Why a forum instead of a blog? I get asked this a lot.

First, let me say it isn't either/or. It's like asking me if I want tacos or pizza. Both please. I have a couple of WP blogs. I even have a few WP installs on various domains that do nothing but run WP plugins.

My honest opinion is forums are possibly the most underrated free marketing resource and MYBB software can probably be installed on your site in a couple of minutes if you have cPanel with Fantastico or Softuclous. I just like posting on forums more than blogs. I feel like it's much more casual and I don't worry about being as perfect as possible.

I've also used a forum to set up private discussions with another person or small group...ON MY OWN DOMAIN for extra privacy. It only takes a minute or two to create a private forum for friends, family, freelancers, etc.

But the things I like most about forums is community and User Generated Content. That's you folks. A blog is all about "me" while a forum is about "us". While people can post comments on blogs, it's different. They can't start their own threads/topics so they are not as connected and the topics of every potential conversation are totally up to the blog owner.

Forums are better for social...

Both WP and MYBB have RSS pheeds. This means it's easy to post your new content on a variety of social media sites.

I use www.IFTTT.com (free) to take the RSS from the Pheeds.com Phorum and add the URL to IFTTT. IFTTT then checks the RSS to see if there are any updates. If so, it posts the title and link of every new thread here (in the public forums only) on my Twitter account.

Every time time someone starts a new thread on this forum, a new tweet is made to my Twitter account. Think about this...If you post a new thread, I get a new tweet on my Twitter account. And I get a link from my Twitter account back to the forum and your thread.

This doesn't have an instant impact. But it does build over time.

My Twitter account is pretty old. I got a good part of the followers using automation. It was easier then to get followers, but it's still a good idea now. For a site like Twitter, there's some decent follow/unfollow options available. I don't use them now so I can't recommend any..but put a lot of thought into getting the best sources for followers and take it slow and steady, especially at first.

There is a security risk with this. If a spam post gets through here it will also post on Twitter. But this problem is no harder to fix. Fix the spam on your forum. There's a number of things you can do.

You aren't just limited to MYBB and Twitter. IFTTT can take your MYBB RSS and share it in a variety of ways, including other social media sites.

A forum is the absolute best way to get other people to contribute to your site. While WP can do something similar with forum plugins, this is exactly what a forum like MYBB is supposed to do, make it easy for other people to add content as possible.

And every time someone starts a new thread, it also creates a tweet.

Ever notice how many arguments and flame wars on the net are about unprovable things? People take such strong positions on things that are unknowable, but they are RIGHT. I'm not talking about marketing, but it happens in IM too. 

I've seen football fans argue for weeks over what player a team should draft without anyone ever being to prove they are right because they both can't be drafted. There's also the possibility that they're both right or that they're both wrong.

With me I often pick a side of a debate based on the reasoning of a person, not the outcome. Knowing that the past doesn't equal the future is pretty much Logic 101.

This means it is NOT logical to say that the sun will rise tomorrow because it rose today. It may be correct and logical doesn't mean correct. But the reasoning/logic is wrong. The sun will rise tomorrow because the earth spins and orbits around the sun, not because the sun rose today.

I'm not arguing that the sun won't rise tomorrow, only that it won't rise because it rose yesterday.

What are some of the best books you've read for business, goals, mindset etc?  

I've read many but I'm always on the lookout for more as I feel you can't get enough food for thought so to speak.

It would also be helpful if you could say a few words about why you like the book you recommend.  I'm not talking a full review or anything.  Something like what you liked the most about the book.

I'll just name a few to start with as I don't want to steal anyone's "thunder".  I'll add more as other replies come in.

My all-time favorite is "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.  I'm sure most have probably heard of this book but on the off-chance that you haven't read it yet, I consider this a must-read.  Napoleon Hill teaches core concepts that individuals must have to be successful.  Not only in business but in life.  He studied the most successful business people of his era for 20 years and writes about what they taught him.  Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Woolworth, etc.

Another book that I recently read "The E Myth Revisited" by Michael E Gerber.  This book talks about systemizing your business.  He uses the McDonald's franchise as an example to follow as he teaches the character "Sarah" how to change her entire business.  It's really a fascinating read.

OK sports fans...how would you market the new XFL football league?

I'd make a dramatic rule change. I'd eliminate the line of scrimmage for a forward pass and allow one pass per play from anywhere on the field. A RB could be 10 yards down field then pass 30 more yards.

The NBA All Star game had a great idea. Invite lots of kids from various youth organizations to the games and pay their charities based on the performance of their team. Maybe if one teams scores on a drive the Girls Scouts get a donation and if they don't score the Boy Scouts get a donation.

This is not only great for publicity and goodwill, kids are the loudest crowds there are. If they had a stake in the outcome of results the stadiums would be full of screaming fans. They were crazy at the NBA All Star game.

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Here's an interesting article about how pricing products using the "decoy effect" can be used for persuasion.

Quote:The Decoy Effect: How You Are Influenced to Choose Without Really Knowing It

The effect was first described by academics Joel Huber, John Payne and Christopher Puto in a paper presented to a conference in 1981 (and later published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 1982).

They demonstrated the effect through experiments in which participants (university students) were asked to makes choices in scenarios involving beer, cars, restaurants, lottery tickets, films and television sets.

Did you ever do some fast little things you did in your life to make some fast cash when you needed to? one time I rented a uhaul and went to a fleamarket with a big sign to hire me on it and got pepole to pay me to deliver some stuff for them. but then I tried it again in a few weeks and no one paid me and I lost my uhaul money.

IMO you want to speak the same language of the folks you are speaking to.

One way to connect better with your audience when telling stories or using examples is to use the most common names from their era for the name of your characters. Or maybe you want a pen name to match the demographics of your readers on Kindle.

Deb says this post is groovy.

Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names by Decade
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1930s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1940s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1950s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1960s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1970s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1980s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...1990s.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decade...2000s.html

Growing up my Grandmother used "gumption" and whenever I hear it I think of her and wish it was used more today. She also used "in a month of Sundays" and "a coon's age" to mean "a long time".

Any words or phrases that bring up memories of your past?

There are several different ways of writing the following. Which makes more sense to you? 

Ignore the fact that you could replace teacher with a name because this same model will be used many times in a 200-page book. This applies to a bunch of scenarios such as a spouse, a patient, a lifeguard, etc. where the gender isn't known or even very important. 

Note that this isn't about gender equality or anything like that. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get my point across. #1 and #2 seem stuffy to me but while #3 is more and more accepted, there are a lot of people who would say it is wrong and judge the author negatively. 

1. The teacher was told s/he needed to get his/her things together and leave the premises by 2:00 PM.

2. The teacher was told she or he needed to get his or her things together and leave the premises by 2:00 PM.

3. The teacher was told they needed to get their things together and leave the premises by 2:00 PM.

Thanks.