Blast O' Joy

Doing Great Things, the Easy Way...with Help!

As we pursue our joy, many of us are unknowingly dragging a giant piece of baggage with us.

The baggage is holding us back - so much so that often we're working 10 times as hard to get half as far.

No wonder living our joy sometimes feels like plain old horrible hard work.

Just in time for this year's Uber-Joy Festival, featuring discounts to Suzanne's Joy Facilitator Training, we have a story from Terry Viney, President of The Plus Factor.

In it, he tells us how he's used the shortcut of Suzanne's program to lead him to more money, more of the work he loves, more effortlessly.

In Terry's words:

We partnered with a lady who has a health spa [to lead 'How Much Joy' workshops] and that was exciting … her clients were into wellness and that worked well. But that [location] was pretty far away so now we’re working locally.

What's so exciting about it is that once [the attendees] get grounded on what their purpose is with the Joy work, we help them branch out into fulfilling other needs, like how to use time, set goals, etc.

It all flows from the first step of the Joy workshop which is knowing what your mission is. I always use a dancing parallel because I’m a ballroom dancer. The Joy workshop puts you in balance like dance does, and gives you the techniques for that.

I do the Joy workshops every two months and my goal is to step them up to every month at least. I’m working on my facilitation skills and having these workshops develop and grow, one after another. I've added an assistant now, and we’re using video emails to enroll the work. I want to be able to hold the workshops online, as well.

We’re just beginning to make money – I started out deeply discounting the workshops because they served as such a good calling card. (I do the 3-4 hour version for $45.) I use the public library where there is no fee for the room. Now I'm introducing this work at a higher level thru a networking group, where the price is $75 -100 per person for the same length workshop.

The [bigger] money’s been in the up-sell to my own workshops – that’s been great. I also have an executive-level coaching franchise that offers a 6-8 week course for $1500… and I’ve sold some of those out of the Joy workshop.

Also, in addition to that, I’m doing public speaking and I use these great truths in the material in my speeches. That has brought in several private clients as well. I'm working right now with a fine venue in Maine to put together a corporate retreat -- the idea was a package deal combining my workshops with the Joy workshop … plus a basic course on ballroom dancing!

That ought to be successful … if we can find corporations with the right mindset, this can be very good. I start the workshops by presenting my own no-name tag, and I talk about how dancing is my passion … many people, that’s been their dream, believe it or not.

My wife and I train ballroom dancing in our own ballroom in our basement – from the Joy workshops I lead I get requests to teach ballroom dancing, too!

Congratulations Terry, on finding the easy way to bring more clients into your world - in so many different ways!

If you're interested in leading workshops for the pleasure it will bring you...

Or if you're interested in workshops as a marketing tool that leads you to more clients in your core business...

Or both...

Now may be the time for you to pick up Suzanne's 'Joy Facilitator Training' and access *your* easier route... just click here to be on your way. 

Hint: Do it by Sunday February 25 and you'll save money too ($50 or $100.)

How's Your Abundance Quotient?

Imagine if a whole room full of business gurus, success masters and cutting-edge thought leaders sat down at the same table to discuss the nature of Abundance and how it is changing and shaping the way business and life will look in the near future. What could you do with that sort of insider information? And what would you have to pay to hear what they had to say?

How about NOTHING!

Because that's my friend Kim George's offer to you - to sit at the table and listen in during this once-in-a-lifetime mastermind event, the Abundance Summit, as these giants of progressive thinking offer their insights, opinions and predictions about Abundance and how it will change the face of the future.

(And they really are giants - Jack Canfield, Andrea Lee, Ivan Misner … it's a real A list of thinkers, folks.)

You must check out her book, Coaching Into Greatness, BTW, and get it today… she's got a really amazing promo going on, but it's only today, June 13. Bonuses and thinking pundits galore!

Technorati Tags: Life coaching, abundance, prosperity

Win a $12,000 Marketing Makeover … by Being the "Worst Net Marketer"

Got no idea who your market is and no plans for self-promotion? Is a marketing budget one of those things you keep meaning to get to? Kind of clueless when it comes to publicity? You could be a candidate for our $12,000 Marketing Makeover.

Until June 24 at Noon Eastern, nominate yourself or a friend as the "Worst Net Marketer". All you need to have is a website or blog for a business that could really take off if promoted correctly.

The voting has begun! Cast your vote here until July 5:
http://getknownnow.com/MMM06FinalVote.html

Here's your chance to get an entire year of free marketing coaching, blog and website design, info products, radio publicity coaching, PR release optimization tools, VA hours and more. All from experts like Marc Harty, Andrea Lee, David Wood, Michael Port, Travis Greenlee, Lena West, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero … the list goes on and on with top names.

And yup, the winner will even snag my One on One Platform Boot Camp - my three month private coaching program. AND everyone who nominates someone can snag almost $300 in bonuses right this minute!

Four nominees will become finalists in our Marketing Makeover Contest on June 24. Then you'll be invited to vote on them … a la 'American Idol'.

Nominate your choice for 'Worst Net Marketer' right now!

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing strategies, Internet marketing services, Internet marketing consultant

The Real Numbers on Getting a Book Deal

Small Press publisher John Vonhof contributed the following comment from my recent post on my Get Known Now Blog, Scary Facts About Getting a Book Deal (If you want to know what you're up against for a major book deal, look here. It may help you decide if you want to self publish or not.)

"The number of books published in 2004 was 195,000. Many of those titles are Print-on-Demand (POD) which will never sell more than a few copies. The point is that authors need to study their market and have a marketing plan--after determining that, in fact, the world needs their book."

I'd second that. And that's why I slid into the work of helping people build platform. Because they really do need to let the world know what they're up to … before they launch the dream. And find out if their idea needs a major tweak .. before they fill the garage with cases of books.

Tags: Print On Demand publishing, getting a book deal, literaryagents

Dealing with 'The Money Thing'

When it comes to living my dream, the biggest single stumbling block for me has been the 'Money Thing'. For eighteen years, while I dabbled in the arts, I made my living as a freelance copywriter, and almost the entire time I hated it. I can remember railing against my job, refusing to see it as what it was, my patron of the arts who afforded me flexibility, and financed my beloved music and writing.

Instead, I decided my 'bread gig' was the enemy -- that which kept me from doing what I truly loved. Furthermore, since thinking about money wasn't as much fun as creating, I decided it was irrelevant, even though money was the key to living my dream every day and sharing it with lots of people.

This is a fundamentally immature view that ignores an obvious fact of science: your dream is actually a business. I wanted to do mine full-time, and earn a living from it. Therefore my dream was something that needed building, nurturing, and quarterly reviews just like a new business.

Obviously, this takes time.

The first few years are rocky. You have to do things you don't want to do. You often have to keep an alternative income source going for a while to ease the transition. And if you want to make a living from your dream, you must organize your actions towards one, single-minded end -- running your new business so it turns a profit and stays viable.

Yet, I never quite did that. I wrote books, and hired agents, and submitted things here and there. But I never really looked at the bottom line in any practical way. Rather, my writing career was always this thing "I just had to do ... no matter what!" And I figured some day, magically, my ship would come in (and, of course, I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams.) I figured it would all just "work out" one way or another.

I have since learned that dreams are slow-growing organisms that need a lot of care and feeding. And we need to nurture them just so, to help them thrive. I need to keep a business account, a spending plan, and maintain spreadsheets on my income and expenses. I need to develop 'new products' that diversify my income sources, and put energy into marketing. I need to let go of the need for fast, spectacular results, or huge clamoring crowds. And above all, I need to be patient and build the foundation.

Our dreams will show us exactly where to go, who to speak to and how to make them happen. What we bring to the table is not only faith, but the willingness to do what must be done ... and that includes handling the Money Thing.

Tags: Artist's life, financial management, money, making money at your dream

Guess you guys want to help spread the joy!

Amazing results from my recent Joy Facilitator's Training sale, and the launch of my Joy Facilitator's Training LITE. 62 of you have joined our ranks! I'm so grateful and proud that my little program is moving so many people into action … we are going to rock and roll!

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on our Yahoo Group. And speaking to my FULL Joy Facilitator's on our next live Facilitator's call, which will be in May. Topic: A Speaking 'One Sheet' Clinic & Speaking Site Tour.'

Rock on Joy spreaders, everywhere!

Five More Things You Can Do Right Now to Build Platform

1. Learn how to optimize your site for search engines. Remember those keywords we were just talking about. Well, there are lots of cool tricks you can do with them that help boost your attractiveness to search engines, who will deliver almost 80% of your traffic, according to experts. For one thing, forget splashy banners and try text ads with a few keywords inserted into your home page (basically just a box with text in it.) Plant 6 or 7 key phrases throughout the copy … three times appears to be a magic number. Then be sure to create a site map of your website, and put the link down in the footer. On the site map, give keyword-imbedded descriptions of each link on your site. SE's love that!

2. Create free articles and learn where to submit them. One of the really great things about the Web is that you can write an article, and shoot it out there to thousands and thousands of readers in a matter of a few hours. Be sure to include an optimized 'bio box' at the end which includes your name and URL, but also bold, hyperlinked keywords that can attract search engine attention. When you order my ebook, Get Known Now; How to Build Your Platform as a Self Help Expert, you get a bonus of several databases including a list of more than 90 article banks, syndicators, and distribution sites to submit your article to.

3. Create a media kit. This is a two-pocket envelope with a fast, easy to read précis of just who you are, what publicity you've already gotten, and why the media should know about you. Include press releases, reviews, tip sheets, bios, site or product write ups, any press mentions, and your head shot.

4. Book some free talks and workshops. Nothing connects with an audience like a little piece of you. Appearing live is not only a chance to make a more forceful impression on your audience, it's a great reason to attract local media …and rack up clippings for your media kit and reel. (See below.) Start small with local venues like the Kiwanis Club or Business & Professional Women's Associate

5. Start a blog. Just like this one! Once you’ve got a brand in place and a sense of your niche and market, set up a blog. Use it to define your voice, get clear on your offer, and learn more about your market. They come with way more search engine optimization already built in. In fact – you can learn all about why blogs are the best way to create best selling products in a free teleclass I did with Andy Wibbels. Blog on!

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building your platform and getting known in the world. For more information on doing what it takes to become famous in your field, check out my site at www.getknownnow.com

Five Things You Can Do to Build Platform Now

So here’s my to-do list for you on how to get your platform strong and solid now – and build that national audience you’d like for your dream work.

1. Research and carve out an ironclad niche. Get clear on who you are, what you do, and what pre-existing problem you solve. Then put that niche into words with a brand name or phrase. Don't be just another vanilla coach who wants to 'help people live authentically.' Research your niche on the Yahoo, Google and Amazon.com to find out just who else is doing similar work. Then look for ways to separate yourself from the pack.

2. Identify your market. Before you can begin connecting with your audience, you'd better find out who they are. Then you can best tailor your efforts to hone in and find them. What sorts of magazines do they read? What kinds of life changes are they going through? What sorts of websites would they hang around at? Create an R&D group of friends or associates to survey for this information.

3. Research your best keywords. Keywords and phrases are the meat and potatoes of Internet marketing, and a great entry point for finding your audience. Go to www.wordtracker.com and use their services for a day to really dig into which keywords get more traffic, and which get less. Experts advise using uncrowded key phrases that are a bit 'off' (i.e. 'New York literary agent' instead of 'literary agent'.) These will produce a steady stream of hits, but you won't be competing with (literally) 50,000+ other sites for attention.

4. Get the best URL. Try to reserve a URL and site name that reflect your best keywords. Yes, having a fun name can be helpful, but a clear name will do a lot more for you. Especially if it has a keyword imbedded in it (and in the URL.) That makes Search Engines happy, and will do lots to help you down the road as you distribute articles, etc.. Think benefit benefit benefit. Good site URL's we've found, for example, are "Successnet.org" and "Selfimprovement.com". Your target market is more likely to find you (at least in the beginning) through this, than through your name.

5. Get a terrific headshot. Not enough can be said for biting the bullet and hiring a genuine, professional photographer. (Not the guy at Sears with the veiny grey backdrop.) You can find location photographers who shoot portraits on the side through websites like alltimefavorites.com

You can learn more and find more tools about building platform at www.getknownnow.com or my platform blog at www.painlessselfpromotion.com

How to Attract National Media & Publishers to Your Creative Work

As some of you know, I have this whole other line of work that helps anyone – particularly creative professionals – package themselves so they build a solid platform.

What... pray tell... is a platform?

A platform is what you stand for in the marketplace - your carefully defined niche … AND it's how many people out there know about it, and you. 'Platform' is the industry buzz word literary agents, TV bookers, magazine and newspaper editors, and just about everybody in the media uses when determining whether or not to feature you or do business with you.

As in "Nice idea... but what's the author's platform?"

Platform is what separates you from the pack; without it, you can kiss mainstream book deals, interviews, columns, and air time good bye. More than one literary agent and editor in major publishing has told me they seldom consider proposals for books or columns from writers with no platform.

Why? There are several answers, depending on whom you ask.

Book industry types need authors with platform because the publishing houses no longer have marketing money for books besides those at the top of their lists. That means they rely on unpaid publicity to sell books, i.e. airtime on radio and TV, and write ups in newspapers, magazines and websites.

Meanwhile, radio and print media folks are simply looking for the next big thing - or trying to anticipate trends. So if they run across an author or self-help expert with a platform that is quickly brewing, they're interested.

In addition, TV and other major media bookers need to know that the guest they trot out in front of millions is a proven entity, so they tend to really check you out in advance. They want you to have a website, media clips, a great press kit, a video reel. Your platform works as a kind of public pre-approval which reassures media bookers. And all of these folks have less time to do more, so they need everything they're offered to be laser-like in it's intensity and clarity, easy to access, and loaded with reasons why. A big platform certainly helps get the point across faster that you're someone to feature.

So your ability to 'break out', as it's known in the media, is not about the nobility of your cause or even, ultimately... sigh... the depth and quality of your work. It's all about how many people already know who you are and what you do. Like right now. Before all that great TV and magazine exposure.

This has to be this century's biggest catch-22, because how can your work actually get known unless you impress all those folks listed above?

The good news is that you can. Developing a platform is a straightforward affair that requires mainly focus, patience, and stick-to-itiveness … all qualities that are easy to conjure up when you're passionate about your work.

I’ll be running more on platform building tomorrow … do check back!

The Case of the Tangled Brands

Back to our conversation about what it takes to really run a creative business, let’s consider branding for a moment … and the case of a self-help author I know. He felt vexed by the fact that he’d spent the last year (and untold thousands of dollars) developing a corporate coaching niche on the Web, only to find out he had a completely unrelated self-help book to write for an unrelated audience.

 

Try as he might, he couldn’t figure out how to reconcile the two. How could he justify all the consulting he received if he just walked away from his site, even though it wasn’t as much of a passion as he thought it would be? And how could he build another platform for his practice from this strange new book project? What was he supposed to do next?

 

The problem was that he was trying to figure out the path without letting it unfold naturally. He was assuming that the business plan was correct, as opposed to his all-critical radar and instincts. He was forgetting that great, old golden rule of creating: Go with your gut.

 

So why do you need to listen to the wisdom of your gut if you’re a creative type? Because this is how you make choices -- out of a combination of sensitivity, emotions and intuition, rather than logic and facts. This access to your emotions is what enriches your work, and makes it so necessary for the rest of the public to respond to. Take away an artist’s emotional infrastructure, and you have no art left, basically.

 

So this is why sometimes the greater wisdom to building your business is to relax, stand back, and watch what unfolds. You don’t necessarily have to know how everything is going to turn out, nor can you. You may even lose money or clients or … god forbid… your business. But you will learn and if you stick with it, you will forge a stronger commitment to accomplishing your dream. And you will forgive yourself, because all truly artful businesses are built on successions of mistakes.

 

Back to the tangled brands for a moment. My advice to this fellow was simply to let the two develop side by side and see what comes of it. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. It’s entirely possible that one will emerge as the other fades away. And so the natural process of evolution wins again in the inevitable path of our dream.