Please help me choose a logo for Digital Media Now @DigitalMediaNow

Hey everyone! My seminars and webinars have really been taking off! I hosted Digital Media Now- Personal Branding on Social Media earlier this month and I plan to host more events, in addition to webinars very soon. With my seminars and webinars in full swing it’s time for me to have an official logo but I need your help choosing one. My good friend and savvy Designer Chris Kirkman provided me with these design concepts.

Please share with me your thoughts, favorite logo, ideas etc! You can comment on this blog post, tweet @MyMelodie or let me know on Facebook what you think! There are 2 different things I’m deciding on. First is the color scheme. Do you like Color Scheme 1: Blue and Orange or Color Scheme 2: Dark Blue and Red? Next I need to decide on the actual logo. Option A, B or C? Or perhaps you have some insight on tweeking the logos in general? I always sincerely appreciate help and feedback from my community so thanks in advanced for letting me know what you think!

Networking Tips I Learned from Meeting @KeithFerrazzi in San Diego

I had the honor of meeting my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi in San Diego this week at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD where he interviewed the renowned Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Co-founder of Qualcomm.  As I mentioned in my post welcoming Keith Ferrazzi to San Diego, there’s not a single time I recommend a business book that I don’t mention his best seller, Never Eat Alone! I’ve learned so many great tips for networking, connecting and building professional relationships through Keith’s books, blogs and videos. Meeting him in person really reinforced many of these tips  Here’s a glimpse of my amazing evening spent networking with entrepreneurs and meeting Keith Ferrazzi. I’ll end the post with valuable networking tips you can apply to the very next event you attend!

The evening started off with a networking dinner so of course, I had an opportunity to meet some great community leaders, UCSD students and affiliates. The photo below is a prime example of never eating alone!

I followed one of Keith’s golden rules for meeting the speaker at the event. Get to the speaker, before he goes on stage! I saw Keith Ferrazzi walk by and immediately went up and introduced myself to him. He’s extremely personable, enthusiastic and positive. I manifested this exact moment into my life because in 2009 when Who’s Got Your Back came out, I told Keith Ferrazzi that I would get his second book when I met him so he could autograph it and that’s exactly what happened!

 After enjoying a great dinner, Dr. Irwin Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi took the stage. Keith Ferrazzi’s job was to be curious and ask Dr. Jacob’s questions related to the topic of “Why great relationships matter in business?” Keith did a great job at asking questions that prompted Dr. Jacobs to share his inspirational story. As both a Marketer and an Entrepreneur, I really resonated with both Dr. Jacobs and Keith Ferrazzi. I definitely learned a lot about having a vision and following it, being a great leader and of course networking! Below are some networking tips I’ve learned from Keith Ferrazzi, some of them definitely came into play during this particular event!

1. Reach out before the event- If you’re attending an event and want to meet someone specific, reach out to them before the event. I’ve already discussed how to work a conference before it begins. This tip is very similar. Social Media is a great resource that allows you to connect. Before attending the event, I tweeted Keith a bunch of times and of course wrote my post to welcome Keith to San Diego. Reaching out can also be done by a simple email. You can let someone know that you enjoyed an article they wrote, congratulate them on a recent accomplishment or connect with them on a more personal level if you know a hobby they enjoy. (In the tweets below I engaged several people in conversation about Keith Ferrazzi and I even received a reply from him acknowledging that he would see me tomorrow!)

2. Arrive Early- If you want to meet the Speakers, they’ll definitely be at the event at least 30 minutes before hand. Chances are the speaker won’t be bombarded by everyone else so you may have an opportunity to introduce yourself before anyone else. If you wait until after the event to try and connect with a speaker, chances are they’re going to be busy talking to everyone else and also thinking about going home so it’s harder to make a personal connection. I actually arrived at UCSD 30 minutes early so was one of the first one who was let into the room.

3. Talk To the Organizer- Arriving early also gives you a chance to find and introduce yourself to the organizer and let him/her know who you may be looking to connect with. Ask the organizer if there’s anyone they feel would be a great connection for your industry. The organizer knows everything that’s happening behind the scenes and everyone who’s going to be at the event. See if they can introduce you to some other attendees or even the speaker. When approaching the organizer, make sure to be mindful of their time since they’re probably still planning last minute updates and make sure to thank them for hosting you.

4. Ask Questions- After many presentations and panels there is often a chance for audience Q & A. This is your golden opportunity to get in front of the room and let others know what you do. Before asking your questions, clearly state your name with a brief intro. Since you have everyone’s attention, there very well may be others in the room who are seeking your service, product or who many want to collaborate with you. Asking questions not only gives you mic time, it also allows you to interact and stand out to the speakers and attendees.

5. Give Books as Gifts- Since the holidays are approaching so quickly, tis the season to start thinking of gifts for your prospects, clients and colleagues. Books are full of information and are personal because you’re recommending something that has helped you. Autographed books are even better! Keith reminded me of how great of gifts books can be as he was signing mine. He asked if there was anyone I’d like to give “Who’s Got Your Back” to so he could sign the book to that person. I didn’t have anyone in mind, so I just told him to sign his name in case I did want to give the book away as a gift. Well Keith came up with an even better idea by writing “Melodie’s Got Your Back”. This way I’m able to keep the book myself or also give it away as a gift.

Again, it was such an honor to meet my favorite author, hear Dr. Jacobs speak and connect with other Entrepreneurs. I’m grateful that attending the event inspired me to refresh my own networking skills, allowing me to share tips with you. If you have additional networking tips, please leave them in the comments below! I’m personally hosting a networking event and seminar coming up on Wed. November 2nd! If you’d like to attend my next seminar where you’ll definitely have a chance to apply these networking tips, you can register here. If it’s your first time attending one of my seminars, please email me: melodie at marketing melodie dot com and I’ll send you a code fore $10 off. Happy Networking and if you don’t already have Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your back, check them out at your local library or purchase them! You won’t be disappointed.

10 Things I do to Work a Conference Before it Begins

My company has been sending me to many conferences lately and I definitely can’t complain.  However it’s important to keep in mind that “working” a conference is different than just “attending”. I’ve already blogged about things to do DURING a conference to engage your Twitter followers. I’ve also blogged about post conference strategies AFTER you attend on how to turn a follow up email into a connection. But what about BEFORE the conference begins? As I prepare for PubCon I want to share  my top 10 personal conference preparation list . Read more

Melodie’s Trip to ERA’s D2C Convention in Las Vegas

I had the honor of attending Electronic Retail Association’s Annual D2C Convention September 13^th and 14^th in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel. In addition to attending I was an official Vlogger for the event.  (Vlogs will be posted soon) Arriving Sunday morning, I dropped my stuff off at the Bellagio where I stayed then headed to the convention which started off with great connections at their networking lunch. I’m amazed at how much  I accomplished  during my short stay of less than 48 hours .

Read more

3K Interactive brings Internet Marketing to Las Vegas!

Earlier this week, the 3K Interactive team packed our bags for Vegas to show the DMA08 what Internet Marketing is all about.

I spoke to over 100 companies. Only about 5 were online/interactive companies. I know it was the “Direct Marketing” conference but I’m still perplexed by the number of traditional marketing companies present: specialty envelops, address list brokers, postcards, telemarketing companies etc. (especially since the event itself was marketed as a global event for “Integrated” marketing)

To all of the traditional marketing companies, I’d like to educate you on why you too should have an SEO campaign with 3K Interactive. If you are 1 of 50 companies who sells specialty envelops for direct mail advertisers, how are you going to stand out from all the others?

I actually asked this question to many people. Most responded with something along the lines “We’re the only company who uses soy based ink”, “We are the only eco-friendly company”, “We sell clear envelops that don’t look like junk mail.” It’s great to have a unique selling point but this does not mean potential customers will find you.

If I told you I have a way to get people who are ready to buy your service go to your website and place an order with you right away, wouldn’t you listen? Better yet I can even track it for you so you know where your customer are coming from! Sound too good to be true? Not even! This is reality with the career that I have become so passionate about, Internet Marketing!

San Diego Speed Networking, The Show Must Go On!

I founded San Diego Speed Networking Dennis-Michael Broussard of Silk Road Productions over a year ago to create a professional networking event that overcame these obstacles:

a) Networking at loud bar with music where people are yelling over each other because they can’t hear
b) People aimlessly wandering around in an attempt to meet everyone with no formal introductions
c) The awkwardness of interrupting a conversation or leaving a conversation

Here’s how it works.
-Each company attends with TWO representatives If you only have one person at your company then attend with a friend/ referral partner/ someone you collaborate with.

-Each company receives a table top to set up marketing materials, promo items, visuals, etc. Rep 1 from the company remains at the table while Rep 2 from the company is assigned to move around to each table

-When the Speed Networking sessions begin Rep 2 moves to the table next to table and 3 minutes are alloted for each session. When time is up Rep 2 continues to move to the next table until every company has had a chance to meet every other company.

Each person will connect with everyone in the room. The speed networking session is long enough to establish a connection and short enough to move on if no connection is made. At the end there is a mixer. That’s the event in nutshell.

I’m having many challenges with my marketing campaign for the event. It’s extremely frustrating. As a Marketer I know exactly what needs to be done but don’t have the means to do it.

I don’t have access to my domain name so I can’t redirect the website currently hosted under the Silk Road Productions Website. The domain was purchased by former partner who has the password and has not disclosed it. I tried calling GoDaddy they were no help. Any SEO work I attempt will not be credited to: www.sandiegospeednetworking.com since it’s not hosted as its own entity.

I’ve also been unsuccessful in hosting a wordpress blog within the site. I’d like it embedded into my site as a page but it only links to the blog on the wordpress site. Dennis-Michael has done a great job with the site given that neither of us are developers or designers. I’ve become so discouraged with the marketing that I’m compelled to cancel the event, but we’ve already invested a lot and thus the show must go on!

If you read this entire Blog you get a $10 discount to the event. Regular price is $50 per company. My blog readers get in for $40. That’s $40 for two people. Includes hosted appetizers! Twitter followers @SDSpeedNet also get the discount! If you have any feedback for my website, marketing strategy or event in general please comment! I hope to see everyone there. Reserve your spot today space is limited!

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