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Does this sound familiar?

You know you need to get on with promoting yourself and your business … but somehow, you just can’t.

You buy reams of marketing materials, but they all sit in the corner gathering dust.

You’ve got a marketing plan, but you just don’t have time to dig in and put it to work.

I wish I had a dollar for every author, coach, writer or infopreneur who said to me: “I just don’t have time to market my business.”

No time, indeed! The secret is that we have all the time in the world. We just CHOOSE to spend it on fun stuff like working with clients, writing books, and dreaming up new products. Meanwhile only a tiny trickle of our potential market knows about us and our work, and the media hasn’t got a clue.

What’s wrong with this picture? Everything!

Without self-promotion, the people who badly need your work will never find you. Furthermore, you’ll miss all kinds of revenue and opportunities for expansion and growth. A business simply can’t survive without a regular program of marketing and publicity.

There are plenty of marketing how-to programs out there. But what’s missing from almost all of them is some kind of accountability piece. Wouldn’t it be great if someone out there really pushed you to get this stuff done? Someone who’d guide you, step by step, and keep providing a steady stream of new resources, contacts, inspiration and encouragement.

Good news. That would be me.

And that’s what my Get Known Now Platform Push Coaching Program is designed to do. This six-month coaching program takes you by the hand, and lays out every step of a complete, comprehensive marketing program. Then it gives you weekly assignments which help you stay on task and get this all-too-critical stuff done.

This program picks up where my ebook/binder, Get Known Now, leaves off. That 300-page compendium lays out everything you need to do to build platform. Then the Platform Push Coaching Program offers you the stimulus to actually get the job done.

Why? Because I hate the idea that someone out there might not be putting my materials to good use.

By the way, did we explain what ‘platform’ means? ‘Platform’ is media-speak for your reach in the world; it’s your carefully defined niche of expertise AND the size of your following. And it's one of the biggest factors major publishers, New York literary agents, producers and bookers weigh when considering whether to hire or publish you. In other words, if you want to get seriously known, you need platform.

See, here’s the truth: I used to be a platform scaredy-cat. Even though I was a marketing professional for almost 20 years, when it came to promoting my own tender dreams, I was all flummoxed. Didn’t know where to start or what to do, which, given my experience, was almost hilarious. Except for the fact that it had me so frustrated.

Anyway, eventually I fought my way out of the bag. Leo, a work buddy of mine, started to really lean on me about coming out of my proverbial marketing shell. Every week, he’d check in with me: “What did you do this week to finally get the word out?” he’d ask. I became Leo’s pet project … and through some kind of miracle it worked.

Since then, I’ve published several books with major publishers, launched two award winning websites, been quoted in Self, Fitness, Woman’s Day, The Christian Science Monitor, Real Woman and New Age Journal just to name a few. And I’ve been featured in more than 100 radio and TV shows. People in my field actually know me.

So, thanks to Leo, I’m happily out. (Leo, wherever you are, thank you!) Now I want to offer what Leo gave to me to anyone with a dream. And just to make it really effective, I’ve designed this program to give you everything you need, just when you need it.

Here’s the promise of the Platform Push Coaching Program.

Sign on with me for this six months program, and you’ll get full guidance, plus extensive feedback and support on creating these critical marketing tools:

• A unique and memorable brand
• A better sense of your mission or purpose in life
• Your personal marketing plan
• Complete profile of your market
• A website you can customize without html knowledge
• Media kit
• Ezine and/or blog
• Tools for building a serious ezine list
• A very ‘you’ Website optimized to pull traffic
• Personalized, researched keywords
• Article bio box that draws more web traffic
• Compelling and smart media page on your website
• Professional headshot
• Speaking kit with approved fee schedule
• Speaking content sheet template for promoting talks
• Elevator speech for contacting the media by phone
• Customized magazine and newspaper submission list
• Customized TV and radio submission list
• Press Releases that work
• Editor-friendly article pitch for major publications
• Top targeted article banks to post articles online
• Monthly system to use after class ends
• Push Support Buddy
• Media-friendly bio
• Speaker bio-introduction

(Please note, this program provides guidance and support but not related services or tools, such as website design, professional photography, or press release submission services. We will refer you to the best, most reasonably priced or free services we can find, and provide support and feedback along the way.)

I’ve read enough. Sign me up right now.

So how does this work? Well, one of the things we’ve found to be really effective in marketing is to find the company of others who are in the same boat. That’s why this Coaching Program happens in a group.

When you sign on, you join no more than 14 fellow platform builders. We meet via teleclass on Tuesdays from 1-2:30PM Eastern/10-11:30 AM Pacific, twice each month from September 2005 through February, 2006. Class dates for the next session are September 20, 27, Oct. 11, 25, Nov. 8, 22, Dec. 6, 20,      Jan. 10, 24 and Feb. 7, 21.

And if you’re worried about your schedule, worry not. We record each call for those who must miss it, so they can access the material 24/7. (Do keep in mind, though, that you’ll lose out on valuable feedback when you don’t attend.)

In each class, I teach part of the time, expanding on my book to discuss fine points such as how to hone down an A and B list of media contacts, and how to make your web pages more magnetic and attractive. And I hope to bring in 15 minute mini-interviews with key platform building experts who will speak to you, as well.

But then the really good stuff happens: we spend a lot of time giving and getting feedback on our marketing materials, brand, website and more. (If getting feedback worries you, fear not. I go out of my way in every group I lead to create a truly nurturing, supportive environment. And I do.)

You’ll also get a complimentary copy of my Discover Your Soul Purpose CD and mini e-workbook, which you’ll listen to as a homework assignment if you’re not exactly clear on the purpose of your work.

It’s almost impossible to implement a marketing plan with no one to tell you what works and what doesn’t. You really need an ally to tell you if a brand name sounds vague or value-packed. You need a friendly set of eyes to read your press releases, and evaluate your head shot. And you need to hear from others what’s worked for them, and how to do the job more efficiently. Most of all, you need to know you’re not alone in the day to day effort of getting this work done.

That’s why a significant chunk of each class will be spent presenting pieces of your homework from the previous week, and getting my take on it as well as that of your coaching mates.

You will have assignments between classes – they’re probably the most powerful part of this program, should you choose to accept them. And I hope you do, because they really allow you to get things done.

These assignments are designed to move you from point to point on your plan. So you neatly accomplish all those things like Media Pages and Headshots that may have hung over your head for years. There’s nothing like group momentum to move you over the hump and push your way past all that old, yucky inertia.

Now I realize you may not be familiar with my coaching or my teaching. Here are comments from some of the students of my Self Help Author’s Crash Course, which met live for several years:

While I’m at it, let me tell you some more of my qualifications to teach this program. First of all, for twenty years I was a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter in New York on some of the biggest advertising accounts in the world, like Colgate-Palmolive and Chesebrough-Ponds. I also created marketing tools for The New York Times, and dozens of publications like Gourmet, The New Yorker, Self, Cosmo, Martha Stewart Living, Newsweek, Time and more. So yeah … I know how to market stuff.

But then, I went through my own little trial by fire (mentioned above) and learned how to market myself as a self help author. I learned how to chat with magazine editors and sell them on using me as an expert (in publications where they didn’t know me from Adam.) I also learned how to set up my own 15-book tour when my first self-help book came out, and parlay that into newspaper and radio media. I learned how to write press releases, get better headshots, and then make all that info apply to the Web when the Internet took over. And I’ve been successfully coaching folks on all aspects of creativity, self help publishing and writing for … well, many years. I taught my first writing course at New York University in 1991.

This course is for you if …

• You’re ready to move to the next level with your marketing efforts
• You can’t find the time to market … but you want to
• You work well in a group, and appreciate group support
• You’re hungry for self promotion tips that you can use now
• You’d like to hunker down and work your marketing plan for a good chunk of focused time
• You’re passionate about your dream pursuit, and willing to spend a few late nights on it
• Everyone tells you your work is great … but people just don’t know about it
• Your web traffic is less than you’d like it to be and you don’t know why
• Your web site sells info-products, but sales could be a lot higher
• Your web site doesn’t convert enough visitors into coaching clients
• You dream of having a professional speaking career, but don’t know where to begin
• You’d love to be quoted in major women’s magazines as an expert – but that seems like a long shot
• You long to be on TV, or even featured on Oprah, but that seems like even a longer shot
• You have a book you’d like to publish, and maybe even a book proposal, but you know you need more platform before you can submit it to agents

However, this course is NOT for you if …

• You’re overextended and can’t give the program the time it deserves
• You’re burned out on your dream
• You’re unclear on whether to continue with your dream
• You’re searching for your next creative/dream pursuit but haven’t found it yet (If so, drop by our sister site, howmuchjoy.com.)
• You don’t ‘play well’ in a group
• You want someone to create all your marketing materials for you (and hey … if you can afford it, full steam ahead!)

Look – you may be someone who can take a comprehensive program like the Get Known Now ebook/binder, and really put it use. If so, fantastic! I applaud your energy and tenacity with what’s clearly a passionate mission.

However, you may be like most of us – all the good intentions in the world when it comes to self-promotion, but not a ton of follow through. (Really, the percentage of people who can do this kind of work in a vacuum is … well, maybe less than 5%.)

Anyway, if you’d like a small sampling of what we’re up to here, let me direct you towards our free sample of the Get Known Now ebook/binder. While it’s not a true sample of my coaching, it will give you an excellent taste of my way of presenting material – and of the importance of building your brand.

If you’re still curious, I’d also be happy to share with you the complete syllabus (including course work and homework) for the program.

So what’s all this cost? In the big world of marketing consultants, this kind of work does not come cheap - 12 hours of instruction can cost you upwards of $8,000. But this is NOT corporate coaching; it’s really designed for small business owners, coaches and infopreneurs like you. So I’m happy to offer it to you for as little as $172 per month.

Here’s the deal: If you sign up now and pay for the six month program up front, you’ll save a whopping $315. Pay in full now and the cost will be $1035, payable by Master Card, Visa or e-check. Or you pay in six monthly installments of $225 over the course of the program, which will cost you $1350.

Register with our convenient installment plan.

Please note: you’ll also need the Get Known Now e-book/binder in this program, as it serves as the program’s textbook. (Get Known Now is a 250 page mega-binder, which comes with regular free updates.) As a courtesy to our PPC clients, if you don’t already have Get Known Now, we are offering the book which is ordinarily $257 for only $77, so you save $180.

Either way, think of this as a supreme gift to yourself. Perhaps you’ll finally be getting on with a to-do list that’s been gathering dust for years. Or maybe now you’ll give yourself permission to seriously invest in your talent and your dream.

At this point, I’ll leave you to make the choice. So take a moment to honestly consider what I’m offering.

To really fulfill the bigness of your dream, do you need hands-on help with marketing your business?

Do you need some system for accountability to really get the job done?

Are you seriously ready to go to the next level?

If so, jump in… we’re only taking 15 and after that, we’re all full until the next session. Scroll down just a bit more and you’ll see where you can purchase the course at a savings of $315 right now. Or visit our page for the Platform Push Coaching installment plan.

However you decide, here’s to you and that lofty goal of yours. I love people who think big, and really go for the gusto.

Here’s to you and your dream!

Suzanne Falter-Barns

PS. If you have any questions at all about this program, give me a call at 518 963-8927. I’m in my office from 9AM-6PM Eastern/6AM-3PM Pacific.

PPSS. Be sure to check out our free tools all over The Self Help Salon if you’re not quite ready to make the leap into coaching. We offer Expert Calls with all sorts of media and publishing specialists, a dazzling Free Article library from the best of the best, and other great tools like our Self Help Author’s Crash Course.
 

Courses

Get Known Now

Platform Push Coaching

Self Help Author’s Crash Course