Ken Evoy - Are You Copying Me?

Well, it looks like Dr. Ken Evoy and the gang are out to get serious with the WAHM (work at home mom) crowd. Are you copying me, Ken? ;-) Check it out here:

WAHM Site Build It

If you're not familiar with SiteBuildIt (SBI), it is a great starter tool for somebody who wants to cut through the garbage that's out there and learn how to market online. I've seen a lot of marketing stars begin with SBI and eventually start building additional successful sites on their own.

I Shoulda Done This Earlier

As written to my newsletter list today:

=============================

Sorry for the intrusion on the American Thanksgiving. Since we celebrated Thanksgiving in October here in Canada (that means we have more time to get rid of the extra weight before Christmas!)...I had a bit of time on this quiet day to finally read through Jason Potash's "Big Brother" report.

It's a f r e e report that has been circulating on the Internet for a few weeks, but see...I don't send you anything I don't review myself first. I know Jason produces quality content, but I still had to read through the report before I offered it to you.

You may remember a few month's back when one of my busier sites (700-800 visitors per day) was suddenly dropped from Google. It was a pure mystery and a pain in the neck. Well, for the past few months I have been moving the content to a new location and going through everything with a fine-toothed comb to pinpoint any possible problems (and I did find a few). I expect that I'll be able to show you the new site in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, Jason's report really brings to light what's going on at Google right now. He also has some very practical suggestions on how to stay on Google's side.

Before you fall asleep on the coach from too much turkey, you might want to give it a read yourself ;-)

http://www.aliceseba.com/big-brother-doc.html (takes you to a PDF document)

Poor Christopher

The other night I went to Walmart and it was absolutely crazy busy. Clearly, the holiday shopping season has started.

I was in the audio video department and wanted to pay for my DVDs. There was one poor young guy (named Christopher) working the whole area by himself. He had to work the cash register, help people with questions and open the locked cases when needed. This guy was frazzled.

No wonder. He had to deal with a couple who were looking for a 32 inch TV that was on sale. They had gone to another store that was out of stock...and the sales person there sent them to Christopher's store, saying there were 11 in stock there. Well, poor Christopher didn't have any in stock and the couple wasn't happy (for good reason, of course!). Meanwhile, the line up to pay was growing and growing.

Christopher wasn't sure what to do about the couple that wanted the TV, so he called his manager. She came and told Christopher to take their name and phone number and they would call back. Then she left! I was totally shocked. She saw how busy the poor guy was and she didn't even offer to help talk to these people or relieve him of the walls that were clearly coming in on him.

Add to that, he had an employee (who was off-duty, but was holding her name tag), standing on the sidelines possibly wanting to return something. WHAT? Could she not see that her fellow employee was completely busy and now was NOT the time to try to return something, ask questions or anything.

But that's not the most shocking part. There was also a uniformed employee in the line behind me. I'm not sure what she was in line for, but she was standing there amongst all the chaos. She was asked if she could open one of the cabinets and she simply replied, "I don't work in this section." Okay, I understand that, you don't have the keys...but you could have done something to ease the customers anxiety at having to wait. Then someone else asked her where the film was. That stupid girl had the nerve to say again, "I don't work in this section." How hard is it to take a quick look through the section and find the darned film?

Finally, my turn to pay came and I asked poor Christopher, "Is your night almost over?"

He looked at me with such desparate eyes and said, "No." His hands were shaking like crazy when he tried to operate the cash register. He rang in my DVD and it was over $3 more than the tag said...but I didn't have the heart to tell him. I was happy to pay extra for the DVD just to keep him from going over the edge.

I remember days like this when I had a J-O-B. Even though I felt bad for Christopher, I was grateful at how fortunate I am to work at home on my own terms.

But more than that, I was disappointed in the lack of teamwork in the store and how everyone was out for themselves, while Christopher was on the verge of having a stroke. I may run a sole proprietorship from home, but I never consider myself to be alone. I do what I can to help other fellow business people because when we work as a team, we all benefit. It's amazing what happens when you lend a hand to someone else...it always comes back to you manyfold.

2006 Internet Marketing Predictions

This is very insightful:
The Most Startling Internet Marketing Predictions for 2006

He Got My Attention - A Great JV Approach

It doesn't matter what market you're in, if you have a popular website or a big mailing list, people want you to promote their products. Or perhaps, you've been on the other side of the coin - you have a product that you want others to promote.

If you've sent out a ton of emails and received a minimal response, it's not surprising. We are all overwhelmed by email and it's so easy to delete a message if it doesn't get our attention right away and it's coming from someone we never heard of before.

Last week, I got a letter in my snail mail from a gentleman by the name of Mark Huber. He's a Certified Financial Planner here in Canada and he wrote to me and said:

Dear Alice:

I am writing to say "thank you" for creating valuable information and products to help individuals make a difference in their lives and the lives of their families.

As we are nearly "neighbors" with you being in Surrey and I am in Richmond, I am delighted to see you making real and positive impacts in my client's lives.

In my ongoing efforts to expand my influence, gain exposure and to dominate a very Canadian niche, I have been listening and learning as one of your email subscribers for some time now.

Due to much that I have learned through you and by hearing about and applying the various ideas and strategies you share, I have a much more successful marketing strategy for my business and also gained the confidence to write my first book.

I have recently authored, "How to Use Your Mortgage to Create Your Dream Life". (A Canadian Blueprint for Financial Success)

This book dares to question the conventional wisdom on mortgages and personal finance that most people and many in the financial services industry accept.

It is currently available for free downloading at:
XXXX Link Removed As It Is Under Construction XXXX

Like most Canadians, I am sure that you realize that mortage interest on your home is not tax deductible. My book details the steps necessary to not only create tax deductablity of mortgage interest but also create an ongoing and increasing investment portfolio.

There is a bonus section for busines owners as well.

That being said, I am writing to you in the spirit of "give to get".

I would pleased and honored if you offered this valuable information to your subscriber list either as a review or download option.

....

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I look forward to your reply.


Sincerely,
Mark Huber

P.S. I have taken the liberty of including both a "hard copy" and a burned copy" for your viewing pleasure.

Okay, so why am I so impressed with a letter promoting information about mortages - which is a topic that really has nothing to do with my list or website? Well, because the letter was so well done and his book has everything to do with creating money (which IS something I do talk about frequently), I took notice.

Here's what got my attention:

1. He snail mailed me. Most emails are skimmed before they are deleted. If I get something in my snail mail, I'm more likely to read the entire thing. However, just snail mailing isn't enough to get a response...

2. Right off the bat, he complimented me specifically on the work that I do. He didn't suck up too hard, but specifically mentioned a number of things he appreciated about me throughout the letter. He also hit my hot buttons by talking about how I help families and helping people gain confidience to take action in their businesses.

3. He created an affinity with me. I have never met him before in my life, so the cards were stacked against him. With so many requests for help, I can't possibly respond to them all. It's often easier to help those that I already know. But Mark quickly established that I am his "neighbor" and really, he's only about a 15 minute drive from here. The brilliant thing is he found something powerful to connect us in his short letter.

4. He gives me credit for inspiring him into creating his book. That gives me some responsibility here and geez...I'm always proud of my subscribers when they do something good. ;-)

5. He didn't ask me to sell anything. He asked me to share this valuable resource available for download. Since I don't know him...it's harder for me to try to sell a product for him. However, it's much easier for me to say yes to offering a download.

6. He actually sent me a printed copy of the book. If you ever want someone to review your ebook, mail them a printed copy. They are more likely to read it and will appreciate your consideration.

Now...I have to tell you, that since I've been away for a few days, I haven't even had a chance to tell Mark I received his letter. I do hope he will appreciate my using his letter as a marketing lesson for everyone! And if you're a Canadian with a mortage...I will give you a link to download his ebook as soon as it's ready.

If you're not Canadian (and even if you are!) please share your thoughts on Mark's letter and any ideas you have on getting noticed when you approach new people for help in your business.

Move Over Wonder Woman...

No, I don't have an invisible plane (although I've always wished I did)...but somehow I've been labeled one of the Internet's Web Wonder Women. :-)

Actually, I've known about this for a while because Lynne interviewed me for her Web Wonder Women book months ago. I wanted to tell you about it because I got my copy today and it truly was inspirational. Lynne Klippel put a lot of time into this project and selected 26 women in Internet business to interview. But I have to say, the book is not simply a collection of interviews. These interviews are inspiring, idea-inducing and there are some tremendous lessons that these women share.

At the gym today, I read through the interview with Rhea Perry - the homeschooling mom who now runs an ultra-successful business by accident. She was always on the lookout for learning resources for her kids and connecting with other homeschooling parents online and suddenly, it became a business. I also read about two of my favorite teachers, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero and Alexandria K. Brown...and a bunch others.

If you're a woman or know a woman who could use something like this, go and pick up a copy from Lynne.

Or better yet - you can get the book free, if you purchase my buddy Kelly's "Confidence to Act" series. I think that's a theme that runs throughout Lynne's book and definitely Kelly's in series too --- the confidence to act. We worry that we need to be perfect and we sometimes paralyze ourselves from doing anything out of fear of failure or criticism. Trust me, I understand and I deal with it myself every day...but when we build a little bit of confidence at a time, it just grows and grows.

Anyway, these ladies were kind enough to interview me and allow me to share my story (Thank you ladies - you are an inspiration yourselves!)...so I certainly wanted to tell you about this. Again...you can find out about the Web Wonder Women here or get the book free from Kelly's Confidence to Act series.