Knee Deep Blog

Take Me Off Your List: Creating Mail and Email Preferences - in hopes of saving a tree or two

I have a rant. It seems like I am spending a lot of time lubing my shredder and properly packaging the shredded paper in tied off plastic bags per our recycle department.  And,it feels like it's that time again to enjoy the quiet....you know, when you've had  your name, phone, address and email taken off lists.

A couple of years ago I went through the necessary steps to have our name, address, emails and home phones taken off as many   lists as possible including the multitudes of catalogs delivered to our door.  For a while it was beautiful...quiet uninterrupted evenings, and my shredder was enjoying mostly sitting in the closet.

Little did I know that when you take any kind of action in your life that involves any thing financial or you purchase from any catalog you set off the phone and paper storm to begin again unless you are on your toes and know to ask for privacy statements and to have your information limited. 

One remodel, one additional college degree, a few choice purchases and a couple of credit cards later poor mailman Mike is weighed down with a heavy mail satchel delivering to all of the people like us.  And I am burdened with sorting and processing a huge pile of mail each week as I wear my home based business and entrepreneurial hat call admin gal.

I realize that I've gotten to enjoy the moderate lack of seasonal change in the Northwest USA as much as I enjoy eat ting dinner without the phone ringing or shredding what seems like 5 to 10 credit card applications and other information that arrives with our names and private information each week. So today I am taking 30 minutes to "get off the lists" and "ask for privacy statements" so that my family can once enjoy the quiet flow.

If you're interested here's the information to protect your privacy and get off some lists:

1. To get off marketing lists: http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist
2. To get off phone lists:  http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offtelephone
3. To get off commercial email lists:  http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumers/optoutform_emps.shtml

Here's to adding a few extra minutes to our day, adding some quiet in our lives and perhaps saving a tree or two on the earth!

Regards,

Michele Corey, Advanced Approach, Knee Deep:  A dose of insight from your not always average entrepreneur

Copywriting 101 for your Blog

Truth be told I was both educating myself and procrastinating just a bit...yes me the information junkie and avid "teach me some more"....although I don't remember, I'm sure I was one of the kids that said, "just read me one more story...then I'll go to bed."

I've been spending a chunk of time over the past few months learning more about copywriting.  A big take away point for myself has been...just pick one (mentor and system)  and stick with it until you are at a point to learn and tweak some more.  Cause if you keep learning, storing and jumping...you end up in perpetual action of "not done yet" and "not quite perfect" and my favorite "it's almost ready to be reviewed."

One of my RSS feeds is for Copyblogger which wants to help you make some thing of your blog.  Author Brian Clark has also created a wonderful series called Copywriting101. You're bound to find both some great tips and tricks if you already know some thing, about copywriting and blog marketing.  And if you're in the start up page, you'll be offered a good foundation.

Here's a sneak peak into one of Brian's articles:

The 80/20 Rule of Headlines

Here are some interesting statistics.

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. This is the secret to the power of the headline, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of the entire piece.

The better the headline, the better your odds of beating the averages and getting what you’ve written read by a larger percentage of people.

Writing a great headline doesn’t guarantee the success of your writing. The benefit conveyed in the headline still needs to be properly satisfied in the body copy, either with your content or your offer.

But great body content with a bad or even marginal headline is doomed to go largely unread.

Happy Blogging, and here's to some kick butt writing!

Regards,

Michele Corey, Advanced Approach, Knee Deep:  A dose of insight from your not always average entrepreneur

Sharing Internet Marketing Resourses That Show You The Money

Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff have been doing amazing work with their online marketing learning and results.  And it's such a pleasure to have them continue to share these internet marketing  and blog resources with the rest of us out there that are both figuring it out and making it better for ourselves.

A recent post titled Show Me The Money....does just that....shows you where the "fish" are hanging out just waiting to be caught.  Let me give a bit of context, Denise and Patsi recently went to Tom Antion's Internet Marketing Bootcamp.

From the outside looking in I just loved hearing the stories and seeing the photos from their bootcamp and imagined what it would have been like to be there. And having an almost 3 year old pre-schooler means I will continue to have more structured hours and learn vicariously through others - and totally relish having it that way.

What I've love even more is the sharing a couple of great ideas that any one, including myself could take on and do....without having to know it all or be at the bootcamp (although I'm sure it was extremely additive).

The more I learn about internet marketing and the nuances of being online and the continued paradigm shift from "offline" marketing...the more I realize there is to learn, but more importantly....it's important to be willing to continue to shift my knowing of "this is how you do it" to "how else could it be done?  As well as pay attention to others success."

Back to the point...the 3 main tips Denise walked away with from her week long boot camp are:

1. A highly targeted, niche-specific article directory site designed primarily to earn passive revenue from ads, affiliate programs and related products.   
2. Selling on eBay. 
3. Learning how to write a really effective sales letter. 

What had my eyes and ears perk up was #1.  I have already checked out Denise's site http://dietarticles.info and have begun to think about possibilities for myself - that is once I get my current project launched.

Be sure to check out Denise's and Patsi's informative and easy to digest blogs to help you create your own home based business empires!  Don't forget to notice how well the blogs link with each other and play off of each others content.

1. Next Level Biz Tips
2. Blog Squad Live
3. Blog Squad Recommends
4. Build A Better Blog
5. Coaches Ezine
6. Your Project Partner
7. Biz Book Nuggets

Yes, that is quite a list of blogs...these are very busy and damn smart woman! 

Regards,

Michele Corey, Advanced Approach, Knee Deep:  A dose of insight from your not always average entrepreneur

Getting In Touch With Self & Gratitude With Appreciative Inquiry

Now is always the time to get back in touch with yourself and feel the gratitude that flows from that connection.  I just finished a couple of client calls and today seems to be all about a need for more...vision, connection, trust and gratitude.

Probably what is most interesting is that these calls are with business clients like you and me that love what they do, yet have some ups and downs. 

What I notice is the ups seem to just happen and are not always acknowledged...more often than not we don't pay attention to the ups and what is working.  Why, because there is flow and they just slide past us and we’re to busy running to what’s next. 

But when the downs hit...shit is really hitting the fan...and this is where all the attention goes - into what isn't working and doing our best to fix it and get out of the way.  Because we've been conditioned to pay more attention to problems.

Notice the difference:

1.  Flow: It just happens.  It's easy.  You often don’t even notice it is happening.

How most of us react...You simply put more on your plate (yes, I have to admit I get caught up in this too - and I'm thankful that either some one I know either inadvertently or on purpose points it out or I notice.

You stretch yourself more…to be even better, to become more efficient and to get more work done. 

Business being business....life being life....#2 happens.

2.  Downturn: The client deal or work falls apart, you miss an important business deadline, some one quits.  You begin to spin.  You notice every thing that isn't working. 

You most often blame - whether it be yourself (if I had only called earlier), others (they just didn't follow through) or circumstances (it's because of X, I don't have any control of that!) instead of taking responsibility and accountability. 

Stop blaming and especially stop blaming yourself.  Learn from what worked - acknowledge it - and then choosing what you want to do differently next time.

The common denominator when your business falling apart or when your business is successful...is you.

Try this experiment.

...over the next couple days,

1. Notice your reaction(s) and that of others.

· Is it about what is working and making it better?

· Is it about celebrating, acknowledging and having gratitude?

· Or is it all about the problem and fixing it?

2. Notice how you feel…and those around you respond when you take time to first celebrate and have some gratitude for what works and what you made better.  Soak it in.  Take accountability and responsibility for making your work flow. Feel what it feels like when your life's work, your business is working in a way that supports you and your clients.

3.  Be willing to try something new – I recommend discovering "appreciative inquiry." 

Appreciative inquiry is a way to get perspective on issues by redirecting your attention at what is working and make it better instead of looking at what is broken and fix it. 

Think Paradigm Shift...Heck...after you may even find yourself learning to ask...

"what is working well?"

and change the tone for your entire day.  I hope so.  What you will notice is that when you begin to stop, ask and listen for the positive and beauty, and then affirm it...You will ALWAYS find it.

In closing, a deep thought from Helen Keller that helped me connect to my own paradigm shift.

When one door closes, another opens.  But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don't see the one that has opened for us. 

This is what personally fills me with gratitude and the ability to continue to move forward with inspiration and motivation… closing the old door with grace, reaching for the new door and remembering to appreciate what is working!

Regards,

Michele Corey, Advanced Approach, Knee Deep:  A dose of insight from your not always average entrepreneur

PS. IF you are interested in learning more about appreciative inquiry be sure to check out this website.  During grad school I purchased a wonderful little book called:  The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond which is a good introduction on the subject.