It is NEVER too late to pursue your dreams

I read a story in today's Concord Monitor about John Archer.

John is 99 and hopes to see a collection of poems he wrote at the ripe old age of 92 published this year by Revolution Booksellers in Exeter, New Hampshire. The book is titled Walking Backwards Towards Old Age and is due to be released this fall.

According to the article, he self published the book and it sold at local bookstores, but other than contacting a handful of national publishers, never did much to promote it.

Phil Englehardt, president of Revolution found it and thought it fit perfectly with their mission "to provide marketing and support to authors through a business model based on the independent music industry".

How cool is that to be looking at the end of your life and to know that a piece of you will live on after your passing?

So, how do you want future generations to remember you?

Don't Miss the Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference

Unless you are selling the Collected Works of the Luddites, marketing has gone online baby!

"Yeah, that's great" you say, "but I'm a small business and I don't have the budget to hire an expert, or the knowledge to do it myself." Don't despair my friend, I have the perfect conference for you.

My friend Jennifer Laycock and Search Engine Guide along with Small Business Brief have teamed to create the Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference, in Houston, April 21 & 22. Aside from Jen, I worked with 3 of the other speaker's on the High Rankings Search Marketing Seminar.

Matt Bailey of Site Logic Marketing is a phenomenal speaker. He knows his material and is passionate about usability (making your site user-friendly) and conversion (insuring that visitors become buyers). He speaks in plain English with some humor thrown in for good measure.

Christine Churchill, of Key Relevance knows paid search inside out, backwards, forwards, on the diagonal, you name it, she knows it. She is fanatical about being up to date and thorough in her presentations. When I worked with her, that meant that she was tweaking her information literally until she walked up to the podium. Christine has been around the block a few times with paid search and she has the battle scars to prove it, but she wants you to learn from her mistakes.

Debra O'Neil Mastaler of Alliance Link is the Link Goddess. She lives, eats and breathes linking (washed down with a Diet Coke). Most people don't realize the importance of links to a website's rankings in the search engines. They also don't really know how to go about acquiring meaningful links (HINT: not all links are good links).

Jennifer Laycock is doing a session on Viral Marketing and she knows of what she speaks. She can speak from experience about the good (see this) and the not so good aspects of viral marketing. I bet she'll talk about how she used viral marketing to market this conference. You know like this.



I don't know the other speakers personally, but they are all well known names in the field of search marketing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah you say. The speakers are great, but I've been to conferences before and while I leave with ideas, when I get back to the office, I feel paralyzed about what to do next. Not this time. The total attendance is limited to 200 people, and the individual workshops are limited to 50 attendees. With these numbers you will truly get a chance to have your most burning questions answered (register early and sign up for one of the site clinics, you won't regret it). This time, you'll leave with a plan and the steps to complete it (including worksheets on a flash drive). As an event organizer, my biggest problem with the speakers listed above, was prying them away from conversations with attendees when it was time for them to present. They know what they are talking about and are passionate about sharing their knowledge.

The cost for 2 days is ridiculously reasonable at $950, but if you register before March 15th it is only $850. That's more than what it would cost get just one of these speaker's to consult with you for a day. Oh it is includes your meals too! This is where I shake my head in wonder because I know what it takes to put on one of these conferences and that's a great price.

I am not receiving anything for this post (Jen didn't even ask me to blog about it). I am being sincere when I say this will be an amazing event. If you are a small business and you need help with your marketing, you should not miss this event. What are you waiting for? Go to unleashedconference.com and register today!

All together now . . . AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

There is a collective sigh of relief this morning in Central New Hampshire. Our children are finally back in school. Tuesday saw a 2 hour delay turn into a complete closure. Our district also canceled school on Wednesday for reasons, beyond the comprehension of most parents. Today after a 2 hour delay they are back at their desks, and so am I!!!

Making Connections in the World of Social Media

I am a people person. Anyone who knows me well knows that is an understatement. I know a lot of people, and I have a really good memory that retains all kinds of details about people. I get a kick out of connecting people who might share a common interest. Although I genuinely enjoy doing it for the pleasure of building a community of friends and business associates, I will also say that what goes around comes around and I’ve had the great fortune to be introduced to some really cool people as a result of the introductions I’ve made.

So yesterday I’m minding my own at my computer, head down, nose to the grindstone, when I notice that my friend Jen has changed her status to @ GOT SOCIAL MEDIA. Got Social Media is a one day workshop based conference in Houston, TX that brings together some of the top minds in social media.

I know this because my BlogHer buddy Katie mentioned it on her blog and when I read it, I drooled and contemplated attending for oh about 30 seconds, then reality set in.

So, when I realized Jen was there, I knew that she and Katie had to meet. I just knew they’d hit it off. At first Jen thought I was nuts.

“me: Ok so while you're in Houston, say hi to my friend Katie for me she works for Schipul

Jennifer: lol, I'll shout it out when I'm on the streets after this event :)”.

I narrowed Jen’s search field to Got Social Media attendees and sent her links to Katie’s photo and assured her they’d hit it off. She said she’d ask around. I also sent Katie an email telling her Jen was there and included links to Jen’s info.

Late in the day I got emails from both of them saying they had indeed met (in the bathroom of all places) and each was psyched to make a connection with the other. SCORE!!

Writer's Way North 2nd Meeting

Ok, so the immediacy of blogging sometimes gets overshadowed by running a business, managing a household, and juggling 2 kids and a husband. That said Dear Reader, I don’t want you to miss out on information that could possibly be THE nugget that you need to make huge changes in your life, so you will go on to be successful and renowned beyond your wildest dreams all because you read about Star Dargin on my little ‘ole blog.

Dramatic? Me? Maybe, but then again maybe not :).

The Way North Writer’s Group met for the second time earlier this month. Once again the meeting was held at the lovely home of Linda Formechelli and Eric Martin.

Our featured speaker was Star Dargin a consultant and coach. Star lead us through some goal setting activities for our writing in 2008. We had another great turn out and Star did a great job of keeping us on track while also allowing us to share suggestions and inspire one another.

Coaches are becoming more and more popular. I’ve always though of myself as the kind of person that can self-motivate, but as I close in on my 40th year, I find that while I get many things done, I’m REALLY good at putting of the things that I claim are most important to me.

Star and I have a sample coaching call scheduled for early next month. I’ve told her I’m not sure I’m a) ready or b) have the time to commit a coaching relationship, right now, but I am interested in learning more.

If you are interested, you can learn more about the services Star offers at http://www.starleadershipllc.com.

Three Cheers for Rymes Propane

Everyone slept late in my house on Saturday morning. Trust me folks, this is a major feat. When I finally stumbled out of bed to greet the little guy, it thought it was chilly, but thought it was just my body grumbling about getting out of a warm bed.

After a while, I decided, it wasn't just me, it was chilly. Turns out, I was right, it was chilly, 56 degrees as a matter of fact (we keep the thermostats at 67). I called Rymes Propane at 9:00am (I checked at the clock as I put on a fleece robe) and left a message for the on call staff. In the mean time, my husband was tinkering with the furnace trying to determine a cause for the cold. Our gas fireplace worked as did our stove, so it wasn't a fuel deficiency.

The phone rang at 9:04 am. Much to my delight, it was NOT a political candidate or a pollster, it was Gary from Rymes. He had a sense of humor, politely asked some questions and promised to be to us within an hour. He was in my door before 10am and had the furnace going by 10:15 am (for those who care, a vacuum hose had dried out).

Can't ask for much better service than that. Thanks Rymes!

Writers Way North

Last month I attended the first meeting of Writers Way North. The name is a little misleading since we met in Concord, NH, but for some folks “down South”, (you know like in Boston), Concord New Hampshire, may as well be the Canadian border!

Writers Way North is the brain child of Linda Formichelli and Elaine Grant. Both are experienced writers with diverse backgrounds who are looking to share leads and best practices with like minded colleagues.

There were 11 of us at the December meeting held at the lovely home of Linda Formichelli and Eric Martin. There was great food an a lot of laughs. We talked about “Micro Actions” -- the small things that we can all do, with little stress, to further our long-term goals as writers and editors. Linda wrote a blog entry on this very subject in October.

Writer’s Way North is not meant to be a critique group, but rather a way for those seriously engaged in writing to network and learn from each other. The group hopes to meet on a monthly basis with discussions in between via a Google group.

So, have you published at least one piece in a paying market OR started a blog OR worked in a writing/editorial staff position at some point OR have the intention of selling your work, be it fiction or nonfiction? Are you interested in networking with other Northern New England writers? Drop me an email (laughlin at fearlessevents dot com) with WWN Information in the subject and I’ll send you the information.

Our next meeting is a week from tonight (January 10th) a 7pm in Concord, NH we will be discussing goals for our writing. Hope to see you there.