Ray Edwards Show

This week we will continue with listener questions. As you may remember, we just completed our first ever Annual Reader/Listener Survey for this site (and podcast). We got some interesting and surprising results in that survey…  and lots of feedback, comments, and questions. We will answer more questions and comment on more comments. Also on […]

I promised this week would be about the most important subject I've ever covered. That subject is… you. We just completed our first ever Annual Reader/Listener Survey for this site (and podcast). Boy, did we get some interesting and surprising results in that survey…  and it's all about you.

I also received a ton of comments and questions. Many of them flattering, some of them not so much. On this weeks podcast I'm sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also on today's episode…

• December's comment contest winners.
• Status of the updated copywriting course.
• Gadget recommendation: the perfect digital camera.
• Does teaching "radical grace" give people license to sin?
• Would you like to be in a mastermind with me?
• And the always award-winning, much much more.

Announcements:

• The winners of access to the updated copywriting course are:
  •  Dan Black (37)
  •  Eric Dingler (7)
  •  Todd Liles (7)
  •  Paul Jolicoeur (6)
  •  Adam Collier (4)
• The copywriting course itself is going to be released a bit later than originally planned. Stay tuned to find out why.
• Looking for a copywriting gig? Send me a one sheet "sales letter" on why you would be a perfect copywriter for me to hire. 800 words maximum. Also send along any samples you think would convince me you are brilliant. Make the subject line of your email say only: "Blue Fondue". Send that email to the address I provided in the podcast, and listen to the podcast audio for instructions about what happens next. If you email me with questions, I have not listened to the podcast instructions, I won't be able to answer you.
• Starting next week, every person who submits an audio question for the podcast will receive a free gift (if, and only if, we use your question on the podcast). Click here to submit your audio question.
• "Permission to Prosper" event originally scheduled for April has been postponed… Mainly because I haven't finished the companion book yet! We will update you soon.
• Meanwhile, if you would be interested in the possible one-day mastermind with me and 11 other people, where we make radical progress in your business… And if you're not just "interested" but you already know you want to do it,  fill in this form. If it looks like you would be a good fit, I will call you myself.  (If you just want the "details", listen to the podcast. I explain all the "details".)

Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking:

• Strategic Influence Jan 14-16, 2014, Phoenix, AZ
• NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA
• Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA

Tip Of The Week 

As you may know, I have taken a deep interest in digital photography. After extensive research, reading many reviews, and looking at many, many cameras, I settled on the Sony NEX-7. the main reasons I decided on this camera are:

• Digital SLR's are on the way out, and mirrorless compact cameras are the future of digital photography.
• This camera is about five times lighter than the equivalent DSLR.
• While megapixels are not everything, the NEX-7  is a 24 megapixel camera, and also has a relatively large sensor (which is more important than the number of megapixels)
• There are not as many lenses available for this camera as for others, but pretty much all the lenses I would ever need are available.
• It's about half the cost of equivalently powerful DSLR.
• I find the electronic menu system quite easy and intuitive to use.
• This camera shoots fantastic video, and shoots it at 60 frames per second (wow!)

If you're interested in knowing more, check out this review by Trey Ratcliffe.

If you want to buy a Sony NEX-7, get the best deal here at Amazon.

Spiritual Foundations

When we talk about the radical grace of Jesus, some people become concerned that this will encourage others to sin freely. This is not the case. Grace is not a license to sin. It is what empowers us to overcome sin.

Do some use "grace" as an excuse for their sin? So it seems. But we don't know (a) whether that person IS or IS NOT a true believer… and (B) how and/or when that person will be overcome by God's Grace and led out of a life of sin.

Resist the temptation to judge people, and resist the temptation to diminish the power of the Gospel. For that is what we do when we throw around terms like "cheap grace" or "greasy grace". There's no such thing. God's grace covers all of our sin. ALL.

You won't win people to the Kingdom by bearing them over the head with the 10 Commandments. You win them by showing them the grace of Christ.

"Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me…"

 Survey Results And Listener Questions

The votes are in, the polls are closed, and this is what I learned (thank you for sharing).

• 77 % of you are 40 or older.
• 44.87% have a Bachelor's Degree; 31.03% have a Masters or Doctorate
• 82.14% of you make over $50,000 per year; 48.21% make over $100,00!
• 87.5% of you are Christians, and 96.43% say your faith is either "Important" or "Very Important" to you.
• 69.64% say I write and talk just the right amount about faith; 25% say you wish I would talk more about faith.
• 81.9% of you are business owners, entrepreneurs, or corporate leaders.
• More of you prefer the podcast to the blog (this was a shocker!)
• The most popular topics you want to hear more about from me are (in order of popularity): making an income online, productivity, copywriting, and spiritual topics.

That's a topline selection of some of the most significant data we collected. Were still sifting through some of the open-ended responses.

The Most Surprising Result

We did ask a follow-up question about what product or training you would most like me to create for you next, and frankly I was shocked by the results. I felt certain the number one choice would be a new, revised copywriting course. I felt so certain, in fact, we had already started working on this. But…

By a healthy 3-to-1 margin, the most desired training is "how to package, promote, and profit from what you already know". The people have spoken, and I have listened. We are working on this very training right now… more to come on this soon. (Never fear… The copywriting course will be next on the agenda!)

So what does all this data mean, anyway? How will it affect the content we publish going forward?

What We Plan to Do

First and foremost, I want to make this blog more useful for you. A better investment of your time. More helpful to you.

Let me be clear: even if you never do business with my company, even if you never buy a single thing we have to offer, I want to make sure we offer value to you.

Based on what we learned in the survey, here are some things we plan to do:

• Take a bolder stance for being disciples of Jesus in the marketplace. The spiritual foundations of success will take an even more central role. Clearly, we have not been hiding this one "under a bushel", but the hunger for guidance in this area was made clear by the many comments we received. I plan to respond to this need as a top priority, because that's what you told me you wanted.
• Focus more on the topics you are most interested in. That means you'll be getting more podcasts and articles on how to create your own online business, how to be more productive, how to write more powerful copy, and the spiritual foundations of business success.
• Provide more tutorials and "how to" pieces. It's clear most of you would like more "how to" and tutorial material. We plan to provide this, much of it for free, in the coming year.
• Develop a community. If one thing has become obvious to me, it is that you (the readers of this blog, and the listeners of this podcast) are a powerful, connected, talented, and gifted group of people. I believe one of the greatest gifts I could give you is to connect you to one another. We are exploring exactly how would be the best way to develop a  community where we can make that happen.
• Offer practical help for simplifying complex lives. I was pleased to see that so many of you are well educated, already-successful entrepreneurs and professionals. I have also realized, through reading the free-form questions and comments, that those of us in this position facing unique set of challenges. We have to juggle many responsibilities: family, children (and grandchildren), employees, business partners, etc. Many of us don't feel completely free to make radical changes in our lives without carefully weighing the consequences and ramifications for other people who depend upon us. I plan to spend more time focusing on solutions to these problems.

Your Comments

1. Add a copywriting tip to each episode. You have a skill that so many want. This would be tremendously helpful.
2. Would love more blog content apart from the podcast notes, but the podcast is soooo good that it's enough to keep me hooked!
3. i liked it longer – you were able to delve deeper into concepts…!
4. Consistency in what day(s) you will post articles to blog. Seems that each week/month is different. And don't need too many articles: 1-2 articles besides podcast/week is sufficient.
5. I love the current format of the podcast, but perhaps you would consider more frequent blog posts?

Your Questions

1. What's your strategy when you launch a new product?
2. Why did you stop the Spiritual Foundations Podcast?
3. How do you handle any negative feedback you get from people who say you wear your faith on your sleeve too much.
4. I would like to know more about how you figured out your talents and if you have any suggestions for others to figure that out.
5. Who was the person that opened the door for you to go to the next level in your business?

What To Do Now

If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Question: how will YOU engage un more of a conversation with your customers this year? Click here to leave your comments.

I promised this week would be about the most important subject I've ever covered. That subject is… you. We just completed our first ever Annual Reader/Listener Survey for this site (and podcast). Boy, did we get some interesting and surprising results in that survey…  and it's all about you. I also received a ton of […]

Michael Hyatt is my guest on the first podcast of 2014, and we discuss how to set effective goals for the new year.

  What To Do Now

Click here to get Michael's Goal-Setting Videos, and I will invite you to a small, private, "Mastermind call."

If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Question:   What goals will you set for the New Year? Click here to leave your comments.

Michael Hyatt is my guest on the first podcast of 2014, and we discuss how to set effective goals for the new year.   What To Do Now Click here to get Michael's Goal-Setting Videos, and I will invite you to a small, private, “Mastermind call.” If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it […]

Stephen King. He is the Charles Dickens of this century. People either love him or hate him.

My churchgoing friends are often shocked to learn that I read his work, and admire it. In today's show I share some business lessons I have learned from King. Also on today's episode…

• Are you a Madman? Or a Madwoman? Copywriters wanted.
• And the always award-winning, much much more.

Announcements:

• I am updating my copywriting course… I will announce our winners next week.
• Next week's show will be about what could be the most important topic I have ever covered.  Don't miss it.

Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking:

• NMX, Jan 4-6, 2014, Las Vegas, NV
• Strategic Influence Jan 14-16, 2014, Phoenix, AZ
• NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA
• Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA

Tip Of The Week – Again!

Digital Photography School. A great site for all things photo.

Spiritual Foundations

1 John 4:18: "perfect love casts out fear.".

Have you ever been told by someone that you should have more of the "fear of the Lord"? The implication is that your Christian walk cannot be correct unless you're constantly afraid that God is going to "whack you" when you screw up.

It's true, The Bible talks about the "fear of the Lord". Let's take a look at what it actually says.

As believers who live under the new covenant, and followers of Jesus, we should let Jesus himself define what the "fear of the Lord" actually is. When the devil tempted Jesus in the desert, and asked Jesus to worship him, Jesus says, "it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God…". You'll find that in Matthew 4:10.

If you have a modern Bible with cross references, you'll notice that Jesus is actually quoting from the Old Testament. He's quoting his favorite book of the Bible (the book he quoted most often), and the passage he's pointing to is Deuteronomy 6:13. That passage says, "you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him.

But wait a minute! That's not what Jesus said… He said you shall WORSHIP the Lord your God. What's going on here?

While there are plenty of theologians who will argue with me, it seems clear that Jesus is explaining what the passage in Deuteronomy actually means. To fear God is to worship him.

I trust the theology of Jesus more than I trust any other earthly theologian. He has interpreted the "fear of the Lord" for me, and that settles the matter.

One last point worth noting: every single time the disciples were afraid of Jesus, he said the same thing. "Fear not."

Seven Lessons From Stephen King

Stephen King is a writing and marketing machine, having accomplished the unusual feat of being successful as a craftsman, and as an entrepreneur.  He has sold well over 350 million books, and spawned countless movies and television shows. His latest novel-to-screen adaptation is Under The Dome. How?

I have written extensively elsewhere about writing for the purpose of strategic influence. I can point to no better model of how to do this right than King.

There are seven key lessons you can learn from Stephen King, and the way he conducts his business (the business of writing). And for those of you who are offended by my saying "the business of writing"… perhaps if you thought about your writing as a business, you wouldn't be so easily offended. Food for thought.

1. Learn your craft. Whether his subject matter is always to your taste or not, you would have to be willfully ignorant to declare Stephen King anything other than a master of the art of writing stories. He has honed his craft to a fine edge, and without this particular weapon in his arsenal, the rest of what you're about to read would not be possible. You must master the craft.
2. Be prolific. King has stated that he writes every day, including his birthday and Christmas day. He has since admitted that this might be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. His ethic of working every day is plainly demonstrated by his amazing output. You don't publish 50 novels,  five nonfiction works, and over 200 short stories by goofing off.  you do it by applying liberal amounts of fingers to keyboard.
3. Be real. One reason people are often uncomfortable with King's writing is that he tends to bring heavy doses of reality into his stories. I'm not talking about the vampires, giant spiders, and ghosts, of course. I'm talking about the sometimes embarrassing, sometimes offensive, sometimes infuriatingly irrational ways that people talk and behave. King unabashedly presents people as they really are. And this makes his detractors uncomfortable… And his fans love him.
4. Have a personality. When King began his career, he decided to be exactly who he is. I have no way of knowing this, but I'm pretty certain this was a conscious decision made in the full knowledge that it might backfire financially. He could have been more "respectable" by writing that vaguely named thing called "literary fiction", but instead he chose to write what fascinated him.
5. Be fearless. Stephen King has never shied away from the potential criticism he might get from atheists, believers, Democrats, Republicans, or  the League of Decency. He's written some ugly scenes, and seems that many writers would have shied away from because they didn't want to be associated with that material. For better or worse, that fearlessness has catapulted him from the mass of mediocrity to the pinnacle of literary success.
6. Try new things. King was one of the first to take advantage of the digital publishing medium. He was one of the first to publish a novel in serial form online. He has branched out into music, comic books, and of course films and television. Some of his experiments have fallen flat. Others have been a meteoric success, both critically and financially (remember Stand by Me and The Green Mile?)
7. Do many things simultaneously. One of the ways King manages to stay so prolific is that he is doing many things simultaneously. He's always working on a new book or story, and usually has more than one project cooking in the background (a movie, a TV series, and audiobook, or the radio stations that he owns in Maine).

While you may or may not ever be his equal on the bestseller lists (he has a pretty strong head start on most of us), you definitely can learn from the career and methodologies of Stephen King.

Question: what have you learned about writing, or the business of writing, from Stephen King… Or any other modern writers? Share below…

What To Do Now

If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Question:   What worked, and what didn't work, for you this year? Click here to leave your comments.

Stephen King. He is the Charles Dickens of this century. People either love him or hate him. My churchgoing friends are often shocked to learn that I read his work, and admire it. In today's show I share some business lessons I have learned from King. Also on today's episode… Are you a Madman? Or […]

In this weeks podcast I will reveal to you what worked for me in 2013…  as well as what didn't work.

You get to profit not only from my success stories, but even from my failures. Also on today's episode…

• Are you a Madman? Or a Madwoman? Copywriters wanted.
• An exciting new guide on how to form your own mastermind group… reduxe.
• What is the truth about so-called "greasy grace"?
• And the always award-winning, much much more.

Announcements:

• I am updating my copywriting course… win free access with your comments between now and Christmas.
• Next week's show will be about what could be the most important topic I have ever covered.  Don't miss it.
• The return of listener questions! How to promote yourself on my show!

Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking:

• NMX, Jan 4-6, 2014, Las Vegas, NV
• Strategic Influence Jan 14-16, 2014, Phoenix, AZ
• NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA
• Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA
• "Permission to Prosper" April 8-10, 2014, Spokane, WA

Tip Of The Week – Again!

One of the most powerful things you can do to accelerate your success in 2014 is to form an intentional mastermind group.

Click here and take a look at Dan Miller's new course on how to do just that. It's worth 10 times the investment he's asking.

Spiritual Foundations

Is the so-called "new grace movement" cheapening the concept of grace? Is it promoting something we know as "greasy grace"?

In the podcast, I give my answers to these questions.

Feature Segment:  What Worked (and What Didn't) In 2013

I share my most successful… and also my LEAST successful business moves in 2013. Here's where they'll mean to you and your success in 2014…

What worked:

1. This podcast.  High leverage, high engagement, premium content delivery vehicle.
2. Facebook.  Believe it or not, this was my number one source of traffic in 2013.
3. Premium pricing.  Over 80% of the revenue we generated came from the most expensive 5% of services and products we offer.

What didn't work:

1. Busyness.  Over committing led to me making a few poor tactical decisions, and was a severe drain on my mental focus, emotional well-being, and physical health.
2. Complexity. Complexity is the mother frustration, and the father of fatigue.
3.  Rugged individualism.  It's an American ideal.  It's romantic. It feels heroic. The only problem is, it doesn't work.

What To Do Now

If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Question:   What worked, and what didn't work, for you this year? Click here to leave your comments.

In this weeks podcast I will reveal to you what worked for me in 2013…  as well as what didn't work. You get to profit not only from my success stories, but even from my failures. Also on today's episode… Are you a Madman? Or a Madwoman? Copywriters wanted. An exciting new guide on how […]

When your blog is the cornerstone of your business (as it is for mine, and I recommend it be for yours), creating  enough content can be a challenge.

In today's episode, I will share 10 different ways you can create more content, more consistently, and more easily. Also on today's episode…

• How to get my newly updated copywriting course for free.
• How to become an apprentice and work directly for me.
• An exciting new guide on how to form your own mastermind group.
• Answer the question: why are Christians so cheap?
• And the always award-winning, much much more.

Announcements:

• I am updating my copywriting course… win free access with your comments between now and Christmas.
• Want to finally finish your book, and get it published by New York publisher? Want to get that accomplished before the end of January?  Click here and fill out this application. We'll talk.
• Next week's show will be about what worked great for me in 2013, and what didn't work so well… and how you can directly benefit from some of my embarrassing admissions.
• The return of listener questions! How to promote yourself on my show!

Conferences where I will be attending and/or speaking:

• NMX, Jan 4-6, 2014, Las Vegas, NV
• Strategic Influence Jan 14-16, 2014, Phoenix, AZ
• NAMS 11 February 7-9, 2014, Atlanta, GA
• Social Media Marketing World, March 26-28, 2014, San Diego, CA
• "Permission to Prosper" April 8-10, 2014, Spokane, WA

Tip Of The Week

One of the most powerful things you can do to accelerate your success in 2014 is to form an intentional mastermind group.

Click here and take a look at Dan Miller's new course on how to do just that. It's worth 10 times the investment he's asking.

Spiritual Foundations

Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything." Proverbs 11:24

In a recent discussion, a couple of my friends brought up the fact that selling things to the Christian market is not a good idea. Christians, they said, are cheap. One brought up a statistic they heard from a retail bookstore owner, who said the number one category of books that are stolen our Christian books. Three questions:

1. Is this true?
2. If it's not true, why is it so widely believed?
3. Either way, what should we do about it?

In the podcast, I give my answers to these questions.

Feature Segment:  10 Ways to Create More Content

The cornerstone of your online business is the creation of great content. But that creation is not always easy, especially if you have a goal of producing a lot of content consistently.

Here are 10 ways to produce more content, more consistently, and more easily. Especially when your ideas are running dry.

1. See a movie. This can result in posts like "The Hobbit's Guide to Online Marketing" or even "What Ironman Can Teach You about List Building".
2. Tell a personal story. Make a list of the most exciting, shocking, or embarrassing stories that have happened to you. This list should give you the starting point for many a blog post.
3. Be the interviewer. Pick the people you would most like to learn from, and set up interviews with them.
4. Write a review. You can review a book, a training program, a seminar, software… Anything applicable to your audience. The more detail, the better.
5. Publish a how to. We love tutorials, especially the granular, step-by-step kind.
6. Ask your audience. Just ask what they would most like to hear from you about. Other great ways to phrase the question include: what's your biggest problem? What's holding you back? What your number one question?
7. Curate some content. Simply collect and share links of your 10 favorite blog posts on subject X. Variations: "The 10 Best Posts On…", "Four Distinctly Different Views About…", "Seven Approaches To…"
8. Case studies. They can be your clients, or they can be other companies. Talk about what they're doing right, why you think it's right, and summarize some takeaways.
9. Opposite day. Make a list of your most popular posts, and ask yourself, "what if I took the opposite view on this?"
10. Guest posts. Solicit for guest posts on your blog. Just make sure what they write will be interesting to your audience. But if they come from your audience, they most assuredly will be.

What To Do Now

If you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Question:  Which of these ideas can you put into practice and use today? Click here to leave your comments.