That was fun! Actually, fun doesn’t even describe it. I think exhilarating is a better word. But even as a writer, I am having a hard time putting my experience today into words, so let’s just go with exhilarating. Speaking at Content Marketing World was on my career bucket list and today I got to cross it off. Thank you so much to everyone who came to the panel “5 Ways to Reel in Highly Qualified Freelancers”. It was great to see you and get to talk to you.

Outside of my panel, a heck of a lot happened at Content Marketing World today – from fabulous keynotes to educational sessions to a yummy breakfast (yes, it lived up to my memory from last year). Right now, I am head off to meeting some fellow freelancers for dinner and then heading to a Cheap Trick concert (wish me luck, I am going with two die-hard Cheap Trick fans who are threatening to make a sign). But I wanted to share my top 5 favorite tweets from the conference hashtag #CMWorld today. It was a hard task to narrow it to five, but I did my best.

Andy Crestodina‘s presentation had a slide that read, “Content Marketing is about Karma.” It’s not about selling, it’s about helping people. I believe this with all of my whole heart. And yes, this is where I got teary eyed during the keynotes of #CMWorld. He also said, “You get what you give” and I believe in that, too. (GREAT quotes but a terrible photo, sorry!)

This was my favorite quote of the whole conference so far and not surprising Joe Pulizzi said it, and he’s been saying it for years: “Mediocre content will hurt your brand.” (Thanks to Lori Packer for capturing that one!) And I loved his slide of the quote “Be all in or get out.”

It’s easy to just add to the noise out there, but this next quote reminds us how to create something unique. Jessica Best tweeted something John von Brachel during his keynote address: “Want someone to share something? Know what they want to say and say it better than they can.” On a related note, I met John and mentioned that I was nervous about presenting–I didn’t realize he was a keynote speaker at the time. He put down what he was working on and took the time to reassure me that I would do a great job. He told me to forget about my notes and just talk about what I know. Thank you, John, I really appreciate you taking the time to encourage me and yes, I left my notes at the seat.

Ann Handley nailed it with this one, tweeted by Tequia Burt: “Are you proud of what you’re creating? Does it fill your soul?” This quote doesn’t just sum up my philosophy for content, but for life.  I think that we know when we create great content and when we don’t. And that we should all aim to only create content that we are proud of.

Cameron Conaway spoke a gem today that I couldn’t help but tweet out myself: “If you are writing for everyone then you are writing for no one.” I think this is one of the biggest mistakes that I see in content. You have to know who you are writing for so you can solve their problems. There is no way you can solve EVERYONE’s problems, but you can solve some people’s problems, but only if you write to specific people.

And don’t forget to check out the 5 Things Overheard on Tuesday at #CMWorld that I wish I Said.

 

What was your favorite part of today? Any tweets that you loved that I missed?