AWESOME interview Andrew. There's zero doubt email newsletters and marketing is still very effective. A lot of people write it off due to it not being the hot trend of the moment, but it's still the most effective. It brings forth retention and people pay attention to it. There less noise and more signal. Deliverability is an issue, but with a great email sender (i rec. mailchimp) you should be fine. Here's a post I recently wrote looking into the email newsletter business (you should interview Peter Shankman from HARO asap btw):

http://jasonlbaptiste.com/commentary/email-news...

Also a statistic re: what people pay attention to when it comes to local media:

email newsletters are up 35%, only second to search. Everything else such as newspapers, radio,etc. are down.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Artic...

Thanks again for the transcripts, they helped me browse through, though I often use my mixergy playlist when on long car drives to listen to the audio.

-jlb

I like the transcript. It's a great addition.

Hokay... I've read some of the transcript here... I'm going to have to turn off Groovera's Low Mercury and fire up the audio. Don't get me wrong, *totally* appreciate the transcript... in this case it's your sales letter into the audio!

Off to listen now.

Gaakk... Ali just short circuited my brain... neurons imploding... a conference full of ambitious, smart single ladies...

Here's my notes:

Very good points about looks! So few people are willing to put that subject out in the open. Thanks for bringing it up. I'm sure Ali gets judged on her looks, which is something I can totally relate to. It turns out really good looking people have just as many problems as everyone else, they're just *different* problems. Example: How does someone like Kate Moss know who she can trust?

"Email is a major tool! Blogging is a complementary activity." Whole heartedly agree!

"Broker than broke." I strongly resemble this statement, soon. I think it may be necessary to force that final change from "employee" to "employer." For some of us anyway.

"Research your competition. Create a strong business model. Know exactly how to make money before getting started." This is funny for two reasons: (1) I didn't do that... and (2) looks like she didn't either. Just jumped in and figured it out as she went.

"PPC ads is fastest way to started." PPC gives me the willies. Can't think of a faster way to lose money. Vegas maybe. But I know that's just my inexperience (and fear) talking. It's on my todo list.

"Ton of free information is bad." Don't agree with this. Too much information is opportunity to build trust. She covers that angle a bit.

"Create an event around a launch" This is becoming a major tool.
"Force people make a decision. It's actually doing them a favor." I have to agree. Many people won't.


"Doubting is part of the process." I must be on the right road to billions!


"Every single issue comes up when you start your own business." Nice to know I'm not alone!


"Female entrepreneurs: where are they? How to find them?" I can point you at 4 young female entrepreneurs out of the SF Bay area. They haven't yet made it, but they're on the right track. Email me if you're interested.


One final remark concerning left/right brain, coming from an intensely analytical person: If right brainers rule the future, who builds the roads? Who builds and maintains the actual "stuff' of the modern world. This is all left-brain activity. At the end of the day gravity rules and doesn't care about "feelings." This is a huge issue for me and for a lot of other very highly trained and very, very intelligent engineers. Our skills are deprecated. Yet, if we just went away, the world would back at hunting and gathering inside two generations. What's to become of a society that doesn't reward those who quietly just get the work done? I think about this a lot.

Andrew -- Another great interview. Ali is living her dream and living it big. I would have liked to hear more about how her father's unhappy business life pushed her into creating the business of her dreams. It seems that things related to our parents often determine the direction of our later lives.

I was struck by how focused Ali is. She has a vision for her business and she's not letting anyone or anything get in the way. However, she stays open to how other people or situations can help her get to where she wants to go. Very inspiring...

This was an all around great interview; very meaty. Most of what she said confirmed to me that I'm going about starting my business the right way. One thing I had never thought of before though, was adding my location in my keyword research/PPC campaigns. This was a simple tip that I'll be sure to implement.

I'm really motivated by her success! I loved watching this. (BTW: since you asked, I'm neutral on the transcript. I simply hit play whenever you post any interviews, but I'm sure other people found it helpful.)

Hey Andrew,
I was a little skeptical at first just because there are so many people talking about how to build informational products online, but I have to say she seems very genuine and obviously successful! As for your interview, these were some of the more direct questions I've heard you ask. Directness = Awesome (as long as they answer haha)
Suggested comments:
1) I did not look at the transcript although I like the idea so that I can browse during downtime at work
2) I believe that her emphasis on market research and building a relationship with your audience were the most important parts (building your community or tribe as some would call it)

Thanks Andrew!
Ali is a great inspiration

The transcription is great!

Really a great interview, loved every minute of it. You got some fascinating numbers out of her too, always useful in that way! :-)

Andrew,

This was an excellent interview. You were very focused on pushing Ali to walk through the building blocks that she suggests are key to creating and growing a business. Those components were useful and fit directly with what I see as Mixergy.com's model.

One area I think was deserving of more exploration: an examination of mistake vs. purposefulness in Ali's business growth, what she learned from that and how it informs her product offerings and advice to other entrepreneurs.

Keep up the good work!

Great interview as always Andrew.

Quick question... What are you using to record these interviews side by side like this? It's pretty awesome.

- TRENDS

Congrats on your wedding! Glad that you're back. I was waiting for new interviews. :)
I have a question for you as well as any other "solopreneurs" out there. I have always had a hard time finding quality employees. Ali mentioned that she has about 12 employees (some she's never even met). I wish you asked her where she was hiring these employees. Does she use some sort of hiring agency? Is it through Craigslist? How are people hiring good employees? Is it just a process of hit or miss? I have a very hard time finding employees that are up to my standards.

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome interview!!! You asked some really great and specific questions which made me want to take a few notes. Thank you so muh Andrew and Ali!!!

Great interview

Andrew,

Another slam dunk interview.

As you've mentioned before, we need to hear more stories from women entrepreneurs.
That's why this video was truly refreshing.

May I suggest doing interview with Lisa Irby from 2createawebiste.com.

Like Ali, she is an amazing communicator, mentor and inspiration to so many women starting out;
as well as us guys.

Really awesome interview with Ali. She is so enthousiastic, really inspiring! Really will be implementing some mindset cases from her!
And the best part: www.alibrown.com is built on open source Drupal cms (www.drupal.org), we embrace Drupal implementations :-)

That was great, Andrew. You asked so many important questions.

Just this morning I woke up and was flooded with doubt about my new domain name. And Ali's point about designing a site and business that reflects who are you in the future when successful was really good to hear.

I got a lot of ideas from this interview. Thank you!

FYI: I don't see a transcript at all--just a big, empty box.

per usual great informative, inspiring, thought provoking interview with Ali Brown!!!

Mucho Gracias!!!

I had never heard of Ali or her company prior to this interview, but I must admit that I was impressed.

The passion Ali has for her niche is awesome.

Thanks for again for sharing Andrew.

One question I would like answered is around the idea of "fast cash," "starter cash," "seed money", etc. I know there are a lot of "get-rich-quick-scheme"s prevalent throughout the internet. Please bare with me as I am not trying to find that. What I am trying to find (and hopefully, Ali or someone else reading this post can help me find) is an online business where an individual can build relatively small amounts of cash to help them build their online empire.

For example, I might be interested in building an online store. However, the online store costs $5,000 to build. I might only have $1,000. How can I obtain the remaining $4,000? Would a simple adwords campaign or affiliate marketing campaign help provide the difference?

Any suggestions?

I love how she uses personal branding to get her message out. She sure has done a great job empowering the web community to take ezines to the next level. My only regret I never had the chance to buy her ezine course!