As motivational speaker Mark Victor Hansen says, all of us can come up with excuses for why we can’t (or haven’t) yet succeeded.

I’m not educated.
I’m over educated.
I’m under qualified.
I’m over qualified.
I’m too poor.
I’m too rich.
I’m too fat.
I’m not healthy.
I’m handicapped.
I’m too old.
I’m too young.
I have kids.
I’m not married.
I’m the wrong color.
I’m the wrong ethnicity.

And the biggie — I’m a woman.

That’s the excuse the woman behind the Men With Pens persona used to justify using a male pen name and why she kept her gender a secret from almost everyone, including clients. According to her (him?), she made more money writing as a man than she did as a woman.

When I first read her coming out of the closet post on Copyblogger months ago, my first thought was, “Of course. We all know this.”

My marketing women friends and I acknowledged that yes, it’s still a man’s world. And, yes, you can find lots of data that show women still aren’t filling leadership roles — despite a large pipeline of very smart, very capable women.

Sadly, sexism does still exist, as evidenced by our last national election cycle. No matter what you think of either woman, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin took a beating in the media — by conservative AND liberal outlets — and were castigated for their clothes, their looks, their body images, and their motherhood.

Male candidates, on the other hand, rarely went through this type of media bashing gauntlet. John Edwards, for example, managed to keep a mistress on the side without too much trouble or media inquiry.

I hashed out my anger and my confusion about this issue after the Men with Pens post came out with my colleague Mark W. Schaefer, who had originally addressed a related topic on his blog, “‘Social Media Expert’: Women Need Not Apply.”

Mark encouraged me to write about sexism in business, but I held off, not wanting to come across as an “angry woman.”

After much grappling, however, I realized that we are what we make of ourselves.

If you want to use an excuse like gender to explain why you haven’t achieved your goals or why you can’t be successful or why you can’t make as much money as male copywriters, then that excuse will hold you back.

On the other hand, you can say, “Yes, sexism (and other -isms) exist, but I’m not going to use it as an excuse.”

You can claim your power the way many of the women did who headline the Simmons Leadership Conference. At this conference, you’ll find women from all industries and walks of life who are making radical changes in their communities and across the globe.

I’m especially excited to hear Sheryl WuDunn talk about how women in the developing world have lifted themselves and their communities out of repression and poverty.

I’ll be attending the conference, Friday, April 30, 2010. I’m looking forward to meeting other powerful and successful women, celebrating my own successes, and getting inspired to make even bigger changes in the coming years.

Will I see you there?

(A HUGE thank you to Mark who encouraged me to overcome my fear about addressing the topic of sexism and who thoughtfully responded to my lengthy emails. Mark, you’re the best. I hope we’re able to meet face-to-face one day.)

You hear the bell tolling every day regarding the death of print . . .

People no longer read print newspapers or books — with both industries in serious decline.

Companies have ditched their printed marcom materials and have moved online to e-newsletters, blogs, and PDF documents.

Our mail boxes are empty as direct marketers pull back on printing catalogs and mailers due to the high production and mailing costs.

The print industry is reeling as printing companies shutter their businesses, newspapers file for bankruptcy, and the post office continues to raise postage costs to offset its revenue loss.

Yes, the print industry is dying . . . or is it?

I’ve been thinking about this question for a few weeks now, especially since I’m giving a presentation on social media at Margie Dana’s 4th Annual Print Buyers Conference.

Like most everyone else, I’ve calmly accepted the fact that yes, print communication as we know it *has* changed. And like many people, I do get much of my information online.

However, once I started really thinking about it, I realized the print industry isn’t dying . . . it’s really undergoing a huge (and yes, painful) shift.

And most important, many of us still need and purchase print services, it’s just that we have so many options today than we did before.

Take me and my business, for example. In the last three months alone I’ve needed the following items printed:

1. Mailers — I send out articles and such to my in-house list as a way of keeping in touch and need to have these mailers designed, printed, and mailed.

2. Postcards — One of my clients is holding an event and thus needed postcards designed and printed.

3. Letterhead — I moved my office and needed new business cards and letterhead printed.

4. Marketing collateral — One of my clients developed an e-book and wanted hard copies printed in order to hand them out at a tradeshow.

On top of that, I continue to purchase books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed material. I continue to receive catalogs and mailers in my own mailbox from vendors and those companies trying to attract my business.

And, everywhere I go, from the doctor’s office to the car dealership where I have my car serviced, I see and read printed material.

(Not to mention that my son has figured out that while I won’t buy him video games, I’ll easily drop $20 or $30 on books and magazines for him — something he takes advantage of on a regular basis.)

Yes, the print industry is changing . . . but it’s far from dead.

And that’s why it’s really important that if you deal in any way with print and/or order print services for your business (large or small), that you attend Margie Dana’s Print Buyers Conference November 3 – 5, 2009 in Westford, MA.

It’s at this conference that you’ll learn the new trends happening in the print industry and how to use them in your business . . . green printing (which is HUGE), the online content explosion and the opportunities available in print, the changing dynamics of ad agencies — and a whole lot more.

Margie (@margiedana) has pulled out all the stops for this conference. She’s brought in some really smart speakers and has developed sessions that focus on the change print is currently reeling from and how to deal with it (versus sitting around complaining about it).

Even better, she’s priced this conference to make it easy to attend — no matter what your budget.

So take a minute and mosey on over to her Print Buyers Conference Website, poke around, and if you like what you see, REGISTER TO ATTEND.

I think you’ll be glad you did.

Last night my client, Dr. Helaine Smith, and I attended the MassNetComms Social Media Marketing event featuring David Meerman Scott – plus a panel discussion with David, Sam Houston, the Community Manager for gamerDNA, and Kevin Skarritt of Acorn Creative.

This was the first time I’d heard David speak — and of course, his keynote presentation lived up to his billing. (He also talked about Dr. Smith’s “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex” e-book, which is a featured World Wide Rave.)

Over dinner, Dr. Smith and I agreed that we learned a great deal from the panel discussion, including why it’s important to try different marketing tactics to see what “sticks,” integrating your various tactics, and offering content that engages people.

Sam, for example, did a blog post at 2:00 AM one morning that listed all of the people in his industry on Twitter. He reported that when he got up the next morning, the post had already been picked up by other bloggers and was getting “Dugg.” He said he got over 100,000 views , with dozens of bloggers picking up his post — and the number of people following him on Twitter exploding.

We also talked a great deal about the aspect of “losing control” of your marketing messages — something that feels uncomfortable, but once you realize you’ve already lost control, makes a lot of sense. We concluded it’s better to simply join the conversation versus fretting about what people are saying.

MassNetComms did a great job organizing the event and developing a panel of interesting and diverse experts. All in all, a great way to spend an evening.

Dr. Helaine Smith and I pose with David Meerman Scott

Although online social networking can be a boon to your business, meeting people face-to-face is still the best way to develop relationships.  And this month and next you have some really great opportunities in the Boston / New Hamphire areas.

Marketing Metrics that Matter, hosted by NEDMA, March 25, 2009 — In good times, you can afford to have some parts of your marketing run on “auto-pilot.” If you don’t know exactly how you’re doing, or why, or what you could be doing to improve, you can live with the consequences. Not now.

Today, you must have a firm grip on what’s working, and have the insight to improve any aspect of that performance. Join Brendan Grady, Matisha Ladiwala, Brian Chertok and Mary Ann Kleinfelter for this fact-filled seminar about driving marketing effectiveness through rigorous, consistent measurement and constant improvement.

NEDMA is a great group! I often attend their events and always come away with loads of information — plus I’m always meeting new people. To learn more about this half-day workshop, visit the NEDMA site.

Marketing Your Way Through 2009 presented by the Vermont/New Hampshire Marketing Group, April 2, 2009 — At this all day event, you’ll learn about database marketing, social media, and the “state of the state” marketing.

I’m doing the social media presentation — which is a “hands-on” session for learning how to actually use tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn. 

I’ve not attended meetings of this group before, so I’m looking forward to meeting new people in the New Hampshire area. You learn more at the Vermont New Hampshire Marketing Group’s site – and register, too.

Finding Buyers and Sellers with Social Media presented by ForeclosuresMass, April 2, 2009 — ForeclosuresMass offers real estate investors and professionals educational meetings once a month, and at their April Turking the Key meeting, I will be talking about how to use social media to attract buyers and sellers of real estate.

I’m really excited about this one. I’ve attended a number of these meetings and love the group of people who turn out each month. I also learn a lot — everything from how to motivate and market myself to how to finance real estate deals.

In addition to the live presentation in Dedham, MA, FCM will be streaming video of the presentation — so you can attend “live” via your computer. To register, just visit the FCM site.

Google Universal Search, presented by Google’s Frances Haugin, April 8, 2009 — Hosted by SEMPO, and sponsored by Google, this promises to be a packed and stellar event. SEMPO is working hard to get the word out that you don’t have to be a search engine marketing “guru” or expert to attend these events – SEMPO is really big on educating those who are new to search.

You can meet your fellow search and Internet marketers — and learn what’s hot with Universal Search — by visiting the SEMPO Meet Up site and registering for the event.

Learn how you can improve your white paper copywriting skills — and grow your freelance business — by attending the first ever White Paper Success Summit.

Michael Stelzner sees a need . . . and fills it

A few months ago, my colleague Michael Stelzner (*the* go-to guy who knows anything and everything about white papers)  taught hundreds of freelance copywriters how to market their services at his online copywriting summit. 

According to Mike, lots of people wanted to know how they, too, could make thousands of dollars writing white papers.  (Michael says he didn’t hide the fact that he makes $7500 per paper and usually runs four projects each month.)

Because of the response, Michael had planned on offering a white paper event for freelancers in the spring of 2009. But the economy caused him to rethink things.  Nobody could have imagined how many businesses would end up suffering from the recent economic fallout.

“It became immediately apparent to me that waiting until the spring to offer a white paper event for freelance writers would be too late,” says Michael. “Let me explain why.”

“You see, back in 2002, just after the last major stock market crash, white papers took off as super-powerful marketing tools for businesses.  Why? Because businesses needed resources that would help them sell under the radar to customers who were frankly resistant to spending any money.”

According to Mike, smart businesses were achieving amazing success with white papers.  So much so that literally overnight, thousands of white papers were being produced to generate leads and help businesses stand out.

Today we are at the front end of the very same pattern that occurred in 2002, but the need is even bigger! 

Why Michael worked non-stop all through the holiday madness 

To meet this need, Michael put together the best panel ever on creating marketing white papers. He’s calling his brainstorm the White Paper Success Summit 2009 and his goal is to empower freelance writers to create white papers that help businesses achieve success. 

Michael is a great guy and really knows his stuff — I know, because I interviewed him for the definitive MarketingSherpa reports on white papers, read his book, Writing White Papers, and have been a guest on his hugely popular teleclass series. 

And, because this is a recession and you need to watch your bucks, Michael has made this White Paper Summit *very attractive* for freelancers.

First, you’ll save huge dollars by not having to pay for airline tickets, hotel costs, or other expenses because the entire White Paper Success Summit is being held online.

Second, if you register now, you’ll save 40% off the regular admission price.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Register for the White Paper Success Summit today!

You hear the phrase “conversation marketing” bandied about quite a bit. It’s a buzzword that became vogue after the publication of the Cluetrain Manifesto, and it’s often used when talking about social media.

Today you can talk to customers through blogs, e-newsletters, chat forums, and social networking tools, such as Twitter.

(Although, as someone who has worked in lots of small businesses pre-Internet, we always had conversations with our customers — and still do – through that old-fashioned thing called the telephone and face-to-face meetings.)

Starting today, BrightTalk is hosting its first Conversational Marketing Summit. You’ll find over 20 presentations about the topic from companies large and small. You can attend one or all of the presentations — at no cost whatsoever.

If you can’t attend the live presentations, sign up anyway. BrightTalk automatically archives the presentatons – allowing you to view them later at your convenience. The topics look pretty good — I’ve already registered for two.

My client, Dr. Helaine Smith, and I will be co-presenting at SEMPO Boston’s next meeting, Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

The program, “Same Marketing Budget, Greater Revenue,” is a case study of how Dr. Smith used local search to drive revenue — without increasing her budget.

(In fact, she no longer does any type of print advertising and relies exclusively on search. You can also check out the formal case study on my Website.)

The program will focus on the work done over the last two and half years including the various local search, social media, PR, and online marketing tactics.

Dr. Smith realizes approximately $5 – $20K a month in new business — almost all of which comes from the Web. She’s also opened a second (family) practice!

The meeting will be held at the Cambridge offices of HubSpot, the hot, hot, hot Internet marketing company and the program’s official sponsor. Is that cool or what?

So come on out, meet me, Dr. Smith, a bunch of great people from SEMPO, and the HubSpot gang — plus get some great tips you can put to use on your own site. It promises to be a great evening!

The program is free but SEMPO asks that you register so that we have enough food and drink.

Social media is a hot topic — as evidenced last night by the 50+ people who braved frigid temps to attend the Yankee IABC‘s dinner meeting at Babson College in Wellesley, MA.

From a presenter’s point of view, one could not have asked for a better crowd. Students, corporate communicators, marketing and PR pros, those who remember typewriters and those who did not were all actively engaged in the material.

I had a great time answering people’s questions, demonstrating Twitter, and showcasing real world examples of how social media can be and is used for business purposes.

We covered the MotrinMoms firestorm, Cisco’s viral product launch, pitching bloggers and journalists, and how Comcast is using Twitter to improve customer service.

I had a great time and could not have asked for a better venue or welcome. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Yankee IABC and to everyone who attended!

(I’m on the right in the photo — the person standing next to me is a grad student from Northeastern University who wants to start her own business. Woo hoo!)

Social networking tools such as Facebook and MySpace get a great deal of press, but many business professionals still aren’t sure how to incorporate them into their marketing campaigns.

I’ll be speaking at the November 18, 2008 Yankee IABC meeting on “Using Social Media for MarCom and PR.” In this interactive presentation you will learn:

• How to follow reporters / bloggers in your space by developing a social media “beat”
• The right and wrong way to pitch reporters using these new tools
• Using LinkedIn and blogs to showcase your expertise whether you’re a consultant or job-seeker
• Developing your own online “brand”

The event is being held at Babson College in Wellesley, MA, with dinner and networking from 6:00 to 7:00 PM; the presentation and Q&A is from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

To learn more and to register for the event, visit the Yankee IABC Website.

If you’re planning on attending and you’re on Twitter, please let me know!

If you’re like me, you get dozens of invitations to webinars. Many of them sound simply fantastic but are often held at times that don’t fit my schedule. Other times they’re a bit pricey. I end up not attending any.

That’s why I was very pleased to hear about BrightTALK’s free Social Media Summit which is being held Tuesday, October 7. The summit begins at 7:15 AM Pacific time and goes all day. The one presenation for which I’ve already registered: ”42 Rules of Social Networking for Business.”

You can find out more about the Social Media Summit and register for presentations by visiting the Social Media Summit page.

BrightTALK is a new Web 2.0 platform that “reinvents webcasting.” Think of it as podcasting meets YouTube. If you’re a company (large or small) you can deliver live Webcasts via BrightTALK channels. If you’re a business person looking for information, you can attend the live webinars – free of charge — or view recorded webcasts on demand.

“A webcast or webinar is part of the overall conversation a company can have with its customers and prospective customers,” said Paul Heald, BrightTALK CEO, in an interview with me. “It’s the best way to engage customers digitally. We’ve found, in our work with enterprise customers, that one in four people who take part in a webcast will ask a question.

“What is even more interesting is that we’ve found that while a good portion of people will attend live webinars, an even greater number will view a webinar on demand. What this says to us is that a shift is taking place in how we consume information.”

According to Paul, it’s very easy to host your own webinar on the BrightTALK site. You simply create a “channel” by filling out a short form (five fields). Once you schedule your webinar, it is listed on the BrightTALK site and people can then register for it.

You upload your PowerPoint Presentation to the BrightTALK site and shortly before your webinar begins, the BrightTalk automated system prompts you through the speaker login process — and away you go.

The system saves your webinar once you’ve finished — making it available to anyone who either subscribes to your channel or who registered for the actual webinar.

As you know, social media is a hot topic, especially for B2B marketers, “who are very aware of social media but feel their audience isn’t ready for it,” says Paul, “which is why we’re offering this summit. Social media goes way beyond Facebook and MySpace — and marketers will learn this and more by attending this summit.”