A small, local festival had a small problem … or a big one, depending on how you look at it. Someone had set up a Facebook page about the festival—which was fine, except they’d used the festival logo as the profile picture, giving the impression that they were the “official” page. The webmaster had even…
If you’re wondering why I’ve inserted the # symbol before ‘Newbie’ in the title, fear not, you’ve come to the right place. Because I write about web marketing, it’s tempting to want to appear the expert on all things web. Which is why (until recently) I’ve avoided topics like marketing your business on Twitter. I…
I must admit, of all social media, Twitter is the one I “get” the least. Don’t believe me? Check out my whopping 59 Twitter followers. (Oops, make that 60!) So if you want talk about RTs and #hashtags, this won’t be the read for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something more basic, like “How…
Whenever I’m asked about Twitter, it’s usually from people with the pre-conceived notion that everyone there is a self-absorbed narcissist tweeting about what they ate for breakfast. And while Twitter does attract more than its share of self-centeredness, it’s also much, much more. Twitter often defies explanation, but my niece has one of the best…
Walking to the corner market with my best friend to buy a packet of that little pink bubble gum wrapped in a comic strip was one of the highlights of my nine-year-old existence. Sure, there were other bubble gum brands on the shelf, but none of them had the latest adventures of Bazooka Joe inside.…
Michael Hyatt, Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, says that when we think there’s a singular solution to our woes, we’re guilty of “silver bullet thinking.” It’s precisely this type of thinking that’s led to the debate over whether inbound or outbound marketing is “best.” Proponents of inbound marketing claim that, in new era of social…
There are two different types of prospecting, and which you choose depends on how hungry you are. Hunting When hunting, you eat what you kill. Hunter prospecting methods involve doing things that get you business immediately. The downside is, you’ll soon be hungry again and need to spend time hunting down new clients. As any…
In a recent article I wrote for SitePoint, I pointed out the tendency for consultative sales types, particularly web designers, to hide behind a proposal instead of directly asking for the sale … something of which I was equally guilty: But the fact of the matter is, I would do anything to avoid directly asking…
The following was a guest post at TMR’s Direct Mail and Marketing Blog. In their book, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing, Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg say that … …customers want to enter into dialogs with businesses, to establish relationships, participate in the conversations, and be more in control of…
In my latest SitePoint article, I talked about inbound vs. outbound marketing. In case the difference isn’t clear to you, here’s a quick definition of inbound marketing: A marketing strategy that focuses on getting found by customers, where the customers find you through various search engine marketing efforts, social media, or word-of-mouth referrals. Outbound or…