Like most geeks, when I look at changes in electronic gadgets, I can be momentarily fascinated by the tech behind them. Once the “Oooo, shiny!” factor wears off, though, I spend time thinking about what they mean for real people. You know… folks who use them to actually Do Stuff.

“How will this change what we do and how we do it?”

You see the push to more powerful and portable devices everywhere. Phones get bigger and computers get smaller. You can now buy a fully functional computer that’s smaller than a standard mouse.

Called “PCs-on-a-stick,” they’re somewhat barebones computers that plug into the HDMI port on a monitor or TV. They’re designed to use local software, remote apps, and cloud storage.

Intel has the Compute Stick ($149 US for Windows, $89 for Linux). Microsoft just announced the Splendo (by iBall), a $140 Windows unit that will be released in India in July. Dell has the Wyse Cloud Connect ($129). Google has the Chromebit, at under $100.

Paired with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, these critters are going to change the way a lot of people think about computers. The current Splendo version runs Windows 8.1, has 2 gigs of ram, and 32 gigs of internal storage. More importantly, it also offers a MicroSD card slot and USB port.

The power in these beasts is increasing dramatically, both in terms of hardware and apps. Combine that with the drop in the price of microSD cards ($25 for a 64 gig Sandisk card at Amazon, and $80 for 128 gigs), and these are no longer just toys for the easily distracted.

They are the future of portable computing, especially for business travellers.

You won’t be using these for heavy gaming or video editing any time real soon, but you can do almost anything else on them that the typical user needs. And the price pretty much guarantees a lot of people will pick one up just to see what they’re all about.

All you really need along with them is a display with an HDMI port and a bluetooth keyboard. You can bet they’ll also work with Roku-style remotes and game controllers soon, if they don’t already.

Know those back-of-the-seat screens you can get to let your kids watch videos while you drive? Add an HDMI port to each and you’ve room for two (or more) computers in the car.

Hotels that offer business service offices? Won’t need those separate areas any more. The rooms will have monitors, or just cables leading to the HDMI ports on the TVs, so you can access them in private. Not a huge change, you might think, but consider not having to carry a laptop when you travel. Your computer will be on your keychain.

Doing presentations? Add a bluetooth remote to the keychain. No need to worry about which OS the display uses.

Consider the educational applications, especially in bulk and using an open source OS. Add in digital versions of the textbooks and required software and issue them on microSD cards. Imagine how much this could save school districts.

Homework can be submitted and graded digitally. Or automatically, in some cases. Forget your homework? Log in to whichever cloud storage account you use, and voila! You’re good to go.

They’d be so cheap there’d be no real incentive to steal them, unlike laptops. The keyboards would cost more than the computers.

Backpacks would be a whole lot lighter, too.

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Unless Microsoft drops the price on their mobile OS, these things will tend toward Android and Linux distributions. That means a whole lot of people using those systems where they used to learn Windows or Mac.

I definitely see these accelerating the move from proprietary operating systems to more open source stuff.

I can also see them adding some phrases to the language that you wouldn’t expect to hear today.

“Honey, have you seen my computer?”

No, this is not about who hangs with the coolest kids on Facebook or has the biggest social media klout. (Seriously? Does anyone believe Klout scores mean anything?)

It’s not even about those late-night drunk texts, although you really should stop that.

Think of it as a minor rant in a major key, and it’s all about digital security. Or, more precisely, the lack thereof.

Doesn’t really exist, folks.

I know. You’ve heard some of this before. Some of it you haven’t, and I don’t want to leave out the newer visitors.

Plus, there’s a really good chance you didn’t do anything about it the first dozen times around.

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I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. The thing that pushed me into writing it is a private message I got yesterday. Seems the dude got himself on one of the Spamhaus blocklists and wanted some help.

Ooops.

So, I called him up. After explaining to him that no, the Spamhaus folks really aren’t horrible people (not the words he used, but this is a family friendly rant), we got to the specifics. His WordPress site was hacked and the creeps sent 100,000+ spams through it.

Well, yeah. They’re supposed to block that. Fix the hack and the block will expire automatically. 3 days without more spam and you should be good to go.

It should be mentioned that nothing online is 100% secure. It’s just not possible. That said, this gentleman is running a fairly large operation that sends millions of legit emails each month, and it was based on an unsecured WordPress installation.

That’s just begging for a spanking.

When this happens to you, don’t panic. Fix the problem, and don’t send mail to your lists until after the block expires. That way you won’t lose a ton of subscribers to the hard bounces it will generate.

In the mean time, secure that puppy. Back up the site, all files and the database. Then install Bulletproof Security or Wordfence. (If you use BPS, make sure the installer is well clued, or you can bork things in an ugly way.) Make sure your choice of plugin doesn’t break your themes or other functionality.

If your operation is larger, consider using Sucuri. It’s a paid service, and it’s a bit easier for the technically challenged. I’m told it’s also lighter on server resources.

And have a system that makes backups of the whole blog on a regular basis. That way, when the digital rats find a way through your security maze, you won’t lose everything.

Yes, it’s a pain. So are locks on your house and car.

You’ve got locks, right?

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Moving on…

If you use Lastpass, you may want to change your master password. Yes, they got hacked.

Again, don’t panic. From what they say, no user accounts or data were compromised. The odds of the hackers getting access to anything based on what they stole are low. The people at Lastpass are just showing an abundance of caution, which we like to see in a security operation.

They could teach the US government a thing or two.

You’ve probably heard that the Office of Personnel Management, overseen by the DHS, was hacked. Somewhere between 4 and 14 million records of government employees and contractors were “exfiltrated.”

That’s spook-speak for “stolen.”

As it turns out, the crooks (believed to be agents of the Chinese government) had valid credentials, so even encryption wouldn’t have kept them out.

What would have stopped them in their tracks is 2-factor authentication of logins. You know… like Facebook and Paypal and even Gmail offer.

The absence of any sort of serious security on those systems allowed a foreign government to pull data on millions of people, many of whom have high security clearances. In fact, some of the most potentially damaging stuff was the huge collection of files involving applications for security ratings.

If you’re familiar with those investigations, you know just how in-depth these things go, and how thoroughly they dig for any and all dirt there may be on you. Including legit stuff that you just don’t want broadcast to world+dog.

In short: If there’s anything that could be used to embarrass or blackmail you, it’s in there.

That makes this potentially the most damaging national security threat ever to come from a cyberattack.

And it could have been prevented by basic measures that you can get on a Gmail account or your personal blog.

Department of Homeland “Security,” indeed.

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The lessons for us…

Don’t assume anyone is handling your data in the way you’d like. Even people whose job is to keep things secure.

If an account is important to you and offers 2-factor authentication, consider using it. It’s not that inconvenient. In most cases for consumers, it just means getting a text message or email confirmation each time you access an account from a new machine or IP address.

If it’s only your data involved, you can make whatever decision you think fits your risk tolerance. If you’re handling sensitive data that belongs to other people, though, take every precaution available to you to protect it.

That’s what you’d want others to do for you, right?

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It’s not just the Bad Guys who pose a threat, either. The US government is pushing hard for social media, cell phone companies, and app providers to leave them “back doors” to gather data. They’re also objecting to the use of strong encryption in consumer products.

Let’s stay away from the whole conspiracy theory thing, and look at the more likely source of problems if they get their way on these issues. It’s really pretty simple.

If there’s a back door, the bad guys will find and exploit it. And if encryption is weak or non-existent, that puts everyone at greater risk.

You don’t need to be paranoid to know that’s a problem.

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Conspiracy theories aren’t always wrong, by the way. A good example is the recent hack of Kaspersky, the security software giant.

Again, it doesn’t appear to pose any threat to their customers, so if you’re using a Kaspersky product you don’t need to panic. The interesting thing here is more who’s behind the hack then what effect it might have on you personally.

It’s a fascinating story. Leaving out the technical bits, it boils down to this: The attack uses code with clear ties to Stuxnet, the malware the US and Israel used to attack Iran’s nuclear program in 2010. Kaspersky calls this version Duqu 2.

The same malware was used to spy on the current discussions with Iran about limiting their nuclear program, and on people involved with the 70th anniversary event celebrating the liberation of Auschwitz.

The analysts at Kaspersky Labs are confident that an attack of this complexity and expense could only be launched and maintained by a nation-state.

Kaspersky does not attribute the malware to any specific country, but the implications of the data that has been released all point to one place: Israel.

That’s hardly a proven assumption, of course. Still, one can see their interest in 2 of those 3 targets. If I were them, I’d certainly want to keep an eye on such things. They’re legitimate national security interests.

You don’t have to like it, but you can’t help but understand it.

What concerns me is a government – any government – doing things that can compromise legitimate players in the digital security industry. That could expose companies and individuals across the world to unnecessary and unpredictable risks.

Including their own citizens.

For the record, I don’t put this kind of thing beyond the will of any country with the necessary resources. Or, for that matter, any number of major transnational companies.

And that’s really the point. There are many entities in the world with the technical capacity and a direct interest in defeating or circumventing security software.

Too many to assume some won’t succeed.

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Another interesting thing about the Kaspersky hack is the way they got in to begin with. It appears that a non-technical employee got a very targeted email that got them to visit a site which dropped malware on their machine. From there, it was relatively easy to spread to the rest of their network.

The lesson is this one is obvious: Be careful about which sites you visit on the web, and what files you open that come in via email.

You’ve heard the last part a lot, I’d bet. Most people don’t know, though, that it’s possible to get your machine compromised just by visiting a web page. Or, in some cases, by visiting a known and legitimate website with a malware-enabled ad.

Yep. Google “malware Yahoo ads” (without the quotes) for the details, if you’re interested in how that works. If you just want the down and dirty, it’s this: Any page that hosts 3rd party ads can potentially be a source of “drive by” malware infections.

That’s pretty much every major site on the net.

Ain’t that just ducky?

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The lesson? Update everything, all the time. If your browser, OS, Java, Flash player, or any other component says there’s a security update, install it.

One special note: If you visit a site and get a notification that you need to update the Flash player, go to Adobe.com and look for the link manually. Don’t do it though a pop-up at a website. That’s a common ruse to get you to install malware under cover of updating legitimate components.

For that matter, don’t ever believe any website pop-up with a security warning.

The very first thing I do every day when I sit down at my computer is a live update of my security software. It’s set to auto-update through the day, but when I start surfing I want to know I’ve got the very latest available.

Nothing is 100%, but you can stack the odds heavily in your favor. Doesn’t take much effort, either.

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In a mildly amusing security breach, the St Louis Cardinals are being investigated by the FBI for allegedly hacking the systems of the Houston Astros.

The scenario: One of the key management staff that helped bring the Cards to their current dominant status went over to the Astros, and has made similarly spectacular moves for them. The Cards supposedly went in to get trade and scouting intelligence, assuming it would give them an edge.

Not an unreasonable assumption on their part. Illegal, yeah. Unsportsmanlike, certainly. If true.

It’s more often the case that the person who leaves will take intelligence with them which can potentially endanger the original firm’s data or systems. When someone leaves, make sure any passwords or security they had access through is changed to lock them out. Even if you trust them, you may not know what they might have leaked unknowingly.

It’s just good practice.

If you hire someone away from a competitor, be sure their passwords don’t come with them. They’re likely to use the same ones as at the old place, because that’s what people do.

When it comes to security in businesses, people are often the weakest link. Disgruntled employees or staff that want to make a few extra bucks can do you as much damage as any hacker.

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The real point here is that you need to develop a security mindset. Never assume anything is secure, and be aware of the risks you may be taking with each action.

This applies to everything. Even the seemingly small stuff.

As an example, I have a friend who used a “swipe” pattern to unlock his cellphone. It was the number 4, which anyone could see every time he unlocked it. He did that about once every 10 minutes, most days.

He broke up with his girlfriend, and she didn’t take the news well. She did take his phone, though. The next day, a whole lot of very nasty comments appeared on his Facebook account, directed at many of his friends.

Guess who?

As you might imagine, that took some ‘splainin’.

I’m not going to tell you to keep your phone locked so your spouse or other family members can’t get at it. That’s a decision you have to make, based on your situation.

Even if you trust someone completely, though, there may be other factors. Like, for example, how careful they’re likely to be about not letting anyone else get that access.

Just be very clear with yourself which decision you’re making, and why.

And don’t go snooping around other people’s phones. If you feel the need to do that, you have bigger problems than data security.

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In the “I would never have imagined” category, consider that somewhere around 600 million Samsung phones can be turned into remote bugging devices because of a vulnerability in their keyboards.

Yep. From the Galaxy S4 to the S6.

Because of the extremely broad permissions a keyboard has to have, this gives an attacker powerful access to almost all the phone’s functions.

They don’t all have problems, mind you, even if they’re vulnerable. They have to be actively hacked, which happens under specific circumstances while the keyboard app is updated.

Samsung has sent the fix to the various service providers, but it’s unknown how many of them have distributed it to their customers.

Gotta love it, eh?

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Want to scare yourself? If you use an Android phone or tablet, go to the Play store and install an app called Dcentral1. (It’s safe.) Do a scan on your device using it, and watch how many apps come up with scores well into the red.

Tap on the ones with scores above 40, and look at the permissions involved. Sometimes, as with a multi-function app like Viber or Skype, those make sense. They’re needed for the app to do what it was advertised to do.

Some won’t make any sense at all. There is no reason for a photo editor to need access to your microphone, for example.

You won’t run into too many of these sorts of permissions abuses through the Apple store. Google Play is another story. And if you start sideloading apps on any platform you’re pretty much on your own.

Developing a security mindset doesn’t mean you need to be paranoid. It does mean, though, that you’re aware of the potential of the devices and systems you use. That smartphone in your pocket is a capable computer, with the ability to be used as a remote camera, an eavesdropping system, a personal location tracker, and much more.

With reasonable precautions, it’s a powerful tool. If you’re careless, it’s a window someone can use to see nearly everything you do and much of what you think.

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Another concern is not mixing your personal and business stuff in the same accounts. That’s way too easy to do with all the proprietary services that come bundled with a phone or tablet.

Separate storage, requiring that you enter the passwords manually each time you access it, if possible. Dropbox allows this. You can use a Dropbox account on your home computer and not even install the app until/unless there’s a real reason to access it through your phone.

Or you can do what I do. Have one Dropbox account for stuff you use on the phone, and another for more important (and secure) long-term backups and project storage. That gives you the best of both worlds.

Losing your phone should not involve compromising your employer’s data, or your customers’ personal information.

That’s a security mindset.

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The security mindset has another component. As far as possible, don’t create data on any network-connected device that you wouldn’t want “out there.”

The most recent example is Google’s revised Photos app. It’s great, as long as you’re aware of the risks. That data, along with anything you store at any other Google service, is available to anyone who manages to get that one single password.

Something like the iTunes hack that ended up revealing all those revealing celebrity photos is just the tip of the iceberg. You probably don’t need to worry about that. But there are other concerns, like who has access to those pics of your kids at school, or snapshots that could reveal info you don’t want strangers to have.

Or the crazy ex who steals your phone.

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By this point, some people are getting paranoid. Others are thinking, “Cool. Some useful stuff I didn’t know.” A few are yawning, because they knew all this already.

The goal isn’t to scare you. It’s to show you that, despite the fact that there is no such thing as guaranteed digital security, you can reduce your risks to a manageable level. It doesn’t have to be expensive or involve a lot of technical knowledge.

Unless you’re a big target, the business risks are largely restricted to random attacks that are easily defeated. WordPress hacking, email attachments, and wi-fi snooping are the big ones there.

Risks from people you know are a different story. Not a problem at all for most folks, and easily deflected by good passwords for most others.

Just be aware, and be careful out there.

Adding THUD to an offer is one way to get more results from your work. Another, and often easier, way is to leverage your content. The main ways to do that are to increase distribution and to repurpose what you’ve written, recorded, or licensed.

There’s some overlap, but we’re going to focus this time around on 7 specific things you can do to repurpose your content. Some will be familiar, and have a few twists you may not have considered. Others will be new to a lot of people.

They all work. Let’s start with the short form…

Twitterize It: If your content contains high-impact quotes or strong section headlines that will fit in around 120 characters, use those as Tweets. Essentially teasers to attract people to the web page where they can read the content.

I say 120 because Twitter seems now to only include part of a URL in measuring the length of a Tweet.

2 examples so far from this article might be:

“Winning the Content Wars: Get maximum leverage from your… [url here]”

That one talks to a somewhat general group, but is specific enough to sort down to content creators. Because it’s targeted to that group, the unfinished second part adds curiosity without being a blind ad.

“7 easy, high-impact ways to leverage your writing [URL here]”

This one is very straight forward. It talks to a clearly defined group (writers) and promises an easy to understand benefit. The specific number makes the “high-impact” part more credible. And everyone loves techniques that are “easy.”

Not very creative stuff, but it works. If you have a flair for quotable lines, that can make this a more productive technique. Use those quotes in your Tweets. If the content they point to is good, you’ll find people retweeting them.

This is an excellent way to practice your subject line writing, too. Tweets that get clicks and retweets should be saved to a “This worked” file. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns that you can emulate in future Tweets and email subjects.

If you use benefit-laden text, they can also show you what your audience is most interested in.

Really productive Tweets can even be used as the basis for the primary text of banner ads.

Exploding Bullets: This is a great trick for developing promotional content that has high value and will generate targeted traffic.

The concept is simple. Take a small but significant point from your product and expand it into an article. Explain some of the nuances you might have left out of the product, or give examples to show how to use the ideas in a practical way.

An example from this article would be the idea of using productive Tweets to design banner ads. You could talk about the standards for measuring it, layouts for the banners, what goes into a popular Tweet, or how to increase the chances of retweets.

That’s at least four possible articles from one short sentence. You can probably find dozens of similar opportunities in a typical product. They will all be attractive to your market, and are likely to generate only very targeted traffic.

For another twist on this, look at your sales letter. Every bullet point in it is a likely prospect for this strategy. Even if you explain the concept fully in the product, a new article, phrased in different ways or from another perspective, can be useful.

There’s an added benefit that should be obvious. All that content serves to expand the product itself in future versions.

Checkpoints, Charlie: Everybody loves checklists. Clear, point by point outlines of what you need to do or have to accomplish something in a practical way.

Almost every bit of content that suggests a course of action could be the basis for a checklist.

There’s a benefit to using checklists as content that doesn’t get discussed a lot. Because they involve specific actions, people picture themselves doing what’s described. If the picture they form involves fun or real results, they’re more likely to view the product the content points to as offering the same.

If visitors arrive at your sales page in a results-focused and action-based mode, they’re much more likely to read the whole thing and do something about it. Like, for example, buy stuff.

That’s always nice.

Map the Minefield: This is one of the most underused content strategies around. It’s especially useful when talking about alternative tools or techniques.

When you talk with people about ways to get something done, tell them the potential problems. Things to avoid, why a strategy can backfire if you do (or don’t do) certain things, what shortcomings various tools have, etc.

You might stay with “Stuff newbies should avoid” or go into more advanced questions. That will depend on your desired audience. Just tell them what could create problems, why, what the consequences would be, and how to avoid them if possible.

The only thing people like more than curing a headache is preventing one. And, if you know the common pitfalls, there’s a really good chance you’re going to stop them from making a mistake they were actively considering.

If they’ve already made that mistake, you’ve done wonders for your credibility with something like this. They know, from personal experience, that you know what you’re talking about.

Not only is this useful, it’s the sort of thing a lot of people tend to leave out of their products. We think that telling people what they should do will isolate them from all the bad ideas. Anyone who’s observed any niche or market for long knows… the new folks all tend to make the same mistakes, have the same bad ideas about what will work, and see the same time-wasting “shortcuts that aren’t.”

The trick to getting mileage from this is to give them the specific advice mentioned above, but to offer them alternatives with a more positive result. Then point them to your product for even more ways to get things done without the hassles.

That’s major marketing mojo.

Be Resource-ful: Similar to checklists, a list of recommended resources, carefully chosen and picked for results, is another very popular type of content.

Combined with the “minefield notice,” these things can go viral, and they’re simple to create. The thing that makes them work best is when they’re complete. That doesn’t mean they list every resource available, of course. Just that they include at least one good resource for every step in the process they’re intended to help with.

Be specific about which step each item is meant for, and why you chose it, and you’ve got something that people will value. You’ve just saved them the time spent looking things up and trying them all out. You’ve helped them avoid mistakes and pointless expense. And you’ve shortened the time to getting results, often by a lot.

Done right, these things are gold.

Tell Me a Story: Stories are powerful. They can teach a lesson without preaching, make complex concepts easy to grasp, and bring home the consequences of actions in ways that have real impact.

You have thousands of stories that could illustrate your ideas in entertaining and thought-provoking ways. Use them.

As an example, here’s a true story I use in my creativity course.

I was sitting in a restaurant one day, working on the outline for this book. The waitress, a freshman at a local college, was complaining about several kids who had ‘pushed by’ her on their way ‘in’ through the ‘out’ door.

“How rude,” she said.

Later, she came back with coffee and asked what I was writing. I told her it was a book on some creativity exercises I had developed. She told me that she didn’t have a creative bone in her body.

I hear that a lot.

I bet her I could prove, right then and there, that she was extremely creative. She laughed and asked me how much I wanted to lose.

I asked her about the people who’d gone rushing past her the wrong way through the door that morning. The conversation went like this:

Me: “Do you know any of them?”

Her: “No. I don’t hang with people like that.”

Me: “Like what?”

Her: “Rude and pushy.”

Me: “Did they bump into you, or say anything on the way by?”

Her: “No, they just laughed.”

Me: “At you?”

Her: “No, they didn’t even notice me!”

Me: “You probably figured out just what they were like, too, didn’t you? Just as soon as they did that.”

Her: “Oh yeah.”

Me: “You know what those kind of people will do, pretty much all the time, don’t you? You probably even know why most of them are like that.”

Her: “OH YEAH! Spoiled little rich kids. They’re all over campus.”

Me: “Did any of that go through your mind as they pushed by?”

Her: “Now that you mention it, it all did.”

Me: “See how creative you are?”

Her: (Confused) “What do you mean?”

Me: “It only took you three seconds, start to finish, to invent three complete human beings!”

That punchline set up the rest of the chapter the story started. It works because we all do what she did. And we’ve all been on the receiving end of that kind of wrong assumption. Most of us never stop to think about just how it happened.

That’s the key to one sort of effective story. If it has that “been there, done that” feel, it works.

Don’t have a story? Invent one.

There’s nothing wrong with fictional stories, as long as you don’t present them as facts to support a sale. It’s all in how you start them out. You could begin with “Imagine you’re at the mall and…” or “Suppose you were talking with someone and the conversation went like this,” or “What if…?”

Describe the fictional scenario as though it really happened. Use active words and create a clear picture. Then finish with something like, “If that happened to you, what would you do, say or think?”

These kinds of stories can add a lot of impact, especially if they’re believable and consistent with common experience.

Here’s an advanced trick for the writers in the crowd: Choose your set-up line based on what point you want to make.

“Imagine” puts the person in an experiential mode. They will see themselves in the setting and feel what they’d feel if it happened to them.

“Suppose” sets the stage for an analytical process.

“What if” leads to more of a choice or reaction frame of mind.

These are what I call “leaners.” They’re not absolutes, and the effect they have is strengthened or lessened by the words that follow. They are good ways to start out, though, and they’re common enough openings that people know what you’re getting at.

More to the point, they make it clear thee aren’t true stories. If they illustrate common problems or situations, the person will relate to them anyway.

A real advantage to invented stories is that you can make them a perfect fit for the point you want to make. That’s not always the case with real life examples. The true ones have more impact, but may not always cover every base.

Here’s a tip for the less experienced writers: Don’t overdo it. You don’t need to be extreme to make your point, unless the real-world consequences would be that extreme.

If you’re trying to explain or teach something, the person reading or hearing your story has to find it believable or you’ve just wasted your time and theirs.

If you’re going to stray outside the real world results, do it by understatement. An intelligent person can fill in the more extreme blanks on their own.

Even the most mundane principles or techniques can be illustrated by stories. And there’s no limit to the imagination, so they can be focused around almost any part of your products.

The “two guys” approach is especially effective for using this as a promotional tool. Start with “Guy one does X, Y, and Z, and fails utterly.” Follow up with “Guy 2 does A, B, and C and gets these amazing results.”

If you think stories are just for fun products, consider: The Wall Street Journal used the “two guys” approach to sell a huge number of subscriptions.

Stories are powerful.

Graphic Violence: Hammer the net with graphics. But make them GOOD graphics.

One example that’s easy is to take a quotable part of your product and turn it into a Facebook graphic. Post it the page your content is on, and then post the link to Facebook. If the quote is shareable by itself, that means more traffic. If the article it links to supports the quote and people feel it says something about them, that increases the odds it will be shared.

If it’s an action-based quote, you may get some traction just by including the URL at the bottom of the image. That’s not as solid a source of visitors, but it may be worth doing just for branding

You can also post these images to a Facebook page and share them on your timeline to drive traffic to the page.

You can post them to Twitter or Pinterest, use them on your blog to set the stage for a post, or add them to sales letters to focus attention and break up the monotony of long swaths of text.

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A really popular format these days is the infographic.

These are huge images. They make their point using statistics and quotes about business models, industry trends, social changes, or pretty much anything else.

People seem to love these. They’re more likely to visit sites mentioned in them than in any other image type. (Or so their promoters claim.) They take a bit more design skill to create, but they can be worth the effort if your topic lends itself to statistical explanation.

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Images that tell a story or promote a point of view can go absolutely nuts on social media.

One that I saw yesterday was a photo of a n elderly woman who had allegedly been beaten by an 18-year old kid who got a reduced sentence despite this. Problem is, that image was a fake. That didn’t stop it from being shared over a quarter of a million times.

Someone took a Photoshopped image, posted it to their Facebook page, and hit the traffic jackpot.

I don’t recommend faking situations, especially like that. It takes “graphic” to an extreme level. The lesson in this one is that tapping into emotional responses is a powerful way to get attention in social media. So, what is there about your product, or the problem it solves, that people feel strongly about? Tap into that. It works.

Get graphic, get traffic.

By the way… If I turned just this section into an article or report, that last line would be a great example of Twitterizing content.

Promo Power-Up: This is a bonus tip that can more than double the results you get from the other ideas here.

Take the leverage points you’ve created using any or all of these ideas and offer them to your affiliates as sales tools.

Let them repost the articles and stories, with their affiliate links in the call to action. Give them the images or Tweets, with instructions on linking properly to get credit for sales. Give them the stories to post on their blogs or Facebook pages.

Put those checklists and resource lists in text, html, and PDF format, and let your affiliates brand them and give them away. Or offer them as subscription bonuses, and make sure your affiliates get credit for what their visitors buy after they sign up.

If the content is good, you’ve just set everyone up for a win.

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The thing to keep in mind here is that most of this doesn’t take much time at all. You may not be good at graphic design, but that’s only one tactic. The rest is just taking what you already know and have written about and framing it in different ways.

This is, in some ways, a marketing extension of the “THUD” principle. Combine these ideas with adding THUD to your offers, and watch what happens.

What would make this blog useful to you? What do you want to learn or stay informed of or do that you aren’t finding the way you want somewhere else?

So, what’s the theme?

I assume you mean the topical theme, rather than the PHP code. The latter is likely to change at a moment’s notice.

“News, reviews, and how-tos.”

Where are all the cool conversion and social linking gimmicks?

On their way. There’s a lot of stuff that will be added, but I’d rather get the thing open and plug in the extras later. If you wait until it’s done, you fall into the whole “It’s not perfect yet” trap.

Well, you might not, but I do.

Why are comments moderated?

I’d rather have 2 thoughtful comments, critiques, or questions than 20 “Me too” or “Billie Joe’s an idiot” posts. On some posts, friendly banter will be more than welcome. On others, it’ll be just business.

I suspect that will evolve over time.

Why so few categories?

I’ll add them as posts are made. Why waste space with empty listings?

Do you accept guest posts?

Eventually, yes. From the right people. If I don’t know you, the odds are good I won’t. To submit a post, go to http://thevirtual.co/support and choose the “Guest post submission” category.

Why now?

Why not?

How do we make suggestions?

If you’re a registered member, you can leave them them as comments in response to this post. Or go to http://thevirtual.co/support and use the “Blog – Comment or Suggestion” category to send them to me.