5 Ways to Boost Your Book Or Business With a Podcast

I often get asked whether creating a podcast is worth the time and effort. My experience both as a podcaster and helping speakers, authors and coaches create podcasts is that it is worth the effort, but you have to be strategic and know what you're doing. Here are 5 ways to boost your book or business with a podcast:

1) Expand Your Reach Through Interviews: If you do an interview based podcast you can reach out to leaders in your field. What I recommend is to make a list of 5-10 thought leaders in your field, as well as influencers who can connect you with the people who most need to hear what you have to say.

2) Increase Your Credibility and Visibility: Whether you are doing interviews or a solo podcast (where it's you speaking without a guest) podcasts help position you as an authority. When you are the authority in your field, it helps you enroll people in your programs and services, and paves the way for people to read your books and other content. 

3. Create a Journey for Your Listeners: Many people will start podcasts, but few will stay with them, because they won't see results from their efforts. An important part of successful podcasting is creating a "journey" for listeners. Invite your listeners to join you on a teleseminar, or email you, or sign up for a free gift. It's not enough to create a podcast. You have to create engagement and an conversation, and invite and inspire your listeners to join you. Figure out what your "journey" is and give listeners a way to work and connect with you in a deeper way.

4. Get Listed on Industry Websites: A great way to boost your visibility and get the word out about what you do is to get listed on industry websites. A powerful way to do this is to interview leaders of organizations that are related to what you do. If you are not doing an interview based podcast, you can still get the word out by using a "curation" strategy. Mention the organizations website or events and put the links to their website on your show page. Then send the podcast to the organization. There is a very good chance that they will send your podcast out to their list and put it on their website. After all, it's an endorsement of them. 

5. Be consistent: A big part of what makes podcast so powerful is that it allows you to project yourself and your message to people all over the world. Make sure to release your podcast at a regularly scheduled day and time to build trust with your audience. Soon, your ideal listeners will be excited and looking forward to your new episodes. Those are the people who will be hungry to read your new books and buy your programs, products and services. 

Want to learn more about how podcasting can help you expand your reach and get your message out in a big way? Call me at 413-883-5518 for a free 30 minute consultation, or reach out at www.dougforesta.net  

The Networking Misconception (it's NOT just a meeting)...

GREETINGS!

What is YOUR CONCEPT of Networking??   

Great way to meet people? - YES

Great way to grow your business? - YES

QUICK way to grow your business? - NOT NORMALLY...

SCENARIO:

OK, you just joined a Chamber of Commerce and you are off to your 1st. Networking Meeting ARMED with BUSINESS CARDS and ready to TELL EVERYONE WHAT YOU DO, hoping they will BUY from you...

2 HOURS LATER:

Wow! I passed out 50 business cards and got cards from a lot of people. Can't wait to get to the office tomorrow and wait for the phone to ring - this is going to be great!

2 WEEKS LATER:

Nothing has happened. Next meeting is tomorrow. I'll try again...

RENEWAL TIME:

I'm NOT RENEWING MY MEMBERSHIP. I just DIDN'T GET ANYTHING OUT OF THE CHAMBER. I haven't been to a meeting in months - I DID try a few meetings and nothing much happened - it was a WASTE OF MY TIME...

Unfortunately, this happens all the time because many people's CONCEPT of Networking (see above) is really A MISCONCEPTION that JOINING A CHAMBER (or ANY organization) and GOING TO NETWORKING MEETINGS WILL GROW YOUR BUSINESS. It rarely happens that way because PEOPLE DON'T GO TO NETWORKING MEETINGS TO BUY anything and are likely to be TURNED OFF by people trying to SELL to them...

The REALITY is that NETWORKING (my definition) is a PROCESS of DEVELOPING WIN-WIN RELATIONSHIPS based upon TRUST. Trust RARELY happens when you first meet someone. It takes time to develop.

Why is TRUST so IMPORTANT? Think about it... If you are REFERRING a business associate to a friend or family member, GUESS WHOSE REPUTATION IS ON THE LINE if they mess up? Right, YOURS...

THE NETWORKING PROCESS:

• Foundation: A Positive Mindset, finding your Purpose for networking in the first place, and an UNCONDITIONAL GIVING APPROACH
• Preparation: (Your Homework Assignment): What do you do? Who for? Identify your prospects. Identify desired networking contact TYPES who can introduce you to lots of prospects. Identify where to go (chambers, organizations, online, etc.) to network. Preparing for meetings: commercials, presentations, business cards, etc.
• Process: What to do AT the meeting (HINT: the purpose is NOT sales - it's ALL ABOUT setting up APPOINTMENTS to continue the relationship building process). What to do AFTER the meeting: one to one meetings with FOLLOW UP.

FINAL THOUGHT:

The POWER of Networking reaches FAR BEYOND THE ATTENDEES OF A NETWORKING MEETING... People at the meeting know an average of 200 people who also know an average of 200 people and on and on... By developing win-win (trusting) relationships with attendees, those people become potential resources, and on and on...

Now that you know the Networking Misconception, the basics of the Networking Process, and the POTENTIAL of networking done right, future blogs will provide more specific tips... If you want some of them before my next blog (December 7), please call me at 860-673-4006 or visit my Web Site,

ABOUT CHIP:

Chip (Happiness and Success GPS for one's LIFE and one's CAREER), is a speaker, trainer, facilitator, consultant (business and personal) and a NETWORKING EXPERT. Everything I do is customized for the group or business I that am working with so let's brainstorm!

My PURPOSE and MISSION is to spread AWARENESS to everyone that they have the CHOICE (a gift given only to human beings) to ESCAPE from "SAMEVILLE" (the day to day routines many get stuck in) and build a happy and successful life. I LOVE speaking to groups (including students) about this. If you have a suggestion for a group for me to present to, let's talk about it - call me anytime at 860-673-4006 - coffee's on me!

Also, please go and LIKE my new Facebook Business Page - THANKS!!

Shall we Talk...Funeral Attire Etiquette

Shall We Talk...Funeral Attire Etiquette


Death -- not the most sought after subject or most pleasant to read about, but nonetheless, a natural part of life.  While my intent is not to be a Debbie Downer, how many of you can actually say you know the intricacies of what is proper and acceptable attire for this occasion?   After attending a wake and funeral for a close friend rather recently, and observing for quite some time, I feel that this subject needs to be visited -- in, of course, the most respectful manner possible.

Please feel free to take away what you may and use of your best judgement is always key.  After all, etiquette guidelines are...just that - guidelines and using best instincts is advisable.

ATTIRE

Way back when, BLACK was the only color acceptable for attire.  Men wore black suits, ties, socks etc,,, and women were adorned with black dresses, suits and hats with veils and  gloves.   As time passes, etiquette has too and additional colors are acceptable.   Keep in mind the occasion and it is always best to go with dark colors, however the most important feature being, clean, neat and pressed clothing.  Jeans are never an acceptable alternative and bold prints should be kept to a minimum.

It has become quite apparent that a wake or viewing; which commonly takes place before a funeral, separately, has become a free for all in terms of clothing.  While the premise behind your attendance at a wake may be to offer your condolences in lieu of attending the funeral, it is also advisable to be respectful of your attire choices.   I have seen everything from jeans, shorts, hoodies and flip flops come in the door during a viewing.   In my modest etiquette opinion, it truly offers a statement on your behalf if you choose to dress in this manner for such an occasion.   A lack of decorum becomes evident and offers the opinion that you were too busy to take the time to properly dress for such an occasion.   AND... if you think people aren't noticing...you're wrong.  Wear any of the items listed above and BAM... you have now become fodder for the social gathering after the funeral.

It is with the utmost respect that I offer these tasteful guidelines for your next funeral or viewing attendance.  After all, the objective is to pay your final respects, offer condolences and your presence at this most difficult time...sans the white socks!!

As HSSN's resident etiquette expert, I look forward to your suggestions for future blog posts regarding any etiquette situations you would like clarified or explained.  Feel free to contact me at my new web address www.ct-etiquette.com, (860) 387-1282 or email me at ctetiquette@gmail.com

Melodrama Part 2

Daniel Blanchard- Author and Speaker!

In my last blog I talked about drama being everywhere. Furthermore, I offered advice on how to be that leader that we were meant to be by better understanding our history as a species. For about 300,000 years we were hunters and gathers and we survived on our own aggressive individual survival instincts. And as odd as it may sound today, in the old days, being aggressive, selfish, and even somewhat brutal was a virtue in some ways and helped our species survive. Then I talked about how the more civilized agrarian age came along about 30,000 years ago, but that sometimes our 300,000 years of basic survival instincts still overpowers our 30,000 year history of more civilized farming way of life.

So, where do we go from here? Well, to city living of course! So now to confuse us humans even more, within roughly the last hundred years or so we have moved off the farms with their strict way of living and moved into the cities where once again our norms and social pressures have confused us by changing. To make it even worse, we’re left to our own to figure it all out without a map or any directions. Hmm… like us men would use the map or directions, anyways… It’s tough to be human.

             In the busy cities, our minds have become even busier and even fuller of mental melodrama. Our psyche, or that little voice we constantly hear in our minds won't ever shut the lights off. We have become so accustomed to this little voice, or maybe I should say noise in our heads that it doesn't even seem weird to us anymore. The funny thing is that it's frequently wrong and it is also constantly contradicting itself. For example, does this inner conversation sound familiar guys? "I don't think she likes me. No. she likes me. Why wouldn't she like me? Well, she doesn't like me because I'm too short. So give it up and don't even bother asking her. No. I'm going to ask her out. Don't..."

          Hey, that’s how our mind talks. It’s very melodramatic. And believe it or not, as crazy as our “psyche” can be at creating all of this mental anguish within us, we still listen to this mental dramatic conversation and allow this sometimes-crazy inner roommate of ours with the weird name to wreck our happiness. I bet none of us would allow a real roommate to talk to us like that! 

So, what is the leadership advice here? Well, it’s the same advice that I offered in my last blog. We have to remember that we’re all in this together and sometimes our history as an imperfect species, as well as a constantly changing world, makes us do stupid things. So let’s look beyond our imperfections and all this melodrama and let’s move towards being that sturdy leader that is inside of every one of us! 

4 Great Questions to Ask When Preparing to Lead

Did you ever notice what all experts do?  

They make the complex seem so easy.

This is no coincidence:  top performers (in all disciplines) share a commitment to preparation.

The best leaders consistently prepare.

That's obvious enough:  but what do they do to prepare? 

Here’s a tool that that you can use:  PREP

An acronym for:

Plan

Rehearse

Examples

Participate.

This month, we’ll focus on Plan. 

There are 4 essential questions leaders need to ask to plan effectively:  

1.  What outcomes do you want to achieve? 

Start with the end in mind.  Are you there to inform, inspire, teach, listen, educate?  What would “success” for you look like?  What would “success” for them look like?  By knowing your end goal, you can adjust on the fly to make sure you head in the right direction.

2. If I stepped into their shoes, what would I feel? 

What do they want?  How do they feel?  What else is going on for them? 

If you don’t know, arrange to speak some of them in advance, so that you get their insights first hand.  Live or voice to voice is much more effective for gathering this information than email.

3.  What do they expect from your leadership?   

Are they excited?  Are they prisoners?  

Yes, you think  you're wonderful, and so does your mother.  But what's the reality for the people you'll be leading?  

4.  What barriers might get in the way of you connecting with them?   

What objections might come up?  What assumptions are they holding?  What assumptions are you holding?  Great leaders make implicit expectations explicit. What context setting might you need to do before you dive into your content?

Once you are clear on the answers to these questions, build your leadership agenda from their frame of reference, not yours.  Great leaders know it’s not about me.  It’s about them.

Plan accordingly.

Next month, we’ll explore the next piece of the PREP acronym:  R: Rehearse.

To continue the conversation, connect with me on LinkedIn: 


www.linkedin.com/in/alainhunkins  and read my weekly blog at:
www.pioneerleadership.com

SpeakNaked but Cover Your Ass...

Cover your ass by always writing your own introduction.

Whenever you are going to be introduced as a speaker always write your own introduction.

Never leave the audience's first impression of you and your carefully crafted presentation to chance by being introduced by someone who may just go up there and wing it.

Writing your own introduction will:

1. Set the tone and perspective to support your presentation.
2. Increase your credibility
3. Rev up the audience's interest in you and your topic.
4. Have an introduction of appropriate length
5. Make sure your presentation's punch line or surprise isn't given away.
6. Make the introducers job so much easier, they will love you it.

I have loads of horror stories of introductions gone bad.

  The International Shipping conference where the MC spent the first 20 minutes of an hour long presentation introducing the 5 panel speakers. costing the sponsor $200,000 in presentation time and draining  all of the audience's attention.
   The introduction that finished with "and when he's done we all get an IPod". Thus killing the speakers whole presentation and surprise gift.
   The introduction of a speaker on death penalty law that mentioned that the speaker "was a dancer and high school cheerleader".  True 25 years ago but irrelevant and costing the speaker her credibility
         And all of the introduction's with mispronounced names, wrong topics and mangled titles.

You do not want to start your presentation having to dig yourself out of a hole 

created by a bad introduction.

  The way to help prevent this is to always write your own, specifically tailored for your audience
letting them know 4 things:

1  What the topic is
2. What is in it for them
3.,Why they should listen to you
4. What do they have to do and for how long

Here is a simple template to create a 60 second introduction

Good Morning my name is (name of the introducer)
I am the (introducer's title or position)
Wouldn't it be great if we could all...(What's in it for them)
For the next hour we are going to learn about (Your Topic)
Our speaker (Your Name)
Who is a... (Tell what you do so they can hire you)
Who has... (List a few of your relevant credentials).
Will share with us his/her expertise on (Your Topic)
and his/her presentation (Name of your presentation)
Welcome (Your Name)

Change this anyway you want make longer/shorter, more serious/funny, to serve your presentation, your style and your audience.

Other introduction Tips:

The shorter the presentation the shorter the introduction

Print out your introductions in the biggest font that will fit on one page.

Type out each phrase on a separate line so the speaker knows what to emphasize and when to pause

Personally hand it to the person going to introduce you.

Then make sure they pre-read it and answer any questions. (like how to pronounce your name)

Glenn Dulko Founder of SpeakNaked Speaker Training

The right introduction will:

Set you up for success
Set the Tone of your presentation
Build your credibility
Bridge obstacles and objections
Make the audience your friend
Get you remembered
Get you hired again and again

all even before you step on stage.....



Stand up, Step out, Speak Naked
 and always write your own introduction, to cover your ass.

For more ideas on how to improve your speaking and presentation email me now at Glenn@SpeakNaked.com
I Help You Love Public Speaking

Are we there yet?

Too often while we are trying to get things done we add them to a "to do” list. The problem with to-do lists for most of us is that they really represent a starting to do list, not a “get it done” list.

Here's how to transform your "to do" list into a "GET IT DONE" list.

Firstly, define two things, for you to do this you need to have a firm understanding of who the customer is, who are you doing the work for and how will they use it? Then define what DONE is. Not only what done is, but what an acceptable standard is. This may seem laborious at first, but having a clear understanding of who you're doing something for, what they think DONE is, and then what an acceptable standard is, puts so much more clarity on the task that it becomes far easier to complete fully first time.

Secondly the next thing is to put it on your to-do list. Once I put something on my to-do list, and I start doing it, I move it into processing. If I'm using paper to track my to-dos, I put a small circle next to the item which means that I'm working on it. At the end of the day, I either move it to the done column (electronic - TRELLO) or put a checkmark (paper tracking) next to it to signify that it is complete.

Lastly, whether I started the task but did not complete it, or did not start it at all  at the end of the day I only allow myself two choices:

• Finish the task, today!
• Transfer it onto tomorrow's task list, but break it down into at least three steps. This allows me to get the tasks done in their component parts. The power of this is it makes me drive towards DONE!

This is Tony Sherman, the Implementation Rabbi at Impact Teams, wishing you a productive month.