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When I teach the marketing module in my Soul Proprietor’s Formula for Building Your Business, I begin with a conversation I once had with my good friend and illustrator, Maggie Swanson. We walked regularly when we lived in the same neighborhood and shared frequently what was going on in our art/business lives. It dawned on me after knowing Maggie for awhile that she NEVER told me her professional accomplishments like getting called to do the cover art for Sesame Street Magazine or that she’d been commissioned to illustrate a series of Golden Books.
I, on the other hand, bragged about every opportunity that crossed my threshold. After I’d seen yet another amazing project she’d be working on in her studio, I finally said something. “Maggie, how come you never even mention all the cool things you’ve got coming in the door?”
She told me that when she was growing up, if she looked in the mirror admiringly as she passed one by, her mother would say, “Maggie, S-P-S.” I had no idea what that stood for. She explained, “Self-Praise Stinks.” Ouch!
Imagine my delight when Maggie and I were walking at Compo Beach last week and she shared a recent thrill. Here’s how she told it:
When my new book “Lucky Cat Paper Dolls” was published, I was so happy that I forgot one of my mother’s precepts, “SPS.” This has also encompassed self-promotion for me.
I sent a copy of the book to Jackson Galaxy, a cat behaviorist with a very entertaining show, “My Cat From Hell” on the Animal Planet network. Within a few days I got a lovely handwritten thank you note from him. Then I emailed the Modern Cat blog and sent a link to the book on amazon.com. I got an email back from the owner Kate Benjamin [which said] “Perfect timing! I was just with Jackson Galaxy yesterday and I saw your book and wrote down your name so I could remember it! Thanks for the link!
Today I was surprised to be featured on the blog!
This is how it works. Maggie felt a connection to someone aligned with her mission, reached out in an appropriate manner, and continued to act on intuition and inspiration. The results tell the tale of authentic networking–heartfelt and successful.
Although I had never heard of Kevin Hart before last week, I was riveted by his podcast interview with Marc Maron which I had recently downloaded. My daughter Laura has been listening to Maron’s podcasts for a couple of years and had raved about the depth of those conversations with comedians.
Besides laughing out loud and learning who Kevin Hart is, two things stood out for me during their hour-long session. Kevin hit the big time in his early 20′s, only to be hurtled back to earth in a devastating way after his youthful success. His story of re-creation is as formidable as it was tactical.
He didn’t give up.
He went back to performing in small houses (after filling a stadium at one point in his early career). After each performance, he and an assistant gathered the names and email addresses of every member of the audience. They manually entered those names into a database noting the venue at which he had performed. They diligently tracked every performance that way, and when Kevin would return to a Cleveland or a Hoboken, they would use email and later social media to contact EACH of those attendees to let them personally know that Kevin would be appearing again and invite them to the show.
How would YOU feel if you got that kind of attention from a performer who you enjoyed seeing?
As he built up his store of email addresses, he created an enormous constituency who then became devoted followers when he transitioned to twitter, MySpace and Facebook to announce his performances. He relies on social media now and the viral effect to sell out his shows, which he does regularly.
Once again, I see evidence that there is no silver bullet and no shortcut to success. Kevin Hart not only makes me laugh, his dedication to his business makes me smile too.
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I received a straightforward email recently from a long-time subscriber who clearly stated that she ‘cannot stand’ my recent email marketing campaigns; that she will stay on my list only if I go back to my old way of coaching. I politely invited her to select which mailings she might like to continue receiving, for example just my e-newsletters and not my joint venture offers or announcements of my speaking engagements.
Interestingly, I’ve recently observed a sharp upswing in calls from the opposite camp requesting my services mainly because they admire what I’m doing online.
Anyone with an email address understands that business owners are using this form of communication frequently and strategically. I personally unsubscribed from over 200 lists at the end of last year. But I deliberately remained subscribed to some competitors whose multiple blasts may feel at times intrusive, but are also highly instructive. Hitting the delete key is worth the price of seeing what the competition is up to, where they’re showing up, what they’re offering and how they’re offering it. It’s a bit of a free education from the sidelines. I’m taking full advantage.
What bothered me about the email I had received was the intention it conveyed: Don’t grow, Jane. Don’t change. I liked you the way you were. Please stay that way and I will continue to be a fan.
This subscriber might have put it this way instead: “I’m really inundated with emails these days, and I’ve noticed an increase in your distribution. Is there any way I might stay in touch and not have quite the deluge?” I understand that some folks may not like the changes that I’ve made in order to grow my company. That’s okay. I’ve known for a long time that I can’t please everyone. I am willing and eager to meet your needs, but be aware of your own motivation and impact as you navigate these murky cyber-waters.
Personally, I know that what I say to others is a 100% reflection of where I am in my life at that time. It is my projection onto them of what I want or don’t want, and I’ve learned to take ownership of that.
Yesterday I attended a meeting where all participants had 3 minutes of air time to voice their issues. When it was apparent that there would be extra time, members were invited to share again for 2 minutes if they would like to contribute a second time. Three or four people raised their hands, and I noticed a growing resentment building inside of me. “Look at them! They think they deserve to be heard again. How presumptuous!” What was really going on inside of me was the deep desire (and fear) to get my hand up so that I could be heard again.
My attitude was about me, not them. As soon as I raised my hand and spoke, my pent-up emotions went away. I no longer had any judgment of others because I was tending to my own needs and taking responsibility for them.
I’m curious if you notice your own behavior around criticizing others. You’ve heard the biblical saying, “Before you take the speck out of your brother’s eye, remove the log from yours first.” Anyone want to share for three minutes here?
I had the opportunity to tell my favorite college professor, Jim Cavanaugh, about the course I’ll be taking in Cambridge in a couple of weeks. It’s called Immunity to Change and deals with, as the title implies, resistance to that difficult transition we’re so often called upon to make.
He immediately got the concept and told me an entertaining story that related. Jim was my theatre professor and mentor. (The reason we’re back in touch is that he invited me to design the cover for his forthcoming book on acting–an offer I couldn’t refuse.)
Jim told me about the time when he was directing an actor in Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance.” It’s about a late-middle-aged couple – Harry and Edna - who have moved peremptorily into the home of their best friends, saying they had experienced a “terror” which prevented them from returning to their own home. It’s never stated in the script what that terror is. Therefore, Jim suggested that this actor think of the most frightening thing he could to access that strong emotion. Jim said, “You don’t have to tell me what you think of. Just have it in your mind for the scene.”
The actor was actually eager to share what frightened him most. Jim assumed it was death, but the actor surprised him. “What I fear most is change.”
I told Jim that I had thought about what I might use as the thing I’d like to change–my avoidance/relationship with twitter. We had a big laugh over our growing relationships with technology–his at 80, mine a few decades behind. I howled when he described what happens for him. I’m paraphrasing, but here’s the gist of it:
“Whenever you talk about anything, a picture comes into my head. That’s how I learned to understand. But, when you say ‘pdf’ – NOTHING. Wilderness! I have nothing to relate it to.”
Precisely! #hashtagFF RT whatever…
I just read Suzen Petit’s excellent, information packed blog post on increasing your blog rankings viw alexa.com. It was an explanation I could understand. This was the second or third time I had heard that site referred to.
I checked it out and got mildly depressed…for a minute. By inputting a variety of blog listings, I was able to find my own ranking and those of my friends and competitors. The lower your score, the more the readers you have. The more readers you have, the more likely anything you’re marketing will reach the people you want to reach.
For instance Seth Godin, who is one of the most famous bloggers I read, has an alexa score of 5,766. Mine is 5,205,336. This sounds horrifying (to me) until I search for the stats on another blogger I know and find his ranking is 15,755,386. I don’t feel so bad anymore.
Like anything else based on numbers–like weight or income–it’s good to know where you are so that, moving forward, you can see whether you’re increasing readership or losing it. It’s only a number. And I have work to do.
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Old Ongapotchket Site
After many months and many meetings and many decisions, the new janepollak.com is alive and well and hopefully worth your valuable time and attention. It feels as though my last website went up only weeks ago, but it’s been six years. It was time for something new, fresh and more adaptable to today’s social media opportunities.
My mother used a lot of Yiddish words when we were growing up. The one that popped into my mind every time I pulled up my old site was ongepotchket (uhng-guh-potch-kit), which can mean too fancy or ornate, fussy, overdressed, overdone. What I had it mean in my head was “too much going on.” After four years of plain and simple, I had my assistant add the logos from the media outlets that had once featured me. Then, when the revised edition of Soul Proprietor came out in May 2010, we threw the new cover up there with links to amazon.com.
The site got cluttered and messy looking–ongepotchket–so every time I clicked on my home page I had to squint so as not to notice the clutter.
And then, you just know, it’s time to re-group and re-launch. I hired a wonderful marketing/branding company to work with me, and I’m thrilled with my new look. It’s congruent with the cover of my book. There’s no more ‘egg’ symbolism. And we’ve added a lot of video and social media connections to stay abreast of the times.
I hope you’ll spend some time checking it out, send your friends, sign up for a free webinar and/or hang out with my remarkable clients sharing their experiences on the youtube clips.
Welcome to my new site!
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You don’t have to be a college student or grad to benefit from the advice in this revised edition of Lindsey’s book. Lindsey, for those of you who don’t know, is my daughter.
She used to come to me for career advice, but the tables have turned. She’s my go-to person for all things electronic and social media related when it comes to business. When I was considering linking sites with a particular organization recently, and I sought her wisdom, I told her I wasn’t sure I understood exactly what was required of me or what the benefits would be. But it sounded kind of good from the pitch I received. “Mom, if you don’t understand it and aren’t highly motivated to participate, say no.” I followed that advice with no regrets.
Please, buy a copy of her book for yourself or someone you love who’s looking for work. She’s a trustworthy guide and will be truly grateful for your purchase.
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My marketing director took me out to lunch yesterday for a planning session.
How cool does that sound?
I’ve been working with this woman-owned company for over a year now. They specialize in helping other women-owned businesses get the word out about their enterprise via social media, events, web development and other campaigns. I attribute her expertise with my growing revenues.
This was our second annual working lunch meeting, her treat. After a delicious soup and salad at Bloodroot (I got to pick the venue), she handed me an agenda with 10 items which she then reviewed point by point.
Each agenda item was something that we had talked about during the course of the year. I was amazed that she had captured them all and was helping me to re-visit them individually. Whenever I hear a great idea, I shoot it off to her via email. Taking them one by one a few weeks or months after the original inspiration affords me the opportunity to reconsider them in the stark light of day versus the excitement of the moment.
During our one hour meeting we covered everything we’ll be sure to do in 2012: promote my webinars, Remarkable Women’s Network events, launch my new website, build my lists, send direct mail campaigns and sponsor another client appreciation event–a highlight of 2011.
Would I have done these things on my own? Not likely.
The benefit to having a paid professional is participating in a best practice experience like this. Every business owner would benefit from an annual review, but how many actually take the time to sit down and make a plan?
I’m grateful to my marketing company for modeling this practice and helping me grow my business by partnering with her.
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My son got mad at me a few years ago when my newsletter column listed 100 things I was grateful for, and the UPS guy was ranked above my kids. Let me say at the outset of this post that I am grateful, first and foremost, for my family members. (Happy, Rob?)
Recently, though, I’ve had an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the ease that technology has brought to me and my business particularly. (It was likely Steve Jobs’ untimely death that brought that to the forefront of my mind.)
After giving my free webinar a few weeks ago, I gave my first official webinar on Thursday evening, and I felt like I’d found a new home. I had over 20 participants listening from their phones or computers in locations as far away as California and Texas and as close as New Hampshire and Stamford, CT. Those who missed the live event were sent links to a recording that matched the audio and visual components. No more need to worry about scheduling. Everything is available to participants whenever they have time to access it. This is HUGE!
Using Easy Seminar, a website designed to handle all the pieces of webinar communication, I was able to see who was calling from where, what time they signed on, if they had their hand up and were muted or unmuted. While I’ve attended calls where similar technology was used, I had never looked ‘behind the curtain’ to figure out how to do it myself. It’s really cool!
In addition to having a national audience, I’m able to create slides using PowerPoint and upload them to this site. We’ve created a private Facebook community where webinar participants can share their thoughts, encouragement and questions with each other. I was able to lift their photos from that social network to use for this slide which I showed the group when describing my ideal clients.
I first had to use PowerPoint in the late 90′s when I was still a computer novice. I went to an ‘expert’ to create my visuals for a program I was giving in Buenos Aires. I was beginning to learn the basics, but definitely needed his help uploading photos, creating transitions, etc. I had zero idea of what I was doing. I remember asking him if it would be possible to make ALL of the backgrounds of the slides black. I was such an amateur. I posed the question with such gravitas, as if I were asking for the password to Fort Knox. The ‘expert’ definitely played his part to the hilt. Rather than truthfully telling me, “Yeah, I just need to press duplicate slide 20 times,” he kind of grunted and groaned as if there were great effort required to make yet another slide background black. Knowing what I know now, I’m blushing at how little I knew.
That’s part of the gratitude. I’ve taken multiple classes over the years to get up to speed on technology. Now, I love going to google and writing in the slot, “how do you do a screen shot on the mac” and having the answer pop right up.
Is there a piece of technology you’ve mastered recently or are particularly grateful for this year? I’d love to know.
My son mentioned last week, when I invited him to jump in my pool during his visit to CT, that he hates to swim. How did I miss that fact?
Back when he was a baby, there was a theory that if you threw an infant into a pool, its instincts would have it stroking the water, kicking its little legs and actually swimming as a reflex action. I never tried it with him, but wonder if I had, would he feel better or worse about diving in.
I feel as though I’ve been thrown into a pool with the webinar course I’m taking. (Apologies to those who’ve heard way too much about this subject already. I keep learning new things about myself that I want to share.) Although I’m not sinking, it’s not the way I enjoy learning. I may be like the infants who are doing whatever it takes to keep our heads above water. My personal preference would be spoon-feeding, thank you. Wading in until the water feels comfortable, then gingerly progressing into the deep end. After that, teach me how to move my arms and legs.
But this instructor does it differently. I’m witness to several cohorts stroking away, posting their offers, giving their free webinars and getting new clients. It’s exhilarating to watch. I want what they have, and they’re eager to help me, which is what I particularly like about this class.
By next week I’ll be able to send out my new webinar link with an offer for a free session. I created the website myself (“Look Ma, I’m doing websites!”) and am working out my offer and modules. Now that I’m over the hump of fear that I won’t get this, I’m actually beginning to enjoy the process.
The gentleman who runs the course is constantly modeling all of the elements he wants us to learn and teach, like using LinkedIn to create communities. Like using a chatroll in Facebook to interact with each other during our Q+A calls. As I become more comfortable with the technology, and as I meet the remarkable men and women who are also in the deep end with me, I’m getting it. I’m seeing what’s possible in this new world of ours. And I want more. I want to know it so well that I’m comfortable teaching it too. I want to get all of you equally excited about it in my own way.
Meanwhile, I’m glugging along. Fortunately, I have enough kick-boards surrounding me that I’m able to do laps with their support. A place in a future Olympics? Perhaps.
