As promised, here is my recap of the StomperNet Live 8 event in Atlanta last weekend. It was 4 very full days, but I'll give you a quick share on why I attended, what had people talking, which speakers I really loved, which one I did not, and what I ultimately walked away with.
This was my 3rd time attending a live StomperNet event. I was at Live 5 and Live 6 in 2008. StomperNet is an elite membership at around $800/month teaching internet business with a strong focus on search marketing. I am not a member, but I do subscribe to their monthly print publication titled The Net Effect, as well as the DVD of the month.
My primary interest in StomperNet is as one of their top JV partners on the launch of The Net Effect, and of course potential affiliation with other StomperNet products. I had a few additional objectives for attending Live 8 as well...
As I mentioned last week, Andy Jenkins resigned from StomperNet and Brad Fallon took over as the new CEO. I was particularly interested in the tone of the Live 8 event following this shocking news, and in getting the scoop on Brad's plans for StomperNet in the coming year.
Brad vs Andy
I've always described Andy Jenkins as a very charismatic man, Brad Fallon as silent but brilliant. Andy has definitely been the face & personality of the company from day one, and his absence was definitely felt at the event.
That plus the news of Andy leaving just prior to the event, and the tone was a little (er, a lot) less upbeat than usual. The show must go on as they say. You could definitely sense some tension in the air, but the staff & faculty did a great job of pulling off a nice event.
Attendance
I was told there were about 400 people in attendance at Live 8, but some said it was 600+. Either way, there were a lot of guests in the crowd who were being introduced to StomperNet for the first time.
StomperNet events are usually reserved for members and special guests only, which makes for a lot more 'inside talk'. With the number of guests, which I estimated at close to half of total attendance, there was (understandably) very little public talk about the history or future of StomperNet - or specifically the recent changes within the company structure.
That didn't stop the talk from happening after hours, of course...
The overall feel I got was that the company as a whole has been through major growing pains over the last 4+ years, and is ready to move forward from here and work out the kinks.
Familiar Faces
In addition to my interest in StomperNet as an affiliate & JV partner, their live events are also a great opportunity for me to catch up with friends and peers. To the right is David Bullock who lives about an hour from me here in TN, and Paul Colligan who is one of my co-hosts on the IMTW Podcast.
I had opportunity to meet up with Dan Thies and Jerry West there as well, who both author SEO products outside of StomperNet that I am currently reviewing.
Of course if I continue dropping names we'll be here all day, but suffice it to say it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and follow up on some ongoing projects.
Thursday Night - the PRE Event
Speaking of Jerry West, he held a private pre-event Thursday night at Hotel W - about 6 blocks from the Hyatt where Live 8 was being held. Nicole Dean and I both attended, which lasted for about an hour give or take.
The content was great and I took a few really good notes. Jerry gave an excellent presentation in my book, and it was well worth the $50 entry fee. It did end with a pitch for a new product which ended up causing some buzz throughout the rest of the weekend. Apparently there were a lot of people who weren't happy about paying to hear a pitch. Understandable - but from my perspective it was a great hour, and the 5 minute mention at the end was a matter of personal choice.
I will say this though: It left me with an odd vibe. And that gut feeling proved itself right. Jerry West resigned from StomperNet following the event.
Jerry is a top-notch SEO and Super Affiliate. Keep an eye out for my review of his guide - I'll be publishing that here in the next week or so.
Speakers...
Topping my list of speakers that made a huge impression would be: James Schramko, Russell Brunson, Dan Thies, Mike Koenigs, and Paul Colligan (pic to the right).
Paul talked on media formats and content syndication, and really blew me away as both a marketer and a user. I'm sure you'll hear more about that on our IMTW Podcast in the coming weeks.
I took tons of notes through Mike Koenigs & Russell Brunson's presentations. I made a note to review Traffic Geyser, but was more interested in the structure of Mike's video content strategy, and his tips for creating video reviews & video testimonials.
Russell Brunson walked us through "the life line of your lead" which was a fascinating talk on how to frame your offer, how to lead your visitor into and through your funnel, and how to create lifetime loyalty.
Very actionable content, chock full of brilliant tips for increasing stick rate & profit. Two thumbs up for Russell - excellent presentation!
And there was one...
Call me a tough audience, but I had a hard time with the Twitter session with Dan Hollings. I'm not a huge fan of the silly words like Tweople, Tweeps and Twyndication so that was a bit of a turn-off.
But the thing that really got me was the fact that the man teaching everyone how to use Twitter... was also flooding the #SNL8 hash tag throughout the event. It was annoying, and made it really difficult to keep up with relevant updates from people I was trying to follow on a 3" mobile screen all weekend. Not a good example in my book.
I believe I tweeted once "I dont agree with all of this..." during that presentation.
Enough said.
@StomperChris aka Chris Watson
Chris is the man behind The Net Effect, alongside Jayne Hallock, and just an all around super nice guy. I sat in on his session on Sunday afternoon, which was an introduction to the StomperNet portal.
I was particularly interested in this session, as an affiliate and JV partner, and as you can see I was one of the first people to grab a seat. 😀
The Net Effect offer is open again, and apparently has been for awhile (where have I been?!) and I also understood that they would be reopening membership to the StomperNet portal soon as well. There is also a launch/release planned for September 9th, which is currently a big "999 Secret".
The event was well worth attending on several levels. Certainly for the personal connections, and I got a lot out of a few select presentations throughout the weekend as well. I walked away - er, drove home - feeling inspired and motivated, with dozens of creative ideas jotted into my little black notebook...
I got very solid confirmation on the direction of my business, filled in a few missing pieces of my overall marketing plan, and got a great refresher course on some of the finer points of SEO that I'd been neglecting lately.
As for StomperNet, it will be interesting to see what direction they move in over the next 6-12 months. No doubt they have been through some serious growing pains, and if I had my guess I'd say they'll pull through and continue on. Time will tell.
Best,
p.s. I'm heading back to Atlanta again this weekend for the NAMS event, which is a hands-on workshop that teaches niche affiliate marketing. I'll be presenting there, and also meeting up with a large group of Elite Members from SSWT. Should be another awesome weekend!
About Lynn Terry
Thanks for this. I always have enjoyed receiving information from those in your top list 🙂
Oh, and still no leak as to the whole "9/9/09" launch? Dang! I was thinking someone would have got something from SNL8 about that.
Anyways, Pauly sent me 😉
-Mike
Nope - they were very tight-lipped about the upcoming launch. No news yet 😉
Dang it, I kind of wanted to myself...
I'm in Atlanta. My my friend Jit Uppal came down from Canada to the event and offered me a ticket. I couldn't make it though... had some other things I had to get done.
Did you do anything else while you were here in Atlanta? Eat at the Varsity? Go to Five Points or Little Five Points? The Aquarium?
I didn't get out and about this trip. Nicole and I stayed close to the event, and the restaurants attached to the Hyatt. Beautiful city though - and fortunately we had a great view from our balcony on the 15th floor!
Yeah, the city's really nice over by the Hyatt. There ARE definitely some crusty parts of Atlanta though 🙂 A lot of cool things though too. I used to live down there off North Avenue and go to college there, but now I'm about an 1 and 30 minutes out.
Thanks for telling it like it is Lynn. I love those who aren't afraid to say so when someone does something they disagree with - too many people just kiss others' butts for future JV stuff 🙂 I agree - spamming the Twitter stream is unacceptable.
Yeah, and from what I understand they brought him on as Faculty...
Lovely Review Lynn!
One suggestion:
Your Subheadline "Brad vs. Andy" could really use an image of me to make the comparison complete.
I think this image embodies the differences between Brad and I splendidly:
http://www.andyjenkinsblog.com/about/
🙂
Done, and I agree - it illustrates the point beautifully 😉
ROFL! Now if I could just find the one of Brad in the wetsuit...
Too funny - I believe I know the actual words AJ is saying in the picture with the viking helmet. One begins with an M, and the other an F . . . Might also have something to do with nuts, too. 🙂 That's if I remember correctly - was making my own cocktails during much of MC2 . . .
As far as the 999 thing, I have a little write-up on my blog about it. It's not really everything I know/have heard, but covers some of it. Have a little info on the "mafia offer" that I didn't share - at least in a broad sense of what the options will be, and well, sounds interesting. 🙂 Just hope they can keep the rest of their faculty members long enough to launch it!
Oh, and yeah, the Twitter spam was outrageous. Both with that dude, and then some other guy at the event followed me with like 60 spam accounts. As someone who gets an email when someone follows me, I was less than happy about this.
Cool - do you have a direct link?
Glad to hear I'm not the only one that noticed the hash tag flooding. I was disappointed with that, to say the least.
Sounds like a great time overall. I'm not too familiar with StomperNet but it sounds like you enjoyed most of the sessions you got to sit in on.
Have fun at NAMS. So disappointed that I can't make it but it is what it is. I'm sure I'll hear a lot of great things from all the other elites. I'll miss ya'll that's for sure.
We're going to miss you there, Angie *pout*
As soon as I get back, we'll start planning for NAMS3 😉
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for your help at SNL8. I was in the StomperNet session with you Sunday. You were wonderful to help me with all my questions.
I sat in the session because I had just won a years membership the night before. I had never heard of StomperNet until a couple of weeks ago. I'm still not sure what I have my hands on.
From your post, I get the feeling I'm going to miss Andy Jenkins. However, you now have a new raving fan. Maybe I need to follow Andy too.
I am very excited to learn more from you. Thanks again for all your help.
Welcome to ClickNewz, Laura 😀
So glad you stopped by here and left a message. Sometimes its difficult to follow-up or connect with everyone you meet over such a busy weekend. Let's definitely stay in touch!
As for what you have your hands on... it's A LOT 😉 Take it one day at a time and don't let it overwhelm you. If there is ever anything I can help with, don't hesitate to ask. I have a forum where I check in daily, and it's a great community:
http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/members/
It's free to register - would love to see you there!
-Lynn
p.s. Definitely follow Andy. He's a hoot, and we're all watching to see what he comes out with next 😉
Thank you Lynn for the event recap: I really missed being there 🙁
I missed you being there! I was going to phone you on my drive home, and realized I didnt have your number on me. I'd really love to catch up. You're still my absolute FPOE - here's hoping we can get together again soon! *cheers* 😀
Hi Lynn,
It was nice to meet you in person finally! Great summary of the event and I appreciate the mention. See you in the forum!
Regards
James
Thank you James - enjoyed your presentation and glad we got a chance to speak as well. I signed up at your site today too, and look forward to looking at ways we can connect more!
Hey Lynn,
Nice to meet up with you at SNL8!
Good review - Had to leave Sat eve so wasn't in on Sunday's speakers.
Yes, the after hours chatter was very enlightening! 🙂
I had a different feeling about Jerry's Thursday night presentation, though. I'm a big fan of Jerry's and attended (like most of us) on faith.
I don't think he delivered great content, and felt a little bait and switch about being pitched, which was the main purpose. I don't mind a pitch, but don't charge me $50 for it!
Have fun at NAMS, and look forward to crossing paths again soon!
Howard "OutSourcerer" Tiano
Good point, Howard. I am not a member of SEO Revolution, so I've not been exposed to much of Jerry's material before outside of a couple of StomperNet presentations.
I wonder if he had framed it differently, if it would have been received in a totally different light. For example, instead of a "closed-door private event with great content" perhaps "meet up with Jerry tonight to get a sneak peek into what he's coming out with next" type of thing.
As for the price, I do see your point. I really didn't mind spending 50 bucks just to see what Jerry had going on, but that's just me. And I can see why it caused such a stir.
Great to meet you, by the way - are we connected on Twitter? If not, let me know your username. I'd love to stay in touch!
Just followed you.
my acct. is:
HowardLTiano
Lynn,
Great meeting you at Stompernet.
I agree with Howard... Some of the info revealed Friday night was very surprising but I'm confident Brad can handle it.
As for the event overall, I (and alot of other people I spoke with) were really expecting a lot more tactical SEO type information from a Stompernet event. I certainly wasn't expecting them to spend most of Friday teaching another well known guru's subject matter(TOC).
Also agree with your sentiments on Dan Hollings' presentation. Both his and Joe Polish's were really nothing but a big pitch. Although I'll give Joe some credit since I've never seen so many unique ways to pitch stuff during the bio part of your presentation!
Look forward to seeing you around at future events...
-Teddy
This being my 3rd event, I'll agree that there wasn't as much actionable content shared. Some of the presentations seemed way off in regards to "message to market match" - particularly considering the number of guests in attendance.
Great to meet you - definitely want to stay connected!
I would've also liked a bit more SEM information. I did enjoy the TOC stuff, though. I'm a marketer, so I don't really know "business." Given that I'm starting up an ecommerce store in the very (very) near future, getting a grasp of the business mindset was very useful.
Also, that did make some of the guests pretty irrelevant to me - all the info marketing stuff. Of course that was probably relevant to a lot of the folks here. 🙂 But "making money by promoting internet marketing product launches" wasn't something that really caught my attention.
As far as Jerry's event, I'll say this. I didn't hear anything *new* that night, but I did hear some of what I needed to hear. I've spent the past few months pretty deep down the rabbit hole of SEO, and sometimes you lose sight of some of the more basic (although I realize that's very subjective) things.
I am a member of SEO Revolution, and as such was eligible for a refund of my $50, but I didn't even bother with it because I thought it was good information. I'll admit that I didn't really expect Jerry to pitch something, and it did feel a little weird (mostly because I don't think of him as being like "the other guys" in IM), but it did look like a very solid product.
For anyone upset about paying $50 to "get pitched," I'll say this. I bought Mass Control 2 when it was released earlier this year, and then in April I flew out to San Diego and put myself up at the Omni for 5 nights (well, it was San Diego - figured a couple extra days couldn't hurt!).
So not only did I initially spend $2k for Mass Control, but then I also flew across the country (live in NC) and stayed at a nice hotel. And for the two days of the MC seminar, had to sit through pitch after pitch after pitch of speakers' products. That pissed me off.
But I had also spent a decent bit of money on the core product, and then flying myself across the country and accommodations and so forth. With this event, people were already in town for StomperNet anyway(and you had to be in town on Thursday in order to be at the event Friday morning), and it was all of $50, so I didn't really see it as being much of a problem. Just my opinion, though. 🙂
Always great seeing you Lynn, and thanks for being so involved in the discussion during my presentation - your comments really helped clarify a few things. Just one thing I wanted to mention, the two people who really do all the heavy lifting on The Net Effect are Jayne and Dave Hallock - they are just amazing people who work endlessly to make the magazine what it is. Moving forward I'll have less and less to do with TNE - my plate is pretty full with the sales side of SN. I am however - 'an all around super nice guy'... ha, you're very sweet.
Thanks Lynn. As a former Stompernet member, I really appreciate the update on what's happening. Good to know they're going to be opening it up again. It was well worth the $800 a month. I only canceled my membership because it was time to go out and do all the stuff I'd learned.
Stompernet - bunch of spammers. I've unsubscribed from their list FOUR times, and they still keep sending me spam. Took my money, wouldn't give me a full refund, ignored my e-mails. Don't know how you can keep plugging them.
Go back up and read the post again. There's no link. No plug. Just news & an update from the event 😉