Marketing Transfomations Network Views

How Many Places Can Your Press Release Be #1 - at Once?

How's this for top-ranked? 

Take a look at these day of release results for our latest PR campaign:

Google News Rankings:

1/353 word of mouth buzz

2/900 viral marketing

1/1,660 affiliate marketing

1/5,410 word of mouth

8/10,700 make money online

1/12,600 list building

1/16,400 Internet marketing

1/100 Mark Joyner

1/62 Joe Vitale

Yahoo! News Rankings:

1 and 3/3,562 word of mouth

1 and 4/8,697  make money online

3/1,134 affiliate marketing

1 and 2/574 viral marketing

12/12,890 Internet marketing

MSN News

1 and 3/22,458 viral marketing - release is mentioned/linked

Turning 17 on the Trails

Turning 17 isn't quite as momentous as becoming 16, 18 or 19.  It’s an odd number with not much attached to it.

In the 70s Janice Ian sang, "I learned the truth at 17 that love is meant for beauty queens."

For Phoebe's it’s not the number, it's what the year brings: senioritis, college applications, an endless series of lasts - and firsts.

Apparently being a beauty queen isn't one of Phoebe's ambitions. She turned down offers to shop on Michigan Avenue, retreat to a spa or get a makeup makeover.

Nope, that's not at all what she wanted to do on her 17th birthday.

We talked through our options: the zoo, a ride to the top of Sears Tower, a one-day getaway, an afternoon at the Art Institute.

None of these plans suited her.

It was 9:16 a.m. on her birthday and she was overruling all of my “surprise” suggestions.

All she wanted to do was go horseback riding - with me and her brothers.

Finding a stable nearby is nearly impossible. I'd tried on birthdays before.

She would not listen to my nay saying.

Ever the resourceful Internet researcher, Phoebe found a stable’s web site in a few minutes that was only - get this - 98 miles away.

Well . . . it was her birthday and the only thing she wanted to do with her family was ride horses.
But first we had to find out if we could make a reservation. We could . . . on the condition we could race from our house to the barn by noon.

Before we could leave, we had to convince the brothers this would be fun. “It will be just like Lord of the Rings!” Peter said to Warren.

That was enough of an incentive to get them to drop the PS2 controllers, grab a few DVDs for the ride and go for it.

Think really fast forward - in less than 5 minutes everyone was dressed and in the car.
On the drive over, dark clouds made us wonder if we should turn around, but we pushed on. The rain came when we exited the highway. Both boys voted to go home, while Phoebe insisted the sun would shine again within minutes.

We had nothing to lose - except our $100 deposit, so I sided with Phoebe and drove to Starved Rock Stables  reasoning that the rain would cool us off on the trails.

The closer we got to the stables, the lighter the sky became. By the time we got to the driveway, the sun was the same as Phoebe’s horse’s name, Sunny.

Although the boys complained their first trail ride plodded along too slowly, [“This is NOTHING like Lord of the Rings!!!!!] I found the gentle easy ride through the pastures enchanting. A hawk, butterflies and dragonflies added to the scenery.

Because Starved Rock State Park is only a mile or so down the road, I talked the kids into going there for a closer look at the canyons.

And, Phoebe learned this truth at 17: Mother Nature is THE beauty queen.

Back to School PR Sale Ends 8.23.05

Back to School PR Promotion: $197

Claim your spot now at: http://tinyurl.com/h9d5n

Because I believe PR is THE most
economical and efficient route to recognition,
I'm offering a 30 minute one-on-one
consultation to the first six people who
take me up on this offer by August 23, the
first day of school in Glen Ellyn.

Here's what you get:
- comments on a release you've written
- ideas for a release if you haven't started writing yet
- guidelines on keyword selection to get top placements
- a live www.prweb.com walk through
- 30 minutes to mine my creative cranium
- 2 months of video email and live IM service

Special bonus to the first 3 takers: an mp3
download of a teleseminar that tells you how
to transform your business into a client magnet.

A Shocking Story Heard on a Rooftop . . . + BTS PR

This article originally appeared in our ezine, MTN News. Subscribe at www.transformmarketing.com and claim your free bonuses.

A Shocking Story Heard on a Rooftop . . . + BTS PR

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Marketing Transformations Network News
~ Engaging PR and Marketing Tips to ~
~ ~ ~ Create Business for Your Business~ ~ ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 11, 2006

Here's a story I just had to
tell you. I hope you haven't
heard it before.

A Shocking Story
Heard on a Rooftop . . .

It was a beautifully breezy evening
with a view that one could only
command from a rooftop in Chicago.

The sun draped the skyline with
the late summer sun's rosy setting tones.

Speakers entertained with emotional
toasts at a wedding shower party
on the lower deck.

Greek food arrived in colorful
waves of platters and baskets.

Writers buzzed about creative projects.

There I was, dining on the rooftop at
Pegasus with a group of writing colleagues.

Usually these dinners focus on what's
new and interesting in the writing world.

But tonight was different.

It was confession time.

My colleagues said their clients
were stuck standing still staring
at a huge, scary hedge.

One called 'Internet Marketing.'

To get help over the hedge, their
clients hired specialists who promised
a ticket to the new world of riches
awaiting on the other side.

We were all shocked at what
happened next.

One client invested $5,000 to
get a slight uptick in ad revenue.

Another paid $1,000 for search
engine optimization that got
18 hits although 10,000 were
promised.

A propect was seriously considering
taking a $24,000 SEO plunge - to profits?

Let me tell you it doesn't take
$50,000 to get attention and sales.

It doesn't take a fancy Flash page to
attract traffic. [Tip: it turns potential
list subscribers -and Google - off.]

You don't need to pay a company
$15,000 to set up an online shopping
cart that takes credit cards.

Do you really need a $12,000 email
database manager?

Not if you know how to select the
right package.

In fact, Internet marketing can
cost less than $100 per month.

That's it.

Watch for more information
about how to set up a marketing
budgeting system in the next issue.

Hearing about the tens of thousands
of dollars draining out of my colleague's
client's marketing budgets motivated me
to offer you something special. 

So ......... here's the deal:

Back to School PR Promotion: $197

Because I believe PR is THE most
economical and efficient route to recognition,
I'm offering a 30 minute one-on-one
consultation to the first six people who
take me up on this offer by August 23, the
first day of school in Glen Ellyn.

Here's what you get:
- comments on a release you've written
- ideas for a release if you haven't started writing yet
- guidelines on keyword selection to get top placements
- a live www.prweb.com walk through
- 30 minutes to mine my creative cranium
- 2 months of video email and live IM service

Special bonus to the first 3 takers: an mp3
download of a teleseminar that tells you how
to transform your business into a client magnet.

Claim your spot now at: http://tinyurl.com/h9d5n

Talk soon~
Barbara

P.S. Congratulations and welcome to
Cynthia Hernandez-Kolski,
our newest VMdirect affiliate!
Find out how you can add video
to your marketing mix and your
affiliate revenue income stream at
http://www.helloworld.com/corywest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Email comments, suggestions or ideas:
[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a

What I Downloaded Today

Studying Internet marketing is addictive, distracting and time-consuming.

Maybe that's why I love it so much.

What did I download today?

The better question is "WHY did I download what I did today?"

What did I want/need/expect/receive/_________?

Listening to experts talk is like taking a vitamin or doing a mental marketing workout.

If you're an idea generator, this is superfuel food for your thought.

Is that good?

Well, yes and no.

There's a ton of free information out there. Even though the cost of acquisition is nada, your time is worth considering.

Think about how much time you can afford to invest every week in learning more stuff. Continuing education is important and is a must build-in to your schedule.

To make the most of your time investment, inventory your skills and decide what you need to know more about.

Need to know more about copy writing, affiliate marketing, list building or viral marketing?

Check out the free calls at www.thesuccessintensives.com.

The online calendars at www.internetmarketersnetwork.com and www.imnewswatch.com both report on what's coming up in terms of teleseminars, products and special offers.

At www.gurudaq.com, you can track the stock of who's making what and find out what's selling.

Although you don't often have the chance to preview information products before you buy them, you can ask questions about user experiences in forums.

Finding a friend who's bought gobs of gurudom stock is one way to get a first-hand perspective.

Another is to follow your gut and stick with one expert you feel connected to - like me. :))))

Then, it's a matter of using what you get.

Recently, I talked with another info junkie who's figured out a way to merge his studies into his personal life. He listens to information product mp3s on his iPod and records his ideas on the digital recorder he keeps in his pocket. Transcribing and prioritizing ideas into action plans is his way of making all this work.

I have to admit I admire the guy. And, I'll confess my family is used to me walking around with a headset listening to teleseminars at night.

I've even been know to listen to one call on a headset while another broadcasts from a speaker phone on our home line.

Hearing my kids comment on the teleseminar content is amusing and insightful. If a presenter can break down their ideas so that an 11 year old gets it - and wants to try it - it works for me.

Most of the time, I glean a few brilliant insights that in total add up to a greater awareness that keeps me current and edgy.

The push, push, push to make millions isn't what I'm after.

I'm after gathering and infusing knowledge.

If I make millions, that's okay. But sometimes the process is as much fun as the payoff.

55 Drumrolls Please . . .

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune, Glen Ellyn Sun and Daily Herald for their coverage of this event sponsored by First Church of Glen Ellyn, a United Methodist Congregation.

Last Sunday, the street in front of 424 Forest Avenue in downtown Glen Ellyn was barricaded. In Glen Ellyn, there are only two ways to do that: throw a block party or dig up a street.

In this case, it was neither. Now while getting a village to agree to close off a block for an hour or two might seem like NBD, it is here – especially on a Sunday.

For approximately 32 minutes, a group of youngsters from the wrong side of town made quite a ruckus right outside of a sanctuary.

And, we proudly let them.

After all, many of the Claremont Academy students had never ever been outside of their own noisy neighborhood, called Engelwood - one of the most dangerous places to grow up in Chicago.

Families filled the parkways, surrounding Claremont Academy’s drum line with expectant spectators. Fifty-five students in grades 3-8 make up the school's drum line.

As the school group set up their formation, I must admit I wasn't expecting too much. With at least three professional drummers in the family and mega hours of marching myself, I know a good snare line when I hear one.

What I heard surprised me - the repertoire went on for seven songs with flags and dancers adding visual accents fitting every piece. Clearly, these kids have talent. Their part-time director is their visionary.

I couldn't resist talking to the kids after their performance. Here's what I found out: they practice 3 hours every day, they absolutely love what they do. Yes, they are bursting with pride. What they didn’t tell me [but I already knew] is that their school needs new uniforms and gently used instruments to continue their program.

Contact me at [email protected] if you’d like to contribute cash, an instrument or school supplies.

Phoebe Defends the Donald

After deciding a few days ago she would like to major in communications, our high school senior Phoebe was thrilled to see her work in the Chicago Tribune. She wrote:

Dear Amy:

I read your column every day and I was shocked to see your opinions on Donald Trump. He and Melania are very happy together, and if they want to be married, then shame on you for criticizing them.

I very much look up to Mr. Trump and everything he has accomplished. And maybe you haven't noticed, but Melania isn't exactly a "patient, leggy blond" as you called her. Putting any famous person down in a newspaper is really a bad idea; people are bound to disagree with you.

This time, you went too far.

- An aspiring blond

Amy answered:

Dear Aspiring: You are correct. Melania Trump is not a patient, leggy blond. She is a patient, leggy brunet. I stand corrected. I was somewhat blinded by Mr. Trump's previous platinum-wife choices.

I don't have anything against Donald Trump, mind you. What started as a throwaway comment in my column has gained some steam and turned into a celebrity thrashing, which is the only kind of thrashing that is any fun at all.

Success Intensive PR Hits Top Spots

The third Success Intensives release broke out at the top:

3/10,700 Google News Make Money Online

1 and 2/8,163 Yahoo! News Make Money Online

6/828 Google News Viral Marketing

1/12,900 Google News List Building

Enroll

What do You Recommend?

This article originally appeared in the August 4th issue of our ezine, MTN News. Subscribe at www.transformmarketing.com and claim your free bonuses.

Engaging PR and
Marketing Tips to
Create Business
for Your Business

Before we dive into this week's
issue, I have some big news.

The Marketing Transformations
Network blog is up and running at
www.mtnlive.com. 

You'll find it's loaded with every
MTN News issue, video clips,
photo albums and insights
all packaged up and ready
to click on for your perusing
pleasure.

So, you have two choices:
read this issue right now or
check out www.mtnlive.com
and find out who I had
coffee with last Saturday.

What do I recommend?

I recommend you read this issue right away.

What do you recommend?

Over the course of any week,
you're probably asked at least
a few times for a recommendation
for something.

Could be for an accountant, a printer,
phone service, a vendor, a contractor
or a restaurant.

When your clients know you, like you
and trust you, they'll seek out and
follow your recommendations.

As their trusted advisor, they
count on you as a time and money
saving resource with good connections.

In fact, offering a list of recommended
resources is often the valued-added
edge that differentiates you from
your competition.

Do you have a list of recommended 
resources to connect your
clients with the help they need
when they need it?

Why not add recommendations to 
resources that pay you every time
someone clicks on the link you give them? 

There's a whole industry dedicated to
helping you make connections like these.

It's called affiliate marketing and it's
rapidly evolving into big business.

Read the latest affiliate marketing
industry news at www.revenews.com.

For affiliate marketers, positioning
yourself as a resource for recommendations
(not just another pesky salesperson)
is a critical concept to grasp at the outset.

Becoming a trusted resource for your
audience/list means that you’re perceived
as the short cut express lane to
their ultimate solution.

That’s why you want to ask your
customer list what they want and
then deliver it to them right away.

They’re happy because you
saved them time.

You’re happy because you
made money.

Everybody wins.

Sounds simple, but is it?

Glad you asked!

Here's all you need to get
started adding affiliate income
to your revenue stream:
www.theaffiliatemarketingintensive.com.

Six top affiliate marketers
tip you off on what it takes to
open up additional income streams.

The ecourse registration costs you
nothing to get in – check it out at
www.theaffiliatemarketingintensive.com.

By the way, the press release
I wrote about this ecourse wound up at:

#2/28,880 Google News How to Make Money from Home 
#3/13,360 Google News Internet Marketing
#2/1,360 Google News Affiliate Marketing
Listed in Online Case Studies on Blogger Search
#5/11,367 Yahoo! News Internet Marketing

How did we get so high?

Perhaps the headline floated our story
towards the top . . . 
Affiliate Marketing Intensive Enrolls 5,592 --
Reveals How to Make Money Online 

Do you suppose the keyword
seasonings and our secret sauce
spiced up the entrée's ratings?

Whatever it was, we made the
search engine rankings rock.

Now, go check out
www.mtnlive.com and
then recommend something
to someone - like reading our
blog!

To your off and online success~

Barbara

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Please forward to your friends in these
Target Audiences
Entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses
and experts of all kinds
Publisher
Barbara Rozgonyi, writer, speaker, consultant, infopreneur
Subscribe
www.transformmarketing.com and claim your gifts
Our Business
CoryWest Media ~ Accelerated marketing strategies,
impactful PR campaigns and continuing marketing
and communications education in virtual
and live learning environments
Email comments, suggestions or ideas:
[email protected]
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
A word from our publishing editor, Barbara Rozgonyi
Thanks for subscribing to
Marketing Transformations Network News.
Please feel free to forward this ezine to
anyone you know who wants to grow
their business or organization quickly

X Games 12 Our Takes

This may be the only weekend of the year when my husband asks me to stop yelling at the TV. Of course, it's okay for him to noisily cheer on soccer players, the Minnesota Vikings, Formula One racers, etc. with hoots that are more appropriate for an open air stadium than our family room. But we won't talk about that now, will we?

For most of the weekend the boys, P.d. and Warren,  glued themselves to the biggest open screen in the house to kick back and comment on events like Moto X.  Yes, it was me making all the noise. Why?

Let's go back to my first live extreme sporting event in a barn called WARP in Woodstock on July 3, 2002. Tony Hawk's Gigantic Skateboard Tour rolled in with a star assortment of skaters and bikers. It was no surprise that the place was packed, but what shocked me was how hot it was inside. With no ventilation and all that body heat, people around me were literally dripping with sweat. I stuck it out for a few hours and then had to go chill with an Icee at the local Kmart. P.d. stayed behind to watch. I was nervous about leaving him, but it was either faint or take him home. When we got back, he had some excellent footage and a tour t-shirt that only went out to kids with video cameras.

Up until that point, I took P.d's love of skateboarding as something for him, not for me. What impressed me (and converted me to an avid skateboarding fan) was the tenacity and courage these athletes showed. Apparently fearless and made of something much less fragile than most humans, these guys kept trying tricks over and over and over again. Now, watching a guy try to ride a skateboard and land on a ramp a dozen times could get boring. With the crowd cheering louder and louder with every retake, eventually the skater got the trick. I got to see all the pros live and up close. Being in a crowd of kids watching risky and artistic action was a rush.

That's how it is for my son. He has a list of tricks in mind he's working on. Try and try and try again is what it's all about.

What do P.d. and Warren have to say about X Games 12? Warren remembers his first remote control Travis Pastrana motorcylce. "I can't keep up with Travis!" was his lament as he chased the speedy toy. If you watched Friday night, you know Travis did a double back flip - a history-making feat that had us all up and off the couch as the announcer instructed.

P.d. will remember Remi's story. Remi came into LA from France two days before without a bike. One of the riders loaned Remi his back up bike. He wiped out after attempting a trick that only the top guys would try. Travis yelled, "You're my hero!" as Remi rode out on a gurney.

Other X Games comments: "I can't wait to shave. It looks like the razors are really good now." - after watching commercial after commercial about razors.