Viral Storytelling with The Story Lady, Ronda Del Boccio

Well, today I was edged out by about $2 from being in the top 6 on Top Affiliate Challenge.  One less refresh and I would still be a contestant right now.    It has been a wonderful experience.  Thor Schrock and his wife Kimberly and their team have taken excellent care of all of us throughout the competition.  We’ve had comfortable beds in a decent hotel.  We’ve had food from local restaurant sponsors  every day twice a day.  We have not had to endure selling popsicles in 90+ degree heat or filming in a hot airplane hanger.

We have enjoyed food from some really good restaurants, like Olive Garden, Billy’s, Runza’s, Raising Cane, The Brown Bag.  Some contestants and John Chow have whined and complained about food at various places, but I have enjoyed just about everything.    The chicken at Raising Cane is out of this world.  Runza has great fries.  We had some sort of stew from Billy’s that was quite tasty.  You can’t go wrong with Olive Garden, and I truly enjoyed the fresh fruit and veggies to go along with the sandwich at Brown Bag.  The macaroni salad is exceptional.  All these places are in Lincoln, Nebraska.  From what I hear, no trip to Lincoln would have been complete without visiting Runza and Raising Cane.  We also had the delicious treat of meals from the new Texas Roadhouse that is soon to open.  They are in training now and had to do something with all those steaks and shrimp!  Thanks for sharing them with TAC. 

A few people have asked about prizes.  there are no prizes just for making it to the show.  The affiliate network sponsors  gave us some things at the beginning, so  we each have a bag of t-shirts, pens, and other small give-aways from the networks.  The affiliate managers who came on the first episode talked about rewardsfor the winning team or the team that used the most of their company’s offers.  With all the restructuring that has happened, it is unclear how that will all work out.  Perhaps next season the networks will realize that a group of people who blog and do videos might talk about them more if they give more interesting gifts to the contestants. 

For me the point of being here, aside from going for the top show winnings, is to build relationships, learn, showcase my abilities, and to compete!  It was really hard not making it to the top 6.  I had hoped to go further and I worked very hard to get there.  But such was not my fate.   Have I learned some things?  Oh yes, definitely, and by and by I will share them with you.

It has been really hard not to blog or tweet about things that are happening on Top Affiliate Challenge for 48 hours or so after they happen.  For one thing, the days flow together and it is sometimes hard to separate out what happened on what day.  For another, I have become accustomed to being able to share things happening in my life with those around me and with my readers and community.  It was easier not to say much than to possibly leak something because I got the days mixed up.

Today’s show started with the results of the 2-day challenge.  Did anyone wonder about the huge difference between Collin LaHay’s earnings and the rest of the pack?  Since I was eliminated, I did not get to see John Chow get kicked off the show until I watched it tonight.  He is a lot like a 12 year old with a bank account.

This is what I found most interesting about him.  Last week when my team Toolbarn moved over to him because of the early arrival of Shoemoney’s baby, I was not happy.  Oh, I understand that the producers had to make a decision because of the unexpected twist, but since I had watched Team XY7.com throw 2 competitions already, I knew he had some game in mind.

The first time I went to the Team XY7.com room, it was me, the 2 Collins and John Chow.  Both Collins are on film saying they voted themselves off the show.  Sure it was obviously staged, but they still made that public statement.  It was so clear to me that John did not care about the team except to protect Collin L.    Well, I do not throw myself under the bus for the team so I would not play along with that game plan anyway.  I was one of the stronger players on Toolbarn.

If I am going to lose or to win, I will do it honestly.

John told me how much Shoemoney respects me and said something I am not going to reveal right now.  Suffice to say I didn’t like it and would not have agreed if things played out that way.  I also know he was trying to find out whether or not I was corruptable or not, and whether I would play along.

Anyway, I did not like the new combined team situation at all.  I was not going to take one in the heart for “the team” and play along with the Chow game.  I just figured that there might be some other twist in a day or two, so I would learn what I could and wait it out.

As I said in my interview after being eliminated, I threw myself into every competition and every challenge.  I never whined about the food or the hotel.  I never used my disability as an excuse or asked for any special considerationsw.  I am having a great experience in Top Affiliate Challenge and do not regret any of it for one moment. 

Over the course of the show, I have made great contacts and unexpected friends.  I will say more about that another time.  What you need to realize is that when you do things like this, people are watching and paying attention.  hundreds of people watch or download the shows every single hour.  How we play the game is noticed.

People are watching how each contestant plays the game, and the networks are no doubt deciding who they want to work with.  Though this is a game and not reality, still it is in many ways just like life.  Some people goof off and skate by on the hard work of others.  Some work hard and get edged out because of a last minute twist.  Some let somebody with money buy their win for them.  It is not necessarily the most deserving who are at the top.  Perhaps someone slacked off most of the time but turned in the right numbers at the right time, then will slither by once again.  Some divert a winning plan to game the system.  Some get emotional about things that truly do not matter.  Just like in reality.

Will the good guy making it on honest effort win?  or will someone with an uber bank account by someone’s way to the top?

Keep watching Top Affiliate Challenge!

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`As part of Top Affiliate Challenge, we are facing unique situations daily and making as much money as we can in a very limited amount of time.

for example, although we are doing an individual challenge, and reality would gbe I could do it from anywhere, I am being forced to work in the room with everyone else.  There isn’t enough room for us all to work comfortably.  I’m listening to my speech program out of one ear and hearing all the room chatter as I try to type in conditions that are far less than ideal.

But reality is we don’t get what is normal or comfortable or ideal a lot of the time. 

Today I am working for immunity so that whatever the day’s challenges bring, I cannot be eliminated from the show.  I’m also going for an extra prize from my team leader guru, Shoemoney.

Today there is an immunity challenge.  This means that we are going to make one person safe from being kicked off the show today.  Whomever wins this immunity challenge is, indeed, safe from elimination – at least for today.

I can’t say much about the team standings except to say that one team was in last place and WILL lose someone from the team tonight.

 So let me tell you what’s up today.  We’re getting bids for a blog auction

•  An Amazon Kindle ($360 value)
• A LIFETIME subscription to ShoeMoney Tools ($250/month value)
• 2 VIP Tickets to Ken McArthur’s JV Alert Live Conference ($2500 value)
• A FREE Paid Post on John Chow’s famous blog (a $450 value)

That is easily over $5,000 in some pretty sweet stuff.  All you have to do to have a shot at winning it all is post a BID in the comments section http://blog.topaffiliatechallenge.com/.  Here’s how it will work:You place a comment on the post  at http://blog.topaffiliatechallenge.com/ stating the name Ronda Del Boccio, who referred you to this fabulous auction, and your bid amount.  You MUST use your real name and email in the appropriate comment boxes so we can contact you for payment.This auction ends at 4:00 PM Central Standard Time.  Once the auction ends, we will attempt to contact the winner via email.  The winner will have 10 minutes to pay for the auction vi PayPal to the provided address.  IF for any reason we do not have a payment from the winning bidder within 10 minutes, we will move down the line to the previous high bidders until we have one.Contestants MAY NOT bid on the auction themselves.  Good luck and happy bidding! Now, while I can’t directly bid, that doesn’t mean I can’t be in a “pact” with someone.  I couldn’t care less about the Kindle.  It’s not accessible to me anyway.  Ken McArthur’s JV Alert Live is not to be missed, and I already ahve my ticket.  What I REALLY want are the Shoemoney tools.  So if you’re more interested in a live event and exposure, let’s talk.  Skype rondadel or chat me up on google (profitableauthor at gmail) if you want to “go in” together.Nobody said we couldn’t wheel and deal.naturally, I want immunity, I want the prize I could win, and I want the extra loot from Jeremy.

Ok Shoe - don’t go calling me emo (emotional for those who’ve never seen that) now!  I’m laughing so much at this you can’t believe it.  I mean - anyone who knows me just cracks up when they see the review of my video.  Frankly I thought you were going to say something worse!  I’m a female but I’m pretty tough.  Can’t wait to meet you this weekend! / The Story lady

Hey almost any kind of press is good press and I’ve been called worse!  Jeremy Shoemaker (Shoemoney) is one of the best known affiliate marketers in the world.  Because I’m a competitor on Top Affiliate Challenge, and because I was in the top 10 auditions at the time he reviewed the top videos, he had a chance to see my last audition video.

You wouldn’t believe what I went through with those videos trying to get a higher score unless you were a contestant in this thing.  I kept trying to score higher and finally did the least inventive video of all and got a higher base score from the judges.  That’s what got me back into the top 10, really, even beyond all you wonderful people who helped vote me onto the show.  Since I could only score as high as the base X 10, I needed a higher base than 6.   Mission accomplished.  Voters worked hard too and I think the times that mass mailings went out on my behalf may have contributed to the voting system crashing.

Well, Ken McArthur knows me and said wonderful things about me.  He didn’t trash anyone.  Shoe is a little more edgy and I figured he’d say something cutting about many of the contestants.

He said my video about put him to sleep, but what he said next is the most important to me:

He said that I hae a lot of desire and work ethic, and I know from what he said in video #1 that to him work ethic is the most important and anything else can be learned.  I agree.  Yes I do have a strong work ethic.  Yes I love to learn and I throw my whole self into things.

So thank you, Jeremy SHoemaker, for your comments.  I truly do appreciate your review!

The Story Lady

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I get more and more excited as time draws near for the Top Affiliate Challenge, and today I want to share some things

If you’re a runner preparing for a marathon, you know exactly what to expect.  26 miles of grueling, exhausting pavement pounding action, and you can prepare yourself appropriately.  You understand that you have to increase your endurance and you know the types of activities that you will do both in preparation and during the competition.

Nobody will be there to say, “I’m sorry but you’re going to jump hurdles today, not run the Boston Marathon.”  You know that if you’re going into a marathon, that means running 26 miles. Period.

Not so with Top Affiliate Challenge.  Oh sure, we know that it’s about affiliate marketing.  That much is a no-brainer.  But what types of challenges will we face?  none of us knows for sure. 

I’m pretty sure that the contestants who are whiz-bang with pay per click campaigns believe they’ll grind the rest of us slackers deep into the dust.  Jeremy Shoemaker (Shoemoney) calls best selling author Ken McArthur an old spammer because he uses email marketing, yet a couple contestants are a little scared that Ken got over 4.1 million emails sent out for his book launch May 15th of this year.

And I know that show producer Thor Schrock is really pulling out all the stops to get the community involved.  Heck, he’s got the Governor of Nebraska and the Mayor of Lincoln coming, from what I heard, to the welcome ceremony.  He is dedicated to showcasing Lincoln.  So I’m thinking a lot of the challenges will have offline elements to them.

Lots of drama between the 3 gurus Shoemoney, John Chow and Ken McArthur.  Plenty of drama amongst the contestants.  Some unplanned for drama as well.

how do you prepare for a competition when you don’t know what the challenges will be?

What do you consider as you prepare yourself to go into a competition knowing very little about what to expect?

If you’re me - well I can’t tell you all my strategies of course - but you start with your mindset first and foremostl

Shoemoney said in his video review of the top 10 that the most important attribute is a work ethic.  All the rest can be learned.  he is so right.  I have a great work ethic and I can learn anything.  There are some types of campaigns (affiliate marketing) that I have never tried yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be wildly successful.

And heck, I’m the only female there, so someone has to balance out all that testosterone!  women unite!  Help keep me on the show!

Plus my guide dog Molly Flagtail will be there too, of course!  She will help us all keep it real

I am going in with these things in mind:

1.  Do everything I can to make this a great show!

2. Be open to new situations and ways of thinking

2.  Keep my mind in the success zone

3.  Play smart

4.   Learn lots

5.  Keep emotions in check

6.  Build lasting relationships

So that’s it for today!

Ronda

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The competition at Top Affiliate Challenge isn’t only about the contestants. The gurus are putting up their dukes as well. Today Shoemoney posted on his blog that his rankings are rising and John Chow’s are falling. These stats are from the Google Toolbar, which is free to install. He likes the toolbar better than Alexa.

Go ahead and grab that Google toolbar.

Techy stuff for sure, but the interesting thing is the mounting competition. The 3 gurus in Top Affiliate Challenge will each have a team of 4 contestants to start the game. I haven’t heard or read (for me it is heard because I use s speech program) Ken McArthur weigh in yet, but we’re still 8 days away from the start of competition.

You can read guru John Chow’s bio here.

You can read guru Ken McArthur’s bio here.

You can read Guru Jeremy Shoemaker’s (Shoemoney’s) bio here.

Watch Top Affiliate Challenge starting July 1.

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I love contests, don’t you?  I especially love ones that are meaningful.  If you are interested in improving your online networking skills, I want you to enter this contest right away.  It only goes to the end of March, so you want to have as many chances of entering it as possible. 

And this is a fantastic example of viral storytelling.  Sure it’s somewhat orchestrated, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that people will be talking/blogging about it.  

I found out about this contest on the Author and Grow Rich Blog, which you definitely want to visit if you’re an aspiring or a current author.  Yes, I’m a contributing author to this blog, but I’ve only had one post there so far, so you can’t say it’s just self agrandisement!

Anyway,  over $12,000 in prizes are up for grabs in The Craziest Internet Marketing Contest You’ve Ever Seen.

I’ll tell you about some of the prizes and share my favorite in a moment, but first, this is what I love most about this contest.  You have to actually DO something, for one thing, and it’s something useful.  You will use (or learn about using) resources like Twitter and StumbleUpon to spread the word about the contest and gain more entries.

This is so amazingly clever.  Believe me, I’m taking notes!

There are a bunch of prizes.  Which ones do I like best?  Well, the cash is always welcome, and there are several cash prizes.

My favorite coolness prize - probably because I want an iPod anyway

Ipod Touch 8GB from Shoemoney ($299 value)
Jeremy Schoemaker is probably one of the most well known Internet marketers online today. He found his way to fame by posting his 6 figure Adsense check from Next Pimp and now frequently shares his insights on his super popular blog Shoemoney, hosts a radio show on Webmaster Radio, and runs the Elite Retreat which I will be attending next month. Jeremy definitely knows what he’s doing and is a great teacher. I’m excited to say the least.

And of course Shoemoney is one of the 3 uber-affiliate marketing gurus who is leading the teams in Top Affiliate Challenge - for which I have auditioned.  So I could be meeting him in a few months.

My favorite experiential prize is –

1 Full Conference Pass to Affiliate Summit East ($949 value)
Shawn Collins and Missy Ward do a fantastic job organizing the top industry conference in affiliate marketing. The event attracts thousands of the top vendors, advertisers, and affiliates around the world. I went to Affiliate Summit West 2008 in Las Vegas and must say it was a great time of networking, learning, and improving my Internet business. It’s totally worth the admission fee, but now you can get a full conference pass FREE. ASE08 will be held August 10-12 in Boston. I’ll see ya there!

Since I’m learning about social marketing, this contest intrigues me, and I hope it will intrigue you too.   So if you’d like a chance to win prizes and learn something too, join me in this contest.

The Story Lady