This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, December 16, 2013

CheersFest Winners and WHAT WORKS...Online Marketing Symposium

And the CheersFest Winners Are:

        EVERYBODY!

       Oh--I guess that's not how it's supposed to work.  But everybody did have a winning entry and I'm a winner for having so many wonderful blog friends.  There were so many entertaining entries that it was tough to come up with just two.  So many approaches.  So much variety.  So much fun.  I had a great time with the CheersFest and I hope you all did as well.

       I'd like to start right off by thanking the co-hosts who not only submitted their own fantastic entries, but also went to great lengths in promoting the Fest.   Thank you  Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King, Stephen Tremp and The Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.  Especially Mark who thought up this event which looks destined to become an annual blogger roast.

         I won't name any honorable mentions. There are many, but I need to keep this post short.  If you didn't see all the roast posts I encourage you to go to the list and check them out.  I agonized long over which ones to pick and kept narrowing it down to the final choices.  So without any more chatter from me, here are the winners:

        The winner of the Arlee Bird Showbiz History package is Carrie Anne Brownian at Welcome to My Magick Theatre.   Her free verse about me was creative and thought-provoking.  I appreciated the answers to the questions and the dry but accurate description of the photo.   And she picked an actual juggler to play me in a documentary--albeit an ugly one, but a truly great and funny one.

        The winner of the graphic design by Jeremy Hawkins is Sydney Aaliyah Michelle.   She had interesting answers and story.   Her photo caption encapsulated a jugglers dream--at least at a photo shoot.
And I assure you that my A to Z aversion treatment will be continuing in April of 2014.   Be watching for announcements.

          Winners please contact me at jacksonlee51 (at) aol (dot) com and I will make arrangements for your prizes to get to you.

          And please don't anyone have me be the sole judge to pick a contest winner again.   That was tough and I hated to leave anyone off.  Seriously I love you all and think you are all winners.

Now a Very Special Event Announcement!


Do you ever wonder why some books become bestsellers while others can barely be given away? Why some businesses succeed and others fail?   

How does a blog post or a YouTube video manage to go viral? What does it take to reach celebrity status? Why does a person who is less intelligent than you are become the teacher's favorite and make better grades with less work?

Is it a matter of luck or is there some magic formula for success? 
   
Would you like to know what works and what doesn't?

Well, now maybe we can latch on to some of the secrets and tricks that make success happen or what we might want to avoid. We want you to tell us your stories of success (or not so successful) as we present the blogging event that will help us learn.


                                            What Works...

The first ever "Online Marketing Symposium!"

A blogfest with information you can use.

The event happens on Monday January 20, 2014.

On event day you tell us about a marketing idea that you've used and what worked or didn't work. Your post could describe a campaign that succeeded in a big or small way or one that failed drastically. Tell us about a business campaign, an organizational event, a fundraiser – anything where a bit of promotion was necessary!

The What Works.. Marketing Symposium is not limited to authors but also to anyone in a business that has a promotional aspect – online or otherwise!

Posts can be informational, statistical, a personal experience account, or a funny marketing story. Experience gained from a promotional effort in one area can have applications in other efforts in which we are involved so anything goes as long as promotion or marketing methodology has been involved. 

The ultimate goal is to learn.

Remember – no book – no problem. Marketing and promotion principles apply to your blog, your business, any dream, or project, because we all want to win people over.

This information exchange is more than just a "blogfest"!

It's an online forum where ideas are shared and success for all is the goal.  

Does the thought of marketing and promotion scare you or turn you cold? Fear no more—let's learn together.

It's possible the blogging community can help you make that next project a viral success orthat next book a best seller!

Join our first ever Online Marketing Symposium
*****
     My co-hosts are  Jeremy Hawkins Alex J. Cavanaughand Yolanda Renee


Sign up for What Works...Online Marketing Symposium below:


****

<!-- end LinkyTools script –>

Enhanced by Zemanta

37 comments:

  1. Aloha Lee,

    No worries, mate - and thanks for the kind words :)

    Plus, just think, now you get to help pick out the "winner" of CheersFest 3.0 - and help design our Brown Jacket Winner's T-shirt :)

    Speaking of winners, congrats to Carrie Anne and Sydney. Well done to you both :)

    Signed up for "What Works..." and looking forward to it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now you know how I felt last year! Difficult to choose when so many were awesome. Congratulations to Carrie-Anne and Sydney.
    All ready for What Works!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats to you, Arlee, for being roasted this year and congrats to the two winners you selected.

    The Online Marketing Symposium sounds like it would be really useful. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Lee - everyone has so much fun roasting the mostest helpers in this blogosphere .. so well done to Sydney and to Carrie Ann.

    The Marketing idea on the 20th Jan - sounds a very interesting subject .. and I'm sure there'll be loads of wonderful posts - I'm looking forward to it ..

    Cheers to you this pre Christmas week .. Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  5. Carrie and Sydney did a beautiful job - well chosen, but I don't envy you the choice. I like it better when numbers and a hat are involved! LOL

    Looking forward to the symposium - should be lots of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations to Sydney Aaliyah Michelle!

    Such a great idea for a blogfest too! Definitely something to look forward to, Lee!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, and congratulations to Carrie Ann Brownian too! Cheersfest was definitely a grand time for all this year! Thanks for being such a wonderful recipient, Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great contest. I won a new follower. Thanks, Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I enjoyed the roasts I read very much.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congrats to the winners.

    What Works is a great idea for a blogfest. I signed up at Alex's this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Not sure if I have any marketing advice to share, but will definitely check out What Works to learn things!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congrats to the cheerfest winners. It was fun!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mark -- I'm still looking for that elusive Brown Jacket, but the t-shirt will be a very cool memento.

    Alex -- So many good choices.

    Bonnee -- I think What Works will provide some interesting information.

    Hilary -- I'll be posting about your concern later. Everyone has information of some sort that can be helpful.

    Yolanda- Yeah, numbers in hats are much more random and easier to do.

    MJ-- Look forward to some great marketing stories and tips.

    Sue -- New followers are the best prizes.

    JoJo-- Me too.

    L.Diane -- I know you'll have some great tips. It will be a good time to promote your marketing book as well.

    Sarah -- If you think hard enough you can come up with many ideas about marketing. Just observations about advertising campaigns can contribute.

    Wendy -- You were so close in the finals!

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  14. We held a contest before where we had to pick the winner ourselves and that was brutal. I can only imagine how hard it was for you. After that - we decided to use polls. Let the readers decide. Take the pressure off of us! Congrats to the winners!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations to the winners!

    And, personally, I think "everybody" would have been fine, too. :)

    Looking forward to reading all the blogs on the symposium! But I have little to contribute as a sign-up-ee since I've yet to, you know, actually complete anything to market. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congratulations to everybody who won Lee, much deserved winners all round!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So much going on, it's a whirlwind of cool things. I am so far behind, I so happy for the winners... I stopped over for a looky-loo on Sydney's place, I see beautiful things going to happen... hopefully :).

    Have a glorious day!

    Jeremy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Arlee and Team,
    I just joined in as the 18th person here and ha here at the comment column also as the 18th commenter LOL
    Keep Inform
    Best Regards
    Phil

    ReplyDelete
  19. Congrats to Carrie-Anne and Sydney! Looking forward to tuning in for your marketing blogfest Lee!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Beer -- I like the idea of a poll. Thank goodness you removed yourself from the choices as your entry would clearly have been one of the tops. But you guys are pros at roasting. Thanks for your fun contribution. I'll never forget it. You're on my revenge list ;)

    Chris -- Ah, but you do more than you may realize. I'll post more about this in a couple of weeks.

    Yeamie--Thanks!

    Jeremy-- I'm sure Sydney will enjoy what you come up with.

    Phil --I look forward to your perspective on marketing.

    Julie-- Time to learn more about marketing.

    Robin-- Thank you for your contribution to the fun.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'll have to think about your marketing thing. I don't feel at all qualified to say anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congrats to Carrie and Sydney!

    It was a lot of fun!

    I'm excited about the marketing symposium. That's such a cool idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for choosing me as one of your winners!

    The marketing blogfest sounds like a great opportunity, particularly since I'm considering making my own small publishing house and an embroidery business someday.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The symposium sounds like a great idea. The (sort of) problem is that something might be praised by one person and dissed by the next. In theory, many marketing strategies can work but don't always. Maybe the details provided will clue us in on how viable something can or can't be in general. Low-cost ideas are something I REALLY look for.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Andrew -- Hah! I think you're very qualified considering all the stuff you have up on Amazon. Everyone has experience promoting something big or small. We can learn from all of it.

    Kimberly -- I think we'll hear some great marketing ideas.

    Carrie-Anne -- It was tough choosing the winner, but I fell into such deep thought over your poem. The marketing ideas that come out of our event might be very useful to you in those endeavors you have planned.

    Jennifer -- Actually the conflicting results will be a good part of the learning experience. What factors make one method work in one scenario, but not in another. Hopefully we'll get some good exchange going on.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  26. Only if people want to know what to do to not really sell much. I mean, I know many people who do nothing to promote their stuff that sell in the same numbers as I do. Maybe what I'm doing will pay off at some point, but I don't have any data on that, yet.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Andrew -- And I think that's as important to know about as those who have hard data to back up their sales. I don't know that there is any sure fire formula to make marketing work, but there are certainly things we can learn about what others have done. You probably have some very valuable experience to impart to those who haven't been where you are. Even better you can articulate it well.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Lee,
    I am so happy that you picked my post as a winner. I had so much fun creating that little story and trying to be funny. If I made you laugh, I did my job. I am so excited for the prize, too. I was thinking 2014 would be a good time to revamp the way the blog site looks and what better way then with a new blog header from Jeremy.
    Perfect timing.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Congrats to the winners! I sure wouldn't want that job. I didn't get a chance to read as many as I wanted to, but all the ones I read were full of warmth and humor.
    I have no marketing experience of any kind, but will definitely be reading the entries. Fabulous idea, Lee.
    Tina @ Life is Good

    ReplyDelete
  30. Sydney -- I'll be putting you in contact with Jeremy.

    Andrew -- I think you'd come up with some very interesting material. Hope you join us.

    Tina -- Hey, Miss A to Z! Of course you have marketing experience. We do plenty of it with the Challenge. And you've done it in your life. By "marketing" we're not just talking about selling books.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  31. The marketing symposium is a cool idea. Congratulations to the winners of CheersFest!

    The Warrior Muse

    ReplyDelete
  32. The roast was quite well done. Everyone I visited did a great job, especially on the who would play you in a documentary question!

    Congrats to those who won and I'm looking forward to Jan 20. I hope to share and I hope to learn from others.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Congrats to the winners!!
    Oooh, sounds like a great event-a great way to start off the New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  34. CONGRATS to the winners!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi, I'm a first time visitor here and I can see why people are really engaged in your posts. I would really like to attend your symposium but it seems I'm busy on the 20th of January. Will there be a 2nd batch of this event? I'm trying to learn as much as I can about social media marketing, especially ppc campaign management. I hope you can send me a feedback as soon as you can. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

Lee