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Lawrence looked Jenny straight in the eye and said, “One of the big advantages of using our company is that we perform Search Engine Optimization on our websites.”

“What is that?” Jenny asked.

“It’s a process of optimizing your website’s code so that it performs better on search and ranks higher,” says Lawrence.

“Oh that ’s very important.  I need to be on the front page of Google,” Jenny replies.

“Normally we charge over a thousand dollars for this process, but I tell you what, I’ll throw it in for just $300 if you sign today.”

“Wow, that’s a great deal.  I really appreciate it.”

“Now keep in mind, that due to the nature of search, nobody can make guarantees on ranking, but this has helped other companies achieve first place ranking on Google,” says Lawrence with a smile.

—–

The above is an example of a highly melodramatic web development sale.  Closing techniques like those employed by “Lawrence” have been common since around 2002, and rely on jargon and technological ignorance to sell what amount to “vapor services -” services that have little or no significant scientific effect. read more…

The biggest challenge for businesses of all types these days is greater competition for dwindling market share. Unless you have a completely exclusive product or service that has an uncontested monopoly, you probably find yourself having to take less for what you sell.

As a friend said during lunch the other day, “people just aren’t opening their wallets.” read more…

Determining the value that people place on what you do or sell isn’t easy.  Setting a price that is too high helps your competition, yet setting your price too low leaves money on the table and possibly a LOT of money — a 5% increase in price can be huge in many businesses.  Recent research from Paul Hague & Matthew Harrison shows that many companies actually undervalue the products and services they sell. read more…

Email marketing is still king of the hill:  The USA’s Direct Marketing Association conducts an annual review of the ROI (Return on Investment) delivered by all forms of direct marketing. Email marketing is a consistent chart topper. For 2009, they predict an ROI for email of US$43.52. That’s over $43 returned for each dollar invested in email marketing.

Within those numbers are a lot of qualitative aspects, but it’s clear that the low cost of email marketing makes it a very smart investment for most businesses.

I like to classify or at least group social media in with email because they are very similar in form and function.  SM marketing usually amounts to your feed posts being consumed in the same way as emails.  Everything from becoming a fan (subscribing to the list), to reading a post (reading the email), to viewing less of or ignoring (opting out or marking as spam) is functionally equivalent.

Based on the email campaigns I’ve seen in the past decade or so, it’s safe to say that in a range of good (effective) to bad (useless and ignored) the majority of them are poorly executed and only achieve a fraction of their potential. Why? This article discusses how you can avoid rolling the dice and create a campaign that could become your most effective method of long term marketing. read more…

I’d like to thank Charles Huff for coming on board with us at Gray Multimedia to promote his Nashville Appliance Repair business. Known as, “Huff” to his friends, he’s a great guy to get to know, and a heck of a songwriter too. We enjoyed a pint and pie down at the Family Wash recently and discussed making music, the meaning of life and, of course web marketing. Afterward we went back to the office and he shared some of his tunes with me on the guitar. Huff has over 15 years experience in Appliance Service and I can tell he takes tremendous pride in his work. And don’t think that tradesmen are always guys who jumped into work right out of high school. Huff has a degree from UGA and had a professional career in sales prior to jumping out into something he finds more relaxing and rewarding.

So, next time you are looking for an honest affordable Nashville Appliance Repair guy who can fix your washer, dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, or oven while discussing philosophy and economics, give him a call for some very affordable rates!

My friend Steve Ferussi and I are debuting what we hope will be a groundbreaking new product tomorrow at the Nashville Music City Marathon. Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you the SpinDesk

That’s right: people don’t click on banner ads. And what’s more, the average user has learned to ignore them and anything that looks like them. “Banner blindness,” has become a serious issue for designers, and is terrifying to the droves of “Freemium” publishers and services out there. It also reminds us how important applied usability is to design. This article discusses why the problem has arisen and what to do about it. read more…

There was a great deal of feedback and interest on my recent post on social media, so I’ve created a video version of the same content with additional commentary and information.  Filmed in my office rather quickly without all the expensive lights

read more…

The announcement of the new National Broadband Plan is probably the biggest news for the web in a long time. The US wants to not only catch up with other countries in term of speed and connectivity, but wants to be the world leader. This is going to have some significant impacts on our future in the world of web productions.

The goals of the Broadband Plan are simple: more connectivity for more people who don’t have it, and more speed for those of us who do. If you have a fast Cable or DSL connection already, you are going to see your speed doubling, tripling or even quadrupling over the next decade. This trend makes one thing clear: the future of the web is video, video, video.

It’s hard to believe that YouTube is only five years old. If users have a choice, they will choose to watch a video over reading an article containing similar content, and sites that feature video have the upper hand in the marketplace.

I recently built a new portal for my friends at Maximum Success and part of that process was producing original video content for the site. While the text and photos effectively communicate the message, people tell me that the video footage of leadership coach Micheal Burt and Colby Jubenville have the most profound impact. The experience wouldn’t be nearly as good without being able to see and hear Coach Burt talk about what he does in motion pictures.

Content is king: this is one of the undeniable commandments of web, and that content is increasingly in the form of moving pictures. The good news is that the costs of producing high quality HD video has plummeted thanks to low cost cameras and affordable editing solutions. Original content for your business site is now within easy reach of most everyone, and with a bit of consulting and creativity, you could have a knockout interactive site that is part brochure, part TV show, and all WOW.

Over the past year I’ve invested in high quality HD cameras, lighting equipment, and a portable setup that gets results that I still can’t believe sometimes. I remember local video productions from my childhood that always made me laugh because of their low production quality compared to film, and they probably cost the advertisers a good chunk of change. Today we can make feature film quality productions and publish them online in a matter of hours from start to finish.

It’s an exciting time in multimedia! If you’ve got ideas or feedback, feel free to contact me anytime.

Wasn’t advertising invented to overcome the limitations of word of mouth marketing?

Until Social Media Marketing As A Service matures or establishes a reliable method of demonstrating ROI, it is not necessarily a smart investment for small or medium sized businesses. Beware of the hype. Of the thousands of “Social Media Gurus” popping up, how many of them have actually created a successful campaign for clients using social media tools? I bet you’d be hard-pressed to find half a dozen with real track records.

Social Media: if you haven’t heard about this latest craze then either you’ve been hiding under a rock, or you’ve actually been working hard and creating value. Lately I’ve been hearing it from every direction: “Social Media is the next big thing in marketing,” “your business needs a social media presence,” “social media is replacing traditional media…”

I’ve been an active participant in Social media since 2002, starting with Friendster, and then MySpace soon thereafter. Seven years later, I’m here to tell you that it’s mostly hype when it comes to it’s marketing potential.

Social Mania Marketing (what I will call it from this point forward) is nothing more than the digital equivalent of a good old fashioned high school popularity contest. It has seen a meteoric rise in participation because people are able to share information using the traditional social paradigms they are comfortable with and used to, yet the previous barriers of location and access from person to person are gone thanks to instant social networks.

As Hollie Shaw explains, Social Media marketing is like the oldest form of marketing around: word of mouth. Staging an effective social media campaign means attempting to shape the message of your brand through more channels and conversations than anyone could possibly control or actively influence.

This is basis of my argument: direct advertising was invented in order to overcome the logistical challenges of influencing and rising above a million different conversations. The rush to “control” social media might just lie in a misunderstanding of what social media is and isn’t. The cost of deploying an effective army of advocates is prohibitive for smaller companies when compared to the obvious: buy a sign in the rooms where the conversation happens!

For a business owner, it’s like joining the world’s biggest Rotary Club online, and you are just one in a million people trying to make waves. Seems like a great opportunity, right? read more…