Murray Newlands is a book writing machine and he is also a good friend of mine. So, when he asks me if he can post a guest post on my blog I say sure thing. Murray has helped me over the years become a better blogger. So, if he can help me earn a little money from this blog then I’m going to listen. So below is a guest post from Murray Newlands. Continue reading Does Content Monetization Work and Does it Matter?
Tag Archives: Murray NEwlands
Murray Newlands is hosting a Blog Contest and Free Twitter Tool offer
My friend Murray Newlands is awesome. He has just sent me an e=-mail about a contest. I hope that you’ve already downloaded the eBook, How to Make a Blog Book, did you know that I am in it? I am.
He’s running a contest for people who have downloaded the book. IF you blog about the book you could possibly win. The prize is 100 pounds paid to your paypal account. So that will be a big boon to the winner in the USA because the pound is stronger.
So post about the book and e-mail Murray and you can win.
Murray is also offering a Free Twitter Tool called http://marketmesuite.com/ , it is a great tool for twitter marketing for business. And if you blog about it before the end of February you can get a free one year license. Nice!
Just Launched: The Affiliate Marketing Awards
My friend Murray Newlands is at it again. Not satisfied with being simply a famous blogger, an affiliate network creator and co founder of a social media event planning firm, Influence People, no Murray is giving back to the affiliate marketing community by recognizing the good that is being done. He is doing so by founding The Affiliate Marketing Awards.
April 12, 2011 the W Hotel in San Francisco is going to be the place to be. That night Affiliate Marketing will be recognized for the most creative campaigns, partnerships, advertisers and publishers. While Affiliate Marketing has gotten a bad rap over the years, there are some tremendous people who are doing great things in the industry. The Affiliate Marketing Awards seeks to shine a spotlight on those tremendous people and recognize the good that they have done and continue to do. Continue reading Just Launched: The Affiliate Marketing Awards
Winner of the Social Media Marketing Las Vegas Ticket!
Thank you to everyone who entered to win a ticket to Social Media Marketing Las Vegas. We have randomly picked the winner of the ticket. Congratulations Lewis Poretz (Follow @LewisPoretz on Twitter) who offers Maryland Mortgage Advice in his blog.
Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway and the many bloggers who helped spread the word and tweeted about it even though they already had a ticket or could not go themselves.
We invite anyone interested in this event to save 10% off tickets to any Influence People Social Media Marketing events – just enter Discount Code: BenSpark when buying your tickets.
Win a Ticket to Influence People Social Media Marketing Las Vegas Event
Guest post from Murray Newlands of MurrayNewlands.com and Influence People.
Affiliate Summit West is almost here and Drew and I are so looking forward to speaking and meeting everyone. Drew was kind enough to publish this guest post for me, Murray Newlands.
I want to take this opportunity to personally invite each and every one of you to come to both Affiliate Summit West and our Influence People Social Media Marketing Las Vegas event the very next day, January 12, 2011 at the Flamingo Hotel.
We would like to see you there so much that we are giving away a free ticket to attend our SMLasVegas and offering some great discounts for BenSpark.com readers:
- WIN a free ticket to Social Media Marketing Las Vegas – all you need to do to Tweet “Win a free ticket to @murraynewlands Social Media Event in Vegas Jan 12 from @BenSpark http://su.pr/831K1B #SMLVwithBen“
- Save 10% off any pass level to Affiliate Summit with Discount Code: ASW11GROW10
- Save 10% off tickets to Social Media Marketing Las Vegas with Discount Code: BenSpark
I’m a big believer in the benefits of conferences for the relationships that develop. Where else can you spend one-on-one time with people who have already accomplished goals you may have for your blog or business?
This quote from DM Confidential sums up why people come to Affiliate Summit:
You might wonder who would want to attend. Yet, year after year people do. They tell others and the demand continues to grow. It’s in this respect where Affiliate Summit shines and puts itself ahead of so many other venues. You don’t go because you feel you have to. You go because you want to. You go without many expectations but a belief that something will come of it. And, you find yourself proven right. You have those making a few thousand a month in the same space as those making millions, and only here do you find those whose salaries exceed seven figures manning their own booths. It’s hard to nail exactly, but at this show people seem more open, more approachable. You feel like you are among friends, that they won’t judge you but welcome you. It might be the nature of the industry or something unique to Missy and Shawn, the organizers, but whatever it is, you almost hate to leave.
Whether you attend Affiliate Summit or not I hope you will take a good look at our SocialMedia Marketing conferences. Major sponsors keep signing on for our events:
“We have sponsored a number of Influence People’s events and have been delighted with the quality, as well as the people we have been able to network with. I have seen a positive ROI and have just signed up as Lead Sponsor for another eight events” ~ Giles Palmer, CEO, Brandwatch
For Las Vegas sponsors include the Flamingo Hotel, 352WebMedia Web Design, Viglinks, MarketMeSuite and ShareThis. And it isn’t just sponsors who are impressed. Here are some quotes from previous attendees:
“A great conference with dynamic speakers” ~ The Thought Leader
“We were both impressed and surprised by the quality of the speakers and the information presented at the event. Sometimes you go to these events and hear nothing but a sales pitch. This conference happily, wasn’t that.” ~ Two of us from E3 European Agency Network
There is already lots of buzz on Twitter about these two events. See who is coming and what they’re saying by using these hashtags:
- hashtag #asw11 for Affiliate Summit West
- hashtag #smlasvegas for Social Media Marketing Las Vegas
I hope I have been able to convey to you what I believe you will get from attending. I know that Drew and I both look forward to seeing you there.
I’m Featured in Murray Newlands’ Book: How To Make A Blog Book
That’s right, I am featured in a book. Me, a simple photo, daddy, review and lifestyle blogger. Murray approached me about participating in this book a while back and when he contacted me to tell me that it was time to let people know about his new book the How to Make a Blog Book, I was more than happy to do so. Murray is a guy who has never not helped promote people. He even wore one of my shirts around SeaWorld and got a ton of funny poses to help promote me and my new brand. The guy is awesome and he attracts awesome people to himself and then shares them with you.
Murray Newlands and Me at Blog World Expo
Murray Newlands is one of those guys who just gives. When I first met him in 2009 at Affiliate Summit East he gave me advice that stuck with me for years and has helped me improve my blogging. Just last month he gave me even more advice that is going to stick with me even longer. He told me You either have to be the guy with the ball or the one who organizes the match. Great advice. I don’t think I’d ever be the guy with the ball but I can certainly organize the match and get people to attend and get excited about something.
I want you to get excited about this book. Murray has chapters by some pretty top name people like Chris Brogan, Steve Hall and Jennifer Lindsay. There are many more in the book and you can obtain it for free (just leave your e-mail address) at the How to Make a Blog Book site. Learn tips from top bloggers around the world on how to become better, get noticed and have fun blogging.
You can also participate in Murray’s Facebook Fan for How To Make A Blog Book at http://www.facebook.com/howtomakeablog
Download it, read it and come back here and tell me what you thought of it. Let’s show Murray some Love!
Eric Schechter is Clickman!
Photo-A-Day #1985
Today I received a couple of the 2010 Clickmen from ClickBooth. My friend Eric Schechter is their Social Media guy and he sent them along with a couple of shirts.
Eric saw a Photo-A-Day of mine where Eva was wearing an IZEA “I Love Geeks” Shirt but she was holding on to a SuperClickman in her right hand. Eagle eyes of Murray Newlands the Famous Blogger spotted the Clickman and tagged Eric in my photo. Eric got our address and sent out this package of fun stuff for the family. Eva loves her new “Eric Schechter” model Clickman. I opened it up and immediate images of Eric in his sportcoat and T-shirt were conjured up. What a great thing to have a fun little figure based on yourself. I love it! Thanks Eric.
When you need a Linchpin
Photo-A-Day #1853
Things around work have certainly started picking up in a good way. A while back I mentioned that I would be taking on more duties as the person who did the video production. Well, the guy who had the job before me retired last week and this week I received a bunch of requests for videos aready. Next week I’ll be taking videos of some important customers. I’m also being asked to shoot more video items of our top executives. On my way to being what Seth Godin refers to as a Linchpin (Aff Link). I’m reading that book right now on my Kindle (Aff Link). Continue reading When you need a Linchpin
One Lucky Guy
Photo-A-Day #1852
Today was one of those days where things really came together. I’ve been working up the courage to make a decent size ask and today I did so. Months ago I made a really, really big ask, I went for it, big time and in return got a well written but highly impersonal postcard. Today I adjusted my ask and tried again by knocking on a different door. This time everything came together so well. I can’t say much more about it now but soon, real soon I’ll have some cool things to talk about. Continue reading One Lucky Guy
Tips for Speaking on a Successful Conference Panel
Two weeks ago I was in Las Vegas to party, see shows and, oh yeah, Rock It at Affiliate Summit West 2010. I was part of a panel called Monetizing Blogs for Affiliate Marketing and SEO. The panel was moderated by Kris Jones of Pepperjam (@PepperjamCEO). On the panel were myself, Murray Newlands (@MurrayNewlands), Tim Jones (@TheRealTimJones) and John Carcutt (@JohnCarcutt). Prior to the show we had a phone call and quite a few e-mails to discuss what we were going to talk about, the format of the panel and what we wanted to accomplish during the session.
Success Begins with Planning
I mentioned that prior to the event we had a phone call and many e-mails to discuss what our session was going to be about. We detailed the overall format which was for each of us to give a little intro and then Kris would ask questions directly to the panel members. We would then allow for much of the time for questions from the audience. We were all on the same page and I don’t think that anyone on the panel hogged spotlight more than anyone else.
Success Continues with Connecting with the Audience
You might think I mean connecting with the audience in the session which is important but I am talking about connecting with your audience prior to the session. If you can get a list of attendees and somehow make contact with them prior to the event then fantastic. I did this because Affiliate Summit offers attendees the option to create an online schedule of sessions that they want to attend. I was able to see who everyone was and I attempted to contact many of the people listed either through the Affiliate Summit Social Network or directly on blogs or Twitter or Facebook. All of these outposts served as points where contact could be made.
What Can You Do to Connect with Your Audience?
I emailed each person with a quick intro of who I was and that I was one of the panelists. I then asked them why they choose to attend that session over the others. I also asked what they expected to gain from the session and if they had any questions that they would like us to address. Just a simple contact to say I’m interested and happy that you want to attend my session, I want to do a good job and provide you with value so how can I do that for you?
What if You Cannot Contact People BEFORE Your Session?
It goes without saying that you should be on time for your session but I suggest that you get to the session early. If people are in line to see the session then start up conversations with attendees. Introduce yourself and ask them what they are expecting to get from the session and if they have any questions. All the better if you can remember people’s names and address them by name when you answer the question in the session itself. Making that connection personal shows that once again you care.
Future Success Hinges on Follow-Up
If you are able to get a listing of everyone who attended your session then shoot them an e-mail and thank them for attending the session. Ask if all of their questions were answered. As them what they liked about the session, what they didn’t like and how they would have improved the session. If you see comments that appeared on Twitter or if anyone did a blog post about the session then take the time to leave a comment on the blogs or on Twitter. If someone took the time to leave some sort of feedback then you touched your audience and owe it to them to respect what they have to say about that session by interacting in some way.
Always Lead With Thank You
Even if you get blasted by someone who saw your panel you should always respond with Thank you. If you find someone trashing the panel on their blog then leaving a comment of “Thank you for the feedback, I can see how we have differing opinions on the subject, can we come to some common ground and hash this out?” will go a long way. Maybe you weren’t clear on something, maybe you didn’t answer a question that someone had or you didn’t answer it to the satisfaction of the audience. You can repair that rift and achieve common ground with a simple thank you and willingness to understand.
What are YOUR Tips for Speaking on a Successful Panel?