No Matter How Far You’ve Gone…

Image credit: cc Crystl (not me!) "No matter how far you have gone on a wrong road, turn back." ~Turkish Proverb It's still surprising when Life tosses me an opportunity for a rethink (but at least I've stopped ducking or dropping them, eh?). Now, I see them coming out of the corner ...

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May 2, 2008

Making a Million With 1000 True Fans: Be a Toll Booth on the Information Highway

Yesterday I introduced Kevin Kelly's 1000 True Fans concept of supporting yourself comfortably with a relatively small collection of avid followers. The idea has both skeptics and cheerleaders, there are valid arguments on both sides, and Alexandria Brown is proof that it's possible. Also, I admitted I can be a ...

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April 23, 2008

Making A Million With 1000 True Fans: Case Study Intro

One true fan --- cc Heraklit, courtesy of Flickr The idea of supporting yourself comfortably on the proceeds from 1000 True Fans may sound loopy, but the math is straightforward. Get $100 a year from 1000 people and you'll earn $100,000 each year. The theory has its inevitable skeptics and hesitants, but ...

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April 22, 2008

The Holy Grail of Swag

Capella University dishes out fabulous freebies. When I look over the swag (free promotional stuff) they've shipped, it seems they're tuned in to the needs of their learners. But a keen understanding of their demographic doesn't equate to knowing diddly squat about me. So while their freebies score 100% on the ...

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March 30, 2008

Optimizing the Power of Free

Swag: any corporate/branded merchandise given out for free to promote the company/brand (urbandictionary.com, #5) Giving away stuff with your business name on it is a standard promotion tactic. Current customers and potentials will accept whatever goodies you're handing out with glee. But wielding the power of free can easily demolish our ...

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March 28, 2008

Manage Customer Expectations With Your Business Card

Sam Leader of Flying Solo offered this story on setting expectations for customer contact: she got an immediate---though automated---company email reply that promised someone would "get back in touch soon". Months later she still hasn't heard from them. She notes her frustration isn't because they didn't reply, but because they failed ...

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March 19, 2008