The Small Good, A New Book and A Busy Fall

I'm popping back in after another long absence. It's been an incredibly busy, but fullfilling Summer.

Our company, iContact, was named in our first year of eligibility #85 on the Inc. 500 list. Quite an honor and quite an accomplishment!

I'm checking in today to talk about two things: The Small Good and my new book.

First the Small Good. A concept that I first ran across earlier this year as I listened to a podcast. Here's the basic premise:

Someone has a need, an issue, a problem. They come to you for help. From your prospective it takes little effort to help this person - maybe a referral to a tax attorney you know or a tip on how to get better publicity for your company.

To the person your helping, it's HUGE! You have saved them time, money, worry - whatever that may be.

This is, in essence is the Small Good. This is one of the cornerstones of my use of LinkedIn. The other, of course the opportunity to Pay it Forward.

Here's an example: I have always said that my wife, Steph, married me because I'm cute (no comments please!) not handy. While I know where the Home Depot is, I rarely visit the store. We had the good fortune to find a very skilled handyman that came to our rescue recently. Small things - doors that would stick shut, sink stoppers that were broken - were nothing to Norm to fix. To me it was like taking Calculus all over again (I got a D at USC in that course). A small good was provided that had my wife singing and cheerful all day as a result!

So, the next time someone comes to you for a favor - something that takes five minutes out of your day - don't hesitate. This Small Good may be the best thing that happened to that person all week!

THE BOOK, THE BOOK!!!

As some of you may be aware, I have been toying with the idea of writing a book on Pay it Forward and my adventures in the LinkedIn community. Well, it's now becoming a reality.

In November, the Good Lord Willing, my eBook will publish through StartupNation and their website for small business marketing - www.startupnation.com - run by my good friend Rich Sloan. This will be followed by the hard cover edition.

Titled: "Linking In to Pay it Forward: Changing the Value Proposition in Social Media," the book chronicles my use of Linked In and how I've used it for personal and professional branding, media relations and paying it forward.

If you are interested in a copy or a discount on the eBook, email me at chuck@icontact.com

Wish me luck over the next month as I finish the manuscript by my early November deadline!

That's it for this week (and yes, I'm going to try and be posting weekly). I'm off to Greensboro to speak at the Tarheel Chapter of PRSA on Tuesday, October 14. I follow that with a Wednesday, October 15 speech at the Ragan Communications/SAS conference on Web 2.0 communications and then fly to Atlanta for the Executing Social Media conference. WHEW!

Anyone that wants to link up, I'm hosting a dinner in Atlanta on the night of October 15. Email me for details!

Stay well, stay connected, continue to pay it forward

Chuck

Back on Track after a Long Hot Summer

After several promptings from friends and colleagues, I am back on track and will now post here on a regular (at least once a week) basis.

Sorry for the long absence, and I won't bore you with excuses or reasons. Just know I'm back.

It has been, to say the least an AMAZING summer. iContact celebrated its 5th Anniversary in July with a party for 400 people in our parking lot, a new building sign and a hot air balloon. We never do anything subtle!

LinkedIn Live celebrated its 1st anniversary with 250 people at Mura - a great Japanese restaurant in Raleigh, NC. We also gave away $5000 (not a typo, friends, that's five THOUSAND) in door prizes - including two round trip tickets on Southwest Airlines.

I have been featured on the Biz Growth News podcast yesterday - August 4 - with my new best friend Krishna De from Ireland. An amazing social media pro who was a delight to work with. Of course I met her through LinkedIn! You can access the podcast here - wwww.bizgrowthnews.com

Now to the big news - for the longest time I have been encouraged by friends to write "the book." Conversations about LinkedIn Live, my work with LinkedIn for media relations for iContact, my success with branding using LinkedIn, have all prompted the next sentence:
"So, when are you writing THE BOOK?"

I finally took the plunge when a friend of mine approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse. He has a boutique publishing house that will publish the book. And so it has come to be.

I am hoping for a Fall release, with a possible eBook in the works as well. Stay tuned for more details.

With stories of LinkedIn successes and how others are using the tool with great success, how they have been able to pay it forward and other anecdotes, this book will have many contributors.

If you are a reader of this blog and would like to contribute a story, email me or leave a comment below.

Stay tuned for more details.

Finally, if you're in the Raleigh area, or if you want to come, I will be speaking at the Ragan Communications/SAS conference Corporate Communications in a Web 2.0 World. October 14-16 at SAS headquarters in Cary, NC. More info at www.ragan.com My topic will be Get "LinkedIn" to maximize your PR 2.0 Efforts (their title, not mine).

For now, stay well, stay connected and continue to pay it forward!

Chuck

LinkedIn Live Helps Pay it Forward

LinkedIn Live Raleigh VI was a rousing success last night. Upwards of 220 people joined Stephanie and myself as we gave away $1700 in door prizes.

As I mentioned in my last post, $500 in cash was handed out to two people - who must now Pay it Forward to others then report back to our next meeting in July.

A special thanks to Greg Bennett and company for donating the cash!

Thanks too, to our title sponsors iContact, Hosted Solutions and The Select Group. GREATLY appreciate your continued support!

Speaking of July, our next meeting will mark the one year anniversary of LinkedIn Live Raleigh. Hard to believe!

We are truly amazed at the number of people that continually show up each time, and how this event has impacted so many of us. Jobs, business deals, new friendships - all as a result of meeting at LI Live.

Stay tuned for some exciting news about LI Live VII - the 1st Anniversary Celebration.

As always, if your interested in sponsoring, providing a great door prize or just attending, feel free to comment below or contact me directly at chuck@icontact.com

Remember, dig your well before your thirsty and always treat your connections like they're standing right in front of you.

Until next time:

Stay well and stay connected.

Chuck

Checking back in...

On this Mothers Day 2008 I want to start out by wishing all Moms a happy - and restful day!

The best M-Day gift my wife got this weekend? Me cleaning out the garage with her yesterday! Go figure...

I have, once again, been on the road. The last two trips were the Society for New Communications Research in Santa Rosa, CA (northern California) and Ragan Communications' Corporate Communicators Conference in Chicago. Got back from that trip on Friday night. VERY nice to be home!

I'm not on the road again for another three weeks, when I head for Alberta, Canada for a marketing conference where I'm speaking on email marketing for small business. Still can't comprehend the need for a passport to travel to Canada!

This coming week is our next LinkedIn Live Raleigh - number 6 in the series. Already have 170 RSVPs and some amazing door prizes.

A special thanks goes out to Greg Bennett and the Spherion family of companies - four divisions - who have donated $500 in cash for our Pay it Forward door prize drawings.

We will give away two $250 cash envelopes. The kicker this time? The winners do not get to keep the money, but must "pay it forward" to someone in need - unemployed, down and out, medical bills - doesn't matter. They will then have to report back on how they paid it forward at our next LinkedIn Live in July. AWESOME!

Funny as this may sound, I am truly looking forward to being in the office for the next three weeks. A chance to catch up and make sure projects are on track and moving forward. My company - iContact turns 5 years old in July and will also top 25,000 customers around Memorial Day. Lots of exciting "goings on" as they say in the South!

I will be back next week to report on LinkedIn Live Raleigh VI and let you know how it went.

If you have comments/suggestions/ideas - please feel free to leave them in the comments section below, or email me directly at thepayitforwardchronicles@gmail.com

Stay well, stay connected and remember to continue to Pay it Forward!

Until next time...

Chuck

The Power of Paying it Forward and LinkedIn...

As I logged in today I realized how long ago - one full month - I posted to this blog. Apologies but I've been traveling extensively - Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Francisco - and did not have a chance to reach out.

The San Francisco trip - where I spoke at the Bulldog Media Summit on the power of social networking and LinkedIn - is where the Pay it Forward stories occurred significantly.

You would have to be a monk not to know about the American Airlines issues that happened beginning last week. Well, my wife Stephanie and I got caught in the middle.

As we were preparing last Wednesday to leave to go home the following morning, I received an American Airlines "alert." Five words - Flight cancelled - call this number!

Nice way to end your trip, huh. To top it off, we were scheduled to sign refi papers for our house on that Friday - and if we missed the flight that was in jeopardy.

Now for the power of LinkedIn and Pay it Forward. I reached out to a friend from Southwest Airlines (who will remain nameless, but she knows who she is) and explained our situation. No flight, not about to pay an additional $750 dollars for one way tickets home, and American was not being helpful.

Without hesitation, my Southwest angel came forward, booked us on a flight the following morning and got us home within 15 minutes of the original arrival time into Raleigh! WOW! Plus, she was apologetic for putting us through a 90 minute layover in Chicago.

Southwest has always been my favorite airline - courteous staff, easy to board flights, and no hassle reservations. Now, it's my ONLY airline whenever possible.

Plus, I will pay this favor forward - and backward. Praise for Southwest and this particular staff member will be heard wherever there is an ear to hear it.

What a cool gesture from a LinkedIn connection that could have easily said "sorry but I can't help you," but in turn chose to step up and make a difference.

We closed on the refi, by the way, thanks in no small part to our Southwest angel.

As if that wasn't enough, I arrived at the airport 20 minutes south of downtown San Francisco only to discover I had left a credit card at the restaurant we had lunch at the day before. Again, using LinkedIn, I contacted a connection who worked near the restaurant downtown and asked him if he'd be willing to pick it up and Fed Ex it to my office.

Not only did Brendan Hickey do that, but he refused to be reimbursed for the expense saying I should pay it forward to someone else.

The power of Paying it Forward and the power of LinkedIn reigned supreme this week.

Thank you again to Brendan Hickey from Success Factors and our Southwest angel. You are both the epitome of what paying it forward is all about!

200 of my Closest Friends and Margaritas....

Well, LinkedIn Live Raleigh V was a huge success on Tuesday night - with 200 of my closest friends enjoying margaritas and great food for three solid hours. Door prizes galore - including the Pay It Forward door prize of two $50 Best Buy gift cards - awarded to one person who then had to give one away to someone and "pay it forward."

The buzz was so significant after the event that the sponsorships for the May event are already secured!

This truly has become a passion for me and Stephanie as we bring people together to help each other in business and in life. What an awesome feeling to give it back after receiving blessings from friends and even total strangers for many years.

Thanks again to iContact, Preation, Select Group and FeatureTel for making the event possible.

One quick related story:

A very good friend of mine found out the day before LI Live 5 that his company was shutting down the branch office he ran in Raleigh - no warning just BOOM out of a job!

The outpouring of support for him was amazing - with friends offering to connect him to job potentials and other projects - in less than a day!

Erik is one of my "Power 5" a group of guys that are closely linked in both business and spirit - the type that you can call in the middle of the night and they would not hesitate to help - no matter what the circumstances. He felt that power this week, as we worked to bring some good out of a bad situation.

While he's not landed yet, he's on his way, and I truly believe it's because of the power of Paying it Forward that he's doing so.

I leave you - still glowing from an amazing event - with this thought:

If you were in a tough situation and needed help, could you pick up the phone and call 4 other people knowing they would be there in a heartbeat to help?

More importantly - can you say that you are the person ready to answer that call?

Continue to pay it forward,

Chuck

LinkedIn Live Raleigh V - A Success Waiting to Happen

LinkedIn Live Raleigh V - the in-person networking event I host every other month - is set to take place tomorrow night from 6:30 p.m. to 9 at Sedona New Western Grill & Margarita Bar in Raleigh.

We have received more than $1500 in door prizes from very generous supporters - and RSVPs top 175!

One of my favorite "giveaways" is a pay it forward door prize - this time two $50 Best Buy gift cards. One person will win both - with the caveat that they must give one away (pay it forward) to someone that is not a relative or close friend. Can't wait to see how this plays out!

I am truly blessed by an amazing network on LinkedIn - and my local connections are fantastic individuals who truly care about each other.

When I get a chance to breathe after the event, I will post pictures and a report on how it all went.

In the meantime, keep paying it forward!

Chuck

Pay it Forward Stories - Part One

Recently, I asked for submissions of Pay it Forward stories through LinkedIn's Answers section. I was overwhelmed with the responses - more than 25 in all.

The first one is from Diane Eller. I will post many more over the next week or so.

What struck me as I read this one is that it shows the young people sometimes get it better than us grey hairs...

Recently, my daugher Estelle, student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, told me her experience, a great Pay-it-Forward story. She was filming people entering the Hockey Stadium for a NHL game that night, as part of her school project, and it also invloved interviews and then filming the reactions of the spectators coming out once the game was over.

As she went about doing her filming activities before the game, a young man approached her and said, "here are two tickets, if you care for the game, as I have an urgent situation and cannot stay." She took the tickets, with a great feeling of excitement (she's a big hockey fan), but given all the equipment she had to carry around, and given the time frame for her project, she quickly realized she could not keep the tickets.

She told me: "I thought of selling the tickets, as they were worth over $125, but then reflected on the fact that they had been given to me, so I decided to give them away, and keep this a worthy cause."

She then handed them to a man and his young son, looking to buy tickets. They said they could not afford to buy them and she replied, no worry, they are free, they come from this other fellow, and it is my pleasure that I offer them to you.

Well, needless to say, the man was so amazed, he asked if he could do anything for her, and took down her name for possible student jobs around her area.

She returned home that night with a smile, knowing she had really done well to give those tickets back. As she put it: we just never know what will come of this, but admitted she did not do it to get anything out of it. I applaud her bright decision. It's all about paying-it-forward, and I am a proud mom!

Thanks Diane, what a great story. And to anyone in the Toronto area, if you know of student jobs - contact me and I'll get the information to Diane and Estelle!

Until next time. Continue to Pay it Forward. Watch what happens to the world around you!

Chuck

The Results Are In....

I believe I may now know what Mitt Romney's campaign went through last night on Super Tuesday. A long, hard battle, but well worth it.

As I write this post Ryan Allis' book is #2 on the Amazon best sellers list. An amazing accomplishment in any light.

To give you perspective, Zero to One Million went from 1,558 at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning to #2 at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

A little clearer perspective? He beat out John Grisham, James Patterson, Barak Obama, Stephen King and Harry Potter...in ONE DAY!

If you ever doubted the power of social media and cause marketing, drop me a line. I work with the best of the best. Ryan put a methodical, well-thought-out action plan together to accomplish his goals.

What are you doing to realize YOUR dreams, pay it forward, and make a difference?

Oh, and by the way, it's not out of the question for Ryan to reach #1 today.

See my previous post for links to the Amazon site.

I am truly proud to be associated with this brilliant young man. Kudos, Ryan. I can't wait to see what you accomplish next!

A Super Tuesday of Another Color...

If you know about me, then you know about my CEO, Ryan Allis.

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday for the Democrats and Republicans, but I'm truly hoping it will be a Super Tuesday of another color for Ryan.

As I mentioned last week, Ryan Allis is launching his book Zero to One Million tomorrow, February 5. It comes with my strong endorsement.

I highly recommend the book for anyone who wants to become a multimillionaire entrepreneur. If there’s ever a book that has the potential to be life changing, Zero to One Million is it. Ryan is trying to reach a lifetime goal and get to #1 on Amazon.com today and has created a compelling reason to buy the book today.

Ryan built three companies to over $1 million in sales by age 21, raised over five million dollars in venture capital at age 22, and today at age 23 runs an 85 person company in North Carolina called iContact that does over ten million dollars in annual sales. Ryan knows what he’s doing when it comes to business.

The full title of the book is ‘Zero to One Million: How I Built a Company to $1 Million in Sales… And How You Can Too.’ If you want to become a multimillionaire entrepreneur, this really is a no-BS step-by-step guide.

Tomorrow, February 5th, Ryan is running a promotion to help him get to the #1 spot on Amazon.

When you buy Ryan’s book for $11.53 on Amazon today you will receive six bonus gifts including a video from Ryan on how to raise $5 million in venture capital at age 22 and valuable DVD and PDF report bonuses from Buck Rizvi, Derek Gehl, Carlos Garcia, Shawn Casey, and Tom Bell. Just email the Amazon receipt to bonus@zeromillion.com with [publicationID] in the subject line to receive the bonuses.

You’ll also receive a special video from Ryan: How Our Generation Will Change the World… A Plan for the Future.

You can purchase Zero to One Million at http://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Million-Built-Company/dp/0071496661/. I’d recommend buying your copy as soon as you can before they run out of stock.

NOW HERE'S THE PAY IT FORWARD KICKER:

All of the proceeds from Zero to One Million are going to Ryan’s non-profit organization The Humanity Campaign, which works to reduce poverty and hunger in developing nations by increasing access to education, healthcare, and technology. You can read an article about Ryan’s efforts to give back at http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/900111.html.

Ryan actually has the crazy goal of being the President of the United States someday—I think he might just make it!

Thanks for your help!

Until next time.

Paying it Forward,

Chuck

P.S. – Would you also spread the word about Zero to One Million to all of your friends interested in entrepreneurship, marketing, and changing the world? They can buy their copy at http://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Million-Built-Company/dp/0071496661/.

Additional thoughts on a Tuesday morning...

I realized that there are several things I wanted to communicate to my readers, and didn't want to post separate blogs. So, here's the list:

1. I have received an AMAZING array of Pay it Forward stories from my LinkedIn question and will be posting several in the next few days. Stay tuned.

2. With the great possibility of a check from the government *FAINT* in the near future - perhaps as early as May/June, I am seriously considering putting forth a Pay it Forward Challenge. In essence, take $50 of your check (found money is the term I would use) and Pay it Forward. Your decision on what that looks like. The best Pay it Forward application of the money will be awarded a prize (TBD).

I welcome comments on this, it's just a germ of an idea for now....

There are other thoughts banging around in my head, but I'll save them for next time.

Be safe, love strong, live your passion!

Paying it Forward,

Chuck

A True Example of Paying it Forward...

Some may think this is self-serving, but bear with me. I work for an amazing CEO, Ryan Allis, who is "decades younger" than I am, but none the less smarter and wiser.

His new book, Zero to One Million, has been published by McGraw-Hill. It's an awesome story of how he built our company, iContact, from 4 people to 80 in 4 years with more than $10 million in sales.

I was fortunate enough to come on board in July of 2006 as employee 27. It's been an amazing ride.

Ryan has no "agenda" other than a passion to change the world. He (as usual) says it better than I can:

I want you to know that this effort is not about me--it's about a passionate desire to change the world, raise money to reduce poverty in developing nations by improving access to education, technology, and healthcare, and share what I've learned while building iContact about entrepreneurship, opportunity evaluation, raising investment, venture capital, web marketing, product development, business planning, finding partners, building a sales team, management, hiring and retaining superstars, organizational behavior, and scaling a business with anyone that wants to learn while spreading a message of entrepreneurial possibility.

I would highly recommend Ryan's book. For more info on what Ryan's trying to accomplish head to:

www.ryanallis.com/blog

It will be worth the click!

The Leave it Better Initiative - a Pay if Forward Concept for travellers!

A dear friend, Lea Woodward is a LIP - not a sassy lady - but a Location Independent Professional. She travels the world whenever she wants, consulting as she goes via the net. A goal of my wife Stephanie and me is to follow her lead.

Lea is also an advocate of the Pay it Forward lifestyle. Her "take" on it is now coming to fruition, it's called the Leave it Better Initiative.

Here's Lea's description:

The Leave It Better initiative is an initiative inspired by our travels around the world.

It’s been created from the realisation that many of us are far more privileged than many people around the world who live in the places we visit and whose hospitality often makes our stay even more special.

This is our way of “giving back” and of saying “thank you”.

Every place we visit, we want to Leave It Better than when we arrived.

I would encourage you to check out Lea's LIB site and decide for yourself. I believe she's got the right idea!

http://locationindependent.com/blog/the-leave-it-better-initiative/

It's amazing to see the number of individuals who are coming forward on the Pay it Forward Chronicles. Comments are ALWAYS welcome!

Until next time,

Paying it Forward,

Chuck

LinkedIn Live Raleigh - A Pay It Forward Experience

On January 15, I hosted LinkedIn Live Raleigh, a chance for my first link connections (and a few others) to get together in person. 170 people showed up! This is the fourth event since July of 2007 when I conceived the idea, and it's grown steadily every event - from 50 to 75 to 125 to 170.

This event embodies my pay it forward philosophy. We don't charge a registration fee, the "snacks" are provided by sponsors and the place we meet (in this case an amazing restaurant called Gianni's and Giatano's) provides the space for fee.

Then there's the door prizes. This last round we had more than $750 in door prizes - all donated.

And that is where the best pay it forward story comes from today.

I arranged for Gianni's and Giatano's to provide two $25 gift certificates. When I gave them away that night I announced that this was the "Pay it Forward" door prize. One person would win both gift certificates.

The caveat? They had to "pay it forward" with one and give it to someone else. Not a spouse or relative but, as I suggested during the drawing, to someone who really needed it. "Perhaps," I pointed out, "to someone who's been out of work for a while."

The prize was awarded and I felt good about the concept. I felt BETTER when the person who won the gift certificates came up to me an hour later and reported he had already paid it forward -- to someone who'd been out of work so he could go to dinner.

Later, we gave out a $50 gift certificate to a local car dealer - for tune ups, oil changes, etc. The person who won it did not really need it, as it turns out. But more importantly, a woman standing next to him did.

Not realizing she had spoken out loud, she uttered: "Darn, I really needed that one, I have a Saturn!"

The pay it forward moment occured again, as the gentleman who won, having heard her, turned and gave the gift card to the Saturn owner, saying: "Here, I'm paying this forward!"

That is LinkedIn Live Raleigh - and I have more stories. Jobs found, business relationships started, friends for life made. Paying it Forward as we go.

What's your Pay it Forward story? I invite you to share in one of two ways:

1. Comment on this post and share your story.

2. Email me at thepayitforwardchronicles@gmail.com and I'll post the best ones.

I leave you this morning with this thought:

Paying it Forward is not difficult, in fact it takes very little thinking. So, go out today and find a way to make someone's weekend. Pay for a cop's coffee at Starbucks and thank them for what they do and tell them to stay safe. You get the idea.

Until next time,

Paying It Forward,

Chuck

A New Blog

Welcome to The Pay It Forward Chronicles.

If you already know me, the title needs no explanation. For those of you who don't know me, I invite you to visit my profile page.

The Pay It Forward Chronicles was born as a result of my efforts to live the Pay It Forward Life - giving "forward" to someone else when you receive a blessing.

I am an active LinkedIn power networker, with more than 4,300 first level connections to date. I always strive to help others and when I connect I ask them: "how can I be of service to you."

A wise friend, Dan Nelson, taught me it is easier (and much more rewarding) to bless instead of curse. Dan (and now I) truly believes that both come back on you. I would prefer to receive the blessings!

I am also creator and host of LinkedIn Live Raleigh - an in-person gathering of my first link connections that occurs every other month in the Raleigh/Durham, NC area. We have been fortunate enough to see LI Live grow from its first meeting of 50 people in July, 2007 to 170 at our last meeting that occurred this week (January 15).

This blog will offer advice on living the Pay it Forward Life, chronicle PIFL stories and a place where you can add your comments and stories, as well.



Paying it Forward,

Chuck