Dear Friends,

I've never been a very fem girl. I grew up as a tom boy with two roughhouse brothers and a dad who taught me that I could do anything I put my mind to, but I've come to appreciate a woman's way in the area of marketing.

Women don't compete, they collaborate. "Only connect," E.M Forster said. Connecting is the vortex of PR and can start a whirlwind of publicity if you know a few simple things.

I always get a little zing in my gut when I "click" with someone. I only take on clients who I adore and/or who have something incredibly fun or socially conscious to promote. I use the "zing" test on potential clients as well as possible business buddies and friends. You can use your "zing" test to see what feels right to you.

Of course after the "zing" I do my due diligence by researching the person/company to make sure that everything that they do, say and are, is in alignment with my first impression. "Zing" doesn't mean "Go." It means test and see. Collaborations are artful rather than scientific. But there is a kind of synergy and synchronicity that happens when all goes right easily.

This month, I'll share with you how collaborations can be uplifting and egoless, as well as profitable media magnets. You can sell yourself without selling your soul and have a darn good time while you're at it.

Warmly,

Susan

Marketing the Woman's Way--Connect & Collaborate

What do a jewelry store, three greeting card designers and a mid-list humor author have in common?

They all have something to sell, and they each benefit from getting 250 women out on a Wednesday night.

The same things applies to a budding rock star, two spa owners, a furniture store, three Mary Kay reps, the Greenville Junior League, an Atlanta Unitarian Church, a Tampa charity, seven life coaches and a woman who sells dog biscuits.

Every single one of the above mentioned people and businesses are part of a nationwide Whine & Cheese Girls Night Out series of events that demonstrate the power of synchronicity and connections.

I'll give you the details in a second. But first, let me share with you a magic collaboration formula that can guarantee you great press and huge crowd of people excited about what you have to offer.

Here's the secret formula:

Take one retailer, add one of more local artisans, coaches or sellers of interesting stuff, inject an out-of-town headliner (speaker, author, or entrepreneur, etc.) and you've all the elements you need to create a phenomenal event that benefits everyone.

Here's the way it worked for my client Lisa Earle McLeod.

After a few rounds of lackluster bookstore signings on her first book, "Forget Perfect," Lisa decided that for her second book, "Finding Grace When You Can't Even Find Clean Underwear," she'd rather cross the country having fun with her girlfriends, versus standing alone in a Barnes & Noble giving directions to the bathroom.

So here's where the jewelry store owner and the greeting card designers come in. Childress Jewelers in Greenville SC wanted to host a Girls Night Out, but owner Karen Childress knew that a simple jewelry show wouldn't get much press or a big crowd. The greeting card designers wanted a crowd of women to view their new card line, but they knew that a table full of cards wasn't enough to make the ladies miss church on Wednesday night.

The Solution: A Whine & Cheese at the jewelry store with Lisa Earle McLeod as the headlining entertainment (humorous & heartfelt speaker), and a viral Evite with Suburban Myth card imagery sent to every woman within 30 miles of Greenville.

The beauty of this collaborative event is how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

How many retailers could get several hundred woman out on a weeknight? How many greeting card designers, or any type of creator, could get people to not only forward an example of their product to hundreds, but also show up and buy it? And how many authors could swing into town for one night and have 250 people excited to hear them talk, and know that those people had already downed enough free wine to insure huge book sales?

Not only do all three benefit, but the uniqueness of the event, and the one time out of town headliner, got them great press. Lisa is scheduled for TV and radio, and the local paper is planning a big feature.

Would any of this have happened if these people had tried to pull this off alone? I don't think so.

I love this model because it works, no matter what you're selling. (And yes, we're all selling something).

Whether you own a restaurant, you're trying to attract clients for your coaching business, you're a poet, a martial arts master, or you're trying to promote your skin care line, the magic combo is:

• A Place
• A Person with something to sell
• A Promotable headliner

In other cities, Lisa is doing events at schools, having groups of coaches host parties and, in one instance, even speaking at a huge Florida golf retirement community (apparently the 55 plus crowd loves nothing more than a few Cosmos and a funny speaker—who would have thought?!).

Lisa says, "I love these collaborative events because they're not all about me. It gives me the chance to promote other people's businesses, and it gives them the chance to get a big crowd without having to stand up in front of everyone and talk. I mean how many other authors get to speak at the Ritz Carlton Wine Bar and plug the Department of Peace because they got 200 people to show up?"

Others involved in Lisa's Whine & Cheese tour are several churches, a few groups of cosmetic sales people and even a woman who makes natural dog food.

The point here is when you're trying to promote yourself or your business, think outside the box. If you make it all about you, you're going to do all the work and probably get a fraction of the people you would if you collaborated. When you change your focus to making the event a success, it takes the pressure off of you and shifts the dynamic—you're there to help your collaborators promote their goods or services and they are there to help you promote yours.

This small shift can produce big results—both in your psyche for those of you who still feel that twinge when you're "selling," and for the exponential magic that happens when you team with other like-minded people.

Get Celebrity Endorsements for Your Product, Book, Service, or Cause

Have you ever wanted to get your product or service in the hands of celebrities? Now you can with Contact Any Celebrity, an online database containing the best mailing address, agent, manager, publicist, production company, and charitable cause for over 54,000 celebrities worldwide. Visit Contact Any Celebrity now to search their database of celebrity contacts.

(BTW, when you click on the above URL don't expect a sales letter. It's the database itself where you can search on a celebrity and set up a trial or buy a subscription. Enjoy).

Niche Inspector--Keyword Research Tool

My friend Mike Koenigs, who is a genius when it comes to Internet strategies, loves this product which finds the most profitable key words to help you define and refine your google ads and online promotions so you reap the most sales. Mike found dozens of keyword niches in minutes that he's now using to sell affiliate products. If you've wanted to figure out the best keywords for your business start by reading Myleena Phan's (Fr.e.e) eBook, "How to Uncover Red-Hot Niches With a Simple, Step-By-Step Formula."

After that, buy the Niche Inspector software so you can put his formula in motion. Myleena is running a promotion until April 11th so if this is for you move quickly. It's no risk as Myleena will give you your money back if it doesn't save you time or make you money.

Services I Highly Recommend

Many people ask me about the services I use and trust. The businesses below are a few of my partners or companies that provide services and products that I rely on that truly work.

I recommend them without pause. Please explore them to find out if they are right for you.

PRESSKIT 247: Both an online database where journalists and producers find you when they're searching for experts and your online presskit where all of your press materials including audio and video are instantly available to the media. Get listed here and to increase your media appearances and expand your business: PRESSKIT 247

OUR SHOPPING CART: I use a shopping cart system called 1shoppingcart for online transactions, autoresponders my affiliate program and tracking links. This shopping cart is the most widely used one by successful entrepreneurs and online marketers. You can trial it here: 1shoppingcart

THE WEB SITE TOOLKIT: "This is a complete tutorial and guide (written and audio) on creating an effective professional service business web site," says Robert Middleton, the creator. This is a best, most organized and comprehensive system that I've found to guide you through writing the copy and organizing the content for your website. Included are resources and directions for writing, design and technical requirements. Hundreds of people have used Middleton's methods to develop sites that attract the clients they want: Web Site Toolkit

EZINE MARKETING: Using an E-zine like mine is one of the fastest and easiest things you can do to promote your business. To learn how to create yours so it works for you and gets you ongoing results, I suggest taking a look at Alexandria Brown's complete manual on marketing with your E-zine.

THE INFOMERCIAL TOOLKIT: Online videos are the wave of the future. Your clients or customers may be all over the world, but they can meet you quickly right on your site. Sell your products and services, demo new ideas or just give people a small taste of what it's like to do business with you. Infomercial Toolkit

PRLEADS: This is the best deal on the planet. The only complaint my clients have lodged about it is, "I wish I would have done it sooner." You respond to reporters and producers queries for comments and insights on stories they're working in your area of expertise and then get quoted in the media instantly: PRLeads

TELECONFERENCE SERVICE: For all my Teleclasses I use a service that's reliable and free. I also use this service to record all my consulting calls. http://freeconferencing.liveoffice.com

Come Meet Me

Anywhere in the World
Christian Work at Home Moment
March 5, 2006
6:30pm CST on KCRO 660 AM
KCRO 660 AM, Omaha or listen
anytime at http://cwahm.com/wordpress/blog/

Anywhere in the World
Q&A to Get on Oprah & Other TV Talk Shows Teleclass
1 hour
Download it at no charge at:
http://prsecrets.com/free-sign-oprahtvtalkshow.html

Anywhere in the World
Get a 6 Figure Book Advance Teleclass
1 hour
Download it at no charge at:
http://prsecrets.com/free-audio-signup-6f.html

Anywhere in the World
Become a 60 Second Sound Bite Genius
(For Pitching, Producer calls, Networking or Presentations)
1 hour
Download it at no charge at:
http://www.webmarketingmagic.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=114141

For further schedule information and course descriptions
please visit:
http://prsecrets.com/speakingkeynotesworkshops.html

NOTE: Some new classes do not yet have descriptions. Your patience is appreciated.

Quote

There is the utter joy to tearing up the rule book and doing it differently.

—Jerry Yang, co-creator Yahoo