Yes, the book and subsequent movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” inspired the title, but I couldn’t resist.

So, without further ado, Confessions of a Funnelholic:

1. I hate to say this, but I see similarities between The Funnelholic and the “Shopaholic”: The young writer’s financial column becomes very popular not because of her tremendous financial acumen but because her writing is “accessible.” She avoids complicated, esoteric language and gives her readers insight into the complex world of finance. While I feel like I have sales and marketing acumen, I have tried to make The Funnelholic casual and readable, which I believe has been one of the keys to success for this blog.
2. I stole the “Thought Leadership Series” Idea: One of the biggest traffic drivers for me has been the Thought Leadership interviews. I didn’t come up with the idea. I stole it from Jon Miller at Marketo and his Modern Marketing blog. I have no apologies, and Jon’s not mad at me. If there is one rule the Internet has created for marketers, it’s “if it works, steal it.” When marketers are coming up with their campaigns, I always tell them that part of their strategy should be to take anything that works for their competitors. Is an Adwords campaign working for a competitor? Copy it, make some minor tweaks and go.
3. I write everything myself: Some people in my company don’t believe I write everything, but I do. This isn’t much of a confession. The confession is that I leverage Tippit’s editorial staff to help edit and provide writing ideas.
4. I work for Tippit: Tippit CEO Scott Albro and I are big believers in third-party thought leadership. When I decided to write the blog, we agreed that The Funnelholic would not be an adver-blog for Tippit. It has worked, but the only negative has been the fact that no one knows I work for Tippit. Well, I do. But there is a greater point here: Today’s buyers leverage the Web to educate themselves (given), but their preferences are for third-party, non-partial thought leaders to turn to, not datasheets. Buyers listen to trusted advisors not sleazy sales pitches. We made the right move.
5. I create titles first and work backwards: It sounds crazy, but it’s true for two reasons: First, I think like a demand gen guy, with a subject line, a.k.a conversion, first. Second, I have a notepad, write down ideas as I do lead gen all day and fill it with knowledge later.
6. I read techcrunch: It’s my vicarious thrill.
7. I am having fun again writing posts: Man, I got serious for awhile and had to bring back the fun.
8. My posting schedule has become inconsistent and it’s bad. Folks, my traffic has been affected big time. All those blog tips on writing blogs are right. You have to do content at least twice a week.

Thanks for indulging me.

Craig Rosenberg is the Funnelholic. He loves sales, marketing, and things that drive revenue. Follow him on Google+ or Twitter