March 19th, 2009
In 2006 I met a young woman on a social networking site called Powerful Intentions. Her name was Shama Hyder. She and I had crossed paths in a few forum posts about the Law of Attraction. She was obviously young and seemed to be “playing out of her league,” but doing it very well.
Shama and I eventually had a phone conversation, which turned into a friendship, which eventually turned into a decision to form some kind of business partnership. We went back and forth on a few ideas, including college planning for high school students based on law of attraction principles. Our venture never did get off the ground, time and nature took its course and we went our separate ways, though we caught up with each other periodically on line.
I knew Shama’s intelligence, curiousity and drive would eventually lead her into the right fit for her. When she messaged me and sent a copy of her book, The Zen of Social Media for me to review, I knew she had found her niche.
Very simply put, what had taken me more than two years to understand Shama boiled down into 101 simple pages. The book reads like an easy to follow recipe, laying out the principles behind the tsunami that is the social media movement. I loved Shama’s statement (since this is one of the staples of my own philosophy) that at the core of any social media effort, there has to be a great product of service and a genuine interest in building relationships.
Shama does a masterful job of helping the reader get the basic principles behind social media success, then laying out a roadmap for correctly using each of the primary sites. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and video - these are all discussed in detail. And the section on tying it together does a masterful job of helping the user understand what it will look and feel like when they are using social media with intelligence and having fun.
Shama’s main message - when social media is employed the right way, it is effortless - is something that provide comfort and hope for those who are struggling with how to capitalize on this monster trend. She gently leads us back to success principles that have proven timeless and effective, and will work on an even bigger scale in the cyberworld.
The book is delivered digitally, and at $27.00 is an extraordinary value for what it delivers. There is also a generous reseller affiliate program with a 40% commission.
So…out of 98% being impressed with the product and 2% being happy and proud of an “old friend” (who is actually quite young) I’m giving The Zen of Social Media a BUY THIS NOW recommendation.
Great job, Shama! Looking forward to seeing what else you’re cooking up.
Technorati Tags: How To Succeed in social media, How to succeed with Facebook, How to succeed with Twitter, Shama Hyder, Social Media
March 16th, 2009
OK, you’re in some kind of on line business. You’re marketing a product or service…the same one many many many others are marketing.
It’s a good product, one in which you believe. You use it, you feel good about it and you recommend it.
So do lots of other folks. In fact, you feel like you’re swimming against a big giant tide of competition, especially if it’s a network marketing company.
Secret time (not The Secret)…
If you intend to be successful in any on line marketing, you have to build the most important part of your brand…yourself.
People have to know, like and trust you before they’ll do business. It’s just a fact of life in the 21st century. (It always was, but it’s even more so now.)
And one of the ways to make that happen is people need to hear you.
Yes, they need to see you too. Youtube, Google video, Daily Motion ,etc. are great tools for that.
The challenge for many of us is…hmmm…how can I put this nicely? We’re a bit uncomfortable on video.
And some of us stink on video. I did, for the first 20 or so videos I made.
I like audio. A lot.
What I like about it is you can say what you want to say, how you want to say it. You can write out what you want to say and refer to your notes. No one will ever know.
And I like that you can record the stuff you do. It’s available for you and for anyone else.
My weekly audio messages have been a hit for a while. A bunch of them are on one of my other blogs: larry hochman Audios.
The one I use is BYO Audio. Easy to use. Inexpensive, at $20.00 a month. I’ve never had a problem with exceeding bandwith, and I put out a decent amount of stuff. I even recorded my NO MORE HOLDING BACK self-deveopment series on it!
And of course they have an affiliate component. At 33%, it’s one of the more generous affiliate programs out there. Refer three people who use it and yours is free.
If you’re serious about building an on line presence, building relationships with people that turn into friendships, customers and loyal and long term clients, you want audio.
And BYO is a solution that worked for me.
Click here for BYO Audio. See if it helps you bring your message out in the way YOU want.
Your Pal,
Larry
P.S. Don’t be surprised to see your confidence increase as you start to record and publish. Watch how that has a positive effect on every aspect of your business…and your life.
Technorati Tags: Audio, being a better speaker, larry hochman, public speaking
March 8th, 2009
Take a look at this site, from my friend Melanie Eatherton.
Mel is a lot of things…a mammographer, a cancer survivor, a victor over domestic abuse. And an extraordinary coach and speaker. She has a direct power and a loving way of helping people - especially women - find the power to take charge of their own lives.
I always say it: it’s one thing - an extraordinary thing - to make amazing changes in your own life. It’s even more amazing when you have the skills to help others do the same.
If you’re ready for a loving, fun firm guide to move you in the direction of power and love, visit Mel.
