Hi,

I woke up this morning and had a note from my friend and mentor John Carlton. He had an interesting post on his blog at www.john-carlton.com. He basically wanted to know how we’re all handling the scary financial situation facing us today.

Over my morning cup o’ java this is what I wrote:

I’ve been refusing to accept the poor economic times all year. In January it was predicted by another wise marketer I know that this was coming because it’s an election year and people will always be more cautious. Once the prez is elected it will be business as usual. Obviousy he didn’t predict the real estate crisis, skyrocketing oil, and all the other factors that created the nightmare we’re in today.

The truth is what you feed your mind is how your body and emotions react. It may sound a little pollyanna-ish but every morning before I get out of bed I visualize how I want my day to go. Then I take it to whatever outcome I want in some big area of my life and picture it in utter sensory detail until it feels real. My emotions and energy aligns (with practice you can actually feel it.) Then I can come at the day relaxed and in control rather than reacting. Does that make sense. You have to feed your mind good thoughts just like you have to feed your body good food (or it’ll let you know).

Like you said, we’re not in control so let it go. You never had it to begin with. There are always people out there with money even in hard times. Like you said, game on at a higher level. No big deal. Thanks for asking.

Warmly,
Lo

So how about you? What gets you through the day?

Amazing work…

And the winners are…

Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, Norma Shearer, Ruth Chatterton, Jean Harlow, Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Barbara Stanwyck, Vivien Leigh, Greer Garson, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, Gene Tierney, Olivia de Havilland, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers, Loretta Young, Deborah Kerr, Judy Garland, Anne Baxter, Lauren Bacall, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Audrey Hepburn, Dorothy Dandridge, Shirley MacLaine, Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, Janet Leigh, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Ann Margret, Julie Andrews, Raquel Welch, Tuesday Weld, Jane Fonda, Julie Christie, Faye Dunaway, Catherine Deneuve, Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sigourney Weaver, Kathleen Turner, Holly Hunter, Jodie Foster, Angela Bassett, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Salma Hayek, Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore, Diane Lane, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry

Just like you, I hate being marketed to. Every day we’re bombarded with over 3,500 marketing messages. (That’s an old stat from about 3 years ago…no doubt it’s at least tripled by now.) And frankly I’m sick of it! But blogs are different. Blogs are a two-way conversation between blogger and bloggee (plus all the readers in between). Through commenting and cross-linking, you can share feedback. You can build your network. You can become, dare I say it, an Internet celebrity!

See blogs add humanity and instantaneous expression to the web. Like ezines, blogs are a way for your customer to get to know you.

However, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. Did you hear me? I said, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. That’s a big one.

Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Week, even the FCC (Federal Trade Commission) all believe blogs are here to stay. Recently Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, started one. His initial post drew over 30,000 readers. And filmmakers are using blogs too. Michael Moore built a blog to promote his controversial movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. As did makers of the hit movie, The Dark Knight.

But who has time to read a blog anyway? Exactly! The job of a blog is to cut through the information overload and deliver searchable, relevant and current content. BlogAds.com recently conducted a survey of over 17,000 blog readers. Here’s what they report:

readers appear united in their dissatisfaction with conventional media and their rabid love of blogs.

Don’t you want to be a blogger too? How about looking at some samples of the good, the bad and the bizarre?

Model citizen blogs: http://vivavisibilityblog.com – Nancy Marmolejo is a genius at using social networking for maximum visibility.

http://www.income.com/blog - John Reese’s blog. Hey, the guy just made $1,080,496.37 online in a single day. Here’s a good rule of thumb. If Reese is doing it, you should be too.

http://www.michaelport.com/blog - Michael Port’s blog does a great job of cross-promoting his products while providing useful content.

http://www.theroadtofabulous.com – Sandy Grason’s ‘Road to Fabulous’ uses photos and video to bring her stuff to life and make us envy her.

Bizarro Blog: Jeff Bridges’ site is considered a “blog.” It’s hand-written! (Yes, really). http://www.jeffbridges.com

I just survived a loooong 3-day weekend of 10 hour lectures (with no Internet, texting, or cross-talk allowed) in meat locker-like temperatures with no food or drink allowed in the room alongside 200 other people. And it was probably the best time I’ve invested in years.

My fabulous gal pal Sandy Grason convinced me last week to join her for a seminar on STORY by the screenwriting master coach, Robert McKee. I’ve been following Bob for over 20 years and have wanted to take his course for that long. But since I’ve been out of acting, it wasn’t on my radar until last Tuesday when Sandy asked, “Guess what I’m doing for my birthday? I’m going to Robert McKee’s Story seminar.” My jaw dropped. She couldn’t have known what perfect timing it was. There are no accidents.

After literally crying and ruminating over all the writing I have on my desk now, I realized I really needed to go. So I did. It was great, just as I knew it would be. The coolest part was I got NEW fodder to teach at my upcoming event, “The She Factor” Workshop on November 10-12 in LA. I had already had a clinic planned just on storytelling.

Now it’s going to be even MORE amazing! Attendees won’t have to sit through the 12 hour days (including lunch and four 15 minute breaks…it was brutal, trust me) because I’m going to synopsize and share his techniques, along with many others in November.

Sandy and I also did a video interview with Bob you’ll see soon on YouTube. I’ll let you know when it’s up. Gotta go get this new stuff integrated into the workshop.

Love,
Lo

Pretty interesting marketing idea R&B hottie singer Usher has. He’s doing small venue concerts but ONLY for women. Hmmm. It’s called “One Night Stand.” When asked why he chose to have an all-chick crowd he replied he always had a connection with his audience. No doubt. Have you seen those abs?

He is married to a gorgeous woman and has a beautiful baby boy, but Usher knows where his money is coming from. He certainly doesn’t seem to have any baby fat either. ;o)

I usually bite my tongue when it comes to politics. I recognize the prez in the US really only has limited power for change. I’m over the Iraq war. I understand why it happened and it needed to but it’s just not useful now.

But here’s my big beef…and I have to tell you that I feel small that THIS is what gets my goat but I have to be honest with you.

I am disgusted by John McCain’s choice of VP. It’s such a blatant political maneuver. ‘Let’s see if we can scoop up the unhappy Hilary votes by bringing a woman onboard.’ It’s such an obvious attempt at manipulation. What are we? Three year olds who don’t know what he’s trying to pull???

Here’s the deal…I love that he’s bringing a woman on board but who the hell is she? She governed a population the size of Memphis! Her own parents learned about her nomination on the NEWS.

NEWS FLASH JOHN MCCAIN…Women are not idiots. We do a lot of research before we make a decision. The chances of us bonding with a complete stranger in the 8 weeks we have before election day is simply not going to happen. It’s insulting to think that YOU think you’re grabbing the female vote by simply attaching yourself to a female on the ticket. Sad thing is I believe you probably could have done a decent job. (I’m registered Independent by the way.) But the old ways of politics have gone the way of the do do bird. Please try to just be authentic.

Psst! To hear the audio version of this article CLICK HERE.

Last week I talked about the *After Factor* - the fourth step to take in keeping your share of the female market. Today, we’re going to talk about the *Rave Factor.*

FACTOR NUMBER FIVE IS KEEPING THEM – THE RAVE FACTOR

Women are high value customers because once they join your brand (and are pleased) they are likely to keep spending their money with you. What’s more is women talk a lot to their friends. They talk about what they like and they talk about what they don’t like. Women are actually wired to talk. It’s a way of bonding in our communities.

In fact, women speak about 20,000 words per day, whereas men only speak 7000. In Dr. Louann Brizendine’s book, “The Female Brain” she mentions when women hear their own voices, a chemical is released in the brain similar to a heroin rush!

And check this out. Tom Peters writes in his book, Re-Imagine…

“A major stockbroker told me he has oriented his practice toward female clients – with great success. A research nut, he reports that his average male client recommends him to 2.6 others. On the other hand, his women clients recommend him to an average of 21 other people. Yes, that’s two-point-six versus twenty-one.”

Women are extremely loyal in who they do business with. Not only that they tell EVERYONE about their experiences. Good or bad. If they’re happy, they tell. If they’re unhappy, they tell even more! So you definitely want to keep your female customers smiling.

For example, I drive completely out of my way plus pay top dollar to have my dog Shadow groomed at Sam’s Grooming. (He’s a sweet Border Collie/Chow mix). Before Shadow, I took my Springer Spaniel, Riley, to the same place. So we’ve been going to Sam’s since 1991. Why? Because I have a relationship with him. He knows me. He knows my family. He knows my dog. So he gets our business, hands down.

So how can you invoke the Rave Factor in your customers? One way is to ask them if they have a friend who would enjoy what you offer. Or better yet, give her a discount for bringing you business. Heck, give her friend a discount too.

Try sending her a free gift or a card unexpectedly. One of my subscribers sent me a card with a picture of my horse on it. (He downloaded it from Facebook.) I was so impressed. Now I always watch what he’s doing in his business.

You can also make her famous by highlighting something about her in your blog or ezine. We all like acknowledgment.

And be sure to collect those testimonials while they’re hot! Nothing says how good you are like someone else doing the bragging!

There are so many ways to keep the Rave Factor alive…you just have to work it into your marketing system effortlessly.

So again the FIVE FACTORs are:

The FLIRT Factor + The TRUST Factor + The CLOSE Factor + The AFTER Factor + The RAVE Factor = The SHE Factor

Remember the Five Factors of *The She Factor* Marketing System not only get HER attention, but they also ENHANCE your relationship to your male prospects. Learning and using these five qualities will make your marketing much stronger without having to invest more money in what you already have.

I hope you enjoyed this series of articles. They are just the tip of the iceberg. From August 28 through October 2, you can be part of a very special educational teleseminar series for F*R*E*E. Just register now at www.TheSheFactorCalls.com and we’ll hold a spot for you. (All calls are being recorded just in case you can’t make it or the lines are full.)

If you’re already convinced to join me November 10, 11, and 12 in Los Angeles for *The She Factor* Workshop, I encourage you to register while space is still available. We’ve turned this into a much smaller group so I’m able to really get in there and help you personally. Space really is going fast so please don’t wait.

Visit www.TheSheFactor.com. to claim yours now.

Thought so. So do I. My computer isn’t something I lose sleep over BUT if I know how to use it better I know I’m so much more productive.

Well now my friend and web wizard Toolie(r) is having a Free Preview Webinar THIS Wednesday night at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern for her PC Power Tips: Create Your Own Web Site course. The Free Preview is called “Fix My Website, Please!” It gives you a chance to have a professional web designer look at your site and offer suggestions ON THE SPOT. She’ll also tell you a bit about the full course that starts Thursday September 4th.

Every time I am on the phone with Toolie, she whips out these simple ways to use my computer more easily. You really should drop in on her free Preview Webinar tomorrow. Just visit www.pcpowertips.com/webclass/webclasspreview.html.

If you’re in a hurry and want all the details for the course, visit http://www.pcpowertips.com/webclass. That isn’t an affiliate link either! I just really believe she can help you out. I’ll listen for you on Wednesday!