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Archive for September, 2006
September 28th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
 The Internet is a pretty cool tool, no doubt about that. But you know what one of its coolest - and sadly, least utilized - features is?
Using this ”right here, right now” technology to say nice things to people you come across during your online excursions.
Take Rebekah Shores, for instance.
Earlier this month, Rebekah took a moment to say some really nice stuff to us. Now, Rebekah’s a busy woman. She’s the Director at ReBiz Creative Services, a marketing firm based in Orange County that handles everything from market analysis to web services to PR campaigns.
Yet despite all this, she went off the billable grid to make this kind connection:
I just found your website from michael port’s link, and I LOVE your character and personality. I’ve just launched my own marketing company for startup and small biz here in SoCal, and you two have just set the bar for me on self expression and personal passion coming through to your clients. Thank you!!
Isn’t that sweet?
And in turn, now I have the opportunity to say “THANK YOU” to Rebekah on our beloved blog.
The Golden Rule, E-Style. It’s not only good for the Great St. Peter Check List in the sky, it’s good business practice, too.
(Don’t you just love technology?)
Posted in Agents of Karma, Fun With Marketing, Mood Boosters | No Comments »
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on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Agents of Karma, Fun With Marketing, Mood Boosters.
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September 28th, 2006 by Lani and Allen
Advice.
Aren’t you just sick of it already?
Everyone wants you to succeed in achieving the life and business of your dreams, and they all claim to have the key to getting there.
Only problem is, everyone’s advice is different.
Melanie ‘The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach’ Strick says you need to create Unstoppable Goals.
Adam ‘The Marketing Mentor’ Urbanski says you need a marketing action plan.
Andy ‘The Original Blogging Evangelist’ Wibbels says you need a blog.
Alexandria ‘The Ezine Queen’ Brown says you need an ezine.
James ‘America’s Hottest Young Speaker’ Malinchak says you need to get into public speaking.
Lorrie ‘Red Hot Copy’ Morgan-Ferrero says you need savvy copywriting skills.
And so on…and so on…
Now, here’s the funny thing: They’re all right. All of them!
Each one of them has a perfectly valid, legitimate, and useful way to help you achieve freedom, fame, fortune, or whatever you really want out of life.
But look deeper.
Because beneath each specific system or program, you’ll find three critical elements to success. It’s these three tenets that will lead you to your Promised Land.
- Consistence. However you decide to stay in touch with your ideal audience - emails, blogging, workshops, bulletin boards, you name it - do it regularly and repeatedly. Set a schedule, stick to it, period. It’s the key to building trust, and most importantly, it forces you to take yourself seriously. Consistence breeds confidence, and confidence breeds action that gets results.
- Persistence. Consistence is the technician’s job. When you’re ready, you can outsource most of the work that puts you in front of your ideal audience on a regular basis. Persistence is the pivotal mindset of the successful professional. It’s the focus strategy, the dogged determination that fuels you over the long haul.
- Belief. We’ve left the tough one for last. It’s also a mindset thing, but somehow it never feels like it, does it? Especially when the word on the street is that belief resides in your heart and soul. Belief is the foundation of persistence, the unwavering knowledge and voice within that says ‘This WILL work. I CAN do this!’ You can go through the motions with persistence. BELIEF, however, is the ultimate polygraph test. It reveals your confidence, goals, and determination through the circumstances and details of your everyday life.
To be honest, it’s these three deceivably simple concepts that are kicking our butt this year.
We’ve never had a problem with consistence for other clients, but we’ve flopped on our own internal deadlines.
Our persistence has reared its head as ugly stubbornness on more than one occasion.
As for belief? It’s been an all-out struggle for us to get from the unconscious, fear-based mental muck to the nutritious, can-do brain food that supports a thriving lifestyle.
Even so, we DO believe these three principles will set us free - and you, too - if we all learn them.
Only then can they work their magic.
WANNA USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEBSITE?
Please do! Just kindly include this blurb with it:Lani & Allen Voivod, aka “The Content Lovers,” help budding entrepreneurs and small biz dynamos “A-Ha Themselves!” in fun, innovative, and profitable ways. For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for their ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
Posted in Inciter Articles | No Comments »
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on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Inciter Articles.
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September 26th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
 These days, with pings, alerts, RSS feeds, trackbacks, and permalinks, the Universe is set up to deliver to you exactly what you want to learn about - if you have the time to check it out. Today, I stole some time and came across a Mr. David Parmet, PR exec, blogging and podcast expert, and righteous ad dude.
Like any good Internet kingpin, Mr. Parmet contributes to a blog dedicated to interactive advertising. Good stuff, in its own right.
Last week, though, he wrote an article explaining the difference between effective viral marketing and stunts.
GREAT article.
But what was even more exciting for ME is the fact that he aligned successful viral strategies with the all-powerful ’aha’ moment. Check it out:
Good viral campaigns make you stop and look. They sneak up on you. You have an ‘aha’ moment of realization. Stunts make you look, but you quickly forget. Viral campaigns make you wonder who’s behind them. Stunts often have nothing at all to do with the company paying for them.
Smart viral campaigns take advantage of the intimate connection between a brand and the community. It gets ordinary people blabbering like fanboys about their new Mac or their flight on jetBlue. That’s buzz. Buzz is not a marketing program. You can’t buy it or have your agency create it for you. You have to earn it.
Yes! Absolutely. And when folks have “an ‘aha’ moment of realization” after coming into contact with your brand, product, or services, their “A-Ha” moment - the one that follows the insight with some fired-up action - usually involves doing business with you in a meaningful way.
Moral?
People like to feel a jolt of inspiration, a blast understanding, a heightened moment of possibility. Deliver them authentically and often, and you’ll have a fan/client/customer for life.
Posted in A-Has in the Ether, All About Content, Brand Funk, Fun With Marketing | No Comments »
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on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 8:48 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, All About Content, Brand Funk, Fun With Marketing.
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September 26th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
You know the force is with you when you sit down to veg out in front of the TV and you stumble upon the action-packed eye candy that is Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
That’s what happened to me the other day - tuckered out and brain dead after a long work week, followed by a bouncy-house bash celebrating our son’s 4th birthday. I flopped on the couch, flipped through a few channels, and literally squealed with delight when I saw the Brad ‘n Angie show was in progress.
But as I tried to focus on the lips, thighs, and biceps, I found myself instead drawn to the relationship dynamics between these two smoldering costars. (Rats.)
The more I watched, the more it became clear to me: Mr. and Mrs. Smith epitomizes what it’s like to own and run a business with your spouse.
Here’s why…
 1. You and your spouse recognize you tango well together. Because you’re interested in building a dream life as much as you are in building a business, choosing your spouse as a biz partner seems like the greatest idea ever. Sure, you hear not-so-subtle warnings from family, friends, and associates, but hey - you know the bond with your spouse is like none other. So you say “risk be darned!” and dive right in.
2. You dress the part and form a united front. Side by side, you show the world you’re serious, you’re together, you’re professional, you’re for real. Your public face is “Game on!” and you’re ready for anything life throws at ya.
3. Internally, though, you’re all about The Mission. Pow-wows, power struggles, reactive practices, on-your-toes strategizing,  kamikaze business planning, focused trouble-shooting, and some very, VERY unsexy pillow talk. You’re both on-call to your life, goals, and future 24/7, and it’s an all-or-nothing operation. You want the dream, and now you’ve created the reality to make it happen. Unfortunately, there is no Plan B!
 4. And sometimes, all your best efforts can blow up or backfire. Oh yeah, this “Married - With Business” thing can throw you some hand grenades, that’s for sure. To make matters worse, few of us look so fetching with our pants down as Angie and Brad do. When you’re standing in the rubble of your choices, wondering how you’re ever going to get out of the mess you’ve created, it can look downright glum - for your business, AND your marriage.
5. Inevitably, you’ll find the fate of your life and your business hanging by a thread and a prayer. Do you escape? Cash in your chips? Flee for your life? Or do you strut back into the game, armed with nothing but your thigh highs and a smile? It’s crazy. It’s adventure. It’s nothing like you ever expected. But if you made it this far, odds are you’ve got what it takes to make it all work.
  6. Success finally comes when you realize you can lean on your business partner when the going gets tough. So brush yourself off, clean yourself up, stand tall, and enjoy the adventure. After all, your partner-in-crime IS your spouse. If you use this fact as an asset rather than a liability, great things can happen for you. You’ll smile more, hold hands during business meetings, support each other through the good days and the catastrophes. Both will come. Take ‘em in stride, and you’ll both be able to laugh about them when you’re rich and retired…way before you’re 65.
7. And when you get back to the thrill of the tango, you’ll never look back.  Remember why you went into biz with your spouse in the first place? You love this person! You respect this person’s mind! You think this person is the best, most amazing person on the planet! You both admire each other so much, you not only went into business together…YOU got MARRIED! So, the biz journey isn’t what you expected. What is? You knew what you were doing then, and you know what you’re doing now.
Whatever you do, don’t lose sight of the perks of co-owning a business with your spouse. Remember - few cubicle dwellers can have as much fun on their “lunch breaks” as you can without getting fired! 
Posted in Married - With Business | 2 Comments »
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on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Married - With Business.
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September 26th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
First, a quick recap of concept:
The “Aha!” Moment = Bold flash of insight that has the potential to change your life, business, or both.
The “A-Ha” = That thrilling, aforementioned flash of insight combined with ACTION, so the life-changing potential gets its wings to FLY!
Which brings me to a certain Ms. Margot Thompson, Virtual Assistant extraordinaire, and one of the regular contributors to The Virtual Wire, the official blog for solo-preneur-savior AssistU (and a mighty fine resource for those striving to find a work-life balance that suits their ideal lifestyle vision).
In Margot’s blog postings, she takes the hearty soup of earning a living and living your life and serves it up in delicious, nutritious, biz-savvy spoonfuls. Last month she shared an “A-Ha” worth sharing with you. Here’s an excerpt:
The “Aha!” Moment
“I see that if I want to get anywhere with my relationships, my business, my dreams and my life, the most important thing I can do for myself is to believe in and respect ME. Absolutely and entirely.”
The Action That Gives It Life (the “How”)
“Here’s a bit of what I’m learning to do along the way:
- Remember that people I admire are actually mirroring back to me what I recognize as potential within myself.
- Turn confidence into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Dare; fail; learn; grow; then repeat the cycle.
- Accept that some things that aren’t “perfect” about me are “perfectly me”.
- Let go of regret and fear – walk right past them.
- Stand for myself – and therefore everyone else.”
See? I told you this gal serves it up nicely!
Posted in A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action | 1 Comment »
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on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 at 11:06 am and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action.
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September 21st, 2006 by Allen Voivod
Lani and I drove our son to pre-school this morning, bringing birthday goodies to his class (he turned four today, the little man did). As we did, we saw our local church spire stretching above the trees, with their leaves already changing colors.
As for the church, it reminded Lani and I of an article we once read about how the tallest buildings in the world reflected what was most important to a culture.
- When a country’s culture centered primarily around religion, churches were the tallest structures.
- When it was government, then government buildings were the tallest.
- When it was business, skyscrapers were the tallest.
And now…the world’s tallest structure is (drumroll please)…
A radio mast in Blanchard, North Dakota.
Yes, you read that right. In fact, of the 20 tallest structures in the world, the overwhelming majority are radio, TV, or cell phone towers.
So, what does that say about us? That communication is now the most important element of our culture. Sending ideas, stories, thoughts, hopes, dreams, and plans across the miles to each other.
And this communication can be about religion, or government, or business, or none of these. Making information flow faster, more freely, more efficiently, with more people - that’s what life’s all about these days.
And a kid who turned four today. It’s all about him, too.
Posted in Lessons Learned | 2 Comments »
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on Thursday, September 21st, 2006 at 12:04 am and is filed under Lessons Learned.
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September 18th, 2006 by Allen Voivod
Way back in June, we wrote about our experience with Michael Port, creator of the “Book Yourself Solid” lead generation and small biz marketing system, and co-founder of both the “Product Factory” (”The #1 Product Creation, Marketing and Sales Resource on the Internet”) and “Traffic School” (the “Ultimate Website Traffic and Conversion System”).
 Well, as a wonderful little bonus, we got the benefit of a laser coaching session with Lisa Wilder, a Certified Book Yourself Solid coach who’d been working with Michael for almost two years. She has her own site, “The Wilder Zone,” which offers “Personal & Professional Support & Resources for Stepping Boldly Out of Your Comfort Zone.”
(Lifestyle side note: Lani couldn’t join the call because she got to take our son to a pre-school nature program. She may have missed out on Lisa personally, but she’ll still get the benefit of hearing the call, because I recorded it with Audio Acrobat. Lucky girl - it’s like having your cake and eating it, too!)
Lani and I are about to develop our first information product - and by an incredible coincidence, Lisa is developing a program to teach people how to do just that! (More details when Lisa launches it.) And Lisa, game gal that she is, let me entirely change our planned topic of discussion and rolled with this question on the fly:
If you had ten days to create an information product from concept to reality, how would you do it?
The conversation went a little longer than the planned 20 minutes…and she had fabulous advice to offer. One of her recommendations I’ll mention, that’s outside the 10-day scope (but integral to the success of that process): Build your relationships with potential strategic partners BEFORE you start asking for help promoting your product.
Even if you’ve got the best idea, the best pitch, the most perfectly complementary-but-not-competitive product to share with that partner’s audience…you’ll have a bear of a time bringing them on board if they’ve never heard of you before.
Lani and I have also had a gap in our own business offerings - no value-added offer to help persuade people to sign up for our ezine, The Inciter. After the call, I immediately signed up for Lisa’s “How to Create an Irresistible and Highly Effective Opt-in Offering” ecourse (which you can sign up for, too, when you click on that Wilder Zone link above).
I’m wicked excited to read it, and I’m over the moon about my coaching call with her. I feel like something just snapped into place inside my head.
She’s warm, insightful and witty, and says the one-on-one coaching sessions are what she loves most about her business. After my call with her, I believe it. And as a last note, since Lisa’s Wilder Zone blog also addresses not just the business side of being an entrepreneur, but the personal side, too - you can’t really separate them, can you? - please do check it out. Her personality comes through there just as strongly as it does over the phone.
Posted in Call in the Coach | No Comments »
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on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Call in the Coach.
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September 10th, 2006 by Allen Voivod
In my elementary school days, the first-level corrective action for bad behavior was “sentences.” Write I will not talk back to Mrs. King 50 times. Write I will go into class when the recess bell rings 100 times.
Some of the more creative teachers made kids write 70-word run-on sentences 25 times - those were the ones I really hated doing. Because 25 times doesn’t sound like a lot, right? So then you do them, and - ugh!
But doggone it, it worked. I never had to be assigned the same “sentence” twice. Whatever the instructional message was, it got burned into my brain.
And now I’ll stop reliving my childhood long enough to tell you what this has to do with affirmations. Every so often I read about how great affirmations are supposed to be - writing down what you want, over and over again, day and night.
You can imagine how I view the idea of writing affirmations. Like “sentences,” right? Funny thing - for me, belief isn’t the issue. It’s the chore of writing it down I despise!
But writing it down is vital for another reason: CLARITY. Because once you have it down cold - and I mean with numbers, dollar amounts, dates, percentages - your brain (and the universe, the collective unconscious, God - take your pick) can start getting to work on the “How?” part of the equation.
That was my little “A-Ha” on a quiet Saturday evening. Even if you think you know what you want, write it down. Write it again. And again. Until instead of being a little desire that floats around your head, the thing you want gets burned so deeply in there, you have no choice but to get it.
Posted in Entrepreneur Diaries | 3 Comments »
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on Sunday, September 10th, 2006 at 12:24 am and is filed under Entrepreneur Diaries.
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September 6th, 2006 by Allen Voivod
Here’s the thing about websites - sometimes you don’t notice what’s going on around the search box until the search box gets moved on you.
 Take Thesaurus.com. Part of the Reference.com family of sites, this picture shows what it used to look like (thank you, Internet Wayback Machine). Honest opinion? Fairly unremarkable.
But as a user, that was okay for me, because I was only looking at it as a commodity. It didn’t have to look fancy. It just had to be simple and give me my synonyms. Which it does, and swimmingly.
Now, get this: They’ve had a thing about premium membership content on their site for years, and I never even noticed. But they’ve given themselves a design facelift, and by golly, I noticed it the first time I saw the new design.
At just $19.95 a year - the cost of a magazine subscription - you get ad-free use of the whole Reference.com family of sites, access to word puzzles, audio pronunciations, color illustrations, an exclusive dictionary (Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English), AND the promise of more features to come.
For a word guy like me, it sounds like a slice of heaven, but that’s beside the point. The point is, web design is a kind of content in its own right. An upgrade to the look and feel of Thesaurus.com changed my whole attitude about the site, and changed the way I’ll interact with it in the future.
And if you have a website of your own - with a design that’s been in place for a couple of years - it may be time to ask yourself whether your website still reflects who you are and the quality of what you offer.
Just a thought. A brainwave. An idea. You get the picture.
Posted in All About Content | No Comments »
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