Congratulations! You’ve just sold somebody your product online! Now you’ve got marketing gold: Their email address, other contact info, purchase history, and other dirt on ’em. Time to add them to your bulk mailing list and start sending promotions their way, right? Not necessarily. Let’s say you want to give your new customer recommendations on…
When that random businessperson or potential client comes up to you and asks for your advice, where’s the line between helping out a bit and giving away free work? This interesting slideshow helps sort out the difference. It also says what you can do to be tactful and professional without devaluing your hard-earned pearls of…
People are automatically drawn to interesting or beautiful photos, videos, and music. While most text looks largely the same and takes time to digest, multimedia brings instant recognition and appeal to one’s senses. Multimedia is essential to some websites such as those of music artists and film studios, but many others can also benefit. It…
Are you looking for a good way to explain a technical process or visual concept to your visitors? Need a way to show your client how to set up a Web service, do a graphic design technique, or understand a complex diagram? Use a screencast! It’s a video recording of everything you see and do…
I came across this video at random and was as interested by the premise as the animation. He draws cartoons shown in super-speed while discussing the ideas they portray. Excerpted from the video description: What sparks the flash of brilliance? How does groundbreaking innovation happen? Answering in his infectious, culturally omnivorous style, using his fluency…
Do you know the difference between a great domain name and a mediocre one? What do you do if your company name is taken? How about if you want to have a more general appeal than just your brand?
We’ve all seen them: You ask a client business or service provider to send you an email with information you need. Your mailbox gives you the “new message” notification, and it’s from JoeFromBlueWidgets@thatbigISP.com. They don’t have a website, or haven’t gotten around to buying an email plan to go with it. No big deal, right?…
Blue Widgets, Inc was ready to begin their big push into the Web. They had secured bluewidgetsinc.com and built a decent site; now they were ready to get into other online services. They got the username bluewidgetsinc for Flickr, but it was taken on another site and they had to settle for widgetblue1. Then Bob…
As I said yesterday, interactivity is the way to gain fans on the Internet, not beating them over the head with advertising. Here’s how one small business accomplished that. Blossom Chevrolet Tetris Promotion Social media marketing firm SocialUps created a Facebook promotion for Blossom Chevrolet where people are invited to get a high score on…
It has often been said that social media involves interaction with potential customers more than direct selling. Here’s an explanation for the uninitiated: Understanding the Difference Between Online and Offline Dynamics The concept of marketing with social media is similar to a conversation. Imagine you meet someone at an event who could eventually become a…