A 7-month home-study and telephone-coaching course

...Connecting your true strengths to your customers' true need.

A Unique Course - Combining Building Relationships with Building an Income

In this course, I will take you step-by-step through creating your own, unique marketing campaign - directed at a market of your choice, based on your strengths, and offering your customers the services and products that you most enjoy and value. By the end, you will have a campaign that I guarantee will make you money, and that you can implement as you desire: in small amounts over time, or in a huge flow. Even better, having learned to create this kind of campaign, you will be able to use the techniques you've learned to create other campaigns - to different markets, if you like, or for different services or products. In short, you will be capable of turning your ideas, storytelling skills, and relationships with your listeners and allies into income - now and for the rest of your life.

"I guarantee this course will make you money. Or I'll refund every penny of your tuition."—Doug Lipman

"Worth every penny!" —Dan LeMonnier "True Connections Marketing was the jump start I needed to move my career to the next level. "It was worth every penny and I've already seen an increase in bookings as I change my marketing to benefit my customers." —Dan LeMonnier, Storyteller and Musician, Munster, Indiana

"I now understand the process!" —Siri Allison

Valuable! It made marketing seem less like loud self-promotion, and more like sensible communication. It also seemed like something I could do, and be successful at, which is not the way I thought of marketing at all. I now understand the process of identifying and reaching the people who need what you have to give. The specificity of that idea was inspiring and freeing. The tree/branches thought process was great for generating specific ideas. I also was inspired by listening to your coaching of the other students. I gained an much better understanding of the marketing process, and I know that I have the recordings to return to if I ever need them. I also know that I could apply the concepts to any other business and that is great since my husband has some ideas about starting a business. - Siri Allison, storyteller, Salem, NY.

What will I learn?

• A simple technique to avoid "cold calls" and other intrusive marketing methods - while saving yourself time and money.
• What you have to offer - and who will want it.
• How to create a "master document" that you can re-use in many facets of your marketing campaigns.
• How to surround yourself with concentric circles of supporters, and how to communicate with each circle, according to its unique characteristics
• Unlocking the hidden sources of jobs that your past customers are eager to give you.
• Describing what you do in the terms that your customers care about - and will take action on.
• What to ask for from every one who hires you, to turn even free performances into future paid work.
• How to reconcile your values with your customers' values, in a way that will profit you both.
• What your customers really want.
• Who is your ideal market, and how you can reach them.
• To use your storytelling skills to understand the deep needs of your potential customers.
• How to create a "Goal Tree" that will lead you from what you most desire for your potential customers to action promises you can comfortably make to them.
• How to create an irresistable offer that will appeal to those most in need of you.
• How to get more money for doing what you love.
• How to convince potential customers that you can help solve their most pressing problem.
• How to find a GOOD list of names to market to.
• The essential ingredients that every marketing communication from you needs to include.
• How to manage the trivia of contacting people, so that you can focus on building the relationships that will support you.

"It changed my life!" —Annie Hart I learned that marketing is not what I thought—this dreaded awful thing to avoid!! It is instead the wonderful beautiful experience that I already love and do so well. I say take this course, it will change your thinking, your experience and your life. It did mine. I now look forward to 'marketing' in the form of creating more connection. This is invaluable! —Annie Hart, Trainer, Consultant, Coach, Inspirational Storyteller Philadelphia, PA

What does the course consist of?

1. Twice a month, you'll listen on the web to a 90-minute recorded lesson (or you can download the recording and listen at your leisure—or even listen on a pre-loaded iPod; see below), focussed on one particular marketing techinque or skill. In these lessons, I give you the key information you need, comment on the assignments, and coach others on the process.

2. Two more times a month, you'll have optional live Question-and-Answer Coaching Calls, in which you'll have a chance to ask whatever you'll need to know in order to complete the assignments, and to get individual help if you get "stuck" at any stage. (These will be recorded, so, if you miss any, you'll be able to listen later.)

3. An archive of 14 hours of recorded coaching/question-and-answer calls, where you'll receive answers to many common questions as well as demonstrations of how to overcome particular obstacles that people have faced in the past.

4. An online "classroom" where you can post your finished assignments, keep track of your progress, and "converse" with your fellow marketers-in-training.

5. Downloadable aids for completing each assignment, including full descriptions of the assignments, hints for completing them, charts to fill out, worksheets, and supplemental information.

6. Access to the online community of those who took this class previously and who will contribute to commenting on your assignments and answering your questions. I will comment, offer help, and answer questions, of course. But you will also have the help of experienced colleagues helping, as well.

"I am already earning more!" —Rabbi Stephen Vale The organization of the course and the posting of materials makes learning this material easy. Also, because all of the materials (including the recordings of the sessions) are available online, it also makes the course easy to fit into any schedule. There are so many treasures in this course—the skills and process to collect testimonials, creating premiums to motivate clients and customers, cultivating the storyteller's community of allies and support systems and so much more.   I am already earning more and I have barely touched the box of tools that Doug offers and helps you learn to use." —Rabbi Steve the Storyteller, Vacaville, CA

A Chance to Help Each Other Succeed

In the fall, I'll ask for your time and day preferences and, if you want, I'll assign you a "marketing buddy." The two of you will, if you like, have the job of helping each other identify key marketing tasks to do, set specific, short-term goals, account for each goal as it becomes due, re-cast goals that turned out to be impractical, etc.

This year, I will also extend the length of the 14 coaching calls to include coaching two pair of buddies each call—on your process as a team and on how you can be even more useful to each other. The course website will have some new features, too, to help give a concrete, accountable structure to these buddy relationships, to track what bonuses you are eligible for, and to help me notice exactly what assistance you may need, so that I can offer it as needed.

How much will all this cost?

The cost of this class is $697, which is very reasonable, coming to less than $25 per call - not counting the learning aids, responses to your assignments, the archive of past coaching calls, and membership in the online community.

Or pay just $47 now, and installments of $97 on the fifteenth of each month, September through January! Save $165! But this installment plan goes away after August 21, too.

This course is fully, 100% guaranteed!

What if I'm travelling during the class?

If you're on the road but available to participate, you can call from anywhere you have a long-distance phone line or cell phone. You can use the website from any internet-connected computer in the world.

If you must miss some of the live coaching calls, or even some entire weeks of class participation, there is good news: you'll be able to catch up later via the recordings and other forms of participation on the web site

"For anyone who believes…there are people who need to hear their stories!" —Anne Haehl "I would recommend this class for anyone who believes they have stories they need to tell—and that there are people who need to hear their stories!" —Anne Haehl, Storyteller, Lawrence, KS

Who is this class for?

Not for everyone! This course is not for everyone. To be sure, it is easy, and it gives you a structured, step-by-step path to marketing success through a series of mutually supportive relationships - but it is not magic! You will need to complete a personalized "action assignment" every two weeks. Therefore, this course is only for those who are willing and able to invest a couple hours a week toward the growth of your storytelling business.

Not just for storytellers! This class is aimed primarily at those who tell stories as a component of their work, but it is also suitable for other free-lance artists and professionals as well as independent teachers and consultants.

What should I do next, if I'm interested?

I look forward to helping you advance your storytelling!

Yours in storytelling,

"Too busy making money to finish the course!" —Michael Forestieri The first few lessons of this course...helped me to win so much business, I couldn't attend most of the rest of your True Connectons Marketing course. In other words, I was too busy making money to finish the course on how to make more money. It...not only factored in my booking tons of business, it also helped me to define a segment of my craft that I really enjoy, the spin-off of which will be a book on creative writing! —Michael Forestieri, Storyteller and Story-Educator, Bear, Delaware.