Add a Spotify Playlist to your Blog

I've noticed a lot of students are writing about music this semester. One of the challenges with music writing in the past has been trying to give the reader an idea of what the music sounds like without actually playing the music.

Today, however, you have other options - some of you have been embedding YouTube videos in your blog posts. That works - but can also be distracting.

Here is one way to just share songs and playlists with your blog readers using Spotify.

You can share songs on Spotify (like this awesome Thelonius Monk tune):




Or you can share entire Spotify playlists (Like this playlist of highly recommended jazz tunage):



How do you do it? Follow these steps:

1. Download and Install Spotify. Create an account (the basic account is free - supported by ads which may interrupt your music listening).
2. Search for music that you like and create a playlist that you want to share.
3. Right click [PC] or control click [Mac] on the name of your playlist and select "Publish" if it is not already checked.
4. Right click [PC] or control click [Mac] on the name of your playlist and select "Copy Embed Code".
5. Go to Blogger and create a new post. Go into "HTML" mode and paste the embed code.
6. Preview your blog post. Look OK? Great - Click "Publish"!

CAVEAT: Your reader must have Spotify installed to listen to your playlist.

Easy, huh?  This works for almost any website or blog platform, not just Blogger.  So what are you waiting for? Go try it on your own blog! And for those about to rock, I salute you! 

SEOMoz - SEO Software Company with Fantastic Inbound Marketing

SEOmoz is an SEO software company that creates immensely popular tools for SEO marketers looking to improve their website's rankings on search engines like Google or Bing. 

Their website contains a wealth of excellent free content on SEO in theory and practice -  and many in the industry use this content even if they are not SEOmoz customers. These resources establish SEOmoz as a "thought leader" in the SEO field and they earn much positive awareness and industry respect as a result.

A good place to start is their free SEO guide for beginners: 

The Beginners Guide to SEO

SEOmoz is a great example of how a strong inbound marketing program can accomplish many things (increase awareness, create positive brand perception, increase sales, etc) if done correctly.

They're also a good follow on Twitter for the latest on SEO and Search marketing (at @SEOmoz).

Setting up Google Analytics to track your Blogger blog

Today I saw a few Tweets by some #unidigadv students who were having trouble with their social media setup.

Trying to finish up my project setup, fun but confusing #unidigadv
— Aaron Willis (@MMA_Marketer) January 29, 2013

#unidigadv Help! Trying to set up google analytics and I have no clue what I am doing.
— Caitlin Hanken (@CaitlinHanken) January 29, 2013

To make life a little easier for you, I just bought an awesome screen recording tool called iShowU, which will allow me to give you a quick tutorial on how to create a Google Analytics account and set it up to start tracking your Blogger blog. 

Hope this helps - I recommend watching in fullscreen mode so you can read the text. Good luck and enjoy!

 

Successful Personal Brands

Your personal brand creates a unique public identity for yourself that communicates who you are, what you're interested in, and why you're passionate about it.  Successful personal brands build a following because they are very clear and articulate about these three points.

Here are a few examples of individuals who have successfully created personal brands:

@briansolis

Brian Solis 

Principal at Altimeter Group and author of The End of Business As Usual. 

@chrisbrogan

Chris Brogan - CEO of a business design company, author, and speaker.

@armano

David Armano

Managing Director of Edelman Chicago and internationally recognized industry thought leader.  

@redheadwriting

Erika Napoletano 

Redhead copywriter who curses like a sailor and writes about writing, business, marketing, and branding. Author of The Power of Unpopular.

@garyvee

Gary Vaynerchuk
Social media expert, speaker, and author of the best selling books Crush it and The Thank You Economy. 

@lauraries 

Laura Ries 

Focusing consultant and author of many books on branding such as The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and more recently, Visual Hammer. 

@sarahaustin

Sarah Austin
Internet personality, tech journalist, Chief Geek for Pop17, and prankster.

There are many more out there - look around and find some that influence you - then share them in the comments to this post.

3 Good Articles About Personal Branding

The biggest decision you will have to make this semester will be made in the next 1-2 weeks: defining what your personal brand is about.  Many students struggle with this.  Some think of too many things they want to write about.  Others can't think of anything - though often they actually have thought of something but need some help defining it and some validation that it okay to want to write about.

Here are a few resources to look at as you begin to think about your personal brand:

Don't forget about your Emotional Appeal
There are many introductory articles about personal branding.  Some are awful.  This one isn't.  I really like how the first step of defining your brand has to do with what the author calls your "emotional appeal."  We often forget that we have a personality that can come through in our writing.  The characteristics that make up that personality are powerful branding tools - because they are so personal and elicit emotional responses.

Make your Brand Statement a mantra
I love this helpful post by former Apple Evangelist Guy Kawasaki on creating a concise three or four word mantra rather than a mission statement.  Mantras are memorable - and that makes them powerful.  

An alternate view
This article by Ryan Rancatore appears to recommend not having a personal brand statement - but read a little deeper.  What he's really saying is that if you have one, you have to really live it. 

Your personal brand does not have to encompass everything you are - just what you want to focus on right now.  Good luck!