Super Rare Ferrari F40 at Cars and Coffee

Sally and I check out a super rare Ferrari F40 at this week’s South OC Cars and Coffee at the Outlets at San Clemente.

The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car built from 1987 to 1992. As the successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO, it was designed to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary and was the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. The car debuted with a planned production total of 400 and a factory suggested retail price of $400,000 in 1987 ($860,000 today), although some buyers were reported to have paid as much as $3.6 million for it.

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Learning How to Unplug and Unwind

It’s been over a decade since I last went on a traditional job interview for a traditional kind of job, so I imagine a lot has changed in the last several years. At the same time, I also imagine that a lot of the core fundamentals have remained much the same. Interviewers will often ask you to tell them a little bit about yourself and why you feel you are best qualified for the position. This is all pretty standard stuff and par for the course.

One question that comes up all the time is that the interviewer will ask you about your greatest weakness. Some people say that the interviewer is looking for honesty here, so they get a better sense of what you’re like as a real, rounded person. Interview strategists might tell you that this is an opportunity for you to turn your weakness into a strength (e.g., “I work too hard.”) or as a chance to say how you have a weakness but also what you’re doing to address it (e.g., “My web design skills could use some work, so I’m currently taking an online course to help with that.”).

Myself, I’ve come to recognize in recent years that my greatest weakness, both within and beyond the professional context, is that I suffer from a rather significant case of FOMO. The Fear of Missing Out guides so many of the decisions I have made over the years, chasing different passions, projects and passion projects because I don’t want to miss a thing. To some degree, this has greatly facilitated what success I’ve been able to enjoy as a freelance writer.

It’s largely because of FOMO that I met John Chow in the first place. It’s largely because of FOMO that I became a published author, that I started a YouTube channel, that I’ve tried to learn everything I can when it comes to what it takes to run a successful business on the Internet. FOMO isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it has led to some incredible opportunities, but it is certainly not without its problems and struggles.

As I write these words that you are reading right now, I’m some 36,000 feet in the air, flying back home to Vancouver after spending a couple weeks travelling with the family. We played tourist in New York City and Toronto, taking in the local sights and sounds (and tastes) as much as we could. This was supposed to be my vacation. My opportunity to unplug and unwind, away from the stresses of everyday work.

But my FOMO and ambition may have gotten the best of me.

You see, before we left for this trip, I told myself several things. I told myself that I would take this time to enjoy myself, visiting such notable landmarks as Rockefeller Center, Chelsea Market, Casa Loma and Royal Ontario Museum. I also told myself that this trip would make terrific fodder for my weekly vlog, splitting the trip into a couple of episodes for my YouTube channel. I then told myself that I would be able to get some work done in the evenings after we got back from a day of exploring.

The truth is that this was just way too much, because we’d be out the door early in the morning and we wouldn’t get back to our room until nearly midnight every night. My FOMO led me to see as much as I could, but this necessarily meant that I would have very little time at the end of the night to get any “work” done, let alone the energy and creative impulse to do so.

So, I didn’t. And that’s why I’m trying to get some work done now, writing this post, as I fly 36,000 feet in the air across Canada, somewhere over the prairies. The truth is I don’t think I really know how to unplug and unwind completely, because my FOMO reminds me that I’d be missing out on the opportunity either to experience more highlights or to get more work done. But I can’t have it both ways. I’m still learning. I never stop learning.

This is the double-edged sword when you work for yourself, because it means you *can* work anywhere and at any time. But the power of the dot com lifestyle means you get to make that choice. And I chose to prioritize the time with my family.

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Are Your Search Rankings Dropping? Apply These 7 Strategies

How do you decide what movie to watch when you head out on a Friday night?

How good is a new movie when it hits theatres? The answer is simple. Check its earnings, ratings and ranks. It is what every concerned website owner, and its shareholders need to know – Show me the tracking rankings! By looking over these elements, you’ll be able to make an informed decision if it’s worth you investing into…right?

The faster you notice a positive or negative change, the better prepared you are to improve your positioning. This is why it’s important you apply the best strategies online especially those which have been endorsed by Google. You have to make sure you follow Google’s rules so you don’t get penalized going forward.

When things start heading south for specific keywords then make one of the following 7 changes. These will help you get back on track, and help you build your brand, generate traffic and meet your bottom line.

Step 1: Internal linking Structure

When I want to read an article, I don’t want to have to click any other additional links to be able to read it. You need to make a conscious choice whether you want to build a site to have many clickable options or impressive content. Using rich anchor text is a mistake many sites make.  Linking one of your webpages to another can be done via anchor text or internal linking.  Users are tired of reading websites which are flooded with “click here” hyperlinks. In the past this was a means of improving your SEO and it is not anymore.

Internal linking can be accomplished by avoiding rich anchor text. Let’s assume that a given word is repeated 10 times in an article. The bottom line to internal linking is to initiate the first instance of the word, and leave the rest of them as normal. Maintaining integrity for the content and not misguiding the search engines with excessive hyperlinking will help you in the long.

Search engines take approximately 3 months to appreciate changes to sites. Make the changes with integrity, and don’t overkill for the future.

By embracing internal linking one can build trust directly with the user, and possibly even get bookmarked as a favorite. Here’s another cool strategy to use when building internal links within your content. Make sure you mix up the anchor text used to include relevant or LSI keywords. The key is to mix them up, but make sure they are relevant to your linked content at the same time.

Step 2: Speed up your site.

Today’s generation of people are ever so demanding. When’s the last time you waited for dinner to be prepared from scratch at a McDonalds? Never, right! We expect businesses to value our time and pre-plan for our arrival. Like all users when we click on a link to a site we want it to load quickly. When sites take a long time to load we naturally assume that we need to refresh or the link is broken, click back and go to the next site.

Google pays close attention to the speed of your site because as ranks increase so does traffic, and it’s their job to ensure that your site is built to withstand an increase in traffic. Check out Google Page speed.  Today, your site could perform correctly with the amount of traffic it receives; however, as site traffic increases this could result in a bottle neck. Ensure that your hosting company allows for greater bandwidth.

• Constantly track your site speed
• Always incorporate changes to your site to stabilize or increase load time.
• Compressing images is a great way to increase the overall speed of your website.
• Track your data so you know what caused the speed to drop.

Step 3: Build Links to The Page Where Rankings ARE High

It’s Monday morning at 9:00am, and you check your Page Rank in Google. You’ve noticed a downward spiral and trend establishing. Many people make the mistake of going head-on, and making drastic changes which hurt you more then, actually providing you with a benefit. For example, they’ll increase their internal linking by increasing the amount of keywords linked which ruins the natural flow of the content. Avoiding the notion of hyperlinking every single repeated keyword will help you in the long.

The key here is to stabilize the downward trend, and not switch its momentum. The upward climb will take a few months for Google to take note of the positive changes made, and your keywords will start to rank higher. During this process you should make the changes, and be patient for your site to be re-indexed again.

Check out this guide: http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-link-building/

Step 4: Update Your Web-Page

What do Google’s users want? Fresh, new, and constantly updated sites because this provides value. By making changes to your site Google knows you’re keeping up with new technology. With the adaptation of smartphones, it’s important your content is mobile optimized so it’s displayed correctly on every device. This will ensure you have content which is going to engage everyone no matter how they are reading your content. The higher the user experience, the better chance you’ll be able to convert readers increasing your ROI.

What happens when customers have a better experience? They will share it on social media.

Changes do not always have to be drastic. The method I’ve always embrace is KISS which means “Keep It Simple Stupid”. This is a strategy I learned from Neil Patel, and has worked incredibly well when building momentum. It’s time to skim through your site so you can clean it up, change the color scheme, and improve your content.

I also recommend keeping tabs of past rankings and documenting changes. Build an expectation from your team to meet the highest standards possible, and naturally your site ranking will increase. Using this approach will also allow your team to remember what you’re expect from them going forward.

Step 5: Increase Your Click-Through Rate

The Google Webmaster Tool account allows you to monitor your click through rates. This is something your team needs to be paying close attention to because you know Google definitely will be. The bounce rate, and CTR are both in their 200 ranking factors. It’s a quick way for Google to determine if your listing is relevant to their end user, and this increases the likelihood of getting higher Google AdSense rates too if your part of their program. CTR actually provides enormous information to Google which we sometimes don’t think about. For example,

Through CTR, Google can determine the following:

• Value of the content you have provided
• The ultimate user experience
• The layout of your website
• How easy it is for users to find other relevant content on your blog.

In the end, whenever you publish content, you should have elements in place to track your overall CTR. As your blog grows you’ll be able to gather even more information about the value of your content. The more people who click-through, the better content you have provided for your users. This means a lot for Google, and will help boost your overall rankings within the SERP’s.

Solution #6 Optimize Your Design

Mobile devices are growing, and there are several plans which offer incredible data coverage for subscribers. However, even with the abundance of data, it’s important your content can be downloaded quickly on mobile phones. This will allow these users to save data, and be able to access your content right away too. Think about when you skim online, and how long you’ll wait for data…right? You’ll notice if a page doesn’t load right away, you’ll MOST likely leave and visit another competitive website.

It is becoming increasingly important for sites to trim the fat, meaning, remove the elements which are NOT needed so your page will load faster. Make use of the tools you have available like plugins which encourage image compression, responsive designs, and even customized layouts for mobile phones. At the same time, you have to remember Google’s update which rewards sites which are mobile optimized…right? If you haven’t implemented a mobile design by now, then you’re missing out on enormous traffic.

Solution# 7 Increase Your Social Shares

Social media is a great way for users to recommend articles, and in-order for a user to share articles it must meet two criteria’s. First, an article must be very easy to share meaning it MUST have social buttons in the right place so people can one-click to post it. The good news is there are so many plug-ins which make this easy to do. For example, AddThis.com will allow you to embed social media icons within minutes. However, it’s important you know which ones to include for maximum exposure. For example, don’t waste time giving people poor social platform options because too many choices will reduce share quality. In my experience, it’s best to focus on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Secondly, in order to have people to share your content it must be of high value, and provide substance. No one will share your content if you don’t provide value, and the content is NOT unique. Write high value content, and you’ll have no problem having people share your content to generate enormous buzz going forward.

The effect of social media could lead your article going viral, and impress Google. Users endorsing your content to hundreds of friends on sites like Facebook.com could increase your Google page rank at no cost. In the end, people won’t have to search on Google to find your content, because it will be appearing on social platforms, and even newsfeeds which are awesome for traffic.

Focusing your attention on ensuring people share your content on social networks. I’ve noticed when people share my content it shows me what they like to read, who my audience is, and what social platform to focus on going forward.

Here are a few tips to apply to your social marketing going forward.

1. Deliver rich, entertaining and trusted content. Spend the time before you publish anything to make sure it is GOOD.  I often draft four articles, share them amongst a few of my friends and ask them to rank the articles. Always go with the #1. This will provide constructive feedback at the same time from people who will give me their honest opinion.
2. Add social media plugins to your articles. If your using WordPress, you’ll find a handful of awesome plugins which you can install with the click of a button.
3. Ask your followers to share, like, and recommend your site.  Don’t be shy in asking. A lot of people out there who truly believe in your work will help spread the word. However, keep in mind that value is always the way to go. Ask them to share, and make sure they know it’s valuable what you have written.
4. Social media sites allow us to pay for marketing. This option will depend on your budget so re-evaluate your marketing each month. You might want to give it a try to see how it helps increase your engagement. I believe in giving something a try once, then tracking data and make a decision going forward if it’s worth the investment.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this content, and its time to go through each solution above to implement them into your blogging. Ad you apply different strategies make sure you keep track of what’s working so you can continue to optimize as time goes on. These solutions can help increase traffic, conversions, engagement very quickly.

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Are You All Tapped Out? Here’s What To Do About It

As a professional blogger (or as an aspiring professional blogger), it’s easy to approach your first project with a tremendous level of enthusiasm. You can feel like you are incredibly passionate about your chosen subject or niche, whatever it may be, and you’ve got more ideas than you can handle. The well of creativity is literally overflowing with possibilities. You dive in head first with this sense of unbridled excitement, because you know that you have near limitless potential and opportunity in front of you.

Drip, Drip, Drip…

But how many times have you seen other bloggers approach their first sites (or even their second, third, or fifth sites) with that same kind of enthusiasm, only to have their passion fizzle out a couple of weeks in. They think that they have this bottomless pit of creativity and they have so many things they want to write about, but not long after starting, they run out.

The well of ideas has run dry, they’re feeling a little burned out, and they’re all tapped out of topics for upcoming blog posts. What can they do?

What can you do?

Just Show Up

Well, let me put your mind at ease. Even the best of bloggers, even the most prolific of writers, run out of ideas eventually even if they maintain an ongoing list of potential blog post topics. This is perfectly normal and it happens to the best of us. The truth is that “writer’s block” is generally not the exception; it’s the rule, and you just have to figure out a system for how to overcome it on a consistent basis.

Gavin Aung Than of the popular webcomic Zen Pencils once said the thing that separates the professional from the hobbyist is that the former is willing to put in the work even when they don’t really feel like doing it. Even when they don’t think they can come up with anything good. Just showing up to work can feel like the hardest part some days, because it’s just so easy to come up with an excuse to skip a day. But you’ve got to put in the work, because skipping one day easily leads to skipping another and another and another.

Before you know it, you’ve given up again and that passion project has completely fizzled away.

Tapping into Creativity

So, what can you do when your creative well of ideas runs dry? Dig another one. A great way to reignite that fire and to get you excited about working again is to start something new. Maybe you’ve been blogging for a while and it’s starting to feel too routine. Consider starting another blog on a different topic. Or explore other creative possibilities like writing a book, starting a podcast, or launching a YouTube channel.

These new wells of possibility can reveal all sorts of new opportunities and they allow you to approach the work with the same kind of enthusiasm and passion as when you first started with your first project. Along the way, you’ll form new connections, learn new skills, and develop a better-rounded understanding of your industry or vertical.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you should abandon that original blog or project altogether. Quite the contrary. While you may be diverting some of your attention and resources toward digging a new well, the “old” well will slowly start to replenish as it sits a little more dormant than usual, just like with a real well in the real world. Soon enough, it will once again be filled with new possibilities, ideas and opportunities.

And you’ll be able to tap into it once again.

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How To Do Content Marketing with SEO for More Qualified Search Traffic

No matter how you approach content marketing it’s important you combine it with the right SEO approach. Content is NO good unless you have the right elements embedded within your post like keywords, bold text, italic text, etc. However, we are lucky we live in a time where you can find all this information very quickly so you can start implementing the strategy right away. Much of what I’ve learned has been from studying those before me, especially, those who have built a reputation over the years to be influential within my niche. They continue to provide awesome ways to incorporate content marketing, and SEO together. Next,

Google has been making major changes in the way they rank content so it’s important you stay on top of things. For example, content marketing is NO good unless you have the right SEO elements within your post. This means you have to make sure you do research looking for “target” keywords that actually drive traffic. Implementing this approach will ensure when you strive for content marketing, you’ll generated qualified at the same time.

Let’s look at some strategies which I’ve learned over the years, and how you can apply them to your website too. Your feedback, and opinion will be greatly appreciated.

Keyword Driven Content

It’s important to study what keywords bring traffic to your blog because these will ultimately tell you what your audience likes to read. As you continue to write content that your audience loves, you’ll have an easier time generating traffic, and meeting your bottom line. Before going forward, you should have a clear indication of your bottom line, and what you expect to gain from your blog. Next,

I often get asked what’s the best way to track what keywords are driving traffic to your blog, and the answer is very simple. You have a free tool available called Google Analytics which gives you all the data you need to get started. For example, they’ll provide you with a list of the following:

• Location
• Landing pages
• Search queries
• Bounce rate
• Referral
• And more

Here’s what I suggest you do going forward…

It’s important to link your GWT (Google Webmaster Tools) account with your GA account so you’ll have the entire breakdown in one place. When you are done linking the two, you’ll be able to find the search queries data from within your GA account. Head over to GA>Acquisition then Search Engine Optimization. Here’s you’ll find all the relevant keywords which drive the MOST traffic. Now the question is: How can you use this data to write more content?

You know what keywords people are typing, and clicking to get to your blog from the Google Analytics report…right? Start writing content based on these keywords because they are performing well with your audience. Research communities, forums, and competitors to find content around these keywords then creating something even more in-depth while engaging at the same time.

Quality Content Always

It’s widely believed quality content will give you enormous leverage when blogging and within the ranks. With quality content you’ll have the word count to play around with your on-page SEO. For example, imagine writing content which is 2,100 words? You’ll have enough space to add “target”, long-tail, and LSI keyword at the same time. However, with reduced content length you won’t have as much flexibility. It’s also important to mention that Google has tweaked their search engine to look for different types of keywords. This helps increase the user experience helping them find solutions to the problems they are encountering. Secondly,

High quality content has been known to attract the best type of links because others love to link to it. One of the best ways to get quality links is simply by writing the best content then sharing to get it in front of people. This will allow other authority bloggers to share your content too, and link back to it as an additional resource for their readers. What are the elements of high quality content? Here’s quick breakdown.

First, it’s in-depth and is focused around “target” keywords which all provide a solution to a common problem within your niche. Secondly, quality content is structured so it’s easy to read and navigate through. A solid structure will increase engagement simply because your reader will have an easier time pulling out the value from inside. Third, this type of content is very easy to share so make sure you include the right social share buttons throughout your content. I would recommend the top and bottom of your content. Forth, it is very easy to read so make sure you incorporate infographics, images, and even videos where necessary.

Personally, I have linked to so many other posts throughout my blog because it would provide an additional resource to my audience.

Guest Blogging Is Awesome

I started to guest blog late in my career, and it’s one of the biggest regrets I have because it would have jump started my business. Guest blogging is awesome to generate traffic, ROI, conversions and build loyalty with a whole new group of people. It’s also a great way to combine content marketing and SEO to dominate the search engines. You have to remember when your guest blogging, you’re MOST likely focusing on “related” blogs which can add value to your content. This means NOT only are you gaining relevant traffic, but a relevant link back to your blog from within the author bio. The key is to be very selective before you start blogging so you target the right niche blogs. Here are a few tips to follow before starting:

First, make a list of authority blogs within your niche so your blogging will be highly targeted going forward. Secondly, make sure you check out their social profiles because popular blogs will have a high number of followers. This is also awesome once your published because MOST likely your content will be shared on these same social platforms. Make sure you skim through the comment section of each blog to check what type of people have been commenting. I like to click on the user comment website to see what type of niche this person is in. The more relevant to me, the better when they decide to visit my blog. Next,

Pitch the best topic ideas which will increase the likelihood of your content being accepted. Finally, always follow the blogging guidelines as they apply to linking, topics, author bio, spamming, etc. Trust me when I say this process will get easier over time, however you have a good starting point right now.

Remember, the more niche relevant, the better for your content marketing because relevance does play a huge role in ranking content within the SERP’s.

Cross-Linking Is Vital

When creating a solid content marketing strategy, it’s important you cross-link between your different posts so the SEO juice is carried through. One of the best ways to increase your page authority, and relevance, is to link between pages throughout your blog. This will connect related posts together, and those with the same keyword structure. I know this can be hard in the beginning when you don’t have too many posts however overtime this will become much easier. Next, it’s important to understand indexing does take time so build your post profiles slowly, and make sure they are authentic relevant internal links. Here are some other strategies to apply to your cross-linking content marketing strategy.

First, make sure when you link between content, you are using relevant anchor text because it will add even more relevancy to your content. If you have been writing for some time, then you won’t have a problem finding relevant content for each post to link to. Secondly, make sure each time you link content you are providing value. I know so many bloggers who will link content, but they’ll link awesome content to poor quality. You are NOT adding page authority to your post because the user interaction will be decreased i.e. social shares, comments, and increased bounce rates.

Third, cross-linking is important to get other content noticed by influential bloggers within your niche. For example, if another blogger is on one piece of content, and you have linked to another valuable post then it increases the likelihood of them sharing both pieces of content. By cross-linking, you are getting related pieces noticed, and creating complete visibility on your blog.

It’s time to go through your blog cross-linking related content together. If you are using WordPress then there are several plug-ins which will allow you to do this quickly. You can even do a quick search in Google and find tutorials which show you how to do this correctly.

Final Thoughts

We all know the importance of content marketing however we forget about how SEO is important to this practice too. Above, we have looked at a few strategies which will make a huge difference when marketing your content. I would suggest you start applying these strategies right away because you’ll be able to generate momentum almost immediately. At the same time, you don’t want to over-do it with these strategies either because then your blog will start to look unnatural. Make things as natural and smooth as possible so your content provides value while being authentic at the same time. Here’s the game plan going forward.

It’s time to go through each one of these strategies finding the ones which will apply to you. Some of these you would have applied already, however I can guarantee there are going to be a handful which you haven’t even considered. Make a list of these tips for easy access then create a blueprint of how you’ll incorporate them into your blogging. For example, if you are going to fix your cross-linking then do around 3-4 daily until all relevant posts are connected. Spreading this process will ensure it gets done quickly, and you don’t get tired in the process. Next,

In order to do this right it’s important you have a tracking tool to check growth of your blog overtime. I’ve been using Google Analytics, and this provides me with all the information I need. Once you have implemented the changes above, you can start tracking things like:

• Where your audience is coming from so you can target your content and linking better.
• The keywords they are typing to arrive on your website. You can than write precise content catered around these keywords
• You’ll also find out where your audience is located so when you write you can create content which they understand. This can be in the form of infographics, images or even video.
• They also give you a good indication of bounce rate. Why is this important? With bounce rate you’ll be able to determine where the visitors go on your site, and what content they leave. If the rate is high, then focus on tweaking your content for better engagement.

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Do Blog Contests Still Work?

The good news is that, at least to some degree, the Internet has leveled the playing field. Anyone with an Internet connection can set up a Twitter account. Anyone with a smartphone can launch a successful YouTube channel. Heck, you can get your own blog or website on the web for practically nothing. Anyone can have a voice online. But therein lies the rub, because everyone can have a voice online too.

Hey! Look at Me!

Breaking through this incredible signal-to-noise ratio is truly the greatest challenge for nearly every content creator. You’ve got a blog, but it’s one of an estimated 440 million blogs in the world, a number that’s probably much higher by the time you read this post. So, you have to promote. You have to get your brand “out there” in front of the right audience.

And for almost as long as I can remember, one of the more popular ways to promote your blog is by hosting a blog contest or giveaway. Maybe you fund this giveaway yourself, maybe you get a sponsor to supply the prize, maybe you collaborate with other bloggers for maximum reach and impact. The specifics here don’t really matter.

It’s about giving something away in the hope that you’ll get something even more valuable in return. But do these contests still work in an age of social media algorithms and crushing Google updates?

Contests Suck for Creators

According to a report and analysis conducted by Creator Hype, contests suck for creators. They say that because of how the system works these days, your contest “doesn’t reach your audience, they don’t engage with it, and they don’t win it. If that’s not the definition of broken, we don’t know what is.”

At the heart of their argument is the fact that the overwhelming majority of blog contests and social media giveaways are won by “professional contesters.” These are people who actively search for contests and giveaways online (and offline), people who aren’t really interested in your brand and your blog or your content at all. They just want to win “free” stuff.

This has sparked a whole industry of contesters. In fact, it doesn’t take much to come across several guides on how to become a successful contester, including the various discussion boards and forums you can follow. In the Creator Hype analysis, they looked at 65 contests run by 37 Canadian creators.

All I Do Is Win, Win, Win

Of all the people who entered the contests, more than three-quarters entered at least half of all contests. This is “absurdly high” given that the contests and creators spanned such a wide variety of niches and verticals. These “professional contesters” are entering everything and anything, so that means that real readers, the folks you’re really trying to engage, have a pretty slim shot at actually winning you select the winner at random.

The stats continue to show that 83 percent of all the tweets for entering these contests are coming from the professional contesters too. It probably won’t shock you to learn that 97% of the Twitter accounts of these professional contesters are used ONLY for entering contests. They might be real people, but for all intents and purposes, they’re really not. Professional contesters have ruined it for everyone, apparently.

It Starts With Strategy

But is that totally true? I don’t think so. Professional contesters are certainly an issue that need to be addressed, but they’re only one part of the picture. Blog contests can still be effective, depending on the actual goals you’re trying to accomplish with these contests. They can still be used to build your mailing list or grow your social following if you’re looking for a numbers boost. We all know how important and powerful appearances can be, even if you’d rather have a large following of truly authentic and engaged users.

It also depends on how you choose to setup your contest in the first place. Remember the ice bucket challenge from 2014? That was for charity and for raising awareness, so the context is a little different, but you can certainly borrow some inspiration from the virality of the stunt. You can also see how the “personal video” dynamic of that stunt virtually eliminates the problem of the professional contester altogether. If they’re willing to put in the effort to make a real video, they may as well be a real entrant.

So, at the end of the day, the answer to our original question is the same answer you’ll find to so many other questions. It depends. As Rebekah Carter of SproutSocial says, social media contests still work, “but only if you use them carefully.”

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The World’s Smallest Minivan at Cars and Coffee

Sally and I head to South Orange County Cars and coffee to check out all the cool cars, plus the world’s smallest minivan. That little sucker can sit six people and it no bigger than a VW Bug!

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