I’m a late night gal. Although, I do spark after my java and eggs in the mid AM and then again at 3 and again after tennis around 8 or nine. I suppose the point is we all have peak performance and high think zones. For a week, monitor your best creative juice output. What time is it? Then, if you can, plan your day accordingly.  We should not fight these waves of brilliance, we should leverage them.

If nothing else, have a pad ready at your peak times and make list of ideas for marketing, blog posts, new biz prospects. Do this every day for a week. By Friday, you’ll have a bunch of powerful stuff.

And hopefully you are an entrepreneur and can decide your schedule. And if you are not, you should highly consider the jump. It’s really the most awesome place to be.

Regimes and rituals do help me stay on course. But there are others days, I am a reckless, wild, free bird and fly all over the place and still produce.

Do what works for you. If it’s not working, try something new.

If you have not read Finding Flow, you should. It’s an awesome book. All of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi books are amazing.

For more on marketing, visit our Market your biz blog.

Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY NER CHUK), the star of Wine Library TV, is Director of Operations at Wine Library in Springfield, NJ. With his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, Gary has attracted a cult-like following of more than 80,000 viewers a day. In the name of “expanding one’s palate”, Gary convinced Conan O’Brien to lick salted rocks and shared samples of dirt and grass with Ellen Degeneres. He routinely pans popular wines (even ones sold by Wine Library). He interrupts his webcasts with rants about his beloved New York Jets. This is not your typical wine expert.

Wine Library grew from a $4 million dollar business to a $45 million business. If that’s not enough to toast about, Gary also authored Crush it!

I read Crush it! after several people recommended that I do so. It is an easy to follow, high-energy guide for entrepreneurs and would-be business owners that will get readers fired up to turn their passion into a profitable venture. He gives step by step instructions on how to harness the power of social media to build your personal brand and your business. He makes the case that everyone needs a personal brand as the business environment has changed. Among other observations, he notes that the day of the traditional bullet point, word document resume is over, and that even if you are not going to venture out on your own, you need to have a strong online brand if you want to get hired. He does a great job of not candy coating the ease at which this feat will be executed. It is hard work.  Crush it! also explains how to turn a passion and/or hobby into a profession. However, he is realistic about what people can expect to earn.  The author doesn’t promise everyone that they will become millionaires, but it is possible to earn as much for yourself (mid 5 figures) as you might toiling away for someone else doing something that you’re not passionate about.

Key takeaways:

1.     Become an expert. Create bonds with other professionals in your field and to share your ideas and expertise on the social networks.

2.     Be true to your DNA and know that you can’t be all things to all people, but that’s OK. You will still appeal to an audience, your audience…as long as you are authentic.  Gary uses himself as an example. He knows that his outspoken, loud style does not appeal to all wine lovers (he has a popular vlog about wine and video wine library). We couldn’t agree more. We wrote about being who you are recently. You should also choose the online forum that is best suited to your personality: blog, vlog, podcast, etc.

3.     Even introverts can be charismatic. He believes that when people are passionate about something, their genuine excitement about the subject comes through and they become charismatic.

4.     You can monetize ANY passion, Gary uses someone who expounds on worms as fish bait as an example. But, passion alone is not enough. You will have to work hard (he mentions a 3AM bedtime for people starting their online biz after their day job and he says there will be no time for much of anything other than meals, family time and work).

5.     This endeavor is going to take a while to take off. He tells his audience not to expect huge results in less than 12 months, but that probably won’t matter since you will love what you are doing so much.

6.     Even with all the content out on the web, it is STILL possible to differentiate yourself and become number one in your space. Gary writes,  “to everyone who is freaking out because they fear the noise and distraction of all the additional content on the Internet, you can relax. Quality is a tremendous filter. Cream also rises, my friends, no matter how many cups of coffee you pour.”

I have a pile of business books that I have been meaning to read, and I am now determined to finish them by the end of the year. I had a great excuse last week when my power went out. I ran my laptop until the battery died. When it did, I decided not to relocate to a place where I could power up and sat down to read instead.

Tribes
I started with Seth Godin’s Tribes. It is a collection, I believe, of blog posts on leadership. If you are an entrepreneur, or if you work for a company and have the desire to champion a cause, this book will help ignite that fire.  A few key takeaways for me were:

1.     The definitions of a tribe and its dynamics.  “A tribe is a group of people, connected to one another, connected to a leader and connected to an idea. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more.  You can’t have a tribe without a leader–and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.”

2.     A tribe is formed when someone sees a group that is asking to be led. For example, “Fox News didn’t persuade millions of people to become conservative; they just assembled the tribe and led them where they were already headed.” Capitalize on a non-obvious moment/opportunity; get there first.

3.     A manager is not a leader. A manager operates within the status quo of the “factory.” The leader sees an opportunity to do things differently (and better) and sees a group that is willing to move toward that change. The leader doesn’t wait to be asked to lead, he or she just does it.

4.     The internet provides unprecedented opportunities for leaders and tribes to connect. One person with a YouTube.com account can impact the world in 24 hours with the right video. The power quotient has shifted.  Just look at the power of blogging, anyone can broadcast their thoughts or ideas and lead or form a tribe.

5.     Necessary ingredients for a tribe leader. Genuine passion and charisma – if you don’t have that, people will see through you and a tribe won’t follow. Authentic generosity – a true leader doesn’t need credit for his or her ideas, he or she is happy for them to be spread. The ability to use criticism to improve, curiosity, heresy (vs status quo), faith, remarkability, fearlessness, leadership/empowerment, passion and reinvention.

6.     Recipe for starting a micromovement: a manifesto, connectablity and tracking progress.  Making money can’t be the ultimate goal of the micromovement, that will guarantee its failure.

7.     Persuasion: don’t start with opposition, seek the uncommitted passionates.

8.     Elements of leadership: challenge status quo, create culture, be charismatic, communicate vision, connect.

9.     Do not get stuck in the way things were or are, get busy turning things into what they could be.

10.  Change isn’t made by asking permission. Change is made by asking for forgiveness later.

11.  True leaders understand that change is not only omnipresent, but the key to success.

12.  Great leaders listen to tribe members. However, truly great leaders can listen to the other opinion, still do what they had intended and retain loyal tribe followers.  He used Ronald Regan as an example of a leader with this quality.

Looking for more great books, visit our book store. Please share your comments too.

In this guest blog post, Jill Griffin, the loyalty maker answers frequently asked questions about customer win-back. Plus, 7 ways to keep them loyal.

What is customer win-back?
Win-back is a process for recoverying lost customers.

Most firms consider the lost customer a lost cause but research shows that lost customers represent a rich source of revenue for any firm.

What is the difference between a win back and a save?
You win back a customer who has stopped buying your product or service completely. You save a customer from defection who is still buying from you but is showing signs of possible defection. We devote a complete chapter to save strategies in our book, Customer WinBack.

When a customer is lost, what are the criteria for determining whether that customer should be regained, and if she should be regained, how do I determine her priority in relation to other lost customers?
Two key concepts – second lifetime value (SLTV) and reason for defection are important to answering your question. First , a word about SLTV. The term originated with Dr. Bernd Stauss, a professor at Catholic University in Germany and Christian Friege, marketing director at Doubleday Direct, and means the value of the relationship once the customer is regained. Generally speaking, you’ll want to give customers with higher SLTV more win back priority in regard to investment than those with lower SLTV. However, SLTV is not the only criteria for setting win-back priorities. You will also want to pay attention to reason for defection. There are a number of reasons why customers leave and you want to target lost customer who are less likely to leave you again. We look at 5 different reasons for defection in our book, Customer WinBack and explore best strategies for each.

After you have determined that the lost customer is worth winning back, what’s next?
1. Ask the customer this question: “What can we do to win back your business?”

2. Listen closely to what customers tell you.

3. Meet the customer’s requirements and when you’ve corrected the problems that led to the defection, communicate the changes you have made. Ask again for the customer’s business.

4. Be patient with the customer. Be open. Remember, some wounds heal slowly.

5. Stay in touch with the lost customer.

6. Make it easy for customers to come back to you. Avoid the “I told you so” stance.

7. When the customer does return, earn his or her business every day.

What are the financial rewards related to win back? Is it worth the effort?
A study by Marketing Metrics has found firms have a much better chance of winning business from lost customers than from new prospects. The research found the average firm has a 60 to 70 percent probability of successfully selling again to ‘active’ customers, a 20 to 40 percent probability of successfully selling to lost customers, and only a 5 to 20 percent probability of making a successful sale to prospects. Bottomline, win back can bring big rewards.

Are there benefits to win back beyond the bottom line?
Win back programs can help you…

1. Uncover improvement opportunities. Dialogue with customers who are on the brink of defection or who have already defected can help you pinpoint opportunities to improve product and service delivery, correct miscommunications and identify new product opportunities.

2. Develop an at-risk profile. By analyzing lost customers, you can develop a profit for detecting at-risk customers.

3. Limit negative word of mouth. A lost customer recovery program can help you limit negative word of mouth from unhappy customers who defect and encourage positive word of mouth from the customers who are regained. Conversely, if their concerns are left unaddressed, defecting customers can be a deadly source of informal negative publicity.

Why is now a good time to focus on winning back lost customers?
1. Never before have technological tools for winning back lost customers been more available or affordable. From e-mails to off-line direct mail services ordered online, a host of new tools are emerging to help you reconnect with lost customers.

2. In any market space, there is a limited number of best customers so you need to keep yours close. In All Customers Are Not Created Equal, Garth Hallberg points out that “for most categories (of business), one third of the buyers account for at least two-thirds of the volume. The ‘high-profit segment’ generally delivers six to ten times as much profit as the low-profit segment. Moreover, they are critical, not only because of their profit contribution, but also because of their relatively small number.”

3. Win-back programs can give you a real competitive edge. A combination of strong acquisition, retention and win-back programs can help you bullet proof your firm against competitive attacks. Conversely, if your competitor gets strong win-back programs in place before you do, your chances for recapturing and keeping the best customers are reduced considerably. In many things in life, there is true advantage to being first. Win-back programs are no exception.

Want more on loyalty? Check out Jilll’s books, Customer Winback, Customer Loyalty, Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer: Earning Customer Loyalty in a Compulsion-to-Compare World

I would bet my car, house and even tennis racket that a bunch of other accomplished people, online marketers and entrepreneurs are trying to find the answer to this critical question.

How do I build, boast and breed my blog reader base?
There’s not one day that I have not pondered this issue with intense conviction. In fact, I’m so obsessed with solving this challenge, that I’ve set a goal of doubling my traffic by year end or I will eat a plateful of mushrooms. In case you don’t know me, I hate mushrooms with a purple, brown passion.

All right, to avoid that foul experience, let’s get on with solving this “How to get more readers to love our blogs” dilemma.

There are lots of new books on the subject of traffic building. These are all getting  solid reviews, we could start there . . .

Mom Blog SEO – 30 Days to Boost Traffic, Readers, Influence and Income (Kindle Edition)

Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series) [Hardcover]

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income [Paperback]

Or we can do what Tony Robbins, one of my favorite business coaches would suggest, we could observe what the masters are doing, the other popular bloggers, the modern day cyber celebrities.

Tony believes there are always clear patterns of success with high performers in any industry. If you can identify these patterns, apply the ideas to your situation; you will likely make some great new progress toward achieving your goals.

After doing a little research, I identified 3 top –female, A-list bloggers who have earned a high-level of traffic and readership. Congrats to all. Here are their blogs and a snap shot of their brand.

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein
Elizabeth Potts Weinstein empowers solo-entrepreneurs to make a greater difference in the world and become more successful & fulfilled, by doing what is a natural extension of who they really are. She’s also a mom, attorney, author, speaker, coach, radio show host, twitter chat host, video blogging addict, tweetup connoisseur, aspiring adventurer, amateur pole dancer, people loving introvert, and truth evangelist.

Danielle LaPorte
Danielle is interested in liberating truth, raw reality, and grace. She thinks feminine power and progressive commerce will revolutionize how we live. In her experience, if you steer clear of dogma and muster up more love than you thought you had to give, then your vitality increases, satisfaction sets in, sweetness surfaces. She believes in the creative power of good feelings and is convinced that the desire to be real is everyone’s divine imperative. Yeah!

Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen is an author and the brain behind the Happy Project. The Happy Project is an account of the year she spent test-driving studies and theories about how to be happier. On this blog, she shares her insights to help you create your own happiness project.

I signed up for all of their respected emails, followed their tweets, and connected with them on Facebook or Linkedin . I also purchased two products in order to get in their zone, one of the sites did not have a product available now. I wanted to experience their blog world and their point of view. I’ll be reporting back on the products in a later blog post.

Here’s what I discovered, the 10 patterns of action that seem like they can help breed readership and keep the mushroom out of my mouth in January include:

1. They all seemed friendly and accessible.
2. They all had easy ways to stay connected beyond their blog. Via email, RSS feed, Twitter and Facebook, an assertive mix of active social media was apparent.
3. They all had a strong, authentically real person tone about their copy.
4. They had video on their site.
5. They all had purposeful, passionate content.
6. They all were active tweeters.
7. They all had a branded style (type, graphics, images) on their blog and on all their touch other social media.
8. They all proudly displayed with social media icons, that others were reading their stuff.
9. They all offer high value products (books, classes, events) through their brand or affiliates that they have relationships with.
10. They are all smart chicks (Sorry guys).

Now that you’ve read my take on their formulas, which one do you think is the dominant leader in traffic and readership? And tell me what the #11 action is, the one thing the leader did that is a huge magnet for traffic, readership and income.

This morning I was reading my buddy’s Dana VanDen Heuvel @marketingsavant.com email. Dana and I met a few years ago when I addressed the ad feds in Wisconsin. We’ve keep in touch and I always enjoy reading his materials on his blog and his other social media content. Today he posted a very timely piece on How Lists can prevent big time disasters and significantly  help one achieve their goals. I’m a list junkie. In fact, if you’ve been to our new estore, you see lots of lists. We call them Ta-Do lists. These lists are boiled down Ta-Dos based on my life experiences. They are quick reads and can truly help get things done and  prevent costly missteps.

Back to my friend Dana, his post below is very good. Later today I’m going to check out the The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande and will comment on that shortly.

I also learned about a new tool today that makes it super easy to reblog great posts like this one and to get folks to reblog your comments. It’s called Zemanta.

Here the List eBlog from marketingsavant.com:

I found this fascinating quote today:

“…checklists seem able to defend anyone, even the experienced, against failure in many more tasks than we realize. They provide a kind of cognitive net. They catch mental flaws … And because they do, they raise wide, unexpected possibilities.”

marketingsavant.com, Marketing Savant.com, May 2010

You should read the whole article.