About 2 weeks ago, we mailed a letter to all Telesummit alumni. We decided to try out the mail thing because some attendees complained about not receiving our emails.

So, to quell the worry and to answer your questions, we thought that having a few pages authored by me, Leesa Barnes, would be a great way to inform you of what’s going on.

And man, was it ever a good choice. One attendee had this to say to me over Twitter:

BTW, got your postal letter today. Love direct mail but so few do it. Thanks for kickin’ it old school…and a sticker, too!

Aw, shucks! Who knew that such a old piece of marketing could add such an emotional and personal touch?

I found out about Leesa’s Social Media Summit just the other day, and I immediately signed up but many days late. I’m probably going to up many nights, catching up on all this - and I’m really psyched!I’m about to start my podcast interviews of “Contemporary Amazons” on March 7th when I interview Jessica Valenti, author of Full Frontal Feminism - A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters and blogger extraordinaire of Feministing.com.

Podcasting occurred to me and seemed like a great way to create more buzz and excitement about my work training women into power and success. So, thinking of doing a podcast series - but I don’t know that much about HOW to do it - makes this summit a perfect fit for me.

Imagine my delight in the (magical) sequence of events that led me to Leesa’s work.

For now, I merely wanted to share my website and blog sites (check them both out, and feedback is welcomed), let you all know that I’ve joined the tribe, and tell you that I’m a hungry student whose willing to admit that “ignorance is not bliss”.

Looking forward to “meeting” you!

Kyle King - “The Amazon Queen”

Here’s my summary of the Telesummit so far.

1. I opened the Telesummit by encouraging attendees to use my 10 point system to define their business goals. Using this template, attendees are better prepared to properly assess which social media tool they should use for their business.
2. Ron Rosenberg, Christina Hills, Jason Van Orden, Penny Haynes and Krishna De joined me on a panel to talk about the future of social media for businesses. In this lively, 1 hour discussion, we debated on what will help businesses
   thrive - and survive - in the social media landscape.
3. Travis Greenlee led a session on how to use video to fill your list with quality leads. His session was only supposed to be 50 minutes, however, Travis kept attendees riveted for an hour and 20 minutes. He shared many tips, including which camera, software and distribution service to use to share your video content online.
4. In his presentation on Day 2, Jason Van Orden gave a very specific strategy on how to earn 5 figures in just one quarter. Many attendees were surprised that he generated this amount of money so quickly and he taught attendees how they can replicate his success.
5. MaryPat Kavanagh and Michele PW both shared in their session that it’s easier to use social media to connect with experts because there are no gatekeepers. They shared a key strategy on how to approach a high profile expert
   for your next joint venture project.
6. Denise Wakeman, one half of The Blog Squad, flew solo as Patsi Krakoff was ill. Denise said that 90% of business blogs are abandoned in the first 90 days. She gave some winning tips on how to avoid this fate with your own blog.
7. Kate Trgovac presented business building tips if you want to use Second Life to generate leads. She told attendees about an amazing case study of a small business owner who uses Second Life to lead people to her clothing store in real life.

Registration is still open for the Social Media Telesummit and you can still get caught up through the recordings. That way
you can review whatever you missed.

But, you have to take action before 11:59pm EST on February 22nd. After Feb 22nd, you can still register for the Social Media Telesummit, but be prepared to pay more (only option will be $597) for alot less (the bonuses disappear, including Dan Barefoot and Julie Szabo’s ebook, Social Media Marketing Playbook).

Click here to register your spot.

If you’re still on the fence regarding the Social Media Telesummit, I’m holding a one hour special teleseminar from 9am EST to 10am EST where you can ask me anything about the Social Media Telesummit.

Now, this isn’t a session to ask about which blog platform you should use for your shoe buying business. Nor should you use this session to ask me which audio gear you should buy to record your interviews.

Instead, use this time to ask me any question that is still unanswered about the Social Media Telesummit. We’ll do this via a webcast and you can start submitting your questions in the box below. Then, come back at 9am EST (New York time) and I’ll start plugging through the questions.

I know that this session will remove all doubts you may be having about attending the Social Media Telesummit. See you at 9am EST on February 20th.

Replay of the Question & Answer Session:

In Preview Call #4, Darren Barefoot, Paul Colligan, Krishna De, Karin Hoegh and Sherman Hu join Leesa Barnes to share with her their social media successes. Here’s what these 5 Telesummit speakers shared on this call:

• How Sherman Hu uses social media to fit work into his family life (and not the other way around)
• Where Darren Barefoot lives today as a result of social media (he’s working on his tan)
• What Paul Colligan uses to dominate the search results on page 1 in Google for specific keywords (a very simple strategy)
• How Krishna De uses social media to help her appear on page 1 in Google next to a Hindu deity
• How children are benefiting from the social media tool that Karin Hoegh built

Important Update

Be one of the next 15 people to register for the Social Media Telesummit and receive Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo’s ebook called “Getting to First Base: A Social Media Marketing Playbook.” Click here to register for the Social Media Telesummit today.

Social networking. Social marketing. Web 2.0.

You may have heard these terms bandied about and wondered what exactly they are and (more importantly) what they mean for your business.

So let’s dig right in and get some answers. First, some definitions.

Social networking is actually a pretty broad term. It basically means any time of relationship-building amongst a group of people with a common interest (business or personal). However, that term has taken on a whole new dimension online, where social networking sites (MySpace, Linked In, Facebook) are popping up faster than you can say “Will you be my friend?”

These Web sites are designed around helping people network and build relationships via online, instead of the more traditional face-to-face networking meetings.

Which leads us to Web 2.0. No, it’s not a technical upgrade of the Web (I can hear all the sighs of relief as people everywhere realize they don’t need to be downloading or learning new software). Rather, it’s a new way to use the technical aspects of the Web to build better relationships with people. So it includes blogging, podcasts, social networking sites, video, webinars, etc.

Actually, what it really is is a shift in mindset. Rather than using these tools because they’re cool new tech gadgets, we’re using them to bring a more human element to the Web.

Now social marketing is used interchangeably as social networking, but that’s actually a misnomer (according to Wikopedia). Social marketing is an old term, which refers to marketing for the good of society or for social causes and has nothing to do with any of this.

So, back to social networking. This is wonderful news for business owners out there because it fits right in with how customers buy. Namely, people buy from people they know, like and trust. So building relationships using Web 2.0 techniques is a fabulous marketing strategy.

And many Web 2.0 techniques are either free or very low cost. All the social networking sites have free accounts (some have paid upgrades, but it’s still low). Podcasting can be free (or you can pay a very low fee to do the recording via the phone). Blogging can be free.

You get the picture.

Now there is a downside. The downside is it does take time. So if you’re already feeling overwhelmed and frazzled, yes this could feel like another huge to-do on your list.

Which is why I’m going to tell you right now not to go there. There is help. Virtual assistants (also known as VAs) can assist you with these social networking tasks. Also, some marketing professionals offer social networking packages to do it all for you, so you don’t have to manage it or even learn much about it.

In other words, you don’t have to go at it alone!

What is the Social Media Telesummit? Listen to this 1 minute audio message to find out.

Click here to register your spot for the Social Media Telesummit.

Attendees and speakers, please login to get learn how you can get the Social Media Telesummit recordings.

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