The Maverick Marketer Blog

I got a flood of emails after my last minute email last week for the Warrior Weekend I spoke at… so let me follow up on that.

It was everthing I’d hoped and more… Eric Louviere and his team put on a great event and raised good money for the Austism charity.

Very cool.

I took some heat from folks who couldn’t be there and I do apologize for the short notice.

The good news is that I got to meet everyone who could get there and I autographed copies of my new book Inspired Marketing until I ran out… so I’ll have to bring more next time

I could take a whole blog post to tell you about the great people I connected with and the amazing breakthrough I had on a project I’m working on… but I’ll have to save that for another post or this will get too long (that’s how cool the people were that I got to connect with).

One of the takeaways from the event came from Willie Crawford’s talk about joint ventures.

His number one recommendation for establishing solid joint venture relationship is to, well, build a real relationship, especially with the ‘bigger names’ in your industry.

I couldn’t agree more!

I continually get emails from folks that are clearly form templates touting how much money I’ll make if I just pimp their product to my list.

Problem is, I don’t know who they are and it’s clear they don’t know me very well either.

I never promote anything I haven’t personally had success with and while I want to help the well meaning candidates who approach me, there simply isn’t enough time for me to investigate every opportunity so these kind of emails just get deleted.

Unfortunately a lot of the advice in ‘how to joint venture’ products out there seems to encourage this blind shot gun approach.

Internet marketing is a very isolated niche and it’s easy to get lost going down the wrong path like that.

What does work?

Meeting people in person and connecting in the ‘real world’.

Here’s a synchronistic example.

I met Eric Louviere as an attendee a year ago at an event I spoke at.

I was with a couple of the other speakers in the hotel bar on the Friday night of the event (don’t ask me why I remember that) and he was literally the ONLY attendee there.

Begin mini-rant…

Why more attendees don’t make an effort to hang out after hours with speakers and other attendees at the hotel I’ll never understand!

That’s where connections are made!!!

When you are at an event with fellow Internet marketers who have joint venture potential, not to mention hard won knowledge that can seriously speed up your path to profits online… why not make the most of every minute?

You don’t have to have a drink or stay up till all hours… but do stop by and visit next time you are at an event, ok?

I had to get that off my chest…

Anyway, back to Eric’s cool success story.

In the bar that night he was listening in to our conversation and decided to join in… and he had the good sense to buy me a scotch when mine ran out inexplicably

I remember talking with Eric and he said at his event this weekend that it made a big impact on what happened in the months that followed.

Funny thing is, I don’t recall saying anything particurally brilliant… but I do remember part of our conversation was about what I just ranted about.

And I remember telling Eric that he really stood out and impressed me by putting in the time and effort to network and pick the brains of the speakers in the bar.

Turns out… Eric was as impressive as he appeared.

After the event he took action, started a business that is well into the six figures now and had the further sense to leave his cushy carreer to become a full time entrepreneur.

So in February of this year he contacted me and asked me to speak at his event… because I remembered him favorably it was a no brainer to take the time to consider it… after a few minutes I realized it was a good fit.

I know he has relationships with the other speakers at his event… including Marlon Sanders, Dr. Mike Woo Ming and many that weren’t there, like Mike Filsaime.

If you’ve been involved in Internet marketing for more than a month or so you probably recognize all those names… and if you don’t, let me just say they are highly successful great guys, and hard to get a hold of… but within a year from getting started Eric pulled these folks and other greats like Willie Crawford into one place and hit it out of the park with his first event.

Not bad.

If you missed the Warrior Event, I apologize as I did not give you much notice… if the DVD’s come out I’ll be sure to tell you about it.

Now, I’ve been around this industry since 2003 or so actively and in that time I’ve met just about anyone you can name and have built a fun and profitable circle of friends.

Want to know where I met 90% of them?

Big Seminar… which is Armand Morin’s premier event that is now being held for the ELEVENTH time next weekend.

I’m not speaking there but I did a few years ago… in fact, I’ve been to every one except the first one.

Why?

Here’s my top three reasons…

1) If you want to know what is working NOW online (instead of being behind the curve all the time) you’ll hear about it first from the A List speakers Armand attracts.

2) It’s the one place I can count on reconnecting with my friends in this industry because they all go time after time…

3) Each time I have gone, I met a NEW friend and or business partner that has been invaluable. I’ve watched many go from being in the audience to being on stage, like Joel Comm and way to many to list here.

See, I follow my own advice and seek new joint ventures by meeting people in person.

If you’ve been to a Big Seminar already you know all this and no doubt have received emails from Armand about this one.

But if you have never been, let me encourage you in no uncertain terms to attend on the 25th through 27th of April.

(Full details are at: www.maverickmarketer.com/big)

There is a training call tonight if you can attend, go check it out.. and if you can’t make it live on the call, by getting on the list you’ll be notified of the replay times.

Again, if this is your first time attending Big Seminar, go to this link and check out what Armand’s got in store for you this time.

Get your ticket right away and then email me at craig -at- maverickmarketer.com because I’ll arrange to sit down with you there and help you get the most out of the event and some other goodies, too.

I’ll help you determine who of my contacts would be good for you to meet and open any doors I can.

Even if you don’t have a clue what you want to do online I’d suggest you attend if you can because you’ll get a quick 72 hour orientation on what’s working now.

In my experience, over 60% of the audience is new to Internet marketing… and what’s really cool is that many in the audience are as or more successful than the heavy hitters on stage.

I connected with a guy last time who just did a product launch in a niche for over 2 million dollars (which reminds me I need to follow up with him ).

If you are a long time reader of mine you’ll know how strongly I endorse Armand Morin and his products and seminars… and if you are new to all this, just go check out the site because what you will see says it all.

At the Big Seminar 11 website you’ll see the first video salesletter of it’s kind… proof enough that Armand is on the cutting edge of what’s working online today.

After you’ve checked out the page and if you are serious about going for the first time, email me at craig at maverickmarketer.com with any questions you have.

If this is a good fit for you right now I’d like to see you there!

Oh, and if you go there and get on the list, you’ll get notified about tonight’s call details for Armand’s final free training call before the seminar next weekend.

See you there!

- Craig

It’s a cliche on launch days to comment on how ‘crazy’ it gets.

So I’ll skip all that and tell you that it was worth the wait to get your copy today because the contributions we got for the bonus package are impressive… and targeted.

There’s a brand new interview Joe did yesterday that no one’s heard before, for but ONE example of the cool stuff you get.

But here’s what I want to make sure you know about…

And in addition to product quality goodies I’m also throwing in a 30 day trial to InspiredMarketing.com when it launches in the next week.

So, while you’re helping us to make Inspired Marketing a best seller on day 1, just know I’m more than happy to give you resources, content, and inspiration in large doses.

I said I was going to give you the inside scoop because I’m literally the only one who knows what is inside InspiredMarketing.com… and I also know that as cool as the bonuses are that you’ll see at…

http://www.inspiredmarketing.com/invitation

…what you’ll get when my new membership site goes live is going to make you very happy.

Much of it I’ve never released before… all in one place.

That’s all I can say right now.

I’m not really trying to be secretive, it’s just I’m so over the top tired and can’t do justice to what this could mean to you.

Yeah, that’s the day, when Craig runs out of words.

But today it’s true…

Rest assured that I’m going to focusing on both the ‘inspired’ and the ‘marketing’ and why the two combined are so powerful and profitable.

Let’s put it this way… lots of folks watch The Secret and then want to start a business or take action… but don’t know anything about marketing.

With this site, you’ll get marketing training guided by inspiration.

More next time…

As for the launch, here’s the scoop.

We’re up to #186 out of all books on Amazon right now (and #3 in Marketing) so if you haven’t got your copy yet, I’d love it if you did now.

The number 1 best seller on Amazon now is Eckhard Tolle’s book that Oprah has been talking about so much… so we’ve got some pretty big hill to climb.

Every book counts

Get all the whole story at…

http://www.inspiredmarketing.com/invitation

Thanks for your support!

Craig

I was ‘tagged’ yesterday to participate in a brilliant Internet blog experiment called “Simply Successful Secrets” by my dear friend, Dr. Joe Vitale.

He listed ten secrets to his own success and tagged me to do the same… and play along with a fun blog experiment created by Aaron Potts.

See, each blogger posts on 5-10 things they feel contributed to their success… and then tags other bloggers to post their secrets to success on their own blogs.

Cool idea.

I gotta give Aaron a virtual ‘high five’ for coming up with the idea.

Part of the game is that each blog post is linked back to Aaron, which will do wonders for his search engine ranking, and spread the word about his own blog.

Let’s call it ‘viral blog traffic’ using a creative idea that spreads helpful knowledge while stirring up some folks.

If you follow around from blog to blog, I bet you learn a few things that might just help you achieve your next level of success.

So here’s some tips from me…

Ten Secrets of my success:

1) Be yourself:

As ‘The Maverick Marketer’, I like to do things my own way. I’m an entrepreneur precisely because I’m not good at doing what I’m told Beware the urge to try to conform and be like everyone else. Dare to be yourself… try new things.

With that said, I advise studying ‘masters’ and what has always worked, the classics. Then… you adapt what works with your own style. Said more briefly: know your craft, do it your way.

2) Sense of humor:

Whenever something happens that is unexpected or disappointing, it’s real tempting to get ticked off and start cursing. I know, I’ve got practice. But what I mostly find myself doing is making jokes and laughing about it while I figure out a solution.

Much more fun.

Hey, if a cat can fall off a chair while licking itself and act all cool, I can laugh in the face of adversity. Of course, life can be easy if you let it, but when the curve balls do fly at ya, laugh yourself a merry laugh and hit one out of the park.

3) Do what you fear:

I know, everyone says ‘do what you love’, and that’s great advice. But what I’ve found also to be true is my greatest successes come after doing something I was afraid to do — but did anyway.

If you are not the least bit anxious, afraid, or have any tingle in your spine about what you are attempting to do… then you’re still in the shallow end of the pool. Go deeper… that’s where the good stuff is, and the fear whispering in your ear that you may not be good enough to swim is your proof that you’re on the right path.

Scary? yes, but worth it. Also, you’ll learn to distinguish fear from a bad feeling in your gut. Trust that intuitive voice that says, ‘this sucks, run away’.

The kind of fear that spurs you on feels scary anxious… not bad with impending doom. Subtle, yet important difference.

4) Do what you love:

yeah, I love being an entrepreneur, writing, and teaching… and that’s what allows me to put in the time and effort to build what I’ve built. For me, it’s not about the money, it’s about the game. When it becomes about the money, it’s no fun anymore.

Use the money as a way to keep score in the game… not as your reason for playing at all. You gotta love the game… and yes, the money will follow.

5) Feed your brain:

I read, online, books, magazines, and I watch people. I watch movies, I study history. It’s not ‘tiring’, I follow whatever catches my interest.

Somehow, my subsonscious mind sorts it out into stuff I can use. I scribble ideas in my journal and record thoughts in my mp3 player… and I love to mastermind and plug in to what others know.

I often tell you about the books I’m reading on this blog… and recently, I’ve watched ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ with Will Smith and ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ with Will Farrel.

But if you really want to watch something that is fun and provocative for your business mind, check out Humbug… it’s the story of the great lotto hoax that Alan Able and Dr. Joe Vitale pulled off in promoting The Attractor Factor. It’s bold, ambitious, cheeky, outrageous, and successful… all the stuff great entrepreneurs are made of… highly recommended.

6) Chill:

Like I said, I watch movies… I play Playstation with my boys, I go for walks at midnight with fine cigars, wine tastings with my wife, and took 8 weeks off last year in an RV trip across the country from Texas to Vermont and back.

I go out to dinner with my friends Bill Hibbler, Pat OBryan, and Joe Vitale… with special guests like Mark Ryan from time to time. We used to meet weekly for a mastermind during the day, and it has evolved into a Siglo IV Cigar and steak and scotch (or martini) night out.

Relaxing, profitable, and while cigars and steak may not be your thing, getting out of the office to chill doing whatever you like is essential to getting anything done while you are IN the office.

By the way, if you spell Craig creatively, you get ‘cigar’.

7) Respect your process:

A lot of entrepreneurs are unfit for holding down a job. Creative, visionary, restless, and undisciplined at stuff that isn’t fun or challenging. If that sounds like you, then don’t kick yourself… those are NORMAL traits of successful folks who came before you.

Lousy traits if you want to achieve happiness in a cubicle, but just perfect for being your own boss. Just make sure you hire or partner with someone or a team of folks who LOVE to do what you HATE to do. Stuff still has to get done… just don’t beat yourself up for not being able to do absolutely everything.

Pick what you are good at or love to do, and go from there. And if you are a perfectionist control freak, don’t delay a second… you gotta follow this advice too.

8) Focus on what you want:

When I started my business, it’s because I wanted fancy sports cars and a motorcycle back when I was a younger man. When I got those… I moved on to bigger aspirations… like building a family and the world we wanted to live in. I knew that was my objective… not fame and fortune.

That’s why, when I had to learn something new, like copywriting, or traffic, I had the energy to do it, because I was focused on what I wanted.

When I’ve struggled, it’s often because I focused on stuff I didn’t want… and if you watch the movie The Secret, you’ll understand that The Law Of Attraction says you get more of what you focus on.

So keep your attention on your goal… and feel yourself already having it. Then all you gotta do is take action and never quit.

9) Know why you want it:

While it’s important to want stuff… if you don’t want it enough, it won’t motivate you to push through the times that aren’t fun and easy. Like I said before, if you want to make 100,000 dollars, that’s great.

But it may not provide you the juice you need to make it happen if you don’t attach that money to some greater meaning. If you support a family, then taking care of them and living your life with financial freedom is a lot more motivating than just a stack of Benjamins.

If you want to help feed kids and donate to causes that you’re passionate about… that will motivate you to raise money and your income more than the bucks alone.

And… if you have always wanted a 911 Twin Turbo Porsche… and can vividly imagine yourself tearing up the back roads with the wind in your face… then THAT may motivate you to get the job done. But don’t say you want to make a lot of money or be successful and leave it at that… put something emotional, spiritual, and real into the vision.

Your greatest meaning in your life will come from serving others… and the feelings you get from that, not personal gain.

10) Get out of the house and meet people like you:

My greatest success boost came from meeting successful people who already knew how to do what I wanted to learn.

Whether that was by reading newsletters like Gary Halbert’s, or books and courses, I found that others had solved the problems I faced… and eventually I figured out it was smarter to buy their knowledge than to recreate the wheel myself. If you can, get out of the house and go to seminars and workshops.

Meet people. Introduce yourself to the speakers and the event promoter.

You will be amazed at how fast your life can change by just meeting the right people.

Next week, I’m going to Big Seminar 9 and I’m going to meet several hundred new people… plus see dear friends like Armand Morin, Michel and Sylvie Fortin, my fellow AM2 members, all the speakers, attendees… and countless great friends who are literally too numerous to list here. I’ve been to SEVEN Big Seminars… and won’t miss a one from now on.

Always cutting edge. Always full of the top marketers (both on the stage and in the audience), and always worth a few new lucrative JV deals.

I understand, it might not be possible to go to events like that for you right now… but my friend Pat ‘Portable Empire’ OBryan’s content rich Unseminar2 videos were just released… and that was one unforgettable event where me, Joe Vitale, Bill Hibbler and Cindy Cashman all spoke on our areas of expertise. I know I spoke TWICE… once on list building, next on email marketing.

If you get a chance to attend one of Pat’s events… do it. You’ll see what I mean if you watch the videos of several attendees sharing their experience of being there. Can’t recommend it highly enough…

I’ll tell you about more seminars as they come up where I’m either speaking or attending… stay tuned.

So that’s it… my rant about ten things that I believe are key to my success.

While I’m at it… I’ll tag 5 people I’d like to see blog on this…

Armand Morin, Michel Fortin, Mike Filsaime, Alice Seba, Sylvie Fortin

Until next time…

Craig