Alex Mandossian

Trend spotting for Art Licensing

I’m often asked how to spot trends. Trends are all around us – the key is to learn to spot them when they are just starting and not when they are already big and about to jump the proverbial shark. There is no tried and true way to be sure that something is a trend – but you can develop habits of noticing things. If you start to see things multiple times – for example, all of the sudden you notice butterflies on clothing then butterflies on home decor – you can take an educated guess that butterfiles are trending.

Here’s a silly video about trend spotting that I was inspired to create today because a few of my friends called me from an event in New Jersey and I felt like the grounded kid missing the slumber party. We were joking on Facebook and Twitter about NJ – and I asked if I needed to wear a Bump-It to join the fun. (Not that I could since I was sitting in my studio in Oregon!) Then inspiration hit – my friend Angela and I headed to the store to pick up a Bump-It and the rest is crazy accent history. (Please forgive my slipping into a southern accent at the very end… oops!)

I hope this amuses and inspires you – I’m putting myself out there with this one! @FawnKey, @KimBeasley, @KellyRudolph, @KellieFrazier, @AlexMandossian and the rest of my teleseminar secrets friends in New Jersey – this one’s for you!

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Inspiration for a Friday…

My teachers and mentor, Alex Mandossian, turned me on to this video and I want to share it with you.

While I will be celebrating the 7th anniversary of my divorce this coming summer, it was not a “quick fix” but a hard and heart-felt decision. I think that is the only part of this video that hit an odd note for me – watch it and see what you think.

Here’s to being happy, thinking outside of yourself, priorities, doing what you love and making the world a better place.

– Tara Reed

How to Write a Win-Win-Win Testimonial

Testimonials are everywhere. On TV, websites, book jackets, blogs and more. You may read them, but do you ever write them? Contrary to popular belief – testimonials help more than just the person selling the product or service you are commenting on – they help the writer as well.

Have you noticed how many celebrity-endorsed products there are on the market? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? I believe it is because people often buy based on emotion or third party testimonials. “Well if that celebrity / athlete / artist / fill-in-the-blank likes that product or service, I might like it too!”

But the value of a third party opinion isn’t limited to well known figures. Testimonials from everyday users go a long way in marketing of any product and in helping the potential consumer make a decision about the product.

People who teach, speak, write, coach or in some other way sell a product or service to others LOVE to get testimonials! (Trust me.) They can say anything about their service but potential clients are more apt to believe what people who have used the product or service have to say. Think about it – whose opinion do you put more clout in, the person selling a product or someone who has used it and has no vested interest in whether you make a purchase or not? Often it is the third party testimonial that makes the difference.

YOU can be that third party and create a WIN-WIN-WIN scenario. The product or service provider wins by getting a testimonial from you. The potential buyer wins by having the benefit of your third-party opinion. And you win by getting an external link to your website, which can help in your search engine optimization.

Alex Mandossian, one of my teachers, taught me a great method for giving testimonials that will be sure to get you some link love.

When you write a testimonial, answer these three questions:

What your life/business was like BEFORE you found this product or service.
What your life/business is like NOW as a result of this product or service.
How you expect using this product or service will CONTINUE to impact your life/business.

Following that format creates POWERFUL testimonials! So be proactive and send testimonials to people whose products or services you liked or found helpful. Then sign your full name and give your web address.

Here’s to your creative success and creating Win-Win-Winning Testimonials!

– Tara Reed

P.S. Feel free to use my products or services as your test cases and email your testimonials whenever you like!

Have a VERBY New Year!

VERBS have been coming at me from several directions lately and have caused me to stop and ponder…

My teacher, Alex Mandossian, asks his students to “proclaim their verb!” I ________, therefore I am! Some verbs from that class include teach, inspire, blog, nurture… mine is create.

Then local artist and entrepreneur coach Rebecca Shapiro suggested choosing a verb to define 2010 instead of making resolutions that would more than likely be forgotten or defeated by the end of January. I love this idea! SO watch this short video and pick a verb… feel free to leave your choice in the comments to inspire others.

Here’s to a creative and verby 2010!

– Tara

P.S. If you need help getting organized and focused, don’t forget about The Goal Wheel for Artists™ eBook…

P.P.S. Need clarification on what verbs are or just want to go back in time and enjoy a great School House Rock song? Here it is – VERB!

Put in "Twitter Time Out" for Excessive Tweeting! Really!

Oh yeah! This is a badge of honor if ever I created one myself. Let me explain…

I’m a bit chatty… I was never the girl to get in trouble for talking in class, oh no! I was a very well-behaved student. This is the first time that I can remember getting “in trouble” – we’ll call it “Twitter Trouble” for ‘talking’.

It was “The Big Call” with Alex Mandossian and the pre-kick-off party of sorts for the 2009-2010 Teleseminar Secrets season. Last year was the first time I took the class and it has changed my business. (go to TaraRecommendsAlex.com here for those details)

What was so cool was that not only did I learn all these amazing skills for my business, but I could interact and ‘meet’ other students on Twitter as long as I used the #tss hash tag. (That’s how I could find them.)

Well on December 3rd, I was having a great time talking to everyone! Such a great time apparently, that I was told I was shut down for “Excessive Tweeting” and to “check back in a few hours”. HUH? Sounds like social discrimination! Just because I’m a fast tweeter with a circle of friends I’m done!

At first, it was quite stressful. But I had an alternate account – as @MarianSparks said, “no one puts baby in a corner!” and Twitter can try and put me in time out but it wasn’t going to stick!

Now I’m so enjoying sharing the story! I’m beaming with pride! This is fabulous! I think one other person got put in time out too – I’ll have to confirm that with @NewThoughts.

I decided to make a badge, start a club and revel in my ability to out-tweet Twitter. (the rule, it seems, is no more than 150 tweets an hour…)

Feel free to DM me on Twitter if you ever get put in “Twitter Time Out” – you can put the badge on your website or blog and if you ask nice, I’ll send you a button. I’ll also put you on the list of club members.

Here’s to connecting and turning lemons into lemonade! (The lemon being “Twitter Time Out” and lemonade being my “club”)

– @ArtistTaraReed

EXCESSIVE TWEET CLUB ROSTER

@ArtistTaraReed (founding member)
@NewThoughts
@KimBeasley

And here’s a video of my dad’s reaction to my mischief…

The Beauty of Teleseminars…

…is that they are not a beauty contest! Unlike teaching or speaking at a live event tss-phone where you have to look good, all you need is your voice and a phone line to deliver great content in a teleseminar.

Clean office? Not required!
Perfect hair, nails and makeup? Nope!
Does your outfit matter? Not at all!

tss-notbeautypagent

All you need is a plan, something to say and a phone. I just went through an 8 week intensive course with Alex Mandossian called “Teleseminar Secrets” – it is not for the faint of heart because this man does not hold back. This course is for people who want ALL the information in Alex’s brain, then it is up to the student to decide what parts and pieces work for them.

I did my 5th “Ask” call last night – spending an hour at home, in my comfy socks talking about art licensing, what could be better? This time I was the interviewer instead of the interviewee – I discovered I really enjoy both roles. Future plans include one night and possibly multiple part teleseminars. Who knows what else!

If you teach, have written a book or need to get some kind of word out to people, think about doing it by phone. No travel, less expense and of course, no beauty contest! If you want to learn more about how to do your own teleseminars, click on the link below. To learn about art licensing through mine, stay tuned!

Here’s talkin’ to you! ~ Tara

Are you working with luke-warm water or steam?

I just got back from my Teleseminar Secrets Reunion for the class I just took with Alex Mandossian in San Francisco — it was amazing! 2 days in a room filled with 185 people moving forward, doing new projects, optimistic and successful. I didn’t sleep well last night — all the notes, doodles and things I want to implement and work on swimming around in my head.

We saw a video that I absolutely loved and found inspiring. It’s call 212 degrees. Taking water from cold to hot to steam can make such a huge difference in what the water can achieve. That last degree that takes it from boiling to steam is the key! Are you there? Are you working with steam? Or are you playing around in tepid water in the kiddie pool?

I think in some seriously hot water (in a good way!) but not sure I’m ‘steaming’… today I’ll be looking at that and figuring out how to get there and stay there.

Here’s the video — I hope it inspires your day, your week, your business!

~ Tara

AskTaraReed.com creates a “Sally Field” moment…

I am SO EXCITED I can barely stand it! I just have to share and ask for your good thoughts on Wednesday, February 11th between 6 & 7 pm, PST.

If you have listened to any of my AskTaraReed.com calls, you may remember me talking about the class I am taking, Teleseminar Secrets with Alex Mandossian, where I am learning all about teaching by phone. It is a great way to reach more people with either of us having to get on airplanes, stay in hotels, etc. We can sit in our pj’s and chat. Fabulous!

Well, one of the ways Alex encourages his students to dive in and give his ideas a shot, is by holding a “Challenge”. There aren’t winners or losers, but highest vote getters. If you had some sort of Teleseminar between December 15th and January 28th, you could submit an essay explaining what skills you implemented and why you feel worthy of becoming, as I like to say, “Queen or King Vote Getter”.

Of course I dove right in and my first call was on December 17th. I then wrote my essay about how great you all responded to the concept, how I was committed to doing this every month in 2009, etc.

Well I bet you can guess what happened next… YUP! Monday morning I got a call from Alex telling me I was one of 6 finalists in the “Newbie” category.

On Wednesday night, between 6 & 7, I will have 4 minutes to “plead my case” to all the Teleseminar Students who are listening as to why I feel I am a worthy newbie. I’ll be talking about you all of course! (And hoping that you are sending good vibes my way!)

My “Sally Field” moment is that I am SO HONORED to have been chosen as a finalist… my goal is to be happy with the job I do in my 4 minutes. Whatever happens after that is cool. (I’ll let you know.)

My mom always told me that if I didn’t at least try something, I’d never succeed. And although I’ve tried many things and not gotten the results I wanted, I keep on trying. Because how would great adventures like this happen without trying?

So head out and try something new today. Do it for me. I want you to be as excited as I am right now. And don’t forget — send good vibes my way on Wednesday!

Tara

P.S. The next AskTaraReed.com call is in 2 weeks on Wednesday, February 25th. Go ask me questions! Even if you’ve asked before, give me some more! (I need more than the question from my boyfriend asking if I still love him although I laughed pretty hard when I read it!) Go. Now. Ask!

UPDATE: It’s over! I survived! I must admit that I felt more nervous than I expected and am not sure why but I’m told my voice didn’t sound as shakey as it felt. (Don’t you hate that? I don’t remember having that problem since high school!) Maybe it was having to talk and watch a stopwatch to stay under my 4 minutes… regardless I did it, it’s done and I’m proud! Thank you again for all your support and kind emails — you guys rock! The results will be in at the end of the month and although I don’t expect to get the most votes, I’ll let you know if I hear anything.