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"You have GOT to be kidding!" I screamed to no one in particular.
I re-read the email. And re-read it again.
Me. Invited speaker. IABC World Conference, San Francisco, June 2009.
Unheard of.
For those who may not be aware, the IABC is the International Association of Business Communicators. To be asked to speak at one of their conferences is the business communicator’s equivalent of gaining an audience with the Pope.
Dear Lee,
I crafted a letter to you introducing IABC and referencing a mutual colleague, Allan Jenkins whom you mention on your site, and then I pleasantly discovered that you are an IABC member (or were, since your membership has lapsed)! My single purpose for writing now is to invite you to speak at the IABC 2009 World Conference in San Francisco, 7-10 June.
A member of the conference program advisory committee came across your web site and was immediately impressed by the rich communication-focused content. You wrote, “Effective communication is the single most important skill any business person must master if they are to survive” and we could not agree more.
IABC’s annual World Conference is the premier international event for business communicators. More than 1,600 mid- to senior-level communicators from over 35 countries are expected at the 2009 World Conference in San Francisco. We would like to invite you to speak at the conference on a virtual communication topic of your choice on Sunday, 7 June, 2:30-3:45 p.m.
Yours would be one of four or five Skill Builder sessions, each led by some of our best rated speakers on topics that are essential to communicators. These sessions focus on key skills-related topics on the opening day of conference prior to the Opening General Session that begins at 5:20 p.m.
As a speaker, you will receive a complimentary Regular Conference registration for the entire conference, with the exception of additional fee events. IABC does not provide speaker fees or expenses but speakers benefit from the excellent connections and networking opportunities found at the event.
Lee, an exceptional program is being planned for San Francisco and I hope that you can be a part of it. I have attached the speaker agreement and addendum detailing the terms of your acceptance to speak at the IABC 2009 World Conference. If you’re able to accept this invitation, please review both documents carefully and return the completed agreement by 30 October or sooner. I would need at that time your proposed session description and bio.
You can view the preliminary 2009 conference web site at http://www.iabc.com/wc/ and I invite you to see the 2008 conference web site at http://www.iabc.com/ic/.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to your response.
Best Regards,
Vicki Yim
Director, World Conference
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
But here’s the challenge: just like the academic conferences I go to, no assistance is given to get there. At academic conferences I even have to pay to attend when I’m presenting at them, so I’m especially grateful to receive free entry to all of the IABC conference sessions.
But I have to find the airfare. What with flights, meals and so on I reckon I’m up for around AUD$7k.
The ever-gracious and amazing Shel Holtz has kindly offered to open his front door and guest bedroom to me while I’m there. So that’s the otherwise expensive hotel accommodation dealt with, just the flights and meals an’ stuff to find…
The bit where YOU benefit
Now, here’s where YOU get to benefit from that totally unexpected email.
I’m selling everything I have at 50% off.
Yes, that’s right — everything at 50% off. Well, almost everything. Mrs BetterComms and eBay both have a policy about auctioning the kids and my mother off… But everything else is half price.
- 50% off my consulting services (see the next paragraph for more information)
- 50% off my Better Business Writing courses (click for more information)
- 50% off my social media flash cards (click for more information).
Consulting services at half price
If you book my services for any time from now until Dec 31 and pay in full during the month of October you will receive a 50% discount on my prices.
For example, that’s a saving of:
- $500 for a keynote speech
- $750 for a full day of consulting
And a minimum saving of $7,500 on my SEO-optimised website design and build service.
Email me to find out more and receive a quote.
Better Business Writing Course at half price
My five day course normally sells for $69.95, but for the month of October only you can pick it up for just $34.97 AND receive a load more of bonuses than you would normally receive:
- Tom Peters: The PSF is Everything! / 50 Ways to Succeed / Tomato
- Seth Godin: Really BAD PowerPoint
- Cliff Atkinson: Beyond Bullet Points (1st chapter - purchase the entire book
here)
- Ken Evoy: Netwriting Masters Course
- Claude Hopkins: Scientific Advertising
- Daniel J. Solove: The Future of Reputation: gossip, rumor, and privacy on the internet
- Theron Q. Dumont: The Power of Concentration
- Trevor Cook and Lee Hopkins: Social Media: or how we stopped worrying and learned to love communication
- Lee Hopkins: The Subtle Psychological Power of Suggestion
- Lee Hopkins: The Three Es for Business Profit
- Lee Hopkins: Brand Identity: why managing it is so important to your success
- Lee Hopkins: Internet Business: 20 secrets you NEED to know about you, your business and the internet
- Lee Hopkins: Accent and Tone of Voice
- Ken Evoy: The Netwriting Masters Course
- Ken Evoy: The ‘Make Your Price Sell’ Masters Course
- Ken Evoy: The Service Sellers Masters Course
- Ken Evoy: The Webmaster Business Masters Course
- Ken Evoy: Why People Fail
- PDF and Flash copies of every presentation I have given about Social Media and Virtual Worlds in the last two years.
If you are serious about taking your business writing skills to the next level, you will want to take advantage of having your ‘Advanced Better Business Writing’ course homework personally marked by me.
The Advanced course, including all the aforementioned bonuses, usually sells for $1,499 but you can snap it up for just $749.50. You can even spread payment over six equal monthly instalments of just $117.
Social Media in a Flash set of cards at half price
I’m also offering the extremely popular ‘Social Media in a Flash set of cards’ set at half price. Instead of paying $247 you can snag them for a mere $123.50.
And if you pick up the ‘marked homework’, advanced version of the ‘Better Business Writing’ course you’ll receive the cards for free!
Naturally, you will also receive the whole swag of bonuses that I’ve mentioned already. Plus I’ll throw in the basic ‘Better Business Writing’ course!
The catch
Naturally, this largesse cannot last.
I have until 30th October to confirm that I’ll attend. The BetterComms CFO (Mrs BetterComms) has dictated that if I am to go to San Francisco the trip will need to be funded by income not yet planned and budgeted for.
So all of these offers will expire at one second to midnight, Central Australian Time, 31st October.
Summary
To recap, during the month of October only:
- If you pay in advance for my consulting or presentation services you will save 50% on any of these services delivered before 1st January 2009
- If you purchase the basic Better Business Writing course you save 50% (saving you $37.50)
- If you purchase the Advanced Better Business Writing course you save 50% (saving you $749.50)
- If you purchase a pack of ‘Social Media in a Flash set of cards’ you save 50% (saving you $123.50)
All financial transactions are handled by PayPal and of course everything is covered by my ‘90 days, no questions asked’ refund policy.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great idea Lee. And congratulations on being invited to the conference. Good luck.
Thanks, Suze! Fingers crossed!!!
And they wonder why people let their memberships lapse? The old, you get “tremendous exposure” line is fine for local conferences where you can justify burning a day of your life/business, but asking you to shlep across the Globe to speak without some form of payment is B.S.
Tell them to Internationally Business Communicate up their own Association.
David, I’m very much in agreeance with you with 99% of the conferences that do the rounds, but this one is my industry’s premier event (I like to believe), since I’m not a PR person.
Allan, Neville and Shel, inter alia, have always said that it’s not the on-much-higher-ground-than-thee speakers that’s the best part of these conferences, it’s the hallway chats with peers that get the synapses sparking and add the value.
I’ve never paid my way to any conference — working on your correct assumption that if I’m good enough to ask to present, I’m good enough to pay. But who knows what good things may erupt from this one?
In academia, we ALL have to pay our way to attend, even if we have had a paper accepted — we even have to pay the admission fee! But it is the unexpected connections with peers that generate future research projects and collaboration.
I’m hoping that similar such serendipities occur in San Francisco (if that’s not too much of a ‘Peter Piper picked…’ alliterative mouthful).
Mind you, I have to *get* there yet…