Bizmore is one of the fastest growing small business communities on the web and has bloomed into a garden of resources for entrepreneurs. Have a business question or answer? Bizmore has articles and Q&As for managers, owners and business experts looking to grow their companies and succeed in their careers.

Bizmore’s first annual Bizzie Awards recognizes the best tools, solutions and resources for small and mid-sized businesses in 2010, highlighting nominees in seven categories, from web apps to personalities and books. We share the honor with the likes of Anita Cambell of Small Business Trends (a guest speaker at InfusionCon this week!), Jim Blasingame of The Small Business Advocate, cool tools like  Evernote, TripIt and the book Trust Agents by Chris Brogan.

You can vote for Infusionsoft as the “Best Web App/Tool for Small Business” now through Tuesday, March 16 until midnight PT. It takes three seconds to cast your vote and we’d appreciate your support. You can vote every day and don’t forget to tell your friends to vote too!

Use the hashtag #bizzies to follow the discussion on Twitter for all the finalist buzz; or if you’d like, let people know you voted for Infusionsoft.

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Many InfusionCon attendees have said repeatedly they loved the chance to connect with Infusionsoft employees and all the like-minded people to discuss powerful marketing ideas at length.

Sweet…over 1500 entrepreneurs have registered for InfusionCon! Be sure you check your email (and check it twice more) because you need to confirm your attendance to InfusionCon. As we’ve mentioned before, every head must be accounted for. Please also RSVP for business partners or guests you wish to bring to InfusionCon, too.

There will be some familiar folks you already know and you’ll get a chance to mingle and connect with. Infusionsoft co-founders Clate Mask and Scott Martineau will be there along with our vice presidents:; Communications, Kathy Sacks, Business Development, Dave Lee, Marketing, Tyler Garns; and Technology, Marc Chesley. They will be there ready to connect and meet the awesome users of our service and chat it up a bit about your business.

The usual suspects will be making their appearance and hosting in-depth sessions that will inspire and motivate you to take action with your business and maximize your Infusionsoft marketing power.

In attendance, we have marketing director Brad Martineau; marketing product manager and email marketing leader Ryan Peterson; partner support and Infusionsoft expert Corey Thomas; our inside results-driven copywriter Stephanie Fleming. It doesn’t end there – top sales performer Corey Hodnett; Infusionsoft expert Jordan Hatch; eCommerce product manager Donna Sneed; business development’s marketing manager Rebecca Sprynczynatyk; and affiliate program manager Cindy Eagar.

But wait, there’s more!

We will also be joined by a variety of fresh voices and leaders who will be presenting and delivering valuable information relevant to Infusionsoft users and small businesses at large. Featured presenters include…

Number one small business blogger Anita Campbell; leading entrepreneur and coach John Assaraf; celebrity branding expert Nick Nanton; industry-leading copywriter John Carlton; guerilla marketing fanatic David Fagan; small business economy and finance expert Harry Dent; successful power-user and the coach for life coaches Dan Bradbury; king of content creation TJ McCue; experienced marketing consultant Travis Campbell; branding expert Star Hall; mom-preneur Shelly Soelberg;  OrangeSoda co-founder Derek Miner; and power-user and leader in the dental industry Darcy Juarez.

Phew, that was a lot!

We thank all these presenters for committing to attend InfusionCon 2010. There will be a ton of activities and plenty of time for networking and business card trading, so no worries there. These people are attending the event for you – be sure to meet and greet them and feel invited to ask questions, they’re there to share their perspectives with you.

What favorite presenters are you looking forward to hearing from at InfusionCon 2010?

You might also like these blog entries:

• The Latest Buzz on InfusionCon 2010
• Stoked About InfusionCon 2010!
• InfusionCon 2010: Whoa, How Things Have Changed!

Today’s 5 Question Friday features our own awesome copywriter, Stephanie Fleming. She is awesome and really does a lot for the company — specifically our prospects, customers and users with her sharp writing skills and her ability to share ideas clearly across our vast audience to understand. Today’s five questions will go over copywriting for small business – so it’s stuff you’ll gain a lot from.

1. What do you do at Infusionsoft?

As Infusionsoft’s copywriter, I write everything. The bulk of my job includes writing landing pages, follow-up sequences, email broadcasts, and free reports. I also spend quite a bit of time with the website, video scripts, print materials, banner ads, the newsletter and SEO articles.

Basically, if written words are involved, so am I.

2. Copywriting seems challenging … what’s your secret?

I’m lucky because this is not a default job for me. I love writing! I spent a year trying to make it as a freelance writer before coming to Infusionsoft. I wrote articles for magazines, chapters of books, greeting cards, and my own novels. Copywriting is just one more way to put words on paper.

I think, however, one of the reasons I love writing so much is because I have a crazy imagination. I’m always asking “what if?” That, of course, helps tremendously when trying to decide how prospects and customers will respond to the messages I write.

Use your imagination. Take a walk in the shoes of your customers and prospects and your messages will just come together.

3. Which is better: long copy or short copy?

That depends 100% on your audience. Every audience will be different. Test it. That’s the only valid way to find out what works for you.

At Infusionsoft, we often split test, and we’ve discovered that our customers seem to prefer long copy. Prospects are more inclined to read short copy.

4. What do you love most about copywriting?

Seeing people’s lives change because of my words. When I’m in the process, it’s just me and the blank screen. Sometimes it’s difficult to believe I make a difference, but once in awhile, I’ll have a customer tell me “this email” or “that landing page” is what drove them to act on their business. That’s cool!

Words are powerful. When you can use words to drive people to positive, life-changing action, you can’t help but get excited.

5. What should a small business owner or entrepreneur look for when hiring a copywriter?

Try to find someone who is as passionate about copy as you are about your business. You’ll know who these people are. They won’t try to sell you on their great rates, or their award-winning copy experience. They will take the time to talk about your business. They’ll ask about your prospects and customers. Even as you speak with them, you’ll feel them trying to “get into the character” of your contacts. That’s what makes a good copywriter — passion and devotion to the craft.

Having said that…no one understands your people like you do. Don’t be too eager to pass the work on to someone else. Your contacts want to know you – the real you. Even if you’re not the greatest writer in the world, give copy a shot. You might be surprised at how quickly your contacts embrace you and your copy.

Happy Writing!

###

Thanks, Stephanie for sharing your perspective on the world of copywriting. I think with your answers, somebody, somewhere will implement your advice and change for the positive in their business. To see examples of Stephanie’s work, sign up for a demo of Infusionsoft.

If you want to be featured on 5 Question Friday, shoot me an email or let me know in the comments. If you have any additional questions for Stephanie or about copywriting drop some love in the comments, too!

You might also like these blog entries:

• Five Question Friday: Corban Tenney
• Action-Packed Agenda for InfusionCon 2010
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• We have grown to nearly 20,000 users instead of only hundreds.
• The product is faster to set up and easier to use than ever before
• The company has evolved to be the leader in Email Marketing 2.0.
• The Infusionsoft team has grown from a couple dozen to 140 employees
• We have a clear purpose, objective, and strategy.

We have helped bring industry-leading presenters at InfusionCon 2010 including Anita Campbell, Starr Hall, Harry Dent, John Assaraf, John Carlton and Derek Miner. These speakers will have plenty of excellent points to deliver that will help motivate and inspire you to grow your business. We thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to hang with us.

Without the help of our customers, investors, partners, affiliates, vendors, friends and families, none of this would be possible.

As the leader of our new business development department, I have the distinct pleasure of working closely with our partners.  Many of our customers and product enhancement ideas come from them. They have supported us over the years and we’ve grown and learned from them.

I also want to extend a very warm thanks to our partners and sponsors of InfusionCon. With our sponsors’ support, InfusionCon been a huge success and made free (and valuable) to attendees. In the past, we were forced to charge between $750 – $1500 per ticket!  So, to our gold partners and sponsors, THANK YOU:

ROI Guy	Guerrilla Marketing	Sonoran Studios
PowerPay	OneCoach	The Celebrity Branding Agency
SmallBizTechnology	Small Business Trends	SmallBizAmerica

In celebration of their continued support for small businesses, entrepreneurs and help to fund our annual InfusionCon event, I would like to acknowledge them and let you know a little more about them. (Also, be sure to connect with them next week and thank them for making InfusionCon possible!)

See you next week in Scottsdale!

–Dave

You might also like these blog entries:

• 27 Excellent People to Meet at InfusionCon
• Stoked About InfusionCon 2010!
• Action-Packed Agenda for InfusionCon 2010

Where do I begin? We’ve updated and published the agenda on the InfusionCon website. You can also download the agenda (PDF) for later printing. On there, you will see the litany of events as it will happen at InfusionCon as well as a variety of “breakout” sessions that empower you to define the experience you want to take away from the event.

I’ll highlight below just some topics to look forward to at InfusionCon. Of course, you should probably look over the agenda and determine which topics you want to attend. Either way, it’ll be awesome!

1. John Assaraf – “Mastering the Inner Game of Business Success and Wealth”
   This will be an inspiring and motivational keynote from one of our successful partners from OneCoach. I’m ready to hear his advice that he has for the entrepreneur within.
2. 30 Days or Less: Defining Your Infusionsoft Goals
   Often we jump into the software a little too early without cleanly defining goals. This should align you with what matters (and what doesn’t) for the success of your business.
3. Ultimate Marketer Presentation
   This will be an amazing part of InfusionCon – four entrepreneurs and users of Infusionsoft compete head to head for the title of “Ultimate Marketer of the Year” at InfusionCon. I can tell you the submissions have been a tough call from every person so far and all will be impressed with their results in the “Double Your X” contest.
4. Advanced Email Marketing – “Staying Welcome in the Inbox”
   Every marketer needs to work on their inner marketing skills and be improving their email marketing game. This presentation will share awesome tips and best practices that make sure your messages don’t overstay their welcome in your prospect and customer inboxes.
5. John Carlton – “Getting More People on Your List and Closing the Sale”
   A famed and well-respected copywriter, John Carlton’s  works have been responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars, conversions and happy customers for his clients. His presentation will help all of us boost our copywriting abilities and interests so we write copy that sells and attracts others to join our lists.
6. Harry Dent – “Economic Forecasting for Asset Protection and Growth”
   Whether you believe we’re in a recession or not, it shall be interesting to hear the economic insights Dent has to share with entrepreneurs I’m especially excited to hear about his systematic way to predict consumer spending patterns.
7. Collect the Cash – “Using Infusionsoft to Automate Your Billing and Collections
   A must-have for anyone who does any kind of business where people need to pay up. (In theory, that means everyone.) This will be a great way to put Infusionsoft to work for you.
8. Marketing Panel – “Experts dishing on what works”
   Experts on Infusionsoft and the marketing space will battle it out and have an open discussion on what’s working and what’s not. You can’t miss this if you ever wanted to gain a seasoned perspective on marketing.
9. Anita Campbell – “Social Media: Networking online to Increase Awareness”
   I don’t think I really have to explain who the No. 1small business blogger is, do I? You don’t want to miss this keynote by Anita where she shares her poignant perspective on how social media can raise awareness for your small business.
10. Clate Mask & Scott Martineau – “Building a Culture of Success”
    Infusionsoft co-founders Clate and Scott have both invested themselves into building a culture of success. Learn from their lessons and experiences to tap into that success for your business.

Enough from me; let me say this will be an action-packed InfusionCon you will be very happy to attend. We’ve put hours upon hours into crossing our T’s and dotting our I’s and hope you’ll like the program we’ve put together.

One last note– things could totally change, but we’ll let you know about it. As of this post, these are the most current, locked-down presentations that we’ve secured for you. All you gotta do is be there.

What presentations are you looking to attend? Let us know in the comments so we can hook you up with the inside scoop!

You might also like these blog entries:

• The Latest Buzz on InfusionCon 2010
• Stoked About InfusionCon 2010!
• 27 Excellent People to Meet at InfusionCon