Wellness Obsession

Being earnest, or sincere, in your efforts to provide content to you customers is perhaps your most important task. Until recent years, your “content” was advertisements, flyers, coupons and other promotional materials. Outstanding content today requires a new mindset and intent. You’re not selling your customers with your content, be it that from a blog, an email newsletter or a posting on a social network, but instead you are providing them with value. While having lunch with Jay Garmon , an email marketing whiz and fellow Social Media Club Louisville board member, earlier this week I asked if he happened to subscribe to Exploring Social Media – my email newsletter. (I was looking for some constructive criticism.) He said he subscribed to the RSS feed of my blog and assumed that my e-newsletter was a digest of the month’s Social Media Explorer posts. I assured him the newsletter content was exclusive and, in fact, different. The conversation reminded me that having a strong content strategy doesn’t just imply that you need and editorial calendar for your corporate website or blog. You also need to think about each content marketing mechanism you employ is different, how its audience is different and what additional value you can provide exclusively to that group. The content I provide on Social Media Explorer serves (I think) social media marketers at many levels, but mostly established professionals seeking ideas and insights to help them do their jobs better. The content I provide on Exploring Social Media (the newsletter) serves a more broad audience of folks interested in social media but not as established, but without dumbing it down too much and alienating the blog readers. My posts on the Social Media Explorer Facebook Page are intended for almost a 101 audience since many of my connections there are people who have no contact with social media other than they’re on Facebook. It’s sort of my beginners sandbox, if you will. The content for each is different because it serves a slightly different audience. To copy and paste your blog or website content into an e-newsletter may very well serve the same content to two different audiences, but are you sure? Are you perhaps missing an opportunity to move your website audience a little closer to your brand with a targeted email effort? Are your Twitter followers also your Facebook fans? If so, don’t you think the auto post to your status update is a bit redundant? Think about your content channels. How are you using them? I’m interested to know if it’s repositioned content or a rethought strategy. The comments are yours. Related articles by Zemanta Marketers as Content Instigators (othersidegroup.com) Writing Content for the Buyer’s Decision Journey (conversationagent.com) Brand publishing (platform.idiomag.com) 10 Most Popular Content Marketing Posts of 2009 (web2.sys-con.com) Content Marketing Today (web2.sys-con.com)

Welcome to the first BIGLIST review of SEM and SEO blogs for 2010!  What a year it will be. We reviewed hundreds of marketing blogs in 2009 and well over a thousand since we started the original list. Today’s BIGLIST update focuses on a few local search marketing blogs we’ve recently discovered. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and we know online marketers already like the BIGLIST of online marketing blogs reviews. Expand2Web Blog – The design winner for this BIGLIST Update Local SEM Blog Edition goes to Expand3Web by Don Campbell. This blog offers a rich mix of WordPress and Local search marketing advice as well as how to screencasts & videos as well as a podcast. And now on to the other Local Search Marketing additions to TopRank’s BIGLIST this week: GEO Local SEO - Steve Hatcher aka Stever recently branched out from his main blog to this new local SEO focused blog that offers specific, firsthand and actionable tips for local search marketing. The first posts focus on Google Local & Maps and promises to cover “just about anything pertaining to local web marketing”. Optimized! – Mary Bowling  is an experienced online marketer who writes for a Local Search Marketing column for ClickZ. She’s also blogged her observations and insights about a range of SEO topics and of course, local SEM since December 2007. Mihmorandum – David Mihm is a well known local search marketer and designer out of Portland that blogs about his involvement in the search marketing industry and offers opinions and observations of what small businesses should know about local SEO. This blog is well worth adding to your RSS reader. Local Search Simplified – Shagun Vatsa is a consultant in Toronto and with her blog, she focuses on adding value to tried and tested online marketing strategies and offering quality advice on how small businesses can leverage local search, Google maps, SEO and SEM. Local Search Optimization – Netherlands based Martijn Beijk blogs about local search optimization, Universal search, mobile, Google’s Local Business Center and location-based services.  He also reviews tools, which is handy and a definitive guide to KML and sitemaps for SEO. Search Marketing Insights – Dev Basu is another Toronto based search marketer and he promises “no BS marketing strategies for small and big biz alike”. He writes about local search, small business marketing, online yellow pages and social media. He also writes about industry involvement such as speaking at conferences like Search Engine Strategies. For reference, here are a few Local Search Marketing Blogs already included in TopRank’s BIGLIST: Small Business SEM by Matt McGee Screenwerk – Greg Sterling Local SEO Guide by Andrew Shotland Kelsey Group Blog Understanding Google Maps & Local Search by Mike Blumenthal Local MN Blog by Paul Jahn If you’ve been included in the BIGLIST of SEM Blogs, then be sure to add some BIGLIST Badge flair to your blog. What Local search engine marketing or online marketing blogs would you add to BIGLIST? BIGLIST Development Note: We’ve been working to develop a more effective and interesting way to organize and manage the BIGLIST of marketing blogs, which will offer categorization, sorting and ranking as well as many other pieces of information about each blog. The all new BIGLIST will launch in February 2010.

There are people I’m a fan of and people I am friends with and then there are the rare combinations of people I’m a fan of who I’m lucky enough to be friends with. Mitch Joel is one of them. The author of the recently released Six Pixels of Separation is also the principal of Twist Image , a cutting edge digital marketing shop with offices in Montreal and Toronto. His book is phenomenal and his thoughts on social media, online advertising, Internet marketing and online engagement place him squarely in the middle of thought leadership in the space. I caught up with Mitch at Word-of-Mouth Supergenius in Chicago last month and cornered him for a chat for SME-TV. One Pixel Of Separation From Mitch Joel from Jason Falls on Vimeo . If you haven’t already, buy Mitch’s book and learn a thing or two about the connective tissue of the web and how we as individuals and brands intertwine there. It’s a brilliant look with some fantastic ideas for you and your business as well. (Amazon link provided.) Twist Image also features a notable blog and podcast . I was even a recent guest if you need a little entertainment for your drive home. Related articles by Zemanta Don’t Make Mitch Joel Cry – Buy His Book (cc-chapman.com) An interview with Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation (trafcom.typepad.com) 6 Reasons To Read “Six Pixels Of Separation” (sassholes.blogspot.com) Why you should buy Six Pixels of Separation – the book (bargainista.blogspot.com)

David Mathison on ‘the emerging media model of abundance’ S ince last spring, David Mathison has been barnstorming the country, bringing the message of grassroots, accessible, citizen-based media to would-be citizen publishers, filmmakers, musicians, podcasters, independent business people — anyone with an interest in creating media. David’s book Be the Media: How to Create and Accelerate Your Message … Your Way is the most authoritative guide to the personal media revolution, which was just taking off in a big way when my book Darknet came out in 2005. Here, David offers a detailed guide for those with something to share and a look at the burgeoning community media landscape, from local online publications and social networks to personal broadcasting networks. Download sample chapters from the Be the Media website, then go out and buy the soft-cover edition. I met David Mathison last summer at the Open Video conference in New York and followed up by attending a webinar he gave on effective use of citizen media. He took time out from his travels for this Q&A: 1 Tell us in general about Be the Media . Why did you write the book and what kind of reception are you getting? Be The Media taps into people’s desires to communicate, connect, and collaborate. The book has been successful because it shows how anyone can create a global product launch that can potentially change the world. The book teaches people how to build a global or local base and widely spread their messages. It can also be seen as a detailed business plan for creating one’s own diversified media company. The book has been adopted at some of the country’s most respected schools, such as the University of Missouri School of Journalism, which is using it for a course called “Economics and Finance of the Media.” 2 Your book smartly takes a broad view of what it means to “be the media.” Tell us how regular people are now creating and distributing their own music, radio shows, digital films or periodicals. Which of these is resonating with people? Context is key. When we exhibit at a book conference, writers are initially attracted to the chapters on “Democracy depends on engaged, active, and knowledgeable citizens, and media literacy is an important component of that.” — David Mathison Self-publishing and Blogging. At a music conference, musicians like the chapters on Radio, Podcasting, and Music. But they all quickly see the benefits of the other chapters — everyone needs to know about leveraging web sites, social media, licensing, syndication, print, audio, and video, and so on. Artists need to match their fans’ media consumption habits and pocketbooks. This means getting the message out via print, audio, video, interactive, and experiential events. Inclusiveness was one of the main goals of the book — our audience includes not only writers, musicians, filmmakers, and journalists, but also entrepreneurs, politicians, activists, and the general public. After all, democracy depends on engaged, active, and knowledgeable citizens, and media literacy is an important component of that. 3 What do you see as the most effective revenue drivers for citizen media sites? Is online advertising getting there? Ecommerce? Affiliate programs? The most important lesson in the Intro to Be The Media [ free download here ] is that sites and individuals need to diversify their revenue streams and provide increasingly higher-value products and services. This would include revenues from a combination of direct product sales (books, CDs, articles), advertising, affiliate programs (within the new FTC regs, of course), transactions, events, subscriptions, memberships, donations, licensing, and syndication. There are a few citizen media sites leveraging the spectrum of revenue opportunities, but not many — yet. Amy Goodman’s non-profit Democracy Now! does a good job of putting all the pieces together, and I’m keeping a hopeful eye on David Cohn’s Spot.us , Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo , Pro Publica , Politico , Huffington Post , Daily Kos , and Power Line , among others. 4 You labeled the second part of your book “the Community Media Renaissance.” Do you see public access TV or community radio as viable and relevant in the Internet age? Why haven’t community media groups used the Internet more effectively to put more public access TV footage online? This community media renaissance I describe is exemplified by people working together — not necessarily for financial reward but in common purpose to build critical, open source infrastructure that helps us all become successful. Examples include the Linux operating system, the Firefox browser, Wikipedia and Creative Commons. Or engaged communities of fans helping an artist go viral by sharing and linking to the artist’s work. With regard to public access, sure, it is easier than ever to create a video from one’s own bedroom, or start a radio station using Pandora or Blog Talk Radio. But it requires a team of dedicated people to cover important community events, town hall meetings, corrupt politicians and businesses, or even local high school sports and cultural activities. Public access TV and community radio stations provide the facilities, resources, quality equipment, continuing education, dedicated staff, and committed volunteers necessary for higher-value productions (skilled camera people, directors, editors, character generators, etc). Some public access facilities are effectively leveraging the Internet, such as Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, and Denver Open Media, among others. I think the board members of the Alliance for Community Media understand the shift taking place and are encouraging their member stations to make appropriate adjustments to maintain relevance in the future. 5 What’s your take on how the digital age is disrupting the business models of traditional media? How will the media landscape look differently a few years from now? We’re moving from a model of scarcity to one of abundance. Media creation and distribution has increasingly been concentrated in the hands of a few mega-corporations that encourage scarcity as a way of controlling the number of acts and messages that are promoted and keeping the majority of the revenues that are extracted. In this trickle-down, captive-economics model, most of the money that should go to deserving artists and communities goes instead to middlemen — distributors, resellers, retailers, publishers, labels, accountants, lawyers, etc. — who add marginal value, yet earn unequal rewards. The emerging media model is one of abundance, driven by a fourishing of creativity unheard of in any other time in human history. The emerging media model is one of abundance, driven by a fourishing of creativity unheard of in any other time in human history. I believe this new model is not only more democratic and egalitarian, but fundamentally more sustainable economically, with many media consumers/creators buying, selling, and trading with each other. The main benefactors in this new era are the creators and their fans. For example, since I self-published Be The Media and keep a majority of the revenues, I can afford to give back to causes whose values are in line with my own, such as Creative Commons (more than half of the chapters in the book use CC licenses). We currently have a promotion with Common Cause : for every purchase from their site at http://www.CommonCause.org/bethemedia, I give 20 percent of the proceeds to Common Cause. Everyone wins. It’s a nice model. 6 What’s next for Be The Media ? We just launched our radio show on Blog Talk Radio ( http://www.blogtalkradio.com/be-the-media ). This is a great way for us to explore the strategies and tactics in the book more fully and allow for audience participation. All for free. As an example, our premier episode features Alan Levy, CEO of Blog Talk Radio, to discuss the revolutionary impact of his new platform on freedom of speech and expression. Upcoming guests include author Seth Godin, singer-songwriters Michelle Shocked, Jill Sobule, Tegan and Sara, Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads, iLike, and Garageband, and Terry McBride, the CEO of the Nettwerk Music Group and co-founder of the Lilith Fair. We want to get our message out in every way possible to match our fans’ media consumption habits. Free radio is another one of those ways. In the Author interview series • 5 questions for the author of Twitterville • 7 questions for the author of ‘Say Everything’ • 5 questions for the author of ‘Trust Agents’ JD Lasica works with major companies and nonprofits on social media strategies. See his business profile , contact JD or leave a comment. Tweet It! Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Facebook Reddit Stumble This Post

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Ready or not, 2010 is here. And according to eMarketer , 2010 is going to be a good year for email marketing. A December survey revealed that 69% of respondents plan to increase spending on email marketing efforts – more than any other marketing strategy. To ring in the New Year, we’ve compiled 5 email marketing tactics that are likely to gain even more ground this year. 1. Integrating Email With Social Media. This email marketing tactic – which picked up steam throughout 2009 as a way to boost customer reach – is likely to spread like wildfire throughout 2010. Consider the results of an early 2009 study by Exact Target, Ball State University and the Email Marketer’s club: 46% of marketers planned to incorporate the two marketing strategies in ‘09, compared to 13% in ‘08—a whopping 253% increase. Both BtoB and Consumer Marketers are moving beyond simply including links to social profiles, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, in email messages.  Some additional tactical ideas for integrating the two strategies include: Using a blog to highlight content from an e-newsletter once or twice a month, and inviting readers to download the full content via a landing page Conducting a timely poll on Twitter, and creating a visual representation of the results, in an e-newsletter Leveraging social media channels to offer email subscribers customized options (i.e., receiving a combination of a monthly newsletter, a Twitter feed with promotions and an RSS feed with daily news instead of receiving a generic bi-weekly e-newsletter) 2. Focusing on Engaging Subscribers. In a December article from Direct magazine, writer Ken Magill reports that ISPs are now looking into using engagement as a factor to determine if emails get to inboxes. That would mean if subscribers aren’t interacting with email messages, the ISP may stop delivering the messages. Of course, it’s not yet determined what exactly will constitute an “engaged” email subscriber. But potential measures of engagement we would recommend focusing on improving include: Open Rates: Try increasing open rates by personalizing subject lines and including clear information in the “from” line indicating who is sending the email. Click Rates: To improve CTR, analyze if the design of the email is guiding subscribers to the CTA. Web heat maps, for example, can be used to distinguish areas of a Web page most frequently scanned by visitors. Also, give subscribers a reason to click, whether for additional content, a product coupon or a complimentary gift. Number of Forwards: To increase the number of subscribers forwarding an email, make it as easy as possible to do so. Include the ability to forward the message via email, as well as the option to share on social networks. 3. Re-engaging Inactive Subscribers. Building an email subscriber is one thing; building an active email subscriber base is another. Virtually every email marketing list contains a group of inactive subscribers, those who aren’t opening emails but haven’t yet unsubscribed. To re-engage these sleepy subscribers, consider these email marketing tactics: Offer the inactive group a complimentary white paper or free trial of a product Create a sense of urgency with notifications that their subscription will end soon Segment the inactive subscribers and cut back on the frequency of email communications Send a series of opt-in engagement messages to the inactive group reminding them of the value of the emails 4. Creating Viral Campaigns . Viral marketing isn’t a new concept. But today, with sites like Twitter, Digg, Flickr and Facebook, email messages have the potential to be shared like never before. Try out these email marketing tactics in 2010 to help extend your message to a maximum number of customers: Tailor forward links to specific campaigns: In lieu of the typical “forward to a friend” link, customize the link for the individual campaign, content and audience. For instance, if an email message provides tips to help small business owners build credit, create a forward link with the text: “Forward these tips for building credit to a colleague.” Don’t restrict access to content: In order for a message to spread to a maximum number of prospective customers, make content free and accessible to anyone. Plus, make all login processes as quick and painless as possible. Experiment with placement of forward links: Avoid subscribers developing a “blindness” to forward links because the links are placed in the same location for every campaign. Instead, try varying placement, size and color of links. 5. A/B Testing and Optimizing Landing Pages. Thanks to quickly advancing marketing automation technology, email marketers can more easily perfect landing pages to create a relevant experience and maximize conversions. Many email marketing tools now offer built-in A/B page-testing capabilities, enabling marketers to test multiple page variations and measure the performance of each. In a recent post on Email Marketing Strategy Blog from Silverpop, CEO Bill Nussey suggests that advanced A/B testing and optimization can easily yield a 5% to 10% lift in conversion rates. Plus, because email solutions are automating what used to be a manual process, marketers can spend more time interpreting numbers and focusing on the creative. There’s no better time than the New Year to set resolutions and make improvements. As we head into 2010, take some time to assess your email marketing tactics. Could any of these 5 ideas be incorporated into your marketing mix to improve results?

There is no doubt by now that social media marketing is creeping into every SMEs mind in the coming year. According to many reports in the last quarter of 2009, social media and email marketing will.