This post is in honour of Naomi Dunford’s birthday. Feel free to eat cake while reading it…
I buy a fair few ebooks on biz-related matters.
And I take online classes. I read blog posts. I hang out on Twitter.
It’s only recently that I’ve realised just how much I’ve learnt – particularly about marketing. I’ve come a long, long way in the past three years.
An awful lot of this is down to one, very awesome, woman.
Naomi Dunford.
I could spend all day telling you about how fantastic Naomi is. She’s clever and kind and generous and big-hearted and laugh-out-loud funny.
But … I’m trying to finish Draft 4 of Lycopolis before I head off to South by South West. So I’ll give you one quick story, plus links to some of my all-time-favourite Naomi posts.
The Launch of Aliventures
Without Naomi, you might not even be reading this.
Back in 2009, Naomi ran the first (and so far, the only) IttyBiz Live.
Well, that was the PC name for it. Actually, in true Naomi style, it was called Fuck Realistic.
And it was here, in the UK. I couldn’t miss it. I was fan-girlishly excited to get to meet Naomi. She was just as lovely in person as online (and, actually, a bit less scary). And I met a bunch of other awesome people – including Willie Hewes, a fantastic illustrator, and Colin Beveridge, a brilliant maths tutor; my Twitter stream would seem bereft without them!
And, a month later, after telling everyone that I was going to launch my new blog … I launched it. 🙂
Favourite Posts #1: Biz
Plenty of Naomi’s blog posts have stopped me making daft business mistakes. Here’s two:
How to Be Broke at Conferences (I also went to the UK tweetup mentioned in the post. It’s not like I stalk Naomi or anything…)
Last September, I finished my MA in creative writing and got married. My cash flow wasn’t great for a number of reasons – mainly that I’d not been focusing on my biz for a while (weddings do that to you). Naomi’s post helped me realise that I could do Vegas without splashing tons of money around and without making other people feel awkward.
What Should I Tweet About? It Might Not Be What You Think
Ever thought “Why doesn’t Ali tweet interesting writing tips?”
This post is why.
Favourite Posts #2: Funny
Naomi is a wickedly good writer. These posts stand up to re-reading, any time.
Moral Of The Story: Violent Snuggling Edition
If you find bodily fluids amusing (oh, come on, admit it!) then … well, just read this.
Moral of the Story: Marketing to Alcoholics Edition
I can imagine myself doing this. Except that I’m lucky enough to have really small wrists.
Naomi hasn’t been blogging so much recently. This makes me sad:
But I’m pretty sure Naomi is off cooking up something really awesome, and so I’ll forgive her. 😉 And/or harangue her in Austin.
Happy birthday, Naomi! Hope you have a brilliant year. See you at SXSW.
And thank you. 🙂
Heads up! I’m going to be at SXSW interactive from Friday 11th – Tuesday 15th March. If you’re gonna be there too, grab me on Twitter (@aliventures) and let’s hook up and say hi!
I probably won’t be blogging during the conference – but I’ll be heading to some awesome-looking panels about indie publishing, and I’ll be telling you about everything I’ve learnt soon…
Ali!
I love this post. What a great b-day wish to the lovely Mrs. Dunford. I share all of your sentiments here and I ESPECIALLY love your picture towards the end. Way to make the post jump off the page!
Have fun in Austin and give Naomi a giant b-day hug from all of us!
Marlee’s last blog post ..Can You Learn to Love Your Online Business some relationship experts say yes!
Thanks Marlee!
I will attempt to hug Naomi, but after a minor incident at the last SXSW where I *said* I’d guard her drink …
Marlee –
I will totally hug Ali, but only this once. See, there was this incident…
xx
N
Naomi is awesome. Not only does she walk the talk but her products are unbelievably easy to understand and yield results. And her customer service is out of this world.
She ran a 50% sale on the ittybiz store. I’d been lusting after ‘How to launch the **** out of your ebook’ for ages and pounced at the sale – only to find out that it wouldn’t accept the code. I emailed Naomi and received an email that the book wasn’t included in the sale.
A few days later I get an email from saying that when Naomi got back and realized what had happened, she felt bad about forgetting to mention that ‘How to launch’ wasn’t on sale, and because of it had decided to honour the code.
I was jubilant and have been a fan ever since! 😀
Samar’s last blog post ..Freelance Jargon 101- Terms You Need to Know to Avoid Looking Like a Fool
Aww, Samar, what an awesome story! That’s totally Naomi 🙂
At the IttyBiz Live, we pestered her for a discount code on Online Business School … and got it.
And I shouldn’t leave comments while trying to put a cranky baby to sleep. *cringes at the horrible mistakes*
Samar’s last blog post ..Freelance Jargon 101- Terms You Need to Know to Avoid Looking Like a Fool
its so nice of you not to forget the people who helped you on your way 🙂
i really respect that, and thanks for the links too Ali 🙂
First, thank you. You are lovely. First, for being lovely. Second, for mentioning my bodily fluids. I have received many well wishes over the last few days and not a ONE of them included any reference whatsoever to me peeing in a pitcher. So thank you.
I’m so glad you came and harassed me at Fuck Realistic. And then in London. And then in Vegas. You are totally my favourite stalker.
This was so nice, Ali. I’m so grateful.
I’m so glad I made your birthday special and memorable. 😉
I will totally stalk you some more in Austin! (Depending on jetlag levels, I might be kinda slow, so if you could just stay put in one bar for a few hours, that’d be swell…)
Hi Ali, what a great person to stalk! It just goes to show what one can achieve by emulating people who have gone before you. Very soon someone else will be writing celebrating you the way you are celebrating Naomi – if they haven’t done so already!
Aww, thanks! 🙂 I think I’m a little way off Naomi-levels of fame, but my little community here on Aliventures is growing all the time. 🙂