My new online magazine and portal for Indian women, Naaree.com, launched today.
I’ve often said that building a community is important to the success of your online business. So I built something I’m passionate about - a community that will inspire Indian women to rise above challenges of family and society, and live lives of purpose and fulfilment.
Read the press release announcing the launch here:
Naaree.com Celebrates The New Indian Woman
Thanks, Rajesh, for featuring us on Alootechie. 
If my last post about self-destructing email got your spirits down, don’t lose hope. Email marketing is not dead. And you can learn to make the most of it by attending Marketing Sherpa’s Email Marketing Summit planned for March 2007.
You’ll join MarketingSherpa and 650 of your email marketing peers in Miami March 4-6th (Sunday-Tuesday) 2007. Attendees will have access to four interactive labs on email marketing, a bootcamp training program, Case Studies and a lot more.
- Discover the latest research and practical, real-world tactics to improve results:
- How to grow your list faster — with names that respond
- How to tweak your creative design for better results (including A/B and multivariate test Case Studies.)
- How to automate personalized, high-impact campaigns including welcome series, purchase reminders, lead nurturing, loyalty generating, etc.
- How to avoid filters and improve delivery (for permission mailers only.)
- How to better measure engagement, test results, true delivery, and value-per-name (far beyond the open and click.)
- Fresh content ideas to give your email newsletter new life
Includes: Bootcamp Training, 4 Interactive Labs, 25+ Case Studies, & Loads of Networking
No boring speeches. Instead, MarketingSherpa brings you two and half days of useful training, lab tests, Case Studies and peer-networking. Here’s how:
#1. Bootcamp Training:
Arrive early on Sunday March 4th for a half-day intensive bootcamp on email marketing. It’s perfect for marketers who want to train a team or bring themselves up to speed before the big expo. Bootcamp training is included *free* as part of your Summit ticket.
Your instructor will cover all the basics, including:
- Email Laws
- Opt-ins and list management
- How to measure campaign success
- Frequency and content guidelines
- Creative design and copywriting tips
#2. 25+ Case Studies & Peer Panels:
Over the next two days, you’ll hear more than a dozen Case Studies and attend peer panels — presented by real-life marketers such as CareerBuilder, Nature Made, IBM, Match.com, Doubleday Entertainment, Metropolitan Museum of Art and 20 more. You’ll discover how the smartest email marketers are testing and using advanced tactics — often on lean budgets — right now. Ask them your toughest questions and get real-world, been-there-tested-that replies.
#3. Four Interactive Lab Sessions (including on-site eyetracking lab)
Come ready to test your own campaign tactics. Four large interactive labs will be set up featuring technology, expert consultants, and real-life testing for:
- Creative
- Growing your opt-in list (with responsive names)
- Delivery past filters
- Integrating measurement - from email to Web analytics and beyond
- Eyetracking (yes, you can participate in a live eyetracking lab and see the results immediately.)
#4. Networking, networking, networking:
MarketingSherpa’s Summit is the biggest gathering of email marketers anywhere in the globe. They make networking easy with:
o Welcome cocktail party Sunday night
o Gala Awards party Monday night March 5th at Bongos Cuban Cafe, Miami — owned by Gloria Estafan.
o Networking breakfasts and lunches
o Booths to meet 31 top vendors on show floor
o Private networking lounge when you want to chat quietly with a fellow attendee one-on-one
Quick Location Info:
MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit & Expo will be held at Hotel Miami, a vibrantly chic hotel located in Miami’s new Performing Arts District just minutes from South Beach.
I’ve just reached home by the Central Railway, which fortunately was untouched by the serial blasts in trains on the Western Railway in Mumbai during peak hours. And yes, I’m safe and sound, but over 100 people who were killed and 300 injured weren’t as lucky.
I was in the Times of India building attending a Tai Chi class when we heard about the blasts. The phone lines were jammed and the only thing I could think of was getting in touch with my family to let them know I was safe.
I’d planned on staying over with a friend so I could avoid the trip home, but the phone lines were jammed. Because services had stopped on the Western Line I thought the commuters left stranded would make a beeline for the Central Line, so I decided to wait out the rush at the Cafe Coffee Day outlet opposite CST station. I learned later that there was no rush, as most commuters avoided the trains altogether, expecting more blasts.
As I sat at CCD waiting for my cappucino, I was shocked by the attitude of the staff, when they were unwilling to keep the television on so we could watch the news. Their argument was that people were gathering outside the cafe to watch and their “rules” did not “allow” them to let that happen.
I was almost yelling when I explained to them that at a time like this, no one gave a damn about their stupid rules and told them they were behaving like a government office. And what was wrong, I asked them, if people did gather outside to find out what was happening on a day like today?
Disgusted by my experience with CCD, I headed for the nearest Barista, where the atmosphere was definitely less elitist and I could watch the news in peace.
Just like adversity brings out the best (or worst) in people, disaster brings out the best or worst in a brand. If CCD were my brand, here’s what I would have done in a situation like this.
I would have opened up the cafe to the public, allow them to watch the news, charge their cellphones and even offered refreshments on the house. And I would give my managers a lesson in treating people more humanely.
It’s better to be kind than to be right, and if you want people to love your brand, a little charity in times like these would not be out of place. In fact, any smart business house would take this opportunity to display a little humanity and to show they have a heart.
But why target CCD alone? Although Mumbai is the country’s financial capital, with some of it’s richest and most influential citizens, the fat cats with their fat purses seem to lack basic charity at a time like this.
I mean, would it have be so hard for cellular service providers like to provide free SMS, calls and increase their capacity to transmit calls at a time like this? Reliance, Hutch, Airtel, are you listening?
It was good that the BEST came to the rescue of stranded commuters, but it would have taken very little for BPOs or other business houses to provide additional transport. Do they even care?
After today’s disaster, I truly believe that business leaders in Mumbai have very little heart, and even less desire to make a difference to the city that helps them thrive.
Shame on you, CCD! Shame on the business leaders who completely failed to demonstrate true leadership at a time like this.
And shame on the politicians who are more concerned about statues being defaced, and disrupting our lives with threats of protest if the culprits of the blasts are not caught. As if the harrassed citizens of Mumbai don’t have enough to deal with already!
In the midst of all this chaos and gloom, it’s still the ordinary citizens who are the biggest heroes, and Mumbai’s saviours. I salute them and all those brave and kind souls who stopped to help the dying and injured.
Too bad I can’t say the same for our business and political leaders.
Tags: mumbai blasts
This post is not about Joe Vitale’s Hypnotic Writing package. I think we’ve all heard enough about that already.
No, this is something even more powerful. It’s an event that can help you become a true Master of Persuasion.
On May 19 st, 20 th and 21 st, 2006,The Ultimate Persuasion Seminar event will be held in glitzy Las Vegas.
It’s led by three world-class persuasion experts who will share with you the most advanced, most powerful, scientifically proven influence tactics to let you talk anyone into anything, anytime.
I’m a loyal subscriber and customer of both David Barron and Kent Sayre. I’ve bought and used a few of their self-help products, and I understand the power of persuasion in self-help as well as selling.
Hell, I wish I could make it to this event!! Next year, perhaps 
What you might not know that makes the Ultimate Persuasion Seminar totally different, is that these three instructors are rebel outsiders.
They defy the traditional by-the-book, boring, old outdated ideas and instead employ cutting-edge influence tactics that are sleek, covert, and so powerful¦ some of them almost illegal!
During the seminar event, they’ll explain to you every nook and cranny of all their outlaw street-smart, influence strategies. And you’ll walk out the door¦ as a master persuader.
So -
But if you go, just remember that I’m going to be Jealous as Hell.
If you’re a business person, going to Vegas for this training, you should know that its a tax write-off… and it’s Vegas so a lot of things can happen. Don’t say I didn’t warn you… 
I’m posting this late because I have a sick child to go back to right now. I’m not really having a very Merry Christmas, but I do hope yours is wonderful.
Merry Christmas to all of you great folks who read this blog.
I don’t have any fancy cards or freebies for you this year, but I do have something very personal. A little piece I recorded (yes, I play the guitar) - one of my favourite carols of all time.
The audio quality isn’t good. Its one of my first recordings, but do click on the icon below and allow me to bring some Christmas spirit into your life.
I am soooo sick of eHostPros - the web hosts I was using to host a bunch of my domains because they were callous enough to suspend my hosting account for the SECOND time before even sending me an invoice for the payment. Did I say I’m sick of them?
Well, I’ve decided to move my sites to a new host, who gives me great support, so a bunch of my domains (including Blog Maniac) will be unavailable for the next 24 hours. Please bear with me till I complete the move.
My partner, Prabhat Kiran, and I have just launched our new search engine optimization firm, SEO and More . We have a temporary website and logo up and already have a bunch of projects to work on.
I’ve spent the last few days setting up our office at my residence, so I can work and still be close to my precocious six-year old daughter, Sara. Doting mommy, eh?
So far we’re four of us in our little office on my second floor. Prabhat is a kick-ass SEO whose worked with many big internet portals.
I handle the SEO copywriting, article writing, business blogging, RSS and one-way link building. Of course, being the only woman around I’m also in charge of the pantry, supplies and general bonhomie.
I’ll be writing a blog on the site soon and sending out a newsletter and updates. Look out for that, and do let us know if we can help you grow your business online.
A few months ago I was in the process of moving content from my largest internet marketing site to a number of niche sites, so I could provide more targeted content and boost their rankings.
This month I found that for some reason, my marketing site had been removed from the Google index. I know that in these cases there is little I could do to get it reindexed, so instead of wasting time worrying about the loss of traffic, I just speeded up the process I began earlier.
The first site, Article Writing Tips , is up and running and already getting traffic. The site is already indexed by Yahoo and shows up in its index for very competitive terms.
Here’s the new link for my big list of article directories and submission sites. Shorter, better and easier to remember.
Enjoy the resources on Article Writing Tips.
Fact: Trouble is Looming For MOST Copywriters
The world of copywriting is saturated with “copywriting know-how.” If you’re one of the truly good, hot-shot copywriters you’re probably facing a lot of competition from the egotists who thing they’re *instant* copywriters and stink at what they do.
Are selling yourself short as a copywriter to compete with the $5 sales letter variety?
Well then you really need to attend this breakthrough copywriting masterclass designed to help copywriters build a business based on prove tested methods.
You get to spend over 30 hours one-on-one, face-to-face with mega-copywriting experts Brian Keith Voiles & Alan Forrest Smith.
Their crack unit claims that
ANYONE with half a brain that attends the Copywriters Masterclass CAN at least double their business if THEY APPLY what they learn from us.
Here are some of the things you will learn:
There are only 24 seats up for grabs at this masterclass. You get access to over 74 years cutting-edge experience copywriting, marketing and building business.
The location is JUST awesome. I wish I was going!
Check out the Copywriting Masterclass.
Mumbai is limping back to normal after what was recorded as the highest-ever rain in India’s history - a deluge that left the city completely paralysed.
According to the news reports (which I only just read as phone lines and all modes of communication were down), the city received the heaviest rainfall within a 12-hour span in the last 31 years.
The highest-ever rainfall recorded in a single day in India shut down the financial hub of Mumbai, snapped communication lines, closed airports and forced thousands of people to sleep in their offices or walk home during the night.
Troops were deployed after the sudden rains — measuring up to 94.4 centimeters (37.1 inches) in one day in some areas of Mumbai — stranded tens of thousands of people.
We’ve had no power since yesterday. The lights have only just come back on and I’m still unable to download my mail. Even the newspapers haven’t come in today, so I had no idea what’s been happening in the city.
Lucky for me and my family we were safely ensconced in the comfort of our homes, but the entire city was flooded, and shops in the market nearby had their goods destroyed by the water which seeped in.
In the meantime, you can read the news reports of how people coped with the torrential downpour here, here , here , here and here.
If you’ve written to me in the last couple of days, please be patient. I will definitely get back to you as soon as possible.
