I’ve been working on something for awhile now – building a course on how YOU can leverage social media, online media and online marketing. Today I want to share a few details about it, and talk about how we learn, and how what we know affects what we accomplish.
Most of us learn how to leverage the web by doing. We read one article and blog post at a time, take tentative steps onto services like Twitter, and try to replicate what we see works for others. Pretty soon, we each have our own secret sauce – a mixture of our personal comfort level, and customized online strategy.
But does it lead you to your goals? Is it working as well as you would like? For many people, I find that they are doing interesting things in social media, but are failing to find a workable system that is manageable, enjoyable and leads to the personal and career growth they were hoping.
This is the reason I am creating a class for teaching social media to writers and authors. Here is why I think a structured curriculum is important:
You Need Goals
The one thing missing from most people’s online strategy is goals. They know they want to grow in some way, they have a vague feeling of what success will entail, but they rarely define it with hard numbers and accomplishments. This is the first critical step. If you don’t know where you are going, then it is all the more likely that you will get there.You Need a Plan
A curriculum is a plan, a committment. It takes you step by step through a process, and always leaves you with two things: accomplishments and a next step. It is a process for growing.You Need to Get Your Hands Dirty
Its not enough to debate the value of certain aspects of social media, you need to get your hands dirty. For instance, I see far too many people debate the value of paid content or paywalls online, without ever trying themselves. They are debating theory – what-ifs in a universe that needs practical insight and experience.You Need to Measure
Too often, we pursue a certain tactic or strategy, and validate it by blindly following it forever. That, instead of being honest about if it really works, we are too afraid to feel stupid by discovering that (while it was a good idea), it didn’t have the intended result. Measuring what works and what doesn’t is critical for true success, not just perceived expertise.You Need to Iterate
You hear phrases such as “fail often,” and what they are referring to is iteration – the need to change, to evolve ideas and move towards finding the results you are looking for. Iteration is a process, something that doesn’t often come naturally. It is essential for learning, for growing, for building, for achieving your goals.You Need Help
This does not refer just to a teacher-student relationship, but to the comradery and resources that other classmates give you. You can learn so much from others who are a part of the same program, pursuing similar goals, and following the same strategy as you . Likewise, alumni are incredible resources for years to come – those who can continue to help each other as they grow and become successful. Why is a Harvard education so valuable? Part of the reason is the ability to tap into it’s network of successful people.
I learn so much just by reading Tweets everyday. But this learning is disaggregated – found in stolen moments and dozens of Bit.ly links each day. And my concern is that this leads to a great deal of input, without much output. EG: Am I building my future with all of the things I learn?
So that is the background as to why I am building this course. And… here are some details on the course itself:
- This is a 6 week long ONLINE class. You don’t have to leave your house!
- It starts off with a 1-on-1 chat where I can assess your personal challenges and goals.
- It includes weekly live webinars taking you through a structured curriculum. Here I share advice as to how to build, manage, and grow your online presence.
- There are hands-on assignments which means you walk away from the course already well on your way to achieving your goals.
- Each week, I help you tackle specific issues and questions via email office hours.
- You will be able to learn from other writers going through this course with you.
Are you interested? Do you think you may want to apply to be a part of this program? Yay!
I’ll be sharing more information very soon.
Thank you!
-Dan