Stephanie and I agree, with slightly different takes, that keeping your message simple is critical to your success…in marketing, fundraising, sales, recruiting, life…

Getting to the point -- quickly AND clearly -- isn’t always easy. In fact, it is hard to keep your message simple.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-e_pF0asDE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRTyvdNbjRw

Stephanie and I have also done some other writing on this subject. Here is an article that Stephanie wrote in the context of talent and job search. Here is a post I wrote that discusses this topic in the context of your marketing.

What do you think? Agree or disagree?

Todd and I both operate home-based businesses and have started to venture out a bit and see whether spending a day or two each week working at a venue other than our respective home offices might help us to be a little more productive.

And, I mean, plus…it’s just a little more fun, you know?!

Twice in the last two weeks we have spent the day working at one of our favorite restaurants, FuegoMundo. (As Todd has been so kind to point out, I mention in the video below that they have free wifi and fabulous food (gluten free!) at least three times. Well…they do. If they didn’t, why would I want to go and work there all day?!?)

With that said…we’d love to know.

Have you tried coworking? Do you like it?

What are the upsides…and pitfalls?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DKu-IVd1iA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvubtDDrzg

OK, so Stephanie and I are in Nashville, preparing to run in the Nashville Country Music Marathon tomorrow morning. As part of the registration process of picking up our running bib/number and other material, we were able to go and check out the large Expo.

The Expo is a large trade show featuring hundreds of vendors of all things long distance running (clothes, running shoes, jewelery, energy gels and goos, etc. It is also an opportunity for the event sponsors to spotlight themselves.

As keen observers of all things marketing, Stephanie and I had some thoughts on opportunities won and lost. We would appreciate your ideas on other ways business could maximize their presence at trade show events like this one!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwopYxxkd4k

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei2Kc21FmtU

And stay tuned, methinks we will film another #HSSS episode while here in the great city of Nashville! See you soon!

Last night Todd and I attended an event called IgniteATL at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta.

If you’re not familiar with the concept it’s an evening filled with delicious snacks, drinks, and 15-20 presenters who each have exactly five minutes to pitch or sell their idea to the audience of several hundred. Their slides auto-advance every fifteen seconds whether they like it or not, which keeps the pace fast and the tone light.

Subjects ranged from music discovery to human trafficking to farming in urban environments.

It was our first such event and it sparked a conversation between us. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GomEHCP_F3M

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3PpQ2fVy4s

With all of that said…we’d love to hear from you! How do you generate new ideas? Do you work best in isolation, or when crowdsourcing?

Stay tuned for Round 14 (and maybe 15?) filmed live from Nashville, TN this weekend where we’ll be running the Country Music Half-Marathon. (A half-marathon is 13.1 miles.)

This is Todd’s first ever half, and my first in several years, and promises to be quite the experience!

Wish us luck…

So, Stephanie and I were attending a mini-tweetup last night, and decided to film another episode. Being Stephanie’s turn, she initiated a conversation about GoogleWAVE.

She and I have been working on a new project that we will be launching soon, and because of our busy schedules, we have largely collaborated on the development utilizing GoogleWAVE. View the videos to see our thoughts:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J2Ac2I2Z9w

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDTUlWtdew

What are your thoughts regarding GoogleWAVE? As discussed in the videos, some people love it, some people hate it. Tell us what you think. Do you have an interesting story to share about a project collaboration of your own?

Let us know!

This week our friend Joe Lavelle was in town for a conference and we had the opportunity to meet him IRL (“in real life”) for the first time.

We’d both originally “met” Joe via Twitter and have each had multiple conversations with him over the past few months on various subjects.

It was so great to finally meet him in person and to spend a few hours learning more about him, his family, his business, book, events, and future aspirations.

In this round of He Said, She Said, Todd and I discuss the power of Twitter when it comes to developing new and meaningful relationships.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l-oxhgkmBk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id1_2Tk-zdY

How has Twitter changed your world / business / life?

Tell us about the most valuable new relationship you have formed via Twitter.

We’ll leave the comments open for 7 days, and the person with the best answer gets a free copy of Joe’s recently published book, Act As If It Were Impossible To Fail!

Ok, so Year 1 of the world famous He Said, She Said video blog series is now complete. We filmed 10 rounds, and consensus indicates that I was a solid 10-0. But you know, that doesn’t really surprise anyone.

But what we wanted to do to close out the year was have each of us select our favorite episode, and explain why. I will go first, since I was the undefeated 2009 world champion…

TODD SELECTS ROUND 7

I believe Round 7 was our most IMPORTANT episode, if not necessarily our best production. The reason I felt it was important is that I think the process of providing valuable content for your community is a CRITICAL step in the new marketing arena.

Now just because Stephanie and I each have our own respective radio shows, doesn’t mean YOU have to host your own radio show. There are wonderful products available in your local electronics store or Office Depot that will enable you to record quality podcasts. They are easy to produce, and VERY EASY to upload and share on the internet.

Providing this valuable content, and more importantly, sharing it and leading conversation around it, are essential steps in marketing your product or service.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQNRGQOiKe4

STEPHANIE SELECTS ROUND 5

Amazing that I could even get through 10 rounds of video with this guy given his smack attitude, isn’t it??

Yeah. So I win the Tolerance Award for 2009.

Anyway.

I think Round 5 was our best so far because, now more than ever, events and other networking opportunities are critical when it comes to our ability to make meaningful connections. We are becoming more and more connected via online communities with people we’ve never met -- or would have otherwise had the opportunity to discover -- and being able to meet them in person helps to cement that relationship and lead to even more possibilities…including further introductions, friendships, and business opportunities.

Todd had a different take on attending networking events…you can view that here!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=USVbdh4j-z0

Today Todd and I filmed Round 10 of He Said, She Said.

What a momentous occasion! We made it to 10.

Not that we didn’t think we would…but still, kind of cool!

So today it was my turn to ask the question, and I asked, “What do you think is the the greatest advantage of promoting an event via social media?”

Watch our videos below to discover our thoughts, and feel free to add to the conversation via the comments section!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl26hNaftDE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l6P3T-m32M

Join us for the PunkRock Champagne Holiday Social + TweetUp on December 16th! Hope to see you at FuegoMundo Wood-Fire Grill!

Todd is…

Thankful for | Publix and Whole Foods

Not thankful for | Kroger

Thankful for | the marketing revolution

Not thankful for | most businesses not realizing it is happening

Thankful for | my friends on Twitter

Not thankful for | that some of them send me crap I don’t ask for

Thankful for | my dog LittleMan

Not thankful for | losing him this past year

Thankful for | my Blackberry

Not thankful for | that it never works because of Sprint

Stephanie is…

Thankful for | Target

Not thankful for | Walmart

Thankful for | the “hide” feature on Facebook

Not thankful for | Farm Town

Thankful for | my friends on Twitter

Not thankful for | spammers, hackers, and auto-DMs

Thankful for | my dog Jake

Not thankful for | the mud and dirt he tracks in the house

Thankful for | my iPhone

Not thankful for | the 5 minute battery life

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJvKOmSaSpo

If Stephanie ever does this to me…