Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started buil

Craig spent a lot of time talking about knowing who you are, and knowing who your readers are.

It's important to be real. If you have a firm grasp on who you are- as a marketer, copywriter, author, or musician- you can speak with your authentic voice.

That's the important thing.

It doesn't matter what niche you pick, there will be other people writing about and marketing that niche.

Cool. Those people are your future Joint-Venture partners. In the meantime, the thing to remember is no matter how many people are telling the story- if you're telling YOUR story in YOUR voice, it's going to ring true and people are going to want to hear it.

If you're telling somebody else's story, and trying to sound like somebody else- well, bluntly, why bother? Who wants an imitation?

There's a great story that B.B. King tells about talking to, of all people, a cab driver. It was late at night, after the gig, and B.B. was depressed because he couldn't play like T-Bone Walker.

The cab driver told B.B. to not worry about that- he may not be the best T-Bone Walker in town, but he could be the best B .B. King on the planet.

That's the trick. From deciding what niche you want to work in, to writing your sales copy, to writing your email marketing material- the hardest thing to do is keep it simple. Just tell your story like you would tell a friend.

After the interview, we hung out on the manicured lawn of his very nice house talking about the time we wasted before we "got it."

Craig has only been working in internet marketing since 2003. To go from "unknown" to "speaking at Big Seminar 7" that fast is just amazing.

I learned a lot doing the interview.

One of the things we talked about was how hard it is for beginning marketers to get started. It's hard to believe how easy it is to crank out product, once you realize that it's easy. Realizing that it's easy is the hard part.

Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started build

Cool. Those people are your future Joint-Venture partners. In the meantime, the thing to remember is no matter how many people are telling the story- if you're telling YOUR story in YOUR voice, it's going to ring true and people are going to want to hear it.

If you're telling somebody else's story, and trying to sound like somebody else- well, bluntly, why bother? Who wants an imitation?

There's a great story that B.B. King tells about talking to, of all people, a cab driver. It was late at night, after the gig, and B.B. was depressed because he couldn't play like T-Bone Walker.

The cab driver told B.B. to not worry about that- he may not be the best T-Bone Walker in town, but he could be the best B .B. King on the planet.

That's the trick. From deciding what niche you want to work in, to writing your sales copy, to writing your email marketing material- the hardest thing to do is keep it simple. Just tell your story like you would tell a friend.

After the interview, we hung out on the manicured lawn of his very nice house talking about the time we wasted before we "got it."

Craig has only been working in internet marketing since 2003. To go from "unknown" to "speaking at Big Seminar 7" that fast is just amazing.

I learned a lot doing the interview.

One of the things we talked about was how hard it is for beginning marketers to get started. It's hard to believe how easy it is to crank out product, once you realize that it's easy. Realizing that it's easy is the hard part.

Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started buil

The cab driver told B.B. to not worry about that- he may not be the best T-Bone Walker in town, but he could be the best B .B. King on the planet.

That's the trick. From deciding what niche you want to work in, to writing your sales copy, to writing your email marketing material- the hardest thing to do is keep it simple. Just tell your story like you would tell a friend.

After the interview, we hung out on the manicured lawn of his very nice house talking about the time we wasted before we "got it."

Craig has only been working in internet marketing since 2003. To go from "unknown" to "speaking at Big Seminar 7" that fast is just amazing.

I learned a lot doing the interview.

One of the things we talked about was how hard it is for beginning marketers to get started. It's hard to believe how easy it is to crank out product, once you realize that it's easy. Realizing that it's easy is the hard part.

Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started buil

After the interview, we hung out on the manicured lawn of his very nice house talking about the time we wasted before we "got it."

Craig has only been working in internet marketing since 2003. To go from "unknown" to "speaking at Big Seminar 7" that fast is just amazing.

I learned a lot doing the interview.

One of the things we talked about was how hard it is for beginning marketers to get started. It's hard to believe how easy it is to crank out product, once you realize that it's easy. Realizing that it's easy is the hard part.

Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started buil

Since Craig's the email marketing guy, we talked a lot about email. I was especially interested in that moment when you've built a small list, and you have to write that very first email.

It can be a scary, lonely moment.

Those of you who have already started building your list and developing your relationship(s) with them, know what I'm talking about.

It reminded me of when I first started producing records.

Actually, in my case, there should have been a new job description: "overproducer." As in, "This CD was overproduced by "Pat O'Bryan."

It came from insecurity and fear. I can see that, now.

If one rhythm guitar part would work, I used three. If one background vocal part would be enough, I'd use six. One time I used 28!!!

My mistake? Focusing on exactly the wrong things.

I was making records to impress other musicians. Musicians don't buy records. Dancers do. Lovers do. Truck drivers buy records. Musicians get them from other musicians or steal them.

The same thing is true in the internet marketing world. I could waste a lot of time wondering what Joe Vitale or Armand Morin think about my writing. Actually, I could get scared shirtless and freeze completely- and not write a word- if I worried about it too much.

Wanna know a secret?

Joe and Armand aren't gonna buy my stuff.

Joe's a dear friend, and I like Armand and am looking forward to getting to know him better- but they're not my audience. You are. And your readers are YOUR audience. Don't worry about the Joe's and Armand's of the world. They get infoproducts free- by the truckload.

Personally, I like raw music. A lot of people do.

Back in the day, when I was playing- and living- the blues, the real good music was in the dives. At least in Austin. Stevie Ray was at the Continental Club, Delbert McClinton was at Soap Creek Saloon. W.C. Clark was at the Austin Outhouse. The Fabulous T-Birds were at the Rome Inn.

That's where the action was. Little smoky joints with a hint of danger and romance... sometimes more than a hint. Of both. We were young, then, and stupi