Friday, March 2, 2012
Use Pinterest for your speaking business — Graham Jones Pinterest ( pinterest.com) is the latest social network which is just a few months old, yet is already making money and has expanded faster even than Google+. It is generating more traffic than Google+ for many sites already. You create "pinboards" with images on them. You can show, for instance, pictures of all the favorite destinations you have visited. It is free to use and you can create as many Pinterest Boards as you like. Pinterest allows people to follow you OR follow any one of your Pinboards. So, if people are interested in just the subject of one of your Pinboards (but sadly not *you*) they can follow that, without having to see everything else you do. As speakers there are some fantastic ways Pinterest can be used. For example, create a board for your favorite speaking venues. Simply showing the variety of venues demonstrates you are a busy speaker, thereby making you more desirable. Or create a board for books on your subject, and naturally include your own in the listing! Or add a pinboard of news and blog articles you have found on your topic, thus becoming recognized as an expert in your field. Pinterest "pinning" is really easy to do—but if you want a guide on how to use Pinterest as a business tool, the folks at Hubspot have produced a brilliant 43-page booklet.  http://ui.constantcontact.com/images/p1x1.gif" />  | | 3/2/2012 Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly See "About SpeakerNet News" at the end for information on how to submit tips and use this newsletter. Remember, your "dues" for this free ezine are submitting two tips a quarter. Send your best tips to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Teleseminar Info Monday, March 12 The Strategic Speaker: Don't Try Everything. Do the Right Things. with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE and Larry Winget  We are pleased to be able to offer a session with two veteran speakers who have very different personalities and styles, and who have built their speaking businesses in very different ways. What they have in common, though, is extraordinary success, and a belief that in the marketplace of today, excellence, quality, and value rule. They know how to set, and then follow, a strategy for defining themselves uniquely to buyers, and they will share their secrets with you. Calloway. Winget. You don't want to miss this. Read the details of this session below, then register or pre-order the CD or MP3. Note: Everyone who registers for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.
Save the dates:
Feedback from the recent SNN teleseminar Using Stand-Up Comedy Secrets to Funny Up Your Presentations with Judy Carter: "SNN Teleseminars are the best. Loved Judy Carter's program. Many practical tips for becoming a funnier speaker. I took lots of notes. The 18-page handout was a bonus!" —John Kinde "I have been feeling there is more we could do to make our presentations more engaging but didn't know what. I have many practical tips from Judy Carter's presentation that I can start implementing immediately. Thank you!" —Deborah Burkholder
Monetize Your Expertise through Online Products Just how do folks make income from the Internet? Aren't the only people making revenue the ones telling you how to make money? No. These three experts will share their best-practice techniques for using online products to supplement their speaking, training, coaching, and consulting businesses. You'll learn how they've successfully blended in-person services to drive business to their online products. - "Add a Recurring Stream to Your Revenue Mix" with Jeanette Cates, PhD
- "E-Business Strategies for Speakers: E-Products Equal E-normous Income" with Tony Alessandra, PhD, CSP, CPAE
- "Strategically Blending eCommerce into Your Practice" with Sam Silverstein, CSP
Download now All SNN single-focused packages are detailed here. From the Editors SNN in New Zealand Herald! Thanks to Debbie Mayo-Smith for mentioning us in her piece for the New Zealand Herald. She specifically noted a lesson she'd heard from Steve Waterhouse's SNN teleseminar, "Close More Deals: Power Selling for Those Who Hate to Sell." Let us know if you mention us in the media! Leads Looking for bloggers on Patch — Wendy Hanson Launched in 2009, Patch is the premiere online network of more than 850 virtual town squares where local multimedia journalists promote user engagement and interaction while covering the latest news and events within the community. Blogging on Patch as a small business owner and speaker is a great way to share your tips and tools for success. Here are a few samples: If you live in or near a Patch town and want to join the Patch blogger team, let me know. Miscellaneous Tips Easier eBooks now — Henry Maxwell Have you been wanting to publish your own eBook? This USA Today article describes the latest tools to make it easier.
Is chasing social media worth it? — Ian Percy Like seven-year old soccer players, we speakers insist on chasing the ball in a pack. The latest "ball" of course is social media. But, according to Ad Age, a six-week study of Facebook's "Fan" pages showed a mere 0.45% of fans engaged in any way beyond clicking "Like." This confirmed something many of us already knew, and that is "Facebook fan bases and actual engagement aren't the same thing." Goodness knows what the actual monetary value of a "fan" is. The average engagement for the 10 brands with the largest fan bases (like Harley Davidson, Nike and Porsche) was 0.36%. The highest engagement was in the alcohol category and the lowest in laundry detergent, social platforms and apps. So when we sit around comparing "fan base size," the truth is it really doesn't matter much. The lesson for me is to make sure I'm not chasing the ball just because everyone else is.
Recap of article on presentation tips — Patrick Lee The March issue of Reader's Digest (page 69) has a short article called "Your Next Great Presentation." Their magazine isn't available online, so I'll summarize the points: - Skip Powerpoint and use Keynote
- Skip bullet points: NO text on slides
- Don't undermine yourself. If you're the expert, BE the expert.
- Emote!
- Don't give facts. Tell why the facts are important to them.
This article was summarized from one by Kevin Surace in Inc. Magazine.
Bring an intro backup to your speeches — Jeff Davidson Concurrent with submitting your introduction and any instructions to your introducer, place a hardcopy back-up in the file folder that you're retaining for this group. You never want to show up to your presentation without a hardcopy of your introduction. The two most compelling reasons are: - Your introducer might forget or misplace the introduction.
- The original introducer might not even be present!
I've seen schedules change time and time again. Emergencies arise and the originally scheduled introducer doesn't attend. It behooves you to find out, once on site, if your scheduled introducer has made it to the meeting. If not, find the new person, whip out your backup copy, and initiate the process of ensuring that he or she has the highest chance of success. Technology Tips Use Pinterest for your speaking business — Graham Jones Pinterest (pinterest.com) is the latest social network which is just a few months old, yet is already making money and has expanded faster even than Google+. It is generating more traffic than Google+ for many sites already. You create "pinboards" with images on them. You can show, for instance, pictures of all the favorite destinations you have visited. It is free to use and you can create as many Pinterest Boards as you like. Pinterest allows people to follow you OR follow any one of your Pinboards. So, if people are interested in just the subject of one of your Pinboards (but sadly not *you*) they can follow that, without having to see everything else you do. As speakers there are some fantastic ways Pinterest can be used. For example, create a board for your favorite speaking venues. Simply showing the variety of venues demonstrates you are a busy speaker, thereby making you more desirable. Or create a board for books on your subject, and naturally include your own in the listing! Or add a pinboard of news and blog articles you have found on your topic, thus becoming recognized as an expert in your field. Pinterest "pinning" is really easy to do—but if you want a guide on how to use Pinterest as a business tool, the folks at Hubspot have produced a brilliant 43-page booklet.
Accountability tool — Michael Dowling "Actions speak louder than goals!" That's the thesis behind an effective new, free management tool called irunurun (irunurun.com) (pronounced I-run-u-run). Irunurun provides helpful accountability for the types of routine tasks that are so important for goal accomplishment, but which so easily get pushed to the background by more urgent or exciting priorities. For example, if you've wanted to write a book, but haven't had the discipline to stick to a regular writing schedule, irunurun may be just what you need. My wife, who is a fine artist, uses irunurun to make sure she spends a certain number of hours each day painting. She works at home, and if she's not careful, scores of distractions can pull her out of the studio. It's been helpful to me, too. For instance, with irunurun I'm more disciplined about spending time each day social networking, which is key to helping me accomplish my revenue goals. I'm not affiliated with irunurun; I'm just a fan.
Mobile site strategy — David Lee Interesting article about how mobile sites are becoming a superior strategy: "Mobile Sites vs. Apps: The Coming Strategy Shift."
Facebook tips — Rebecca Morgan If you'd like to keep your personal (not fan page) FB postings private to only real friends, ask your friends to do the following: Hover over my name above. In a few seconds you'll see a box that says "Subscribed." Hover over that, then go to "comments and likes" and unclick it. That will stop my posts and yours to me from showing up on the side bar for everyone to see, but most importantly it limits hackers from invading our profiles. — Heather Rogers When someone posts on your Facebook fan page in a foreign language, here is a link on how to translate it and you can also reply back in their language.
Use LinkedIn profile apps — Lamar Morgan In your LinkedIn profile, include Linkedin 3rd-party apps like Box and Google Presentation. Box allows you to upload any kind of files to your profile for others to download. You get an email when and what was downloaded. Google Presentation creates Powerpoint-type presentations which you can save as PDFs and upload them to Box. Travel Tips Staying fit on the road — Hans Florine TRX or other suspension training devices are light and easy to set up just about anywhere, including the top of a hotel door. Almost all suspension training devices come with a DVD so you can go through a guided workout. It's just straps with adjusting buckles, so why do they charge $199? They do a great job at branding, promoting, and marketing—something we speakers know a lot about. You can get suspension trainers for under $50. Here are some options:
Tip for international travelers — Rebecca Staton-Reinstein If you're an international traveler and have to cool your heels in airports around the world, you may be interested in Priority Pass, (prioritypass.com). I joined a couple of years ago and it has paid for itself many times over. They have special lounges in most international airports. I've visited them on 3 continents and all were comfortable, had lots of good, tasty, fresh food (not just snacks), and had many amenities. In some places, they even had boarding privileges with first class even if you weren't flying that class. The staff are helpful and friendly. There are several levels of membership to fit different needs. In situations where your usual club memberships don't apply, this is a great alternative.
Million-miler status—worth it? — Bob Treadway Is it worth "million-mile" status for those of us who have decades of getting on too many airplanes? Should you concentrate loyalty and become like Clooney's character in "Up in the Air"? An unqualified maybe. United's merger with Continental is an example of erosion of the benefits. Achieving million-miler status on United still gets you lifetime Premier Executive (50,000 mile) status. Problem is they've added another "tier" of frequent flyer status above you, Premier Platinum (75,000 miles) that wasn't there before the merger. So only a slim chance of upgrades. On the other hand you can name your spouse or other as a fellow PE which is one way they softened the blow. It's a nice-to-have but not overwhelming benefit even though it was earned with "bottom in seat" miles. The biggest upside in my opinion? You can spread around your loyalty. If you're mostly interested in getting on the plane early, sitting in better seats, and getting your bag stowed before the roller derby starts then it's worth it. You can then choose the best routing with the carriers where you've got the MM status. Topic of the Month Our new TOTM is from Bob Treadway: How are you planning on transitioning into retirement or, more realistically, semi-retirement? What are the models? Who has done it well? What tells you when it's time to transition? What is the highest and best use of the aging speaker? Please send your brief, pithy responses to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Please put "Topic of the Month" or "TOTM" in the subject line.
— Steve Kaye I retired from speaking on leadership topics in Feb. 2011. Rather than quit, I decided to combine speaking with nature photography. So now I'm either out taking photos of birds, writing photo-based articles, or giving feel-good talks that show my photos. Most of these talks help local nature groups raise funds or entertain members. I'm having fun, working on significance instead of success.
— Sara Geber Here are some tips from my research and experience for retiring gracefully and successfully. - Start early, create a plan for retirement, and follow it as best you can. If you have never seen a financial advisor, get some recommendations, interview a few and pick one. They are mostly all fee-based now and will not try to talk you into investments you don't need or want. He or she will work with you to figure out a workable financial model for you so you will not run out of money as you ramp down your work and your needs begin to change.
- Consider what you really enjoy doing, who you want to spend time with, and where you would most like to live. As speakers, we have had the opportunity to visit a lot of different towns and countries. Which of them have resonated with you?
- Find a role model who seems to have retired successfully and ask her/him what it took to do that.
- Consider retiring in stages. Submit fewer proposals, take fewer offers. If you have a hobby, start spending more time at it; if you love to travel, start doing more of it for fun and adventure. If you have grandchildren (and you LIKE them), begin to spend more time with them. See how it feels to work 150 days a year instead of 200. Then ramp down to 100, etc.
- Stay active or get more active. It's never too late to join that gym, start walking, learn golf, lose those extra pounds. The happiest retirees are healthy retirees!
As speakers, we never have to *fully* retire if we don't want to. It's completely your choice, but there is a whole world of wonderful opportunities beyond the world of paying work. If you really love your time on the podium and don't want to give it up completely, even if you no longer need the income, consider finding a cause you are passionate about and get on their speakers bureau—or *become* their speakers bureau. There will always be a need for people, old and young, to speak with conviction about their convictions.
— Dave Crisp I concluded by strategic analysis I would never feel right about retiring and should just do it. When my spouse could make the same commitment (dropping her volunteer work and after her care-giving for aging relatives was no longer needed), I let coaching and consulting clients know I was scaling back (not taking new assignments). I still write and occasionally coach by phone, and when in my home town will give presentations that I've done before and don't have to invent, but that's it. So I feel retired and have been enjoying it for the past year, still with the eerie feeling that it (or something) may catch up with me. I don't have other hobbies to switch to for a cold-turkey quit, so perhaps that would have been easier, though I somewhat doubt it. I think we question ourselves a bit more than necessary—some is good, but once you've analyzed and developed a logical strategy it doesn't always feel right till you've been at it for a while. I haven't been bored for a minute, but continue to worry I may be. After 45 years of hectic work, slowing down feels risky, but if not now, when will you start enjoying time off—when they close the lid?
— Lynne Waymon We've done 2 things to ease into retirement. - During the summer months we run our training and speaking business from our home near Halifax, Nova Scotia. It's a much slower, quieter lifestyle, and it's easy to lead webinars, write articles, do coaching, and get back to the states if I need to for a client.
- We've trained and certified 11 people to deliver our workshops and keynotes. They send us royalties for each delivery and I don't have to get on an airplane quite so often.
Requests for Info / Advice Need Android app developer — Rita Emmett Anyone recommend an Android app developer? SpeakerNet News Teleseminar Info Monday, March 12 The Strategic Speaker: Don't Try Everything. Do the Right Things. with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE and Larry Winget Stop chasing silver bullets. There's no shortcut to creating revenue and building your business, especially in an uncertain economy. There are dozens of ways for speakers to go to the marketplace today, but before you start trying "everything," slow down and think through your strategy. A tactic that's perfect for one speaker might be the wrong move for you. Do what will work for you, based on your value proposition and your target market. Leverage your strengths and don't waste time with ideas that simply don't fit your business model. - You don't have to do *everything*.You have to do the *right* things.
- How to clarify your value proposition and define your market.
- Trends in today's market that all speakers have to respond to.
- Social media? Webinars? Ebooks? Public seminars? How to sort through the maze of choices
- and focus on what will work for you.
- How to position and differentiate yourself to buyers.
- The one thing that does the most to drive business and create sustainable revenue.
Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free. Date: Monday, March 12 Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific Length: 60 minutes Cost: $25
Special Limited-Time Offer: If you want more information on brilliant ideas from these two thought leaders, we're suggesting the MP3 recordings of several earlier programs to complement this program: - "Shifting Your Business in a Down Economy" with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE
- "The Anatomy of a Remarkable, Convention-Maker Keynote" with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE
- "How to Get Booked and Make Money Forever" with Larry Winget
With your order of this live or recorded teleseminar, at checkout you will be offered these recordings. About SpeakerNet News Copyright note: Submission of an email message or artwork affirms that you are able to and have given us non-exclusive permission to reprint the content of your message in all forms, electronic or otherwise, in all languages throughout the world. Copyright ©2012 SpeakerNet News. Permission must be granted to reprint any item (other than your own posting). | | SpeakerNet News Sponsors  CartoonResource.com is the leading source of cartoons, caricatures, custom animation reels and logos for speakers and authors. Search and buy cartoons at cartoonresource.com. Contact us at andrew@ cartoonresource.com or 616/551-2238.
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