Digital Media Now for Yogis at Riffs Acoustic Music & Yoga Yard on June 2nd, 2013

The last Digital Media Now for Yogis was at Bird Rock Yoga in May and it was a great success. I’m always excited to teach fellow yoga and fitness pros about the power of social media and how to use it to grow a business fueled by a passion for yoga and fitness. I’ve had many people tell me that they wished they could have attended my last workshop. Well here is your chance! Another Digital Media Now for Yogis and Fitness Pros is coming up very soon at Riffs Acoustic Music and Yoga Yard in La Jolla. This workshop is open to everyone, not just fitness instructors. The examples will be tailored toward fitness and yoga but any business owner can attend and learn about social media tools.

Workshop Topic:  Personal Branding on Social Media- With an abundance of digital technologies available to us, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when creating your own marketing strategy. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to navigate digital marketing and social media tools such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to attract more clients, grow your business and be a valuable resource in your industry.

• Date: Sunday June 2nd, 2013
• Time: 2pm-4pm
• Cost: $39 Early Bird (Before May 25th), $49 Regular Price
• Location: Riffs Acoustic Music and Yoga Yard- 5510 La Jolla Blvd La Jolla, CA 92037
• Register: Click HERE to sign up and reserve your spot

Takeaways:

• Actionable content and tips you can implement immediately to start marketing yourself as a yoga professional
• Knowledge on how to serve as a trusted subject matter expert and resource in yoga
• Understanding on how to use Social Media tools to create a compelling brand

It is recommended that attendees bring a laptop. If a laptop isn’t available, please bring a notepad and pen. Also if you attended a previous Digital Media Now for Yogis workshop you are encouraged to return as the material has been updated to reflect the continuously changing landscape of social media. You will definitely learn something new!

If you run a yoga teacher training program and are interested in having this valuable program as part of your training, please let me know and I’m happy to discuss more details with you. I look forward to seeing you at Riffs in a few weeks and remember to reserve your spot by registering in advance HERE.

Something cool that I want to share about our workshop location is that Riffs is not only a yoga studio, but it’s a music shop. They have uniquely designed their shop so there’s a large outside area where yoga classes can take place accompanied by live music! They have also created an indoor yoga studio right in their backyard. Everything about the space projects positive energy and with a location just steps away from the beach we can all step outside to enjoy the sunset after our time together. This workshop is not to be missed!

~NAMASTE~

Digital Media Now for Yogis is back at Bird Rock Yoga on May 4th, 2013

I’m excited to be hosting the first Digital Media Now for Yogis Workshop of 2013 in just a few weeks at the lovely Bird Rock Yoga in Pacific Beach. This is a gorgeous studio in an amazing environment, just steps away from the ocean! Many people have asked me when the next Digital Media Now for Yogis was happening since my 2 events last year at La Jolla Yoga Center and Chula Vista Yoga Center. Well, I’m happy to say that your next opportunity to attend and learn how to grow your yoga business is on May 4th, 2013 from 12:30pm-2:30pm. All the details and how to register are below.

Workshop Topic:  Personal Branding on Social Media- With an abundance of digital technologies available to us, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when creating your own marketing strategy. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to navigate digital marketing and social media tools such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to attract more clients, grow your business and be a valuable resource in your industry.

• Date: Saturday May 4th, 2013
• Time: 12:30pm-2:30pm
• Cost: $39, $29 if you are a graduate of Bird Rock Yoga’s Teacher Training program
• Location: Bird Rock Yoga- 910 Grand Avenue Suite 206, San Diego, CA 92109
• Register: Click HERE to sign up and reserve your spot 

Takeaways:

• Actionable content and tips you can implement immediately to start marketing yourself as a yoga professional
• Knowledge on how to serve as a trusted subject matter expert and resource in yoga
• Understanding on how to use Social Media tools to create a compelling brand

About Melodie: Melodie Tao is a Marketing Consultant, Educator and an International Professional Speaker specializing in Digital Marketing and Social Media. She is also a Certified Yoga Instructor who has completed over 200 hours training. Combing her two passions for Marketing and Yoga, her mission is to empower others with knowledge on how to live their passion as a Yoga and Fitness professional. Her expertise will help you make money from your business through optimizing your brand and online presence while maintaining your true integrity as a Yogi.

It is recommended that attendees bring a laptop. If a laptop isn’t available, please bring a notepad and pen. Also if you attended a previous Digital Media Now for Yogis event you are encouraged to return as the workshop has been updated to reflect the continuously changing landscape of social media. You will definitely learn something new!

I recently published a post sharing my actionable steps on manifesting wealth and abundance through my passions. This workshop is putting me one step closer. If you run a yoga teacher training program and are interested in having this valuable program as part of your training, please let me know and I’m happy to discuss more details with you. I look forward to seeing you at Bird Rock Yoga in a few weeks and remember to reserve your spot by registering in advance HERE.

~NAMASTE~

Marketing Melodie’s Top 10 Favorite Things About SXSW 2013

In early March I announced that I’d be making the trip to Austin, Texas for SXSW again. I’ve been meaning to write a SXSW recap post ever since I came back from yet another amazing conference so this post is better late than never. Last year I talked about how much winning took place at SXSW and this year I just encountered so many awesome things that I want to share my top 10 favorite moments and things about SXSW 2013.

1. Teaching Come As You Are Yoga at SXSW- I am truly blessed that I had an opportunity to teach yoga to fellow tech-crazed and social media savvy attendees at the conference. It was so great to be surrounded by so many like minded people in the technology space and even better to create a deeper connection with those who are also interested in yoga. Come As You Are Yoga gave everyone the chance to participate in learning yoga postures in their every day clothes. I also taught poses that can easily be done during breaks at work so busy professionals know how to incorporate yoga into their daily lives.

2. Meeting NBA Stars Shaq and Jeremy Lin- Many people may not know this, but I’m a huge sports fan. I love attending live sporting events and I really enjoy the camaraderie that’s created with both playing and watching sports. Basketball is one of my favorite sports to watch and play so it was an absolute honor to meet two NBA Stars at the conference. Shaq hit up the interactive trade show and was asking for 15 second pitches from companies who were interested in having him invest in their startup. He was one of the first Sports Stars to embrace Twitter so it’s amazing to see him supporting technology. Jeremy Lin made an appearance for a Q&A session after his documentary “Linsanity” aired. He just has a heart warming story to tell about hard work, perseverance and is so influential especially in the Asian-American community.

3. Show and Smell Marketing- One of the things I love about SXSW Interactive is learning about cutting edge technology before it’s revealed anywhere else. I attended a really interesting panel called Show and Smell Marketing. I learned about marketing to people through all of their senses rather than just what you see. I saw lick-able ads for the first time and for some reason it reminded me the lick-able wallpaper in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They also showed us 3D ads that came to life and taught us about how using certain scents can be a marketing strategy. Toward the end of the session they started pumping a delicious baked brownie smell into the room, then concluded the session by giving everyone brownies. I loved that the session was so hands on.

4. Meditation- There’s no better way to prepare your body and mind for the sensory overload of new information than to take a break to meditate. Like any powerful tool, the human brain needs a tune-up now and then. By teaching a meditation class, I was ale to help people take break from the bustle of SXSW to give their mind and body a chance to assimilate all the new ideas and energy at the conference. I was thrilled to see so many people interested in such a peaceful activity during all of the chaos.

5. MRY Party- SXSW means there are tons of happy hours, networking events and industry parties. My favorite party was hosted by MRY, a creative and technology agency based out of New York. I just feel like they put a great production overall from the entertainment (Burlesque dancers, upbeat DJs with stage performers throwing fire, hula hooping, etc) to the delicious food which never ran out from Paul Qui’s (Top Chef) East Side Kitchen to the fun activities they had such as the crazy photo booth. They created a party with such positive energy.

6. Self Magazine’s Social Media Fitness Meetup- There are dozens of meetups hosted all throughout the conference as a way to create networking opportunities with like minded individuals. When I saw the Social Media Fitness Meetup, I knew this was the place for me to be! Self Magazine had a great idea with this event. They greeted us with healthy snacks and beverages, then we were free to make new friends and connect with other SXSW attendees interested in fitness. Like attracts like, always! I met so many unique people who share both my passion for social media and fitness in one place. Some people worked for fitness related apps, some were were from fitness apparel companies and some people were just interested in a healthy lifestyle. Either way, I learned so much from all the attendees. I look forward to staying in touch with the connections I made here.

7. SXSW Film Festival- My main reason for attending SXSW is the Interactive conference but SXSW also has a world class film festival every year. I love watching films and am very grateful that the Gold conference pass I received for being a speaker was also my ticket into the film festival. I had access to any and all of the films during the festival. I made it a priority to see a few films which also gave me a chance to relax during the Interactive conference. Of course I saw Linsanity where I got to meet Jeremy Lin. I also saw a really cool documentary called Computer Chess about building computer programs that can beat humans in chess. It sounds really nerdy but it very enjoyable. Not every film is a winner. I watched Snap which is a raw psychological thriller about a disturbed boy who becomes obsessed with a young woman. This film was too gruesome for me. Right before I left Austin, I spent my last hour watching another documentary called Rewind This. It This film brought be back to memory lane when the VCR and VHS were the ultimate home entertainment. I definitely want to stay longer next year to watch more films. I find it so intriguing that imagination and a video camera can produce so many different genres of entertainment to satisfy viewers from all walks of life.

8. WordPress Happiness Bar- My absolute favorite booth at the trade show last year was the WordPress Happiness Bar. Some things just keep staying awesome because my absolute favorite booth at the trade show this year was once again the WordPress Happiness Bar! They actually offer a useful service to the attendees by helping you troubleshoot and fix anything you need to on your WordPress site. In less than an hour, they helped me update my WordPress to the latest version, upgrade my social sharing features on each blog post, update my Twitter icon on each site, since Twitter now has rules that you can only use their newest logo and overall they taught me useful tips I can use to keep my WordPress site up to date with constant changes that are always being made to web applications.

9. Texas BBQ- I’m not a BBQ expert, nor do I eat a whole lot of red meat, but I do know good food when I taste it and wow the BBQ in Austin is mouth watering. Last year I experienced real BBQ for the first time at Salt Lick and this year I tried another popular favorite, Frankin BBQ. Both were absolutely delicious and I highly recommend every single meat eater try Texas BBQ in Austin. There is no excuse not to because Salt Lick has a location at the airport. USA Today proclaimed Salt Lick to be one of the best airport restaurants in the world. So if you ever get a chance to stop in Austin, even if it’s just for a layover at the airport, eat at Salt Lick! Before jet setting back to sunny San Diego, I enjoyed my last meal in Austin at Salt Lick. It was the perfect way to end my trip.

10. Smart SWAG- Every conference is filled with tchotchkes, swag or promotional giveaways from companies trying to stand out and be memorable with their giveaways. Whatever you call it, the truth is that most stuff we get will never even make it into our suitcase back home. This is why  it’s so important for businesses to be creative with their giveaways so they don’t waste money giving away things that will go in the trash. Since my suitcase space is limited I only make sure to take home a few items that will add value to my life. My number one favorite giveaway was a real crisp dollar bill from Volusion, a company that provides E-commerce solutions. They want to help you make money so why not start by giving you some? Their $1 giveaway probably costs a lot less than some of these obscure items such as squeeze balls or stuffed animals that will be thrown away. This is the first time I’ve seen a $1 bill giveaway and I feel like it’s such a genius idea! As you see in the picture, I kept a cool unicorn shirt since these creatures are just awesome and PSY socks! 80% of the other stuff, I received was left behind with my cousin who lives in Austin.

11. Catch a Chevy- Ok I know I said I have 10 favorite things about SXSW but it’s always better to over promise and under deliver right? So here goes number 11. Chevy dominated the auto industry presence at SXSW by providing free rides to conference attendees all around the downtown area. I probably caught 5 or 6 Chevys which made my wallet happy since I didn’t have to shell out for cab fair. The drivers were all friendly and happy to tell us about the Chevy we were riding in. What a great marketing strategy and smart way to get people in their cars. One of my favorite things about attending the conference is just observing all the different marketing campaigns companies will run, it’s always refreshing to see innovative ideas like the Catch a Chevy program!

 Well there you have it! My top 10  top 11 favorite things about SXSW 2013. I am already excited to plan next year’s trip and I know that it will be coming up again before I know it. I also need to take a moment to thank every single person who came out to my yoga or meditation session at SXSW. From the bottom of my heart, each and every one of you made my conferences so much more meaningful in many ways.

Oh and before I go, shout out to Car2Go! They totally saved me when it was pouring rain and I couldn’t catch a cab! I spotted a Car2Go quickly, was able to use my San Diego membership in Austin and got to my destination in no time. I even drove a new friend I met who was also stuck in the rain without a cab. We were both grateful for Car2Go! Alright, SXSW 2013 that’s a wrap! What were some of your favorite things about SXSW this year? Please feel free to share them with me in the comments. In the mean time, I’ll sign off by saying see “ya’ll” next year!

Prepare your Mind and Body for Enlightenment at SXSW with @MyMelodie #SXSWYoga

I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be heading to Austin again in less than a week. Last year I had the most amazing time at SXSW. I was hired by AT&T to attend the conference as one of their brand ambassadors. I ran a social media promotion for them to promote their new Galaxy Note and made many people happy by giving them away. I loved everything about the conference from getting to play with the newest tech gadgets, to enhancing my own knowledge about marketing and technology at the many sessions and workshops and best of all I met so many amazing people who share a passion for all things interactive. I left motivated, inspired and even more excited about technology.

This year I received my official speaker agreement on Friday and have been waiting until then to make any announcements. I am so honored and grateful for this opportunity. Any tech nerd knows this is huge!

As you all know  I’ve been doing  a lot this year to manifest wealth and abundance through my passions, marketing and yoga and SXSW is just an expansion of this. I’m hosting a wellness meetup, teaching a yoga session and teaching meditation session. Yes that’s right, I’m teaching yoga and meditation to my amazing tech-crazed, social media savvy, SXSW people who understand having a smart phone glued to your hand, a check in before actually arriving somewhere and a tweet to tell the world we’re at SXSW.  I’m going to provide you with 1 hour (or 2 if you come to both my sessions) of peace and quiet in the midst of all the SXSW madness so I would be honored if you joined me. I’m a busy entrepreneur and business owner who works full time running a marketing company that specializes in Marketing and Social Media. I’m also a college Professor in Marketing, a Professional Speaker and I teach 5-7 yoga classes a week. It’s no doubt that I’m busy which is why yoga and meditation have done wonders in helping me manage my stress and create balance in my life. They are such amazing resources in my busy life and now I have the chance to share my tools with others who lead a similar lifestyle as me in the busy tech world. 

Here are the official times and locations of my sessions. Please add them to your schedule now. I know there are dozens of other sessions going on at the same time but I promise that you’ll leave my session feeling refreshed, energized, enlightened and ready to take on the rest of the conference.

Wellness Meetup- Friday March 8th, 5-6pm , Austin Convention Center Room 8A: Enjoy some time with other mindful health practitioners, and get the details on what other wellness panels, presentations, and resources are available during SXSW. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the newest apps and technology resources related to fitness. Bring your ideas for healthy living during the conference! Add this to your schedule here. 

Come As You Are Yoga- Saturday March 9th,  9:30-10:30am-, Austin Convention Center Room 8A: Yoga was developed thousands of years ago as a way to prepare the mind and body for enlightenment. What better way to prepare yourself for all the new ideas, insights, and people you will encounter at SXSW? This is an all-levels class with special attention to alignment and helping beginners get a good start in the practice. We’ll emphasize techniques that are easy to replicate at home and at work. No special equipment or clothing needed—just come as you are! Add this to your schedule here.  (Check out the photo below from last year’s Come As You Are Yoga session. Yep if a guy dressed in a robot can do yoga, you can certainly do it in your conference attire. )

Here’s What I’m currently doing to Manifest Wealth and Abundance through my Passions

Throughout the years and even today I work with and for a variety of different organizations from small businesses, large corporations, educational institutes, media companies and marketing agencies. Whether, I’m an employee or contractor, one thing has become crystal clear to me: In order for me to grow and succeed in my career  I must be passionate about it. My passion drives me to excel and inspires me to do my absolute best. My expertise and passion is marketing (for they don’t call me Marketing Melodie for nothing!). I discovered that I am allowed to have more than one passion though and my other passion is yoga. And thus began my quest to combine my 2 passions into my career.

I’ve made a significant amount of progress in the past year. I’ve become a more established Yoga Instructor and even launched my own yoga website, Tao of Yoga. I’m teaching at least 5 regular classes a week absolutely love it. While it definitely took me some time to iron out my teaching schedule so I could also work full time on my marketing business, I’m happy that I have the opportunity to do both. I work with many types of clients at Marketing Melodie and I’m happy to continue doing this but I really want to be a well known marketing resource for the Yoga and Fitness industries. What am I doing to ensure this happens? Here are my actionable steps. I am putting this out there into the world to open up doors. Perhaps someone reading this can help accelerate my progress in some way. Perhaps you have a need for my services or want to be a part of my venture. Whatever connection you might feel from reading this, I encourage you to act on it and reach out!

1. Create a workshop on the “Business of Yoga” that will be standard for all Yoga Teacher Training programs- Currently all Yoga Teacher Training programs through Yoga Alliance must have a “Business of Yoga” section. Up to 5 hours (of the 200 hour training) can be allotted to business but most trainings only cover about 1-2 hours. The majority of Yoga Instructors I have talked to (no matter where they did their training) all agree that they would like to see more emphasis on the business portion and more specifically on how to actually start marketing and branding themselves as a new instructor. This is where I am confident I can be a resource and combine my marketing background with my experience for working in the fitness industry to help yoga and fitness professionals excel.

Where I’m at now-  The workshop is created! Of course since my “Business of Yoga” workshop has a strong emphasis on marketing and social media which is always changing, my presentation itself will constantly be updated before each time it’s presented to ensure it has the most up to date information. Not only has the workshop been created, but I have successfully presented this workshop a the first Digital Media Now for Yogis event take took place last July at La Jolla Yoga Center. The feedback I received was positively overwhelming which lead me to host my second Digital Media Now for Yogis event in November 2012 at the Chula Vista Yoga Center. Since I already have some momentum I would like to keep it going by scheduling more workshops this year as part of Yoga Teacher Training programs. My next scheduled Digital Media Now Workshop is going to be at Bird Rock Yoga on Saturday May 4th from 12:30pm-2:30pm.

NEXT ACTIONABLE STEP- Write a blog post on the importance of my workshop for Yoga Teacher Training programs and why it needs to be in every training. Then I will do my best to share this post with leaders who are in charge of training programs. I want to book at least 3 more workshops by the end of March.

2. My workshop will be approved through  national personal training organizations to count as CECs (Continuing Education Credits) - While I’ve started my workshop off by presenting to mostly people who are Yoga Instructors and Yoga professionals, I know that my program is just as beneficial for personal trainers. Continuing Education Credits (CECs) serve to evaluate and validate the continued competency of a trainer’s current and applicable knowledge so it’s important that they are constantly keeping themselves educated . Continuing education is required of many business professionals, educators, and health and fitness instructors and many personal training organizations such as National Federation of Personal Trainers (NFPT), American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA) and American Council on Exercise require the trainers to obtain CECs every year. I absolutely want my program to be approved for CECs which will encourage Personal Trainers to take my workshop. 

Where I’m at now- This is a goal that I just set for myself so I honestly don’t know the exact steps on proceeding.

NEXT ACTIONABLE STEP- I’m going to contact a few people I work with who I know have been involved in hosting workshops that count for CECs and see where that leads me. If anyone already has a program that’s approved for CECs or knows anything about the process of getting a workshop approved by a national personal training organization, I would love your advice.

3. I will be hired to speak at prestigious fitness conventions such as IDEA World, IHRSA and Yoga Journal Conference as a keynote speaker and/or workshop leader- I’m proud to have built up an impressive speaking background in the past few years. My desire to speak, teach and share with others my passion about marketing and social media has opened up many doors for me to present at prestigious events and host workshops around the world such as The Internet Society in  Hong Kong and Beirut, Lebanon and many places in my home town San Diego such as my most recent speaking engagement at the Social Media for Entrepreneurs workshop. I absolutely love public speaking and want to manifest opportunities to continue speaking and teaching those in the yoga and fitness industries about marketing and social media.

Where I’m at now- I attended the Yoga Journal Conference in San Diego back in July 2012. I did my research beforehand got connected with their Marketing Coordinator through email before the event. I explained to her what I did and my interest in presenting at their event. She got back to me and said “If you have any ideas for last minute marketing pushes in the SD and LA areas, I’d love to hear them”. After thoroughly evaluating the marketing effort for the Yoga Journal Conference (mind you this is usually something I charge clients for but I was happy to do it as a service since I wanted to build a good relationship with the organization) I took the initiative to claim their venue on Foursquare, and gave her 4 great suggestions for increasing visibility in San Diego and LA including a contest idea, a sales promotion, and referral program and a blogger outreach idea. I also noticed their online presence needed to be more consistent as their profiles and screen names for various networks were all different. They did not implement any of my ideas but I was happy for the opportunity to share and I was able to set up a meeting with both the Marketing Coordinator and the Conference Director during the Yoga Journal Conference. At the meeting, I explained to them my vision and on how I want to teach fitness professionals how to live their passion and make money doing it. I also explained to them the thought process behind the different promotions I recommended for them. I did a poor job of conveying my value because they did invite me to present at upcoming Yoga Journal Conference but told me that they didn’t have a budget to pay me and also let me know that I must cover my own transportation and lodging. So I was essentially invited to not only work for free, but to pay to work. At the time I was extremely busy so after that meeting, I put working with that organization on the back burner because they didn’t see the value in what I have to offer. It was a very frustrating experience. I got all the way to the top in meeting with the actual Conference Director but failed in my attempt to convey just how important and valuable I could be to the organization. I’m now even more determined to break into the fitness convention world as a valuable resource and  someone who they want to hire on their team.

NEXT ACTIONABLE STEP- I know a few people involved with IDEA World so I will reach out to them. I will reconnect with the Yoga Journal Conference and share with them my successes so far in presenting Digital Media Now for Yogis at Yoga Studios and see if  reconnecting leads to any opportunities. If anyone is involved in any fitness conventions, please each out to me. I would love to connect!

In the past year I’ve worked extremely hard to get to a place where my career is focused on my passions for marketing and yoga. I want so badly to help others succeed in their career focused on their passions.  I now need to step it up and create wealth and abundance for myself so that I can be an example for others and prove that it truly is possible to live a life and succeed by doing what inspires you. I honestly didn’t know where I was going when I started writing this post. In fact, I don’t even know if anyone is going to read through this whole thing, but I’m glad I put my intentions out there and I’m glad I’m holding the internet accountable for my next actionable steps. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and wealthy day!

~NAMASTE~

Marketing Melodie in 2012: A Year in Review

I can’t believe that I’m actually writing my 2012 year in review because it seems unreal that this year is really coming to an end. Two years ago I began a tradition of writing a year in review at the end of  the year. I do this to express my sincere gratitude for everything the universe has brought my way. I still have a habit of discrediting my accomplishments. I often focus on what I haven’t yet achieved so this post is also an effort to combat my bad habit. I want to focus on  my successes, not what I haven’t done.

First I want to I reflect back on the past few years since I turned Marketing Melodie into my full time career. I noticed some patterns throughout the year. In 2010 I made my transition from being an “employee” to a full time “entrepreneur”. This was a major break through. 2010 was filled with travel, speaking gigs and an abundance of break through opportunities including getting hired to teach Marketing at Platt College and so many new connections. I will call 2010 my break through year.

2011 was a change of pace. I was traveling less and speaking less but spending more time organizing, creating systems and solidifying my services and offerings in order to have a strong foundation for monetizing my business. I hosted workshops, charity events and my first webinar. I now had a system for effective prospecting and client management. I also became a certified yoga instructor. Little did I know that my yoga certification would be another tool that would really hold as a strong foundation for my career. I will call 2011 my foundation building year.

With everything being so organized, I expected to hit the ground running with my marketing business in 2012. In some ways I did but I also realized that there was so much more that I wanted to learn before systematizing everything I do. After all, I left being a full time employee so I could embrace opportunities as they come my way. I’ve spent 2012 learning and exploring.  I will call 2012 my learning year. I have mastered the art of learning something new everyday so this year is just a reflection of my desire to constantly stay educated to serve as a true resource for those around me.

*JANUARY* 

January always comes as a surprise to me because I never expect it to come so soon. I started the year off with strategically branding my company as a strong force in the Social Media world. I did this in a fun way by jumping on the meme train. I saw a few “Shit Says” videos that I found humorous. I decided to create one for Social Media titled Shit Social Media Experts say. With the help of my social media friends @jennyjenjen, @iPodschun, @RobotFaith, @ChrisKirkman we made it happen. Although I didn’t get a million YouTube views, the video did allow me to connect with many new people who either work in the social space or are interested in using social media themselves to grow their business.

 

With my business growing, I decided that I would need some help to accelerate the growth. I took on a new Intern, Stephanie Trinh. I created a  more structured internship program to ensure my interns are learning through hands on projects. If anyone reading this is interested or knows someone who is interested in a marketing and social media internship, please reach out to me.

*FEBRUARY*

I continued on the meme train to brand my company and created 2 occupation memes. To this day, they are some of the most viewed pages on MarketingMelodie.com. I created What Social Media Experts Actually Do which fits my passion for marketing and I also created What Yogis Actually Do which fits my passion for yoga.

*MARCH*

My travel bug never completely goes away. When I get the opportunity to travel for business, I embrace it to the fullest. I was hired by AT&T to be one of their brand ambassadors at SXSW which meant an adventure in Austin, Texas. I had an incredible time meeting so many industry leaders, running an awesome social media promotion where I was giving out free phones, enjoying interactive events and even a Third Eye Blind Concert. In general, there was just so much winning for everyone in Austin. My cousin goes to UT and my mom lives in Dallas so I also got to see both of them while I was on my business trip.

When I left Austin, I took a little detour to my favorite city to visit, Chicago! I used the power of Social Media to explore the entire city of Chicago. My great friend Krissy moved back there so it was the perfect time to visit. I have another cousin who also goes to the Art Institute in Chicago so it was great getting to see her too. I brought the San Diego sunshine to Chicago. During my 4 day stay which happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the weather was amazing. It was 70s and sunny the entire time and go figure, it was raining in San Diego! I did a lot of sight seeing, ate great Chicago food and enjoyed great company. I definitely want to go back to Chicago soon and I already have a list of must sees the next time I’m there.

*APRIL*

I connected with the lovely Jennifer Pastiloff on social media and I won her Facebook contest for a ticket to Tadasana Festival! I was able to make social media and yoga unite at Tadasana Festival. This was just the first of many opportunities to combine my two passions.

Earth day is also in April. I love to do whatever I can to create a more sustainable earth. This year I wrote a post where I shared 10 ways to go green at work. After publishing my post, I received some nice PR coverage by NBC San Diego as they featured my post on their TV news segment.

Foursquare Day also falls in April (4/16- 4 squared is 16!). For the 3rd year in a row I hosted a fun social media meetup around Foursquare. I first hosted Foursquare Day Hong Kong in 2010 when I traveled there on business. In 2011 I hosted Foursquare Day in San Diego at R Gang Eatery and this year I hosted Foursquare Day San Diego again at Osetra. Everyone had fun mingling, checking in to win prizes, unlocking badges and meeting new friends.

*MAY*

I’m always open to opportunities that allow me to enhance my skills. I have known for a few years that San Diego Continuing Education offers free classes on just about any subject you can imagine. I finally got around to signing up for a Photoshop class and am so happy I decided to do so. I wanted to learn Photoshop skills so I could easily crop, resize, edit images on a basic level and that’s exactly what I learned how to do. I even got a student ID that I was told I can use for student discounts. The discount is especially helpful if I want to buy software programs.

*JUNE*

After meeting  Jennifer Pastiloff in April at Tadasana Festival she invited me up to LA to be a part of her Karaoke Yoga class that was being filmed for ABC. I make a brief appearance singing while practicing yoga on TV! Of course I had to connect it back to marketing and shared with you how to optimize your PR efforts on social media all while doing Karaoke Yoga.

Toward the end of June, I received my favorite Klout Perk ever which was an invite to stay at Terranea Resort for a weekend getaway. I took the Amtrak (for the first time in years) to Irvine, then carpooled up to Terranea to meet the rest of the Klout crew. I explored the entire resort and found so much stuff to do at Terranea but my favorite part was really relaxing at the pool and spa.

*JULY*

After my Terranea getaway I hopped on plane to Seattle, Washington. I visited friends, family, ran around the city like a silly tourist, celebrated my Grandpa’s 87th birthday,  4th of July and even set up some business meetings. I hit all the birds  with one stone. I also took a little detour to my neighboring state Portland, Oregon. I visited many Portland must sees including the famous Powell’s Bookstore, which is definitely  an amazing place for bookworms. I tried the ever popular Voodoo Doughnuts and a nice view of the city at Portland City Grill. I also attended the Portland Blues festival. I have a theory that I bring the San Diego sunshine wherever I go because the weather was so nice in both Seattle and Portland during my stay.

My two passions are marketing and yoga so I decided to combine them both into my career and teach yogis how to grow their business and make money through marketing and social media. I successfully hosted my first marketing workshop exclusively for yogis at La Jolla Yoga Center.

I also got my CPR certification! I learned another skill that will help me save lives. I also got the song “Staying Alive” stuck in my head.

*AUGUST*

It was time for me to lease a new car. In between my leases, I decided to do a “No Car in San Diego Challenge”. No car meaning I’m not driving a car of my own. I wanted to see if it was possible to get around in San Diego without my own vehicle. I survived almost 1 month without my own car and the first week I was fortunate enough to be driving the Chevy Volt electric car thanks to the GM PR team, I also drove Car2Go, took Uber and took the bus (which surprisingly was very nice a clean the two times I took it to La Jolla).  I learned that it is possible to get around San Diego without a car.  Not having a car was definitely challenging but there were so many positives that came out of it. I was more strategic about planning out my days, I was healthier and got a lot of exercise because I walked more and I was able to connect with old friends who were nice enough to offer me rides.

As I continued to integrate yoga into my career, I attracted more opportunities to do so. I began teaching regular yoga classes for the YMCA. My full yoga schedule can be found here.

To my absolute astonishment, I found myself on Mandatory.com’s “20 Hottest Geek Girls of the Internet” list among many super smart, sexy and successful women like Jenna Marbles, my friend Jenn Hoffman (she was on the Apprentice!) and one of my favorite YouTubers, Natalie Tran. I was extremely grateful for this feature and wrote a thank you post to demonstrate how to optimize PR features.

*SEPTEMBER* 

Professional speaking is something I love doing. I haven’t been speaking much this year, but in 2013 I plan to significantly grow my business through speaking. I really wanted to learn more skills to become a better speaker so I decided to take improv classes through National Comedy Theater. I completed Level 1 and Level 2. The classes were so much fun! I learned how to be quicker in responding to any situation and to have confidence in what I say. I just met so many awesome friends from all walks of life through taking classes here. I highly recommend that everyone take an improv class at some point. In fact, here are 10 reasons taking an improv class will make you happy.

*OCTOBER* 

After teaching yoga at the YMCA for a few months, more and more opportunities began to open up for me in the fitness world. I had the honor of teaching a yoga class to benefit breast health awareness for the YMCA La Jolla’s Workout in Pink event. The YMCA also sent me to a training for Bender Barre. I really enjoyed learning to teach a fitness class that’s different than yoga. I’m happy to say that I’m now certified to teach Bender Barre classes. Yep another tool to add on my belt.

*NOVEMBER*

I made some more headway with my mission to help Yogis and Fitness professionals grow their business. I hosted my second Digital Media Now for Yogis at the gorgeous Chula Vista Yoga Center. It was part of their Teacher Training and also open to the public. In 2013, my goal is to get my marketing curriculum to be standard for all Teacher Training programs.

*DECEMBER*

I launched my new yoga website and brand, Tao of Yoga. It’s a simple site, but it works. I’m happy to have a place where I can share my thoughts on all things yoga and fitness. I’m also grateful that I have a schedule that’s easy to update so I can invite everyone to my classes.

As you can see, a lot of my business focus shifted from marketing to yoga. I really wanted to create a foundation for my yoga business, which is what I was successfully able to do. I have a website that’s a resource, I teach  4 consistent yoga classes each week and I’m constantly continuing my own education to become a better instructor. Now that I have my yoga business up and running, I really want to focus on the marketing side of my business again. I will book more speaking engagements, host more digital media now workshops and webinars, and I created a nice referral program for anyone who sends me business for a marketing client. If you know anyone interested in growing their business through effective marketing and social media, please send them my way. You’ll receive a check from me as a thank you!

I celebrated another year with my birthday on December 13th. I like to give out gifts on my birthday. This year I gave everyone 13 happy birthday promotions to enjoy and had a San Diego themed get together with some friends.

There you have it, my 2012 year in review. If you have some favorite moments of 2012, please feel free to share them with me. Since 13 is my lucky number and we’re gearing up for the year 2013, I’m confident that it will be my lucky year! Thanks to every single person who has read my blog. Whether you read  one post or read my blog regularly, I sincerely appreciate it. Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year everyone!

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