On March 6 and 7, I attended Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets Reunion – check out my album on flickr. I didn’t tweet much or live blog at all. Why? Alex is a fantastic speaker and one who deserves complete attention. So, I went back to taking notes the old-fashioned way: in a spiral notebook. It’s more liberating and I got much more out of the content.
Phenomenal is the only word that describes the networking.
Here’s what I liked most about the day and a half program and what I’d like to suggest you test at your events.
Limit attendance to 150 for a group that is intimate, yet big enough to explore.
Give people a networking guide. In this case, who are you, why are you here and who is your best prospect. This way, everyone’s sorting for the same information.
Set expectations and go over the rules of the game up front. Alex set the tone by requesting that everyone listen to an audio guide before we got to the conference. I downloaded the file and started to listen to it on my flight. It starts out with some high-energy, groovy music. So, I turned it up. About three seconds later, the flight attendant came by and said “You’re not plugged in.” Oops . . . while the incident did make the people around me laugh, it was embarrassing. Never say I don’t know how to get attention.
“Pack My Bag” moments – Alex tested this out for the first time. Here’s how it works: anytime you feel like you’ve gotten enough value and you could go home, it’s a pack my bag moment. You stand up, say “I’m packing my bags.” and tell the group your moment.
Chart out your life’s defining events – what was your life like at the time: lousy, ho-hum or great? Alex went back 20 years. Why not chart out your life over the next 20 years and see what you’d like to accomplish?
Reach higher achievement by following 12 principles that make good entrepreneurs great. The top 3 for me:
Focus on improving, not just inventing.
Focus on relationships, not just transactions.
Focus on a positive no thanks, not just a yes.
Speed Networking: what I offer/what I want. “Networking in business is not a matter of what you know, or who you know. It is mostly a matter of WHO knows YOU.” Alex Mandossian
Repurpose your content. As Alex went over 32 ways, a bike mechanic built a wheel with 32 spokes.
Display products and props on the stage. So many times speakers present on an empty stage.
Treat your people like family.
Host a party. Thanks to Marty Fahncke of Conference Call University for hosting a mentor/mentee dinner. I was honored to be selected as one of 12 mentors who could bring a guest. Artist Tara Reed, one of my fellow mastermind members, was my guest.
Were you at the Teleseminar Secrets Reunion? What was your biggest takeaway?
What do women business owners really want to know about business, technology and communications? Listen in to a podcast and read twitter transcripts captured at a lively evening at the Apple Store.
Twitter Transcript: Barbara Rozgonyi on writing, business, communications and technology at It’s Chic to Be Geek
Copied directly from twitter search using chic2geek – comments in reverse order. Thanks so much to all of you who tweeted! You added another communications channel to the live event.
heidimiller: Photos and video from #chic2geek up in the Facebook group: http://is.gd/jjcV (expand)
heidimiller: Multitasking: conference call talking over contracts while uploading video from #chic2geek to Facebook.
heidimiller: @blagica Thanks! I’ve actually been abbreviating “chic2BG” in my notes, but #chic2geek is probably more clear. GREAT job organizing!
celikins: @thelocaltourist & @blagica thanks again for another wonderful and educational event #chic2geek
heidimiller: Fantastic event that @blagica and @thelocaltourist put on! Great geek girls, great info. #chic2geek
khw77: @dijana hi it’s Kim who met you on the way out. Congrats on the wedding. #chic2geek
gizmodesign: HA! RT: @bcbeatty @heidimiller: “Twitter is like sex: you don’t know what it’s going to be like until you try it” #chic2geek
bcbeatty: RT @heidimiller: “Twitter is like sex: you don’t know what it’s going to be like until you try it” #chic2geek
heidimiller: Talking about how cool and energetic @chrisbrogan is. #chic2geek
khw77: @heidimiller want to talk to you more about your business #chic2geek
gizmodesign: so sad i had to miss hacked sites require attention [take note all wordpress folks!] #chic2geek
thelocaltourist: Great, @Blagica. Now the windows are all steamed up #chic2geek
MaggieConv: Bummed about missing the #chic2geek event, but rest is much needed.
karitas: barbara rozgonyi did a nice presentation tonite at #chic2geek event
khw77: @windycitysocial hi I’m sitting right behind you and talking about your business with you. #chic2geek
amyseye: eNjoyed Barbara’s presentation at the #chic2geek event. Thanks @blagica for the visual presentations:)
stacyjill: Next event will probably be about Blogging #chic2geek
heidimiller: How do you pitch your release online: Pitch Engine and TwitPitch. #chic2geek
heidimiller: How do you use Facebook for business? A: join a related group and ask the admin how you can help #chic2geek
stacyjill: RT @heidimiller: Can’t keepip with @stacyjill ‘s #chic2geek Tweets.No fair! She’s got a laptop, and I’m just one-thumbed iPhoning! *giggle*
stacyjill: Btw… all of you wedding people in the crowd… get ahold of me please. #chic2geek
stacyjill: Get to know the admin of the event you are attending. (great way to network) #chic2geek
stacyjill: Q from crowd – what is the best way to use Facebook for Business? A. FB is great for events (not so much an expert for Biz) #chic2geek
heidimiller: Can’t keepip with @stacyjill ‘s #chic2geek Tweets. No fair! She’s got a laptop, and I’m just one-thumbed iPhoning!
heidimiller: “You’re not going tone able to predict what will be great content until you ask your readers” @wiredprworks #chic2geek
stacyjill: @mediabistro is a great site #chic2geek
stacyjill: 20somethings.ning.com is on the screen… #chic2geek
heidimiller: Anything Guy Kawasaki writes is good. #chic2geek
heidimiller: Recommending @shel ‘s Blogging for Business #chic2geek
stacyjill: @wiredprworks – surround yourself with great advisors #chic2geek
stacyjill: Shel Holtz books – @shel check out his books #chic2geek
stacyjill: Selling advertising space on your blog is good if you have the traffic #chic2geek
stacyjill: A. Check out Six-Figure Blogger….. #chic2geek
stacyjill: Q. from crowd: Is there a list of the best sites to use for blogging? #chic2geek
stacyjill: comment from crowd – newbie – blogger/typepad are good for people who might be intimidated by wordpress #chic2geek
momofteenstwit2: What if there was only one Doctor in the world?. There is room for you too in business.. #chic2geek @wiredprworks speaking
stacyjill: Comment from crowd- when you go to websites and check domains, buy it immediately so nobody else buys it up! #chic2geek
stacyjill: You may want to have a guest author #chic2geek
heidimiller: #chic2geek question: how do you let people know to come to your blog? A from @wiredprworks: SM press release, postcards, email
stacyjill: A. You may want at least 3 posts, etc #chic2geek
stacyjill: Q. How much content do you want on your blog before you send it out #chic2geek
stacyjill: A. Press Release – let people know your blog is up. Place your blog URL on every biz card you have. Create a postcard #chic2geek
stacyjill: Q. How is there a way to build up your followers – How do you let people know? #chic2geek
stacyjill: @blagica – there will be a sep. blogging event in the future #chic2geek
stacyjill: @blagica is picking out funny domain names online #chic2geek
8 days ago from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet · Thread Show ConversationHide
heidimiller: “Twitter is like sex: you don’t know what it’s going to be like until you try it”
joipodgorny: @blagica you keep going to every site I think would be a good background site #chic2geek
stacyjill: Some people say Twitter is like Sex – you won’t know until you try it @wiredprworks ( that should be a tagline…LOL) #chic2geek
heidimiller: What question would you like to ask @wiredprworks on getting new media to work for you/writing for social media? #chic2geek
stacyjill: Figure out who your audiences are #chic2geek
stacyjill: Q. How do you start a blog? A. Make the decision… read blogs… what do you like that people are talking about? #chic2geek
thelocaltourist: http://twitpic.com/1fwep – At #chic2geek, @wiredprworks presenting
stacyjill: Btw – @leahjones is curious if we are going anywhere afterwards??? Ladies?? #chic2geek
stacyjill: Opening up to questions #chic2geek
heidimiller: Strategizing content plans for Facebook, Twitter, blogging: decide who your audience is and what they need #chic2geek
tokissthecook: @Blagica Hello Ladies!! So sorry I’m still at the office but have fun!! #chic2geek
stacyjill: What are your audiences? What are your goals? #chic2geek
stacyjill: Windycitysocial.com is asking the question – #chic2geek
blagica: http://twitpic.com/1fwc1 – @wiredprworks at the #chic2geek event
heidimiller: @wiredprworks on 17 Ways to Enliven Your Message question: how can a blog drive traffic to the website?#chic2geek
stacyjill: Quick Q Does a blog talk away traffic from a website (can you put your blog within your website) – Yes, talk to your web designer #chic2geek
stacyjill: @wiredprworks – check out her blog post today called Wired Writing – 17 Ways to Enliven Your Message #chic2geek
stacyjill: @blagica is running through great twitter accounts on the screen… @comcast cares, @barackobama, @zappos #chic2geek
heidimiller: @blagica is blazing across the Twitterverse at #chic2geek
stacyjill: People like twitter because it is faster than google (in terms of info) (The Octo-Mommy, the Hudson River plane) #chic2geek
momofteenstwit2: @@Blagica thanks for a great event..love when the girls hang out #chic2geek in Chicago..go girls
stacyjill: Twitter is a great place to show people what you are working on. #chic2geek
stacyjill: Watch out – she is pimping out the single ladies @blagica #chic2geek
blagica: YO SAY hello to the LOVELY ladies at the #chic2geek event at the Apple Store…boys plenty of ladies in the house:) single, too,
stacyjill: Question – @blagica is tweeting! #chic2geek
Social networking online is a lot like driving in Chicago in winter. This time of year it’s difficult to drive down the street without dropping into a pothole. You know, a dip that jars your car. After a few potholes, you start to dodge the drop off. This post covers five ways to fill the biggest potholes and navigate your social network smoothly.
Here’s where the question originated . . .
Question
In preparing an online networking presentation for small business owners, I got a call from the meeting planner who asked me: “Can you talk about the icky stuff first? I know these questions will come up sometime in the presentation.”
Answer
As a former sales person, I know how important it is to overcome objections. And, I know that not every product or service is for everybody. If you’re one of the ones who sits on the sidelines and waits for people to invite you to join their social network – or you’re not participating at all, see if one of these possible potholes is holding you back. The two biggest concerns are privacy and time management.
1. PRIVACY Set social network privacy boundaries – shading the view
How much do you want people to know about you? is not the question
This is: How much do people have to know about you before they make a decision to connect with you?
Meeting someone online is a first stopping point in what may or may not be a long-term relationship. The key here is to give people who want to follow enough information to make a decision to connect. It’s okay to turn off some people. Believe me, you don’t want to attract everybody.
Decide how much you want to reveal before you get started because once you put anything out online, it can be impossible to cancel it. For example, if you work from home, you don’t have to give your specific address or even the name of your village. I use Chicago because more people recognize this city than the name of my town. Will you post pictures of your family? Mention your hobbies?
2. TIME MANAGEMENT Manage your online social networking time as an investment in your business
Yes, social networking can be time consuming and distracting. But, most business owners aren’t used to spending much personal time on building their business. Typically, they’re more focused on delivering products or services. Traditionally, brochures, mailings and emails manage most of the marketing contact time. What do these strategies have in common?
To build your community online, think of treating your time as an investment in building your credibility and connecting in new ways. How do you find time to network online? Try checking email only once or twice a day and then schedule in 30 minutes to check in with your online networks. Start small and build up. The key here is frequent interaction, in small bites. It’s kind of like working out. You don’t run a marathon the first day you start training.
3. INVITATIONS Decide who you want to connect with
Be prepared for “invitations” that come from unlikely people on networks you aren’t on. Don’t join a network just because your friends are on it. Check out every person who invites you to connect before you accept. Have an invitation you don’t want to accept – like the one from your sister’s ex-husband? It’s up to you to decide. If you have 1500 connections, one isn’t likely to stand out. If you have 20, you want them all to be people you like.
4. PRIORITIES Strategize your system by identifying professional priorities
Why am I here? What do I want to get out of it? Who do I want to talk to? Should I stay or should I go now?
Join networks that you will participate in – check out the conversation first. Smaller networks within a larger site like LinkedIn offer more opportunity for connecting in a small group setting.
5. ETIQUETTE Be nice and act responsibly
You get what you give. If you’re nice, others will be, too. But, sometimes people are mean and nasty to those who are more successful than they are. And, your message might get misconstrued. Nuances drift into short messages. People read words the wrong way. Apologize and correct any misunderstandings immediately. Read your message out loud before you send it. And, if you don’t have anything nice to say . . . well you know . . .
It’s teleseminar training time. Alex Mandossian is on the phone right now giving away some great information about his course that teaches you how to market your business using teleseminars.
This is an affiliate link that takes you to a page to a $20 preview call offer. You’ll get access to a three-hour recording packed with information that will help you break into teleseminars, including what to do and case studies that show you how to produce your own teleseminars. Yes, I get paid. Anyone who sells the course gets the commission and there are a variety of offers out there. It might be too late to write about this product; there’s a limited number of open seats. And, you should check out what other people are offering if you’re considering buying. My offer?
- 8 hours of Ultimate PR Secrets master recordings, valued at $397
- 1.5 hours of personalized teleseminar social media and online PR marketing coaching, valued at $450
To claim your bonuses, you have to buy TSS through my affiliate site at www.teleseminar-secrets-revealed.com and then email a copy of your receipt to connect AT corywestmedia.com.
Why I Recommend Teleseminar Secrets
Thanks to Alex, I produced Ultimate PR Secrets, a program that introduced me to eight of the biggest names in the PR business. Alex gave me the information, but he also motivated me to get up the courage to call the speakers and the tools I needed to get produce the virtual seminar.
Tonight he’s introducing the next version. The training includes live phone calls with Alex, recordings, transcripts, special offers, admission to a mastermind group, a pre-loaded learn pod with over 60 CDs of his best teleseminars, website templates, tested email templates, private resources lists and lifetime alumni privileges.a pre
If you want to study how to market online, manage affiliates and package information, this program is worth the price. But, if you’re not going to work it right away, take a pass. And, if you don’t have that kind of money to invest, don’t buy it. This program isn’t for everybody. It is for people who are looking for a system that works that comes with copy, affiliate marketing instruction, web designs and mastermind connections.
When I bought the program in 2005, it was a stretch to pay that much, but I’m so glad I did. It’s a great class, Alex is a master teacher and he discounts almost every single course he offers to his alums.
Originally Published in December 2007
How unusual – my second post of the day with a recommendation for something that makes you and your business better. Interested in becoming a Teleseminar Secrets [link goes to my affiliate site] student? Here’s my story. But, you don’t have to buy in yet – just listen to the Teleseminar Secrets preview call for $20 before December 5, 2008 [changed for this year's date].
Let’s go back to the beginning. Make that December 2005 . . . can you remember two years ago?
Follow me, I know the way. Surely you remember going to the best of the last of the 2005 movies – King Kong and Brokeback Mountain ring a bell?
Now, do you know where you 24 months ago?
I do. I was – not – into Internet marketing or thinking of myself as much of an expert in anything when along comes my friend Jenny who emails me to let me know I should be taking a course from some guy she knows named Alex. And, by the way it costs $1800. “But not for you,” she says because “I’ll split my commission. And, I’ll have a study group to keep you on track.”
So began my fate-full decision to become an Alex Mandossian student. I dropped out of book group; played Alex live on my speaker phone; learned how to market and host a teleseminar and even offered free teleseminar marketing and production to 200 of my closest colleagues. Thankfully, only one took me up on it.
My first teleseminar, “How to Transform Your Company Into a Customer Magnet,” become my ethical bribe in exchange for an email opt-it for over a year. In January, I produced Ultimate PR Secrets, a virtual PR event.
Part coach, part professor, part long-distance mastermind colleague, Alex is one of the best teachers and marketers I know. After I went through TSS, I bought into many other continuing education programs. Finding someone with Alex’s skill, finesse and dedication to his students’ success is genuinely refreshing. And, once you become a TSS student, you are a teleseminarian for life.
Last year, my blog was one of a handful that promoted or mentioned TSS.
Although searches for Teleseminar Secrets wind up here, this is my first 2008 promo post. Considering the doors close tomorrow, I’m on the late[r] side. I’m struggling with keeping a balance between information and promotional blogging.
Speaking of blogging, in last night’s TSS preview call, it was clear the host himself is a big blogger: Alex Mandossian’s blog.
Last night Alex said he was into dialogue. The lines went dead for a few minutes after he opened them for comments from callers. An early blip in an otherwise flawless call, Alex used the line drop as proof that engaging callers is important. Engaging readers is important, too and that’s why he uses so much video on his blog.
Beyond the move into blogging, my other big takeaway from last night’s call is Alex’s suggestion that the marketing funnel isn’t working. I agree with him when he says he’d rather have 10 $2000 students than 200 $10 ebook buyers. When you take away the ladder, funnel or whatever you call it and let the buyers buy in where they want, everyone wins. Why make someone buy in sequences when they want to start at the top? Do you agree? What do you think?
- 8 hours of Ultimate PR Secrets master recordings, valued at $397
- 1.5 hours of personalized teleseminar social media and online PR marketing coaching, valued at $450
To claim your bonuses, you have to buy TSS through my affiliate site at www.teleseminar-secrets-revealed.com and then email a copy of your receipt to connect AT corywestmedia.com.
Thanks to Peer Lawther for asking this question on LinkedIn: Has anyone used Twitter as a live conference blogging tool, and what were the conclusions you reached as to its suitability? See how everyone answered the question about how to use Twitter as a live conference blogging tool.
Here’s my answer – Peer selected it as the best!
Hello Peer:
After live-tweeting a few sessions at BlogHer08, I decided to cover every session I could from BlogWorld08. Follow the link in the resource section if you’d like to see the twitter transcripts in blog post format.
To answer your questions . . .
1. Has anyone on here used Twitter in this way and what findings did you arrive at from using it? Findings – great way to connect with other people at the conference and with your twitter community; works best if these people are on twitter. People who knew I was covering the event promoted my twitter stream both during and after the event. Many speakers appreciated the exposure.
2. Were the reactions positive, what were the negatives (if any; personally I’d say one negative would be the sheer amount of tweets in a short space of time) Only one tweet came in that made me think: the person asked if they should follow me or not – that could be a positive or a negative comment. It was challenging to answer people’s replies to me on twitter while I was covering a session, but I tend to be one who captures as much as I can – verbatim. If you paraphrase or summarize, you’ll tweet less and you may have more value. Have to test that one. Trade-offs: it’s a hassle to haul a heavy laptop around for a few days and outlets might be in short supply so take an adapter with room for several other cords. Yes, you can use a phone and I have a good mobile device, but I like to use a full-size keyboard and a big screen.
3. and is Twitter a tool you’d use in future for conference (micro-)blogging? Yes, definitely.
4. Finally, is the audience there for this kind of thing? My followers kind of expect me to send out live tweets now, I think. People in the live audience get to follow the back channel chat on the screen when it’s projected. Those online can also follow live. Archiving the updates as a blog post is a great way to preserve the value long after the conference is over.
GREAT job organizing!
hacked sites require attention [take note all wordpress folks!] #chic2geek
