Upcoming Interviews On RISE: Marketers, Entrepreneurs, Big Thinkers & Authors Oh My

As some of you know, I went interview crazy. I don’t think I’ve slept over the past few weeks due to an influx of amazing interviews.

The goal of every interview is to do at least one, but hopefully many, of these things:

Educate (learn something new, something actionable and useful)

Inspire (light a fire under your butt…that sounds bad but you know what I mean)

Entertain (you can practice laughing now…it is good for all of us).

Make You Think (ponder away my friends)

Here is who is on tap (in no particular order…):

Mike Volpe – VP of Marketing at Hubspot discusses with us why you might want to try doing a webinar. Trust me he knows. It seems like Mike is on a webinar every two minutes (in a good way).

Shama Kabani - President of The Marketing Zen Group chats with me about how to deal with negative reviews, why social media marketing “comes last” as well as her new (awesome) book The Zen Of Social Media Marketing (Amazon Link)

Ryan Holmes - The CEO of Hootsuite, a great social media management/productivity/analytics application, joins me to talk about it and how the product helps entrepreneurs. Plus we hop into the keys to pitching online media sources and why Hootsuite has been so successful at it (buzz is good).

Jason Cohen – A Smart Bear (and repeat guest) joins me to talk about building your blog subscriber base and why it is important and maybe a little overrated as well.

Gary Whitehill - The Founder of New York Entrepreneur Week (going on right now) discusses the benefits of bringing people together and how that helps build your brand.

Tamar Weinberg - Author (New Community Rules: Marketing On The Social Web – Amazon Link) and uber-blogger at techipedia drills down the keys to becoming a successful blogger including specific similarities of those at the top of the blogging mountain.

Melissa Pierce - You are going to love her energy. Melissa is an independent film maker in the midst of an ambitious and inspiring project: Life In Perpetual Beta (what a great name).

Dan Rayburn - The master of streaming media joins me to talk about “going live” including the ins and outs of doing your own live, online show.

Matt Meyerson - Corporate PR rock star turned PR entrepreneur, Matt started the quickly growing RPRT Communications& Management and sheds some light on finding a niche even in a very crowded industry.

Scott Stratten - He is loud, funny, and knows a heck of a lot about marketing…or is it unmarketing? Scott discusses the current state of marketing, the importance of relationships and we dive into his new book (almost ready for pre-sale: Unmarketing: Stop Marketing Start Engaging).

Howard Mann - Sometimes this crazy changing world leaves business basics in the dust. But without the basics, none of us even have a business. Howard and I discuss some key lessons from his book Your Business Brickyard (Amazon Link) including tips on getting paid faster (always a good thing).

Damon Schechter - CEO of Shipwire solves the problem of shipping physical products throughout the world without a multi-million dollar budget and massive warehouse. Plus he has all kinds of advice on making shipping easier.

Kevin Cottrell - Kevin is changing the real estate industry for the better and is successfully taking on the “big boys” by using social media creatively and becoming a resource (content marketing at its greatest). We discuss his new site St. Louis Real Estate Today as well as share ideas on how you can become a resource as opposed to a salesman (or woman).

Sarah Evans - The PR master (you know her as PRSarahEvans) and I will be talking web PR, online strategy and other goodies.

Neil Patel - The man behind numerous successful Internet Companies (including KISSmetrics) and a super successful blog (QuickSprout) joins me to chat about the art and science of hustling online.

Bruce Gibbs - (disclosure: GFI Digital is a partner of RISE) Bruce has built a 40-million dollar plus company by redefining a less-than-sexy industry (printing). His wisdom is timeless.

Johnny Londoff - (disclosure: Unless you live under a rock, you know Johnny is a RISE partner/sponsor) Here comes Johnny (couldn’t resist) to talk about the keys to customer service including everything from referrals to finding the right customer.

Mitch Joel - The author and big thinker behind the best-selling book Six Pixels Of Separation (Amazon Link) joins me to give his thoughts on the online marketing revolution and what it means for you and your business.

Dave Levine - You might know him as “Sex Toy Dave” from his two appearances on former RISE guest Patti Stanger’s “The Millionaire Matchmaker.” I’ll just leave it at that…

Mindee Doney and Julie Pickens – The ladies behind your snot. Um, ya. They are the founder of Boogie Wipes and will be joining me to talk about turning something obscure into a business.

Ben Huh - The man behind the “Cheezburger Network” has created niche website based around making people laugh (LOL Cats, anyone?) and has turned it into a huge business with all kinds of marketing takeaways.

Mario Braz de Matos – Sometimes it is fun to profile folks on the way to the top. How did they get it going? Mario has a niche: Chefs. He joins me to talk about his social network he created for the masters of the mouth.

Bryan Rahn - PPC – Pay-Per-Click advertising. What is it? How does it work? Why are so many people bad it? Bryan from Growth Partner not only talks the talk but walks the walk with tons of successful PPC campaigns.

You will also notice…it just won’t be interviews on RISE or just video:

I’m going to spread out the interviews a bit to make sure to stick to the mission of The Rise To The Top being a 360-degree resource for forward-thinkers. So, what that means is you will a smattering of special articles, product and book reviews, possibly a guest post or two as well, continue the 101 Marketing Tips Series (short videos inspired by amazing marketing ideas), and oh so much more. And we are working on a new archiving system so you can easily hunt down past content such as interviews with Seth Godin, David Heinemeier Hansson, Robert Scoble, Daniel Pink, David Meerman Scott and many more. If it helps build your business, I will put it up…in a mix of forms (video, text, etc.).

Your Thoughts?

How can I best be helpful to you? What would you like to see? Things that are being thrown around include a weekly live business Q&A show and more. Your ideas are more than welcomed…they are appreciated and listened to.

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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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