important than content.

While everyone seems to be focusing on learning how to write better, very few are noticing how important it is to take care of how such information is presented.

It starts from the simple things, like line length, using lists anytime you have two or more items which are part of a group, leaving white space among elements and sections.

And since the eye perceives first structure than details (like words), how you present and structure your content, determines in a significant way how many will read it.

Source: Alex Llull - The Steal Club newsletter

4) How To Market  Yourself

a) Share Your UnPOP Principles

To stand out, you need to be different.

If you think and act like everyone else in your space, why should new clients come to you?

One good way to characterize and distinguish yourself from others is to publicly share what you believe in that is not popular (that which goes against the grain). 

Here is a great example. 

b) Fix Your Social P

Update your social profile bio to reflect what’s the benefit of following you, not who you define yourself to be.

“You need to describe in under 3 seconds "What's in it for me" for any new reader in getting to know you. (Examples in the G-Doc version / Premium subscribers)

via Alex Llull newsletter - The Steal Club - The Follower Funnel

c) Create a P-FAQ

A P-FAQ is a personal FAQ.
The simplest web page with all of the basic info people would want to know about you. If you don’t yet have a personal website this is the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to move a first step in the right direction.

Askit.to - FAQ page done right

5) How To Get More Visibility

a) Mention Other Brands

​​”Permissionless Co-Marketing is the deliberate effort of aligning yourself with other brands by promoting them in your work. It’s the inverse of earned media — where you’re the one organically mentioning someone else. The payoff is earning goodwill and potential reciprocation.

For example:

1. During a podcast interview, you shout out an up-and-coming SaaS tool that listeners would find useful.

2. When writing a blog post, you explain why another B2C brand’s email marketing strategy is successful.

3. While presenting at a conference (or on a webinar), you include slides with examples from a brand with affinity to your own target audience (and the event’s).”
   

Source: Amanda Natividad - The Case for Permissionless Co-Marketing

b) Add UTM Codes to Links

For anyone publishing a newsletter it is a good idea to add UTM codes to all the outgoing  links, so that other sites owners you link can more easily discover you.
Learn what UTM codes are.
Create UTM code for any link (100% free)

c) Use Free SEO Tools

SEO tools help you gain more visibility on major search engines like Google. There are a good number of them you can use (at least partially) without having to spend a dime. Here’s the SEO free-wheeler’s list.

6) How To Monetize

a) Charge For the How

“Give away your secrets
but charge for the implementation.”

That is: share openly the formula, the principles, the strategy and the tools you have used to achieve specific goals. What you want to charge for is whatever you can provide to others that in one way or another “does it for them”.

It could be a service, an app, a course or a combination of these.

Source: @jasonresnick - “How I Built a 1.2 Million Follower Audience in Six Months”
via IdeaEconomy Newsletter - June 8th 22 edition

b) Sell Your Know-How

There is a growing number of expert networks and knowledge brokers
who may be very interested in tapping into your know-how and expertise.
The two most prominent names in this space are: GLG and Guidepoint

c) Use a Digital Selling Platform

To sell PDFs, digital downloads or subscriptions in a fast and  easy way, there’s a new interesting tool with some cool features. It also looks like a good alternative to the market leader Gumroad. It’s called Payhip. Give it a look. 

7) How To Stay Always Ahead of Competitors

a) Contribute

“…there are really two things that lead to happiness:
contribution and abundance.

Contribution means that if you can align your life with where you have the talent to make a large, meaningful, and real contribution to the world, your circle, or your family, then you can be very happy. 

Abundance it's the anti-hater/anti-jealous mindset. If you believe there is plenty in the world for everyone and you are always happy to see people who contribute succeed, then you become part of "team contribution."” 

Source: Sotonye Jack & Ben Horowitz - The Architecture of Tomorrow - An Interview with Ben Horowitz

b) Partner with Temptations

“Temptation bundling is a productivity technique that involves combining an activity that gives you instant gratification, such as watching TV, with one that is beneficial but has a delayed reward, such as exercising.

If you only allow yourself to watch TV while you’re on a treadmill, you may be more likely to exercise regularly than you would otherwise have been.”

Source: Dr. Hannah England - Temptation bundling: how to stop procrastinating by boosting your willpower

c) Study Marketing with Google

In 2020, Google announced their — so-called “degree killer” — Professional Certificate programs. 

• 100% remote learning.

• Each program costs less than $235 to complete.

• There are under 10 hours of study a week.

It takes around 6 months to complete any of these and Google considers them equivalent to a 4-year bachelor’s degree.

There’s one such program called Digital Marketing that allows you to learn: 

• Marketing, 

• e-commerce, 

• display advertising, 

• email marketing, 

• search engine optimization (SEO), 

• customer loyalty, 

• marketing analytics, 

• customer outreach, 

• website structure, 

• customer awareness, 

• search engine marketing (SEM)

The key news: Google also created the $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund. This allows any US business to access these Google's career training programs 100% free right here.

Source: Jano Le Roux - Google’s 4-Year-Degree Alternative Career Programs Are Now Free (For US Businesses)

Breakthrough Tool

Beyond LinkedIN.

Show your expertise online without needing to create a new website.
Enter an online community of working professionals focused on building a personal brand, sharing content, and finding peers to collaborate with: Peerlist  

Key features: 

• Show proof of your work and credentials

• Import LinkedIN resume

• Connect all your major platforms and socials

• Calendly integration

• 100% free version

Try it out now: Peerlist

Sponsor next issue, starting at $49.
Reserve your spot by filling out this form. 

From the Heart

Surround Yourself with Love  

“Love first. 

Surround yourself with people who love you
and who are loved by you.

It is very important to understand that this is primary. 

After that is achieved find those who set higher standards.

Remember Maslow’s hierarchy.
First love, then success.
It won’t work vice versa.” 

Source: Benjamin Hardy - Thrive Global

Follow a path with a heart.

The time is NOW.

From sunny Holbox,
Robin Good

To share and to subscribe:
robingood.substack.com