How To Win-Win-Win: A Social Media Manager's Manifesto For Tapping Into The World Of Influence by Chase Sherman

A Social Media Managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Manifesto

For Tapping Into The World Of Influence

Written by Chase Sherman

In This Book, You Will Learn... • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

My story and how I got to where I am today How to embody the ‘all-holy’ mindset of a successful Social Media Manager Why now is the best time to call yourself a Social Media Manager Social Media etiquette and the rules of engagement An effective way to tell if your idea is valuable enough for the market A step-by-step process for developing your own market research strategy The power of a ‘Win-Win-Win Proposition’ and what it can do for your social media marketing campaign How to launch a full-fledged social media marketing campaign and the tips and strategies that go into making them run smoothly and save you time How to press the right ‘emotional buttons’ when talking to Leverage Points The faults to avoid when building up your social capital How to construct irresistible messages that make it hard for your recipient to withstand their curiosity The secrets of pitching your business proposal to BIG INDUSTRY HITTERS -- and how to bring them on board with your venture The play-by-play email correspondence that convinced the right people to join onto our company’s project How to formulate a MASTERMIND Alliance and cultivate a strong group of ‘team players’ The ‘behind the scenes’ of what a real Mastermind Group document looks like -- STRAIGHT FROM OUR OWN PLAYBOOK! Where to get the best FREE resource for all your Social Media Management needs!

This eBook is free and does not contain affiliate links. Share it with the world under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

ÂŠ 2011 Chase Sherman & Business Tooligans

Thank You’s To my business partner, Jay Rockman. Thank you for

standing by me with this venture even when we weren’t really sure of ‘what to do next.’ Your trust in me has given me conviction that my ideas were worth pursuing. Your honest attention is what made me believe we could successfully launch Business Tooligans from nothing.

To my Mom. Thank you for

supporting me as I pursue my dreams. Your faith in me has truly made my entrepreneurial idea growing into an all consuming obsession. Without you, nothing would have ever made it past the idea in my head.

To my Dad.

To my Brother.

To my Stepmom.

To my Grandparents. Thank you for your optimism and encouragement. I’ve gained much inspiration from your wisdom and I truly appreciate your listening to my ramblings.

Thank you for your relentless pressure on me to figure out my path. You are a big part of why I’m able to take action on what comes to my mind. I am so grateful for your raising me to ‘do it myself.’ It’s something I truly value.

Thank you for the times you looked over my written work back in high school and college. Without your guidance, my ideas would be inflated and less compelling. You taught me the importance of succinct and coherent communication.

Thank you for the mental support. You’ve never given up on me and I continue to see how lucky I am to have a guy like you in my corner. I love you, dude.

Table of Contents My Story............................................................................................................................................................................................6 What To Focus On As You Read...................................................................................................................................................8 Terms................................................................................................................................................................................................9

Chapter 1: Bold Claims & Blasphemy Why The Business World Needs Intelligent Social Media Managers More Than Any Other Web-Based Prof................11 Paradigm Shift: Why Social Media Is Useful To Every Business Department.......................................................................12 Before We Approach The First Real Chapter..............................................................................................................................14

Chapter 2: Buckle Up, Bud. Time To Get To Work. Pep Talk: Why You, The Social Media Manager, Need To Step Up Your Game And Bridge The Comm. Gap Now!.....16 Consider Yourself Warned: The Rules Of Social Media............................................................................................................17 The Window Principal.................................................................................................................................................17 The Top 5 Characteristics Of A Successful Social Media Manager.........................................................................................18 1. Responsible...............................................................................................................................................................18 2. Persistent..................................................................................................................................................................18 3. Considerate..............................................................................................................................................................18 4. Capable.....................................................................................................................................................................18 5. Creative....................................................................................................................................................................18 Key Principles To Consider When Managing Social Media....................................................................................................18

Chapter 3: Slug. It. Out. (You’ll Thank Me Later) The Role Research Plays In Social Media Marketing................................................................................................................20 The Research Process....................................................................................................................................................20 The Connection Between Research And Social Capital..........................................................................................................21 Creating Social Capital................................................................................................................................................21 Documenting The Landscape......................................................................................................................................21 The 4 Can’ts Of Building Up Your Social Capital...................................................................................................................22 10 Power Tips To Finding Your Voice.........................................................................................................................................23

Chapter 4: Magic Potions? Why Yes, I’d Love Some The Keys To Crafting A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign................................................................................25 Simple (Test).................................................................................................................................................................25 Smart (Test)..................................................................................................................................................................25 Sticky (Test)..................................................................................................................................................................25 The Value Of Your Idea...............................................................................................................................................26 The Win-Win-Win Proposition....................................................................................................................................26

Chapter 5: The Golden Door To All Your Riches (...Study Closely) The Primary Interest Of Anyone Operating Online: What’s In It For Me!?..........................................................................28 Core Reasons For Communication..............................................................................................................................28 Unifying The Push / Pull Opposites.............................................................................................................................28

Chapter 6: GameTime Make It Count The Role Energy Plays In Social Media Marketing...................................................................................................................30 Social Media Marketing Considerations.....................................................................................................................30 Facaebook Powertip.....................................................................................................................................................30 Results-Based vs. Efforts-Based Thinking...................................................................................................................31 Action Steps..................................................................................................................................................................31

Chapter 7: Bonus Me, Please (No Pun Intended) BONUS #1 Business Tooligans Biz Model.............................................................................................................................33 Initiation Message To Prospective Influencer...............................................................................................................33 Power Tips....................................................................................................................................................................33 Followup Message To Prospective Influencer...............................................................................................................34 BONUS #2 The Mastermind Blueprint.................................................................................................................................36 Developing Your Own Mastermind Group.................................................................................................................36 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................38 Purpose.........................................................................................................................................................................39 Benefits.........................................................................................................................................................................40 Roles & Responsibilities...............................................................................................................................................41 Evaluation Form..........................................................................................................................................................43 Rules Of The 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance.............................................................................................................43

Chapter 8: Bottoms Up The End.....................................................................................................................................................................................45 How To Sign Up For The Only FREE Social Media Manager Magazine.............................................................................46

My Story

Most would say I’m a 23 year-old punk kid who’s got no business trying to start his own business.

Especially when I’ve got no corporate experience under my belt. I get it, most CEOs and managers will look at me like I’m nuts. And to top it, four months into

‘real-life mode’ I sold my car

and moved back to LA in order to buy myself more time. Fortunately I could live at

my mom’s and work on my business at her office because she had an extra desk.

But here’s the way I see it -- because you’ve just now heard what the rest of the world thinks (and how I set myself up for absolute commitment to my work). To start off you must know that right when I graduated high school Facebook and other social media platforms were just getting started. And although I wasn’t leveraging them for business up until this last year, I was using Facebook before many were even able to get on it. I can remember every one of my friends using their new college emails to claim their profile. From the perspective of a college student, I saw Facebook evolve into what it is today. Consequently, I’m now translating

what I know into my company.

Now before we jump into the business, you should also know I’m interested in creating a life that fulfills me. As a result, I’ve invested much of my time in search for gratifying work. I love learning from people who’ve seen a lot and done a lot. I’m a personal development fiend. I love listening to guys like Tony Robbins, Earl Nightengale, Napoleon Hill, Bob Proctor, Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Tim Ferris, Jack Canfield, and Brendon Burchard. I eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I try to train my mind to be prepared for opportunities. There’s something nice about always being ‘on.’ Thinking about the next move. Strategizing. As a 23 year-old college graduate, I think I’m in the best position to do great work.

ing my first website at 19, selling my graphic design services at 20, distributing my t-shirts in stores at 21, and helping my friend launch a cartoon at 22.

Clearly, 23’s my year ;-) After graduating from the University of Miami, FL with a B.A. in Entrepreneurship, my business partner and I got started on our Internet company, 2TM Co.

I’d been studying Internet marketing ever since my last year of college -- learning from big name gurus like Frank Kern, John Reese, Jeff Walker, Mike Koenigs, John Jonas, Amish Shah, Yaro Starak, Andy Jenkins, Ryan Deiss, and more.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial environment I was accustomed to the notion of taking risks.

But after putting in 12-hour days for six months straight, our Internet business marketing affiliate products flopped. We really tried everything to make it work -- email marketing, article marketing, social media, Facebook ads, SEO...

It became a habitual way of operating for me. Over the years I’ve taken a lot of them. I’ve gone skydiving. I’ve studied abroad in the middle east. I’ve visited third world countries...

I came to realize we were missing a primary ingredient to this entire business model -- PASSION.

I’ve always been an entrepreneur -- washing cars at 16, starting a streetwear clothing brand at 17, launching a fundraiser at 18, build-

We didn’t have an interest in what we were selling. We invested time in the mechanics (which is what I’m passionate about), but the at-

tempt to generate an income off how to grow orchids, how to bet on sports, and how to beat video games made it hard to sustain the enthusiasm. In that time we launched fours sites but couldn’t make a dime. Three months after being back in LA, the partnership was losing steam and my friend’s other venture was picking up. He and I decided to scrap the affiliate sites and went back to the drawing boards. After speaking with small business owners, we noticed there was an

interest in simple-to-use systems for the latest online tools. My mom was the first one I studied closely... I noticed she was really looking to reinvigorate her business – to create more momentum, gain new leads, and ultimately forge new client relationships. But she wasn’t familiar with how things like a blog, an email marketing campaign, or social media services would actually create new opportunities for

her, let alone how they would all tie in together to create a cohesive strategy that could be rolled out with her employees.

ers called:

Naturally it sparked our interest to serve small businesses as social media managers and consultants -- something I’m enthusiastically passionate about.

Through our magazine we’ve reached out to some of the top experts in the field (which is what this book will show you how to do effectively) to teach our readership in topics like storytelling, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, social media management and strategy, networking, public relations, lead generation, location-based marketing, branding, email marketing, shopping cart systems, and more.

Today BusinessTooligans.com aims to educate the social media management community in best practices across the fields of Internet marketing, social media management, and small business development.

Utilizing social media for our affiliate sites we learned how social media could be tied into an Internet marketing strategy to attract clients and build a business.

So we built the site you see today and we’ve launched the first FREE industry inbox magazine for Social Media Manag-

Neal Schaffer

Pete Canalichio

Michael Margolis

Count me in.

This sounds terrific.

I'm game!

#SMMGR Magazine.

We also include free “sneak peak” interviews for readers to gain insight into how these experts think and act. We offer full length versions for purchase on the back-end along with transcription notes and expert bonus bundles. For more details you can check out: http://businesstooligans.com/ newsletter

Here’s what some of the exper ts had to say...

What To Focus On As You Read... If you’re reading this book you likely already know how to do the things most older generations don’t (i.e. set up, operate, and connect through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.). But just in case you don’t, know that this book will not outline any of those steps. Moreover, you should know that your proficiency in using these major networks will only enable you to reach a larger audience. It will not guarantee you the type of opportunity and recognition that comes from implementing an intelligent strategy that’s backed by hard work and diligent research. And please understand, social media is a tool - not a strategy. Of course, I believe it’s important that you know how to use these tools but what I teach in this book is not about tactics or methodology. Now off the bat you may think much of what I describe in this book will explain how you leverage the networks of others to generate more traffic, leads, and sales. And don’t get me wrong, it will. Whether you’re a corporate social media manager, Internet marketer, or entrepreneur, as a social media professional you will have to know how to tap into spheres of influence - be they individuals or communities. However, I will not go into much depth discussing these topics. Plenty of other blogs like Problogger and Copyblogger have sufficiently outlined much of this information (We’ve also done so in a few of our blog posts). But more importantly with this book, I hope to communicate something even more fundamental to you. And that is that by the end of this reading you gain an understanding of the all-holy

mindset of a successful Social Media Manager. ...In other words: why one can be effective in this job. In my opinion, once you’ve reached a level of thinking that exhibits creative problem solving and intelligent planning, much of the necessary ‘how-to’ information you need will fall into place. I also believe that with this type of mindset, you will have the power to leverage any new tool that shows up in the future (you may just need to put time into learning how to use it).

Denise Wakeman

You're the perfect case study because you caught my attention. I saw you retweeting my stuff. I saw it I might not've acknowledged it all the time but I saw it. I saw that you commented on things I posted on my Facebook page. I saw that you commented on my blog posts. So when you reached out to me I was like, yea I know who this guy is. I mean I don't know you but I recognized your name. So it was like... ok, yea. What have you got here. Let's talk. So it totally works... you did a great job. You're a great role model for your business.

Righty-o, mates. Let’s move into the gooood stuffff :-)

Terms ...Before we get started, I wanted to make sure you have these ideas imprinted on the screen of your mind ;-)

• Leverage Points (“LPs”) - People of influence with large-

scale reach who expose your idea to their audience. We stress that you reach out to leverage points who have expert influence, leadership positioning, and/or extensive experience in their field.

Amy Porterfield

• Win-Win-Win Proposition - The most effective way to leverage the networks of others by devising a plan that would serve you, the customer, and your Leverage Points.

• Internet Opportunists - Professionals with highly special-

ized skill-sets and unique positions of power, which enable them to demand greater attention, respect, and money within the marketplace. At one time, webmasters claimed this coveted position. Today it is reserved for a new category of web professionals - Social Media Managers.

Yes, I am very interested, so thank you for reaching out. You have some great people on board!

• Society of Virtual Dignitaries (“SVD”) - This group

is made up of Social Media Managers, Community Managers, and Social Change Agents who are interfacing their organizations with the public. Although they may not be aware, this group of representatives have the power to shift public opinion by shaping and facilitating public discussion. Some of its fellow members can be found repairing companies worldwide from unjust claims. Others have been responsible for large scale change in world affairs (see how members of this society changed the Philippines, Egypt and Iran).

Chapter 1: Bold Claims & Blasphemy

Why The Business World Needs Intelligent Social Media Managers More Than Any Other Web-Based Professional In the early days of Internet business webmasters were king. They held the keys

to a new world of possibility. As Internet Opportunists, they could demand attention, respect, and high prices. Their skill-sets were highly specialized and so new that it made anyone seeking their help instantly trust their judgement and spend the necessary money to get a website up and running. This was a great time for webmasters. However, times have changed and with the proliferation of Wordpress, list management platforms, and shopping cart systems companies now need not spend thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars on websites or third party webmasters. The skill-sets of these service professionals are practically Internet commodities (and much of them are free). In fact, you could go to a site right now called fiverr.com and find someone who’s capable of setting up your Wordpress site for $5.00 easy. This was something we couldn’t do five years ago. Obviously things are now different and we’re seeing a new group of Internet professionals come into the ranks of top authority. Today you won’t come across the

website of any large company without a link to their social media profiles. Why? Because consumer behavior is now being shaped through online communication. The emergence of social media platforms have literally changed the way customers buy products and services. Consumers don’t trust what a company says about themselves anymore (as if they ever did...). But instead they’re putting their faith in public consensus and opinion. Now they’re spending their time surfing reviews and prompting their networks to help them answer the question,

“Should I buy from this company?” This question, by the way, translates into 70-80% of the buying decision. Consumers are more likely to buy something (or not buy something) based on their peers’ feedback. And where’s the best place to find these answers? Through social media networks.

So for you, the Social Media Manager, you’re clearly in the right spot. Companies that are new to this way of marketing and communication are seeking a lot of help. They’re trying to use irrelevant advertising in the wrong places which is making for bad strategy (and wasting their time, money, and effort). Now, when a company wants the attention of its customers, the only way to get it is to speak to them where they’re already talking. This territory is unfamiliar to the company in many different respects. And what’s even better for you is business owners don’t fully understand how to join in on - and more importantly facilitate - conversations around their brands. Their business model is fractured at arguably the most vital intersection - where

business meets buyer

Armed with their research and their convictions, these customers are now not only right but they can also demand that these companies who serve them play ball in their courts.

Paradigm Shift: Why Social Media Is Useful To Every Business Department

Before social networks there was no way, financially speaking, to adequately learn about a customer in order to serve him/her better. Much of the testing took place in focus groups where people were paid to give their feedback. It was a sterile environment and it practically encouraged dishonesty from prospects and customers. Social media on the other hand, is enabling companies to gain more insight than ever before - and at a fraction of the cost. It’s also multiplying a company’s chances of reaching more buyers. Period. This is something we’ve never before been able to construct - not through websites, email, or any other Internet-based marketing platform. Which is part of the reason why it’s so hard for business owners to understand - because they either fear

(Continued from page 11) Fumbling onto the scene, these companies are certainly not capable of putting their best foot forward. Their old paradigms of marketing and advertising have become so outdated in such a short period of time that they’ve found themselves stuck and desperate.

what it represents or are completely baffled by the possibilities and don’t know where to begin.

As the new wave of Internet Opportunists, you must be prepared to inherit this world of change. Our access to anything and anyone fundamentally changes the game. As a Social Media Manager, you have a great responsibility to steer the uninitiated in the right direction. You’re the captain of a large ship. Grab the helm and hold tight!

And as we’re seeing the business world transition into this new paradigm, the older generations are still resistant and have yet to embrace it.

In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

In fact, you’ll know how deeply ingrained a business owner’s belief is around the topic of social media when they demand to see an ROI (Return On Investment) - as if its application to sales and marketing were the only advantages to a company.

-Eric Hoffer, The Ordeal of Change

Now it’s not to say the tech world isn’t and shouldn’t be working towards the ability to track the direct effect of social media marketing. They are. But you and I both know that it serves more purposes. Of course, if a company will allocate money towards the management of social media, they put themselves in a better position to create more sales opportunities because of the amount of users.

HOWEVER, there’s more to social media... And the suggestion I’m about to make, if executed properly, has the power to open the business up to a completely new world of possibilities. It’s a bold claim, I understand. But hear me out: If a business will set out to approach the world of influential leaders, experts, brand advocates, early adopters, past and present customers, as well as prospects with the intention of building up social capital, they’ll soon find social media management produc-

• HR - With social media we can solve customer support issues by facilitating real-time discussion through platforms like Facebook and Twitter. • PR, Sales, Marketing With social media we can develop partners for cross-promotions, empower customers to share company news and offers, and increase relevance for Google to drive pre-qualified traffic to the company’s website. Obviously today things are different. These platforms are enabling us to perform tasks outside of the scope of old business paradigms. And for companies who have not caught onto this yet, they are the ones in need of Social Media Managers to help leverage these networks.

ing more value than just in terms of direct leads and sales. And by doing this effectively, a company will have so much new insight into their market that it seems almost laughable to turn down the hiring of a Social Media Manager. In fact, if it were up to me, social media would be it’s own department within a business outside of marketing and sales. Why?

Because with its use, a company’s R&D, PR, HR,

and production departments can also experience extreme benefits... and at a fraction of the cost! Let’s consider how it helps each of these departments better serve the end consumer: • R&D, Production - With social media we can survey loyal customers through direct relationship building. It also helps us gain product development insight.

And when the business owner demands to see the ROI of their investment, it’s the Social Media Manager’s job to help them understand that they’re trying to translate old paradigms of doing business into highly evolved consumer environments where the investment in social media doesn’t just serve sales and marketing objectives but it also serves R&D, PR, HR, and production objectives as well. Then the Social Media Manager needs to help them understand that the sales-tracking technology hasn’t yet caught up with the capabilities of these tools -- there’s much that needs to be “sorted out” in this area.

Before We Approach The First Real Chapter... ...I've listed some questions you might not have thought to ask but are vital to your understanding of social media and how to use this book. Q: Why do I need to grow a following? Building a following brings you great power. With social media, your relationship and reach determine your influence. With a loyal fan base, you have the opportunity to generate honest feedback, survey your audience, and build strategic networks on a mass scale. With the viral nature of social media, your integrity, credibility, and value can quickly spread with followers.

Q: Why should I care about experts, influencers, and networks? When it comes down to messages, anything you publish has the opportunity to fall into the hands of experts, influencers, and media giants - if delivered in the right 'light'. Building relationships with these Leverage Points can bring you highly targeted traffic and help you build credibility with your existing and prospective audiences.

Q: Where do I go to tap into these spheres of influence? Determine the keyword phrases of your general market/industry to search for Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and LinkedIn profiles. Googling your market with ending words like “blogs,” “forums,” “communities,” etc. will also pull up these spheres of influence. A more comprehensive approach is included in this ebook.

Q: How does social media tie into my sales and marketing strategy? Your market is thinking, speaking, and evolving everyday. As a Social Media Manager, it’s expected of you to invest a heavy dose of listening into your strategy. Followers expect you to be in-the-know about topics, trends, and news. By disseminating information and establishing credibility through the transference of knowledge you are priming your market to buy. Through the publication and delivery of useful content on multiple social networks your fans, followers, and connections have the opportunity to retrieve your content through their accounts. By establishing a consistent presence and procuring and collating valuable information for them, your market will click through to products and services you promote because of the credibility and trust you’ve built.

Chapter 2: Buckle Up, Bud. Time To Get To Work.

Pep Talk: Why You, The Social Media Manager, Need To Step Up Your Game And Bridge The Communication Gap Now! the curve is steep - especially when you consider the need to disseminate messages to create influence and drive traffic. This requires a new way of thinking altogether - one that doesn’t present salesy marketing or push style communication.

If you weren’t already aware, you are in a highvalued position. Although many within a company would consider you a sales and marketing assistant, you know better than to let them pigeonhole your expertise. As a member of the Society of Virtual Dignitaries, the adept Social Media Manager knows they have the power to serve in more ways than pushing messages out to herds of prospects and customers. Whether you’re working for yourself or for a company, if you understand ‘how all this stuff works’ you have a lot to offer in any business environment. CEOs and managers are starving for your knowledgebase and experience. And it’s best that you understand and embrace this because when the time comes, you’ll be expected to ‘make the call’ and you’ll want to have that confidence when they’re looking to you for answers. If a company wanted to learn strategic use of social media platforms

The shift we’re experiencing from offline to online communication is making it very difficult for businesspeople to embrace. You will continue to see many balk at the need for a social media presence. Why? Because they don’t get it. They don’t understand that social media platforms can ignite a very powerful explosion of interest and desire in a brand. As a Social Media Manager your job is to bridge the gap between these two worlds of communication. You know that the power of social proof and the ability to share what one finds around the Internet makes these social platforms ideal places to communicate company messages. And companies who don’t understand this also don’t understand that maintaining profiles on networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allow different types of users to engage with a brand. With social media any company can disseminate news, obtain valuable market research, elicit insightful responses, generate qualified leads, and convert more prospects into buyers.

Sharing unique content over the Internet can also help position a company as a thought leader in its industry, giving it more influence over a market and a more loyal fan base. Any skilled Social Media Manager understands this. But let’s face it, no one else is willing to spend the time learning what you already know. You’re the only one holding the keys to this ‘vault’. And because the learning curve is so steep for many small businesses,

you have a unique position of power. But let’s not get caught up though. Power in the hands of most are dangerous - especially in the social media space. But when channeled for good, you have the ability to tap unrealized potential latent in a business - whether it be its network, product mix, customer database, supplier network, strategic alliances, or friendly competitors - when coupled with social media, if used properly, can spawn a new world of possibilities. If you know how to collaborate with these parties through social networks, you become more than just a sales and marketing assistant. And by learning how to properly allocate your time and energy into the right channels, you will begin to see huge returns in the way of fans, leads, and buyers. Of course, this book intends to walk you through that process... (But first...)

Consider Yourself Warned: The Rules Of Social Media Obviously, this chapter is meant to serve as a "gut check." It's a cautionary message that I hope you take to heart before you journey into the space of social media marketing. With that, I'll start by saying: If you're operating on social media platforms please understand, you have no absolute privacy. I say "absolute" because with many platforms you can regulate who sees what you say, but if you put all your faith in the technology you're leaving out the most important variable of the social media equation - people. Just as an example, if you manage to piss off the "right" person (because they are in your network), you may just see all your naughty THE WINDOW PRINCIPAL

Facebook pictures in the wrong places the next day. ...For many of us, operating on social media networks is not a conscious activity. Therefore, understand that everything you think, type, and publish onto the Internet is fair game for everyone in the world to see. So - if you're not cut out to face criticism, strong opposition, or negative people - reconsider your professional path. This medium of doing business, creating relationships, and communicating your opinions is for the mature, honest, ethical, and sincere. All others are in risk of damaging their reputations, hurting their careers, and creating more problems for themselves. Here's another point:

if it were a window. People can see in, and you may see out. The choice to step in front of this window is yours. But understand, that whatever you throw out of this window is accessible to anyone (at least until the Internet evolves into something greater... and somehow all those untagged Facebook pictures get left behind in the transition).

Now, if you are prepared to work in this field, then I suggest you begin looking at your computer screen as

What I suggest is that you only show up, ready to speak out through this window when you truly have something worthwhile to say. That way, when other's

You must understand that what you say on a social media platform will never go away. Period. I say "never" because the company who's platform you use likely has a clause in their Terms and Conditions or Privacy Policy that states that whatever you do on their social network is not your property. In other words, what you say is out of your control. Therefore, you do not get to determine who has access to this information. At any point in time the company, the government, advertisers, or others may have access to your personal file. Just know that the free use of these tools come with a very serious price. If you're not ready to jump into this river, don't feel bad, but don't do it either. It's not for the faint of heart.

come to check out your window, all they see are "kittens and roses" (which is another way of saying the real, authentic you in the highest light possible). There are very few people who are comfortable conversing out through this window. Then there are the masses, who don't realize they're talking through this window (and if they knew, they'd probably never engage in it for fear of what others might think of them or the repercussions that may come from behaving poorly).

The Top 5 Characteristics

Of A Successful Social Media Manager Now that you’re prepared to step into the ring, let’s kick it off with the 5 traits that will make you a successful Social Media Manager.

1 Responsible

- When you’re willing to take responsibility for what you say, whether it be positive or negative, your audience will appreciate it and like you more. This can actually benefit you when you’ve admitted you’re wrong. Just understand that if you’re honestly representing yourself or your brand, the right people will see you for who you are - the rest don’t ‘absolutely’ matter (...they’re not paying the bills).

2 Persistent

- Most strategic relationships made through social networks don’t manifest themselves immediately. If your goal is to galvanize a strong network of influencers and brand advocates, you must be prepared to consistently reach out to these people. Whether it be on their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blog, or other platform - they must see you as a persistent and interested consumer of their content.

3 Considerate

- Generally, when you’ve invested time in reading someone’s content

and you’ve shared your opinion, you’ll immediately be rewarded with a response. However, sometimes you won’t see a spark of interest from the person you’re reaching out to until they’re sure you’re not just there for your own vanity. You’d be surprised at how many people will spam others’ blogs with their own URLs and neglect the importance of Clement Yeung contributing to the conversation.

4 Capable

- As you engage in conversation with influencers (i.e. Leverage Points) and others, you’ll begin to recognize their interest levels based on their tone, sentence structure, word- It sounds great ing, grammar, etc. If you’re not prepared from the outset! (or don’t know what to say) to steer a conversation towards your personal interests, you won’t be able to keep the attention of your target LPs.

5 Creative

- Oftentimes your plan will require “out-of-the-box” thinking. If you aren’t able to step outside the “corporate” way of handling the job, people will find you stiff and uninteresting. It’s good to have a unique mix of ideas that will pique the interest of your audience and target influencers.

Key Principles To Consider When Managing Social Media 1. Everyone is your friend - no one is a stranger. 2. Be careful about what you say. 3. People want you, not your facade or B.S. company messages (and if they have to be from your company, make sure they’re not B.S.). 4. Your community expects you to be honest. 5. If you come across information that would be useful to your fans, tell them about it. Again, be their friend. 6. Make sure you’re perceived as a thoughtful contributor, otherwise you’ll lose credibility and/or trust. 7. The information you share should generally move your audience closer towards their end goal. This can be done by creating your own content, sharing others content, or simply answering questions posed by your community. 8. Connecting in social media is really just connecting in real life (IRL), but with hundreds, thousands, millions, and even billions of other people present in the conversation. 9. What you publish will always be available to someone, somewhere down the road.

Chapter 3: Slug. It. Out. (Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Thank Me Later)

The Role Research Plays In Social Media Marketing THE RESEARCH PROCESS Here are some steps to get you moving in the right direction: 1. Determine who the experts/influencers/leverage points are within your industry Search in Google “[keyword of industry] blogs” (finance, management, etc.) I don’t like it anymore than you do. But the research clearly shows our members want to engage with us as the crew of a Kingon battle cruiser.

I really want to stress the value of researching and understanding the landscape before you jump in to engage. Engagement can seriously hurt you (or just waste a lot of your time) if you don’t have a clear path towards an objective. Putting up-front time into researching the social media landscape will give you confidence when you’re ready to execute your plan. As “un-sexy” as this sounds, your up-front research will determine the magnitude of your success. Therefore, before ever moving into the next segment, please stop everything and create an Excel or Google doc spreadsheet so you are ready to throw these onto your list.

Look for the top 25 blogs in the industry (list the blog authors in a simple spreadsheet) Pay attention to the “web” of experts who speak about the topic and understand how they’re connected Look for ecosystems built around each LP >>> what fan pages are they a part of? Who do they follow on Twitter? Who shows up in the related videos of their YouTube content? 2. Set up a Gmail account (If you weren’t already using it for this doc) 3. Establish listening posts Set up a Google Reader to receive RSS from top LPs’ blogs (file these blogs in appropriate categories) “Like” all these experts/influencers’ pages from your company page 4. Facebook: create spreadsheet with the following column labels Page name Company name Category (social media, Internet marketing, blogging, etc.) Type (company, individual, partnership, etc.) # of fans Admin contact Admin details Wall post activity based on comments/likes (1-5 scale) Facebook URL Website URL Alternate URL Email Other details

The Connection Between Research And Social Capital CREATING SOCIAL CAPITAL

Your social capital is the most valuable asset you can create for your brand -- and the sole power of social media lies in the people... it isn’t about the tools, tech, or widgets. So if you’re spending time communicating with dead-beats, pessimists, or losers - you’re tone, perception, and output will reflect it. However, consider the flip-side of

this equation: if you’re engaging in stimulating, thought-provoking conversation with other users with the intention of building strategic relationships, leveraging networks, and creating new value, your output will reflect that just as readily.

any worthwhile social media user will resonate with you is because they can see you through your words; you’re communication is transparent; there’s no B.S. And if you operate with the intent of building social capital, you must understand that there’s no way of faking it. Thus, the only logical conclusion we can make is that...

The key is in determining which of these you think about (and changing your perspective if neces- ...this asset can not be sary). ‘bought’ in any form -- it must be cultivated! Just know that the primary reason

DOCUMENTING THE LANDSCAPE • • • • • • • • • • •

Building your social capital requires that you show your face in the right places. The experts/influencers/leverage points you look to formulate strategic relationships with are not only writing for their own websites, but are also engaging on other's profiles, channels, and blogs. Thus it’s important that you document the landscape.

What is their field of expertise? What do they talk about? Who is their audience? What other experts endorse them? Who are the "big name" affiliates to their products? How many comments are they getting on every blog post? How active are their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.? What other blogs do they read? Who are their role models? What events, seminars, conferences do they attend? What is their contact information? (website, email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile, Twitter profile, YouTube channel, etc.)

You want to know very particular details about each of your Leverage Points. And you want to make sure all of these details are included in a new tab on your Research Spreadsheet.

...As you study this list, you’ll start to see angles of approach for when you present them with your idea.

It’s important that you understand their social web so you can “lockinto” their world and show them that you’re a sincere follower of their work. NOTE: You won’t get far in your efforts if you’re employing a “shotgun” approach. Social capital is built on sincerity, interest, and communication. If you’re firing off (i.e. “spamming”) messages, you’ll waste a lot of time and energy.

The 4 Can'ts Of Building Up Your Social Capital With social media, you cannot control how others read into your words, gestures, or writings. What you say, how you say it, and when you say it are all being scrutinized and critiqued now and in the future. Therefore, make sure you're putting your best foot forward every time you step up to the podium to speak. You are only as good as your last message. That means if you’ve broadcasted a message, shared a piece of content, responded to a question, tweeted out your thoughts, given your opinion, etc. you should always keep in mind why your talking and who you’re talking to. The same goes for your social capital... If you have a poor concept of social

media planning and communication, you are likely to fail at building up legitimate social capital. Thus, it’s important to consider the things you can’t do as much as you consider the things you must do. • You can’t fake it - Your entire plan must rest on the assumption that you are who you say you are and intend to do what you say you’ll do. • You can’t go in without a plan - If your partners (Leverage Points) agree to your proposal, you must be prepared to follow through with the execution and make sure they’re “in the loop” on what’s next for them to do. Don’t leave anyone hanging. • You can’t waste any parties’ time - Anything you propose to your customers and/or partners should clearly indicate why

you’re offer is worth their time. • You can’t spam your audience with sales messages - For every two sales messages, you should be sending off eight pieces of content that move your ideal customer closer towards his/ her end goals. In the case of bullet ‘one’ listed, just as we’ve recently seen, a politician was found to be lying about his Twitter activities - he couldn’t run from it. Neither can you. Obviously some of these things can hit you pretty hard, others can slowly crumble your credibility over time (without you even knowing it). But know that every time you engage in any of these faulty activities, your capital depreciates in value.

10 Power Tips To Finding Your Voice As we consider the importance of social capital (and how to create it), I wanted to list some tips for you to keep in mind as you engage in conversations.

1. Be honest. Your reputation is so fragile. A single lie could severe the trust you have with your community forever. 2. Be thoughtful. Think through your responses to comments, feedback, and questions raised and directed towards you. Today’s Internet communication channels enable us to respond immediately to any inquiry. However, we should not rush to respond with a message that is not ready for the public eye. 3. Be strategic. Think about how many different groups of people actually listen to what you have to say and consider their positions when you chose to publish information. 4. Be aware. Don’t be so naive as to think others (competitors, friends, relatives, customers, prospects, etc.) are not listening closely to what you are saying. 5. Be conscious. Oftentimes we come across tragic stories of Facebookers getting fired from their jobs because they were caught acting inappropriately. Today more than EVER, we must be conscious of EVERYTHING we are doing and saying. 6. Be sincere. Your voice is important. The real person you are should always show through in what you say. This also goes for what you write, record, or otherwise create. 7. Be clear. Your words must be placed together intelligently so that your audience can understand you. If you shoot a video and you’re fumbling over your words, keep shooting it until you get it right. Once it’s up there, you don’t have a chance to ‘erase’ what people saw. 8. Be concise. Keep your sentences tight. Keep your content as brief as it needs to be for your audience to understand it. The average attention span of an Internet user is shrinking more and more. You don’t want them to miss out on the good stuff because you’ve bored them in the beginning. 9. Be humble. You don’t want to come across a video of you bragging about your success 10, 20, or even 30 years down the line (and maybe even have your kids see how much of a d-bag you were). 10. Be cool. You gain a lot more praise from sharing your ‘positive’ comments than negative ones. There’s no need for you to make public things that you can express offline. Plus, everyone else will know that you couldn’t keep your cool, which ultimately makes you look bad (whether or not they understood the situation).

Chapter 4: Magic Potions? Why Yes, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d Love Some

The Keys To Crafting A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign Simple: People don’t want to think too hard when you’ve presented them with an idea. If you can’t communicate the value of it in one to two sentences, it’s not simple enough yet. Keep refining it until you’ve reached that level of simplicity. Remember, this idea should present value to yourself, your Leverage Points and your core customer.

Test: A great test is to try and explain your idea to someone who has no relation to your market/industry. If they think it’s a good idea, generally it means you’ve found something that people can understand and appreciate.

Smart: Think about how your idea can present an intelligent way for all parties to gain value from its execution. If one party doesn’t resonate with your concept, go back to the drawing boards to determine what’s working and what’s not. Ultimately, you want to make sure it’s “wow”-ing your audience.

Test: Approach someone who’s been bashing you and your efforts. Ask them what they think about your concept. If they like it, this probably means they’re willing to admit you have a good idea.

Sticky: Would your core customer share this with their fellow colleagues, friends, neighbors or relatives? You want to make sure that there’s a real need for your idea. Otherwise, you won’t gain enough traction with the people who use or interact with it. In order for your idea to build momentum, attract new audiences, and bring you more traffic, you have to have something your market really wants.

Test: Survey your market and see which of their needs are not being met. Make sure you probe with a lot of questions that touch on features and benefits of your own idea. This will help you refine, tweak, or rethink your approach.

The Keys To Crafting A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign THE VALUE OF YOUR IDEA

THE WIN-WIN-WIN PROPOSITION

Before ever implementing anything I talk about in this eBook, please understand that the value of its use all rests on your idea. If the idea is faulty, unethical, false, or otherwise deemed to be invaluable to the parties you're looking to influence, you need to rethink your idea so that it conveys the 3 core characteristics listed on the last page.

In order to drive home the point of providing value, I've listed three MUSTS you’ll want to consider. These three MUSTS can also be looked at as a Win-Win-Win Proposition. Thus, you’re idea...

MUST SERVE

(1) YOU (2) CUSTOMER (3) INFLUENCER

PROPOSITION If you, your community, AND your LPs don’t gain from the execution of your idea, then you must take a step back and consider how you can fulfill all these MUSTS in order to move forward. You will not make real progress in the area of social media marketing unless you have clearly determined what each party will gain. The leverage you maintain all lies

in how compelling your idea is. You will get very little leverage if you are not serving all three parties listed above.

And keep in mind I only tell you this to save you time, not to slow you down in your implementation.

Once you have the idea, you’re very much ready to take the right action (in the right order). Please also note, I encourage you to read through this entire book at least once before you consider going back to rethink your idea. This book gives you a lot of things to think about when you’re retooling for greater impact (and more success).

Chapter 5: The Golden Door To All Your Riches (...Study Closely)

The Primary Interest Of Anyone Operating Online:

What's In It For Me!?

You’ve heard it all before, but really stop and

think about it...When you’re talking to another person, they’re always thinking to themselves: What are their motives? Why did they decide to reach out to me? What do they want from me?

...As a social media professional you must be prepared to show them (at some point in the relationship building process) why they should listen. And if you can shape your marketing strategy around this question, you’ll have no problem getting the results you’re after.

CORE REASONS FOR COMMUNICATION There are a few reasons you might be speaking to an LP:

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

They have

REACH (i.e. a lot of people in their network - fans, followers, subscribers)

INFLUENCE (i.e. a strong network - other professionals who are connected to them)

PRODUCTS (i.e. an excellent product / service you want to sell as a JV partner or affiliate)

CONNECTIONS (i.e. someone you’d like them to refer you to)

PERSPECTIVE (i.e. a shared interest with your own business, life, and/ or personal philosophy)

These 5 reasons can be tied to very powerful emotional interests that you must be conscious of before you reach out to these Leverage Points: FAME

POWER

MONEY

RELATIONSHIP

UNDERSTANDING

As you engage in conversation, make sure you're considering both parties’ emotional interests - your’s and their’s. The relationship should always be pulling and pushing in both directions at the same time. UNIFYING THE PUSH / PULL OPPOSITES PUSH - steer conversation towards how they benefit. If you want more fame for your own business, think about how you can appeal to their own emotions and create a win-win relationship that benefits you and helps them further expand their reach.

If you want more power, think about who they don't already know that you might be able to introduce them to. This is effective if this person is in a related market and has influence.

PULL - steer conversation towards how you benefit.

If you want more money, think about what you can do to help them promote their product so that you sell more and help them profit - making you both money. The shared interest is in promoting valuable products.

If you want more relationships, think about who you can introduce them to that they don't already know. Save them time by referring the contact so they can reach out to the person and build the connection.

If you want to strengthen the relationship based on understanding, consider how you can add to their lives with thoughtful comments and ideas and expose them to your own perspective.

Chapter 6: GameTime Make It COUNT

The Role Energy Plays In Social Media Marketing SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS In any social media campaign you must know what type of effort is required... Below, I’ve listed some things to consider as you plan your social media marketing strategy:

When many of us “play” on social networks, we often forget the value of our time. This is a dangerous game because it cuts into many other areas we’d otherwise never fail to neglect (i.e. household chores, errands or other obligations.) We get caught up in what’s happening and next thing you know, the day slipped away from us as we check notifications, send Twitter messages, and filter our inbox. And the worst part is, we’ve got nothing to show for the time we’ve invested (or wasted). The work force is facing many issues with this. Companies are struggling to monitor the time employees spend working vs. socializing. And this is relevant to you because your business operates on these networks and uses these platforms everyday. If you’re not careful, the energy you reserve for work can slowly dissi-

• Will you have to put an hour into networking on LinkedIn everyday for the next month? • Will you have to create a blog post once per week to be syndicated across all your profiles? • Will you have to research new fan pages related to your industry and build connections with the admins? • Will you have to find Twitter users in your local, regional, national, or international market who have clout or shared interests so you can work on building a viral following of brand enthusiasts? • Will you have to create video and share it with your subscriber list? All of these things require you to think - to map out what you should be doing with each hour of the day when you’re working. When you’re done with uploading/tagging/captioning Facebook pictures, for instance, let yourself move onto the next related task. Keep from drifting into your personal stream and checking out what friends are doing with their lives (IMHO it’s a waste of time.) pate as you slip into activities that aren’t bringing you closer to your primary goal. Yes, you will have to do some mundane activities during the day that go along with the job (like clearing out the spam from your blog posts, or uploading new pictures to your Facebook page.) But the key is to stay on schedule with your work.

FACEBOOK POWER TIP

If you start noticing your productivity is waning because of excessive Facebook use, use the privacy features to throw all your friends on a list. Then, make sure that you can't see this list in your feed. Personally, I have many business connections and pages I communicate with so I like to keep them in my feed so I know what's going on in the world of business rather than my "pseudo" social life.

The Role Energy Plays In Social Media Marketing RESULTS-BASED VS. EFFORT-BASED THINKING

time at school. On the other hand, when you’ve set an objective to learn in the case of results-based thinking, you use your time wisely in acquiring knowledge.

Remember, just because you're in a ‘working’ environment, doesn't mean you'll be productive. A working environment only lends itself to quality output. But quality output is the result of intelligent planning and execution. Ultimately, you want to be resultsbased in your thinking, not effortbased. To illustrate:

• Effort-based thinking means you're willing to go to school. • Results-based thinking means you've set an objective to learn once you've arrived. The graph above illustrates what happens with these two mindsets: When you’re willing to show up in the case of effort-based thinking, you invest much of your time in unfocused work. You haven’t set a real intention for spending your

Trust me, results-based thinking is what you want to engage in -- it will help you create more output (with less effort than you think). Moreover, the purpose of this book is to help you shift your thinking to only focus on results. Because ultimately, results are the only thing you can show for when you've put in a day's worth of work. Listed below are some suggested steps (in the right order), so you can start taking action now.

ACTION STEPS Determine what your primary goal is List all the details of this goal and what you will need to accomplish it Map out how your social media efforts will integrate into the success of this goal Determine the amount of time you need to be spending in each area of your work in order to achieve this goal in the shortest amount of time possible Communicate the different responsibilities to all parties involved Set milestones with your group to chart your progress Take action on the first step in your plan Don’t move onto the next step until you are satisfied with the quality of your output

Chapter 7: Bonus Me, Please (No Pun Intended)

Business Tooligans Biz Model Initiation Message To Prospective Influencer If you are looking to leverage the networks of influencers in your market, it is important that you send them an email/message. Below is the message I used to get some of the top experts in my field interested in what I had to say...

Excellent article, [Name]. Came across your work through [person, website, event, article, video, etc.]. How would you feel about [as briefly as possible, describe the win-win-win and what every party gains from your idea] contributing to my company's #SMMGR Magazine on a periodic basis? Unlike guest posting, we'll utilize some of your archived blog posts (so you don't have to write new content) and help you sell more of your products and programs at the end of your content piece? We'll earn a commission off any sales made through the newsletter, you'll get more exposure / leads / sales, and our readership will learn from you, a qualified expert. It's a win-win-win. Please send me an email if this sounds of interest to you. Sincerely, P.S. Currently, we have [insert all experts who’ve agreed to this same proposal] on board.

POWER TIPS • This should be done after you’ve put some time into understanding them, who they are, what they teach, what other experts they’re connected to, etc. HOWEVER, please know that I have sent this off to experts without knowing extensive information about them and it’s worked out fine... I’ve just put in time (once they agreed to talk) to better understand who they were exactly. Either way works, but just know you’ll have to do some research at some point to learn about them. • Ideally you’ll want to send this in an email. HOWEVER, you can do this within the comments section of their most recent blog post. We’ve found that the speed of the response is much quicker. This is because the expert is already in a “receptive mode” to get feedback from his/her readership. It’s almost like a compliment that you’ve put in effort to read their post and then helped them tack on another comment so that their readership perceives the post to be of higher value (again, always be thinking about the win-win-win relationship). • Please understand that we were in a very big time crunch to get moving on our idea so we weren’t afraid of someone else “stealing” it if they came across our proposal on the expert's blog comments. Our reasoning for this was that based on our up front investment in mapping out this idea, we felt that there were plenty of other mechanics going on in the background that would make it difficult for anyone else to be “first to market.”

Business Tooligans Biz Model Followup Message To Prospective Influencer If the influencer likes your concept, they’ll most likely ask you what the next steps are. Make sure you have a more detailed message ready to fire off so they know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish and how you intend to serve the community. Below is an email we’ve used to get excellent results: [Name],

Josh Peters

Thanks for your interest and quick response. [Insert brief line that revisits a past conversation or refreshes their memory about who you are]. Here’s the rundown of (1) our intention with this [insert idea in as few words as possible] newsletter, (2) the basic content that we’ll be providing, (3) what a [insert audience] new subscriber will receive from us, (4) benefits to our expert panelists (and the people who are already involved) and (5) our marketing and promotional strategy for this [insert idea] newsletter... (1) [Insert your idea in a very precise, focused, and powerful sentence] Our service is an inbox magazine (another name for newsletter... BUT, with a very big distinction...) focused on helping managers, entrepreneurs, and employees navigate the social media education landscape. ([insert url to the particular webpage]) (http://www.businesstooligans.com/newsletter)

Sounds great. Send over the questions and lets do the interview next week.

(2) With our [insert audience] readership, we’d like to [insert idea] serve up articles produced by experts in the social media, Internet marketing, and small business education realms and expose them to crucial information (and products) that would be useful for their online marketing activities. This would allow them to leverage the best knowledge from the most valuable experts. Our theory is that [insert compelling punch line that makes the LP agree with you] with the right tools and resources, our subscribers will learn to work smarter, not harder. ...I’m sure you’re always looking for more people to help promote your message. Since we’re both in the business of [insert main keyword for your industry] social media, we know that our [insert audience] readership will be very receptive to your information and products. (3) [List what your audience/customer gains] Upon subscribing, a new reader will receive: * MP3 “sneak peak” audio of your interview in a professionally packaged format * Ongoing articles produced by expert panelists which include a bio (ex: EarlyToRise.com) * Promotional emails from experts who are launching new products or services * Invitations to special events, offers, and bonuses (4) [List what the influencer gains] Benefits to our expert panelists: * Little time investment for great exposure * More mileage from past blog articles (while avoiding SEO issues)

* Distribution of your content and sales messages to other experts’ readership (Currently, we have [insert names of other experts who’ve agreed to participate] on board.) * Profit sharing in back end sale of interview + expert bonus giveaway (see below for details) * (1) BONUS email every six months where you receive 100% of the revenue (5) [Insert your method of marketing the concept and what you’ll need from the expert] The only time commitment we ask you to make is one hour for an interview where we’d ask you to provide insight on topics like: [insert industry] tools, how to get started as a [insert professional], what objections a [insert professional] must be ready to face and how they should overcome them, managing clients, expanding your service offerings, and a conclusion about your new developments and where people can find you.

Jason Falls

Then, we’ll package a “sneak peak” version of the interview as a bonus (15 minutes in length) for new subscribers (available for 1 month only). Your content will be batched with 2 other experts in your field [insert professional field] so that we generate a lot of buzz in the community. We’ll be doing this with each month’s expert interview topics ([insert related fields])

Sounds good to me. I'm game.

Once we’ve made your interview available, all we ask is that you promote it to your social media and email channels and direct them to our [insert sales funnel - newsletter, product page, etc.]. (* We’ll provide simple emails, tweets, and Facebook messages for you to choose from so you don’t have to create them!) ** After the month’s end, we’ll discontinue your interview, make it available in a continuity membership site (with an accompanying ‘expert bonus’ you’re willing to give away), and share in the sales profits. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you are ready to get started, we’d like to send over our interview questions and schedule a time to interview you over the phone.

Amy Porterfield

Look forward to your thoughts. Best, * NOTE: You must do this to make the whole proposal seem easier for the influencer to participate (and drive more traffic to you). ** NOTE: This is set up through clickbank.com

WOW....great business model no doubt! And I love how organized this email is--I know that sounds silly, but you would be amazed by some of the crazy emails I get! I am IN! Let's do this. I am excited to get started.

The Mastermind Blueprint Developing Your Own Mastermind Group

Listed below are some comments I've made on blog posts and Facebook pages that have steered the conversation towards my goal of formulating a mastermind group. I thought you might gain some insight into how to go about introducing the concept to a target influencer: Your response was very thorough! Thanks. I agree with you wholeheartedly that it's about the relationship. The framework that we structured seems to be working very well for us. You must be sincere with anything you say. Too often you see people not taking the time to LISTEN. This is a quick way to build distrust and position yourself as a poor salesman. I am finding that the people (and pages) I reach out to through Facebook are the exact group of people I want to be connected with in business. But it's also important to understand that I had a plan going into this engagement. I am not just aimlessly commenting on people's posts... there's a reason why I'm reaching out to people like you. Mainly because we have the same business interests and I appreciate the content you post. Thanks again for your thoughts. I'm looking to build relationships with "competitors" which would ultimately add value to both our list of clients. I think a very powerful way to connect with your consumers is to reach out to other people of influence and engage with their pages. (Like I'm doing here). It's important that you show your face on different people's networks and not rely solely on your own for people to hear about you. This helps you migrate followers of

other pages over to your page, as well as build a strong relationship with the admin. It's a win-win all around. I think the most important part of networking starts with your planning. Asking yourself why you want to network with people. It really points to an even bigger priority which is: "What are you doing with your life?" What is you main purpose in life and goals you're working towards. Once you've aligned yourself with these things, networking comes naturally and you are more intent on LISTENING to what people in your market say. Then, you can reach out to the ones who resonate with you most and formulate relationships... Joining up with people who complement your skill set really helps propel your business to the next level. Thanks for this - I see great things in the future. Regarding the mastermind group, as of now, I'm working on a social network one (which no one has been asked to join yet). I want to do it right... you know... form relationships with people in my market who have influence, integrity, and a desire to grow their companies through the organized efforts of the fellow mastermind members. I think if everyone I reach out to is on this

page, we can do something HUGE. When you can leverage the skill sets of others who are committed to helping you, it's powerful. And the cool part is, it's a win-win because there's a very strong focus on building a long-term partnership... We are looking to create a resource syndicate whereby fellow professionals in the "Social Networking, Internet Marketing, and Small Business Education" space can share highly valuable information, leverage & collaborate on promotions/events, disseminate resources/information to each other's readership, and build a strong following of passionate buyers through the group's expanded network. If you're interested, DM your email... I'd like to send you some excellent information I've accumulated on Facebook networking that will help you understand this process a little more. ...Knowledge organized into effective plans and acted upon is REAL power. Thanks for sharing. This article inspired me to give out a really good tip for small biz owners... If you haven't learned how to leverage the power of GOOGLE ALERTS, it's definitely time you do. By typing in your company as a "Keyword" you can set GOOGLE ALERTS to

The Mastermind Blueprint Developing Your Own Mastermind Group deliver the list of content that was published that day with the keywords you input. It will pull content from ANYWHERE ON THE WEB... Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myspace, LinkedIn, blogs, or any other place. Go to www.google.com/ alerts. Good luck.

to. And if you do, every day should be VERY interesting. You should have a very good reason when you choose to publish content about your company. The ultimate purpose of any content you publish is to ADD VALUE. Keep the main thing the main thing.

In terms of marketing, social networks have given small business owners the profound ability to connect with prospects and listen closely to what people say about their brands. I have strong beliefs that through the use of social media, a small business owner doesn't have to fear competition... if we embrace the power of building social connections with competitors, things like Clickbank and Affiliate Commissions completely change the way we think about online business. Instead, competitors are people of influence in your market who endorse your products because you share the same values. Win-win relationships are actually POSSIBLE between competitors through the Internet. Thank you for this post. It's a reminder of what we as entrepreneurs can do now that we couldn't do years ago...

80/20 rule... you're right about that. Thank you for this post. I think the best way to make sure you're using your time effectively is to construct a plan. Plans help bring order to your mind and reduce the stress of missing out on what needs to get done. In terms of SOCIAL MEDIA, there is a REAL opportunity to leverage the knowledge, skills, and influence of others in your market to benefit your business. However, you must know what you're doing - because like you've said, you shouldn't be spending all of your time on it.

This is interesting. Thanks for sharing. It makes me think of an idea I came across recently... The marketer who spoke was mentioning that you should treat social media (or any other form of virtual communication) like you would a physical relationship. You don't necessarily give your friends a call EVERYDAY to let them know what you're up

Networking through Facebook. I'm building excellent relationships with page owners who share the same interests with the ultimate purpose of building a mastermind group. This is good. Makes me think of the power one can create if he/she leverages the skills/knowledge of others. A mastermind group is the most effective and productive way to build your team. Excellent point! ...Reached out to others that are marketing their services on Facebook. Working on building a syndicate of like-minded business professionals who are interested in

cross-promoting through a tight knit group of "influencers." Your post was very clear and straight forward. I appreciated the simple steps you outlined. Most importantly, I liked how you mentioned, "Perhaps you want to form a Mastermind group." ...Been reading Think And Grow Rich? lol. I think this is one of the more powerful elements that social media has to offer - the ability to collaborate and leverage the resources, people, and connections of others in the common goal of increasing the influence of you and your mastermind group. This must be done right... like you said, "add value."

Important, please read this...

RESULTS

DISCLAIMER

My results are not typical. Nothing in this book should be assumed. All the information presented has been tried and tested by me alone. You are not guaranteed to experience the same results from your efforts. I am not responsible for anything you choose or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t choose to implement.

The Mastermind Blueprint Developing Your Own Mastermind Group Now you get to see it in action... the behind the scenes of what a real Mastermind Group document looks like -STRAIGHT FROM OUR OWN PLAYBOOK!

INTRODUCTION With the amount of Facebook fan page owners who are sharing their information in the Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Small Business Education spaces, we saw an opportunity to leverage the experience, skills, knowledge, and influence of a select few to create a mastermind alliance (Napoleon Hill, Think And Grow Rich), whereby the members could benefit through idea sharing, exposure to valuable information, and build long-term strategic partnerships with fellow group members. The group is comprised of small business owners and individuals.

PURPOSE As youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve noticed, we are consistently reaching out to you through your posts because we share the same values, interests, and the desire to serve others - weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve grown to appreciate the content you publish and the particular market you are serving. You are receiving this invitation to our 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance because we believe you offer the following:

1. Experience/Knowledge a. Social media b. Developing a community c. Internet Marketing d. Promotions

2. Shared values a. Entrepreneurship b. Education c. Inspiration d Growth e. Opportunity

3. Influence a. Engaged readership (amount of comments/likes on posts) b. # of fans on Facebook

BENEFITS The ultimate purpose of the 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance is to advance your business interests through a tight network of Internet professionals in the Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Small Business Education spaces. With this select membership, we seek to offer the following advantages:

1. Alliance of influential figures within the Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Small Business Education spaces 2. Exclusivity 3. Idea sharing 4. Expert resource trading 5. Exposure to valuable tools, information, and opportunities 6. Long-term strategic partnerships a. Affiliate commissions b. Lead generation c. Expand readership/fan base d. Collaborative efforts i. Cross-promotions ii. Guest interviews/webinars/teleseminars with group members Cross-tagging Facebook posts, notes, videos, MP3s, reports

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES Below are some requirements and commitments we’ve outlined so that you are clear on your personal duties for maintaining the 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance. Please understand that you’ve been selected to participate in this group because we believe you have the qualities we are seeking in our business partnerships. By committing to your role as a member of this group we believe there is an excellent opportunity for all participants to generate good standing with their respective networks, boost influence on their markets, and ultimately increase their sales of products or personal services. MEMBERS’ RESPONSIBILITIES In order for you to benefit from this alliance, we have outlined a set of responsibilities for all members to follow: I. Content Creation 1. Once a week, one member (“leader”) will select a topic of their choice with the goal of creating a presentation/document for his/her fan-base 2. Each member of the group will be responsible for providing either (1) ORIGINAL document of notes, at least 1.5 pages in length or (2) an ORIGINAL presentation/webinar in line with the topic 3. The “leader” will use these assets to compile a presentation/document 4. The “leader” will include all members names in the credits section of the presentation 5. All members are then responsible for promoting the new asset to their fan-bases with the intention of creating new fans for the “leader” 6. The group will co-create promotional materials serving as “sales copy” for the presentation launch: a. Line-up of Facebook/Twitter updates b. Email series c. Graphic Banner II. Scheduling 1. Time commitment expectation: 1-3 hours/week a. Research b. Asset composition c. General maintenance d. Phone calls/communication III. Communication Skype Calls 1. 1st Monday of every month we’ll hold 2-hour “Power Group” discussions touching on the following: a. General maintenance b. Idea generation c. New findings, trends, resources d. New guest introductions e. Etc. Generally, timing for Skype Calls are predicated on the overlapping of all members’ schedules; however, we’d prefer doing it in the mornings. All scheduling based on Pacific Standard Time.

GMail We believe GMail is the most effective way to conduct the group’s interactions - it allows for: 1. Sharing of documents + calendars with other GMail accounts 2. Instant messaging within documents 3. Storage 4. Google Chat (text, voice, video) 5. Phone Calls For the benefit of the group, we require that you create a separate email account to streamline and enhance communication efforts. Below is an example of your new GMail account address:

FullName.2TMCoMMA@gmail.com

ADMINISTRATORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES As the owners and administrators of this group, we commit to providing you with the following: • • • •

Alliance composition and management Proper introductions to new members Professional facilitation of group’s interests Cultivation of opportunities outside of the group through educational seminars, new partnerships and collaborations, and discounts for business services and products

NON-DISCLOSURE The business dealings, ideas, or any other information discussed within the 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance should not be spoken about to anyone outside of the group across any social network. It is a secret group for the very reason that we want to keep the community strong and not have outside influences from people we have not screened. The term “secret group” is the technical status of the 2TM Co. Mastermind Alliance on Facebook. This status also helps everyone in the group operate with the same understanding. We would prefer not having to make exceptions for certain requests and thus feel it is easiest to place the group under an “umbrella of secrecy.” Additionally, if a member is removed from the group for whatever reason, this allows us to prevent them from “finding” it again on Facebook. In other words, we would have to invite people to join for them to know about it. Please understand that some of the information discussed might be confidential enough that it warrants extra protection. We ask that you sign a Non-Disclosure agreement to prevent exposure of important information. The most notable examples of such information is as follows: 1. Product launch dates 2. Strategies behind launches 3. Any other information that is deemed sensitive to any individual member or the group as a whole

EVALUATION FORM 1. The use of Facebook benefits you in the following ways (select any or all): a. Market Research b. Customer Service c. Lead Generation d. Marketing/Promotions e. All of the above 2. What kind of projects are you working on at the moment? (Choose any or all of the following) a. Affiliate Sales b. Social Media Marketing Service(s) c. Social Media Marketing Product(s) d. Small Business Solution(s) / Service(s) e. Small Business Educational Product(s) f. Other (please list): ___________________________________________ 3. Who would you benefit from talking to the most? (i.e. What type of professionals? Please be specific.) 4. Who has influenced you to get into this business? (i.e. Internet Marketing “Gurus”, Motivational Experts, friends, etc. Please be specific)

5. Why did you commit to this business? 6. Name 3 Internet Marketing products you’ve purchased/reviewed in the past year: RULES OF THE 2TM Co. MASTERMIND ALLIANCE • • • •

If you try to make a sales pitch you are booted out of the group You’re not allowed to talk about the group (or you’re booted) >>> “Fight Club” Look to share excellent secrets that everyone would appreciate All content shared MUST ADD VALUE

At any point in time we may boot you from the group if we suspect foul play. Please sign and date in the fields below and return a copy to us digitally sampleemail@gmail.com. You may print/ scan or type up a new document with your responses. Your signature indicates that you’ve read and agreed to follow the terms listed above. __________________________ ___________________ Signature Date __________________________ ___________________ Email Skype

Chapter 8: Bottoms Up!

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Christina Hills

Natalie Sisson

Johnny B. Truant Payson Cooper

I think it’s a great Sounds fabulous. This is a really well idea to service social thought out idea and media managers. a smart one too. Like Shannon Cherry you I'm always aiming Trey Pennington to help people work smarter not harder in understanding how social media can help them so count me in. This sounds like an easy no- brainer. Sounds like a great Absolutely. idea. I would enjoy being a part of your program.

This sounds like quite a wonderful deal.

Jesse Stay

Andrea Nierenberg

I would love to contribute and work with you... It sounds good and I will blog and market it a lot.

Aaron Strout

Sure - I'd be happy to.

Sounds like a good deal. Sign me up.