Keith Davis

From Keith’s Twitter Profile:

“A passionate Public Speaker with a mission to help you overcome your fear of Public Speaking.”

I can’t believe I haven’t done a Frank’s #FollowFriday for Keith yet. It seems like I have known him forever on Twitter and on my blog.

How times flies when you are having fun!

That is a great way to describe Keith’s use of social media – fun. His wit and humor always bring a bit of fun and laughs during the work day. His interactions are something I look forward to when I get the chance to be on Twitter.

Here’s where you can find Keith:

espeaking – His Public Speaking website and blog

WM Web Design – His Web Design site and blog

Facebook Page – For WM Web Design

@easyPblog - Twitter

@wmwebdes – Twitter

Holy Moly Keith – you’re everywhere!

Here are my five reasons why I follow Keith Davis and you should too:

1. He’s from the UK and can teach you how to enjoy tea and biscuits.

Yes, I said cookies one day and got a stern lecture about the fact that they are officially called biscuits. We’ve also had discussions about the benefits of tea over coffee.

2. Did I mention he is fun?

Sometimes I get so tired of the same old push my links, retweet those links yada, yada yada that goes on in my tweetstream. Keith isn’t like that. He interjects himself into the conversation – better yet, he often drives the conversation.

That, my friends, is refreshing.

Keith can banter with the best of them – I like that – I think you will too.

3. Engagement

I talk about engagement on nearly everyone I recommend on #FollowFriday. It means a lot to me and I think it is what makes social media, well, social and not push marketing.

Keith gets this. His desire and ability to create conversations through social media is what drew me to him in the beginning – it is what has kept me in the game with him as well.

4. Keith is creative

His espeaking blog shows his creative writing skills. He only publishes once per month or so – but gets tons of comments. People are drawn to his creativity.

His new web design site (which has an awesome look even if it is built on Genesis and not Headway) is another facet of his creativity.

I am drawn to creative people – I bet you are as well.

5. He is loyal.

Keith is a loyal community member. He has been around this blog and my writing at For Bloggers for some time now. He sticks around, is a part of the community and the conversation.

He’s the type of reader that you really want on your blog.

I’m thankful Keith for your continued presence around these parts!

You Know What To Do:

Go follow Mr. Davis on Twitter. Like his Facebook Page. Subscribe to his blogs and then get your butt back here and give him some love in the comments!

Have a great weekend everyone.

This is a guest post from Jackie Lee

Over the weekend I was lazily watching the Sunday Morning Show, one of those guilty weekend pleasures I guess. It’s usually pretty relaxing stuff, and doesn’t really get me fired up. However, this week they featured an extended interview with Harry Belafonte Jr. I must say, I know his name, but I wasn’t super familiar with him and the things he has held dear throughout his life.

The interview was very interesting, he’s done some amazing things, and stood up for some really incredible causes in his life. I was about to go about my day and not think much of this interview when at the end of the piece he said this:

A patriotic citizen is commanded to raise their voice to the issues they feel are important to the nation.

Wow.

Commanded to raise their voice?

Issues that are important to the nation?

Here’s the actual interview.

hmmm…

It got me thinking. I’m a mom. I’m a blogger. I’m a huge lover of social media.

I believe that we are killing our children with the decisions we’re making about the food and food like substances we put in their mouths.

I have some pretty strong feelings about it as a matter of fact.

However… as I look at my blog, and my facebook page I see a bunch of wishy washy, let’s not offend anyone comments, and content. I can remember times when I’ve gone to “like” some more radical comments and thoughts that I completely agreed with and then thought better of it, with thoughts of … “Hmmm who will see this?” and “What will they think?”

I’ve carefully measured my words, and my outrage in order to maintain the status quo, and to not upset anybody’s apple cart.

But WTF?

Isn’t it the status quo that got us here? Isn’t it the fact that people aren’t willing to stand up and say “quit bottle feeding your 1 year old POP!?!” that got us to this place we are now? Isn’t it because some of us aren’t willing to stand up to the majority and say, “this is some messed up stuff we’re doing to our kids!” that got us to a place where childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years, and the place where more than 1/3 of children and adolescents are obese?

Isn’t it our silence that allows this to continue?

Harry Belafonte seriously smacked me in the head when he said it is my DUTY, in fact, I am COMMANDED to RAISE MY VOICE, as a patriotic citizen, and I am a patriotic citizen, to the issues that are important to our nation.

I wonder… as bloggers, and obsessive social media folks (or is that just me) how can we better use our voices to bring about change in this country?

What could YOU be raising your voice about, that you aren’t because you wonder what others might think?

Let’s talk about it…

Can you use your platform to raise awareness without killing your business? Should you? Do you think as a patriotic citizen you’re commanded to raise your voice on issues? I can’t wait to jump into this conversation with you!

Jackie Lee is a full time work at home mom on a mission to end childhood obesity in her lifetime. She’s helping the busy families of this country juggle family, fitness and food and make better choices one blog post at a time at www.EverydayLifeandBalance.com. You can find resources for your family and join the conversation at her facebook group Family, Fitness and Food.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Corbett Barr

Twitter: @CorbettBarr

Blog #1: CorbettBarr.com

Blog #2: Think Traffic

Blog #3: Expert Enough

Facebook: Corbett Barr

Holy Hopping Hounds Batman – I love me some Corbett Barr! The guy is prolific – producing many things in the blogging/entrepreneurship communities.

Corbett is an independent writer, entrepreneur and founder of Insanely Useful Media. He has been in my tweetstream for a while now thanks to an introduction from my friend Jackie Lee. It has been a pleasure watching Corbett develop his stuff and expand his online empire.

I’m proud to have Corbett as a part of the Frank’s #FollowFriday series.

Here are my 5 reasons you should be following Corbett Barr:

1. His personality

I strongly dislike arrogant assholes. Corbett isn’t one. Through his writing and especially his videos you get a sense of his caring, passionate, kind and humorous personality. he doesn’t take himself too serious – but you get a sense that he really knows and cares about the message he is delivering.

Social Media needs more Corbett Barr’s.

2. His writing style.

It is just straightforward and out there. Corbett doesn’t talk over or under you. He says what he means and means what he says.

Here’s a great example: Rewrite The Rules

 3. He is transparent with his projects.

I’ve seen this a couple of times now with projects started by Mr. Barr. He tells you what he is wanting to do with a project – and then he tells you how it’s going along the way.

Doesn’t that just strike you as very cool? In a blogosphere full of hucksters and hype - transparency is very nice!

Here’s an example: Million Dollar Blog Project Update 

4. Did I mention that he is prolific?

Good lord, he is everywhere, doing everything it seems. The cool thing is, he does them all well.

I am particularly impressed with the Expert Enough project. It really is “just enough to be dangerous”.

5. He likes cool hats.

I like cool hats – he likes cool hats – all is right with following Corbett Barr

Your Turn:

Follow Him now and then come on back and leave him some comment love!

This post first appeared on For Bloggers By Bloggers. I wanted you guys to have a whack at it as well. 

I have been blogging now for a few years and I love every second of it. Okay, I lied – I hate when I can’t get my writing mojo in gear and come up with a good post. Other than that, I love every second of it.

As I was thinking about this post, I began to reflect over the large handful of blogs I read on a consistent basis. I thought about what I consider a “successful” blogger and the traits he or she possess.

People like Joey Strawn, Christopher S. Penn, Fabeku Fatunmise and Johnny B. Truant. Wonderful female writers like Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, Amber Naslund and Gini Deitrich.

Each of these bloggers have found a rhythm, a style and a set of characteristics that set them up as a success in their field.

If I painted a portrait of that rhythm and style here’s what it would look like:

1. The foundational color for the painting would be the fact that the writer/blogger has located her muse.

She is in touch with the source of her inspiration. She is able to tap into that inspiration and sustain it as she performs her art – the act of writing and connecting with her reader.

2. The beginning strokes of the portrait would come from the truth that the blogger writes out of necessity not obligation.

This “blogging thing” is something that bubbles up from a deep desire to communicate, to instruct, to help. Putting down ideas and thoughts is second nature. It’s about need not negative obligation.

3. The portrait takes it’s shape because the successful blogger is able to write with a full and resounding voice.

The movement of idea to blog post may start in the bloggers mind, but it runs thoroughly through his/her heart and finds it’s expression with a voice that is strong and penetrating. The successful blogger wants you to hear his conviction in his writing. This conviction keeps the reader coming back again and again.

4. The final touches of this portrait come alive because the successful blogger is more interested in building an interactive community than a simple readership.

Readers build your blog. A community keeps it going day after day. Readers become fans; fans become a devoted community. The successful blogger understands this and seeks to foster community through all means possible.

What do you think? What am I missing in the portrait? Share your thoughts, feelings, comments below.

photo: qthomasbower

Joey Strawn

He’s back, and my man Joey Strawn is better than ever!

I’ve had the privilege of calling Joey a friend for a few years now. We kind of came up together in this blogging game. He was one of the first to guest post here on the blog. He was the first person I ever did a podcast with and we were invited together to write at For Bloggers By Bloggers.

So…I like Joey Strawn.

Here are my 5 reasons why you should #FollowFriday Joey Strawn:

1. He writers like he’s got the tiger by the tail.

On a myriad of topics, but with penetrating insight into each. Joey is one smart dude and he takes his writing very serious. The is value packed into each of his posts over at JoeyStrawn.com.

2. He knows Social Media.

He’s more than just a student of the game. He turns that knowledge into powerful coaching – leading you step by step. Check out his “Social Media” tab and discover the riches of his mind.

3. He is Mr. Creative.

From Fun Friday’s, Gamification, Poetry, UnReviews and his Growtoons, Mr. Strawn knows how to work out of both sides of his brain – and we are the lucky recipients.

4. Engagement, Engagement, Engagement.

Here’s that word that often comes up with people from my Frank’s #FollowFriday’s - engagement. Joey knows how to engage on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outposts. He doesn’t slam his stuff. He knows how to build a relationship for the relationship’s sake. He adds value to the conversation. He just gets this socail media game.

5. He is a GOLDMINE of music suggestions.

You know I like my music. Don’t tell Joey, but I steal of tons of his ideas for new stuff to run through my iTunes. If you love music – you’ll love Joey Strawn!

Your Turn:

Follow him 

Subscribe to him

And then come on back and give him some love in the comments!

Have an amazing weekend my friends!

This is a guest post by Kaarina Dillabough

Once upon a time……the end.

These are the bookends of many a story, but it’s what happens in between that either captivates the reader, soothes them into slumber or turns them off as they tune out.

When I say “hot air balloon”, what pops into your mind?

Did you see this?

hot air balloon

Or did you see this?

We think in pictures, not words, and that is why storytelling is such a powerful and effective way of getting a message across.

Most bloggers LOVE the art of storytelling, and are adept at weaving a tapestry of words that paints a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. A good story engages and captivates, and in business, can get far more “buy in” than the corporate mission statement in a frame on the wall.

Noel Tichy says “Leaders create stories about the future of their organizations” and in doing so, create relevance, meaning and buy in for their employees. And most importantly, they spell out the WIIFM…the “what’s in it for me?” for the employee, so the future isn’t some abstract image, but something they can actually picture themselves being a part of.

Think of all the stories we can tell, and the impact they can make! For example:

Inspirational story – The one that captures your heart and takes you on a ride, like this one: The Last Cab Ride

Motivational story – Full of power, presence and possibility, like the story of Derek Redmond, Olympic medal favorite in the 400m sprint in Barcelona, whose devastating race injury told a much bigger story…one that brings tears of both pain and beauty to my eyes. Please take a moment to watch the video. You won’t regret it.

Success story – The “rags to riches” type of story, like that of Chris Gardner or one that celebrates the success-type story we can all relate to…the story of someone who overcame shyness and introversion to start their own blog , the person who has a Mission to fulfill, the person who simply loves to write.

Your story - Whether your own personal story, or the story of your organization – its culture, look and feel – people resonate with people…not buildings, Mission statements, graphs, charts or piles of paper. People resonate with, work with, communicate with and do business with people.

Are you telling a story? Start today. Once upon a time…

Kaarina is a business/life coach living in Ontario, Canada. For over 25 years her high-voltage energy, expertise and experience has inspired those she has worked with to reach beyond their grasp, to attain great things in business and in life. A former Olympic sports colour commentator and coach, Kaarina parlayed her coaching skills from the gym floor to the boardroom, working with business owners to improve their profitability and prosperity. Check out her Blog or follow her on Facebook or Twitter. Email contact: kaarina (at) kaarinadillabough (dot) com

Srini is a surfer. I can’t surf, but I still like Srini.

I met Srinivas Rao sometime back on Twitter and more specifically when he asked me to review his Relationship Marketing ebook.  The book is filled with practical and powerful insights and tips on how to go about this Social Media game.

Srini values relationships built over time as a model for marketing – so we have lots in common. He is, in my opinion, a master at creating conversations with his followers so I’m proud to feature him on Frank’s  #FollowFriday today.

Off of Twitter, Srini can be found at two powerhouse blogs:

The Skool of Life – Where his tagline is “Riding the Waves of Personal Development”

BlogcastFM – which “is all about proven strategies to grow your blog through one-on-one interviews with the best and brightest minds in the blogosphere.”

Through talking about our personal development needs as bloggers and then connecting us with other bloggers and their story, Srini has carved out a niche that provides great value to his followers, friends and loyal fans.

Did I mention that I had the pleasure of meeting him at the recent Blog World Expo in LA? I wish I had a picture – he was wearing a White Castle tee shirt!

Here are my 5 reasons you need to #FollowFriday Srini Rao – @skooloflife

1. He writes an amazing personal development blog and I love good personal development blogs.

2. His tweetstream is information packed AND fun. I like fun – don’t you?

3. He is a podcaster and I’m still learning how to do this whole podcast thing.

4. Engagement, engagement, engagement – Srini gets it and gets it well.

5.He puts us in front of some of the best minds in the blogging community.

Srinivas Rao is a smart, approachable and believable blogger, podcaster and marketer – we can learn a ton of good stuff from this guy!

Your Turn:

Go follow @skooloflife, subscribe to his personal development and podcasting blogs – and then come on back and give Srini some comment love!

Have a great weekend folks!

It did.

I remember getting unsubscribe notices just because of the title. While I never set out to offend anyone, I do talk a lot about authentic voice and this was Lisa’s voice.

I’m revisting the post today because I think a lot of us struggle with many of the things Lisa talks about in the post.

Consider what she has to say. Voice your thoughts in the comments – create the conversation…

Here ya go:

This is a Guest post by Lisa Miles Brady (first appeared here on July 30, 2010)

I spent almost the entire month of June feeling like I could vomit.

(What a way to introduce yourself, huh?)

Why?

Oh, I wish I could tell you it was because I had some mysterious illness.

Or that maybe I was expecting another child.

But no.

It’s not anything exotic.

I spent the entire month carrying a barf bag because people I didn’t know, were actually reading my blog!
(I know…the horror!)

Are you serious, Lisa?

Yep.

Totally.

My blog was entered into the 2010 Best Coaching Blogs contest and I was getting traffic from not only my peers, but people I didn’t know.

Now a thinking person would say, “Well, wasn’t that the point, Lisa?”

Well… yes…and… no.

I wanted new readers. But I was afraid of what would happen when they showed up.

(I want to vomit now just thinking about that!)

Tired of the nausea, I reached out to EPW, the LYT maven, and asked her when the feeling would go away.

Her response: “When you get past feeling the urge to vomit, then you have to go get more stuff that scares the crap out of you. But, you get used to it.  ”

I thought: Are you freakin’ kidding me? Are you telling me that living my truth will always freak me out.

Yep.

Eventually, I did settle into it.

I wrote a couple of controversial posts about race.

And lived to tell about it.

A person I have long admired tweeted about my post and told me he was becoming a fan.

Once I came off the ledge, we actually had a conversation and he gave me some business counsel. I was feeling really good.

And then it happened.

Frank asked me to guest post.

You ever notice that when you finally find your groove, something changes?

The relationship moves to another level.

The client you’ve been dying to land asks you for something you’ve never delivered before.

You reach a new level of income in your business—one you weren’t sure you’d ever see.

Without fail, the Universe kicks in and gives you another FGO. (Fucking growth opportunity)

Damn.

When the fuck will this get easier?

News flash: It won’t.

Even after years of personal development work.

Even though you may have a library full of the best self-help books around.

Even though you’ve been through hell and back.

Even though you’ve been blogging for (fill in the blank) years now and writing almost all your life.

Even though your “unknown” blog was recently named one of the top ten best coaching blogs of 2010.

You’ll still be scared.

Why?

Because as long as you are committed to living full out, following your path, doing what you came to do, it will be scary.

What’s the moral of the story?

Stop trying to squash the fear. Don’t push through. Don’t ignore it.

Try this instead.

Make friends with your fear. Yup. Friends. Invite it for dinner, a beer, or to shoot some hoops. Talk to your fear like it’s a real person. (My fear and I have coffee a couple of times a week.) Treat it with respect. Invite it to the party and onto the dance floor.

Because, darling, if you’re living your brilliance, it’s here to stay.

Your Turn:

What about this whole idea of “make friends with your fear”? Does it ever get easier for you? If you read the post when it first came out – what has changed for you? What do you do on a daily basis to “live your brilliance”?

Let’s chat below…

artwork: miki

Pace Smith

I first came upon Pace and Kyeli when the the Connection Revolution was called the Freak Revolution. You guessed it, my freakiness was drawn right to these two ladies!

As Pace said at the recent Blog World Expo in Los Angeles – “It’s always been about the connections, no matter what we have called our work.”

That, my friends, these two wonderful people have made it to Frank’s #FollowFriday this week – connections.

Their tagline says:  ”Connect with yourself, Connect with others, Connect with Spirit. Change the world”

Kyeli

It describes exactly what Pace and Kyeli do both on and off Twitter. They have this prersence about them that naturally draws people to them in a beautiful way. I have been a stalker…errr lurker of their work an it has been so cool to sit back and watch as they have navigated their way throuigh the interwebs.

Read – no, devour their Connection Manifesto if you care about connecting to others and changing the world in the midst of and through those connections. It is blatantly obvious how writing this was a labor of love.

Here are my 5 reasons you should #FollowFriday Pace and Kyeli

1. They are cool – major cool ladies and the Social Media space needs lots of cool ladies

Take a minute and read their Twitter profiles (click their names above) and read throughh their tweetstream. You will find compassionate, caring and connecting tweets are wrapped up in cool.

2. Their Blog – Connection Revolution

I don’t know about you, but I’m always searching for blogs that have wicked smart writing packaged in an appealing, engaging setting. Connection Revolution nails it!

3. Their Products

With  titles like:

52 Weeks to Awesome

World Changing Writing Workshop

and The Usual Error: Why WE Don’t Understand Each Other and 34 Ways to Make it Better

it’s obvious these are “How To” books – and Frankie likes him some practical, solution-based resources.

4. I Met Them Face to Face!

and can vouch for the fact that you will LOVE them.

If not – well, fire me

5. They Have a “What can I Do?” page on Their Blog

I’ve never seen anything like it and think it is a cool way to engage a community. Connections baby!

Your Turn:

Go follow them, subscribe to their blog and come on back and give them some love in the comments!

1. LiveFyre real-time conversation platform that I use for your comments.

2. Headway for WordPress Drag and Drop Theme.

While I could spend hours talking about my love for LiveFyre, this post is about Headway Themes.

As a blogger I have learned that it is better to have and use the best than to spend time fiddling with inferior products.

In my opinion, Headway is the best premium theme on the market today – hands down, no questions asked.

Why Is Headway The Best?

1. Simple – It’s built for folks like you and me -> non-coders.

You don’t have to know CSS or HTML or anything resembling code to design a beautiful blog with Headway. For you coding folks out there,  the answer is yes, you can use both of those things with the theme.

Headway is built on the idea of drag and drop. If you can use a mouse, you can layout a great design.

Based on the example of so many other premium themes out there, I know this whole drag and drop, non coding, ease of use thing sounds to good to be true. It boggled my mind when I first started using it shortly after it came out in 2009.

But it’s true. Here’s a short video to show you what I mean:

Headway 2.0 Intro Video from Headway Themes on Vimeo.

2. This baby is not only user friendly, but powerful.

It is one of the best SEO optimized themes I have ever used straight out of the box. Google loves themes like Headway that make it easy to discover quality content. My rankings went up directly after installing Headway as my theme for this blog.

Get Ready, Here Comes Headway 3.0

While the present incarnation of Headway (2.0.13) is all the things I have talked about – all signs point to the fact that version 3.0 will be a game changer for the premium theme market.

Headway 3.0 will allow even greater design control and flexibility with a revolutionary notion called the Blocks System.

Here’s a teaser video about the new system:

Headway 3.0 Preview from Headway Themes on Vimeo.

With this new layout system and the addition of Child Themes, Headway 3.0 is going to rock the theme world.

So Why Buy Headway Themes Today?

As the video says, with the release of Headway 3.0,  everything changes – including the price, updates and a renewal fee.

Here’s a affiliate email I just received from Grant Griffiths,  Headway Co-Founder:

Just in case you did not hear, the official release date for Headway 3.0 is November 25th. Yes, that is the day after Thanksgiving here.

With the release of Headway 3.0, upgrading to a developer license (if you don’t already have one), will cost more.  Plus, those who do not already own Headway will pay an annual renewal fee.  This does not apply to those who already own Headway at the time 3.0 is released.  They will always get free upgrades and support.

What this means for you as a Headway Themes affiliate is a chance to generate some sales between now and the 25th.

Since our prices are going up and since we are moving to an annual renewal fee, NOW is a great time to buy Headway Themes.  If your customers buy now, they get Headway at its current price. Plus, and this is the best part, they get free upgrades and support.

If they wait until Headway 3.0 is release, they pay more and will pay an annual renewal fee for updates and support.

Let me reiterate:

If you purchase Headway after November 25th you will:

• pay more
• and have an annual renewal fee

the good news – “This does not apply to those who already own Headway at the time 3.0 is released.  They will always get free upgrades and support.”

If you want Headway – now is the time – November 25th is fast approaching. Get Headway 2.0 now. You will get the free upgrade to 3.0 on the 25th and will not have to pay the annual renewal fee. Free upgrades and support are yours for the keeping.

Let me sweeten the deal for you…

While at Blog World Expo last week, I tracked Grant down on the exhibit floor. I told him I would be writing this post because I wanted you guys to have access to Headway for the best price.

Being Grant (one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet) – he gave me a discount code for you guys.

Buy now and you get Headway for 30% percent off the regular prices of $87 personal license or $164 for a Developer license.

That’s $60.90 or $114.80

Wow!

I can’t recommend this theme strongly enough. It has made my blogging life so much easier in so many ways. You guys deserve the best – Headway is the best. Period.

Here is my Headway Affiliate Link. When you checkout use the discount code -> Headway30 <- to get 30% off your purchase.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please leave them in the comment section. If I don’t know the answer straight away – I will get it answered.