Online Marketing for Marketers

As most folks in the web analytics space are aware, the vendor landscape is changing and settling in at the same time. There has been some consolidation (Omniture / Visual Sciences (HBX)) and there will probably continue to be mergers as the analytics space matures.

It appears that web analytics is becoming to Corporate America what Search Engine Optimization was. What I mean is, we have seen over the last 4-5 years an explosion in SEO acceptance within the corporate space. SEO firms, consultants and tools now permeate the market. Larger corporations, having accepted the fact that SEO is a necessary marketing tactic, are now resourcing SEO/SEM analytics or hiring firms to manage it for them. It is no longer “should we” but “how are we” within the corporate marketing department. Read more

Search engine optimization can seem like a big black hole to solo entrepreneurs. On the one hand, the cost of most professional SEO services are beyond our budgets; and it’s difficult to assess the effectiveness of these services before you buy. On the other hand, if we try to do it ourselves, the process can be bewildering! There is so much to learn about: new terminology; a myriad of “rules” for optimizing your website (that change constantly as search engine algorithms change); lots of tools for analyzing and measuring all kinds of things that may or may not be helpful. Below are a few tips I’ve learned over the last several years as a solo entrepreneur optimizing my own site; I hope they help you navigate the maze of search engine optimization, and save some money in the process. Read more

I attended a presentation by Sarah Rottman Epps from Forrester a few weeks back during our Custom Publishing Council member meeting.  Sarah gave an excellent presentation about how custom publishers can make the jump from print to online content solutions, but her advice is just as important for content marketers.

Here are some of the stats that made her case:

• People want their online experiences to be visual (39% of US adults watch video online).
• People want their online experiences to be social (35% of US adults connect on social networks).
• They want to have fun (48% of US adults play online games).

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One cannot write on the marketing industry today and not comment on our now “official recession”. So, I’d like to take a different angle than most and focus on the positive elements of the turmoil ahead for 2009. Here are the three thoughts that actually have me re-energized about the coming year:

Weed Out the Weak
As with any disease, war or difficult time, the weak and unworthy quickly perish. For the online marketing space, this is particularly good. We have so many fly-by-night vendors, pseudo-consultants and companies with products and business models that you’d think it’s 1999 all over again. To prove the point, all you have to do is walk through one the exhibit hall floors of a major show and try to figure out what any of the vendor like “Orange Crush” or “Blue River” actually do.

The good news here is if you have a strong product, exemplary skills and a decent game plan both client-side and agency-side players will thrive after the shakeout and opportunity will abound…
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Quick story for you.

I was flying back a few nights ago from Chicago via Southwest Airlines. After we landed, there was a long taxi to get to the gate - and to pass the time, everyone was talking to each other (it was actually pretty loud).

About a minute into the taxi the Southwest flight attendant asked if anyone wanted to hear a story. Within 10 seconds, over 100 people were completely quiet, and so, she told the story. Read more

I’ve been following The Marketing Technology Blog by Douglas Karr, and I’m in awe of him and his natural blogging ability. He blogs on his topic daily, sometimes more, and produces really well thought out posts. As a result, he has built a strong following on his blog that is rivaled by very few. And he’s done it in record time!

I decided to reach out to Doug Karr and interview him on a podcast to bring you some key learnings on how to build the audience for your blog. Enjoy …

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I always tell people (or at least ones I hope won’t tell another soul!) that you don’t have to be a professional or full-time copywriter to write good copy.

And it’s true: With more and more marketers, entrepreneurs, business owners, consultants and others doing a little bit of everything when it comes to their marketing, a little knowledge and advice can go a long way.

(Most copywriters wouldn’t want you to know this….but with the right tools and techniques, anyone can write copy well enough to be, well, dangerous.)

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When marketing planning gets complicated, I always suspect that, somehow, the essentials have gone wrong. I’ve seen elaborate edifices of media buying, graphic design, brand strategy and more built on the most threadbare understanding of fundamentals: who your customers are and what they want.

But when the fundamentals are solid — you know your customers and what makes them tick —  your actual execution can be quite simple.

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What do good campaigns have in common?

They don’t have much in common with other campaigns. They say something fresh. They say something new. And they’re not afraid to defy conventional wisdom.

In fact, many of the best are gosh-darned contrary. I’m thinking of the Volkswagen “lemon” campaign. The Hebrew National “Uncle Sam” campaign. Forbes’ “capitalist tool” campaign. They all defied expectations by turning those expectations on their heads.

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No matter what you are writing and what product or service you are selling, certain copywriting principles will always play a role in your marketing campaign.

Here are the Top 5 must-consider-never-ignore points to remember in any campaign you create, tweak or analyze:

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