Highlights of BiztechDay in San Francisco

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October 29, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (3)


After hearing about BiztechDay from three different resources, I decided to jump on a plane and head to San Francisco for a day. I wasn’t going to shop, just focus on business. However, I found myself in the shoe department of Bloomingdale’s where I found my long-searched-for tobacco-colored over-the-knee boots (oops another pair of boots!).

I want to share with you my take-away highlights of the conference.

1. Meeting and listening to keynote speaker Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, was worth the whole trip to San Francisco. He didn’t have enough time to touch every topic he wanted to cover, so he came back at happy hour and did an informal Q&A for two hours while we all drank wine.

My take-away on Tim:

Lifestyle Design
Tough economic situations are great times to re-examine your lifestyle priorities. If the life has been sucked out of you, here are three tips to re-discover that you are a fun person!
· Go on vacation for three weeks without checking email. Take minimal photos. Remove yourself from your busy everyday life and get out of your current routine.
· Learn a language or new sport.
· Go to a crowded place, lay down on the floor for 10 minutes, then get up and leave.

Outsourcing
Eliminate and delegate. Elance.com is his go-to resource for hiring independent professionals.

Blogging
When you blog, write like you’re talking to your best friends after having two drinks. He says the best place to meet bloggers is in person at events. Don’t call them, don’t email them, and don’t pitch them.

Favorite Books
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Here is what I learned from other experts.

2. Email marketing tips

Use the “three second rule.” Think about these three steps readers take to determine if they will read your email or not.
1. Who is contacting me?
2. Why are they contacting me?
3. Should I read further?

Pick a strong subject line, concise and to-the-point. The best time to send email is from 10am to 3pm on weekdays. This way, you’ll be sure to avoid being in the newsletter group that succumbs to bulk deletion first thing in the morning.

3. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, iTunes, YouTube, and Twitter, to create your web presence.

Facebook
Start a business page (learn how in the advertising section) to get fans instead of friends. Business pages have more bells and whistles than the old way of creating groups, plus you can have multiple pages. Shut your groups down and start over!

LinkedIn
Ask questions and answer questions.

Flickr
Create groups.

iTunes
Create podcasts to post on your blog through wordpress.org. They automatically load on iTunes. A tip for easy podcasts: read your blog posts!

YouTube
Start your own business page. Buy a small camera (I recommend the ultra-compact Flip Video Camera) that you can carry around with you.

Twitter
Get on it for business. Tell people what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Participate in conversation, don’t just broadcast. Incorporate on your blog and Facebook. Keep it personal and be human–a real person. Make sure your tweets are relevant to your followers. Share 90% resources and 10% yourself.

Those the highlights from my pages of notes. More later on the dilemma I proposed to Tim Ferriss: How I can creatively figure out how to live in Amsterdam a few months out of the year.

Thank you Edith for putting on a top notch event!

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3 Responses to “Highlights of BiztechDay in San Francisco”

  • Laura Christianson Says:
    October 29th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

    Sounds like a great day full of learning, not to mention the new boots!

    I like his Twitter advice – share 90% resources and 10% yourself. Too many Tweeters have it backwards.

    Laura Christianson
    co-founder, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com

  • Allie Says:
    October 29th, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Hi! BizTechDay was great, as was the Halloween party. I’m so glad Melody jumped on a plane and came to stay with me in SF and go to the event. Just goes to show a little spontaneity can go a long way. Melody rules!

  • Jennifer Worick Says:
    October 30th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    Melody, good for you for getting into the web writing swing of things. I love hearing all of your insights!

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