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Favorite first lines from books

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

You may know that I’m a lifelong bachelor, so it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that I’ve got a special appreciation for good opening lines. And I’m not just talking about pick-up lines with the ladies.

Cool Ideas book michael angelo caruso blogBooks are one of my passions, too.  I write them and read them.  Soon, I’ll be launching the second edition of my 5 Cool Ideas book.

I love to read books, too.  Yep.  Again this year, I will consume about 30 books and post the reading list on my website.

Recently, I was reading about famous first lines from books and wanted to share my favorites.  Here you go!


Favorite opening lines

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  – Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.   – Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield

“It was a pleasure to burn.”  – Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” – Charles Dickens’  A Tale of Two Cities

“Good is the enemy of great.”  – Jim Collins’ Good to Great

“Who is John Galt?”  -Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

Do you have a favorite opening line from a book?

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I blog on Monday, am asked to do a radio interview on Tuesday

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Michael Angelo Caruso uses blog to get interviewsMany people complain that they don’t get any juice from their blogging activity.

The problem is usually related to one of two issues.

1) Not enough people are seeing the blog.
2) The blog topic isn’t interesting enough.

By “interesting,” I mean relevant and by “relevant,” I mean something that is in the news. Extra points, if the blog topic is related to what you’re marketing.

Never forget that the Internet works on keywords, so your blog has a better chance of being read if it contains the most popular keywords of that particular day. A good place to get your daily keywords is from news sites, such as www.CNN.com.

Here’s how this formula worked to a tee for me this week.

Peter Falk, TV’s Lt. Columbo, died late last week. I posted a blog about how Columbo’s famous “just one more thing” line became an effective selling tactic and pushed it out to my social media platforms.

Radio show morning host, Michael Patrick Shiels, a connection in my vast social media network, read the blog and had his producer contact me for an interview.

(By the way, another author/speaker in my city also had the idea to post about Columbo, but he incorrectly spelled the name “Colombo,” which no doubt reduced his number of original views.  Spelling counts, people.)

You can hear the interview tomorrow morning, Tuesday, June 28 at 6:45 AM ET at MichiganTalkNetwork.com.

Of course, once the interview was booked, I reposted the same topic along with the new development to squeeze extra juice out of the topic.  I might even create an “epilogue post” after the interview is completed.

Good luck with blogging and all your marketing efforts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone can blog.  Listen to Michael Angelo Caruso interview with Paula Parisot, a soccer mom and paid blogger.  The 60-minute audio CD is titled, Blogging for Profit.

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Posted in Blogging, Career development, Communication, Creativity, Entertainment, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Selling, Social Media, Success, Weblogs, Writing and Publishing | No Comments »

Social media tips galore

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Michael Angelo Caruso social media tipsThere are two types of people using social media.

The first type likes to mosey through a do-it-yourself program.  It’s a comfortable pace and they have a lot of fun.

The second type is always thirsty for ways to get practical tips that save time and produce revenue.  This group also has a lot of fun, but they also find ways to build brands and make money.

The latter group likes to “Facebook with purpose” and these are the folks who tend to seek me out for help.

Here’s a partial list of what I teach in my social media sessions, which will help you improve your business almost immediately.  This program includes dozens of proven strategies for securing a stronger Internet presence using Facebook (FB), Linkedin (LI), Twitter (TW), and YouTube (YT).

This is non-technical content:


Facebook is the New White Pages

- Learn how social media will help your biz when you use it as a system
- Appreciate how FB, LI and TW are alike and different
- Grow your friend list without getting slapped by the “Facebook police”
- Use Michael’s “3K Klub” trick to get FB friends to help you sell
- Protect your name online; learn valuable image marketing tips
- Discover the single best way to engage Facebook friends
- Add 100 additional connections in a flash
- Arrange for your FB posts to go to Twitter at the same time
- Use the “Notes” tab to provide more content
- Get Michael’s proven strategies for micro-blogging
- Improve dialog 0n FB, so you’re getting more biz and less small talk


Linkedin is the New Yellow Pages

- Get the most from cyber-introductions
- Learn LI’s best (hidden) feature
- Build a highly qualified list of prospects on Linkedin within 30 days
- Get a secret way to direct message groups of Linkedin contacts
- Arrange five more key Recommendations on Linkedin
- Learn clever ways to re-purpose those testimonials
- Leverage the power of LI groups
- Use LI polls to test-market ideas
- Market targeted messages to Linkedin sub-lists
- Why you should post .pdfs, even though Google can’t read’em
- Use Linkedin to push your competition off the first page  search results


Twitter, Video Marketing and How They Work Together

- Use Twitter as early warning system for customer service issues
- Connect your social media platforms
- Harness the awesome power of video marketing
- Learn why Twitter is more important than FB and LI combined
- Establish a Twitter presence by making 100 your firs day
- Improve your Twitter page background and readability
- Integrate your social media marketing with your regular distribution list
- Schedule your Tweets to occur 24×7
- Learn Video production secrets to save you tons of time and money
- Keep YT from recommending your competition in “related” vids
- Use video marketing to get happy customers to sell for you


Let’s talk!

Your first consultation is free! Just give my office a call at 248-224-9667.  Let’s get the word out.

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Posted in Blogging, Career development, Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Leadership, Marketing, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Social Media, Success, Training, Writing and Publishing | No Comments »

The second most important web site for your business

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Internet marketers and business owners always ask me where they should be putting their marketing efforts.  Of course, your company Web site is a critical place for you to spend time and money.

But what’s the second most important Web site for your business?  I’ll give you a hint.

It’s not Linkedin.  And it’s not your Linkedin business page, although you should have one.

It’s not your Facebook page.  And it’s not your Facebook business page.  You should have one of those, too.

The second most important Web site for your business is not YouTube.

It’s not even Google.

These are all valuable sites for marketing your products and services, but the one site that should be a part of every online business in 2009 is …

Twitter.

Here’s why in one sentence–Google crawls individual Tweets.  

You can post Facebook status updates all day and night, but Google will not see them.  The same is true for your Linkedin status updates.

But, Google indexes your individual messages on Twitter and makes them available to people doing Web searches forever.  Of course, you’ll be putting key words in your Tweets, but imagine what will happen when you’re putting your Web site address (or an abbreviated version of it) in 80% of your Tweets.

This is probably hard to imagine because Facebook and Linkedin don’t work like this.  Twitter is more powerful than Facebook and Linkedin combined!

That’s why, if you aren’t using Twitter, you are missing out on the greatest opportunity for building relationships with your customers and prospects.  You are missing out on the best free branding tool on the web.

And you are missing out on huge amounts of free traffic and increased sales!

There’s just no excuse for any business, large or small, to not be using Twitter, which has improved my reach immensely.  I’m on Twitter at @MichaelACaruso

Learn more about using Twitter and other social media platforms from my four CD program–a home or work study course titled, Social Media for Work.  For a limited time, I am including a free 30-page, social media e-book with all orders, so click today!

Best of luck on all your marketing efforts.  I you want training or other types of help, let me know.  Let’s get the word out!

-Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Social Media, Success, Training, Writing and Publishing | No Comments »

Happy Father’s Day…on Monday

Saturday, June 18th, 2011
Michael Angelo Caruso and Dad featured in Dear Michael Angelo audio CDs

Dad and me in 1994

Even if you spend quality time with dad this Sunday, Monday will actually be Father’s Day.

Sunday will be filled with Father’s Day traditions, such as a good meal, fun activities, good stories, inside jokes about family members, and maybe a little family drama.

After all, drama is a family tradition, too, right?

But, Monday is Father’s Day, too, because that’s when many of us come to understand how important dad is. 


You’ll think more about dad the day after

On Monday, about 24 hours after Father’s Day, great numbers of people will (again) admit that they love dear old dad more each year and never want to say “goodbye” to him.

On Monday, many of us will realize that dad’s health is failing a bit more quickly than they realized and that time is short.

And on Monday, many folks will realize that they are not open-ended when it comes to cleaning up long-standing arguments and helping dad get his “paperwork” in order.

Some of that paperwork may involve getting his great stories in writing or on video.

Finally, if you are a dad–or a mom–it will be Monday when you decide to create legacy for your children.


I miss my dad a lot

My dad, pictured with me above, died in 1997 and I miss him more than ever. But his memory lives on for me, my three brothers, new generations of Carusos and even non-Carusos, because I published my father’s letters, shortly after he passed away.

Dear Michael Angelo: A Father’s Life Lessons to His Son, a two-CD set, is the top-selling product of my career.

In honor of my dad and yours, in honor of fathers, mothers, and parents everywhere, I’m offering a 50% discount on the Dear Michael Angelo CDs. Click on either link above to learn more and to order.


Use Coupon Code DAD to get $10 off

Pay only $9.99 plus shipping!  You’re welcome.  ;-)

You’ll be highly entertained, I promise. You’ll also be inspired to be a better son, daughter, father or mother. Thanks for being on my list, I really appreciate you!

This special price (only $9.99!) will be available until Monday at midnight– Monday because that’s the day you’ll really think about your dad.

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The best keyword is “research”

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Search has become a very important business tool.

Businesses all over the fruited plain are constantly trying to figure out the best keyword to use on their Web sites.

The best keyword for all of us, it turns out, is “research.”

Brother Dave on left

And search engine optimization (SEO), despite its complicated moniker, offers some very simple marketing lessons.  I’m reminded of something my brother Dave Caruso taught me a while back when we were trying to improve the effectiveness of my Web site.

My site has always had a number of products and programs related to “self improvement.”

Dave, a great linear thinker and fantastic “systems” guy, did a few quick Google searches to compare how often people search “self help” vs. “self improvement.”

He found that the following variations gave these totals (results in millions):

Keyword search # of hits
self-help                             89,700
self help                                 89, 600
self improvement              30,200
self-improvement             21,200

This was HUGE and I immediately wanted to change my site to take advantage of this discovery.

Then, Dave checked the number of hits for one more term:  “personal improvement.”  At the time, those key words showed 124,000,000–far more than the other key word phrases!

“Personal improvement” was the keyword phrase to optimize.  Thanks, brother!

When doing SEO, make sure you do research to discover which key words and phrases will rank highly.  You may be surprised!

Keyword research helps people find me, even if I’m in Royal Oak, Michigan.  Which, um, I am.      – Michael Angelo Caruso, Motivational speaker, Internet student

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How to blog every day

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Like most rewarding activities, blogging requires discipline and focus.

You’re going to need both in order to post frequently.

It also helps to have a bunch of handy-dandy tricks.  Below, I share some of my blogging secrets.  You’re going to need the proper mindset, tools, time, and the need to succeed.


Mindset

In order to blog every day, you must have a free flow of ideas from mind to keyboard. If a person only has so many “attention units” in a day, it’s important that units aren’t squandered on disorganization, drama, and trivial pursuits.

In other words, clean your desk, free your mind of clutter, and stop running late all the time.

Strong blog posts require clear thinking.  Daily blogging requires expediency a creative verve.

This means always being on the lookout for blog topics and having the ability to capture the idea in written format.


Tools

I always carry a pen and paper.  Sometimes it’s a small notebook.  Sometimes it’s an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper that’s gate-folded and slipped into the breast pocket of my sport coat.

I also keep notes in my iPhone.  If my computer is available, I may decide to keystroke the blog topic directly into my WordPress site where it can be published immediately or saved as a draft.

I’ve even been known to take a photo of a blog idea or leave myself a voice mail message.


Time

Blogging more frequently doesn’t require more time.  You’ll have plenty of time to write, if you just stop doing other things. 

Here are five reasons why I always have plenty of time to blog:

  1. I write far more blog posts than I read.  (If you’re reading, you can’t be writing.)
  2. I can’t remember the last time I watched a complete ball game on TV.
  3. I never stand in line.
  4. I never take a meeting, especially for “networking” purposes, without at least one expected deliverable for both parties.  This saves TONS of time.
  5. I have a fantastic vocabulary (thanks, Wordsmith.org!) and write very fast.  Can rewrite even faster.


The need to succeed

Finally, successful bloggers have an almost compulsive need to enlighten and entertain others.   I’m quite dedicated to this goal, which is why I posted an article on how you can blog every day.

For more tips on blogging, check out my fun interview with Michigan soccer mom, Paula Parisot, who gets paid for blogging.

How often do you blog now?  Do you think the above tricks can be helpful for you?  Do you have others?

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My social media links

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

facebook, linkedin, twitter, youtube iconsSocial media has become a monster way to build networks, promote products and services, and build an impressive Internet presence.

Just think what happens to your online profile when in addition to a Website and a blog, you have an account with Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+ and others.  (My links are below.)

To see how this works for people like me, simply type my full name into your favorite search engine.  See how I own the first ten pages of Google, for example?  Pretty cool!  You can do the same if you spend a little time and energy on social media networking.

Here are links to my favorite social media networks.  Simply click on the link to friend, follow or connect with me.  If we’re already connected, feel free to post “hello,” a compliment or whatever’s on your mind.

I’m big on Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Facebook.  To connect with me on any or all these platforms, simply type “Michael Angelo Caruso” in the respective search box.

Okay, so I’ve given you my social media links.  Feel free to leave yours in the comments section.  What is your favorite social media platform?


Wanna market your products/services via social media?

social media marketing michael angelo carusoIf you have a social media following, you may want to share information about what you do to these folks.  Direct selling is considered bad form on Facebook, for example, so you may want to use a technique I invented called, “indirect selling.”  To learn more, listen to my Social Marketing for Business CDs.

See you online!

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Resume tip–your resume doesn’t matter

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Readers always write…

Hi, Michael-

I’ve recently had to update my resume so I can upgrade my job.  I consider myself a good writer, but it’s been quite a challenge getting this project done.  I’m still not happy with my resume and wondering if you have any tips for me.  I’ve attached a copy to this e-mail message.  Thank you!

Sara in Bloomington, Illinois

Hi, Sara-

A lot of the best jobs are filled without using the resume process.  The best way to get a good job is through networking, which allows you to become recommended or “pre-approved” by a trusted third-party.  More info on how to do this in a future post.

So now that I’ve told you that a resume doesn’t matter, let me explain how you can make yours better…

Your resume looks very good, Sara!  I’m returning it to you with a few minor suggestions for improved grammar and syntax.  I am also listing my advice on how to “punch up” a resume.

Tips:

-  All the experts recommend a one-page resume
-  Play down past jobs (use one or two lines max for each)
-  Use present tense for present situation, e.g. “demonstrated” should be “demonstrates”
-  Use parallel construction for bullet points; begin each bullet with an active verb

Bonus ideas

Here are a couple of special “Michael techniques:”

/Recycle the exact language from the job posting.

/That way, your resume is more likely to make you look like the perfect fit.

/The resume is a kind of meaningless tradition.  It’s far better to secure the job first and then submit the resume as a required formality.

/So, how does one get the job before submitting the resume?  Use online research tools such as Linkedin and Google to learn more about the company.   Of course, you should visit the company’s Web site, but learn even more about the specific people involved such as:

-  Who will be interviewing you?
-  Who will you be working with?
-  Who will be your boss?
-  Who is your potential boss’s boss?
-  What can be learned from their social media or YouTube activities?

Once you have the names of these individuals, search them online to discover anything you can, such as:

-  Where they live?
-  What church do they attend?
-  Do they blog?
-  What they’ve presented on (presentation pdfs often come up in this type of search)

The idea is to get into the same orbit of one or more of these people so they can get to know you and possibly champion your cause.

Caveat:  Don’t be aggressive or even assertive when doing this.  A sincere compliment when friending someone on Facebook will usually do the trick.  You might contact the person to offer insightful research on one of their
favorite topics.  Don’t necessarily make it known that you are applying for a job.

When you show interest in others, others show interest in you.     -Michael Angelo Caruso, American author and speaker, (1958-present –ha!)

Then, when the moment is right, say something like, “Oh, by the way, the reason for my interest in xxxxx is that I’m thinking of applying for the xxxxx position.”

You’re on your way to a some useful information, an endorsement, a champion, and hopefully, a new job!

Good luck!

Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan

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