“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more… Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow” (Melody Beattie)

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but I love the idea of a holiday that represents being thankful for everything you have.

This year has been a fairly crappy one for me in many ways, due to health issues that had a knock-on effect to my finances and business. Yet, through it all I have so much to be thankful for.

I started writing a list of 101 things I’m thankful for this year. I thought about posting it here but decided a list might be a little boring, so here is a snapshot.

I am thankful for: all my family and friends who love me, take care of me and rally round when I need them (I hope I offer as much strength to you as you do to me); all my online friends who I class in the first group as well, but who also offer me daily food for thought, smiles, laughs and occasional tears; my 1st nephew James who was born earlier this year and is the happiest, cheekiest chappy imaginable; Allison Reynolds and Barb Sabathil from SWBN who are wonderful friends and business partners and who gave me something to sink my teeth into at a time when I needed it most…

…my trip to Salzburg last Christmas, which seems like a lifetime ago but which has given me the best snowy pictures for this year’s Christmas card; my brain and ability to make the best of a bad situation; that I am still able to continue working as my own boss and find contracts that interest me and use my abilities to their fullest; my health, which is on the mend and I finally have (close to) my old voice back (I’ve missed it but maybe others have enjoyed the silence)…

…Thirty Day Challenge and Immediate Edge for being wonderful resources and communities; my laptop, which connects me to the world (even if it is a pc and not a mac); the books I have read, the music I have listened to and the movies and tv shows I have watched that have left me feeling uplifted, relaxed or enriched in some way; my day trip to France and drinking cafe au lait with friends in a small cafe overlooking the cathedral square; my beautiful, completely unfinished disorganised home (with so much potential)…

…chocolate, champagne, good food, new friends, flirtations, freedom, life, love and lots and lots of laughter!

Anyone who has read a book or watched a dvd about the Law of Attraction will know that having an Attitude of Gratitude is considered incredibly important. Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, gratitude is a powerful and positive emotion.

So, whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving today or not, I hope you will spare a moment to think of all the things for which you are thankful and grateful.

“Oh no, another blog post about that Product Launch Formula,” I hear you cry. “I’m sick of product launches – they’re all the same!”

OK, so just creating a post like this is likely to cause a major backlash, but hear me out.

Is this going to be a blatant excuse to add an affiliate link to PLF 2.1.5+ Ultra Secrets Generator (sorry, after all the Twitter ideas that were sent to Jeff Walker for a name, I can’t remember which one he chose…but one of those has to be right…right)?

Absolutely… I’d be a fool not to add an affiliate link, although in this case it’s not mine. I’m using my friend’s. I’m hoping she’ll buy me a new MacBook Pro for Christmas if she makes enough money. At this stage I’m supposed to say that the money doesn’t matter to me but include the affiliate link anyway, but you know what? The money does matter to me (or my friend…and this isn’t one of those imaginary friends that is really me…LOL…and I really do want that MacBook Pro).

I even have a story to tell about me and my buddy Jeff. Well, OK, we’re not exactly buddies but I did stay up until 4am in the morning once drinking with him at a seminar in London. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember me, and I’d love to say we talked about intense subjects related to Internet Marketing, but I seem to recall the conversation was about whether lap dancing was demeaning to women!

Anyway, back to the subject in hand.

Are product launches a lost cause? Are they dead in the water?

If you have spent more than a few months in the Internet Marketing world you may think they are, but that’s because we see so many of them over and over again. We are inundated with product launches in the marketing world and many of them follow exactly the same pattern (some even use the same emails/sales pages/video formats).

But, if you are in a different market – if you market to a niche that rarely see products launched – then I promise you they won’t have the same reaction to you following a formula for your next product release. Especially if you know your market well and put a slant on the launch that speaks directly to them.

I own Jeff’s original Product Launch Formula and my friend (honestly, she is real) bought the more recent release back in the spring. We have both seen product launches work well in non-IM niches. In my own case I had people thanking me for selling to them…because it didn’t come across as a sales pitch at all…I was offering them something they wanted and the process leading up to releasing it simply built more excitement and value into what I was offering.

So, can I personally say that what Jeff Walker is offering is worth the money? Absolutely. It can and has worked in niche marketing, music promotion, selling homes and businesses, and many other areas. Don’t let product launch saturation in the marketing world stop you from buying this if you are at a stage in your business where you can use Jeff’s expertise and knowledge.

So, clear your cookies and click this (affiliate) link to sign up for notification of the release of Product Launch Formula (2pm today – Thursday 13th) and if you buy you will make my friend’s day (no, really, she DOES exist).

P.S. She really really does exist, and actually needs the money for medical bills (not MacBook Pros). Could I tug on your heart strings any harder? So, if you are buying PLF 2.1+ then we’d love you to use her link, but if not I hope this blog post has provided some light entertainment!

I’ve just recieved this out of office message and it made me chuckle so much I thought I would share.

What a great way to take a mundane auto-response message and turn it into something memorable. I’m certainly going to remember John the next time I speak to him (some parts have been removed to protect the guilty – indicated by <>)

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled … was persuading the world … he was … in London for a couple of days.

But don’t despair … I’ll be back on Wednesday.

As will Dave – so ignore the bit below … thank-you.

If you have a query before then, please feel free to address it to my stunt double: Dave <>.

Ring him direct on <>.

Or via our switchboard on <>.

Or you could email <>, but where’s the fun in that?

: )

Cheers:

You’ll Miss Me When I’m John.

I was talking to my fellow SWBN geek girls last night and we were all excited about the announcement of the next Over the Edge conference that will be happening in the UK in Spring 2009. We hope this will be an opportunity to finally meet each other face-to-face as well as network with other members of the Immediate Edge who are doing great things in Internet Marketing.

Marketing seminars and events can be great places to make connections and friendships, as well as find people to collaborate with on future projects.

In 2006 I went to an Internet Marketing seminar in London. The training was good but it was the many cool people I met and was able to hang-out with that really made it so valuable: Ed Dale, Robert Somerville, Dan Raine (pre-Immediate Edge), Jeff Walker (PLF), Mike Mindel (Wordtracker), Carolyn McCourtie, Yanik Silver, Andrew Fox, Rob Benwell, Peter Woodhead, Phil Gosling…

Now, I don’t even begin to suggest that these people are all good buddies as a result of our meeting (some of them I have not had contact with since and would never assume to believe they would even remember me), but the time I spent with them gave me new ideas, encouraged me to achieve more, and forced me to “raise my game.” And I do consider one or two of them friends.

When I had the chance to meet Mike Mindel again recently he shared some incredible Squeeze Page tactics with me and invited me to be a beta tester for the all new and improved Wordtracker, Ed Dale and Dan Raine continue to humour me when I ask them for advice, and Caro…well, Caro turned out to be one of the loveliest online friends I have.

Networking offline can be just as important as networking online. Never underestimate the value of meeting someone “in the flesh” and what that can lead to. If you look at the previous two Over the Edge conferences you can see some of the great things that came out of them: Market Samurai (already being developed but probably a very different entity after OTE), the further development of what has now lovingly become known as the Manchester Mob, and the addition of Lynn Terry and Michelle MacPherson as co-hosts on a weekly podcast with Ed Dale and Paul Colligan (4 BIG names in one). I would love to know some of the things that have come out of OTE that we don’t know about.

Of course, not all seminars are created equal. The last conference I went to was very much aimed at beginners…and in huge numbers. Forging quality connections at these events can be much harder (but not impossible).

And if you can’t make it to a national or international seminar then check out the local business events around you. I recently went to a Federation of Small Businesses meeting with a colleague and made some great contacts. It even led to my colleague working with our local Member of Parliament on a topic he has a lot of knowledge about that she wanted to raise in the House of Commons.

Many people complain about the “gurus” of Internet Marketing all hanging our together and promoting each others’ stuff, but it is natural to want to work and mastermind with people you get on with. And how do you think they made friends with each other? Most of the stories I have heard about how friendships were forged between Internet marketers have involved meeting at an event of some sort.

Don’t get me wrong, networking online can lead to some great collaborations too – that’s how Allison Reynolds, Barb Sabathil and I met and decided to create the Secret Women’s Business Network – but if you have the opportunity to attend a seminar I would highly recommend it. For many it will mean taking a giant step out of your comfort zone, but the right event could lead to great things for you and your business.

And if any of you do come to Over the Edge 3 (I don’t have details yet so watch the space) I look forward to meeting you.

It’s been mighty quiet around here lately; I think I just saw a tumbleweed blow by!

I’ve been really busy working on a number of other things, one of which I am extremely proud of and finally able to talk about a bit more.

About a month after I launched this blog I was asked to get involved with a new project called the Secret Women’s Business Network. Allison Reynolds, who I met through the Thirty Day Challenge and Immediate Edge, asked myself and Barb Sabathil to join her on this project to offer other women online an environment to learn, collaborate and mastermind together. I was over the moon about being asked. It is something I have wanted to do for ages, and I knew Allison, Barb and I together could do some great things (honestly, collaboration is the way forward if you are running an online business).

The main site will be heading into beta testing very soon and then we will be good to go! Yesterday our Secret Womens Business Network blog was launched, which will be where we have a strong online presence for anyone to access (not just women) and where you can learn more about us and our business philosophies (and just general thoughts on the world of Internet Marketing).

I’d love you to checkout the blog and add your comments on the posts that are already there. Also take a look at the video explaining exactly what you can expect from us: What is the SWBN?

Now, better go catch up with that tumbleweed!