Well, it’s officially Pre-Season for Thirty Day Challenge 2008 with Ed Dale and Dan Raine. And I’m very excited.

Ed has already shared a couple of things on such as the social web browser, Flock and hinted at other tools we’ll be using this year like Google Reader.

I must admit so far, though, that Flock is cool, even if it is a bit annoying. For example, downloads are slower on Flock than I on my preferred browser, Firefox (which I’ve been using for years) and it has crashed on me over the past 3-4 days more times than Firefox beta 3 has since I began using it a few months ago.

That said, I do like the tools within Flock.

Anyway, Thirty Day Challenge officially launches August 1st and pre-season started June 1st. I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already done so. You will learn a lot!

Make it a great day!

~ Annie

I’ve been drooling over an iPhone since Apple announced them several long months ago but just haven’t been able to reconcile the price with my frugal mind. So, I don’t have one.

But I *do* WANT one!

And Ashley Morgan over at UpstartBlogger is giving some away. Three, to be exact, and yes, quite frankly - this post is my attempt at securing one.

So . . . go forth . . . and win an iPhone! Just make sure you leave one for me.

~ Annie

PS - I apologize for the seriously LONG absence over here. With the 30DC starting up again (pre-season going on Right NOW), I’ll be here regularly again. See you soon!

Welcome back!

I’ve spent the last few days going over some of the stuff I’d saved from last years 30 Day Challenge and remembered some great gems. I posted some of my favorites over on Annie Anderson | Blog so I won’t rehash them here but I do want to talk about marketing.

Perhaps you’ve heard it said that your business is “only as good as your marketing” and I would agree with that. I mean, how in world are your customers going to find you otherwise? Sure, there’s word of mouth or viral marketing but how do you get that point in your business does “go viral?”

Well, the short answer is that you have to have something so spectacular or so unusual or so rememberable or whatever that it spreads like wildfire. How often does that happen? Probably not much. But it can happen. The question then is, how do we make it happen?

I’ve noticed several websites in recent weeks that are using tools to get you tell to your friends and family when you sign up. This is also what hotmail did when they launched - tell your friends and family your new email address and in that message, there was a link so they could get one too. Pretty soon it seemed like everyone had a hotmail email address. Google did something similar with gmail originally as well. They gave you “invites” so you could invite your friends and family to try gmail and you could only get a gmail account if someone invited you. It worked like a charm also.

So that’s one way - create a wildfire by asking your customers to tell everyone they know and making it super easy for them to do so.

But marketing is much more than getting your customers to be your billboards and spokespeople. A well rounded marketing campaign will include other advertising mediums as well such as print (newspapers, press releases, flyers) and a direct mail campaign. Now, these things might be slightly different for online and offline businesses but advertising, no matter the business, is essential to your bottom line.

As a direct response copywriter, I can tell you it’s the life-blood of your existence. Without some form of advertising, you’ll sink. I’ve seen so many people come to me when their business is failing and they tell me they have no idea why. When I ask them about their marketing and advertising, what they often tell me is something like “I can’t afford it/can’t afford much” and that tells me it’s either too small to be effective or non-existent. More often than not, it’s the latter - non-existent.

You know, there’s not reason to not advertise. Excuses like “I can’t afford it” are lame and useless. Your business budget should always include marketing and advertising. Take some of every dollar and put it towards advertising. And there are many free ways to advertise, too (maybe we’ll talk about that next week).

Most of it you can do on a simple budget in any case. You don’t need a million dollar budget to market effectively. Just like Microsoft and Google used the viral “tell a friend” tool to spread hotmail and gmail, you can use simple techniques like that to get word out about what you do.

Make advertising a part of your business routine. Use Google AdSense, use Craigslist.org, use your business cards - but do something. Don’t just sit there and languish because nothing is happening.

Find a way to start a wildfire.

See you again soon!
~ Annie

Alright - let’s get this blog restarted, shall we?

You might remember way back in September or October last year I announced I was heading back to school. I wanted to learn new design stuff that occurred in graphics since I had originally gone to college.

Well, it’s been going good. I’ve gotten through Fall and Winter quarters with great grades and have learned quite a bit. A lot of it has been basic stuff like Perspective, Drawing, Art History and the like but I think it’s been productive. My plan is to take Spring and Summer quarters off now and then return in the Fall. I think that will allow me to do everything I need to do without neglecting something. Like this place!

So, expect to see a lot more happening here again. My tentative schedule for this blog is as follows:

Monday - Marketing. I’ll post marketing concepts I’ve learned or am learning, things I’ve tried and tested, and whatever is related to marketing in general.

Tuesday - Web Stuff. I hate it when I write something cryptic to myself, expecting I’ll remember all the details later and then don’t. But I think what I had in mind here was stuff like links and what-not from around the web that I’ve found interesting. (At least, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!)

Wednesday - Projects. Updates and insights on projects I’m working on. These might be writing or design or school or household or family or marketing or anything, really.

Thursday - Cool Stuff. This will be programs, web-based stuff (like Bloglines or something), software that I’m using or hope to try. I previously did a series on this blog about some of the tools I use like Adium (chat client for Mac), MarsEdit (blog posting app for Mac) and such and I’ll continue those with this topic.

Friday - Money. Ways to make money, investing, budgeting, money tips for small business and all things related to the topic of money.

Saturday/Sunday - Weekends will be mix-up days. I’ll post something from the other categories that I don’t want to put off until the next week. Or maybe I’ll just post something fun. Who knows? I guess you’ll just have to wait and see!

Let me know if you have suggestions, comments, thoughts, ideas. What would you like to see outlined here? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Also, check out my website for some new posts about current projects and of course info on writing, real estate and design. You’ll find that stuff at AnnieAndersonBlog.com.

Until tomorrow,
Annie

Rather than simply re-iterate here what I’ve already written elsewhere, I’d like to simply point you to my main website which has several new posts you might like to read.

Check it all out at Annie Anderson | Blog.

And also, look for some new stuff next week! I’ll be back writing about my experiments with the 30dc methods as well as other methods I’ve been learning lately.

As always, I’m interested in your comments, so please post!!

See you soon!

Jay Conrad Levinson, the marketing mind
responsible for the Marlboro Man, and author of
the best selling marketing book series of all
time will be answering your questions

You can get the details to listen live tonight at
www.FeBeNe.com/jayspeaks.php?rid=117

and also…you be able to submit your questions
for the training…and get the Guerrilla Balance
Sheet if you haven’t for $7.

I’ll be listening,…

Regards,

Annie Anderson

PS This is not the same-ol’, same-ol’ interview.

Jay rarely speaks on webcasts and it is the only
one he has scheduled so far this year. So be sure
to go now to
www.FeBeNe.com/jayspeaks.php?rid=117

PPS And if you miss it, you can get the replay at
www.FeBeNe.com/jayspeaks.php?rid=117 as well…

Recently I was introduced to a wonderful health supplement and I’d just like to share it with you today. It’s called GBG and is a 10-in-1 multi-vitamin liquid.

Now, usually liquid vitamin stuff tastes pretty nasty so I was skeptical but in my quest to find something that I could take once a day, easily and quickly, I decided to give it a try. Mostly because a friend of mine was promoting it and I knew she only promoted great stuff.

I checked out the website and found it costs a mere $19.99 a bottle - a month’s supply, which is WAY less than what I have paying for supplements. I really liked the fact that it was all in one and I wouldn’t have to buy 5, 6, or 7 different bottles of stuff. In the past several months, I’ve spent $60 - $100 on supplements. And as I looked over the ingredients, I found that about 90% of what I usually take is in this one product. It seemed like a no-brainer to me.

My product arrived via UPS very quickly and I opened it right away. I was completely surprised when it actually tasted good! It tastes like fruit juice. I’ve drank it straight, put it in my smoothies and even in my juice.

So, if you’d like to check it out, please go to my website (yes, it is also network marketing company with a great pay plan and structure) and watch the videos, download the PDF’s and try it for yourself. I’ve found everyone great to work with so far and my upline is a great networker! She’s already got 350 people on her team (I’m up near the top of her network) and it’s picking up speed.

Check it out - 10-in-1 Liquid Multi-Formula.

~ Annie

Do weight loss and marketing have anything in common?

Absolutely!

How is that?

Well, they both require commitment, they both require a system that must be followed and they both take time. This year, my plan is to go full tilt on both.

But it’s not all about weight loss, really. It’s more about a lifestyle change - exercise, healthy eating, mental clarity - they all play a part. So, to document what I’m doing for health, I’ve created a new blog called The Weight Loss Papers. You’ll find it at http://theweightlosspapers.com. And I’ll continue to track my marketing progress here at internet marketing & more.

I’ve just secured an internship to learn more about internet marketing. I’ll be able to implement what I’m learning there into my own businesses. It’s not a paid internship but I think it’s going to work out well nonetheless, especially as things really get cooking with my own business efforts.

This year in addition to marketing, I’m focusing on my writing business. I’m just now beginning a new marketing campaign that promises some good results. My mentor is sure I can make upwards of $10k per month very soon. And I’m so excited about that!

What are your goals for 2008? Feel free to post in the comments or post on your own blog with a link back here. Whatever you do in 2008, remember to HAVE FUN!

~ Annie

I apologize. I’ve once again been so busy, it’s been hard to get over here and write any new posts. But the good news is that I have a lot of ideas for new posts so stay tuned - something will be up soon.

Hope everyone had a great New Year’s and that you’re committed to yourself in 2008. It’s going to be a GREAT year!

~ Annie