RISE #15: Capturing The Youth Market With Youthologist Vanessa Van Petten & The Amazing Josh Shipp

Building Your Business: Smarter, Faster, Cheaper

…and today we are also building it younger.

The youth market.

Those text-messaging, ADD, little crazy people.

Today we have not one but TWO bonus interviews with entrepreneurs that have this market cornered.

You will learn their secrets of how they built their businesses (and all kinds of other advice as well).

First up, is my good friend, author, blogger and “Youthologist” (cool term!) Vanessa Van Petten who was recently featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County. Vanessa has a tremendous business brain and also really understands Search Engine Optimization.

From SEO to the OC?!

You can also connect with Vanessa by checking out her great parenting website and Twitter.

Josh Shipp is an interesting character. Scratch that a HUGELY successful interesting character who is THE speaker for the youth market. He just gets kids (again in a non creepy way). Check out his style and his thoughts on leverage. How can you adapt part of Josh’s style for your business and marketing?

Josh has zillions of websites, but here is my favorite and a great place to interact with him. He is on Twitter as well.

And just in case you haven’t checked it out, I try to track down the very best and most interesting entrepreneur interviews for you on our Guests & Experts page including everyone from Gary Vaynerchuk to “The Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger.

Do you market to the youth market? What is your experience? Any tips? (We all benefit from your knowledge!)

WIN A FREE GOOGLE NEXUS ONE PHONE BY SUBSCRIBING VIA EMAIL!

So the winner of the BIG Google Nexus One Phone giveaway did not come forward. That sucks for him. But, it is fantastic for all of you. Because we are giving away a phone Monday on the show.

What do you have to do? Simple. Subscribe in the upper right hand corner via email. You can subscribe to daily updates or weekly updates. Whatever you prefer.

On Monday, one subscriber at random will be pulled as our winner (we will also pull four others in case #1 doesn’t come forward and we will then have a pecking order).

Oh and yes, if you are already subscribed via email you are entered.

Featured Sponsor: Johnny Londoff Chevrolet

Johnny is offering $500 off this month due to the St. Louis Auto Show Discount. Anytime someone needs to be taken care of for a Chevrolet or ANY car (because they can get you anything), I’ve been referring to Johnny and he takes care of everyone like my brother and/or sister (I don’t actually have a blood brother and sister but if I did, this is how I would want them to be taken care of). Meaning, of course, like family. Johnny will take the time with you (which doesn’t happen often in the auto industry that you the owner) and he really is a great guy.

On that note, what do you think your next car will be? I’m still deciding…

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RISE #14: How To Get Quoted In The Media Without An Expensive PR Firm

What have you done for the media lately?

Ahhh the media. Journalists. Reporters. Hosts. Producers. TV. Online TV. Magazines. Newspapers. Radio. Big Online Blogs. Small Online Blogs. Medium Online Blogs. Oh my!

But is media coverage important for entrepreneurs? You better freaking believe it.

Unless you hate:

-The possibility your business could be fully financed due to one article.
-People going to your website to buy products/services and find out more information.
-Making your grandma proud when you tell her to tune in, log on (tech savvy granny!) or read an article about you.
-Leveraging one media source to get into a bigger media source.
-Word-of-mouth marketing.
-Possibilities for new relationships and business partnerships.
-Being an expert.

Want some concrete examples (remember, if you want some fluff, go pet a bunny):

Maxine Clark: The Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshops raised millions of dollars for her business from ONE (yes, one) article. You can hear it directly from her in my interview with her.

“The Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger: Yes, THAT Patti Stanger from Bravo TV. She has a multi-million dollar relationship empire. How did her career become propelled? Media coverage in a well-known magazine. You can hear it right from the matchmaker’s mouth in this interview I did with her at the offices of the Millionaire’s Club in Los Angeles, CA. (Side note: Patti was on our show and then Oprah. It all start with The Rise To The Top *wink*)

While the Maxine and Patti stories included a bit of a magic bullet, the principles are replicable. Media is changing. Eyeballs might be more scattered. But the bottom line is being covered and offering your expertise can generate all kinds of delicious goodness.

Even if the source has just a few readers, those few readers can propel your business.

It used to be to get media coverage you had to rely only on expensive PR firms “pitching” (aka “annoying”) media. And they used…PRESS RELEASES (pause for gasp).

Now we live in a much more connected society. With the rise of social media and accessibility, there is a tremendous opportunities for even the littlest startups and entrepreneurs to get small and big media coverage.

You can do it yourself especially with the wonderfully, amazing, insert-more-positive-descriptive-words Help A Reporter, also known as HARO. Think of it as your own media lead generator. Oh and it is absolutely free. All you have to do is sign up on their website and you will start getting three emails a day with reporters looking for sources (kudos on their new great website design launched this week). See one that fits you? Simply reply (and watch today’s episode for tips). See one that fits a friend? Pass it on (karma is always a good thing).

Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, and one of my favorite business heroes of all time and I sat down recently and he gave his tips for being quoted in the media right here.

So, you want to get quoted and covered? Today’s video offers some tried-and-true tips for getting your business involved in the new AND old media world.

WIN A FREE GOOGLE NEXUS ONE PHONE BY SUBSCRIBING VIA EMAIL!

So the winner of the BIG Google Nexus One Phone giveaway did not come forward. That sucks for him. But, it is fantastic for all of you. Because we are giving away a phone Monday on the show.

What do you have to do? Simple. Subscribe in the upper right hand corner via email. You can subscribe to daily updates or weekly updates. Whatever you prefer.

On Monday, one subscriber at random will be pulled as our winner (we will also pull four others in case #1 doesn’t come forward and we will then have a pecking order).

Oh and yes, if you are already subscribed via email you are entered.

On that note…

Thank You To Our Show Sponsor: Feedblitz

We use Feedblitz to stay in contact with our email subscribers (and RSS). It automatically takes RISE shows and notes and delivers it via email to subscribers how THEY want it (daily, weekly, etc.). Easy to use (and I’ve used a ton). You can try it for free for 60 days on us.

Finally thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter often show suggestions, ideas, topics, and everything else. You rock.

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RISE #13: The Yurbuds By Yurtopia Phenomenon

Marketing Entrepreneurial? You betcha!

Chris Miller, now of Yurbuds, and I go way back. Chris was doing it all the The Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis (my alma mater) and suddenly (seemingly overnight) left to join a start up called Yurtopia which makes Yurbuds.

He emailed me with an email containing more exclamation points than a 14-year-old on four Red Bulls. My interest was peaked especially since Chris saw hundreds, if not thousands, of start ups all the time due to his job, yet he choose to leave to help this one.

A few months pass….I start to hear some buzz of these really cool custom-made (yet super affordable) ear buds for your iPod. I heard they had a really cool process of fitting people (after all, Yurtopia is a unique technology company) and were raising money like crazy (nearly 1.5 million dollars).

Then I went to CES and became a believer. As you can see in the video here, it was jungle madness. My dad was trying them on and loved it with no prior knowledge of Yurbuds (he should have his own spin off show by the way). Everyone wanted to try to the process and nab a set (see below):

I promised Chris on camera (when I say “it’s on!”) we would do a feature on Yurtopia and Yurbuds.

Today’s featured episode is of course about a product and company with their ambitious founder Seth Burgett, but it is also a great story of inspiration for other entrepreneurs.

Why?

1. It is the classic big idea that solves a real problem (damn ear buds falling out, physical pain of working out with less-than-stellar head gear).

2. They are raised money in a down economy and are poised to raise a LOT more. They must be doing something right (*wink*). Even though they have raised money, they still market like an entrepreneur: Smarter, faster, cheaper.

3. Impressively, they already have a distribution model in place (online, Best Buy Mobile and some local runner’s outlets) will continue to expand.

Oh and yes, I scotch taped a microphone to my shirt because I lost the clip. We are like Macgyver up in here.

What do you think? What are your suggestions for Yurtopia Yurbuds?

Our Local Presenting Show Sponsor: Johnny Londoff Chevrolet

Best part? The wow experience. You can hang out with Johnny himself who takes a TON of pride in each and every customer. They have all kinds of incentives going on this month including the St. Louis Auto Show Discount.

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RISE #6: 7 Ways To Monetize Online Content & Free Drawing For A Google Nexus One Phone

*Rise Prize Giveaway: Enter To Win A FREE Google Nexus One Phone Just By TWEETING*

How it works:

We are giving away 1 POSSIBLY 2 Google Nexus One phones (unlocked so you can use it with whatever service you like) THIS FRIDAY (15th) absolutely free to a lucky RISE viewer…and all you have to do to enter the drawing (which will take place on Friday on the show randomly selected) is this:

1. Follow @therisetothetop on Twitter (if you are already following me, cool you can still enter)

2. Tweet this out: “Follow @therisetothetop The daily web show for entrepreneurs & marketers to be entered to win a FREE Nexus One Phone #RISEPRIZE”

3. It’s that simple! One lucky winner will be selected on Friday. And to sweeten the deal and run a little experiment: If I reach 20,000 followers by Friday I will give away 2 phones. For free. And I’ll write you a little handwritten note too even though my handwriting is awful.

Make sure to enter and spread the word!

On with the show:

In This Episode Full Of Innovative Marketing Tips and Resources For Entrepreneurs:

Big question answered today from Corey Eastman (thanks for submitting your question, Corey via Ask David) about monetizing online content. In this episode, I dive into the 7 basic ways of making money from content (there is actually an 8th and probably more).

For those getting used to this digital terminology, don’t fret as it is certainly not too techy. Online content simply refers to writing, creating video, and/or audio and posting it online (it could be a blog, or a video site, etc.).

While the barrier of entry is now almost non-existent, actually making money from content is a relatively new ball game. Through the traditional advertising rules out the window on this one.

Over the next upcoming weeks, I’ll make sure to dive into each one in detail with some tricks of the trade and tips.

In the meantime, did I forget anything? How do you monetize online content?

Sponsor:

Feedblitz

Since we are talking online marketing on the show especially with today’s subject of monetizing content, it is important to have simple ways to reach your audience. Without a reachable audience, you can forget about making the dollars.

But, if you are out there creating content and promoting it can take a ton of time. Don’t waste more time by doing email campaigns yourself (meaning writing them, sending them, yadda, yadda). Feedblitz simply takes your content from your blog, website, anything with a feed and emails it to your subscribers when/where and how they want it. Daily? Sure! Weekly? Sure! Via Twitter? Sure!

Special deal for RISE viewers: Enter the promo code RISE and get a 60-day free trial. Sweet!

Join In On The Discussion AND Win Free Stuff:

What are your thoughts on Twitter Lists? Do you use ‘em? Have any good lists to follow to share with everyone?

Next week I’ll be hosting a BIG drawing to win a FREE Google Nexus One phone ($500+ value). And you won’t need to give up your first born to enter the drawing. It will be as simple as One, Two, Tweet.

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RISE #4 How To Use Content To Make Sales

It is FREEZING cold here in St. Louis. Hope to warm you up with some tips.

In This Episode Full Of Innovative Marketing Tips and Resources:

-Answering a viewer question about contacting sales prospects:

Question: I joined the AGC. Association of General Contractors. They are helping me a great deal. They will even print mailing labels for all 450 members for me to do an intro letter. And they have a book with ALL the top contacts of ALL members. I’m doing a mail piece after Jan 5 and then going to all meetings I can. And I’ll start phone follow up late Jan. Any suggestions?

Thank you to Sherrie White from White Signs for submitting a question to the show. You can submit a question on pretty much anything related to your business, marketing, social media, yadda yadda via email, Twitter and/or Facebook. For details, check out the Ask David page.

-Sales Letter 1.0 vs. Sales Letter 2.0.

-The power of content marketing even in sales.

Sponsor:

The Mindset Email

The Mindset Email is a daily FREE email blast from Matt Brown with tips on how to get the most out of your day. Think of it as sort of a little coach getting you fired up before your first cup of coffee. It is free to sign up and you can also make a donation and/or contact him for sponsorship information

Notes & Corrections & Itty Bitty Details

Due to my highly caffeinated lifestyle, a few mistakes will pop up hear and there (*wink*)

I mentioned our Facebook Fan Page as the place where Sherrie submitted her question. However, stupidly, I gave the wrong address. It is facebook/risetothetop

And since I didn’t say it in this episode, I’ll say it here. If you want some fluff, go pet a bunny