daniel woolfolk

By Daniel Woolfolk, Encinitas Patch

El Camino Creek fourth-grader Travis Selinka, 10, was recently treated for brain cancer with seven weeks of radiation therapy in Houston and lost his hair. 

About a dozen of his classmates shaved their heads Thursday at All American Barber Shop so that he wouldn’t be the only one with a bald head at school. 

Read more: 

http://encinitas.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/ecc-4th-graders-shave-heads-to-support-friend-with-cancer

Everything in this article is true and the most important takeaways are to not be a pest to publishers and to never attempt a sales pitch in a blog post. 

A video where I see if dogs like carrots got picked up by CBS 8 in San Diego. It had previously been picked up nationally by AOL. 
It’s a follow-up to a video of a veterinarian showing how and why to feed vegetables to dogs. 

A video where I see if dogs like carrots got picked up by CBS 8 in San Diego. It had previously been picked up nationally by AOL

It’s a follow-up to a video of a veterinarian showing how and why to feed vegetables to dogs. 

Successful Business Blogging is Just like a Good Conversation

As an online editor, I’ve pitched my company’s free blogging platform to hundreds of business owners at networking events and can often tell right away whose post will be shared by our readers and whose post will be ignored.

And if you’ve been to a few business networking events, you too can tell a good blogger from a bad one and it all comes down to this: Who do you want to talk to? 

Do you want to talk to the classic salesman who will approach each person the same way with the same elevator pitch or do you want to spend time with the skilled conversationalist who listens and builds a conversation just for you while showing you that she’s a confident expert in her field? 

If you’re like me, you want to interact with the conversationalist and Internet readers are no different. 

Just like you and I avoid the “elevator pitch guy,” readers avoid blog posts that are just one big sale pitch. 

I’ve seen blog posts that read something like this:

“Come to Johnson’s Furniture where we have the best selection at the best prices.” 

That’s not a blog post. That’s an ad that should be placed where people have to see it. 

Writing such a post is a waste of energy because, while a few eyeballs might graze it, nobody will share it. 

A pitchy writer has killed the viral aspect of the post before it was even published.

So when you’re at your keyboard, ready to blog, make sure you’re not in the elevator pitch mindset, make sure you’re writing the same way you’d speak if you were having a successful chat at a casual business event. 

Try these tips:

  • Next time you go to a business networking event, write down how three conversations went and don’t forget to write down any one-liners. Pick the best conversation; base a blog post out of it and keep it as close to your conversation as you can. 
  • Keep it short. (Nobody likes a long-winded Larry.)
  • Just like you make sure your new friends get your business card, make sure your readers see your contact information. I’ve done it below. 

I’ll have plenty of more posts on how to find your blogging voice and create leads by writing. If you have any questions, email me at woolfolkmedia@gmail.com

Just Say No to Vertical Videos

We’ve all done it—held our phones vertically as we shoot video. It’s the most familiar and comfortable way to hold the phone, but unfortunately it makes for bad video.

Our eyes are next to each other and not on top of each other, so naturally we see a horizontal world. 

Too bad the iPhone doesn’t take a cue from the Flip Cam and allow for horizontal video even when the phone is held vertically. 

I’ve seen too many otherwise-usable video ruined by this. 

So if you still feel the urge to shoot videos vertically, watch this fun YouTube video that will sway you to the bright horizontal side.

JP and his staff at Surfin Fire do this every year and he’s got a special touch with the kids. Here’s last year’s story. 

These dogs were fun to work with. Most of them at least tried the carrot and a few enjoyed the new treat. 

Covered another homecoming Monday and AOL On featured the video. So far, it’s been viewed about 160,000 times. 

Cardiff 101: Carpentier Parkway Damaged in Collision, Donations Needed for Repairs

Daniel Woolfolk, Encinitas Patch, May 14, 2013

Read the story on Patch: http://encinitas.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/cardiff-101-carpentier-parkway-damaged-in-collision-donations-needed-for-repairs