Network With Randall

Quick and Dirty Online Marketing

I. Find Local Groups
A. People gather NOT for the WHAT but for the WHY (the why makes a good niche)
1. Meetup.com
2. Squidoo.com
3. LinkedIn.com
4. Ojeez.com (maybe…still not sure on this one)
5. MySpace.com
6. Ryze.com
7. Squidwho.com
8. If there are any Yahoo! Groups or Google Groups or other email lists regarding the Whys

II. Get out there! (on the internet)
A. You do have a blog, don’t you…
1. typepad.com
2. wordpress.com
3. wordpress.org (best for SEO)
4. REMEMBER: Write about what your audience wants to hear…not what you want to tell them…
B. Consider recording your own podcast. There are ways to do this for free and get it on iTunes for free. (Yes, I know the ways)
1. See what’s out there already
2. Do it better.

III. Get out there verbally! Be a radio guest on podcasts or radio shows!
A. Podcasts that focus on
1. Your local metro area
2. Product Specifics
3. Any of the “Whys”
4. Anyone else you can think of that might be interested in what you have to say!

B. Give a “special” to get them to have you and then be funny and charming so they’ll have you back
1. Be yourself
C. Have a teleclass or teleseminar
1. Start with online PR and change your resource box in articles and on forums to reflect new teleseminar.
2. Put it out there on lists like Ask Liz Ryan (28,000 members worldwide) in your signature after having answered a normal question.
3. Be subtle, but obvious.
4. RECORD THE TELECLASS AND WE USE IT AS A PODCAST AND PUT IT ANYWHERE YOU CAN SUBMIT IT.

IV. Use Other People’s Resources
A. Post comments in blogs of well known or well traffic-ed sites
1. Use alexa.com to determine popularity as well as other sources.
2. Make comments good, always link back to your site.
B. Forums
1. Do searches on google for the “whys” and find first forum in Google (top ranked) see how many members they have and post!
2. When you change one signature line, they all change, so even old posts will be updated with new information when you need it to be.

Next Steps:
Compile list of “Whys” for more effective searching.
Research actual URLs, domains, blogs, and Wikipedia terms that could be enhanced by your participation

August 28, 2007 | Filed Under Online Marketing, SEO, Social Networking | 2 Comments

Social Networking - Good Times!

Even if you’ve just seen an evening news report on MySpace, you’ve been touched by relationship marketing. While you may think that MySpace is just for High School kids trying to get into trouble - search for “marketing” or “make money online” and you’ll see thousands of adults on MySpace trying to sell stuff to other adults.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of MySpace marketing. I *do* think every business should have a MySpace or Facebook page, just to have information online in a place where people could find it. You can choose “groups” to network with - which makes it easier for people that you want to find you…to find you!

Squidoo is (by FAR) my favorite Social Networking site. The company owned by Seth Godin (author of “all marketers are liars” and “permission marketing: turning strangers into friends”) and I feel they’re really doing something different from the rest of the social networking pack.

Definition of Squidoo from Squidoo:
Squidoo is the world’s most popular site for people who want to build a page about their passions. Highlight books, blogs, vids, online shops, or just spread the word about stuff you love. Bonus: you raise money (for you or charity) at the same time! It’s fast, free, and supereasy. (Pssst: it only takes 4.2 minutes to get started…)

As with everything, we recommend you have a plan BEFORE you start entering information into any system. The reasons for this are twofold:
1. You don’t want to start something and leave it unfinished. If you do, that reflects on how your company does business.
2. Having all your online marketing efforts aligned with a similar call to action is the best way to have maximum marketing effect.

You can have as many lenses and you’d like. You could use individual lenses to highlight the services you provde and the need for them (You could set it up like a mini-white paper!) Or if you have products you could use lenses for individual products, or groups of similar products.

It’s an easy way to make yourself easy to find. Once you’re found, your visitor has an honest chance to assess your products, services, or company.

That’s what marketing on the Internet is about.

August 6, 2007 | Filed Under Online Marketing, Social Networking | 1 Comment