One Dip at a Time
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Monday, 09 July 07 - 01:05 PM (GMT -08:00) By Damon Hedman in Web Publicity |
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I just finished reading Seth Godin's latest book, The Dip.
Everyone has experienced the dip. Whenever you start something there is the initial excitement about the project. Ideas are flowing. Business is growing. You're in the zone.
Then it starts getting tough. The work starts to become tedious. New ideas become scarce. Your business may have hit a plateau. You are in the dip.
The dip is important because it creates scarcity on the other side. Not everyone gets through the dip. Those that do have the potential of becoming "the best in the world" at whatever they are doing.
The book also gives advice about quitting. There are times to quit and winners quit all of the time. They strategically quit projects. They may not expect to get through the dip. The rewards might not be worth the efforts. The important thing is that they can focus on getting through the dip(s) that matter the most.
In one way it is about strategically taking advantage of some opportunities and passing on others. Right now I am facing two dips with two different opportunities.
I have a dream of participating in the transformation of education, especially math education, as we move into the world of web 2.0. I am in a perfect position to do so. I have a lot of freedom and support at the school where I work. I also have access to technology, video cameras and computers, to make my dream a reality.
I could postpone this dip. There are not a lot of math teachers blogging or doing other Web 2.0 activities. I could wait a year and still get through the dip to become the "best in the world."
I have also had the dream of helping small business's build their online presence using Squidoo and other free resources. I am in a perfect position to get through this dip. Having been a Citizen Squid I am well known is the Squidoo community. I would have a lot of support from several of the best lensmasters. Now is the best time to pursue this opportunity. Although people are blogging about Squidoo, writing eBooks, and building meta-Squid communities, there is not a lot of competition to offer coaching programs.
Now is the best time to get through this dip.
I could also postpone this Dip. In a year there might be more competition for a coaching program but the market would still be huge. I could still be the "best in the world" at least for my clients.
I am going to have to postpone one of these dips.
What are people thoughts? Before I announce my decision I would like some feedback. Which dip should I pursue? Which dip should I postpone?
The Chance of a Lifetime
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Tuesday, 19 June 07 - 10:26 AM (GMT -08:00) By Damon Hedman in Web Publicity |
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Throughout the show various acts perform before three judges (Sharon Osborne, David Hasselhoff, and Piers Morgan) These judges decide if the acts go on to the Las Vegas round, where I assume viewers will vote. The grand prize is $1 million.
It is definitely the chance of a lifetime, and not just for the group that wins the million dollars. Each group they show is in front of a national audience. Most could not buy this much exposure even with the million dollars. It could easily result in more opportunities.
But only if they can be found.
My experiment was to search on Google for various acts that aired last week. I searched for 17 different acts. I found video of some acts on youtube. I found bloggers that reviewed the show.
I only found 7 websites with contact information. That is less than half.
The smart ones are: Johnny Come Lately Manuel Romero Jason and Nolan Cocoa Brown Grannie Pearl Urban Action Figure Cinda Ramseur
The other acts don't seem to understand the importance of being available. They might win the million dollars. They probably won't. The most likely outcome is they will become more popular in their hometown among people they already know. They could have done that without traveling to the auditions and enduring the agony of Piers' critique.
Hindsight is 20/20
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Wednesday, 21 March 07 - 06:24 PM (GMT -08:00) By Damon Hedman in Web 2.0 |
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Looking back it seems obvious that this video would go viral. A lot of people are interested in the Presidential campaign. Few people have a neutral opinion about Hillary Clinton. And YouTube has now become the most popular Web 2.0 site.
I'm sure it was less obvious on March 5.
This video of John Edwards was uploaded on November 8 and has been seen by just over 171,000 people. Why didn't it spread? Is John Edwards less popular? Less controversial? Someone probably expected it to go viral.
We sometimes look at the rapid spread of an idea, or invention, and think: "That was obvious." or "Why didn't I think of that?"
It feels much different when you're brainstorming the best ways to market something. The questions you ask yourself are more like: "Is Squidoo the best place to build that network?" "Would myspace be better?" "Should we make a YouTube video?"
I have found myself in the latter position. At least 6 serious entrepreneurs have contacted me about my SquidOffer. They each have a great model for a business and seem to have the determination to make it work. They have also asked for my ideas on how Squidoo can help them.
I expected to find "easy" clients that would benefit from a one hour session showing them how to add Plexo modules and set up groups. Now I find myself researching everything from the travel industry to pharmaceuticals.
Because I want the hour on the phone to be as productive as possible.
Can I guarantee that anything will be viral? No, I can't. Will I give them my best thoughts on their SquidStrategy? Absolutely.
Initial SquidOffer Results
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Tuesday, 20 March 07 - 06:09 PM (GMT -08:00) By Damon Hedman in SquidOffers |
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The result is it has been the top Business offer most of yesterday and today. It also has a commanding lead. (Thank you to everyone who voted.) The problem is that I don't know if the traffic is because of my SquidU announcement or because it was posted on all of the maxed Business lenses. To see if I can tell I'm not going to promote it at all this week or next.
Now on to the stats: Monday I had 43 visitors. About 20 of them voted for the offer. The best news is that 3 people contacted me about my offer. That seems to be a good percentage. I should easily be able to find 20 people.
Now back to grading_
My Dream and My Plan
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Sunday, 18 March 07 - 11:02 AM (GMT -08:00) By Damon Hedman in The Squid School |
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My dream is to create a service that helps small businesses gain exposure and "presence" on the internet. Does this include marketing? Perhaps. Does it include search engine optimization? Maybe. What it will include is one-on-one consulting with clients about strategy, goals, and how to reach them. I ultimately want to teach clients enough to make my services unnecessary.
How do I get there? This summer I am starting The Squid School to teach people how to get the most out of Squidoo and other sites to improve their web presence. I am publicizing it by buying a SquidOffer. I am basically offering free one-on-one tutoring to twenty lucky people. I partly want to get feedback on my ideas. I also think it's a great way to get some publicity. After all, an internet publicist should be able to do that.
How do you qualify for the free tutoring? I will be choosing 20 lucky people from among those that leave comments on my blog. The people with the best questions and/or insightful comments are the most likely to be picked. I specialize in helping people who have an existing business, or clear idea of a business, but don't have a lot of computer skills. Visit The Squid School for more details.
So feel free to leave a comment to help me get to know you better: What is your business? In what ways do you want to move it online? Do you already have a website? What is your biggest question about creating one?
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