Some have called the Social Media Telesummit a get rich scheme or an attempt to hoodwink Google with search engine shenanigans.

Others have said that the Social Media Telesummit information page is clunky, reads like a snake oil sales brochure (that via email) and other adjectives that have yet to cross my visual and auditory plane.

I was going to write a lengthy post defending my actions, but then I stumbled upon this post at Presentation Zen. What caught my eye was this:

(1) Never apologize for your enthusiasm, passion, or vision.
(2) Never apologize for being inspired by another human being.
(3) Seek out inspiration (don’t wait for it).
(4) Inspire others by sharing your talents and time.
(5) And no matter what: Don’t let the bozos grind you down, ever.

The world needs more inspiration, not less. Speaking is not the only way to inspire—actions inspire too, often more—but leaders know how to inspire with both words and action.

The image below, by way of Presentation Zen who got the image from author Jessica Hagy, speaks louder than any word I can write.

Branding is key to any social media strategy. For example, I chose the colours that I did for my blog because it reminds me of a bowl of Skittles. And I love Skittles. Colourful, sweet and yummy.

My intent is to show people that social media is colourful, sweet, yummy and fun. So, when someone else describes me or one of my products in a fun way, it confirms that my brand is working.

While perusing my feed reader, I came across a post by Andy Wibbels. He’s speaking at the Social Media Telesummit on Friday and while reading his summary of the event, I smiled. Why? It was fun, funny and upbeat. In particular, Andy wrote:

Not sure what this whole ’social media’ nutty-ness is about? Flummoxed over Facebook? Distraught over Digg? Podcasting maven Leesa Barnes has put together a gaggle of experts to take you on a guided tour of the internet marketing landscape exploring topics like social bookmarking, social networks, virtual worlds, podcasting, blogging, branding - the whole shebang! This is a fantastic sampler platter of what is working online right here, right now. I’m presenting on Friday with a session called session Time, Money, Sex (and Salvation). I think it’ll be fun.

Nutty mess, flummoxed, gaggle, shebang. Love the adjectives. Playful, fun and energetic.  I’m glad that Andy has captured that in his blurb about the Telesummit.

The Social Media Telesummit is becoming its own social media case study. It’s fascinating to see the Telesummit speakers and my affiliates use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, podcasts, videos and other social media tools to promote this event.

One of the biggest concerns I see about the Telesummit is the number of sessions. Some have complained that they can’t sit on their phone for 4 hours a day over 8 days.

The Telesummit is so much more than the live sessions. While I’d love to hear an audience of people interacting with myself and the speakers through each and every session, it’s how attendees consume and interact with the content AFTER the live sessions are over where the true value lies.

Paul Colligan captures it so nicely in this 9 minute video. He explains the 7 ways to get the most out of the Telesummit using the analogy of a buffet. It’s well worth the viewing whether you plan to attend the Telesummit - or not.

Please note - If you want to attend any of the live sessions, register before 11:59pm EST on February 20th. After the 20th, you will have only one payment option (the most expensive one) and you lose out on the bonuses. In essence, you’ll pay more for less. Click here to grab your seat right now and participate in this innovative event.

If you’re still on the fence regarding the Social Media Telesummit, I’m holding a one hour special teleseminar where you can ask me anything about the Social Media Telesummit.

Now, this isn’t a session to ask about which blog platform you should use for your shoe buying business. Nor should you use this session to ask me which audio gear you should buy to record your interviews.

Instead, use this time to ask me any question that is still unanswered about the Social Media Telesummit. We’ll do this via a webcast and you can start submitting your questions in the box below. Then, come back at 9am EST (New York time) and I’ll start plugging through the questions.

I know that this session will remove all doubts you may be having about attending the Social Media Telesummit. See you at 9am EST on February 20th.

Replay of the Question & Answer Session:

Christina Hills (pictured left), better known as the Shopping Cart Queen, is one of the speakers at the upcoming Social Media Telesummit.

She spent some time with me talking about why emails and autoresponders work much better than RSS alone. The recording is below and I invite you to listen.

Here’s what she shared in this 18 minute audio recording:

• Why email is a better option than RSS (blame your grandmother)
• What an autoresponder captures that an RSS feed can not
• The one thing that Leesa does every time someone joins her autoresponder list (and why Christina thinks this is an awesome idea)

This is a sneak peek of all the awesome content Christina will share during her session at the Social Media Telesummit.  If you haven’t registered your spot, do so today because after February 20th, you’ll have to wait 12 months for the next one.

 

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