I score again at Bellevue Fashion Week September 24, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal , add a commentApparently Alexandra is my lucky charm because on Saturday I won three raffles at the finale event of Bellevue Fashion week. Add three pieces of women’s jewelry (a red lizardskin bracelet, a green lizardskin bracelet, and a pink beaded necklace) to the list of loot we’ve won together.
We got to the show about thirty minutes before it started (morning was spent in preparation for my modeling debut - more on that tomorrow - and the afternoon was spent at another free concert) only to discover that tickets were sold out! And people were getting turned away at the door.
So talking our way in wasn’t easy. We did it, but I’m not proud of it. I’ll be spending this next week paying back the good karma fund to balance things back out.
Alexandra and I did buy two raffle tickets each once inside, just to try to give a little back. I got three more tickets later because a couple I had randomly chatted with in the elevator had to leave early and gave us theirs on their way out.
Out of a raffle with about ten prizes, two of those three free tickets won. As well as one of the two tickets I bought.
Grand total: one very cool fashion show and three pieces of expensive but less-than-attractive women’s jewelry. Not a bad night.l
Your thoughts?Now get ad-free content: my RSS feed has been repaired September 24, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal , add a commentI just noticed that my RSS feed has been buggy for a while. It’s up and running again, so if you’re tired of looking at all the Google ads, you can get all the ad-free content you want right here.
Your thoughts?Positively delightful September 21, 2007
Posted by Niels in : How to, Life, the universe, and everything, Other , 1 comment so farOne of the most powerful tips for self-improvement is also one of the simplest. Be positive. Learn to relate to the world in a positive light. “This heatwave is great! It’s given me a whole new appreciation for ice cream!”
It’s so easy to fall back on negativity to drive a conversation. Everyone can relate to being frustrated, or sleep-deprived, or depressed. But these topics are a conversational crutch.
Stay positive. Be the optimist who pulls any group up and people will fight for your company.
Your thoughts?Recommended copywriting books September 20, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Life, the universe, and everything, Personal, Work , 5 commentsI became interested in copywriting only about three months ago. I’d spent the past year traveling around the world teaching people to improve their relationships, but there was still something missing in my life.
The drive to learn and grow has been a constant force in my life, both on the personal side and in my work. Even though I struggled with depression in graduate school, I did get a lot of satisfaction from constantly pushing my the boundaries of scientific knowledge, as well as my own intellectual boundaries.
The whole point of doing research is that the answers are always new. I knew that at the end of every day at work, I would know something that I didn’t know that morning.
I love helping people improve their social lives, but after a year and a half of teaching, the problems I saw every workshop were the same. All the students struggle with the same issues, which is great, because I’ve seen the problems before and I know how to fix them, but at the same time - I get bored.
When I’m not challenged at work, I look for new outlets.
The other instructors and I had thought that one outlet could be the creation of new workshops. So we came up with the Advanced Art of Attraction workshop, which was incredible. I’ve never had a group of students get so much out of the workshop.
Unfortunately, my boss’s viewpoint is that additional workshops do not add any value to the company. Creating content, whether in the form of a product or a workshop, is easy. Each customer has a certain amount they’ll be willing to spend on our products, so if they don’t spend it on our latest kickass workshop, they’ll spend it on a new kickass product once we eventually come out with it.
The end result being that additional products or workshops aren’t really worth anything to the company. Lance turns down opportunities to market other people’s products all the time. What is worth money to the company is getting new customers. And for that Lance needs people who can write sales copy.
So it seemed like a good time to start learning copywriting.
I’m beginning to get the hang of it. I’ve got a long way to go before I’m as good as I’d like to be, but apparently I’m good enough to sell my trash on eBay. Which means I’m good enough to write a sales page for my own products, whatever they end up being.
At this point, I’ve given up on any monetary rewards from Pickup 101, so I’m focusing more on gaining skills that will help me in my own business. And from selling my desk and bed on Craigslist, to getting rid of my old junk on eBay, to using Google AdWords, copywriting has been fantastic.
First of all, anything by Dan Kennedy
Lance pointed me to Tested Advertising Methods
But my favorite book so far was also recommended by Lance. Cash Copy: How to Offer Your Products and Services So Your Prospects Buy Them
Daily trends for you to monetize September 20, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Links , add a commentWant to start a business but can’t come up with an idea? A friend just pointed me to Springwise, which updates daily with new entrepreneurial ideas. I’m particularly enjoying the marketing and advertising section. From advertising in bar handstamps to runners’ pace tattoos, there are some really clever ideas.
So many people take a look at an idea and think, “That’s amazing! But I could never do it.” You can. For example, Craig came up with the idea for a website full of entrepreneurial ideas years ago…
Your thoughts?