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Posts from the 'Dances With Gurus' Category
April 9th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Can I be totally honest for a second?
Sometimes, I just don’t get it. Social media, that is.
I mean, intellectually, I understand that social media is the Next Big Thing, that over the next few years it’ll become as indispensable as the Internet and email eventually became, and it’s going to be the next tech bubble and burst on Wall Street.
But sometimes, I don’t see the point of it. I have profiles set up in LinkedIn, Facebook, Ryze, Twitter, Squidoo, and so forth. But I’m not always confident about the value setting up and spending time on these sites actually contributes to my business. As an attendee said, at a recent workshop where we were presenting, “Sometimes I think you people are just fooling around all day,” referring to those in the assembled group who said they were blogging for their business.
 Then I happen to read an issue of Melanie Benson Strick’s Success Connections ezine, where she says:
I have a new obsession that is really paying off.
Recently I was introduced to two social networking sites that have made a HUGE impact on my leads and have introduced some wonderful new clients into my programs. As a quick example, one person who read my blog posts from MySpace ended up purchasing my Get Out of Overwhelm and Create your Lifestyle Business CD set. Then he immediately called me and joined the Fast-Track to a Lifestyle Business Mastermind. He then went on to join my Platinum Elite coaching program. You can do the math but let’s just say it was worth over $15k to my bottom line (plus I have a wonderful new client to work with).
Yes, you read that right. One client, worth $15,000 (and probably more, considering his lifetime value to her). I’d assume this is the “results not typical” example, but Lani and I know Melanie, and based on what she’s saying in the rest of her note, there’s more where that came from.
Notice, too, one other thing she says in there, which I put in helpful bold font for you. Melanie’s having the blog posts from her website piped in to her MySpace page through the magic of RSS feeds.
That means Melanie didn’t have to create additional, brand new, constantly refreshed content exclusively for her account on MySpace. She multi-purposed her content. And you can do the same thing with Facebook, Squidoo, and many others.
As lifestyle entrepreneurs and million-dollar business owners, we all want to give our clients and customers the best service and value we have to offer. But we also have to make money at it. So if you (like me) ever doubted the value of being on social media sites, here’s one hard-dollar bit of proof for you.
Posted in All About Content, Dances With Gurus | No Comments »
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April 8th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Our buddy Kevin Skarritt flagged this post about “Managing urgencies” by Seth Godin for his staff and strategic allies recently, and wanted to hear everyone’s insights on it.
Godin’s solution for making sure you keep your focus on your goal, rather than the fires you have to put out in your business, is this:
I guess the trick is to make the long term items even more urgent than today’s emergencies. Break them into steps and give them deadlines. Measure your people on what they did today in support of where you need to be next month.
Ah…but how do you make your long-term items more urgent?
In the corporate world, managers can make the long-term goals more important for their employees by tying those goals to performance reviews, bonuses, salary boosts, and so on.
But what about the lifestyle entrepreneur? The solo professional? The micro-enterprise or small business owner?
Variations on the “How do you make your long-term items more urgent?” question have launched a thousand careers. From business coaches to motivational experts, helping people achieve their goals is a multi-billion-dollar business, and the success stories - no knock against any of them, it’s just life - requires a “results not typical” disclaimer.
In the face of so many people, with so much more experience, I’m not going to presume that I have the revolutionary answer to this question, the one that would make Epiphanies, Inc. become the be-all, end-all of personal motivation.
What I can tell you is that I made one small change, and it’s made a world of difference for me.
We have a number of clients, and I have a weekly to-do list for them. I draw my daily to-do items from that, and work in any “urgent” stuff as need be.
Previously, I used to put the to-do items for our own business at the bottom of lists. In 2008, I started putting them at the top.
Three months later:
- I’ve blogged much more for our business this year than I did over the same period last year.
- I’ve produced more articles.
- I’ve gotten our information products onto our website and available for sale (after a year of having them created).
- I’ve had more sales and lead-generation conversations than I did all last year.
In other words, I’ve become more of a business owner working on our business, rather than just being a technician working in our business.
Ultimately, trying different things until one stuck has helped in making the right things urgent. It’s not perfect - there are still things on which I need/wish/want to prioritize for our business - but I’m headed in the right direction, finally.
Posted in Dances With Gurus, Insight + Action, Lessons Learned | No Comments »
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March 18th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
“How does Twitter make money?”
This is what Lani asked aloud the other day, and for now the answer seems to be, “With venture capital funding.” So on a lark, we Googled “Twitter business model” and found this post from Allen Stern wondering the same thing, but a few months earlier. I can’t seem to find his answer, but I did find a different post from Jason Calacanis, with 3 ways Twitter could become a billion-dollar business.
(Good grief! Riding a 140-character microblogging engine to a billion dollars? Maybe Twitter’s worth paying attention to after all.)
That said, I noticed two of Calacanis’ three options were based in the old school “Interruption Marketing” world. If you’re not familiar with the term, here it is, contrasted with “Permission Marketing,” from the Wikipedia entry on Seth Godin:
Advertisements on TV and Radio are classified as ‘interruption marketing’, which interrupt the customer while he is doing something of his preference. Thus he introduced the concept of ‘permission marketing’ where the business provides something of value to the customer and thus obtains his permission and then does marketing.
And since Seth Godin wrote the book on Permission Marketing, he oughta know!
With that said, if you were reading the “tweets” of the people you follow, and were suddenly presented with an ad every so often, that looked just like a regular tweet, would you be happy about that? Or annoyed?
That’s the scenario in two of the three business models Calacanis proposed. Granted, I didn’t start a blog empire and sell it to AOL like he did, so maybe I’m not the best guy to ask, but it seems to me that Interruption Marketing just isn’t right for Web 2.0 places like Twitter.
Though I was late to the discussion (his initial post was back in January), I added comment #37 to Calacanis’ post with some other potential money-making, non-interruption-marketing-based ideas. That’s just one of the many great things about blogging - no matter when the conversation started, you can join in.
And I’m just a guy sitting at the kitchen table, with his socks still wet from having stepped through a snowbank to give his wife her laptop, as she was heading out the door to drop our son’s play pal back at his house, on the way to a MicroCredit-NH peer group meeting. (Whew! That’s a mouthful if you read it aloud.)
But I’m also a guy with a half-decent opinion, which is now sitting out on the blog of a heavy-hitting, influential guy who’s being read by a lot of other very interesting folks. Which is pretty cool.
I guess there will always be a place for interruption marketing - it still gets a response, and even if it’s much, much less than it was, if it can be quantifed, it can be sold. But I think when we look back, we’ll see that Permission Marketing may have knocked Interruption Marketing for a loop, but Web 2.0 put it down for the count as we know it.
Posted in Dances With Gurus, Fun With Marketing | No Comments »
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on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 9:31 pm and is filed under Dances With Gurus, Fun With Marketing.
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March 17th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
 We just got notices over the weekend that Alexandria Brown, aka “The Ezine Queen,” is about to throw a free, two-part teleclass on ezines, which she says will be her last one EVER. (Wonder what she’ll call herself from now on, if she’s not going to do ezine-related calls anymore?)
That said, the calls are happening March 25th and 27th at 8pm Eastern, and if you can’t make it live, by signing up here with your first name and email address, you’ll get access to the recordings of the calls, where Ali says:
During these two 75-minute calls, you’ll discover:
- the 3 BIG problems with email right now that you MUST be aware of
(and how to do a complete and easy workaround)
- my top 5 personal recommendations to help you continue to MAKE MONEY from your ezine (and in fact, you can make a higher income than ever!)
- my 3 best NEW strategies that will help you get MORE EZINE SIGNUPS online than ever before (Need to grow your list fast? Then don’t miss this.)
- the new BEST DAY of the week to publish your ezine
(simply changing your schedule alone can increase your response… and sales!)
- the 2 things you MUST start doing NOW — whether you are a beginner or advanced — that will SAVE your online business future. (I’m not being dramatic or “doom and gloom” here… this is serious, folks.)
- 5 real-life lessons learned from ezine publishers just like you, and how they are using their ezines to continue to dramatically increase sales and publicity — despite
all the email naysayers. (You’ll want to hear what these solo-preneurs are doing so you can model what works.)
As we retool how we do our ezine this year, and considering the issues we’ve been hearing over the years about email deliver-ability and what can be done about it, we’re definitely going to be tuning in to find out the latest from the greatest in the ezine field, so to speak.
Mark your calendar, and join the fun next week!
Posted in All About Content, Dances With Gurus | No Comments »
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on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 1:44 pm and is filed under All About Content, Dances With Gurus.
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February 20th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
 What a great flippin’ idea this was…wish I’d thought of it myself! Our friend and coach in the Ultimate Wealth and Success Circle Melanie Benson Strick put together a nifty promotion that benefits not just her blog, but raises awareness for her Virtual Team Building Tele-Bootcamp.
The scoop? She ran a contest asking people to send answer two questions related to why and how they’d benefit from a seat at the bootcamp. She and her team chose the top 8 answers (mine’s at the bottom), and now she’s having a public vote on whose answer should win that person a free seat at the next bootcamp.
So we have a small favor to ask - would you mind voting for us? All you have to do is post a comment saying you hope Lani and I get the free seat, and a brief note why if you feel like adding it.
The voting ends at midnight Friday, Feb. 22nd, so please, post your comment for us a few minutes early - say, by 11:55pm on Friday the 22nd? Thanks. We knew we could count on you!
And after you vote, take a few minutes to check out Melanie’s article library for some fantastic insights and useful information on building your dream lifestyle.
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on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Dances With Gurus.
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January 24th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Last year, I wrote a post about the power of testimonials. It was related to the fact that we’d given a testimonial to Alexandria “The Ezine Queen” Brown for her Online Success Blueprint in a Box.
As a result of that testimonial, I got invited to share the spotlight with a few other businesses on a preview call to her list for the live version of the workshop she gave in November 2007. Not bad, eh?
 Well, I’m bringing it up again because, about this time two years ago, Lani and I bought the “In a Box” version of the late 2005 live workshop. And true to form, Ms. Brown is now releasing an updated version of the Blueprint, recorded live at the November 2007 workshop. (You’ll see our testimonial about it between 1/3 and 1/2 way down the page at that Blueprint link.)
There’s a historical reason why she only releases 147 copies of the boxed version each year, but for the life of me, I can’t remember why. Regardless, it’s out there, and the last I heard, about 35% of them had already been snatched up (about 50 or so of the 147).
So I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the news with you. Ali’s one part of our Holy Trinity - Adam Urbanski and Melanie Benson Strick are the other two - who helped us get where we are today, and we highly recommend the Blueprint in a Box if you’re thinking about building your own online empire.
Get your copy right here, but if you’re gonna do it, it’d better be soon!
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on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Dances With Gurus.
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October 4th, 2007 by Allen Voivod
First, the blurb about it - then our own details:
Thousands of entrepreneurs come together to blast through the obstacles and clutter that hold them back. Success Connections’ National Clean Sweep Challenge is a FREE event geared to help entrepreneurs work less and make more. Register to receive a FREE value-filled toolkit, at CleanSweepChallenge.com.
Now, last year we joined in the challenge, and the following week was the biggest financial week we’d ever had to that point - over $6,000 in income, and it was a Labor-Day-shortened week!
 This time around, the Clean Sweep Challenge Day is happening October 5th, but we’re still dealing with labor - namely Lani, who started having contractions Wednesday around 2:30 in the morning.
Even now, as I sit across the office from her, she’s wincing and taking deep breaths every 8-10 minutes. (We were told to go to the hospital yesterday, only to be sent home seven hours later - don’t get me started about that.)
So it looks like the only clean sweep about to happen around here is the inside of Lani’s uterus, but we can’t recommend the Clean Sweep Challenge highly enough. It’s the brainchild of Melanie Benson Strick, “The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach,” whom we’ve mentioned a time or two on this here blog. She was even quoted in a recent Woman’s Day article about organization and the “clean sweep.”
And in the year that’s passed since we did the Clean Sweep Challenge, our home office - which was the target of the sweep - has undergone an extreme makeover. Bunk beds? Gone. Two cloests? Down to one. Two desks? Also down to one. A new paint job, new carpet (thanks to a bit of a water leakage issue), and a whole bunch of crap out of there…voila! Uncluttered and completely efficient.
What’s more, the effect carried throughout the rest of the house, and into our new outside-the-home office. Quite frankly, the only place that needs help now is the attic, since I’ve been throwing stuff around up there in the hunt for baby clothes, furniture, supplies, et cetera. It’s a good thing Lani can’t get up there to see, pregnant belly and all. 
I’m counting on being at the hospital during the Challenge this year - so maybe I’ll bring my laptop and Clean Sweep my computer. (How many old files and folders do you have that you don’t need anymore?)
Whether you do a virtual or physical version, though, please go for it! Download your Clean Sweep tools from Melanie’s site today. It truly was a life-changing, business-enhancing event for us. We hope it will be for you, too!
Posted in Dances With Gurus, Entrepreneur Diaries | No Comments »
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October 3rd, 2007 by Lani Voivod
I definitely have a Content Crush on Gerry McGovern. As much as I say Allen and I live and breathe this stuff, Gerry’s entire DNA structure is composed of content-related strands, metrics, and data-deep analyses.
For example, in a recent post on his Giraffe Forum, “Killer web content examples,” where Gerry poses the provocative question:
“Out of 18 choices, why does one piece of content get 49 percent of the vote while another gets 0 percent?“
Gerry shares solid examples gathered from international travel, empirical data, and no-nonsense click-through rates.
He also punches the point with sexy quotables like these:
- “The Web is the ultimate laboratory for content. It allows us to know, with increasing precision, what content leads to a positive action, and what content leads to the Back button.”
- “The content that works on the Web has one key characteristic: it is customer-centric. The content that doesn’t work on the Web also has one key characteristic: it is organization-centric.”
- “’99 cents per download, no restrictions’ is the essence of what people want today. They want an immediate answer to the question: What’s in it for me? They want brutal, pared down content that gets to the point immediately.“
- “Your website is not a murder mystery. It is certainly not a place for we-we content. Short, sharp, second person and active; that’s web content. Get to the point. Then stop.”
Hubba, hubba! (Or am I alone in this visceral reaction to hot, sweaty content talk?)
Psst! Does content talk get you REALLY riled up? Want immediate access to insider knowledge on more than 12 of the easiest, most effective, and most affordable content vehicles for long-term success and profitability?
Check out “The A-Ha Action Guide: How to Turn Your Most Powerful Ideas Into Profitable, Joy-Filled Action” and get the answers, insights, and direction you’re looking for!
Posted in All About Content, Dances With Gurus | No Comments »
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September 28th, 2007 by Lani Voivod
 He was for us. In fact, we believe Mr. Adam Urbanski is a marketing god.
I know this because I’ve been reading his ezine for years, and Allen and I worked with him in an intensive mentoring relationship from June, 2006 - June 2007.
During that time:
- We each attended TWO of his 4-day, mega-focused, and information-loaded bootcamps.
- We each took part in TWO closed-door Platinum Mastermind pow-wow sessions involving Adam, a private hotel conference room (the first one) and a hotel suite (the second one), and fewer than 5-8 other entrepreneurs and small business owners
- We had monthly one-on-one coaching/mentoring calls that lasted 1-2 hours
- We had monthly group Mastermind calls (always around 2 hours)
- We’ve listened to and read a ton of his audio programs - including interviews, strategy-focused trainings, and much more.
 I also know this because I’ve spent hours and hours talking to him in person - watching, listening, learning, engaged in conversation, looking into his eyes, and seeing how he treats and interacts with others, including his wife and kids.
Adam’s the real deal. He’s passionate, fast-thinking, and whip-smart. (He’s got a silly side too, but he tries to keep that under wraps in front of casual acquaintances.)
For the purposes of this blog post, you need to know this about Adam:
He knows Internet marketing inside and out. He lives and breathes it. He scrutinizes it, condemns its abusers, champions its honest and genuine players, and builds his knowledge base continuously, passionately, and with the purpose of teaching other like-minded professionals a better, more profitable way to build their own businesses and lifestyle.
The reason I’m ranting about Adam like this is because I just read one of his emails. It was a message promoting his new Business Navigator System. As with most (if not all) of Adam’s communications, it was conversational, straight-forward, and offered some grounded reminders and the “simple” essentials of building a successful business. Check out this snippet:
Here is the simplest formula for success in any business:
1) Find a market that has a specific problem you can solve
2) Develop a unique solution to that problem
3) Build a machine that generates leads and converts them into first time customers
4) Convert first time customers into life-time clients
5) Maximize profitability by developing new products or services to further help your clients
In its simplest form this is the same formula I’ve been teaching and implementing for my students for over seven years now. And everyone who follows it reaps big rewards.
You what’s interesting about this? While your business is unique it’s NOT different - and this same formula will work for you. Just look at any successful company - now that you are aware of it, you’ll immediately notice they use this formula too.
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