I attended the Internet Marketing Boot Camp today and it made me connect the dots to my past, present and possibly my future. Before I share with you my epiphanies you should know that When In Manila, don’t just shop, dine and travel – you should also LEARN (and possibly earn).
The best place to learn how to embrace the internet and use it to your advantage is Maven Institute and Salt & Light Ventures’ Internet Marketing Boot Camp! I attended the first day of the seminar that mainly focused on the internet, marketing and advertising through it and of course social media. I applaud the organizers for the job well done and for selecting a diverse pool of speakers who have different backgrounds but at the same time, linked all together in with one word – the internet.
And so while the different speakers share their stories, I was also reminded of mine. The main reason why I moved on from being an accountant to becoming a full time blogger was simply because I saw the potential of the internet, especially social media, that was about to become a major part of our life – and I was right. I risked letting go of my comfy day job at the bank to explore this new world of digital media. At that time, Facebook was just fairly new and I only had 300 friends then.
In my 3 years of blogging and doing other freelance writing, I had to go through a series of trial and error. I had no mentor. Everything I learned was all based on my observations. I learned to “Ready, Aim – FIRE!” As opposed to ready, fire aim. So every new ideas I have I just do and see if it works or not. This changed my life when I decided to create my blog.
One of the bloggers I look up to before I had my own was Anton of OurAwesomePlanet.com I remembered bookmarking one of his posts before about Philippine holidays because I was so fond of traveling and I had to file my vacation leave if needed. I was so happy knowing that one person in the world is doing a good job living the good life by following his passion. You know you’re influential when you influence an ambitious girl like me and Anton was actually one of persons who pushed me to start my own blog. He didn’t know me way back then but I was thinking, if he can do it, maybe I can as well. And so, I had my inspiration.
The only thing I lack was a mentor and it took me years to develop my blog flaircandy.com to what it is today.
But lucky you guys, you can already learn from the experts. They actually shy away from being called “experts” because they know they have still much to learn and it never ends. But trust me, I learned a lot today and more – I got inspired!
Internet Marketing Boot Camp Speakers
The seminar happened in Dusit Hotel and was hosted by Mike Unson who chuckled the crowd with some impromptu entertainment towards the end.
The one thing I love about today’s boot camp is not how the speakers enumerate their points one-by-one but how they shared their individual stories. It was inspiring travel back in time as they share their journey. If you want to self-learn, you can just Google “How to start a blog”, “How to use social media for business”, etc. but you cannot just “Google” their stories and insights.
In summary, here is the pool of speakers and their topics and some notes I jotted down.
Keynote: Jonathan Nguyen, Ogilvy, Regional Strategy Director on “Social Networking for Business”
Abe Olandres, Founder, Yugatech.com on “Best Practices in Building your Brand through Blogging” – I was always curious on how the famous, fellow Ilonggo Abe started out and now I know how he started his journey.
Frederic Levy, Co-Founder, Enjoy Card & Cashcash Pinoy on “Generating Millions through Group Buying Deals”
Michael Palacios, Co-Founder, Pinoy Exchange on “Building a profitable eCommerce strategy by building an Online Community, the PinoyExchange experience” – Michael also emphasized on how to stay with your market and keep your business for a long time. It reminds me of the book I’m currently reading “Who Moved My Cheese”
Donald Lim – surprise speaker. Donald showed us a few metrics and statistics, best practices and do’s and don’ts
Ardy Roberto, Founder, Salt & Light Ventures on “Email Marketing – Best Practices so Your List Does not Burn Out” – One things that we commonly take for granted nowadays is email. And I was surprised how it can affect your business.
Chris Angeles, Founder, Kulayful.com on “Click+Drop Ship: Earn in US Dollars, Live in the Philippines, Manufacture in China” – Chris is the guy that’s living the “4-Hour Work Week” It’s a book that I read about relative income. How time is a factor to your success and not only money alone. I would like to think I am doing the 4 Hour Work Week too – well, maybe 10 a week. But seriously, I suggest you read the book and listen to Chris’s story because he made it happen for himself.
Bo Sanchez, Founder, Kerygma Family on “Successful Authoring: From Book Concept to Online Publishing” – I have always wanted to write my own book but I don’t think I’m ready yet. But Bo made me realize, anyone can write and make a book because everyone has a story. It’s the “how” to doing it that’s a little bit tricky so I’m glad to finally have an insight on how to start this dream of mine.
Carlos Palma, Country Manager, Nuffnang on “Helping Brands reach their Target Market through Blog Advertising” – I was also there to give moral support to my friend who is one of the speakers – Carlos. Carlos spoke about how to interact online.
Anton Diaz, Founder, Our Awesome Planet on “Blogging and Facebook Marketing Secrets Revealed” – last but not the least, Anton spoke about how things change rapidly in the internet. He gave us a preview of what’s about to happen in the internet’s future – and that future is maybe after 3 months and who knows what’s going to happen next.
I seriously experienced a lot of changes that affected how I blog too. That’s why I love attending seminars related to my “work” so that I am updated with the freshest ideas. I may know a lot about the internet, but I still have a lot to learn.
I hope that you too can embrace the internet because it can do a lot for yourself and for your business. Today was a crash course to how to deal with Internet and Marketing your products and businesses. It took me years to understand this myself and now you can be enlightened in just one day. I hope they will organize another boot camp in the future and if that happens…
When In Manila, learn everything you need to know about the internet, social media and e-commerce by attending the next Internet Marketing Boot Camp organized by the Maven Institute and Salt & Light Ventures. Invest in the right information that is key to growing your brands.
