Okay, I'm back. It's been more than a year since I last posted here.
The past week was spent setting up VirtuaSapient, a new venture that will cover everything I do related to virtual reality worlds. That includes the book(s), the consultation, coaching, speaking, marketing, and, of course, the content creation.
The week prior was spent anguishing over the company name, registering a slew of domain names in the process, most of which I probably will never use now. And, naturally, I've had to create the associated email addresses, websites, Facebook accounts and pages, Twitter accounts, Second Life accounts, Blue Mars accounts. And then link them all together with gadgets and whatnot.
It's quasi-organized right now. There's a lot more content to be written, a company logo to design, a book cover concept to implement.
But I'm rediscovering some school friends with my new Facebook account because only a few knew about my nickname, which I used with my original Facebook account. But now, in spite of what Facebook prefers, I have three accounts: my original personal account, my Second Life account, and my new professional account.
I swear I'm the Internet Sasquatch. I have a big footprint.
And now that I've outed my (formerly mostly anonymous) main persona in Second Life, people who knew me only in real life would find out what I have really been up to the past four and a half years, and people who knew me only in Second Life would find out out what I have been up to before Second Life. I would probably shock the first group more, but both groups would probably be surprised.
Here I am, laid bare to all the online world. But at least, nobody can blackmail me anymore, because, well, it's all public information. :D
So, why don't I integrate all of them into one personal brand? Well, it's very difficult to sell a company that is tightly bound with your personal brand. And the idea behind selling a company is so you can move on to something else. At least, that's what I'd probably do, being well aware of my tendency to get bored every few years.
I'm reading a book called "Crush It!" by Gary Vaynerchuk (a gift from the Quantum Leap program by Steve Harrison), and Gary proposes that your business and your personal brand should be the same. And for your followers to know everyday information about you is better because you become three-dimensional to them. I agree wholeheartedly.
However, I also know that I tend to hit that Too Much Information boundary with a lot of people, so I'm giving friends a choice of my personal FB if they can handle the dirty laundry, or my professional FB if they prefer to stick with the "safe" conversation topics, or my Second Life persona FB if they don't really care to know about my real life.
After all, a lot of people *do* go into Second Life to take a break from real life. Or maybe they just prefer to think of me as a seven-foot-tall redheaded glamazon Barbie. Whatever makes people happy. Hey, even *I* prefer to think of myself as a seven-foot-tall redheaded glamazon Barbie.
The reason I'm outing Opal is because the book I'm writing is based on experiences I had as her. And it would just seem a disconnect if people didn't see the side of me where that came from. And that's where the shock would come from. I'm sure people never thought of me that way. Heck, five years ago, *I* never thought of me that way.
But one of the benefits of anonymity is that it gives you courage to try things you may never dare to do, because you have been cornered into a restricted sense of self that is very difficult to break out of, until you take on a new identity. So, in the past four and a half years, I have been able to pay attention to and develop many sides of me without worrying what people would think.
And, in a sense, I bloomed. I thrived. I found full expression of hidden parts of me, like my creativity and, yes, even my sensuality.
I've never truly lived until I lived in Second Life.
Ironically, my world has expanded tremendously while sitting in my office chair. My life has been touched deeply and intimately by people from all over the world, even those who have to use a translator in order for us to communicate.
Complete anonymity on the internet is near impossible. And although I have several other alternate personas (or alts) in Second Life that are still anonymous, I don't delude myself that they won't be outed eventually. But I know that most people would be respectful enough to allow me space to be.
There'll be lots more to discuss about this blending of realities, but I'm on two deadlines in three weeks, so I'll blog when I can, either here or in Opal's or in Twitter/Facebook. Somewhere. :)
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Teach what you know
Years ago, I approached Ana Forrest at the end of one of her yoga seminars in Seattle. I was considering being a yoga teacher on the side, but I didn't feel ready. I felt I had a long way to go in my own yoga practice before I could start training as a yoga teacher. I expressed my concern and her response struck me. She said, "Teach what you know."
I am at that junction again. I'm at the start of a marketing venture, learning about network marketing myself, and knowing that I'll have to teach people about it.
But what do I know? Two months into this venture and I've read many articles and blogs and a book about network marketing. So many advice floating around, all saying the same things, all selling their own "system". All of them differentiating themselves by saying they don't do it the traditional way. And they claim that, if you buy into their system, you'll distinguish yourself as an expert. How can you be distinguished from the other "experts" if you're buying into a turn-key marketing system?
So far, all I've really learned are these things:
We've seen the power of the web. We've seen how blogging and self-publishing online is now threatening the paper-based publications. I think network marketing has the potential to do the same in the marketing field.
Certainly, network marketing has been around for centuries. But network marketing on the internet is a recent development and it's still a big jumble out there. I don't think people have really figured it out yet. If they have, it would be easy to teach and duplicate. However, that's a good thing. An industry in its infancy (in this case, again) holds great potential.
So, we observe and we experiment and we learn. And we teach what we learn.
I am at that junction again. I'm at the start of a marketing venture, learning about network marketing myself, and knowing that I'll have to teach people about it.
But what do I know? Two months into this venture and I've read many articles and blogs and a book about network marketing. So many advice floating around, all saying the same things, all selling their own "system". All of them differentiating themselves by saying they don't do it the traditional way. And they claim that, if you buy into their system, you'll distinguish yourself as an expert. How can you be distinguished from the other "experts" if you're buying into a turn-key marketing system?
So far, all I've really learned are these things:
- I'm working with a very good company. Several people have told me so, fellow network marketers who are in other companies themselves.
- Network marketing is less about about marketing the company and the products, and more about marketing yourself.
- Network marketing is a highly competitive market.
We've seen the power of the web. We've seen how blogging and self-publishing online is now threatening the paper-based publications. I think network marketing has the potential to do the same in the marketing field.
Certainly, network marketing has been around for centuries. But network marketing on the internet is a recent development and it's still a big jumble out there. I don't think people have really figured it out yet. If they have, it would be easy to teach and duplicate. However, that's a good thing. An industry in its infancy (in this case, again) holds great potential.
So, we observe and we experiment and we learn. And we teach what we learn.
Nine plaid pajamas
The group that recruited me in this network marketing venture focused primarily on stay-at-home moms and dads. Their training focused on how to reach that market. In fact, their group name has "Mom" in it.
I don't have kids; therefore, marketing under that group name would make me feel uncomfortable. So, I decided to split off and focus on people who want to work online from anywhere.
Of course, I needed a catchy tag and Pajama Ventures™ was born.
"Dress for success! Wear pajamas!" :)
And the first activities I had to focus on was starting a website (www.pajamaventures.com), getting a team site up as well for people who join me, and a home base inside Second Life, since that's where I'd primarily market.
I also figured my team would need a "business suit" that fits in with our name, so I created pajamas. In nine plaid patterns. With the Pajama Ventures logo on the pockets.
Then it occurred to me that this is a marketing tool. So, why limit it to the team? Why not let everybody in the virtual world wear them and let people get familiar with our logo. Maybe they'll want to learn about us and what we do. So, I set out vendors inworld and put them on sale in XStreet for 1L each. The package includes a notecard inviting the buyers to get to know the Pajama Ventures team by requesting a one-on-one presentation.
I had two buyers in the first five minutes after I put it up on XStreet. 33 buyers in the first 24 hours. And it's still going.
Yes, I paid 899L (approximately US$3.40) for being featured in the front page of the marketplace for seven days. No, I won't make it back on 1L sales. :D And I don't expect to make it back; it's a marketing expense.
Logo merchandise has been created and sold both inworld and in the real world. I made these logo pajamas so that people would love to wear them in public without feeling like walking billboards. The design is conservative and discreet, and the quality is... well, you can judge for yourself.
Get your own copy here. Then fill out and send back the notecard, okay?
I don't have kids; therefore, marketing under that group name would make me feel uncomfortable. So, I decided to split off and focus on people who want to work online from anywhere.
Of course, I needed a catchy tag and Pajama Ventures™ was born.
"Dress for success! Wear pajamas!" :)
And the first activities I had to focus on was starting a website (www.pajamaventures.com), getting a team site up as well for people who join me, and a home base inside Second Life, since that's where I'd primarily market.
I also figured my team would need a "business suit" that fits in with our name, so I created pajamas. In nine plaid patterns. With the Pajama Ventures logo on the pockets.
Then it occurred to me that this is a marketing tool. So, why limit it to the team? Why not let everybody in the virtual world wear them and let people get familiar with our logo. Maybe they'll want to learn about us and what we do. So, I set out vendors inworld and put them on sale in XStreet for 1L each. The package includes a notecard inviting the buyers to get to know the Pajama Ventures team by requesting a one-on-one presentation.
I had two buyers in the first five minutes after I put it up on XStreet. 33 buyers in the first 24 hours. And it's still going.
Yes, I paid 899L (approximately US$3.40) for being featured in the front page of the marketplace for seven days. No, I won't make it back on 1L sales. :D And I don't expect to make it back; it's a marketing expense.
Logo merchandise has been created and sold both inworld and in the real world. I made these logo pajamas so that people would love to wear them in public without feeling like walking billboards. The design is conservative and discreet, and the quality is... well, you can judge for yourself.
Get your own copy here. Then fill out and send back the notecard, okay?
Transparency
In this blog, my tone is more professional, more serious. I have several other blogs, including personal ones, where I filter myself less. In fact, I used to have a Twitter feed in this blog and I removed it later because my tone in Twitter is different from my tone in this blog. I thought that my tweets about everyday things and travel didn't go along with the professionalism that I was trying to establish here.
Well, that's changing now.
I will still have some serious articles where it's appropriate to be serious, but this blog won't be uptight anymore, because it doesn't make sense.
In the past month, I've been reading a lot about network marketing in its diverse forms. There's something they call "attraction marketing". They say that you have to look like a leader for people to be attracted to you. Well, there are two problems there.
One, if you're pretending to be a leader ("fake it til you make it"), you already lost a very important ingredient in leadership -- integrity.
Two, it's a chicken-and-egg problem. They imply that, if you're not a leader, no one will follow you. But, if no one is following you, how can you call yourself a leader?
I think there's a better approach to attraction marketing.
People relate to others who are like them. We're not gonna be like everybody in the world, but there's always a common ground. If you're able to read this blog, you have a home, you have teeth, you have skin, you have hair, you have parents, you have friends, you think about finances, you care about your health, you have dreams.... Well, whadya know, so do I!
Okay, okay, I'm oversimplifying, but it's that common ground that attracts us to people.
In this new marketing venture, the company sells household and personal care products. Stuff we use everyday. Since we're also customers of those products, we use them everyday. So why not talk about everyday things, things that we have in common with a lot of people out there?
So, I'm putting back the Twitter feed. You'll see tweets about what I ate for lunch or how I removed a laundry stain in the same page where I post a serious blog about marketing in SL. But that's who I am. And the more of me I expose out there, the more likely people would find something in common with me.
Doesn't that make more sense than pretending to be a leader?
Well, that's changing now.
I will still have some serious articles where it's appropriate to be serious, but this blog won't be uptight anymore, because it doesn't make sense.
In the past month, I've been reading a lot about network marketing in its diverse forms. There's something they call "attraction marketing". They say that you have to look like a leader for people to be attracted to you. Well, there are two problems there.
One, if you're pretending to be a leader ("fake it til you make it"), you already lost a very important ingredient in leadership -- integrity.
Two, it's a chicken-and-egg problem. They imply that, if you're not a leader, no one will follow you. But, if no one is following you, how can you call yourself a leader?
I think there's a better approach to attraction marketing.
People relate to others who are like them. We're not gonna be like everybody in the world, but there's always a common ground. If you're able to read this blog, you have a home, you have teeth, you have skin, you have hair, you have parents, you have friends, you think about finances, you care about your health, you have dreams.... Well, whadya know, so do I!
Okay, okay, I'm oversimplifying, but it's that common ground that attracts us to people.
In this new marketing venture, the company sells household and personal care products. Stuff we use everyday. Since we're also customers of those products, we use them everyday. So why not talk about everyday things, things that we have in common with a lot of people out there?
So, I'm putting back the Twitter feed. You'll see tweets about what I ate for lunch or how I removed a laundry stain in the same page where I post a serious blog about marketing in SL. But that's who I am. And the more of me I expose out there, the more likely people would find something in common with me.
Doesn't that make more sense than pretending to be a leader?
What have I gotten myself into?
In the early 1980's, I purchased a set -- two large suitcases, to be exact -- of Princess House Crystal products. It was the demo kit for a multi-level marketing business. I was 18 years old, with no work experience, no car, and hardly the muscles to lug those things around. I probably made one presentation on a party with my mom's friends. And that was it. Well, I still have those two suitcases of crystalware somewhere in my pile of boxes in my living room.
Two days ago, on June 30th, I did it again. I signed up for what's now called "network marketing". Actually, it started earlier in the month when I was browsing sites for employment and, out of curiosity, found this ad about working at home. I went to the website and filled out the form. I was just curious.
The company that the Marketing Executive (that's what they're called) represented seemed like a good company. Before our online conference call, I did bare-minimum research on the company, like searching for complaints on Google (didn't find any on the first page) and going to the Better Business Bureau site (they're accredited), so I figured they're legit.
Well, you had to be a Preferred Customer to be a Marketing Executive and I found it hard to commit to purchasing a certain amount every month. Well, the quota is actually in product points and the $/point ratios are different with each product. Since I live alone, it is more difficult for me to justify making those purchases per month because I don't use as much products as a family of four would. So I told the Marketing Executive that I'd do some comparisons with store brands that I use and I'd contact her again later.
I procrastinated, of course. I had too many other things going on that were more time-sensitive. Then, she sent an email to her contacts that the enrollment fees were only $1 (instead of $29) only until the end of June. I still set it aside.
Meanwhile, the thought of working for someone else again gave me the chills, but I figured I had to keep going with the job search. Then, while searching for jobs in another site, I found another ad. Again, I responded. The marketer for this one sent me a link to a video that talks about the company and the business opportunity. Halfway through the video, I did research on the company and, sure enough, I found a lot of complaints on Google about them. Of course, there were also people defending the company, but their responses didn't seem convincing enough. So I replied back to her, thanked her, and told her I wasn't interested. However, along with that video of the company, she also sent me a link to a 3rd party site with a video about network marketing.
I've never heard network marketing explained that way before.
Now, it all made sense. In a legitimate network marketing business, everybody actually wins, including the end customer.
So, I did a couple of quick product comparisons and called up the Marketing Executive from the first company to sign up. To be honest, the comparisons were not that conclusive. I buy the cheapest brands, which may not be of equal quality as the products of this company, so it's kinda like comparing apples with oranges. Well, I guess I'll have to find out when I get the products in the mail.
Anyway, long story short, I signed up, put in my first order (which was required on the same day to get the $1 enrollment fee), and started reading up about the company and the products (because now I have access to the restricted area of the website). I went to bed at 5am.
Today (technically, yesterday), I went back to that 3rd party site (www.mlm-thewholetruth.com) to see what else I could learn about network marketing in general. I found other useful sites, including a charming story and a writeup on what attraction marketing is. I had to give up my email address, but it was worth it; I learned some things from those.
Of course, I also found a get-rich-quick scheme in one of the places I found and wasted a couple of hours on their videos and webpages that were mostly fluff and had little information.
You know, I have an MBA. If they would have allowed me to stay longer than the two years of the MBA program, I would have taken the time to take more Marketing classes. But, as it were, marketing was not one of my emphases. I'm learning marketing the hard way.
This post was reposted from another blog that I was going to start just for this business, but I decided to pull it back here, since I'll be using SL as a platform for this venture.
Two days ago, on June 30th, I did it again. I signed up for what's now called "network marketing". Actually, it started earlier in the month when I was browsing sites for employment and, out of curiosity, found this ad about working at home. I went to the website and filled out the form. I was just curious.
The company that the Marketing Executive (that's what they're called) represented seemed like a good company. Before our online conference call, I did bare-minimum research on the company, like searching for complaints on Google (didn't find any on the first page) and going to the Better Business Bureau site (they're accredited), so I figured they're legit.
Well, you had to be a Preferred Customer to be a Marketing Executive and I found it hard to commit to purchasing a certain amount every month. Well, the quota is actually in product points and the $/point ratios are different with each product. Since I live alone, it is more difficult for me to justify making those purchases per month because I don't use as much products as a family of four would. So I told the Marketing Executive that I'd do some comparisons with store brands that I use and I'd contact her again later.
I procrastinated, of course. I had too many other things going on that were more time-sensitive. Then, she sent an email to her contacts that the enrollment fees were only $1 (instead of $29) only until the end of June. I still set it aside.
Meanwhile, the thought of working for someone else again gave me the chills, but I figured I had to keep going with the job search. Then, while searching for jobs in another site, I found another ad. Again, I responded. The marketer for this one sent me a link to a video that talks about the company and the business opportunity. Halfway through the video, I did research on the company and, sure enough, I found a lot of complaints on Google about them. Of course, there were also people defending the company, but their responses didn't seem convincing enough. So I replied back to her, thanked her, and told her I wasn't interested. However, along with that video of the company, she also sent me a link to a 3rd party site with a video about network marketing.
I've never heard network marketing explained that way before.
Now, it all made sense. In a legitimate network marketing business, everybody actually wins, including the end customer.
So, I did a couple of quick product comparisons and called up the Marketing Executive from the first company to sign up. To be honest, the comparisons were not that conclusive. I buy the cheapest brands, which may not be of equal quality as the products of this company, so it's kinda like comparing apples with oranges. Well, I guess I'll have to find out when I get the products in the mail.
Anyway, long story short, I signed up, put in my first order (which was required on the same day to get the $1 enrollment fee), and started reading up about the company and the products (because now I have access to the restricted area of the website). I went to bed at 5am.
Today (technically, yesterday), I went back to that 3rd party site (www.mlm-thewholetruth.com) to see what else I could learn about network marketing in general. I found other useful sites, including a charming story and a writeup on what attraction marketing is. I had to give up my email address, but it was worth it; I learned some things from those.
Of course, I also found a get-rich-quick scheme in one of the places I found and wasted a couple of hours on their videos and webpages that were mostly fluff and had little information.
You know, I have an MBA. If they would have allowed me to stay longer than the two years of the MBA program, I would have taken the time to take more Marketing classes. But, as it were, marketing was not one of my emphases. I'm learning marketing the hard way.
This post was reposted from another blog that I was going to start just for this business, but I decided to pull it back here, since I'll be using SL as a platform for this venture.
Do you speak English?
One of the great things about Second Life is the opportunity to chat with people around the world from different backgrounds. Since Linden Lab is based in the US, the default language in SL has been English, although there is a large number of sims that are primarily Italian or French or German or another language.
Most people, however, tend to speak English when conversing with people who don't speak their own language. Or they use the Babbler, which is a popular (but primitive) inworld translator using web-based dictionaries.
However, it is all too easy to assume that you're getting your point across just because you're both speaking English. Idioms, metaphors, and cultural references make our language more descriptive and help us communicate better. But when the other party does not understand the idioms, metaphors, and cultural references, the message becomes blurred instead.
Before the holidays, Poid Mahovlich was telling me about her Christmas jumper and how it was making her feel itchy. In the US, a "jumper" is an overall, typically a loose denim pair of pants with a bib-like top in front and two straps to go around the back. Apparently, a jumper is a thick knitted top with sleeves that you pull over your head, what US people call a "sweater."
When I advertised my 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Absolut Paine (also from the UK) asked me if tic-tac-toe was the same as the game Noughts-And-Crosses. And after doing some research, I found out that it was.
The techniques we learn in communication classes -- clarifying what the other person meant, avoiding assumptions, giving the other person the benefit of a doubt -- are even more important in online communications. It takes longer, yes, but a misunderstanding that's corrected early saves time and effort in the long run.
Most people, however, tend to speak English when conversing with people who don't speak their own language. Or they use the Babbler, which is a popular (but primitive) inworld translator using web-based dictionaries.
However, it is all too easy to assume that you're getting your point across just because you're both speaking English. Idioms, metaphors, and cultural references make our language more descriptive and help us communicate better. But when the other party does not understand the idioms, metaphors, and cultural references, the message becomes blurred instead.
Before the holidays, Poid Mahovlich was telling me about her Christmas jumper and how it was making her feel itchy. In the US, a "jumper" is an overall, typically a loose denim pair of pants with a bib-like top in front and two straps to go around the back. Apparently, a jumper is a thick knitted top with sleeves that you pull over your head, what US people call a "sweater."
When I advertised my 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Absolut Paine (also from the UK) asked me if tic-tac-toe was the same as the game Noughts-And-Crosses. And after doing some research, I found out that it was.
The techniques we learn in communication classes -- clarifying what the other person meant, avoiding assumptions, giving the other person the benefit of a doubt -- are even more important in online communications. It takes longer, yes, but a misunderstanding that's corrected early saves time and effort in the long run.
How Much Is That Pixel in the Window?
The currency used in Second Life is Linden dollars (L$), which you can purchase at approximately 265L$/US$. And you can buy pretty much anything you would need inworld. And more.
Now, you might ask why anyone would spend real money to purchase virtual stuff. They're all just pixels anyway. Well, I've figured some of the reasons:
* For the same reason people purchase entertainment software. Just because it's virtual doesn't mean it's unreal. It *is* as real as any other software; it's just intangible.
* For the same reason people purchase digital art. A lot of these items, particularly the virtual art pieces, are visually satisfying. It's food for the soul. It expresses something.
* For the same reason people purchase designer clothing and accessories. People who care about their appearance in the real world still care about how they look -- or how their avatars look -- in the virtual world. After all, their avatars represent them.
* For the same reason people pay to watch movies or any fictional work. Even though the stimuli is virtual, the core experience is still real and the emotions are still real. But because of the the interactivity in Second Life, a greater part of the experience is real. Friendships and other relationships are still real. All interactions are still real. I suspect that the brain still records aspects of it as a real experience.
So, there *is* value in these virtual items. There is value in the time that skilled artists, musicians, scripters, and builders put in to create these items. There is value in their creativity and ingenuity. There is value in their efforts to market them.
The great thing about manufacturing virtual merchandise is the same benefit software publishers enjoy -- practically nil incremental costs. There is no additional cost to sell a second -- or third, or fourth, or fifth -- copy of that virtual gown. Yes, there are still marketing costs and rental expenses, but no additional manufacturing costs.
Do creators recover their costs in creating these virtual items? Some do, but most don't. Second Life attracts a lot of artists and techies. The competition is fierce. As in real life, the more skillful the creator, the better they fare.
Now, you might ask why anyone would spend real money to purchase virtual stuff. They're all just pixels anyway. Well, I've figured some of the reasons:
* For the same reason people purchase entertainment software. Just because it's virtual doesn't mean it's unreal. It *is* as real as any other software; it's just intangible.
* For the same reason people purchase digital art. A lot of these items, particularly the virtual art pieces, are visually satisfying. It's food for the soul. It expresses something.
* For the same reason people purchase designer clothing and accessories. People who care about their appearance in the real world still care about how they look -- or how their avatars look -- in the virtual world. After all, their avatars represent them.
* For the same reason people pay to watch movies or any fictional work. Even though the stimuli is virtual, the core experience is still real and the emotions are still real. But because of the the interactivity in Second Life, a greater part of the experience is real. Friendships and other relationships are still real. All interactions are still real. I suspect that the brain still records aspects of it as a real experience.
So, there *is* value in these virtual items. There is value in the time that skilled artists, musicians, scripters, and builders put in to create these items. There is value in their creativity and ingenuity. There is value in their efforts to market them.
The great thing about manufacturing virtual merchandise is the same benefit software publishers enjoy -- practically nil incremental costs. There is no additional cost to sell a second -- or third, or fourth, or fifth -- copy of that virtual gown. Yes, there are still marketing costs and rental expenses, but no additional manufacturing costs.
Do creators recover their costs in creating these virtual items? Some do, but most don't. Second Life attracts a lot of artists and techies. The competition is fierce. As in real life, the more skillful the creator, the better they fare.
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