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seven before and after headshot examples

By: Tad | Published: June 13, 2011 · 5 Comments

I was just chatting on the phone today with my new colleague (and increasingly pal) Maruxa Murphy.

During our chat she mentioned a photographer, Christina Morassi, who had a real gift for capturing people’s essence in her photographs and had some great before and after shots to prove it.

Now, I’ve written before about the importance of having a great headshot and given some before and after examples – but I don’t think you can have too many examples.

Somehow it feels like, in the ‘after’ photo, they let themselves dress more authentically. They wore clothes that expressed more deeply who they were. There’s something that feels a bit more real, warm and human – more authentic – about the setting chosen for the after photos.

When I look at the after photos I feel like I get a much better feel for ‘them’ and whether or not they’d be a fit for me. In some of the first photos there’s a sense of ‘trying’ to look good, professional, empowered but in the after photos – there’s more of a sense of them being relaxed, comfortable in their own skin and allowing who they are to show. The first ones seem ‘impressive’ but the afters feel beautiful.

See the difference:

Before —————————After

My clients OLD business portrait /After Flipping Their Switch

pink shirt seven before and after headshot examples in field seven before and after headshot examples

Rose Cole ~ www.RoseCole.com

red shirt white bg seven before and after headshot examples on bench seven before and after headshot examples

Tracey Trottenberg ~ www.TraceyTrottenberg.com

short hair white bg seven before and after headshot examples short hair dressing room seven before and after headshot examples

Stephanie Radkay ~ www.RDSTrader.com

long hair white bg seven before and after headshot examples red hair seven before and after headshot examples

Katharine Dever ~ http://findyourmoneyspot.com/

lisa seven before and after headshot examples red ruffle shirt seven before and after headshot examples

Lisa Steadman ~ www.LisaSteadman.com

02TUJulieSteelman seven before and after headshot examples DSC 0469 seven before and after headshot examples

Julie Steelman ~ www.juliesteelman.com

Wendy Prior ~ www.passionincome.com

What do you think about the difference?

Leave your comments below.

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: Branding, Photos and Visual Communications - Tags: authenticity, building trust, safety, trusted advisor

oakland’s pay what you want holistic clinic

By: Tad | Published: June 10, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Imagine a holistic health clinic where you didn’t have to pay.

Last August, I was emailed a link to a video about just such a clinic in Oakland, California. Since people know I do most of my workshops on a Pay What You Can basis – they tend to send me lots of stories and examples. I watched the video and was so moved and posted it onto my blog.

And then, just a month ago I was in Oakland leading a marketing workshop with my pal Alex Baisley called, ‘Marketing for Hippies and Gyspies’ (myself being the hippie and alex being the gyspie). As we did the introduction circle at the start of the day – a woman, Aumatma Binal Shah (pictured right), introduced herself and the amazing, gift economy holistic health clinic she ran.

Levers and gears clicked in my head. I burst out in the biggest smile and blurted out, ‘You’re on my blog!!!’. I was so excited. I think you will be too when you read about it and watch the video below.

Aumatma’s project – The Karma Clinic – is special, brave and generous. I want to see it get every scrap of support it can. Spread the word.

Below is my interview with her.

What is the name of your project?

Karma Clinic

What’s the story of how this came about? What was the need you saw in the community that it emerged from?

I had a vision when I was 18 that I would be doctor running a ‘free’ clinic.

At the time, I wanted nothing to do with either- medicine or free! Fast forward 4 years of pre-med undergrad and at the end not having a clue what to do with my life since I really did not want to go to medical school, I was discouraged and confused.

At that time, I got a piece of “junk mail” at my parents’ home from a Naturopathic College. I took one look at the curriculum and knew that I was meant to become a Naturopathic Doctor and that I was being called to be of service. Through school, I volunteered at numerous free clinics and noticed that something was missing- people mostly took us for granted, and did not follow the suggestions/ recommendations given to them.

After graduation from Naturopathic school with a Doctorate in Naturopathy and Master’s in Nutrition, I felt the need for an inward journey for discovery and deepening of understanding the world from a wholistic perspective.

That desire led me to a monastery where I spent a year, living mostly in silence, without any contact with money, and lots of time to connect with myself and nature while living harmoniously & sustainably with community and the earth. After a year, I felt called to re-start my service to the world on a broader scale so I left the monastery to join a naturopathic office, with my mentor.

Within a few months, I started to notice a repeated uneasiness in the pit of my stomach after each session, upon walking out of the office and telling the client they now owed us a large sum of money (usually between $300-500). I did not like the equation of this connection and relationship with another person with cash or transaction.

In complete synchro-destiny, I received an email from a dear friend who runs an organization/ hub for gift-economy projects, saying that there was some talk of a ‘karma hospital’- similar to Karma Kitchen, but instead of serving food, the intention was to serve health. Very excited by the possibility, I moved across the country 3 months later, to converse and create with others that were inspired by the same vision.

This closed a loop for me of the vision I had in meditation 10 years prior, and I knew that I was following my path, my truth.

Can you share a few examples of how your project works?

The way it works is: a client contacts me (or some other practitioner within the network) for an appointment. They get sent an extensive questionnaire which they fill out and send back. Then, they make an appointment to come into the office. We have our first session, generally about 2 hours.

At the end of our time together, I say something like (it changes to what’s most authentic in the moment): “Thank you for this opportunity to be of service, and a small conduit for your healing process. I offer this to you as a gift, because there’s no price tag that is enough- and any price is too much! Your session was made possible by someone that came before you and if you wish to pay it forward, so that someone else may have this experience, you can do so- now or at any point in the future.” At that point, the client may have questions, or an offering, or a ‘thank you’ and a hug! All are received with trust and generous heart.

Who do you find it’s working best for?

In terms of the gift-economy component, it works best for those that are wishing to grow in their generosity, don’t have access to medical care and are in need of it, and are willing to make a shift in their life for the better.

In terms of my own specialties, I work with a variety of issues but focus on: anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and stress-induced chronic illness. The reason that I focus on these is that they often get ignored and eventually result in greater imbalances and diseases in the body. So, its the way I feel I can be of the most service to those that need it the most!

how do you deal with the ‘guilt’ that can come up when people are afraid they won’t pay enough – i get this all the time.

The ‘guilt’ is a feeling that’s an internal measure that can actually be used as an indicator light for internal truth, rather than intellectualized truth. However, that feeling of guilt is internal- understanding that it is not coming from the gift-economy practitioner because there’s no pressure to give back in the gift-economy. The “right” amount should feel light and joyous. So, when giving a gift, one should give the amount that feels good- its a different place for everyone, but each individual has that place that feels “light and right” to them! It’s not too much, not too little.

What are the top three most effective ways you’ve found to market this?

I haven’t marketed at all! My clients spread the word all on their own. So, the best thing I have found to do is to be present with the person immediately in front of me.

do you have any fancy marketing and promotion ideas coming up?

No. Just moving with the flow of what the universe brings in.

what advice would you give to someone wanting to try a gift economy approach?

Put on your gear (of compassion and trust) and dive in! It does help to have a mentor though- because inevitably, things arise which need to be talked through. In the beginning, it’s also helpful to have some period of time that your basic needs are met to start out (I say 6 months is a good period of time), to allow yourself to really dive into the gift-economy, without expecting anything in return. Last but not least, connect with community that inspires you and connect with your own gratitude regularly.

What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?

TRUST. TRUST. TRUST. I have deepened (and continue to deepen) my trust in the universe- that all my needs will be met if I just allow my gifts to flow through me.

What’s the next level for your project? What are you most excited about that’s coming up?

Excited about the growing network of gift-based healers across the country! I am going to be on tour June 5th-July 15th, doing funshops on “Money & Media for healers”. These workshops are also offered on a gift basis and am looking forward to having conversations with other healers around money, sharing gift-economy model for healthcare with them, and inspiring them to try new ways of practicing their art/ service/ gift.

Go watch this little video about the Karma Clinic:

If people want to find out more about your project, support it or get involved – what should they do?

Come visit our site at:

http://www.karmaclinic.org

| Categories: Case Studies of Inspiring Business, holistic practitioners, Political Context for Marketing, PWYC - Tags: authenticity, building trust, generosity based business, holistic practitioners, irresistible offers, safety

one of the best home pages I’ve ever seen

By: Tad | Published: May 18, 2011 · 6 Comments

Your home page is the most important part of your website.

Period.

People give your website maybe thirty seconds before they decide if it’s a fit or not.

Recently, I was compiling a list of super amazing blogs. And I must have looked at about a hundred. And some of them, I didn’t include because I couldn’t figure out what on Earth the blog was about. I went to it. Browsed. Scratched my head. Browsed some more. And left. Done.

The confused mind says, ‘no’.

If your home page confuses people it will kill the effectiveness of your website. Your home page is the ad for your website. It’s the invitation to your party. It’s the well kept path to your house. It either brings people closer – or repels them away.

So your home page needs to be crystal clear about three things:

Who it’s for.
What the problem is that you solve.
What the result is that you’re offering.

But clarity isn’t the only thing to think about. There’s also the tone of it. And it’s easy to get it laser focused and . . . too hyped up.

Here’s a mantra to think about: cool idea, warm tone, hot offer. The core idea of what your work is about should be cool. People should hear it and say, ‘What a great idea!‘. The tone should feel warm, human, welcoming and safe. And the offers you make should be hot. People should say, ‘Damn! That is a hot offer! How could anyone say no to that?‘

So, you want your homepage to be clear but also compelling and warm.

I’d like to show you one of my favourite examples of this.

Carrie Klassen is not only a colleague of mine but someone I really deeply adore.

Her marketing work is amazing, quirky, beautiful. I’d say it’s authentic – but that is starting to feel like such a buzzword.

I wrote these words for her website a while back:

“I have a confession. I’m a marketer (for hippies) and sometimes I sort of slam designers in my workshops. They’re lovely people, but many of them don’t really get marketing. And here I am endorsing a designer and writer. Why? Carrie is brilliant. She draws you in with warmth, honesty and quirk. She tells good stories. Her marketing isn’t pushy – it’s welcoming. I recommend her constantly to my clients when they wonder where to go for great design and writing. Carrie is to marketing what warm sweaters, mulled cider and toboggans are to winter days.”

I invite you to check out the little four minute or so video I did guiding your through Carrie’s website below. And I encourage you to drop her a line and say, ‘hello’ to her if you’re struggling with your home page. She’s brilliant and kind.

| Categories: Branding, Great Ads to Learn From - Tags: authenticity, building trust, online marketing, safety

using micro stories to engage your reader

By: Tad | Published: April 13, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Stories are powerful in marketing. In fact, they can do a lot to make marketing feel less contrived, ‘try hard’ and gross. They’re engaging without you trying to be convincing, if that makes sense.

A few days ago, I shared with you an example of how you can express your product through story. And months ago, I shared an example of what a common story of a holistic practitioner might be.

Here’s an example of a ‘micro story’ (from a colleague Milana Leshinksy) but one that is still incredibly compelling and hits the nail on the head.

Four important things to note about this story:

It’s in the third person. Which I love. In the marketing world, there’s a sense that everything needs to be in second person. Meaning, “Are you overwhelmed with things?” Using the word ‘you’ a lot. This can be powerful. It can also feel contrived and extremely leading. It can feel warm at times but it can also feel like a feigned, faux warmth. It can be experienced as you trying to create a sense of intimacy vs. actual intimacy. You likely see this on ads where they say, ‘are you struggling to make enough money? are you overloaded with debt? are you stuck in a job you hate?‘ And sometimes it feels really ‘salesy’. Or worse – invasive. Some people have such immense shame about their situation that to name it and speak to it directly or invite them to identify themselves directly is too scary. But a story in the third person, about another person is like a safe invitation. It lets you connect where you see the fit. A story is an offering – it doesn’t demand anything.

It nails it. This story is so common! This story demonstrates a keen empathy and understanding of the situation of many of her clients and potential clients. Now this one is about money. But the same thing could be written about relationships, health of spiritual angst. So many people would read this story and say, ‘wow. that’s so me!’ Could you do this with you clients life experience?

What else have they tried? I love this question. Ask yourself, ‘what other tools, routes, strategies and approaches have my clients tried before coming to me? And how do they feel about that?’ If you can acknowledge the road they’ve already been on . . . well that feels really good.

It’s so short! I love how short she made this. I’m not very good at short. I want to coin the term ‘micro story’. Coined!

The Story:

Once upon a time there was a business owner who wasn’t making any money.

She tried to publish an e-zine, submit articles, learn about search engines, and host teleclasses.

Her colleagues told her to do more free consults with prospects, but she had very limited time and, frankly, wasn’t really good at it.

Her coach told her to get out and speak to networking groups, but she had two children at home and didn’t want to travel.

Her husband told her to lower her rates, but that only attracted “nightmare” clients.

Nothing she ever did generated much business, so she continued to struggle.

Then one day she discovered a marketing strategy that changed her life. She started selling thousands dollars worth of her coaching products and programs,
top industry leaders wanted to work with her, and she no longer worried about money.

To get the rest of the story and learn about how a struggling entrepreneur turned into a thriving one, go to this website and get her free videos.

| Categories: Great Ads to Learn From, Sales Letters, Stories - Tags: building trust, empathy, safety

tell them a story

By: Tad | Published: April 6, 2011 · 2 Comments

So, I’m about to hit the road on tour with my workshops. I might even be coming to your town.

And so I need to describe my workshops to people. You might be in the same boat – needing to describe something that’s . . . complicated. Maybe it’s a service, or maybe it’s a workshop. And one of the best ways to do this is to tell them a story. Help describe the experience in such rich and vivid detail that they really, really ‘get’ what it’s going to be like.

Last week, I wrote up something for my weekend Marketing 101 for Holistic Practitioners workshop and I shared it with one of my favourite marketing colleagues, Carrie Klassen of Pink Elephant Communications. She read it and said, “All day long, I am telling clients “tell me what to expect… tell me what it will look like and what it will feel like.. make me already there… be kind and set me at ease.” Tell me a story!“

It’s not about just listing features and benefits. It’s about putting them into the experience itself. It’s not about focusing on what you’re going to give them – but what they’re going to receive. Not focusing only on the content you’re giving them, but on the context they’ll be experiencing. It’s about immersing their imagination into it before they have to risk spending their time and money. It’s about humanizing it.

When you tell stories like this it warms your marketing right up. It’s like serving your marketing with a nice, wool sweater and cup of herbal tea.

So, I thought I’d share it with you to see what you think and welcome your ideas for improvement.

What do you think?

Here’s what Your Weekend Might Look Like:

Let me paint the scene . . .

tell them a story On Friday night you arrive from a busy day excited about the weekend. The workshop space is naturally lit, beautiful and casual (maybe a community hall or funky university classroom or a room at a local arts center – definitely not a Hotel Meeting Room). Slowly people start to arrive. And they’re all people like you. They’re quirky, fun, open-minded and excited to meet you. You grab a seat at a table where you’re joined by four others and you all start chatting right away. You like these people.

The facilitator (that’s me!) grabs a seat at the front of the room and warmly welcomes you to the weekend. ‘For this weekend,’ he says. ‘Your marketing is my problem.’ You immediately relax.

You then take about a minute each to introduce yourselves to the whole group – who you are and what you do. You’re happy it’s done in a casual and relaxed way instead of those forced and lame icebreakers some people make you do. And, not once are you asked to high five your neighbour. Thank. God.

tell them a story This is followed by ten minutes in small groups where you share where you’re struggling. You’re surprised to hear your story being repeated by everyone at the table. All of the problems you’re struggling with, they’re also struggling with. It feels so good not to feel alone or crazy. It seems everyone’s got the same issues.

Then the facilitator gets up and starts to go over The Journey (watch the nine minute video above to see it for yourself now). And things start clicking into place for you. Suddenly years of fuzziness around marketing start to come into focus.

With that framework in place, you’re invited to find a partner and ‘interview’ each other. It’s still early in the weekend – so you pick someone safe to work with. You find a quiet area of the room and begin the interview process. Over the next thirty minutes, your partner asks your four questions: where do you want to be with your marketing? Where are you now? What’s in the gap? What do you already know you need to do? They’re such simple questions but as you speak, you begin to realize, ‘No one’s ever really asked me these questions before! I’ve never really, really thought about all of this.’ You start to answer but the more you speak the deeper you go.

Thankfully your partner has been instructed that they’re not allowed to give you any advice. They’re just there to listen and ask questions that might help you get clearer about the nature of your own situation.

By the end of the thirty minutes – you’re not where you thought you’d be. The things you started with only half an hour ago were only the surface – and you’ve had the chance to go several levels deeper. You’ve actually never felt so clear.

Wow. It feels good to be listened to.

The evening wraps up some leisurely time to talk about the exercise and ask any questions that are on you mind. You go home – your mind feeling clearer but stimulated. You have a great sleep.

You show up at a very civilized 10am on Saturday morning (you’re so glad he doesn’t start his workshops at 8am) and the day starts with a casual conversation to see if there are any questions since the evening before. You’re really enjoying the casual but focused pacing of the weekend.

Over the day, you learn about the Top Ten Must Have Tools for any practitioner to grow their practice. You’re happy to discover that you already have some of them! And some you never even thought of. But it feels great to at least know what’s missing and where you can improve what you’ve got.

In the morning you talk about the first four tools: Specialization, Website, Photo and Bio. It all makes sense and you can begin to feel the gears turning. Already, you feel like you’ve learned more about marketing than you have since you started your career.

Lunch comes at 1pm and you’re delighted to find it’s an hour and half. You hate rushed meal times at lunches. You all trundle out to that local, organic cafe that you love. The one with the great soups. You enjoy a relaxed meal together – the conversation shifting easily from what you learned this morning to good old fashioned getting to know each other. And . . . these people are amazing. Even that person you were secretly annoyed by on Friday night – you’re warming to. What a story she has!

You enjoy a leisurely walk back to the workshop space and are invited to sit with some new people.

Saturday afternoon begins. And then for the next ninety minutes you delve deep into that thing that’s been frustrating you for years. How you articulate and describe what you do. You’ve pulled your hair out over this one for a long time and seen a lot of people go glassy eyed and say, ‘that’s interesting . . .’. They didn’t get it.

You learn the two main things that make people confused and then you’re given a simple, six step, fill in the blanks template to articulate what you do. And it makes sense! You really like it.

So, you go around your table with everyone doing their best to fill in the blanks for their business. And people start nodding. You find yourself looking at that new age practitioner across the table and thinking, ‘oh! NOW I get what you do.’ (of course – you never told her you didn’t understand her explanation on Friday night – no one ever does). When it comes to you, you do your best and you see a similar reaction. Oh my god! People are actually getting it!

To make it better, after each person goes – you’re invited to take a few minutes to share what you noticed worked and didn’t work. When it comes to you, your nervous. But to your delight much of the feedback is really positive, ‘I loved this part of your story!’ says one fellow. ‘I love how clear you were about the problem you solve,’ says a woman across from you. And then they also share where it didn’t work for them – and you have to agree. They give you some suggestions on how to improve it and you begin to feel excited to try this out on your friends.

You take a 15 minute break and when you come back, someone from the group has been invited to lead a 5 minute energizing stretch.

Over the rest of the day you cover the remaining five tools: your database, your hubs database (don’t worry you’ll learn all about what ‘hubs’ are a little further down in the letter), testimonials and case studies, email newsletters and sales funnels. It’s a lot to take in, but it all makes sense.

The day ends at 6:30pm and you trundle off to dinner with some of the new friends you’ve met. Your brain feels full – but in a good way.

tell them a story Then Saturday evening at 8pm, you grab a bottle of locally made, organic wine and make your way over to this cool, local community space for that evening’s Indigo Drinks. It’s a casually catered party for the participants of the weekend plus other local leaders in the holistic field. You’ve wanted to meet a bunch of these people for years now: there’s the woman who runs the local holistic magazine, the fellow who opened up that new center everyone’s talking about, the fellow who runs the local holistic association and even your favourite yoga teacher will be there! You wouldn’t miss it for the world.

The evening is filled with delightful people, sparkling conversation and new connections. You really enjoy the time to just hang out with your classmates without having to talk about marketing or business. At around 9pm, everyone gets into a cozy little circle and has thirty seconds to introduce themselves and what they’re up to. And that quiet lady who you hadn’t met yet ends up sharing a project that is exactly what you’d been thinking of yourself! As soon as the circle breaks, you make a bee line for her and discover you’re kindred spirits.

You stay up a little later than intended but eventually make it home and go to sleep excited for the last day of the workshop.

tell them a story On Sunday morning at 10am, you show up so excited to begin the day. Again, it starts with some open time for questions.

And then you dive into the part of the weekend you’ve been most excited about: The Top Ten Marketing Paths.

Tad explains that there are really only ten ways he knows of to get clients. And that they ALL work. They only question is: ‘which one is the best fit for you?’. This is a huge relief for you. You’ve been to other workshops and teleseminars where they spent hours telling you, ‘You have to use social media!’ or ‘You have to start doing workshops.’ And that had you feeling horrible. After all, you hate doing those things.

Over the day, you learn about the different paths available to you. You learn about: writing, presenting, networking, PR, social media, advertising, online presentations, client care, hosting and doing free sessions.

By Sunday afternoon three of those jump out at you as the most exciting. To your delight, you’re encouraged to mostly forget about the other ones and focus on those three. ‘I can do this!’ you think to yourself. And for the first time in years, marketing. feels. fun.

By the end of the day, your brain feels full. And thankfully, the day ends with you taking some time to review your notes and plan out your next steps. Immediately, you feel less overwhelmed and a clear sense of direction.

You’ve made such wonderful connections with people and you make arrangements to follow up with some of them to work on your marketing together.

You decided to attend on the pay what you can basis and you’re nervous that what you’re paying isn’t enough. You’d like to give more – but you’re reassured that whatever you pay is perfect. And you get that Tad really means it. You slip your payment in an envelope and put it in his bag at the front like he asked you to and, after a few hugs, make your way home.

What a great weekend.

| Categories: event promotion, Sales Letters - Tags: building trust, communicating value, safety, stories

how do YOU use blogging and social media to create the Know, Like and Trust Factor?

By: Tad | Published: March 10, 2011 · 42 Comments

Today I’m being interviewed by my pal Bill Baren (pictured right) about how I use social media and blogging to build the Know, Like and Trust Factor in my business.

And it had me wondering – what do YOU do?

What kinds of things do you post in your blog or on facebook?
Have you come up with any super cool strategies that have worked to help you grow your business?
What things have you posted that have had the biggest response?

Leave any brilliant ideas below and let’s see what we can all learn from each other.

I promise to compile all of these ideas and put them together in a blog soon. Just check back or subscribe to my blog on the top right of this page and you’ll see it soon.

| Categories: becoming a hub, Social Media - Tags: authenticity, becoming a hub, blogs, building trust, marketing 2.0, online marketing, safety, social media

ever been to a ‘gross’ workshop – share your story!

By: Tad | Published: February 24, 2011

“How do we run workshops that sustain us financially – without selling out soul?“

That’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately.

So, I’ve been in the seminar industry since I was in high school.

It started out with working for a franchise of Anthony Robbins and Associates, then leading workshops across Alberta for high school students and eventually into the marketing work.

And I’ve noticed a trend in the workshop industry that feels kind of ‘gross’.

I’m curious if you’ve experienced the same thing . . . but I hear this a lot.

There’s the evening intro – which ends up just being a pitch for a higher level weekend or coaching program. And, it’s not that I take issue with them having more they offer – but there’s something about the way it’s pitched and offered at the end that feels off.

The three big critiques I keep hearing of the workshop industry:

1) They Are Over Hyped: These intros are sometimes sold as ‘the complete solution’ when they’re just a teaser. So people feel ‘tricked’ and mislead.

2) Contrived Facilitation Style: The facilitation style is very, in my experience, contrived. “Raise your hand if you want to make more money!” They’re not actually curious – they just want to get your responding and compliant.

3) Huge, High Pressure Pitch at the End: You know the one. The ‘only 27 seats left in our upcoming workshop where you’ll learn the REAL secrets! Run to the back of the room and sign up now and we’ll slash the price 3 times with different coloured markers.’

Here’s what i want to invite from you:

Can you share a story of a workshop you attended that felt gross? Let’s leave out names (we’re here to learn not bash).

| Categories: Ethics in Advertising, event promotion, Events, Tad's Rants - Tags: authenticity, pressure free, real, safety

Love Letter Marketing Lessons

By: Tad | Published: February 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment

A few months back I met a lady named Chris Kay Fraser. She was working on a project that I thought was pretty amazing and I blogged about it (click here to read it). Once it was done, I asked her some questions about the contest from the business and marketing side.

What she did is a brilliant example of word of mouth marketing (she created something remarkable and ‘talkable’. And it’s a great example of the beginnings of ‘becoming a hub‘. Seriously – watch out for this project in the future. Big things coming. And it’s just a great example of an inspiring business.

Here’s what she had to say.

Thanks for inviting me back to your blog to answer some more questions about the “Love Letters Aren’t Just For Lovers” campaign. It’s nice to be back!

For those who didn’t read my original post, there’s background on my website here, but in a nutshell, I recently got really inspired by the idea of love letters.

I decided to launch a Love Letters Aren’t Just For Lovers campaign, as an extension of my business Firefly Creative Writing. I ran a series of free love letter writing workshops, hosted a large love letter contest, and created a love letter reading event for some of the participants, and then, last week, I launched the final stage – a love letter e-class. It’s been a beautiful whirlwind of love!

Here’s a little about what I learned…

1) What was the response to the contest?

Oh my goodness Tad, it was unbelievable!

I received a constant stream of letters through the fall, from all over Canada, as well as India, New Zealand and the UK. I received letters to babies and grandparents, sisters and mentors, tennis partners, old friends. One woman write to her childhood horse. One wrote to the colony of raccoons that had lived outside her window when she was a girl, who made her feel less alone. One wrote to her breasts, the morning that she was going in for breast-reduction surgery.

The volume, and the depth, of the words of love that rolled into my mailbox was astounding.

Mainly, word traveled through word-of-mouth and facebook posts. I also bought some facebook ad’s and some google ad’s to carry the message further.

2) I noticed you added a jury prize vs. just the top three – why was that?

Well, this was interesting… On the night that the jury met, we had no idea how we’d judge the letters. To be honest, we all felt it was incredibly counter-intuitive to choose favorites. The jury members are all veterans of my writing workshops, were writing is never judged, but rather deeply appreciated, so these jurors had all built their abilities to deeply hear and love writing, rather than approaching it with a sense of competition or critique. Suddenly we had to pick favorites, and we were all a little thrown.

I could feel the nervousness rising in my living room as they settled in. After a little warming up and some red wine, I had them each write down their favourite three letters, and then they took turns telling (and often passionately defending) what was on their list.

Two things became immediately clear. First, they all had different tastes. Many letters were discussed. Second, there were three letters which rose quickly to the top as unanimous favorites.

The top three – Letter To Baby, Dear J and To My First Love – were on almost every list. Statistically, there was no question – these were the jury’s choices.

However, no one would have walked home satisfied with only three letters to honor. So, I had each of the juror’s choose their own special favorite.

In the end, it was a beautiful and very natural process. We hated to leave anyone out, but I was mostly pleased with the decisions that were made.

Also, I was able to honor more of the letters in the public reading I hosted on February 13^th here in Toronto, and more still in the letters I bought the rights to use as examples in the Love Letters Aren’t Just For Lovers e-class.

3) how, if at all, do you think this contest will help you make more money and grow your business?

It’s funny, Tad, I feel a real resistance to answering this question! Hunh! I think it’s because the project was born out of a moment of innocence and inspiration; I kinda hate to cast it in the light of gain and capital. But, capital is the currency we live within, and this is a marketing website, so let me see…

1. Fundamentally, the campaign carved out safe space for me to connect to people’s tenderness. This is what my work is based on – connecting to tenderness. Of course, people tend to feel a lot of resistance to that! I hear from people all the time that the reason they didn’t sign up sooner for a workshop or correspondence class with me was fear. And yet, they almost always wish they’d conquered that fear earlier.

Through the one-off workshops and the contest, and even the reading, I allowed people to step past their fear, into that tender space, in small, not-too-threatening ways. Although I didn’t plan it, I’d imagine that the “foot in the door” phenomenon was happening – I made tiny, positive connections with people who might later take the next step, and sign up for a workshop or correspondence class, or one-on-one coaching.

2. It also gave me a hip, grippy way of explaining what I do. Take you, for example. I met you in October at one of your networking events. You asked what I do, and I, typically shy to talk about myself, mumbled, “I teach creative writing” Hello: boring! You glanced over my shoulder to where appetizers were being passes out. I almost lost you. Somehow, though, the conversation wound around to the love letters, and your eyes lit up. “I am running a love letter contest”… That’s worth listening to. You were back.

3. Finally, I did turn this into a product. I distilled all of what I learned through the fall into my first purely on-line class, a seven week self-guided journey in writing love letters, available through my website. In the e-class I’m aiming to translate some of the warmth and safety I created in the love letter workshops to an on-line environment. The contest, workshops and reading were all free-of-cost, but the e-class is $40. I’m proud and excited to share it.

4) favourite part of the process for you?

To answer this question I need to get personal.

I’m a dweller of the deeps. I feel things in passionate and sometimes-devastating ways. I have a hard time, often, living in a world of small talk. I’m always trying to get under the surface.

This contest gave me the opportunity to feel deeply, every day, and to connect to others from that place. From the empathy and sadness I felt when I first read “Letter to Baby”, which tells the story of the author’s journey into first-tine conception and miscarriage, to the joyful nostalgia of first love that bubbled up in “Dear J” and “To The One Who Got Away” (all of these are available to read here) – I was swimming in a deep sea of joy, angst and truth-telling. I love it down there.

5) biggest lessons?

Ah, just this:

Do what you love.

Do what you love.

Do what you love.

This project was an incredible amount of work, mental, financial, emotional. I spent hours replying to letters, answering questions, figuring out new html code, acquiring contest prizes, organizing the jury… Oh, the list is endless. And yet here I am, on the other side of it, and I wouldn’t trade one minute.

It may not have been practical in a purely financial field (yet… The e-class is available to anyone in the English-speaking world with an internet connection…) but it let me be myself, no compromises, doing what I do best. This, to me, is the epitome of self-employment.

Thanks again, Tad! Your interest and enthusiasm was one of the strong winds that helped move this project forward, into the right hands and hearts. You are an amazing weaver of community and I’m grateful for it.

Ever warmly,

Chris

www.fireflycreativewriting.com

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: Arts Marketing, becoming a hub, Case Studies of Inspiring Business, word of mouth - Tags: authenticity, becoming a hub, building trust, marketing 2.0, safety

How to Fill Your Events By Simply Being Love

By: Tad | Published: January 20, 2011 · 1 Comment

One of the most brilliant and beautiful minds in conscious marketing today is Suzanne Falter-Barns. A lot of people ‘talk’ about spiritual marketing – but it’s often from a ‘how do you USE ‘the secret’ to draw in more clients’ and Suzanne’s approach feels so much cleaner, clearer grounding and uplifting to me.

I commend her upcoming Spiritual Marketing Quest to you. I might just be going myself.

I’ve had a really interesting mind shift today as we begin to invite people to join us at our next Spiritual Marketing Quest in April. What Spirit has shown me is that our natural inclination is to go ‘get people’ … and boy, that is the essence of Old Paradigm marketing. Control, force, manipulate. These days, it just doesn’t work.

The opportunity in promoting any event is to invite people in … just like you would invite dear friends over for dinner. That’s how you want to think of it — like you’re pouring the Chardonnay and cooking up a little something for these folks you just LOVE to have over!

Because in truth, these ARE dear friends you’re speaking to.

They love what you have to say, they follow your words, they are engaged in your work … they even want to know details of your personal life on Facebook (for instance, I recently got 55 comments and ‘likes’ when I changed my FB status from Single to In a Relationship.) And I didn’t personally know most of those who commented!

So who’s to say you’re not speaking to friends with your work … even if you don’t actually know these people? They are still involved in who you are — and so the way to approach them when creating, say, an event is simply to graciously invite them in.

Share from your heart what you love about the upcoming event, what excites you about doing the work, why you are doing it in the first place. You want to engage them in the conversation about it — as opposed to just thrusting the event at them and needing them to get in.

Think about it … when inviting good friends to dinner you wouldn’t call them up and say ‘OK, dinner’s at 8 and I’ll need you to be there.’ Instead, you engage in conversation because you want to hear how they’re doing, and share what’s new with you. And then you ask them. Or you send them a beautiful invitation that is gracious and welcoming. You tune into them … you read them. You feel them. And then you share your heart.

For example, about the Spiritual Marketing Quest I would say this is the work we were born to do. When we get these conscious entrepreneurs in the room, something magical happens — a love vortex is created that expands and fills every heart in the room, so people are changed by it. It’s an experience in the Divine that is directly applicable to business…. It’s our offering of love that leads people gently and powerfully into their own greatness by helping them set themselves apart on the Web and attract more people.

As opposed to just saying, “Come join us at the Quest. It’s good for your business. You’ll learn new strategies for defining your market, and standing apart on the Net. You’ll love it!“

That’s marketing with love, and it makes all the difference in how your business rolls these days because people no longer are willing to be told what to do by advertisers. Interruption Marketing — as in those TV spots you’ve gotten good at avoiding with the Mute button — is dying, as is television as the primary way to reach people. Now we need the warm, fuzzy, relationship building Internet because we, as consumers, have changed!

This is great news as we enter more deeply into The Great Turning in 2011. May you enjoy all the benefits of marketing with love … it’s powerful stuff. (And yes, that’s just what we’ll be teaching at the next Quest.)

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: becoming a hub, marketing philosophy - Tags: authenticity, becoming a hub, building trust, conversations, pressure free, safety

Marketing is like Baseball

By: Tad | Published: December 2, 2010 · 4 Comments

My colleague and mentor, Robert Middleton talks about how marketing is like baseball.

It’s like baseball in a few ways . . .

First of all, you can have all the right baseball equipment and just be terrible at the game – if no one has ever taught you how to play, the rules of the game and how to throw a ball or swing a bat.

Translated to marketing, you can have a website, fancy brochures and business cards with pretty logos and still not market effectively. It’s not just about the right ‘equipment’.

Secondly, home runs and grand slams are rare. The baseball greats only hit homeruns occasionally. Translated to marketing – it’s actually very rare to meet someone and have them book a session with you on the spot. It happens from time to time but it’s really rare.

In his (brilliant) model each base represents an important phase we have to get to in our relationships with people before they’re ready to buy. This is my paraphrasing of it . . .

Home Base: Stranger. At home base, marketing is a bit like the old TV show Cheers. Except nobody knows your name and nobodies glad you came. You’re approaching people totally cold. They don’t know what you do. They don’t trust you. The idea of working with you hasn’t even crossed the horizon of their mind.

First Base: Clarity. They get what it is that you do. They understand how you might be able to help them. There’s no fuzziness. They could explain what you do to a seven year old and have them get it.

Second Base: Trust. They like you. ‘You’re my people!’ they think. And they trust that you can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. They trust not only your character, but your competence. Crucial to this is Pink Spoon Theory.

Third Base: Excitement. You start hearing them say, ‘I should hire you! I should come to your workshop. Why haven’t I worked with you yet?’ They’re intending to – but maybe the timing isn’t right, or they haven’t been asked in the right way.

Home Base: They pay you the money and sign the contract.

Most entrepreneurs want to go straight from being a stranger to having the person pay them. That’s how the fantasy works. You meet someone, tell them what you do and BAM! they pay you money. Again – this happens incredibly rarely. But, it happens enough that people get hooked on the ‘hopeium’ of it happening again.

Let me be clear: hope is not a marketing strategy.

Looked at another way: when you try to skip bases – bad things happen.

Imagine trying to skip from home base (being a stranger) to second base (trust) without them being clear about what you do. Madness.

Or trying to go from first base (clarity) to third base (excitement) without building any trust. That’s most business nextworking meetings I’ve had the misfortune to go to. This is going up to someone, asking what they do and then immediately saying, “hey . . . we should work together sometime . . .” What? Too much too soon.

(Also good dating advice)

Or trying to go from second base (trust) to homebase (they pay!) without honouring the best timing for them. Pushing it faster and harder than is a fit. You will not only lose trust – you’ll violate it. Going for the hard close never works long term. I’ve seen it happen.

People go to a presentation – the presenter is warm and wonderful – the content is great. And then? The hard close. The push. The manipulative tactics. And it’s gross. People leave feeling awful. Or maybe having signed up for something they didn’t really want to.

What do you think? Does this make sense? Do you have any stories of this in action being upheld or violated?

| Categories: marketing strategy - Tags: building trust, safety