My good friend, Connie Green does a cool coaching program where she chooses one of her special students and mentors him or her until they earn 10k per month.

AND – the coolest part is that she records the coaching calls and allows us to listen in as part of her Earn 10k Per Month Laser Coaching Program.

So, we get to listen in to the coaching calls, without having to put our own necks on the line.

This week, she started with a new student (a pretty cool gal, if I do say so myself) – and she's made their first call available to listen to free.

Just click play below or download to listen.
[display_podcast]

If you think you might like to follow along on the rest of their journey together, here's where you can learn more.

Click to Learn More about Connie Green's “Earn 10k per Month” Laser Coaching

I'm off to listen now.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. Holy cow. I just noticed that you get the recordings from THIS 10k/month laser coaching AND also the recordings from the last two students that Connie mentored as well. Yowza. That's good stuff.

I hope you liked the free call. If you missed it, you can see the links again here:
[display_podcast] ]]> https://nicoleonthenet.com/13737/connie-green-coaching-program/feed/ 1 https://nicoleonthenet.com/13589/travel-be-comfortable/ https://nicoleonthenet.com/13589/travel-be-comfortable/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:16:52 +0000 http://www.nicoleonthenet.com/?p=13589 It’s another Expert Briefs, where I ask really smart business owners to answer your burning questions.

I just returned from an amazing weekend at the NAMS Workshop in Atlanta where I spoke/taught as well as spent a bunch of time in the one-on-one room giving attendees 15 minute clarity sessions. I also got to relax and enjoy time with my friends and meet new friends, as well. (More on that, though, soon.)

As I was in the airport waiting to head back home, I thought of a great question.  This is what I asked.

“What is your biggest tip for those of you who fly often to make life easier, be more comfortable – and/or to earn the most out of your trips in the way of frequent flyer miles, etc?”

I hope you enjoy the responses. I did.

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Every Book You Write Onto The First Page Of Kindle says:

1. Get an AmEx Platinum card! This gets you into all their lounges at airports. SOOO great – you get outlets, extra room, business centers, free food/drinks, and lots of other goodies..

2. Those Xpress Spa stations at the airport = my favorite invention of the month. 25 minute manicure as you sit on an EPIC massage chair. Love.

3. If you go on American Airlines, splurge for the extra legroom and go for aisle 8. You get exit-row legroom (right behind first class) and you get off the plane sooner. (Side note: I got this entire row to myself. WOOHOO!)

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Plan Your Online Business says:

I consider travel time “my” time. So while others are stressing about a flight delay, I'm relaxing with a book I've been too busy to read or downloading a new app I can play with. That takes all the pressure out of the trip.

I also have a standard packing plan – for 3 day weekend events, my mastermind meetings, and week long trips. So when it's time to pack up, I print the appropriate packing list – and relax, knowing I won't forget anything.

I always check my bags. No sense in stressing about overhead space or working around things under my feet. If I'm traveling with a computer, I use a rolling bag to save wear and tear on my back. But increasingly I tuck my mini-ipad into my purse, pack the keyboard and we're off!

I use my noise cancelling earphones on the plane and generally start with a relaxation audio so that I'm in the right frame of mind for creative thinking. This time on the road is great for letting new ideas come out. But if you don't give yourself the “time space” you'll never get those deep ideas.

Enjoy the trip!

Kevin Riley of  Blogpreneur Training says:

Avoiding jetlag. I love traveling and have been taking intercontinental flights since I was a kid. One thing that I do, which IMO leaves me without any jetlag (I'll fly from Osaka to Switzerland – an 8 hour time difference – and easily adjust to the local time instantly), is to stay awake.

I stay awake most of the flight (with just a 1/2-hour catnap somewhere over Asia) and watch a ton of movies. I'll get inspired and start writing stuff in a notebook (my popular Recipe For Commercial Videos was conceived on a flight to Austria in 2008, when I saw a German commercial on the plane). I eat all the airplane meals (yes, I'm brave that way), have a few drinks (a little alcohol is always nice, but I don't get carried away – except for that one flight to Calgary in 1978), and I drink tons of water (get them from the tray coming around and help myself at the dispenser near the kitchen). Very important to stay well hydrated, as airplane air is dry.

When arriving at my destination, I do NOT go to sleep or even take a nap if it's still afternoon or early evening. I always stay up until 10-11 pm, no matter how tired I am. This way, I get a good sleep, wake up refreshed at the local time's morning, and get right into the swing of local time.

Mark Mason of LateNightIM.com says:

I travel all over the world for my day job. On any given week, you can find me podcasting from a hotel in Taipei, Taiwan or blogging from an airport in Bangalore, India. As a result, I am constantly on the lookout for power to charge my iDevices.

By far the best travel gear investment that I ever made was when I bought a HyperJuice battery. This external battery can charge my MacBook Air, my iPhone and my iPad (or any other USB device). I just charge it up before I leave home (or the hotel) and put it in my backpack. That way, I never run out of power on the go.

By the way, a great Swiss Backpack made for laptops is another travel godsend. Don't leave home without it.

Felicia Slattery of Signature Speech Secrets says:

As you know, I had a rough go of it with my health last year, and all work, including business (or other travel) screeched to a halt. However, I found my frequent travel tip also worked for my stays in the hospital as well.

In my career as a professional speaker, I have traveled to loads of events across the country. And I find a few things with regard to packing make life so much more fun!

1. Master Travel List
Several years ago, while I was on an organizational kick, I read about creating master lists for everything. The only one that's stuck with me to this day are my travel lists. I even created travel lists for my kids so when we go on family vacations I can simply print a list for each child and check things off. For my work, it's been such a time-saver because instead of re-inventing the wheel every single time I have to get ready to leave, I simply print my list – which I like printed on actual paper rather than on a device – and start checking off what I need as I pack it.

2. Pre-Packed Toiletry Bag
The one time I didn't follow through on this, I ended up speaking at an event right after the amazing, late, great Zig Ziglar; we were in Florida (humid-city, as you know) and my wild wavy hair was without hair spray. So on the most important speaking day of my career, I had a bad hair day. I learned to never again skip this tip for myself. Of course before a trip, things are crazy busy, and there's always last minute work things going on. But after a trip, you can arrive home and take a deep breath and regroup. Part of my regrouping and unpacking process involves assessing everything in my toiletry bag and refilling or replacing everything before putting it back into my closet. Then it is ready to go for the next trip and all I have to do is pull it out and pack it. Part of this tip includes having doubles of everything I need; one for daily use, one for travel use. So I have my regular daily toothbrush, for example, and I have another toothbrush already packed in my toiletry bag. Same with deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, gel, razor, shaving cream, dental floss, toothpaste, soap, comb, brush, and yes hair spray. If I'm running low on anything, I add it to my grocery shopping list and when I get home from shopping, I refill or replace what's needed and then store the bag until the next trip. Then before a trip when I'm running around at the last minute with everything else, I don't have to worry about stopping somewhere to pick up more deodorant. It's ready to go and totally stress-free!

3. Pre-Packed Suitcase
Now I don't go as far as having all my clothes in a bag ready to go, but like the toiletry bag, I have a few things I bring with me on every trip. So I re-stock when I get home from the trip, so when it comes time to add all my clothes, I don't have less to remember. I keep a set of workout clothes packed, a bathing suit for the hotel's hot tub after a long day, a pair of my favorite comfy socks to wear at night – because every hotel room is freezing to me, etc. That means fewer items for my master list and fewer things to throw together when I have to leave.

4. Pre-Packed Briefcase/Business Bag
Are you seeing a theme here? After I get home I re-stock my business cards, neatly arrange my extension cords that I threw in the bag after the event while rushing to get back to the airport, check to see if my pens still have enough ink, and make sure I have a clean notebook ready to go for the next time I have to make a dash out the door for the airport.

Dr. Mani of How to Set Goals says:

My biggest tip is really a “non-tip”. Before flying, ask yourself if you really have to! The answer to that question is “No” so often, that I've rarely found myself on board an airplane for anything other than on a holiday trip

We often hurry and rush around to keep “doing” stuff that we rarely ask if there's an alternative or work-around. With communications technology becoming so wonderful,
there are few circumstances where, at least as an online entrepreneur, you're forced to travel anywhere at all.

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Case Studies says:

The smartest thing I did last year was to apply for a security clearance through the Global Entry – http://www.globalentry.gov/ – program. This program is open to all United States citizens and the cost is only one hundred dollars every five years.

I travel extensively these days, and during 2012 I flew thirty-six times, including domestic travel and international travel to China, Thailand, Finland, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom. This program made it all go smoothly and saved me lots of time, while also reducing the stress that can be associated with flying these days. Many times I do not have to remove my shoes, jacket, or laptop, and I no longer wait in line or fill out customs forms.

More and more airports around the world are now recognizing this program, and I do not think it is too much to ask of us to take this extra step to ensure our safety and the safety of others.

Karon Thackston of Step-by-Step Copywriting Course says:

Oftentimes, what I DON'T take is as important as what I do take. I'm not known for packing light (all those shoes take up space!) so I try and save inches wherever I can. The better hotels have great brands of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc. in the room so I leave all those bottles at home and use what's provided by Marriott, Hilton or wherever I'm staying.

I also don't bring a lot of cash. Practically every place along the way takes credit or debit cards from the parking lot to the food kiosks/restaurants at the airports. I carry a little moola for tips and whatnot then put everything else on the card. Not only do I not have to worry about running out of cash or paying ungodly ATM fees, but I get extra bonus points for using my cards. Plus, it's very easy to keep up with my expenses since they all appear on my statement every month.

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I don't fly as much as some of my friends, but I do travel more than many people (averaging 6-12 trips per year between personal/family and professional), so I've developed systems to make the travel less stressful.

Standard Printable Packing List. I have a standard packing list that I print before every trip.  I cross off items as I put them into my backpack or suitcase and it ensure that I don't do anything silly like leave my cell phone, charger, favorite lip gloss, wine opener or prescription behind. I highly recommend you do this as forgetting something important can stress out your trip as you're running around trying to get it replaced.

Standard Luggage. I use the same backpack (with the laptop pocket in it) for every trip. That way I know which pocket has my passport and itinerary, which pocket contains my earplugs, where my money is, and where I can quickly access my iPad to read on the flight.

Standard Travel Clothing/Patterns. Personally I like routine when I travel. I check my suitcase now so that I can put all my liquids (shampoo, etc.)  in it and not have to worry about it. I wear sneakers/gym shoes because it's easy to run through an airport in comfy shoes and my feet are warmer on the plane. I pack my belt so I don't have to take it off during screening. I have my prescription in my backpack in case my suitcase gets lost. All the usual stuff – just makes it much easier for me to relax, especially when coming home from an event when my brain is super tired.

Know What Stresses you Out. If going through security stresses you, then just check your main suitcase and strip down to essentials before you get into the line. (Taking everything out of your pockets, removing your belt, etc., before you even head into the security area.) For me, the noisiness of the plane rattles me. Therefore I actually wear double earplugs. I have one set in my ears. One pair over them. This relaxes me quite a bit.

Always Be Earning the Points. One thing I'm definitely slow on the uptake on is earning points. This past weekend, Connie and David Perdew each invited me up to the Concierge area at the Marriott where we were staying to talk. There was food and service up there and personal guests were welcome. DUH. I stay there often enough now that I certainly *should* be racking up points with them. I'm now all signed up.

Get Loyalty Points at the Airport. I just found out this weekend that some of the airports have loyalty cards. So if you fly through Atlanta (or to Atlanta) a lot like I do, I just register with them and I can earn Delta miles or other miles just for buying stuff like water or meals. Cool. http://thanksagain.com/ for instance, http://thanksagain.com/atl is the Atlanta one.

Well that's what I've got for you today off the top of my head. What is your biggest tip for relaxed travel when going to events like NAMS?

By the way, I hope to see you there in August. I'll be there! Click here to join me.

Best of luck.
Nicole

If you've missed past Expert Briefs, you can click on the undies to see them all –>

Everyone always wants to know how to grow a list, what works and what doesn't, especially when they're new to email marketing. This week I asked our experts what advice they would give in this situation.

Let's say I'm a blogger with no products of my own.
What's the fastest way you would recommend that I build my list?

Here are their replies.

Jeanette S. Cates, PhD of Organize Your Online Business says:

You certainly don't need a product in order to build a list. But you do need several optin gifts, such as reports, audios, or videos. I find it best (and most effective) when I rotate these optin boxes, so that they are not always the same. That also helps me segment my list as it grows.

I use Robert Plank's Action Optin for my optin box, since they can join the list and never leave the page they're on. It just gives them the thank you message in the same space.

I change the offer every couple of weeks to keep it fresh.

It's also a good idea to notify the list that you DO have, as well as your social media contacts when you publish a new blog post. You can do this via email, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. This gives them the chance to see and comment on your blog post, as well as opt into your current offer.

I've also used the Covert Messenger Pro plugin that Nicole uses on her blog now and then. It's a great way to draw attention to a new offer or event. And it's easy to use and change!

Dr. Jeanette Cates works with online business owners who are ready to expand their Online Success. She provides training for new and intermediate marketers in her well-respected Online Success Incubator  course.

Lain Ehmann of Business Love Potion says:

Create a product! No, seriously – people need a reason to sign up for your list. Discounts, special exclusives, a free download — these are all great “bait” to lure them into your list – where you'll give them MORE goodies.

Even if you're primarily an affiliate marketer, you should establish yourself as an authority, and one of the best ways of doing so is through creating your own product. Here are some ideas:

• Checklist (“10 things you need to know before you write your next poem”)
• Special report (“The five biggest mistakes in ferret ownership and how to avoid them”)
• Audio interviews
• eBooks
• Free five-part email class (“Five Days to Silkier Skin”)

Then offer this product as a gift when someone signs up for your email list. Voila, instant subscribers!

Lain knows how to enchant her readers. Check out her podcast here: Business Love Potion

Connie Ragen Green of Affiliate Marketing Secrets Explained says:

Bloggers are in the enviable position of writing regularly on their topic. In order to build a list quickly I would recommend writing reviews of products, courses, and services in your niche, and to add a relevant short report as a bonus to anyone who buys through your link. Continue to blog about the benefits of being on your list, and ask people to share your posts on social media. This will bring you some income, build your list, and massively increase your visibility in a short period of time as the buzz grows about what you have to offer your audience.

How Has Connie won so Many Affiliate Contests? Find out here -> Affiliate Marketing Secrets Explained

Susanne Myers of  Daily Affiliate Tasks says:

There are a million and one ways to grow your list and a lot of them you can do from your blog. That being said, I get the best results from a very basic strategy … but you have to do it well and constantly test and tweak for best results. Here it is…

Have The Basics In Place and Then Tweak Them

The best way to grow your list from your blog is to have some sort of optin form on every page of your site, to offer a goodie or ethical bribe in exchange for your readers’ email addresses, to overcome any objections they may have for signing up and to ask your own readers to help you grow your list further.

Yes, this is pretty basic stuff, but are you doing all of it? Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.

1. Optin Form on Every Page

Go check on your blog and see if you have some sort of optin form on every single page. It’s pretty easy to do with WordPress. You can add it to the sidebar or tweak your blog template so it’s automatically added to the bottom of every post.

Next it’s time to tweak and test. Try a different placement for your optin form. Test different copy, color, layout … you name it. If you can think of something to change, it’s worth testing. If you are using Aweber it’s very easy to set up split tests directly in your Aweber account settings. No need to change your Blog files every time you test something new.

Keep testing and keep improving your optin rate to grow your list faster and faster.

2. Offer An Ethical Bribe

Again… it’s a pretty obvious one. Make sure you offer something to new subscribers. This could be a short report, an audio or video recording, a coupon code etc. If you have an offer in place now, take a look at it. Does it still work? (You can use PLR content to create this.)

Either way it’s time to do some testing. Come up with a few different goodies to give away and see which one works best. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Just mention a different one in each test version and then add links to all of them in your welcome email that goes out automatically. You can mention in there that you’re throwing in a few extra bonuses that you thought they might enjoy.

3. Overcome Objections

Another good idea is to overcome any objections your blog readers may have. A great way to do that is to write up a page with 10 good reasons why someone should sign up for your list. Link to that page from right below your autoresponder signup box.

Here’s an example of my page for my Affiliate Treasure Chest blog.

4. Ask For Referrals

Last but not least, let’s talk about my favorite strategy. It’s getting my existing subscribers to help me grow my list faster. Every few weeks I ask them (usually in a P.S.) to help me grow the list by referring others to it. I invite them to share my emails with colleagues and friends that may also be interested in the topic.

I LOVE my Susanne friend! Check out her Daily Affiliate Tasks here.

David Perdew of NAMS says:

Because MyNAMS.com is a membership site, we’ve focused on growing that members’ list organically and without undercutting any of our affiliates. That’s a tall order. It means slow growth until we have a system in place that protects our affiliates first.

For example, I won’t send traffic to an aWeber opt-in page first. If we do that, we’re just raiding the affiliates list.

So, we built a list opt-in box that adds prospects to a free membership first, THEN to the autoresponder list.

Now, we’re customizing our opt-in process to recognize whether visitors are logged in (if so, don’t show them the sign up box), and whether they’ve signed up for the product on that page already (if so, don’t show them the sign up box).

I’ve been really slow creating opt-in funnels because I wanted to respect the traffic source. But now that we’re set up with target specific, non-invasive opt-in technology that rewards our affiliates, every page of MyNAMS will have a popup box to harvest the maximize number of visitors.

That kind of list building is really good for our affiliates since they are tagged with lifetime database referrals. In other words, more passive commissions through better list building

Be sure to sign up for David's free weekly webinars here: NAMS Training

Rachel Rofe of How To Get Every Book You Write Onto The First Page Of Kindle says:

To build your list, there a few things you could do.

First, you could do some kind of 30 day challenge based around whatever your niche is. So let's say you're in scrapbooking… maybe you can post a new scrapbook every day for 30 days.

If you're in “learn to play piano”, you can have videos showing you learning to play the piano.

If you're in internet marketing, post about what you are doing to earn money.

All of these should be done with affiliate links included. As you post more and more, people will get more enrolled in your journey and sign up just not to miss the updates.

When you're done with your challenge, offer an opt-in with your main learnings from the past 30 days. People can sign up to get the report that explains your main takeaways, what you would've done differently, etc.

This would be highly valuable to people.

Another idea to build your list would be to blog with excellent content, like Steve Pavlina, and just offer a newsletter for people to get your updates. Steve didn't have any of his own products for a LONG time and was still highly successful and one of the most trafficked blogs on the web.

Another idea would be to hold contests for your blog readers. If you can make your readership engaging (contests, particularly viral ones), people will keep coming back just for the inevitable community you build.

Rachel's customers are getting results with her latest product: How To Get Every Book You Write Onto The First Page Of Kindle

Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts Podcast says:

This is a tip for podcasters. During a podcasting webinar earlier this year, we were brainstorming ways to get the most out of your podcast content and we came up with the idea of building a list from your podcast listeners by transcribing the best interviews and making them available to list members for free.

I don't transcribe the entire episode, just the guest interview alone. I don't transcribe every interview, just those that strike me as being really meaty.

When I publish the podcast I add a note like this one: “Prefer to read rather than listen? Subscribe to my list and get a free interview transcript!”

I manage this by storing the transcripts in a protected folder and provide new subscribers with the password.

Since I started doing this I see little bursts of new optins (as few as ten, as much as twenty-five) on the weeks that I offer a new transcript.

Be sure to check out Kelly’s podcasting course. You can check that out here: Smart Podcasting Skills

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

Lists, lists, lists.  So much to say. So little time.

I have many thoughts on this topic. But first, let me share one thing that I've done.

The last few weeks, I decided to give some attention to my lists. And, it's paying off very nicely.

If you've been around recently, you may have noticed some things changing. Well, most of that was to make it irresistible to sign up for my list. While I don't think I'm at irresistible yet, I think it's much more appealing.

Here's what I've been up to.

Step One: Sexy-up the Bait.

First of all, you'll notice that I made the “bait” sexier to sign up for my blog updates. When they sign up, they get not just updates, but THREE awesome reports. (Soon to be more.)

1. Where to Find Images for your Blog Posts.

2. 104 Blog Title Ideas (printable list)

3. List of the Tools that Power my Business

You could easily use PLR content to create these or just take your most popular blog posts and turn them into pdfs. Either way works.

Step Two: Sexy-up the Signup Forms.

Next, I made the signup boxes a bit more updated and current as you can see.

The new Side nav opt-in looks like this:

I added a new top opt-in box which looks like this:

And, we updated the opt-in at the bottom of the posts, too. (Although that little pokey out black thing still needs to be removed.)

 I *wish* I had a tool to recommend to make these pretty boxes. I've tried several and they've all been buggy and disappointing, so I shall just keep them to myself. BUT – I just bought ANOTHER program, so I'm testing it and am hopeful that we have a winner. Keep your fingers crossed. If it works as well as they say it will, you'll be hearing about it very soon.

Step Three: Sexy-up Your Testing.

Make sure you're using different signup forms on your blog so that you can easily track your results in Aweber.

Even better would be if you used Aweber's split testing feature that is built into their program to see which sign-up forms are getting the best results. I have used that in the past and it provides great feedback. But we haven't done it yet with these. We will though.

Step Four: Sexy-up Your Traffic.

The fourth thing to do is to boost your traffic so you get lots of people on your blog. That will give you a true test to see if your new forms are getting more signups than your old ones.

There are several ways to get more traffic to your blog, fast. These are two of my favorites.

The first one may not be the most interesting way you've ever heard, but it flat out works.

Here's a free report you can have to read more about it.

• The Easiest Way to Get More Blog Traffic (pdf)

Note: The Workshop that's mentioned in that document “Get to Know Your Blog Stats” – use coupon code “peeps25” to save 25% on it if you decide to sign up.

The second method that I like to use is Guest Blogging.

If you're new to my blog or are just getting to know me, I'll let you in on a cool thing about me, I did 75 guest blog posts during a 15 week spell a few summers ago. It was AWESOME for my exposure.

I have a course that explains the methods to my madness and you can check that out here if you'd like: Guest Blogging on Steroids.

So Talk to Me.

What are your biggest questions about building your list on your blog?

What has worked well for you in the past?

Well, I'm going to get off this computer and enjoy the beautiful day outside.

Talk soon.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

It's time for the wrap-up of our Expert Pets.

If you missed any of this series, be sure to check out these posts:

• Terry Dean
• Connie Green
• Susanne Myers
• David Perdew
• Alice Seba
• Kristen Eckstein
• Nancy Marmolejo

Show Me Your Pets!

Today, we've got the last two of my series. Me and my friend, Melissa Ingold.

Melissa Ingold of Internet Marketing PLR Reports:

Melissa shares her dog, Bowser, with us in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC4Qv8tXbfE

If you need Internet Marketing & Business PLR – check out what Melissa has here: Internet Marketing PLR

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. :

I have my two boys, Einie (ie Einstein) and Luke.

• Einie (4 years old) is a Golden Retriever / Yellow Lab mix.
• Lukey (2 years old)  is a Mastiff / Cocker Spaniel mix. (No idea how that happened. Love is a strange thing. lol!)

Here’s my Einstein trying to learn chess when he was a puppy:

And, learning to sit. (Photoshop courtesy of Kelly McCausey. lol.)

My Einstein over the years. I have used him as a model for my blog posts.

For instance – Halloween Costumes for Dogs.

And, Dog Tag Silencers.

Here’s Einie in his dog tag silencer.

Einie is nuts. He only has three thoughts in his pea brain.

• Breakfast. (The boys figured out that breakfast means eat, so they get “Breakfast” twice a day. lol)
• Ball.
• Swim (in the pool).

In fact, if I am slow in throwing the ball into the pool, he'll knock it in with his front paw and then jump in after it. Crazy boy!

Things Einstein hates:

• Thunderstorms
• Being outside without a person
• Car rides
• Shiny floors
• Cats

So, that's Einie.

Now Luke.

Here's Luke when he was a puppy. Well, we got him from the rescue when he was at least 6 months old, so this is as “puppy” as I saw him.

Luke is slow and easy. He's SOFT and snuggly. He loves breakfast, too.

You may notice that Lukey has a LOT of extra skin. It's so cute.

Luke would rather watch Einstein fetch the ball while Luke instead gets his tummy rubbed.

He also likes to watch Einstein swim – until Einie tries to get out. Then Luke starts biting and licking him. Like “I'll save you!”

Luke is not a swimmer, though. He has fallen into the pool a few times, and doesn't seem to swim very well (we had to jump in and help him to the stairs). So I have to give him swimming lessons as soon as the pool warms up enough that I can get in without freezing my booty off.

And, here are the boys now. Einie is wet because he was just swimming in the pool. Luke doesn't look happy. lol.

Well that's the end of this “Expert Pets” series — unless you'd like to share pictures in your comments, which I would, of course, LOVE.

Big hugs and thank you, as always for reading.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

You know that I normally do my weekly posts called Expert Briefs on Thursdays, but I'm going to do another series that's similar .. but different. I'm fully sure how it will be different yet, though. We'll see how it plays out.

Since I'm having this be a different series, it needed a name and a logo. You like? –>

This week I decided to slack off  and do a “fluff piece”. So I made a simple request..

Show Me Your Pets!

I got a bunch of responses, but I'm going to try something different. I'm only posting one or two at a time to see if you like that better than getting the big looooong posts every week.

Now look at all these cute critters (the pets, not the experts!) Although our experts are pretty cute, too!

Terry Dean of My Marketing Coach says:

Here are two current boys. Champ is the German shepherd and Indiana Jones is the golden retriever. Indy is getting ready to lay down and ask for a belly rubbing instead of posing for the photo.

If this next photo doesn’t get you to say “ah,” there’s something wrong with you. Here’s Indy as a 9 week old puppy. We got Indy about 2 months before we got Champ. He was a crazy little thing because he always wanted me to play 100% of the time. We also lost him behind the couches, under the deck, in the garage, and anywhere else he could explore (hence the name Indiana Jones).

I’d leave him to play for a while I was working, and he’d grab a toilet paper roll and run it all over the house. He never tore up anything valuable, but we cleaned up so much toilet paper from around the house.

This is his little brother Champ at around 9 weeks when one of his ears popped up. Both of his ears laid down and each one popped into the upright position overnight at 2 different times. Since Indy was 2 months older than him, we had to constantly tell him to STOP picking Champ up. He would gently pick Champ up in his mouth to carry him around. Champ would scream bloody murder! His revenge was always pouncing on Indy when he was sound asleep.

Here’s both of them asleep during that period. They’re two sweethearts.

I’ve had dogs all my life, and I’ve shown photos of them on my websites since the beginning. I had a previous golden named Rocky who experienced bloat and his stomach flipped. He died within about an hour from he had his first symptoms. That was heartbreaking. I wrote a post about it on my blog after it happened, and that post still has the most comments of any post I’ve ever written.

These are my kids and I love them!

Awwww… I love seeing the “real” side of my friends. Don't you?

You can also see Terry's boy puppies in this video that he recorded for my “Show us your Work Space” post:

Not only is Terry a good guy, but he's smart!

You can learn more from him here: My Marketing Coach

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. Coming up tomorrow is Connie Green. Make sure you sign up for updates so you don't miss seeing her furry guys and gals.

Plus, I got to meet several of my customers. (Waving to you!)

I even hung out at the hotel gym with a customer who had
my undivided attention for the entire hour we exercised.
There will be NO sweaty-looking pictures of that, though! eek!
How'd that happen? Simple. She came up to me, told me that
she was a customer, and asked if I would have any time to chat
during the weekend. I said “Well, I've already got lunch plans,
but I'm going to the hotel gym after lunch. Want to meet me there?”
And, she said “Sure.” (Wow. Networking is so hard, right?)

If you're not attending live events yet – you are sooooo
missing out on money (and fun!). I get to meet customers,
find new affiliates, make deals, and build lasting relationships
at every event I've been to — even the bad ones. (Don't ask. lol!)

I know that it can be scary. I know it can be an expense.

But it is CRITICAL to growing your business quickly.

Each event I've gone to has directly increased my income
in some way. Either through the presentations, being able to
ask questions about things I was struggling with, or in meeting
people who ended up being friends (and promoting me).

My absolute favorite event to go to is the NAMS conference in Atlanta.

I've been to three of them and it's something I look forward to every six months.

Yes, even if you're a TOTAL beginner – you need to be there.

The next NAMS is coming up soon in Atlanta – and yes, I'll be there.
How to join me: Click here for Details

If you're a beginner, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions
and connect with others who you'll stay in contact with for years.

If you're at the intermediate level or feeling like you've
reached a plateau, you'll learn how to move past it.

And, if you're at an advanced level, you'll have the opportunity
to connect with all 25 instructors – who are all potential
JV partners for you.

It's a win, no matter where you are in your business.

Please come and meet me, Willie Crawford, Connie Green,
Susanne Myers, Paul Evans, Bob Jenkins,
Lynn Terry, and a slew of my other amazing friends.

• Bring your spouse.
• Bring your parents.
• Bring your favorite sibling.
• Bring your kids.

It's fun and learning for the whole family! (And, unlike some
events – it's clean so you don't have to worry about young
ears hearing things they shouldn't.)

Many people bring the people they love to NAMS. Not just once,
but every single time they go. I've brought my mom and my son. Bob Jenkins
brought his brother. Lynn Terry brought her daughter.

No excuses. Go to this page now – and make plans to attend. It can be a total game-changer for you.

Here's where you can learn more: Click here for Details

If you're coming to the NAMS conference, please let me know by commenting below so I can watch for you.

Have a fantastic day! You deserve it.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean