By Gini Dietrich
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We thought it’d be fun to do today’s #FollowFriday a little bit differently.
I asked my team to submit the one thing they love that helps them do their jobs and, in return, will help you do yours.
I have to admit, I’m disappointed no one said me. Come on, people! Where is the butt kissing? Andy Crestodina. As if.
Without further ado, I give you our Valentine’s Day loves.
Laura Petrolino (aka #petropower)
I have a ‘car blog’ folder, which consists of emails of blog inspiration I send myself while at stoplights. These emails would make zero sense to anyone else (like one I sent myself yesterday “authentic chinese american chinese ick” or last week “grain dude’s good relationships”), but this scribble is what forms the foundation of nearly all of my blog posts.
Where do these bursts of inspiration come from?
NPR.
NPR is all about stories, and it makes me think, and step out of my “Laura World” for long enough to be able to see a bit broader.
While I like many of the programs my most ‘stoplight email worthy’ are Story Corp, Radio Lab, On Being, and maybe a bit surprisingly, Science Friday.
Jason Konopinski (aka JSki)
When I sit back and try to tick off a list of all the tools I use in a day, it’s pretty telling just how many of them are cloud-based software platforms. A good chunk of my days are spent rooting around in the hinterlands of keyword research and analysis, surrounded by spreadsheets.
You thought I was going to tell you I love Numbers, didn’t you? I do love Numbers, but it doesn’t capture my heart the way WordTracker does.
WordTracker is an incredibly robust keyword research tool. It gives me a whole slew of related keywords and phrases being searched in near real-time for any query I type in, and I can find unexplored (or underexplored) keyword categories for our clients.
The interface is so elegant, too. Content creation and site optimization all starts with keyword research — and this tool has my love.
Clay Morgan (aka Clive the Gruff)
One of the sites I love and visit regularly is The Nieman Journalism Lab. While it is heavily focused on journalism, they discuss what is working and what isn’t in news-based digital content (and traditional).
The thing is these articles and studies have direct ties to content marketing, branded journalism, audience, reach, and distribution.
I also like that they have a good combination of interview-based pieces, and data and research-driven pieces.
Lindsay Bell (aka Ellbee)
It’s Valentine’s Day – and I can’t think of a more appropriate day to finally come clean about something.
I have a major brain crush on Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media Studios.
I mean, come on – the guy can make data and analytics A) understandable (no mean feat where I’m concerned) and B) hilarious – Andy has wit, charm, and charisma up the wazoo, and his webinars and talks are often laugh out loud funny.
That’s why I follow their blog – The Orbiter.
Along with Andy, you get insights from the entire team of Orbiteers, and guest bloggers, too!
Every, single day there is a crazy smart post covering everything from website engineering to the latest tips and tricks on social media, blogging, email marketing, internal management, SEO, and analytics – the list simply goes on and on.
This is quality content every PR professional should read. I guarantee you will walk away having learned something new, knowledge you can apply to your own corporate initiatives, or those of your clients.
Jess Ostroff (aka Magician)
Producteev is a task management application that lets me create tasks under projects, assign dates, times, and make them recurring if needed.
The first thing I do in the morning is go through all my emails and make tasks in Producteev under their respective projects.
Then, as the day goes on, I don’t have to think about what I need to do, I just look at my list and cross things off.
This is particularly helpful for busy PR pros who have a list of pitches to complete, follow ups to send, or even social media accounts to check on.
When our brains are moving a mile a minute, eliminating any moment of “what should I do now?” is extremely helpful! Plus, crossing off items as you do them is a small satisfaction that lifts your spirits throughout the day.
Yours Truly (aka Shallow Figurehead)
Because I just finished writing Spin Sucks and submitted the marketing plan (more to come as early as next week!), I’m completely absorbed in all things books.
Scrivener was my lifesaver in the writing of this book and, I suspect, it’d be an even better tool if you’re writing fiction.
It allows you to write the book in the same format that it will be published.
Which means you have a table of contents, chapters, an even an index. It’s highly searchable and is easy to add images and play around with how things will appear.
If you’re doing any long-form content – an eBook, a series of blog posts, a full-on book (business or fiction) – I highly recommend you take the two week trial and see if you like it.
#FollowFriday Valentine’s Day!
Now it’s your turn.
What’s the one thing you love that helps you do your job?
And…Happy Valentine’s Day!