Lip-Sticking

America the Beautiful, For Spacious Skies

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Happy 4th of July everyone.

To celebrate our country's birthday I'm going to share with you a few of the over 200 photos I recently took of some breathtaking scenes of our great country that we call the United States of America. I got to travel through some states that I've never been in before; Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

We started out in Salt Lake City where the 2012 BlogPaws Conference was held this year. I again was a speaker at the conference and since I had never been to this part of the country I asked my husband, Kevin, to join me and we took some time off to explore.

We dove up to Wyoming to Grand Teton National Park and were in awe when we first saw the "Tetons". They are made up of granite mountain peaks that even in 90 degree heat are snow-capped.

We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge in the park and got to see the most beautiful sunset over the lake the first night with the Tetons in the background. We even saw a bear and her three cubs in the distance.

The next morning we woke up early and drove back into Jackson Hole to go on a white water rafting trip on the Snake River with the Sands Company. I was able to capture this amazing photo of the Tetons which is very close to the spot Ansel Adams took one of his famous photos.
While on the Snake River during the earlier "Scenic Rafting" part of the trip we got to spot three bald eagles. This was one item Kevin had on his bucket list to see. These birds are beautiful.

Next we headed up into Yellowstone National Park and did a full day of driving the "loop" as they call it. This is "Big Country" that can't be appreciated fully in photos. But I tried.

First stop was at one of the Geyser and Spring basins in West Thumb.

Then we encountered our first close-up of a bison grazing in one of the picnic areas on the side of the road.

Next we headed to the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone. This is a view of the Lower Falls.

Up in the northern part of the park we stopped at Mammoth Springs that has some awesome terraces that show off the hot springs.

Of course a visit to Yellowstone wouldn't be complete without seeing Old Faithful erupt!

A stop to see some of the other geysers and springs are also a must.

On our way out of the Park we saw a herd of Bison and their young.

 

Almost to the park exit, this female elk didn't want us to leave!

We are truly blessed to live in such a big, beautiful, diverse and FREE country. Happy Birthday America. Thanks for allowing me to share my photos. Hope you enjoyed them. There are plenty more on my Facebook page if you're interested.

We "Found Our Beach" in Mexico, along with a few Coronas

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Hola. Por favor excuse my absence last week while I was on vacation in Mexico with my husband, Kevin. We had a lovely time and it was the first visit we made to this area which they call the Maya Rivera. The resort we stayed in was south of Cancun, about half way to Playa del Carmen. We both agreed we would like to visit again, so I'm going to try to learn more Spanish in the meantime. I haven't taken a course since high school!

I'm not a world traveler, but the times I have traveled outside of this country have always been very insightful experiences. They remind me that America is not the center of the world, as much as many of us Americans think it is. While we were in a resort area, we did not sit at the resort everyday and had rented a car which allowed us to get out and explore a bit. My family and friends cautioned us before we left. "Be careful, don't go to far from the resort. Mexico is not a safe place to visit." While I agree we needed to be cautious, these statements are true no matter where you go. Just think of the horrible tragedy that happened just yesterday at a small college in Oakland, CA.

What I wanted to point out is that all the local Mexicans that we met, those that worked at the resort, the local Walmart in Playa del Carmen, the guides that took us out on their boats to snorkel the reef, we're all so very pleasant. Yes, many rely on us tourists to make a living, however, there appeared to be a genuine friendless that I found more with them then with the average American. My husband and I would both wake up early every morning and go for a jog or a walk around the resort. Each employee we passed would make eye contact and greet us with either a hola or buenos dias. In contrast, not all the resort's guests were as friendly. So we can learn something here.

Travel Preparation Tips For Families

Guest Post by Renee Martinez

Traveling with my four boys, ranging between the ages of 4 to 10, require some coordination. I take family trips because I want the entire family to have fun and to have an opportunity to really enjoy each other’s company, so it’s important to me we’re not bogged down by stress (which can really creep up on you).

In order to make a family trip go smoothly it’s essential for me to plan ahead and take some necessary steps to organize. There are a few things I always do. They are not hard to do, yet they certainly make my life easier and my travels less stressful.

1. Get the boys involved with helping out. Have them create a pile of items they wish to bring for entertainment such as books, music or movies. You might want to limit each child a certain number of items, so you don’t end up hauling an entire toy store with you. Limiting the number of items will also get your child to really think about whether they would actually play with it, and if there is another item that they know they would enjoy for a longer time.

Going Mobile in Boston - iPhone vs. Droid

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Recently I read this stat from eMarketer that estimates that the US mobile web population will be up almost 25% this year as 97.3 million mobile owners log on to the internet from their device. My husband and I just returned from a long-weekend trip to Boston in which we were both one of those 97.3 million people who did just that. We went to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and be tourists in a city that neither of us knew very well. We left behind the laptop and just took ourselves, some clothes and our mobile phones, Kevin having an iPhone and me a Droid. It turned out at times to be a bit of a competition between the two platforms.

At the airport I said there has got to be some apps out there to help give us tips on visiting Boston. Kevin found one, I found another and we both downloaded them. We ended up liking the one I found better, the Boston GuidePal, so he downloaded it as well. Apparently this app is available for most major cities in the U.S. It was great and we ended up referring to it throughout the trip. It told us the best of What to See & Do, Eat & Drink, Nightlife and Shopping. You can open each recommendation which provides more detail, address, phone, website, and "T" stop. You can click on the map which opens to show you exactly where it's located. The iPhone again proved its superiority because you could zoom and expand the map by your fingertips, where with the Droid I could only click to zoom in just one view closer.

Stop the truck, I wanna get off!

I can't believe it. We did it! We managed, with great difficulty, at times, to make it all the way from Rochester, NY to Frederick, CO...and we love our new home!

I could write a whole month's worth of posts about preparing for the trip - that was a lesson in... being the Three Stooges, I think. Yes, we had a plan. But, like all plans, it resisted our efforts to make it work. And yet, we packed (and at one point UNpacked) several trucks...and drove to Colorado, kitty in her carrier between us. Bumping along like pioneers - ok, not pioneers, they probably clumped along behind their horses at 20 mph, while we were hitting the 60s almost all the way. And, they had it way more uncomfortable than we did.

Summertime means travel: hey, let's go on a Voyij

Those who know me well know that...I'm a homebody. A hermit. Completely content to see exciting places on my TV. I have no need to visit them.

But...I seem to be a party of one, for the most part. Other people - intelligent people - don't buy my, "The out of doors is exactly where it belongs (outdoors) and it should only stay there. That's why God gave us windows - so we could admire it from the comfort of our heated or air-conditioned homes."

Other people like to travel, so they say...

Women and Car Dealers: A Match ... ?

This one comes to you from Tom (I think Yvonne has mentioned me a couple of times: pool-boy, IT Dept., partner, fiance - I find that first one ver-r-r-y flattering, BTW).

Yvonne is off to Chicago for the AMA's Leadership Conference "Mission Possible" with her fellow Board members from our local chapter, RAMA, and she left me here to slave over the hot keyboard. Violins, please.

Anyway, I've been promising to get this video posted for her, since we "premiered" it when she spoke on marketing to women online at the Women's Automotive Association International breakfast event at the NYC Auto Show a couple of weeks ago (thanks again to Jody DeVere of AskPatty.com for arranging and sponsoring that trip).

Enjoy the video now and then I'll give you some more background below.

In case you didn't catch the credits, the script for this comes from a post by Nance on her Dept. of Nance blog, entitled Every Journey Begins With A Single Step: Help My Husband. Nance must have struck a nerve with this, because it's been "reprinted" in full on the AskPatty blog and elicited sympathetic comments in both blogs. We're grateful to Nance for her permission to use her post (and then to share the video even after seeing the result!). We're also grateful to Microsoft for including the music so appropriately titled "Highway Blues" in its sample clips.

And of course, I'm always grateful to the narrator (Yvonne) for letting me hang around with her.

Green and Red Partnerships Catch Fire

A lot of people think marketing to women online is magic, or theory, or expensive, or something they have to 'study' to figure out. I think much of it is common sense. What's hard is getting out of your own way. Partnerships are a positive, valuable way to connect with this market. Are you looking for partners in all the right places?

Here are a few ideas you should be able to use to your advantage:

Over at Hotel Marketing, they're talking about autumn as a great vacation travel time. [original story from USA Today.] You don't have to be a travel site to utilize this information. Do you sell items people need to take on vacation? That they might WANT to take on vacation? Are your products or services a good mix for travel - vacation or otherwise? Think about ways to tap into that dynamic.

Women are traveling more and more, these days. If you can make our trip easier (provide something to read or do during long layovers, provide us with better luggage, friendlier hotel stays, whatever), you'll have a sale. Don't forget those ladies who choose to drive wherever they go.

Personally, I need a goodie bag. You know, some good eats that I can bring on the plane. Something tasty and nutritious - but not heavy. Not an energy bar, please. Maybe a cookie. Maybe a candy bar. Maybe a sandwich. Maybe all three. Got anything like that?

The green (cash) and red (autumn trees) of fall should be filling your head with great ideas. If they aren't, you're missing the boat. How's that for mixing metaphors?

On the Road Again...Yvonne Talks Blogs

Last Friday at my local Rochester Professional Consultants Network meeting, our speaker discussed networking approaches - the how and why of connecting to others to help drive business or referrals. He was affable enough, funny enough, and knew his stuff. But, he said only one thing that I hadn't heard before. Halfway through his presentation, he said, "How many people have heard the saying, 'It's not what you know, it's who you know?'" Of course, we all raised our hands (about 25 of us, I think. Often there are 40 - it's a small but active group.)

Then he said, "Well, I'm here to tell you that statement is false. Forget who YOU know. The truth is, it's not what you know, it's who KNOWS you."

Think about it: in the madness of a world shrinking via blogs, broadband connections, online networking communities, and cell phones attached to ears with velcro - getting to know hundreds of folks isn't hard. Getting to know the RIGHT folks is trickier. The right folks are the ones that spread the good news - those customer evangelists Jackie Hubba talks about over at Church of the Customer. Those kind souls who love what you do and tell the world - but more importantly, tell prospects! That's what he meant by it isn't who you know, it's who knows you.

I count my blessings in that arena. Since starting the blog I've met some fantastic people. Some outstandingly smart people. And some celebrities - though they might not think of themselves as celebrities. People like Andy Sernovitz from WOMMA, and Michele Miller from Wizard of Ads, and Susan Getgood of Marketing Roadmaps, Evelyn Rodriguez of Crossroads Dispatches, Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing, David St. Lawrence of Ripples, Dennis Kennedy of LexThing, and more, many, many more.

In my travels, I've also attracted some attention. I've been fortunate to speak on publishing or blogging or marketing to women online in over a dozen cities throughout the U.S. This week, I'm delighted to announce that I'm off to Washington, DC to be part of a panel of blogging experts. We're going to discuss Beyond Blogging. This breakfast roundtable is sponsored by Fleishman-Hillard, and promises to be a lively discussion. I, of course, will present the women's viewpoint. And, I have a lot to say!

Watch for my report on this blog...when all is said and done. And, visit Beyond Blogging to join in the conversation. Where do YOU think blogging is going...next year, or the year after? Who have YOU met via your blog, that impacted your life in a positive way? Are YOU going to Blogher? (that's another story, another post, for another day.)

Smart Man Online: Scott Ginsberg - That NameTag Guy!

At last, I'm back on track with the Smart Woman Online and Smart Man Online series of interviews. Today's interview will blow you away! How can I say that? Like this, "Today's interview will blow you away!" Is that better?

I'm feeling frisky...because Scott, my interviewee, is one dynamite guy who has that effect on people. For those not in the know, Scott is world-famous - as That Guy with the NameTag. Scott wears a nametag all day, every day. Yep, 24/7. Even in the shower. Stay tuned for a pic!

I was fortunate enough to meet Scott at last week's WOMBAT, in FL. You'll hear a lot more about the conference in days to come, because I just have a lot more to say about it.

ONE of the best parts was the keynote from Scott, during lunch on the first day. Scott spoke on approachability. Read on for a lively discussion of how to get womma working for you, the Scott Ginsberg way:

Yvonne: One of the first things I noticed about you is...your youth. At first glance, you look like a high school boy. Then, you start talking and your manner is friendly but professional. Is this 'natural' or did you take speaking lessons?

Scott: Yeah, I'm young. Not a lot of  26 year olf professional speakers/authors out there! But I always quote Indiana Jones who said, "It's not the years - it's the mileage." And while a certain amount of any speaker's gift to talk in front of an audience is natural, we all gotta rehearse and practice. And those are two different things, too. For example, I never took lessons, but I did go to Toastmasters for a while. That was practice.

And for the first few years, I also used to speak for free around town to local groups A LOT. That was also practice. But for the WOMMA speech, I spoke for 35 minutes in front of 500 people. And I probably went through that speech a total of 20 hours that week to prepare. That's REHEARSAL.

Yvonne: I'm often referred to as 'The Dickless Marketing Lady'...or, 'the blog lady'...which is fun. Do you ever get tired of being referred to as 'that guy with the nametag'?

Scott: Nope. Although, in the first few years as a college student, it got a bit annoying. Especially with the irony that my name was RIGHT THERE, and some people - even my friends -  called me "tag" or "nametag" or "nametag guy." But honestly, I am damn proud to be "that guy with the nametag."

It's a symbol of my values, passion, business and the validation for my existence. Plus chicks dig it. [I assume by 'chicks' Scott means YOUNG LADIES...unless, by some strange chance he'd include an aging grandma like myself in that category! Wow, would that be cool or what?]

Yvonne: One of the things you talked about at WOMMA is approachability ...gosh, I think that's the topic of your latest book, right? Give my readers 3 hints on how to be approachable. Can you also include your thoughts on WHYit's more important than ever to be approachable, in today's hide-behind the computer digital-society?

Scott: Ok. I'll do four: two personal and two professional, since approachability applies to those two areas. 

PERSONAL
1) When people ask you how you're doing, don't ever say "FINE."  FINE is an acronym for "feelings I'm not expressing." It's habitual and an emotional smokescreen that doesn't show personal availability.  Just TRY telling customers how you REALLY feel, then they will appreciate your openness and honesty and feel comfortable reciprocating. 

2) Smile when you get introduced to someone, answer the phone and say goodbye to someone, both in person and on the phone. Sounds dumb, but common sense isn't always common practice. :-)

PROFESSIONAL
1) You've got to own a word. Make sure that every person you meet says, "After talking to him, I'll never think about (your word) the same way again." Because once you own a word in someone's mind, you become the go to guy, expert, etc.  It's a marketing must - find that one word that you deserve to own. If you're not sure which word you own, Google your name and see what comes up.  Hopefully it's not "jerk." [hey, that worked for Steve Martin!]

2) Do something cool. Make sure that when you tell people about your company, products and ideas, they say, "cool." When people get your business card or come to your website, be sure they say "cool." Cool is valuable because customers remember, love and spread the word about products, ideas and companies who are cool. Read the 100 Coolest Companies online - great article, it should motivate your melon a bit.

WHY APPROCHABLE?
Because people want to do busines with their friends. Because isolated it out. Because the only profitable airline is the only approachable airline (SW). Because technology is working against us and approachability will save us.

And because I said so ;)  [that's good enough for me]

Yvonne: You and I chatted the other day, and we got on the subject of publishing. I was so excited to hear that you're a self-published author, using print-on-demand. Why did you choose to go that route? Who thought up the name of your company, Front Porch Productions? Do you have a front porch on your house? [disclosure: the following reply is completely unsolicited except for the question here; Scott is not a client. His advice is straight from the heart. And, I heartily agree with it.]

Scott: If you don't self publish, here's what happens. You have to write a book PROPOSAL (not a book) and sell it to an agent, who probably won't like it. If the agent does, she'll have to sell it to a publisher, who probably won't like it either. If the publisher does, they'll pay you a teeny tiny bit of
money so you can rewrite the book to fit their mold and compromise your intergrity, because publishers only care what sells, not what's good.  Ultimately, however, if it doesn't sell, they yank 'em off the shelves and nobody will care about your book anymore. And this whole process takes 2-3 years.  Keep in mind, none of what I just said applies if you are a) on The Apprentice, or b) named Oprah Winfrey.

My opinion: do it yourself. You can! And I promise you, it's the hardest thing you'll ever do in your life. BUT, with POD and self publishing: you write what you want, finish the book in under 1 year and get all the money.  Plus, a big publisher would have you do all the marketing anyway, so that doesn't change. Even Jack Canfield once claimed, "I should have self published the whole time." Plus, when you smell that first book coming out of the box of your first run, you'll cry.  God damn it's beautiful. 
So I guess my theory is, "If I've written two books at the age of 25, it can't be that hard."

Yvonne: So, what do you want to be when you grow up? Or, like so many of your gender (she says with a smile), do you just plan on never growing up? (I expect you'll continue writing and speaking and inspiring others to be friendly, but...is there a burning desire to climb mountains, or sail the seven seas, or run a real estate conglomerate? )

Scott: When I was seven years old I wanted to be an author. Not a writer, but an author. As in, 'guy who writes books.' Why I chose that career, I'm not sure. Maybe I liked writing. Maybe I thought books were cool. Or maybe it was just the first answer I could come up with. The truth is, I never really gave it much thought. That is, not until one random day about 6 months ago when I was giving a speech to a group of 7th graders. I started telling these kids about the two books I'd written when it hit me like a ton of books. Yes, books - not bricks.

Oh my God! I thought. I really AM an author! [you am!]

But I'm an author AND a speaker, so here's how the other half came about.  The following is from an audience member at the first speech I ever gave on March 19th, 2003: 

"Scott, my name is Tom Jenkins, chairman of the Portland Rotary Clubs. I just wanted to thank you for speaking to us today. We really enjoyed your talk."

"Thanks!" I said.

"But, if you don't mind me asking...what do you do?"

"Oh. Right. Well, right now I sell couches at this furniture store downtown."

Then Tom said one word that changed my life forever...

"Quit."

The room fell silent.

"Scott, quit your job selling furniture. You need to become a professional speaker."

So I did.  And here I am.

Oh, and by the way, I climb mountains every day.

Yvonne: You're pretty digital...with a website and a blog. Who handles your online presence?  It looks like YOU write the blog...but, be honest, do you have someone else post in it, occasionally?

Scott: Are you kidding me? I do everything. People would have to be out of the freaking minds to NOT write their OWN blog. Ghost posting and ghost writing is bullshit. Frankly, it's unappraochble.  After all, one of the 7 Areas of Approachability is "Keeping it Real." If someone else is posting for you, you need to check yourself.

Yvonne: Do you think having a blog is dangerous? So many companies I talk to put their hands up and go white when I suggest they start a blog! "Legal won't let me!" they complain. Are they being real?

Scott: Blogging is the most important thing that ever happened to the Internet since...well...The Internet.  And you think, "Didn't people from big companies get fired because they blogged?"  No.  They got fired because they blogged stupidly.  Because not everyone knows how to do it right.  Go to Seth Godin's site.  That guys keeps it real.  And everyone in the world should blog, too. Housewives, students, kids, businesspeople, senators - everyone! 

Blogs give everyone a voice, and honestly, there's some smart people out there. A lot smarter than me!  After all, business needs to be more transparent because customers don't trust anybody anymore. You wanna talk about being approachable? Give your company a blog. And if you get into legal trouble, well, then you're not blogging correctly. Read a few books on it. You'll be great. Just let it go and realize blogging is the future. 

Yvonne: What part of the WOMBAT conference was the best? Really...was it the great weather? The great attendance? The fun programs? Mickey Mouse? Since you travel a lot, and have had occasion to speak in lots of different places...you must have different 'take aways' from each. For me,
it was the people. All the people. You, the other speakers, the attendees, Andy, and the other folks mingling about. Although the event was full of buzz, I felt that everyone was pretty approachable. Do you agree? Are all your conferences like that? [note: the pic is NOT Scott in the shower...but, as you can see, if he goes in the shower, or otherwise gets naked...he still has his nametag on!]

Scott: The best part of WOMMA was the club sandwich I ate the night before my speech. It had like 14 strips of bacon!

Just kidding. The best part was Jackie Huba's presentation about creating customer evangelists. I don't need to explain it because you can just go to The Church of the Customer and find out for yourself. She's a freakin' genius.

The weather was nice, but I don't care about that. I was there to learn, meet cool people, blow my audience away and have fun. Didn't have time to tan. Most conference are a bit more stuffy, but WOMMA was super hip, fun and laid back. Not to mention, a few speakers dropped F-bombs in their talks. You gotta love that. Not all associations could handle it. WOMMA is hard core, with-it, tech savvy marketers who "get it." They're good people. I'm already emailing and calling many of them.  Like you, my dickless friend. [blush, blush...attempts a cartwheel...ouch!...quick, call the paramedics!]

Yvonne: I have to ask...since my focus is marketing to women online, do you shop online? What, if anything, worries you about shopping online?

Scott: I once bought a (supposedly XL) Def Leppard t-shirt from ebay that would only have fit me if I lost 30 pounds. So I guess you never know what you're going to get, and an online graphic that's 2 inches tall can only tell you so much about an item. I like to touch what I'm about to buy. But that's
just me.

Yvonne: Last question...what can I do to help you sell more books, or get more speaking engagements, or just meet more people? Just say the word...

Scott: Tell everyone you know that "There's this guy named Scott who wears a nametag 24-7 to make people friendlier. He's got a cool story. Go to his website, buy his 2 books and watch his video. You'll be hooked. Then get him to speak at your company so the rest of your coworkers can get hooked too. Oh, and he's got a tattoo of a nametag on his chest. Seriously. This guy is committed. Or maybe he should be committed. Either way, he's good people."

***************************************************************

He is good people. He's better than that...he's one of the great people. We met several at WOMBAT. All I can say is that if you take Scott's advice, yes, you, too, can be approachable... and maybe even remarkable.

And, one little comment on the side...in defense of my presentation at the WOMBAT...check out this report at Psychology Today which says, "Women are always ahead of the linguistic curve." Ha! I told you so!