This is a 6 week telecourse that I created with my dear friend Jen Blackert as the Info Product Angels. Yeah, we were playfully spoofing Charlie’s Angels and we had a blast with the course.

Here is the complete course, the recordings as well as the notes, that originally sold for $397. It’s yours as a thank you for supporting me in what I do.

Click here to access Info Product Angels Course

(it’s a word doc with all the audio file links embedded into it- if you need a different format, buzz me)

If you like it, share it. If you love how I look at things, want to launch a product, and need some help, call me at 512-917-3347. You can also find me via twitter at @Smartwoman

You don’t have to opt-in – just download and for pete’s sake, put the information to work. I know dozens and dozens and dozens of folks who have done this and love the money they make from packaging their expertise. Could that be you?

Seriously, just do it (and let me know if I can help).

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, CEO
SmartWoman Guides

I have scheduled a facial. I will likely get a fancy haircut and pedicure. I will go hang out at some swanky hotels and clubs. I want to begin vibrating at the tone of luxury and high end service so I am going where my customer goes. I want to walk a mile in their Manolos.

How can this help you? Many of us don’t  necessarily live the same lives as our customers. It’s not required to be your customer but it certainly is a prime opportunity to improve your marketing message as well as your products and services if you know them intimately. Much like parents who say you just don’t understand what it is truly like to be a parent until you are one, you aren’t going to know everything by doing what they do, but you will learn a lot.

So, what could you learn? Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• How your customers consume customer service – do they expect valet service or do they like do it yourself?
• Do they enjoy more choices or would they prefer a one-stop, turnkey solution?
• Do they shop during the day or at night?
• Where do they go for lunch? With friends or without?
• What advertising do they notice?
• What do they read?
• What is the attitude they walk through their life holding?
• Is saving money a godsend or do they think you have to pay more to get better?

There really is no one answer and it’s better to ask the question, immerse yourself in your customer’s world, and see what they say rather than work from stereotypes or assumptions. So, I encourage you to give it a try – how could you walk a mile in your customers’ shoes this week? I’d love to hear what you come up with!

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, CEO

Consider creating a new website with a new URL

If the new concept is wildly different than your current one, consider creating a completely new website. Don’t attempt to fold in too many disparate ideas into one site. The search engines don’t like it and your current fans will get confused or potentially offended. Managing multiple websites takes a little effort, but it’s not too bad, especially if you have to do what you have to do. Love wants what it wants, so don’t be afraid to break out just because of a little extra work.

To ensure that the two identities online don’t get crossed (like when the ultra conservative moms you cater to discover your 1-900 chat line), be sure to choose private registration for the new domain so your Whois site info is not public or easily searchable.  Be careful where you put your given name or perhaps create a proper legal pseudonym and use it instead. You can do a similar thing by using a company name. Although somewhere your name may come up, it takes a lot of effort to find it. The goal here isn’t to be nefarious but to build in a little distance between your two personas. A determined person will figure it out, so pretty much realize that it’s only a speed bump but these steps will help.

Consider coming clean and living out loud

You can choose to navigate a change gradually and openly or even announce and leverage a radical one. You can use that announcement as a one time publicity stunt or to launch a formal re-branding PR campaign. If, for instance, you use yourname.com as your website and you want the final result of your change to still be the real you, then you have to decide how you are going to “come out” (so to speak).

The best way, generally speaking, to communicate an emotionally driven personal transformation, is to tell an emotionally charged story. People forgive and accept some of the most diverse ideas placed right next to each other when told through a sincere, human emotional story. Take some time to craft your message, explain your choices without sounding patronizing or rationalizing, and drop the pander. Tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. Have enough respect for your audience to let them decide instead of trying to manipulate them into thinking a certain way.

I don’t want you to believe that you won’t lose some (or even all) of your current audience, but you might be surprised. If you’ve been sincere, explained your situation, and left it to the audience to choose, you could end up with a very supportive fan base who is fascinated with the real you. That’s kinda cool, isn’t it?

What it gets down to is this – just do it. Whether you’re graceful about it or not, ultimately it doesn’t matter. Don’t let what other people might think of you or the past success you’ve enjoyed be a barrier to you expressing yourself honestly and fully. Life is too long to live it halfheartedly. Go for it!

So, do you have an online re-branding experience you can share? How did you do it? What worked and what didn’t? Please comment below!

If you feel confused by social media, or get overwhelmed by your business tasks, or maybe yearn for the good ‘ol days when people wrote letters and didn’t know what a crackberry was, then here’s a thought – you aren’t the only one. And, if you’re not the only one, there’s probably a market that needs your help dealing with that very same struggle.

When you identify a flaw in yourself – maybe you see it as a barrier or maybe an old fashioned badge of honor for how things “should” be done – then remember that there are others out there like you. Use the feelings you have to dig deeper into the emotional triggers of your potential clients. Use the coping tools and solutions you find as an example for others. Use your viewpoint, even if you feel it’s something you need to shift, as a starting point for better understanding the needs and work flow of your customer.

Process is everything. By fully embracing your own growth and discovery process and sharing the results (and yes, the struggles and failures) through your online persona, you allow people a bird’s eye look into how you think. Demonstrating your values, becoming one of us instead of a stand offish always right guru allows for others to fall in love with what you do. And, they will even fall in love with those flaws.

Go on, now….go give yourself and all your beautifully imperfect flaws a big, juicy hug. If that feels silly or someone sees you with a funny look on your face, just tell them you’re tweeting. They’ll leave you alone!

The request was usually triggered by us running around, yelling at the top of our lungs, wrecking havoc in our pathway. Often, we were just having fun, but we might have been fighting for stuff, or maybe angry, or maybe trying to get attention. Safe to say, we weren’t being subtle.

The request for using our inside voice was typically made by a long suffering and frazzled parent or care provider. It was a plea, really, to take a deep breath and lower our outward volume. They wanted us to act in a more measured and controlled tone, to (dare I say it?) act more civilized.

In marketing your business, I would suggest that using your inside voice can be very powerful. Instead of taking the approach that we are being asked to damp down our “real selves” and behave in a way we do not wish, we could look at it as a chance to get in touch with our deeper selves.

It’s often in the silence, when that inner knowing and confidence begins to bubble up and show itself, that we find our true voice. You don’t need all caps and exclamation points to garner attention. As any mother knows, sometimes it’s what you don’t say, actually, that gets the message across. Being plugged in with your heart and creativity is a way to know that more quiet way. Being willing to build rather than tear down is a good first step.

By being open to exploring the deep emotions and connections that prompt your prospect to purchase, or your client to refer you, or your employees to go the extra mile, you find your inside voice. You move in strong and effective ways. Your level of sophistication and relevance improves. You step into that wonderful world of civilized adults having a valuable conversation about important things. Yes, you can still have fun and scream with glee when it’s the right time and place. But, your business marketing isn’t that time and place. Find your inside voice and use it today.

You can’t do it through flashy ads, no matter how clever they are. Super Bowl cuties aside, very few people remember ads for very long. And, they don’t leave a permanent trail to you, like a blog post or an interview posted online can – once you quit paying, you’re gone.

You can’t do it through pushing your PR agenda. Not only do you come off as a pompous ass, but you will not drown out the voice of the Tribe when you screw up. If you haven’t been talking to them like they want to be talked to before something bad happens, it will be too late when the proverbial sheet hits the fan. Think Motrin Moms.

You can’t do it by spending more money. Cash does not make conversation – people do. If you are spending more money and employer resources on buying TV spots than on focusing on touching people, connecting with what they care about, and really listening, then you can ride that money horse awhile longer, but your days are numbered. Look what technology did to billboards – there are few if any more billboard painters. Even the cool plastic pull-on sheets are being replaced by multi-user electronic LED screens. More color, more movement, move eye catching, faster and easier to change…no amount of money promoting a painted billboard will help you anymore. It’s over and it’s likely not to come back.

But, the good news? The voice of the people and elevating its value to a higher place is changing the way we live our lives. I have friends, people who have touched me in ways that will benefit me for the rest of my days, whom I’ve never met face to face. I am able to connect my business with a huge group of passionate, interested people just by being willing to be part of the conversation. This paradigm shift will grow and the individuals who are willing to step out front, sooner rather than later, are the ones that will light the way. It feels a little early, but developing relationships take time – you have to start now.

If you listen to much of advertising, email marketing, and such (all things I completely believe in as effective marketing tools), you might notice that the underlying assumptions include scarcity, violence, competition, and fear. If you don’t “act now” you’ll lose – limited time offers, only an idiot would do nothing, if you don’t do this you will be beaten, use this software to annihilate your competition, install this plug in to keep you “safe”, etc. Many put countdown clocks and send emails with screaming ALL CAPS subject lines with urgent pleas for your money since your very existence as a entrepreneur is in peril. Hurry!! You’re in danger! Buy now or ELSE!

I find it all a bit tiring. If you ask these marketers why they do it, they inevitably say either “it works” or “it’s how it’s done.” Is that really a good enough reason? Can’t we move into this new decade with innovative tools and new approaches? Can we learn to sell without fear? What do you think?

I am doing all I can to find my own tendencies to include a scarcity and fear mentality in my approach and I’m tossing it. Want to join me? We could start a movement…

I have lived through a verbally abusive marriage. I tolerated my husband’s caustic words because I thought I was supposed to accept, tolerate, and endure. My self esteem was very low. I thought I was just supposed to tough it out, turn the other cheek, and ignore the insults. I turned off my emotions and slogged through, doing the best I could to put on a happy face and not stick out too much.

At a certain point, it was all just too much. I had a moment of epiphany that changed everything. And, I got out. It was a long, painful process, but I got out. You can listen here to me describing that epiphany moment if you wish:

Now, I have healed enough to accept my own role in the situation and to make better choices going forward. I don’t blame anyone else. But, as someone who has felt the sting of this issue, I now see examples of it everywhere. And, I am committed to awareness.

Let’s think about the places verbal abuse exists now – why do we allow the media to casually banter about the words stupid, idiot and Nazi? Why do we tell young boys to toughen up and learn to fight back to the bully on the playground? Why do we think that a boss yelling at us is just part of the job? Why do we stifle our dreams because we are told we’re crazy, an unrealistic dreamer, or worse too screwed up to ever follow through on something that important because we’ve never done anything right before.

We tend to look past these every day examples, explaining it as “how it is”. I have seen both sides of this and I can tell you, it’s not how it is. It’s how we choose it to be. We all have the power to begin to ratchet down the histrionics and choose differently – choose more kindly. When we accept our role in pervasive verbal abuse, we can begin to shift away from it. The massive amounts of energy being used to defend and protect ourselves begins to become available for creativity and fun. The change starts with us.

So, next time you write an email subject line like “You’d be crazy not to take this offer” or you decide that fear based marketing “Do it now or you’ll always be a loser” is the best approach, I am asking you to reconsider your technique. The next time you call someone a moron because they don’t agree with your political position, check yourself. Imagine a man calling your daughter an idiot. Imagine her making the choice to tolerate the insults because she saw you participating in that. See it forward and I suspect you will reconsider your need to spew.

I took a small trip and stayed at Hyatt Regency DFW in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. It’s a rather nice hotel and the interior design is superb. It was also the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on in a hotel. My sweetheart and I both commented that we’d buy a bed like that for our home because of its comfort.

The hotel had also done a really nice job in the paint colors, the artwork, the rugs, the bedding – everything. It just worked and made even going to the ice machine an artistic, enjoyable experience. I remember thinking about how I could duplicate the look at home for myself because I liked it so much.

As I was gathering my possessions to leave I noticed a “Hyatt at Home” brochure. Hyatt sells everything I saw in their hotel! If I want to buy that uber comfy bed, I can! If I want to have that bedspread and those pillows, they’re mine. Isn’t that cool? Everything I experienced, down to the exclusive soap and shampoo, was available for sale.

To me, Hyatt has taken a huge leap forward to integrate marketing into their customer service experience this way. It’s clever and very calculated. Even if all you do is take that brochure, you relive their hotel experience. And, Hyatt doesn’t make beds and they probably don’t own a bath soap company. They simply negotiated a branding relationship with the vendors they already used to license and market what they were already doing. They looked at the total experience they were offering and figured out additional ways to monetize it for themselves – in a way that also benefits their customers.

Like I said – I adore great every day marketing examples. I think I will apply this one more fully to my own business today. How about you? Got any great marketing examples to share?