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thewritingstar · 4 years

Note

best friends greens mutual pining roommates in college told in Butches POV?? it’s a lot of stuff in one post but i think you’re the only author i know who could pull it off (besides SBJ)

Pairing: Butch x Buttercup (Greens)

I-I don’t even know what to say. I really feel like i shouldn’t be compared to such a queen. But thank you. I hope this does your prompt justice and i love nothing more than a flustered Butch. Imma say this is rated like T to M just for the mention of certain topics. I hope you enjoy this and thank you for the ask!

Ask/Requests always open

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College was suppose to be fun. It was suppose to be full of random parties, random booze, random drugs and most importantly, random girls that he didn’t need to know the names of.

What is wasn’t suppose to be was ice cold showers and massive headaches as he tried to drown the feelings that were arising. Random thoughts that he should be having about random girls should not belong to his roommate. No he really shouldn’t be thinking about how soft her skin would feel against his as she disappeared into her bedroom with a random guy.

He thought it would be easy and chill to live with Buttercup and at the beginning it was. They were best friends of course and they got along like two peas in a pod. Scary movies, frozen meals and cheap beer was how the spent their nights together.

Jerking off to the thought of her was how he spent his nights alone, and he hated it.

You weren’t suppose to fall in love with your best friend. Every one who says they married their best friend is a liar in his book, at least thats what he told himself every night. All he wanted to do was forget about these feelings because he didn’t want to ruin what they had.

Of course it was easier said then done when she decided a long band t shirt and booty shorts was her usual studying attire and sometimes they would lounge in their underwear because what else to bffs do?. She would sit next to him until their shoulders touched and more than once, it felt like they were a domestic married couple living in a one bedroom apartment than two homies making it through college.

They would sometimes cook together and have study sessions. That was all normal stuff. What wasn’t normal was whispering her name praying that the random girl underneath him didn’t notice.

They had been best friends since middle school and he valued their relationship more than anything but those feelings had shifted in high school and he never got to chance, or had the balls, to tell her.

Every time he thought he was ready, she would end up tell him about a boy on the football team or baseball and he would sit there and nod. He would be there to support her time after time. Break up after break up, he was there for her tears even when his heart was ripping to shreds every single time.

But he couldn’t lose the only person who understood him on his level. He liked to punch and fight and get messy and she was right there along side him. Who else could keep up with him? Her but if it meant looking at as only a friend, then he could do so, even if it killed him on the inside.

He thought that living together would erase the emotions but they only made them stronger. His fist would clench together until his nails would dig into his palms and threaten to break the skin. His jaw tighten and the door would slam as he left every time she had someone over.

Butch couldn't be mad, he also occupied his time with random girls who were pretty and air heads at best, mostly sorority because flings were like crack to them. But even in the heat of those moments, he wished it was her. Sure the girls were hot but something about Buttercup made his heart clench.

Her presence was that of a firework. Explosive and bright and if you were lucky, got to see it light up constantly and he was taken back every time. She was her own type of beauty, no one could compare. Even with blood dripping down her knuckles as she snarled at the monster before her, she was everything he had ever wanted. A bad ass girl who wasn’t afraid of anything, except for clowns, she hated clowns.

She could be intimidating and he would laugh at the guys who would try to get with her for more than a fling and fail miserably. Even if he wasn’t the one to be in her bed, he was still miles ahead of every one. She knew that too.

And right now, he was losing it.

A simple night. The scary movie was playing, one that they had seen a hundred times before and a box of pizza that only had a few slices left. She was on one side of the couch with one foot on his leg and the other dangling off the side while his leg was propped up and the other resting while hers was on it. His elbow was on the arm rest and from the corner of his eyes he could see her blankly staring at the screen.

She wasn’t even dressed up. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and just an over sized shirt and yet he thought she looked gorgeous.

he couldn’t explain how he felt. She was a magnet or a bright flame and he was a moth ready to be burned by the light.

He sat there watching the screen. His heartbeat thumping in his chest heavily and he hate, absolute hated that she had super hearing too.

“You that scared pussy?” She said without even looking at him and he swallowed hard before grabbing his water.

He only had about a month left before winter break and then he could room with someone else, it would be better for both of them. He loved rooming with her but these feelings would only drive him crazy and it wan’t fair for her to live with him having these thoughts. Fuck she looked hot.

“Yeah.” He lied and coughed dryly.

She paused the tv and finally looked at him. “You okay?”

She always saw through his bullshit and it was one of the many things he admired about her, expect for this moment.

He rolled his eyes playfully trying to mask the redness in his face. “Just worried about an upcoming test, basic college shit ya know.”

He only heard her hum before her foot moved from the spot on his leg and he was thankful for a second.

“You’ve seemed on edge lately.” Her voice was soft and he turned to face her not knowing that she had moved and his nose almost hit hers. “And I don’t think its about a test.” No shit sherlock. Maybe its because the hottest girl in the world was hovering just inches from him and he wanted to do nothing more than kiss her, but he couldn’t

Hie eyes widened at the close proximity and he thought he was gonna die. She batted her eyelashes at him and he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Just about school.” Another lie and he could smell the crisp apple perfume she was wearing. Why was she so close?

She sat on her heels and looked at him. He was trying not to lose it.

“Can I ask you something?” She said and he nodded.

“Yeah.”

And now she looked nervous. She paused and opened her mouth before closing it again. He knew that look. It was the determining what to do next look and she only did that with him. And funny enough it was always after a break up.

In high school they would sit in a parking lot or on the school roof tops. She would finishing cussing out the guy and even wiping her tears and then give him this look.

“Why are guys such ass hole?” She would say and he would only shrug before slinking his arm over her shoulder and hugging him close.

“Relax BC, you’ll find someone.” Like me he would want to say every time but he never did.

Her eyes would be wide and even after crying you could see the individual flecks of neon green mixed with various shades and if the light hit them just right, he swore he could see gold.

Her eyes matched those right now as she thought about her next words. The light coming through the blind bounced off them and even if he was a few inches away, those gold flecks were there.

“Never mind.” She whispered, she did that on the roof tops too. He could see it now.

How was he blind before? The looks and the pink to her cheeks. The way she walked and talked around him was much more delicate than those random guys. He placed his hand on her leg, rubbing circles with his thumb.

Neither of them had been with a fling for about a month now. He was getting bored of everyone else and maybe she was too. The feeling of doubt that he had every time this would happen was in him now.

But she was a blazing bonfire and he was a moth that was so close to light, he didn’t care if he got burned to a crisp.

“Come Buttercup, tell me.” He pleaded and he hope and prayed, even begged to the gods that the look she was wearing was the sign he was looking for.

She looked at his hand and relaxed before those tears formed on her waterline. Everyone said Bubbles was the cry baby but she wasn’t afraid to let the tears fall. She shook her head and cracked a smile. Their noses now touched and her lip quivered as her hand touched his face.

She looked terrified and he was too as she inched closer and closer, their lips practically brushing together. “I don’t want you to regret it.”

“I couldn’t, not after all this time. I’ve been yours since the start.” He whispered and her lips fell to his.

He felt the firework go off. It was blinding and brighter than ever. He now understood when people said that you’ll see the stars when you kiss the one for you. And right now he was seeing the fucking universe.

He wasted no time falling into the kiss. All those random thoughts and girls had evaporated in a flash as he tugged her into his lap and kissed her senselessly. He hated whenever she talked about other guys but the wait was worth it as she was finally kissing him.

Her lips were soft and plush just like he dreamed they would be.

Their mouths moved as if two puzzle pieces finally formed together after searching for their missing half. His hand went to rest on her ass and she pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt. He let out a growl as she playfully bit his lip and pulled away, gasping for air.

“T-those fucking shorts, you f-fucking tease.” He breathed out.

“T-took you long enough you dumb ass.” She wasn’t wearing all this tight clothing just for the sake of it, no he was convinced that she was the evil one now.

“How was I suppose to know?”

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice as he picked her up and carried her off to his room. Something he thought would only happen in those cold shower dreams of his.

College is fun. Its full of random young adults getting drunk at parties and taking shots of whatever they could find, loud ass music and most importantly, finding out that the person you’ve had the hots for since the 8th grade also liked you back. He was just thankfully that none of his showers had to be ice cold any more.

He now learned that you could in fact marry your best friend and kicked himself for ever thinking he couldn’t.

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I hope this was okay!!! :)

#greens #butch x buttercup #butchercup #butchercup fic #ppg #powerpuff girls fan fic #the powerpuff girl #thewritingstar

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hermionesterrier · 6 years

Text

More Than Human: Chapter 6 Liveblog!

IT’S THE BEACH CHAPTER ASKHDFGHJKL!!!!!!!!!

The Professor going all overprotective!Dad I’M CACKLING. IF ONLY YOU KNEW PROFESSOR HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This is a running gag throughout the story AND I LOVE IT!

What the hell is beach blanket bingo? O.o

Awww Bubbles is still waving back that cutie

....and then jumping right into bikini mode BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Be more obvious Blossom. I dare you.

Butch snorted. “Naw, he’s here. Wandering around the beach, all ‘dark and lonely as a cloud,’ or some shit like that.” BUTCH QUOTING A WILLIAM WORDSWORTH POEM LIKE W H A T HOW THO

A small part of me wants to know what the Greens were drawing in the sand. A very small part.

The wind whipped Brick’s open shirt around him as he walked. LMFAO you can totally tell how much fun SBJ had writing this chapter hehehehe.

Flirting face? That was flirting?? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Warning: A polite Butch makes another appearance.

Oh my god stay away from the food Blossom no one needs food poisoning or the fire department.

Poor Boomer drooling all over the burgers hahahaha

Brick issued her a weird look. She rolled her eyes and stood up, and in a blur of blue Brick was at the grill with the tongs in his hand. He blinked. “What the-” “Get grillin’,” Bubbles chirped, guiding his hand to flip over the patties. Boomer looked distraught at the physical contact. “Hey! First you take my burger duties and now you take my girl?” "I didn’t think I was anybody’s girl,” Bubbles said innocently. “You can have her,” Brick muttered under his breath. All the same, he didn’t bat her hand away. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I love how Bubbles just does not care what Brick thinks or wants she just takes control and forces him to follow suit. Bubbles/Brick 5ever <3

All the little Bubbles/Brick moments *_* MY HEART IS SINGING

“Of course you have a choice,” Brick scoffed. “You choose to be a dirty hippie and not eat meat.” Bubbles pouted. “I’m not dirty.” “Wouldn’t object to it,” Boomer said under his breath. "Was that a sex joke?” Blossom asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “Did you just make a sex joke at my sister?” I’m lmfao @ Bubbles being bothered because of the dirty part and not caring about the rest xD Also, protective!Blossom yayyyy :D

All the guys waiting for the moment

Even BRICK is ogling Buttercup like HAH!

“Dude.” He gasped. “Buttercup, your arms are so cut I’m not even staring at your tits.” BEST. PICKUP. LINE. IN. THE. HISTORY. OF. EVER.

Blossom having to literally get banned from home ec tho xD

I will always always always LOVE how expertly SBJ combines humor with well-placed exaggeration. It’s so fucking hard to get comedy right on paper but this whole story is COMEDY GOLD…especially this chapter.

A bit O.o and not totally convinced Blossom could ever beat Buttercup in a sport tbh.

And the tables have turned AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

A SHIRTLESS BRICK FINALLY APPEARS HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD

“Hey!” Boomer cried. “I don’t have a shirt on, either!” “Good for you.” Bubbles said cheerfully. Boomer didn’t seem comforted by this. Poor Boomer xD

Brick gaped at her. “You owe me a new shirt!” “We can go get one now.” Buttercup said without skipping a beat. “Want to?” So Buttercup and Butch have more in common than you’d think xD

Buttercup perked up. “Yes, volleyball. Some hot, sweaty volleyball. Doesn’t that sound refreshing?” Something clicked in Butch’s brain. “Hey! Cut that out!” “What? I’m just saying-” “You’re not allowed to find my brother hot!” "Excuse me?” Blossom lowered her hat and glared. “Who are you to cast stones?” Very valid point, Blossom. Also, LOL @ that “something” that suddenly clicked in Butch’s brain.

“Buttercup!” Butch snapped. “His fucking face is up here!” “Yeah, that’s cool.” she said distractedly, not staring at his face at all. “Faces are cool. I’ve got one of those.” LMFAO YEA FACES ARE COOL BUT ABS ARE BEAUTIFUL SO SHHHH. And Butch being so obviously pissed off the second Buttercup started showing her blatant lust over Brick is everythinggggg :D

Holy shit Brick’s gonna blow a fuse after this fight’s over

I know Brick wants the fighter destroyed because of the data it could collect on him and his brothers but is he also trying to...protect the girls?

Blossom’s suspicious

....or not

“Butch, fire,” he said, and in a blast of green there was nothing but ash between Blossom’s hands. Butch is Brick’s to-go-to guy.

So Brick can basically do anything and everything right? Sure...

Damn that was...harsh. Who the fuck is Darius? And why do I already miss the previous JS even though he was never really physically introduced in the story?

Leave it to Brick to be the only one who’s miserable that they’re staying xD

Bubbles/Buttercup sisterly moment awwww <3

D’awww @ Buttercup and Bubbles already missing the boys.

He took her to fucking Hawaii. To talk. On their surfboards. In the middle of the ocean. AT FUCKING SUNSET. BE STILL MY BEATING HEART BECAUSE THIS SCENE IS EVERYTHING.

LOL @ the total inner PANIC!! mode Buttercup goes into when she thinks Butch wants to tell her he likes her. Been there girl. I feel ya.

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how Butch is the first of the boys to tell their counterpart that they work for Evil Corp? THAT’S how much he trusts her. BABIES.

“So what are you going to do about it?” he asked, his gaze as dark as the night sky. Now there was light in them, though. Funny how his eyes wouldn’t reflect sunlight, but moonlight lit them up something fierce. Funny how you keep noticing his eyes, Buttercup :’) *whistles innocently*

Blues are too cute walking on the beach holding hands *_*

“That’s really cool.” “Yeah?” Butch’s voice drifted along the water, gentler than the waves that rocked them. Their hands floated close enough to touch, but neither reached for the other. GENTLER THAN THE WAVES AND CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH I AM SCREAMING OH MY GODDDDD!!!!!!

"Hey, you can’t tell anybody else,” he suddenly said. "What do you think I am, stupid?” she scoffed. “Don’t worry about it. I got you.” He raised himself up on his elbows to stare at her. She kept her eyes on the sky, and, after a while, he laid back down. A second later he kicked her board over, sending her rolling into the water, and he laughed as she sputtered and snarled and dragged him in after her. Her “I got you” is so genuine and trusting that it actually makes Butch stop and stare. STOP AND STARE. And the next thing he does? In typical Butch fashion, he ruins the moment by doing something dumb. That’s not because he’s Butch and that’s what he does but it’s because it’s Butch and he’s shocked that she isn’t beating his ass or flying off to tell her sisters and she actually just gets him and it’s nice. That’s why he ruins the moment. Because it’s nice and he’s not used to having nice things or nice moments or normal (kinda) functioning relationships with anyone. I AM EATING THIS UP LIKE CANDY OKAY.

Yup, Blossom is definitely suspicious.

GO RUIN YOUR LIFE AND READ THIS FLAWLESS FIC ASAP. You won’t regret it!

#sbj more than human #jess reads mth

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doctornolonger · 7 years

Text

In @thebrakespearevoyage-blog review of Head of State, he says

The identity of the shift despite there being no explicit statement … risks over-exciting some readers in a way that could draw the attention from what the novel is doing towards a discussion of other things which are strictly peripheral to Faction Paradox.

This confused me, since I hadn’t noticed any hints or even heard any speculation regarding the Shift’s identity. So I reread all the Shift’s chapters and pulled out everything that counted as a clue.

In an earlier draft, it was the hero of the story.

“But anyway, I was an agent for one side or another, and I was, I flatter myself to think, a rather decent one. Certainly, I was someone you’d consider a ‘goodie’. I stopped unnecessary tampering with history, I tried to stop people getting hurt unless history required it…I did my best.”

“I’ve spent a little time on Earth in the past”

My first guess was that this character is a Cwej. Agent of the Great Houses: check. Spent a little time on Earth: check. Hero of the story? Sure! Case closed. I was pretty happy with this theory, and I was enjoying my reread of Head of State, so I decided to jump in and read the Scheherazade chapters as well, and there I stumbled upon this particular excerpt from a story about Allah and the djinn:

But there was one in those times who was neither angel nor djinn, and whose name is known by none but Allah. ... The one said unto Allah, “Lord, if thou hidest the cauldron from the djinn, and protect it from them, then they will no longer attack thy angels.”

And Allah, a million praises unto him, saw that he was right, and he took the cauldron, and around it he formed the Earth, and on the Earth he placed Man, to guard the Earth and the cauldron it contained.

The translator of the story, Richard Francis Burton, makes some notes about how this defies Islamic tradition, since the only four types of being are angel, djinn, man, and Allah, so there shouldn’t be something else; and in the actual story of the (first) War in Heaven, Iblis only rebels after man is created. The whole account is pretty clearly a metaphor for Rassilon’s Eternal War against the Yssgaroth, with the Yssgaroth being the djinn and Rassilon being Allah. Just as Rassilon and Omega plugged a caldera with the Earth in Interference, Allah plugs the caldera with the Earth in Head of State.

But in the story about Allah and the cauldron, the Shift interrupts:

IT DIDN’T REALLY HAPPEN QUITE LIKE THAT. I MEAN, I CAN SEE WHAT THEY’RE GETTING AT, BUT I WAS THERE AND I’M PRETTY SURE IT WASN’T ALLAH I WAS TALKING TO…

And that seriously complicates things! If this Shift was around in the time of Rassilon and Omega, that pretty much eliminates the Cwej idea; it’s a pretty big wink wink hint hint in the direction of the Other aka Doctor. (Which I’m sure is what SBJ was thinking of in his review.) This gives us two interesting things to think about:

(1) As Burton notes, the Other-Shift is neither djinn nor angel. Djinn are Yssgaroth, and angels are either casts ... or Time Lords. So if it’s neither of those, and he’s not Rassilon, might he be ... a man? Or am I reading this wrong, the angels are casts, and the Other (like Allah) is a Time Lord?

(2) If the Shift is the Doctor, then what the hell was he doing monitoring Earth for one of the major powers so late in the War? In Alien Bodies, we see him die on Dronid at the very start of the War while working for the Time Lords. Had he faked his death and started working for the Enemy, which is why his corpse (which should’ve been easily detectable for its power) was found so many years after the battle, as if planted on the planet? Or has you-know-who just been screwing up time that majorly?

#head of state #andrew hickey #andrewhickeywriter #obverse books #faction paradox #the doctor #the other #lolita #the shift #cwej #cwejen #rassilon #yssgaroth

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wutbju · 7 years

Photo

Update on Friday, December 6, 2017, 9:19am: Sometime in the last 24 hours, Facebook decided to block this link without notice or explanation because it didn’t meet “Community Standards.”

Since this really couldn’t be more dull with statistics and bar graphs, it seems clear that the reason for the blockage is the photo of BJU’s preacher boy song at the bottom, “Souls For Jesus.” In an attempt to circumvent this revealing judgment on BJU’s war ideology, I will remove that photo, repost the information, and house the photo here and further document here.

So after discovering the South Carolina CHE stats for Bob Jones University’s majors, WutBJU discussions prompted a look at prior data.

What did the major stats look like ten years ago at BJU?

I assumed that they’d be about the same proportions. They aren’t. And the changes are very revealing.

The blue columns in the above graph (larger version available here) are the raw numbers for full-time undergraduates in each major in 2006. The green columns are the raw numbers for equivalent majors in 2016.

There’s a ten year difference between those stats. I chose 2006 because that was the first Fall after Stephen Jones’ presidency and that was early in BJU’s reporting data at CHE.

And there’s one other difference. 2006-2007 was the first year BJU was nationally accredited with TRACS. Thus, in these ten years, we can see how BJU has fared under TRACS accreditation.

Some majors have been eliminated. All the SAS majors and pre-law (which was very small anyway), for instance, are gone. You can see that blue column to the far left in the above graph. The SAS, all combined, had a good share of students -- nearly 5%.

One set of majors has been added since 2006 -- Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies. That’s new. That now accounts for 7% of the Fall 2016 student body.

So eliminate those two from our purview since their inclusion and exclusion is the reason for the change. What majors have changed the most since 2006?

Here’s a graph of the percentages for each major within the whole of full-time undergraduates (you can see a larger one here).

Biology has increased 4.99% to be 6.61% of the student body.

All majors in the School of Business (how it was classified in 2006) have increased 5.18% to be 18.19% of the student body.

And good ol’ Fine Arts majors. <3 <3 They have increased their influence 6.18% to be 16.34% of the student body.

Performance majors rely on their performance to get into grad schools or into their careers. Business majors are usually set on going right into the work force, and grad school is not necessary. BJU’s pre-med has a well-worn tract right into USC Medical School. That path is set too. TRACS accreditation hasn’t changed those three sets. And in fact, it’s increased their influence on the campus.

Here are the raw numbers, 2006 vs. 2016:

Biology/Pre-Med, 55 vs. 153.

Business, 441 vs. 421.

Fine Arts, 344 vs. 378.

Biology has tripled. Business is pretty steady. And Fine Arts is up slightly.

Wow! I guess the cancer lab is working and the reputation of the School of Business and the School of Fine Arts hold strong. Good for them.

That’s the good news. I would hope that means that the Fine Arts faculty, Bio faculty, and Business faculty feel secure.

Let’s go to the bad news.

Nursing’s not doing that well. Its percentage in the student body has dropped 3.8% to 6.44% total in 2016. In raw numbers that’s a drop from 347 students in 2006 to 149 in 2016. It’s still a large major comparatively, but not what it was.

Nursing students rely significantly on regional accreditation for their certification. TRACS hasn’t helped them.

Another big major has always been Education. And percentage-wise the numbers are holding steady. There’s only a 1.2% drop in the student body numbers. Let’s look at the raw numbers though. In 2006 BJU had 464 education majors; in 2016 it only had 289. Christian schools are folding up, and the public schools are not acknowledging the nationally accredited degree.

But do you see the School that has the worst downturn there? Both in the raw numbers and the overall percentage of the student body? This was a complete surprise to me.

Bible.

All the undergraduate School of Religion majors (except Counseling because the CHE categories list that major in a different category) have plummeted from 412 in 2006 to 155 in 2016.

Let me say that a different way.

Bob Jones University’s undergraduate program in Bible has shrunk 63% in ten years. It’s a third of what it was.

In 2006, the Bible majors (including Camp Ministries, Missions, and PCT) were 12.16% of the student body. In 2016, they are 6.7%. That’s a bigger hit than the SAS majors.

No other major at Bob Jones University has suffered a bigger decline in the SBJ-Pettit/TRACS years than the famed “Preacher Boys.”

Ministry majors are the one field that doesn’t need any accreditation. And TRACS wouldn’t have helped them either way. And it just might have hurt.

But this is why BJU chose an evangelist and not a businessman or an academic for its fourth president. This is why BJU added another administrator to the School of Religion/Seminary.

When your graduates leading churches all over the country won’t even list their alma mater on their bios because they are ashamed of what Bob Jones University represents with the likes of Chuck Phelps and Jim Berg, no wonder ministry-minded students are going elsewhere.

#Bob Jones University #Enrollment #2006 #2016 #CHE #Decline #School of Religion #School of Fine Arts #Souls for Jesus #Tanking #Biology #Nursing

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davewakeman · 6 years

Text

You can make your content marketing more effective!

One of the most popular buzzwords going is “content marketing.”

It is right up there with “social selling” under terms that if we aren’t careful can become utterly meaningless.

Having now sat on a number of calls over the last few weeks where people talk about my ability to use content to drive sales conversations, my brand reputation, and create opportunities, I figure I would spend a few minutes this morning sharing some of the secrets of content marketing that help me have a successful content marketing operation.

Understand What You Are Trying To Achieve:

Just like any project, your content marketing strategy needs to be focused on some sort of outcomes or results.

For me, I look at content marketing as a tool that allows me to write and speak on things that put me in the best possible light.

By putting my ideas in a frame, I am able to generate the kinds of attention and conversations that I want to have.

I’m not trying to sell anyone anything from a piece of content.

All I’m trying to do is stimulate the opportunity to have a deeper conversation about the challenges that organizations are having.

Over time, this is likely to change as I offer things that people can more readily consume right away like courses and books, but for now…my goal in content marketing has been to drive my ability to have deeper and better conversations with people.

For you and your organization, you are likely to need to spend some time thinking about what you want your content to deliver for you.

Do you need it to open the door to sales calls?

Are you doing it to drive signups for a subscription service?

Are you trying to get people to take a class or course?

What is the goal you want to achieve with your content?

Don’t Make Content A One-Size-Fits-All Affair:

Early on in my speaking career, I made a mistake that I only had to make once…I tried to be everything to everyone in one talk.

Basically, I was giving a talk about a strategic fundraising topic for nonprofits and when I realized that the audience was made up of far too many junior people that would find little or no use for the presentation that I had laid out, I tried to mix and match stuff on the go.

I don’t need to tell you that it was a disaster.

I was unhappy.

The person that invited me in was unhappy.

The audience was unhappy.

Because I had basically become a generality that had nothing to offer the audience.

That’s terrible.

Because it is a big missed opportunity.

Too much content floating around is exactly the same thing.

How many of you have read articles that are targeted at such a general audience that the content is vacuous and meaningless?

How many of you have read articles that are so unfocused that you can’t tell exactly what the point is?

How many of you have started reading something that you immediately felt was a waste of time?

We can’t have that.

The reality is that there isn’t just one way to deliver content.

I have a list on my desk right now that has about 120 different ways that I can share my ideas.

That means that I can take the idea or value I want to share and offer it up in any number of different ways to the audiences I am trying to hit.

Am I trying to talk to young sales agents in sports?

Then I have LinkedIn posts that work really well for that audience.

Do I want to hit executives in ticketing?

Maybe I go speak at INTIX or the TPC.

Am I trying to work with people in sports?

That’s a good time to visit the SBJ.

Whatever my target is, I have a way to reach that audience.

This is something to keep in mind with your own strategy.

You have to know your audience and who your content is directed at.

If you don’t, you are likely not to get as much traction as you would hope from your efforts.

So make sure your content is focused at a specific persona or type of prospect.

Be Consistent:

One of my big goals this year was to make sure that I write a blog a day here on my site.

This was important because I can sometimes feel like I am trying to wait on the next genius idea to pop up that will make people beat down my door.

That’s really unlikely to happen because ideas are free, it is the application of the idea that is valuable.

So putting that frame around my ideas help me start ensuring that I write daily.

Some days I write early, some days late.

The key is that so far this year, every day has meant that I have dropped a new blog post on you from this site.

For all of us, our marketing efforts are only as successful as we allow them to be by being consistent in their delivery.

In direct response marketing, you can often see an immediate response from any campaign you launch.

That’s not always the case with content marketing because sometimes it is the accumulation of ideas that enables you to seep into the consciousness of a potential buyer.

The big thing to remember is that you have to show up over and over again.

Because for one thing, the earth shaking idea is likely not to come settling upon your shoulder if you aren’t consistently out there sharing and creating ideas.

Second, even if you have the earth shattering idea, if no-one knows you from the man on the moon, it is going to be another barrier to success that you just don’t need.

So be consistent.

Focus on Adding Value:

In visiting a number of conferences over the last few months, I have noticed that all too many pieces of content, presentations, etc are just glorified product brochures:

Full of specifications

Full of technical data

Full of talk about what’s important to you

These often are poorly received and a waste of the teams’ time because the thing is that they put you and your organization in the position of a commodity or a me-too product or service.

The best content does a good job of stimulating an excitement in the reader or receiver about what could be, what is possible, and the outcomes that change might bring.

This doesn’t have to be self promotional.

In a lot of cases, by defining the problem, you become the best person to solve the problem.

That’s why the best content is focusing on showing a clearer path to a better future.

Focus on outcomes.

Focus on improvement.

Focus on challenges that need to be overcome.

Just don’t focus on yourself.

Does all of this make sense?

Where is your content strategy struggling?

Where is it successful?

Let me know below. The comments are open.

Please follow and like us:

You can make your content marketing more effective! was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

#commodity #content marketing #conversations #marketing #selling #social selling

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frootware · 7 years

Photo

I tweeted this photo last night because I like to mock some of the phishing emails that come through on one of the several email addresses I have. As per usual with my tweets regarding those emails, I made some sarcastic commentary about things I noticed with it. These emails will always be coming into one mailbox: this is an email address I’ve had since I was 13, and it is an email address that is likely to be on a lot of various mailing lists both good and bad due to the extent of usage it’s had. I’ve accepted that. Most nefarious emails do get blocked, but there will always be some that get through the net. Things happen.

Now I have this blog set up and running, I figured I might break it down a little bit more - hopefully leaving out the sarcasm, but I can’t make any promises about that.

I’ll start by looking at how the email appeared when looking at my Inbox in the client - before even viewing the message. I don’t have any screenshots of this, sadly, but it was something that caught my eye anyway.

From: Service Support | Sbj: We regret to inform you of this bad news

This sort of subject line catches attention quickly. People don’t like bad news. Seeing it from a sender reporting to be a Service Support also may mean a number of things - termination of a critical service, loss of a loved one in the case of said loved one being in an assisted living situation. Another possibility, of course, given news running rampant with Equifax and, less recently, WannaCry, is a technical service emailing customers to report a security breach. The purpose is still the same: get the victim to click the email.

Upon opening the e-mail, there’s several issues that pop out.

1. The email address

“noreply@barneycenter[.]com”. That is most definitely PayPal.

Doing a site:barneycenter.com search on Google shows me that this domain is tied to a WordPress site for Alabama based Barney Center Business, which involves itself with History, Law, and Politics. Their site is not accessible.

2. The PayPal logo

This is not the PayPal logo. For starters, it’s written in text rather than an image. Secondly, PayPal branding continuously has the second ‘p’ of PayPal capitalised. The font that PayPal have opted to use for the logo, also, does not use a hooked ‘a’, as can be seen below with a genuine PayPal logo. The ‘Pay’ of PayPal is stretched. In genuine emails, they also use a variation of the logo that involves two overlapping P’s, and with some others the overlapping P’s is the logo that they opt to use - depending on the purpose of the email.

image source: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/logo-center

3. “Dear Client”

PayPal make a point to use the full name of the account holder in all communication that they send. Even with advertising emails that PayPal send, I find that they still have my name on somewhere. As this email, if genuine, would be targeted to an individual account holder, I would definitely be expecting to see the account holder’s (i.e. my) name on the email. You ain’t addressing me, I ain’t clicking your link.

4. Changing fonts (font family and font colour)

There are four different fonts on this email, and the main body of the email changes colour twice (dark grey, mid-grey, black). Ever heard of consistency, phishy boy? It’s very important for branding. No marketing person would have let this out of a mailbox’s drafts, let alone the outbox. Even if this was a genuine security alert message, there would’ve been a template to follow. Business brand and image is incredibly important and to sacrifice it would mean career suicide for whoever sent an email that left it out.

5. Random capitalisation and syntax

“Your Account will be Limited,Because we have found some information is absent,Please” etc.

For once, this is an email where the English itself isn’t that bad. That sounds awfully xenophobic to say, but it is a trend among phishing emails - whether that has something to do with origin of the emails or attempts to get through filters or some combination, I can’t say, but it’s still a trend. The author of this email keeps using commas in strange places or in place of periods, as well. I’d ask if his spacebar broke, too, but he’s used it between words.

I said the English wasn’t bad but I looked at the message again and I saw “for continue with best services”. I stand corrected, even before I post.

6. Line breaks mid-sentence

This is common in an attempt to break up phrases that may be getting filtered by mail clients or spam filters. The phrases that are being broken - “please update” and “account information” - are definitely phrases that I would be watching for if I was a filter. By inserting a line break, probably through the use of <br />, the filter isn’t seeing those phrases any more.

7. Requesting information with little explanation

My PayPal has most of my information on it and has two email accounts linked. I know people who have no information on theirs, with no account limitations. I know people who have had their accounts limited for various reasons.

My first question: What information is missing? When I’ve had a card expire on my PayPal in the past and not added a new one, they’ve asked me specifically along the lines (and this is paraphrasing and awfully informal) “Yo, you want a card on your account? Here’s how to put one back on” My second question: why is it so vital that my account has been limited until I add it? My third question: If it’s so important and vital for my account, why wasn’t it asked at registration?

8. “Yours sincerely,” with no name

Who are you????

In all seriousness, it seems odd to begin to sign off an email without actually signing it off. I doubt the person sending the email is a login page with a gibberish URL. Speaking of, the sign-off is a very strange place to put the login button, dear Phisher.

9. The Avast signature

I use PayPal on an incredibly regular basis - being paid weekly and having monthly subscriptions to things that are paid through PayPal, I tend to throw contributions into my PayPal account every week towards those subscriptions to cover the cost of said subscriptions - and I have never seen a declaration from any anti-virus program declaring a PayPal email to be virus-free.

Avast is also the anti-virus program I’m using at the moment. It doesn’t mark emails coming in with this signature; this only happens to outgoing emails. Whoever is running this campaign uses Avast, clearly.

All in all, this was a really obvious phishing email. There’s a lot wrong with it and I’m struggling to see much that could be considered “right” with it. Attempts were made, I guess.

#phishing #paypal scam email

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u-tonium · 1 year

Link

This one’s a bit smutty...I blame sbj.

#powerpuff girls #ppg #ppg 1998 #ppg buttercup #ppg butch #butch #buttercup #greens #smut #citrus #notice me sbj #i blame rb #the powerpuff girls #ppg fanfic #sbj more than human #sbj mth

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thewritingstar · 4 years

Note

Fanfiction Writer Ask 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 21, 24, 29, 30 (Super curious because it happens to me too!), 34 (and how do you deal with it), 47 ("You're My Sexy Broccoli, Juvia"), 49, 50. Hiiiii, D!

Hiiiii K!!! Thanks for asks bb!!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

-I started posting/writing when I was 18 I think, so its been almost 2 years. Wild.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

-Genre i guess is fantasy. If its like tropes then friends to lovers or soulmates.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

-Probably night time but I try to write whenever inspiration sparks. When I used to write every single day,,oof, I would write in between classes in my car.

8) Answered in another post.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

-nope I’ve only gotten positive feed back even if its yall yelling at me for angst. Although someone tried to test me once (yall know who cough cough chris.) And i ended that shit right then and there

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

-Oh gosh where to start!! I’ll name a few of my recent faves you know besides YOU! We all know Im a fan girl so here we go!

@renaerys -the story telling and the detail literally makes me want to scream at how thought out everything is. the writing level is beyond those who actually write novels.

@arxaris -literally check on the daily because I crave the content because its SO GOOD!! SO GOOD. I just want to scream at how well they write characters.

Obvi you because I am in love with all of your writing you amazing bean.

I HAVE SO MANY MORE AND HAVE MADE LONG ASS POSTS ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE I LOVE.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

-I can write some steamy scenes but never in detail. I always implied that things are happening because theres no way in hell I could ever make those scenes good so im not even gonna try. (i can read them with no trouble though)

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

-I am grateful for all the love I receive on fics no matter the length or whatever but yeah. I have a hard time getting past 4k when writing fics so when I do write that much, it kinda sucks that all my efforts weren't noticed but thats okay because its not about the following or numbers, as long as one person enjoys it, that makes me happy :)

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

-Not really. I appreciate all the love and it makes me excited when my posts go over what I usually get. If its a drabble or something I only spent 5 minutes on, im kinda shocked because I never spend that much time but it gets a lot of love. I use what people like in my other stories, so its a win win for me.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

-I dont think i’ve ever received harsh criticism. I’ve had people ask what i meant by things or a little upset at how i portray a character but im always happy to explain my intentions. My tip: take what they say and throw it away. If its about how you wrote something maybe think about it and look at it from a view point of them but if its just plain mean, don’t worry because what ever small mean thing they say will be over thrown by the mass positive love from others.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about? "You're My Sexy Broccoli, Juvia"

-Okay so um first. WTF.

Second this would be a family fic where Juvia is trying to get her fussy baby to eat health but they wont and end up spilling broccoli puree all over her. After she breaks down about how shes not a good mother and how she isnt beautiful anymore, Gray comforts her and at the end he wipes it off and says "You're My Sexy Broccoli, Juvia". She laughs a kisses him with warm tears in her eyes and says “Never say that to Juvia again.”

-end scene

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

-It was absolute no doubt a powerpuff girls fic. I am 97% Sure it was sbjs More Than Human because at age 11/12 I began looking at fan art and only read PPG fics.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

-LETS ALL TAKE A GUESS! ON 3. 1...2....3...

Im insulted that you would ask such a basic question, but ANGST OBVI

Thank you so much for the asks!!!

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