Well, first of all let me say that I am the last person on earth one would expect to be in love with a software company’s annual conference. But Infusioncon changed me.
Please note: I have no business or marketing background, no training in computers or software. But back in 2009 when started working for myself full time, I found Infusionsoft, and it’s been true love ever since.
First, let me tell you what Infusionsoft is: it’s an all-in-one system whereby you can send emails, track who opens and clicks on those emails and also sell people stuff. It’s like having a way to send nice emails, an extra-detailed address book that remembers everything a person has ever done and a shopping cart system to sell your stuff — all in one.
It’s a huge, beautiful machine.
Now, back to that conference . . .
Back in 2010, I attended my first Infusioncon, slightly shocked to be honored as an Ultimate Marketer Finalist. I presented the story of my business in front of a thousand people. I wrote Ode to the Entrepreneur for them and they gave me a standing ovation. You can see it on the tape here: the proof that poetry and business can make great bedfellows.
That Infusioncon was the first time I ever really embraced my new identity as a business person, and I was able to do it easily because Infusioncon is a convention of THE NICEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. The CEO, the management, the tech support staff… unnervingly kind, every last one of them. Even their customers are crazy-nice. Which is why it’s so fun to hang out with them all once a year.
Really, you must go.
This year it’s March 27-29 at the swanky Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Your brain will melt (in a good way) from all the information and ideas – there’s a ton of expert sessions & trainings and this year my hero David Allen is speaking and – wait for it – so is Daymond John from Shark Tank, the world’s greatest television show.
I love them so much that I’ve become an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant (do I look smarter?) and I am proud to represent them, especially to the creatives, iconoclasts, writers, artists, performers, poets, teachers, geniuses, weirdos and wild bunch-ers who make up my community and might not otherwise hear about this stuff.
So if you’re interested in learning about Infusionsoft, check out the demo and see if it’s right for you: https://crm.infusionsoft.com/go/viewdemo/samanthabennett/
(you bet that’s an affiliate link – I’m a Certified Consultant for heaven’s sake.)
And if you want to learn more about small business sales & marketing in three days than most people learn in a lifetime, check out Infusioncon: http://2013.infusioncon.com/
Ode To The Small Business Practitioner, or, Oh, You American Dreamer
And as you stand there
Wondering
About your Search Engine Optimization and
Curious if this new Seminar might really be of some help and
Kicking Yourself A Little for all the Work that is piling up as we speak
Let us now praise you.
You, the Wondering, the Curious, the Kicking Yourself A Little.
You, the Founder, President, CEO, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer who WILL
Double your sales this year.
You, the American Dreamer.
You are made of stern stuff.
You hopped off the Merry-Go-Round
(or maybe you were pushed)
And now you live in this New World of
Checking Google Analytics and
Waking up with a Great Idea at 4am and
Telling your family: Yes, I’ll be right there – I just have to do this
One
Quick
Thing.
And while you may grimace when you hear your friends say,
“Wow, it must be great to work in your pajamas” and
“Wow, it must be so great to be your own boss” and
“Wow, are you lucky!”
It’s true.
It is great to work in your pajamas and
Be your own boss and
Yes
You are lucky.
Lucky to be here now in this time of Unprecedented Opportunity.
Lucky to have this passion for Your Work.
And even though you might start making
Hysterical Hyena-like Sounds the next time some Pessimist mutters, “Well, in this Economy…” and even though
The Loneliness of being The Boss can sometimes be a hot, shimmering desert of aching solitude and
Even though
Even though
Even though…
You wouldn’t have it any other way because
Now you know what you did not know before.
Now you know:
Always. Back. Up.
And now you know:
Always have someone proofread, especially the dates and the phone numbers.
And now you know:
Always test all the Action Links
(And don’t just hit the “send test” button because I think that sends from a different server so you need to actually create a “find people” test list made up of dummy addresses that you set up in Yahoo and Gmail and your own webmail and, if you have to, even AOL, so you can see what people are actually getting in both HTML and Text-Only – trust me, it’s totally worth the hassle.)
And now you know:
Always trust your instincts. Always.
Because it is your instincts that have
Brought you this far and
It is your instincts that will
See you safe home.
So dream on, you Gladiators of the Kitchen Table.
And as soon as you can figure out
What the hell API integration actually is,
I have no doubt that you will do it.
You are living The Dream.
You are living Our Dream.
Long live this Vibrant, Gritty, Hard-Fought, Hard-Won, Capricious, Eclectic, Heart-Pounding, Soul-Stirring, Headache-Inducing, Detail-Oriented, Incessant, Unstoppable, Terrifying, Tantalizing,
