August 28th, 2008 by Kelly

Just be sure you learn from them

We all make mistakes, both in our business and our personal lives. In fact, we skiers in Colorado often ask each other how much we fell. Because “if you didn’t fall you’re not trying hard enough” when skiing.

I think the same holds true in marketing.

Take chances – it’s ok to make a mistake. Oftentimes it’s the best way to learn.

I recently read Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss. Here is what he has to say about learning from setbacks:

“You win some and you lose some. The best baseball hitters are successful about one-third of the time. The best golfers win perhaps one of every 15 tournaments they enter. Abraham Lincoln lost more elections than he won. The finest salespeople probably close about two sales of every 10 legitimate meetings.”

I find it’s easy to see the mistakes you make and dwell on them. I see some people kicking themselves or their employees and spending weeks worrying about the consequences. Dwelling on the “what if’s”.

Weiss tells us “the key, of course, is not to make the same mistake twice. Whether you swing at a wild pitch, hit the tee shot into the water, lose the election through poor debating, or lose the sale through lack of preparation about the competition, the idea is to lessen the chances that the same cause will produce the same result the next time.”

Finally Weiss states, “Don’t shun setbacks. Learn from them. They are an intrinsic part of the work, so we might as well become proficient at dealing with them and capitalizing on lessons learned.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Especially in marketing, it’s important to try new things and pursue new ventures. If it doesn’t work – stop doing it and try something else. If something is working – tweak it and see if you can get it to work better!

If you don’t try, you fail no matter what. Especially when it comes to marketing your business.

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 26th, 2008 by Kelly

Best Buy sponsored an event at the DNC titled @15 for 13-15 year-olds. Best Buy’s philanthropic efforts are now going towards issues that are important to this age group, of which I have a daughter. The idea behind the event was for the “powerful leaders” at the DNC to have an opportunity to learn about issues that are important to these kids. The kids were hosting the event and were to approach the politicians and introduce themselves and begin the conversations.

My daughter, Shelby, really put herself out there to do this. She is naturally shy but walked up to several adults, “powerful leaders” none the less, and said hello and talked about what is important to her.

I am posting some photos of Shelby and I together at the event as well as a photo of the police presence — which was huge! I’ve also included a photo with Shelby and New Hampshire lobbyist Jim Demers. Jim was very nice and explained to Shelby what a lobbyist actually does and how they help representatives understand the issues on the bills. Jim was head of the Obama campaign in New Hampshire and is a former legislator. I thought it would be fun to share these “off topic” photo’s with everyone.

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.thecopywritinginstitute.com

August 26th, 2008 by Kelly

A couple weeks ago we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Today we are reviewing the last benefit of our top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #8: "Experts" teach classes.

Teleclasses are a great way to grow/enhance your reputation. It allows you to position yourself as a "guru" in your field. You are teaching valuable information to your ideal market, and to some people, you may even be considered "famous". Your frequent teleclass attendees may also quote you and refer to your specific seminars in their own writing and communications. You have become an expert!

If you would like more information on how you can use teleclasses to grow your business, you may be interested in our "How To Grow Your Business with Teleclass" audio and workbook. One of the most interactive and fun ways to get new clients is by leading a teleclass. This audio and workbook will teach you the ins and outs of setting up a teleclass – both the mechanics of how to get the conference line and record the class as well as creating the content for the class itself.

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 21st, 2008 by Kelly

A couple weeks ago we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Today we continue to look at the benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #7: Can create a passive income, i.e. products.

We touched on this real quick on Tuesday. When you record your audio, you then have the option of turning this into a product (and therefore a great way to create passive income).

Here are some ideas for how you can use your teleclass to create passive income products:

• Create a CD
• Write articles or a workbook to accompany the audio and create a package
• Sell the Mp3 link
• Give the Mp3 link as a bonus to another product or service you already offer

Stay tuned next week for the last benefit of holding teleclasses to grow your business!

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 19th, 2008 by Kelly

A couple weeks ago we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #6: Participants can listen at their convenience.

Because it is so easy and inexpensive to record calls, I always record my teleseminars and have them available to people that register ahead of time to download. That way I can do the class during the day - which is convenient for me, and registrants can listen after work or on their MP3 player at their convenience.

It also allows for people to re-listen to the call (which I also encourage) in order to fully absorb the topic. They can take notes and come back to it if they need to.

And this also allows you to have the option of creating the audio into a CD product down the road.

Stay tuned Thursday for benefit #7!

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 14th, 2008 by Kelly

A couple weeks ago we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #5: Wider range of audience than live workshops or seminars.

With a teleclass, it’s very easy to attract participants from all over the world. You are not limited to one specific geographical location as you are with live workshops and seminars. There is no need for traveling, providing food etc.

If a world-wide audience is something you anticipate you should consider what time you offer the teleclass. It is hard to find a time that works for everyone, so you may want to think about if you will make an audio available for them to download at a later date to save the international phone charges.

Stay tuned next week for benefit #6

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 12th, 2008 by Kelly

A couple weeks ago we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #4: Can charge for classes.

I recommend starting out with a few free teleclasses. You can do these to drive people to your list and to also get experience and comfortable doing teleclasses. This gives you a chance to build your list and get some teleclass experiences under your belt.

Many people will do free teleclasses to promote a longer or more in-depth class or product they charge for, or simply to drive prospects to their ezine. This is a great idea once you have a large list and are more comfortable holding teleclasses.

Stay tuned on Thursday for benefit #5

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 7th, 2008 by Kelly

Last week we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #3: People can interact.

On a teleclass, people can interact both with each other and with you. Participants learn from each others questions and by answering yours. I also find that some people are more likely to participate that may not in a live event. This is probably because of the anonymity of not being seen. They feel more comfortable to share and ask questions when they in their own space and do not have to talk face to face. 

Stay tuned next week for more tips!

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

August 5th, 2008 by Kelly

Last week we began to look at why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #2: Easy to set up.

The steps are really easy to set up a conference.

1) Set up your free conference line.

2) Set up a way for people to register. I usually have a page put up on my web site with a webform that asks for their name and email. The information is added to my autoresponder program and they are automatically sent the call in information. But if you’re just getting started and don’t have an autoresponder program, you can also just simply have them email you to register.

Happy Copywriting!

Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

July 31st, 2008 by Kelly

On Tuesday we discussed why holding a teleclass might be beneficial to growing your business.

Over the next few weeks we’ll look at the top eight benefits of holding teleclasses to grow your business.

Benefit #1 - Teleclasses are inexpensive

Most of the teleclasses I do don’t cost me anything. There are several free conference companies that offer teleconference lines for up to 100-200 people at no charge. Some of them also offer free recording, although these companies are getting harder to find. Some only charge a small amount (maybe $15) to record the call or you can also get your own recording software and record it yourself.

Happy Copywriting!
Kelly Robbins
www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com