7 Traits That Distinguish Genius From Expert

The Mind of Genius

Having worked with over five hundred experts, authors, CEOs and opinion leaders from all industries, I’ve observed they share some fundamental traits. They all have expertise in their given field. Some have genius. What’s the difference? Here’s my take on it. Tell me what you think.

  1. Geniuses are innovators. They use the fundamentals of their professions in new ways to solve problems.
  2. They set a new standard. There is nothing generic or cookie-cutter about what they do. Yet, they’re brilliant enough to know when to stick to what has worked in their profession.
  3. They make what they do seem effortless. These are the pros you wished you had working on your problem in the first place and were grateful you finally found them.
  4. They are willing to be challenged. There are no sacred cows. They question the “everybody knows” beliefs of their professions.
  5. They are passionate about what they do. Their work is not drudgery, but something that causes them to light up when they talk about what they do. They could discuss it for hours. That’s the person I want working on my taxes, teeth, hair, etc.
  6. They are usually consulted by peers for their opinions.
  7. They can explain what they do in simple terms.

Writing an Ebook?

My publishing company and pr firm has a few ongoing ebook projects. In looking through the work of scores of ebook designers, the best I found is by Doug Eymere.

Top 5 Reasons to Switch to WordPress

First time website owners or those looking to upgrade their older site won’t go wrong using the WordPress platform. Here’s the Top Reasons to Use WordPress. I’ve avoided the use of tech-speak, so for those tekkies, pardon our avoidance of terminology.

1.The search engines will recognize your site much faster. With other platforms, it can take a while for a new site to be found by Google, Yahoo or MSN. Not so with WordPress. Right out of the box, your site is friendlier to search engines. That means your prospective customers will find you much faster.

2. You can change and update content easily. In the old days, you had your tech person put up your site and considered it done. That doesn’t work today. You need to constantly add fresh content to keep up with the game and WordPress is so user friendly that you can do it yourself. Our clients get a one-on-one orientation tutorial with Trevor, our wordpress wizard. From that point on, adding or deleting content from their site is as easy as using a word processor.

3. Free Training and Support. Unlike the static website platforms that require “html” knowledge, if you want to become independent of any technical help to maintain your site, there’s all the free help you can get online. You can find documentation and online forums where you can post just about any question and get help. Most of my clients don’t have the time for this, so we offer ongoing maintenance support and/or tutorial with Trevor, our wordpress wizard.

4. The design capabilities are unlimited. If you have a static html site right now, we can switch it over to the more search engine friendly WordPress format and keep your same design. The only difference is you’ll have the ability to update it more easily and your site will play better with the search engines. No matter what you want your site to look like, it can be done in WordPress.

5. It’s versatile. Websites have come of age with regard to their ability to influence your offline business. 75% of people now say a company’s website influences their buying decisions. Video, audio, written word, pictures …. all of these convey the message and image needed to influence your prospects. With WordPress, all of these mediums are possible.

Limited Offer ‘Till Jan 31. Right now Online Offline PR is offering a custom designed WordPress site that’s got all of the search engine ready gadgets and tracking gizmos already loaded on it for $1197. That’s like buying a laptop with Microsoft Office pre-loaded. It also includes a walk-you-through- the-site tutorial over the phone with Trevor and the guidance of a twenty-year veteran PR (that’s me). Contact me before January 31st if you’re interested.

Is Your Website Killing Your Sales?

Using PR tools like positioning and being real to your intended customer is part of ensuring all that effort and money spent to drive traffic isn’t wasted on a site that’s turning away would-be customers.

Per actual survey 75% of web users are making judgments about your organization’s credibility based on your website alone. This is so much easier to see in a brick and mortar business. A furniture store that has inventory set out randomly with no predesigned flow for you to walk and no intended ambiance won’t convey credibility, even if the quality of their furniture compares with Ethan Allen. Today’s website now have the same demanded of them.

The excellent book Web Design for ROI tells much more of the story.

Authenticity Isn’t Outsourced

To create a sticky website, you need content.

To create press releases that generate traffic to your site, there’s got to be news.

To write an article that attracts visitors to your site, it’s got to teach them something.

To effectively use Twitter to get people to your site, it has to compel an idea in a limited number of characters and the link you send them to has to maintain that interest and not betray the interest by bait and switch.

That’s a PR function. It’s why one friend of mine was disappointed with the company he hired to generate online press releases and articles. They’re very good tekkies. But they’re not PRs. They didn’t “get” him and so what they wrote wasn’t authentic. It was churned out copy that made him appear trite.

Like any display of originality, authentic content is hard to outsource.