Blogger Link Up Delivers Impact for Dot Girl Products

If you have a consumer product that stands ready to serve the world, what is a fast, effective, and influential way to get the word out without breaking the bank?

One great way to do this is to offer your products for review to bloggers who have influence to both review your product and influence their communities to be fans for it, too.   Blogger Link Up, created by Idea Lady Cathy Stucker, is a useful resource to make this easy and productive.  You sign up for the service for free.   Then, you can either respond to the queries that make sense for your business or post queries to invite interest in what you have brewing.   It’s a beautiful thing.

Just last week, I connected with Kathy Pickus and Terri Goodwin, founders of Dot Girl Products.  This company has created the Dot Girl First Period Kit that offers everything a girl needs for her first period.  They created this product because they want girls everywhere to have a good first experience with their kit as their guide.   Having experienced their own awkward moments as young girls, these two women are mission driven to make the transition more joyful and welcome for young girls and their parents everywhere.   I suggested they make a pitch to Blogger Link Up to offer their product for review.  The same day, they received 12 requests from influential bloggers who met their criteria and asked to review their product.  As Kathy says, “Not bad for one day of focused effort.”  Here is the query they posted:

The Dot Girl’s First Period Kit – everything she needs for her first period.

Name: Kathy Pickus
Blog or Website URL: http://www.dotgirlproducts.com
Email: office@dotgirlproducts.com

What type of product are you offering for review?: health/wellness product for tween girls and their parents

What qualifies a blogger to review your product?:

We are looking for bloggers who write for parents of tween girls – may write for moms or dads.  Bloggers who review products for the tween age group are most welcome.  Must be comfortable with menstruation topic (or
uncomfortable and willing to admit it!)

If you are a blogger who influences parents, women, and their teen and tween daughters, I know Kathy and Terri would be honored to have you review their product for your readers.  And, if you just love the idea of this product and want to stock up for all the teen and tween girls in your community or suggest that their schools, Camp Fire and Girl Scout groups, and other youth groups do the same, please do.

What these two women are on a mission to deliver is important in a way that is priceless to describe.  I salute them

And if you believe Blogger Link Up has the juice to deliver the product reviews your product needs to grow in its marketplace influence, join and post your query.  Maybe you will be welcoming 12 new product reviews the first time you try and be that much closer to achieving your mission.   Good luck!

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This Publici-Tea™ Success Story Hits Home for CFP™ Steve Juetten

My husband Steve Juetten is a Certified Financial Planner professional who is also married to a publicist.   He can’t escape my enthusiasm for helping him earn a wider audience for his expertise and commitment to serve others.  Yesterday, he shared a blogging success story that I am happy to pass along to you.  It showcases how one good blog post can lead to even better things to come.

“Here is a blogging success story I wanted to share with you because without your support (okay, nagging) I would not have started writing a personal finance blog in February 2009.  Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about an idea I gleaned from the book Save Your Retirement that is co-authored by one of my personal finance idols Frank Armstrong, III. Frank is one of the top 100 Financial Planners in the U.S.according to Barron’s magazine.  I’ve long admired Frank through several personal finance and investment books he has written. Frank’s publicist read my blog post and contacted me. He offered to send me Frank’s newest book to review and to set up an interview with Frank. Of course, I jumped at the chance to review the book and talk with Frank. I’m scheduled to interview him in early December and am eagerly looking forward to this rare opportunity. The chance to create a personal relationship with a superstar in my field happened through the power of one blog post. Thanks Nancy.”

Steve Juetten, Juetten Personal Financial Planning, LLC
Helping you make smart financial decisions so you can do more of what you love!
Check out my personal finance columns at Examiner.com.

Main Street Media Savvy Tip of the Day -- Whether you are blogging, speaking, or writing articles for the media, always remember that the rising tide lifts all boats.   Write about leaders and authors you genuinely admire.  Target publications for your perspectives that are prestigious and preferred by your ideal clients.  Aspire to speak to audiences that are comprised of the successful people with whom you intend to earn greater influence.   One step at a time, you’ll earn new followers, fans, and friends.  You’ll invite new opportunities to serve in powerful ways.  And, you’ll attract more opportunities to grow your own influence.

Main Street Media Savvy Challenge — What specific steps will you take today to grow your influence among your ideal clients?  Remember, all the planning and note taking in the world won’t replace the power of deliberate action.

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Want to Build a Better Blog? Read This!

When it rains, it pours.  There are at least 10 clients I am working with right now who have just launched blogs and are serious about making their blogs great.  Every single one of them can benefit from paying attention to Darren Rowse.  He is the founder of Problogger. This is the fourth most popular site on the Internet today that is dedicated to helping bloggers monetize their blogs and make the most of every post.

Having participated in Darren’s “Build a Better Blog 31-Day Challenge” that launched in April of this year, I can say without hesitation that the very specific, actionable tips and strategies he advocates deliver results that can be measured in blog traffic, affiliate commissions, and beyond.

The key, like most things, is getting into and STAYING in action.  That can be as simple as reading his RSS feed daily or buying his Build a Better Blog in 31 Days Workbook.   Either way, you and your blog are golden.

Whether you have just launched your blog, are seriously pondering launching one, or just now getting serious about making it better, you should run right over to his site and start paying attention.   This is good stuff!

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Solutions to Blogger Butt – Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Did you know that the Urban Dictionary actually includes a definition for a new affliction of the digital age? It’s called “Blogger Butt.”   The definition is –  Weight gain in the gluteal region which is directly related to spending large amounts of time blogging. I found out about this by reading Publicity Hound Joan Stewart’s Ezine today, and it made me laugh.

Check out the treadmill desk Shannon Nicholson created for Michelle Tennant Nicholson at this link to help her get fit while blogging.  This just goes to show that there are extraordinary solutions waiting to address  common problems — if you just have enough ingenuity to figure them out. Best of all, there are media opportunities waiting for those who take advantage of them.  Michelle landed an interview with FOX News later today on the topic of how women can stay healthy while in front of their computers 14 hours a day. Now that the weather has turned cooler in so many regions of our nation and Halloween and holiday treats stand ready to tempt us all, the timing is certainly right to find suitable antidotes to blogger butt.

Main Street Media Savvy Question of the Day? What solutions have you found to counter blogger butt?  My favorite solution is working out regularly with a heart rate monitor, eating mindfully, and drinking lots of water.  It’s not a particularly newsworthy answer, but it works for me — and the skinny jeans fit.  How about you?   Inquiring minds want to know!

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Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Strikes Again with Tips Why Women Entrepreneurs are Taking the Lead

Women business owners flock to the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur to share their tips, not just today but on an ongoing basis.  Mike Michalowicz knows how to build community and how to see, hear, and celebrate others.  He posts queries to Help a Reporter Out.  Women business owners reply.   What happens next is that those whose tips are featured share the link to the tips with the people they know, and word spreads all over the world about the tips of the day.   Is it any wonder that his site gets so much traffic?

There is a lesson in that for all of us.

To see today’s post, offering the reasons why women entrepreneurs are taking the lead, click here. Why not chime into the conversation and comment with your thoughts on this matter?  Be part of the community.

By the way, my tip is #48, which includes a shameless visual plug for the “Anytime, Anywhere” Publici-Tea™ Express Digital Download.   This product bundle includes an abundance of value, including the “review copy” of the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action eGuide, for just $49.  This offer expires 8-31, so act quickly to benefit.  Join the community of buyers who have already made their purchases and are extremely glad that they did.   Such a deal.

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Mom Entrepreneur Tips Earn Top Ranking on Google

I got a fun email from Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz this morning regarding his blog post from yesterday offering a compilation of success tips from mom entrepreneurs.  He reports the following:

“I typed in ‘mom entrepreneur success’ and whamo we are on the front page, 1st spot in Google.  Feeling a little bold (the coffee helped) I tried ‘mom entrepreneur success strategies’, ‘mom entrepreneur strategies’ and this was a little crazy ‘how mom entrepreneurs manage it all’.  Hot dog!  All of them front page Google.”

That is good for all the moms who contributed tips to the post because that makes it easy for people interested in learning from these moms to visit their websites or blogs to see what they have brewing.  Since I am one of them (Tip 68), that is certainly good news for me.

From a blogging standpoint, I say “Brilliant” to Michael.  He involved his blog readers in sharing their useful tips.  He chose 107 of them to be featured.  No doubt, most of them blog, Twitter, participate in social networks, and have other ways of spreading the word.  I am venturing a guess that just about every one of those 107 mom entrepreneurs shared their message with their followers, which explains why this post is earning such powerful attention.  And Michael’s blog traffic is likely escalating in an even more powerful way.

If you are a blogger, can you model a similar kind of post to serve your readers?   Based on the impact Michael has had with this post, that certainly offers powerful food for thought.   Tribes are powerful, so Seth Godin writes in his best-selling book by the same title.  Moms as a tribe rock for building community and making things happen.  It’s a beautiful thing — especially when the tips they share can help others advance along their own journeys to the sweet success they seek.  How can you enlist the interest and action of your tribe to make magic manifest for an idea, product, or service that captures your attention and the attention of Google?  With some brilliance on your part, great results await.

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Happy 3rd Birthday, Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets

July 12, 2006 was a big day.  I took delivery of my first shipment of Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets with high hopes that small business owners everywhere would buy them and that big businesses in service to small business owners would buy they by the boatload.

The first part of that dream has come true.  The second part is still a work in progress, yet my hopes and expectations are still very high.  Why?  Because the economy has proven more demanding than most of us would have thought possible, and the need to share the useful information within the tips booklets to empower others’ success has never been more timely. For the $10 investment, the 147 powerful ways to build business and profit from free publicity continue to be an extraordinary value.  People who apply the tips are having fabulous success.

Here is a link to preview example tips.

Here is a link to read the real life testimonials from happy customers in my own backyard … and beyond.

And, with high hopes, here is a link to learn about quantity purchases and booklet customization requests.

Why not share Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets with your small business customers as a way to support their success and invite their gratitude to you for unlocking a powerful way to build business and profit from free publicity.  It’s a client appreciate gift that will return abundant value to all.

Finally, if you didn’t read Darren Rowse’s blog post today about how to build credibility, this one is a must read.   Rowse is the powerful blogger behind ProBlogger, and his wisdom is priceless beyond measure.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets!   May you have many, many more and may everyone who applies the tips to their buzz building advantage have all their dreams come true.

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Should You Pay for Classes When So Much Good Information is Available for Free?

One of my loyal blog readers connected over the weekend to ask me if I had any insider information about the value of a top blogger’s training course to pass along to help guide her decision.  That got me thinking about the difference between free courses and those with fees attached in my own experience.

Like many business owners, I spend my money carefully.   I have a strong do-it-yourself bias, so if there is a way for me to learn how to do what needs to be done without paying the big bucks, I am usually first in line to take that route.   There is plenty of false economy in this approach, and I am first to admit it.

However, there have been a number of times over the last eight years that I have struggled to solve important problems in my business and made the decision to invest in quality coaching, support, or tools to help me reason through the difficulties and come out rosier on the other side.   In every case, I had “skin in the game.”  I invested hard-earned dollars with exceptional professionals and their programming.  I did the hard work required to make the dollars pay off.  In every case, I earned a new colleague and advocate of my work in the process. My business was ultimately better for every dollar I invested.

Every one of the people I hired is someone whose work I followed through an ezine, a blog, a free seminar, or some other convenient way to gain access to their expertise without breaking the bank.  As I learned more about each and gained value from the quality information they generously provided for free, my confidence grew in how they could customize their solutions to ease the specific problems in my business for a fee.   When people I liked, trusted, and respected added that these same individuals added value to their business, my own decision to “get to YES” was a lot easier.  Here are three examples:

Henry DeVries - New Client Marketing Institute — Henry’s coaching helped me double my business in six months and attract more perfect clients to my door.  Enough said.

Paulette Ensign – Tips Booklets Coaching and Tips Booklets Information Products.  I am preparing for a third printing of my popular and well-reviewed Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity Tips Booklets as I type this message.  Thousands of people are benefiting from useful tips that have helped them get on the front page of their hometown newspaper all the way to the pages of USA Today in exchange for their $10 investment.  Hiring Paulette was a very good decision.

Patricia Fripp – Patricia Fripp Speaking School – The single best investment I’ve made to improve my skills and presentation as a professional speaker.  People who have known me for years and saw me in action “before” and “after” taking Patricia Fripp’s course have seen a positive difference in powerful action.

If you believe the truism that the rising tide lifts all boats, you are wise to invest in training courses with exceptional professionals who can smartly guide your business to achieve a more rapid growth trajectory to the success you seek.

Many professionals offer free ezines, frequent, free and insightful blog posts, and free or low fee e-books to guide your journey.   Many of them are of very high quality.  If folks are willing to give away or sell for a modest fee remarkable and useful information, just what bounty might be waiting when you elect to invest in services that are customized specifically to address your needs?

When you INVEST in very specific programming that solves a real problem that is standing in the way of your success, you INVEST the time and effort to make certain the problem gets solved.  Having “skin in the game” makes a huge difference in the actions you decide to take every day.

So, loyal blog reader who wants to know if I have any insider information about whether Yaro Starak’s blog course is a good investment, I have this to say about that.  His free “Blog Mastermind Blueprint” manifesto is among the best, highest value free resources I have ever read on the topic of monetizing your blog.  I’ve read it from cover to cover several times and recommend it frequently to others who are serious about creating a sustainable business out of blogging.

Given the quality of the information he shares for free, I have no doubt that his paid course is well worth whatever fee he is charging.   If monetizing your blog is a priority, you’ll make every moment of time and money you put forth in this course to deliver value where you need it most because you have “skin in the game.”

So go forth and invest in the products, coaching, tools, and resources you need to most to get your business where you know it can go.    And don’t be afraid to put some “skin in the game” because the rewards you reap will likely be well worth the time, money, and investment you make to benefit.  Your business will be better for it.

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Getting Over the Fear of Blogging is the First Step Toward Building a Better Blog

For many people, seeing the word B-L-O-G creates a sense of fear and overwhelm.  All all the social media, blogging seems to invite the most of both.  Folks wonder if they can learn how to blog and what blogging will do for their business. Others worry that they won’t have enough to blog about. Then, there is the sense of overwhelm about having to learn still one more new thing in the context of everything else that is a high priority for running a business.

Believe me, I understand these concerns all too well.  That is why I am offering as my gift to you my new special report entitled, “Get Over Your Fear of Blogging So Your Can Build the Buzz and Grow Your Business Now.”   This report tells my own story about how I did exactly that.

The easiest way to get the FREE special report is to opt-in to receive the free Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine by entering your email address in the sign up box.    If you are already a subscriber to the ezine, you can send me an email at nancy@nsjmktg.com, and I’ll send it to you by return email. You can also listen to this audio file on the same topic.  I tell my story straight and in an engaging way.  Listen in and enjoy.

And, if you’ve decided that now is the time to start blogging, my recommendation is that you begin by building a better blog in the first place.  Darren Rowse, a professional blogger, is among the best authorities on blogging according to Technorati and tens of thousands of professional bloggers who follow his work.  I just completed his “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” challenge and have seen meaningful audience growth as a direct result of implementing the tips and suggestions he generously shared during the 31-day event.

The good news is that he has put all the lessons from the 31-day event into a “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” Workbook, and you can buy it for a song and have this invaluable tool to serve as a powerful desk reference to guide your own successful blogging effort forever.

So, with my free “Get Over the Fear of Blogging” special report and Darren’s new and fabulous workbook, you can ready for blogging action and inviting meaningful results in short order.   Here is the link to learn more about and purchase Darren’s workbook.   (It’s just $19.95.)

And my “Get Over the Fear of Blogging…” special report is yours immediately by digital download when you sign up to receive my Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine.   I always have useful tips to share to support your DIY publicity success and advance your learning within the ezine, and I’d be honored to have you among my loyal subscribers.

Here’s to better blogging, one and all!

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Alert the Media! June is Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month — What is Your DIY Publicity Action Plan?

Did you know that the Chase Annual List of Events proudly declares June to be Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month?  Bloggers the world over are finding ways to bring attention to this important event at a time when it has never been more timely or relevant for business owners to roll up their sleeves, learn new skills, and make their marketing and public relations dollars work harder than ever to build the buzz and invite the right engagements to their doors.

Here are a few examples that also include sassy contests and empowering ways to get involved:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

What is your action plan for June to acquire new skills, deploy new tactics, and make some noise in the marketplace on a DIY basis?  If you need some helpful and timely DIY publicity suggestions and tools, I’ve got plenty brewing at Main Street Media Savvy to keep you in action.

• Any minute, my new “Get Over Your Fear of Blogging So You Can Build the Buzz and Grow Your Business Now” special report will be added as a NEW special bonus when you sign up to receive the fabulous and free Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine.  If you are already a valued subscriber, send me an email at nancy@nsjmktg.com, and I’ll gladly send the report to you by email.  It’s my gift to you, and I’d be thrilled if you shared it with everyone you know who can benefit.
• Publici-Tea™ workshops are scheduled for June 12 in Portland and June 24 in Tacoma.  Make your DIY publicity action plan a priority and make plans NOW to benefit from this high value workshop that consistently earns raves.  Here is the link to sign up.
• By mid-month, the new “Bye-Bye Boring Bio eToolkit” will be ready to help you finally get your bio in shape on a DIY basis in a way that people beyond your mother will notice. This isn’t a thin, content-shy report that leaves you with more questions than answers.  It’s a 60+ page e-workbook that dazzles with content, examples, worksheets, and resources to inspire your confidence and guide you to create a winning bio that will attract ideal clients and make you beam with pride.  If you want to be among the first 20 people to PREVIEW this engaging and comprehensive toolkit that shares just about everything you need to know to create short blurb bios, speaker sheets, social networking bios, alternative format bios — including handy-dandy worksheets to make the process fun, efficient, and rewarding — send me an email at nancy@nsjmktg.com, and I’ll tell you how you can contribute.
• Finally, make a comment here at the blog about why the Media-Savvy-to-Go Publicity eToolkit is exactly what you need to get started along your journey.  The most inspiring comment will win the eToolkit as a prize.  You must comment by June 5 to qualify.  This is a $97 value, so think big, go deep, and comment to earn your chance to win.
• Action is the key to your success during Entreprenuers “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month — and every day.   Go forth and make magic happen in the marketplace on a DIY basis.  You’ll be glad that you did, and your business will be better for it.

DIY Publicity Tip: Subscribe the the Chase Annual List of Events, and use it as inspiration to find the appropriate story hook to bring your expertise into the media spotlight.   With publicity, timeliness and relevance are essential recipes to be newsworthy.  With some advance planning, you could find yourself in the media spotlight for taking advantage of an event opportunity you never prior knew existed.

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