Get Savvy! IMU is Back

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Last month I had the opportunity to take 10 hours of classes through Inbound Marketing University (IMU). These online classes (details below) were taught by leaders in the field and covered a wide range of timely topics. By passing an exam on the material, I became eligible to be called an 'Inbound Marketing Certified Professional.' You can see the official badge on the upper left of this blog.

What is an 'Inbound Marketing Certified Professional?'

The certification is administered by Hubspot and "acknowledges the recipients proficiency in Inbound Marketing principals and best practices. These principles include: blogging, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing, and closed-loop analysis. In order to receive the Inbound Marketing Certification, the recipient must pass a comprehensive certification exam with a score of 75% or higher. "

The great news is that IMU is back! The original ten classes are being offered again next month and there are two new classes available. The courses are free but you must register by August 12. The link to register is at the end of this article.

The original 10 classes are:

Class 1: How to Blog Effectively for Business Professors: Ann Handley & Mack Collier, MarketingProfs

Class 2: SEO Crash Course to Get Found Professor: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing

Class 3: Social Media and Building Community Professor: Chris Brogan, New Marketing Labs

Class 4: Successful Business Uses for Facebook and LinkedIn Professor: Elyse Tager, Silicon Valley American Marketing Association

Class 5: Viral Marketing and World Wide Raves Professor: David Meerman Scott, author of New Rules of Marketing & PR andWorld Wide Rave

Class 6: Advanced SEO Tactics: On Beyond Keyword Research Professor: Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz

Class 7: Calls to Action and Landing Page Best Practices Professor: Jeanne Hopkins, MECLABS, Marketing Experiments

Class 8: Inbound Lead Nurturing Professor: Brian Carroll, MECLABS, InTouch

Class 9: Successful Email Marketing Professor: Eric Groves, Constant Contact

Class 10: Analyzing Inbound Marketing Professor: Marshall Sponder, Monster.com, Web Analytics Association for Social Media

The 2 new classes are:

1)PR for Inbound Marketing

Professor: Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications

2)Twitter for Business

Professor: Laura Fitton, Pistachio Consulting, Twitter For Dummies

To register for the live webinar classes and the Certification Exam, go to the IMU home page.

Fun and Free X3!

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Here are 3 fun and free things you can do this week and best of all .... they're good for you!

#1 - Win a FREE copy of 'The eBay Marketing Bible!'

This Thursday (July 9) between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm - Pacific time, Cindy Shebley of Web Sellers Circle will be giving away five free copies of her new book, 'The eBay Marketing Bible.'

It's simple to win - just watch Cindy's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/clovercity) for the mystery questions, be the first to answer and you'll win a copy of the book!

To make it even easier, here is one of the questions AND THE ANSWER:
Question: What famous TV car was auctioned on eBay in 1999?
Answer: The 1960's Batmobile

You're on your own for the other four mystery questions!

If you want to know more about the book, you can listen to Cindy talk about it (and share some of the tips) in our 'Tips From the Top' podcast. Don't let the book's title mislead you: All the tips can be used by anyone who's involved in eCommerce - not just eBayers.



#2 - How To Stay Motivated When Working From Home Or As A Solopreneur

Join us on Wed July 8 at 4:00pm EDT for a free Tips From the Top podcast with the amazing Charlene Anderson - Purveyor of All Things Creative as she joins us to share her words of wisdom.

Charlene's previous podcasts, which include 'Things I Learned the Hard Way' and 'Things I Did Right the First Time' have been some of the most downloaded in our series. On Wed, July 8, she's going to tackle the topic of staying motivated when you work from home or work alone.

#3 - Become a Fan of The Savvy Seller's Facebook Page

The Savvy Seller has a brand new Facebook page! Please feel free to stop by, become a fan, introduce yourself on the Discussion Board or start a topic.

Starting in the fall we'll have info links & tips available only to our fans. Also, when we offer our 'Tips From the Top' podcasts, only our fans will be provided with a link to the powerpoint slide presentation or video that accompanies it. Join us!