Yesterday morning, I checked my post for the day and found that I was getting a lot of StumbleUpon traffic on that particular article (you can find it here). Now, just like any blog or website owner, I wanted to capitalize on this increased traffic for the day, so I needed more readers to Stumble the article and push it to higher levels of traffic. Social media traffic is 100% dependent on your readers and the new visitors due to the nature of the social media site. In this case, StumbleUpon was sending me the new, eager eyes, so how could I make sure that more readers hit the thumbs up button to keep the traffic flow going? [Read more...]
Just starting out and need traffic?
May 26, 2009 By 5 Comments
Ignoring the obvious need for quality content to convert visitors into long term readers…how do you get traffic while playing in Google sandbox during the early stages of your blogging career?
As much as we would all love to throw up some amazing writing and watch the visitors just flood in like Mac addicts at a new iPhone, that just isn’t reality. It takes time to find readers and even more time to get up enough quality, unique content that search engines just want to swallow up and throw at the front page of their results. During the beginning stages of our new blog, there are several different sources that you can use for traffic that can help you grow your blog during that infamous waiting period and growth process.
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There are two types of people in this world
May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In all my dealings with everything from corporate level executives and small time start-ups, I have seen two basic types of people in the business world. Each type is drastically different in how they effectively run their corner of the world and how they manage their time. Ironically, one side of the fence almost always succeeds while the other side almost always fails. What are these two drastically different people and why are their outcomes so different? There are two basic types of people in the world…the dreamers and the do’ers.
The Dreamer
The dreamer is full of fantastic ideas that are going to change the world…you’ll see. They are going to do it bigger and better than the competition rising them to the top of the heap in their quest to build, create or manage better than anyone could have ever imagined. They are on a quest to tell everyone they come in contact with their incredible ideas and watch as you listen in amazement and realize how genius they really are. While this dreamer has all intentions of setting the world on fire…they don’t. Many times, they do even get past step one in their quest to be the best.
Why do they fail? The dreamer fails at being successful because they never put these ideas into action. They are too busy convincing the world that their ideas are going to be successful through words instead of action. They lack the want or desire to put in the work to make their dreams become a reality. Often times, their ideas are too vague and lack the specifics to make sure the job gets done. This lack of specifics makes actions virtually impossible.
HD Billboards Are Worthless
April 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
You guys may or may not be familiar with these, but in Atlanta…HD billboards are the growing trend of roadside advertisement. The idea behind these hi-def lcd billboards is fantastic, but the application is horrible.
Ideally, these HD billboards should be a win/win combo for both the billboard owner and the advertiser. The advertiser gets a slightly lower rate for a high traffic area by sharing that ad space with other advertisers. On top of that…the advertiser has the ability to split test advertising programs much easier with the aid of a digital format. They can forget about the cost of large printouts and focus solely on digital content that delivers the best results (tough to measure given the lack of ad metrics associated with blanket advertising).
Why I do not like Starbucks Coffee
March 30, 2009 By 20 Comments
That’s right…I do not like Starbucks Coffee. I am sure you have seen the recent Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Starbucks Coffee commercials making their way around cable television. The slogan they are spinning this entire campaign around is that the hard working American prefers Dunkin’ Donuts coffee over Starbucks Coffee. I would have to agree and it is an incredible ad campaign that should boost sales of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, but I do not think Starbucks will see the dent.
So why do I not like Starbucks Coffee? Because it is terrible! Look…I am not a coffee connoisseur by any means. I do not know what makes a great bean, I do not know how to roast it to perfection…all I do know is what tastes good and what does not. Starbucks Coffee tastes burnt. [Read more...]
Market Trending and How It Affects Your Blog/Business
February 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Whether you are online or brick and mortar, you always want to have your finger on the pulse of the industry. What are the fastest selling products? Where is the money being made? What are the new technologies and trends? Those firms, blogs and small companies that stay fluid and keep the lastest growing trend in their industry at the forefront, will see continued growth as they grow with the industry. Those that stay stagnant and stuck in their old ways…falter and eventually die out.
So you are writing a blog or starting a small business and you want to know what is happening in your industry. Typically the first place every entrepreneur or casual researcher looks is market trending analysis to see what is hot and new! What is the retail market buying and where are they buying it? [Read more...]
Help! My Competitor Is Outselling My Product 7 to 1!
January 30, 2009 By 2 Comments
Several weeks ago, I was handed a project. An online retailer was selling two competing products from two different manufacturers. I was asked to help Product A gain market share because they were getting killed by Product B on this particular site. After doing simple online research (just checked out the site), I was able to conclude several key points.
- Product A had better features and was priced several dollars lower than Product B. All things created equal, Product A should be outselling Product B 7 to 1…not the other way around.
- The above the fold marketing of Product B was much better than Product A. Looked like simple web copy tweaking was going to fix this problem almost instantly.
As I dove deeper into this project, I noticed that Product B only offered one style of this particular product. That product was heavily featured in a top box and the two most popular models were shown at the top of the price list. All of this is seen above the fold on that manufacturer page on the retail site. [Read more...]
How Apple Changed The Marketing Universe
December 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment
With one simple gadget…Apple changed the way we listened to music and the way we market products. The iPod…within itself…is a very simple music listening devise. You load music onto a portable hard drive (now flash memory) and listen to it through an easy to use interface.
What Apple really accomplished…launching one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history, and one that the overall structure still closes millions of sales for their computer and consumer product lines.
What others are saying…