February 27, 2009
I was reading several blog posts and felt compelled to share. It is always amazing to realize the quality content being posted on a daily basis- especially on a local level. So many people are willing to reach out a hand to help you and your business. These are people with a great deal of experience, leaders of his/her respected companies offering insight and advice on topics that can directly impact your bottom line. This is something that can be easily taken for granted with so much going on and so many blogs out there. I guess this is one of my “take a minute to think about it” moments. This information is all out there for the taking, so take a few minutes to read and leave some comments on the below blogs. We should all be appreciative of these people.
Kyle Lacy’s 10 Small Biz Social Media Tips for Today
In this post, Kyle puts his own spin on Chris Brogan’s 10 Things You Could Do Better Today (another great post) by providing advice on how to get the most out of our social media. I think if we all took the time to do just a few of these things we would really be surprised by the end result. Give it a try and share with Kyle how it goes.
Hazel M. Walker’s You Can’t Make Withdrawals Until You Make Deposits
I had the opportunity to sit down with Hazel M. Walker this week. She truly is a remarkable individual who has made it her mission in life to help others, particularly in the area of networking. Her blog provides a deep resource for how to become a better networker and develop stronger, prosperous business relationships. We can all learn a lot from Hazel no matter how much we think we may know. Check out other posts on her blog as there are many about networking and building relationships.
Douglas Karr’s Three Keys to Leveraging Your Content
Douglas Karr is a blogging evangelist and an industry expert. He brings some serious experience and knowledge in the SEO/blogging department to the table. In his MarketingTechBlog he is always sharing tips, advice and other industry news as we look to get the most out of our content and online presence. Another incredible, local resource for quality information – not to mention a flat out great guy.
3 Comments | 
Blogging, internet marketing, networking, social media | Tagged: blogs to check out, douglas karr, hazel m walker, Kyle Lacy, networking tips, SEO Blogs, social media tips | 
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Posted by derekmcclain
February 24, 2009
One of the greatest moments in sports history is going to take place when Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour on Wednesday. Golf fan or not, you have to appreciate what Tiger has done for the sport. I was surfing Mashable.com and found an article about Tiger’s return. This long awaited event has generated a huge amount of buzz throughout all forms of media, so much in fact that the PGATour.com has set up a site so that you can follow Tiger’s every move online.
Live blogs, hole-by-hole highlights, scorecard updates, and a playoff bracket all updating in real-time during the event. This is going to be something to talk about and I look forward to seeing how well the PGATour.com can pull it off. The site will not go live until tomorrow, but I found a preview screen shot (see below) at Mashable.com. This looks very cool and I will be sure to post a review on the experience.
Preview of PGATour.com Tiger Woods Site- from Mashable.com
Leave a Comment » | internet marketing | Tagged: pga tour golf, Tiger Woods, tiger woods return, watch tiger woods | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 18, 2009
A while back I posted a blog that was a review of a Hubspot Webinar. In that post, I mentioned that the key to a successful blog is changing up your post structure and topics on a regular basis. Jeb Banner, Partner and CEO of Small Box implemented this strategy when he posted a controversial blog post titled The problem with Compendium Blogware and how to fix it.
In this post, Jeb very professionally explains that he is asked his opinion on Compendium Blogware on a daily basis and finally reached the point to where he wants to make some of his concerns public. He later goes on to explain that he feels Compendium’s model is to produce duplicate content to trick or “game” search engines (Google) into indexing the same content multiple times in search results which is why they have been successful at increasing search rank. He expresses his main conflict is that while this model may work great now, eventually Google will adjust their algorithm and all Compendium clients will suffer the consquences as the majority of their hard work will be lost.
As you can imagine, this post instantly began to stir some buzz in the social media community. It wasn’t too long before Chris Baggott, Co-Founder and CEO of Compendium and Douglas Karr, VP of Blogging Evangelism at Compendium were on the scene to defend their company. They were quick to state that the Compendium model does not produce duplicate content, but rather creates relevant search results for multiple search terms. This conversation continued on Smaller Indiana under the heading Thoughts on Compendium Blogware.
My personal opinion: It doesn’t really matter to me how Compendium does it. The simple fact is that it works. That cannot be denied. There is never a guarantee that what works today will work tomorrow or that what works for one company will work for the next. We all take that risk every single day, especially in the ever-changing technology/social media realm. Why not take advantage of Compendium if it makes sense for your business?
So why did I want to share this post with you today? Because this whole occurrence was educational, entertaining and downright engaging. It is always great to see a CEO vs. CEO debate across several social media platforms for the world to see. The comments and interaction were plenty and that is what it’s all about. At the end of the day, Jeb posted a revision on his blog stating that he appreciated Chris taking the time to respond and felt as though several of his concerns have now been properly addressed. So there you have it, you never know who will be reading your blog that day. Take a risk every now and then. You just might get that closure you have been needing.
8 Comments | social media | Tagged: chris baggott, compendium blogware, douglas karr, duplicate content, jeb banner, small box, Smaller Indiana, social media debate, the problem with compendium | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 15, 2009
A Few days ago, I added an email marketing case study featuring a McAlister’s Deli email piece I received. Overall, I considered this particular email campaign to be very good.
Today, I would like to share an email marketing case study on Qdoba that I consider to be very bad. This particular case study is a series of two emails that were directly connected- one being an apology for the other. Below are the screen shots from each email along with my analysis:
Qdoba Email Marketing
Distribution List- This was the ONLY good thing about this email. It was sent to people that subscribed, but then again it was sent to distribution lists at the wrong locations. Qdoba could not even get that right. Maybe this wasn’t good after all.
Email Subject Line- While this is attention-grabbing, I still have no idea what is behind the email or why I should open it.
Design- No design at all to this email. Simply text. Nothing stands out other than one link. It appears as if not much time was spent in planning this campaign. I am surprised I even read it.
Incentive- While this is a decent offer, it is still not enough to make me want to redeem any type of coupon. Then the follow-up email tells me this was accidentally sent to me and I cannot even use this special offer. HORRIBLE. Suck it up and honor the offer…it was Qdoba’s mistake, mine.
The Message- Probably THE most confusing email I have ever received. I am still not sure exactly what Qdoba’s intention behind this email was, but the whole email seems to be a mess.
4 Comments | email marketing | Tagged: bad email marketing, email marketing, email marketing case study, qdoba, qdoba email marketing | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 12, 2009
Seth Godin posted a link to Mark Cuban’s blog post titled “The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan- Open Source Funding” that I just had to share today. The concept is simple: submit comments about your business plan on Mark’s blog and Mark will then contact you via email if your plan is one he likes. After that he will decide if it is something he wants to fund. As you can imagine there has been a ton of interaction on this particular post so far along with a lot of ideas. Mark did put a specific list of rules in place for this challenge and those are listed below. I encourage you to check this out.
Here are the rules as taken from Mark’s Blog:
I will invest money in businesses presented here on this blog. No minimum, no maximum, but a very specific set of rules. Here they are:
1. It can be an existing business or a start up.
2. It can not be a business that generates any revenue from advertising. Why ? Because I want this to be a business where you sell something and get paid for it. Thats the only way to get and stay profitable in such a short period of time.
3. It MUST BE CASH FLOW BREAK EVEN within 60 days
4. It must be profitable within 90 days.
5. Funding will be on a monthly basis. If you dont make your numbers, the funding stops
6. You must demonstrate as part of your plan that you sell your product or service for more than what it costs you to produce, fully encumbered
7. Everyone must work. The organization is completely flat. There are no employees reporting to managers. There is the founder/owners and everyone else
8. You must post your business plan here, or you can post it on slideshare.com , scribd.com or google docs, all completely public for anyone to see and/or download
9. I make no promises that if your business is profitable, that I will invest more money. Once you get the initial funding you are on your own
10. I will make no promises that I will be available to offer help. If I want to , I will. If not, I wont.
11. If you do get money, it goes into a bank that I specify, and I have the ability to watch the funds flow and the opportunity to require that I cosign any outflows.
12. In your business plan , make sure to specify how much equity I will receive or how I will get a return on my money.
13. No mult-level marketing programs (added 2/10/09 1pm)
Leave a Comment » | Seth Godin | Tagged: mark cuban, mark cuban business challenge, mark cuban funding, mark cuban maverick open source, seths blog | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 9, 2009
Occasionally I will get a piece of email marketing that breaks through the clutter. Sometimes it is just a matter of timing. Other times it is just an excellent concept. I received the below email marketing piece from McAlister’s Deli and wanted to share a few reasons why I think this particular piece works. Check it out and let me know if it works for you:
McAlisters Deli Email Marketing
The Distribution List- This email was sent to McAlister’s DeliGram subscribers which means we have voluntarily signed up to receive such communication.
The Email Subject Line- “We’d Like to Get to Know You.” Attention grabbing. Seems sincere. I think I will go ahead and open it.
Design- Not over the top, but functional. Matches the McAlister look and feel but doesn’t take it too far. Very clean and not distracting from the core message.
Incentive- In today’s economy am I willing to take just a few minutes for a chance to win $100 gift card to a deli I already frequent? Absolutely!
The Message- The content is straight to the point and makes me feel as though I am helping McAlister’s serve me better. I appreciate them taking the time to value my opinion and I just love the “sandwich in a quick survey.”
A Conversion Point You Cannot Miss- Let’s see here…do they want me to take a survey? It couldn’t be any clearer. Heck I bet Seth Godin even thinks a monkey could figure it out.
McAlister’s Makes Good On Its Promise- Go ahead. Click on the image and take the survey. Believe it or not it really is quick. So many times we are lured into “quick” surveys that end up taking FOREVER. Not this time. Thank goodness!
4 Comments | case studies, email marketing, internet marketing | Tagged: deligrams, effective email marketing, email marketing case study, email marketing mcalisters, mcalisters, mcalisters deli | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 7, 2009
Click on a headline to check out my online reading favorites this week:
How To Friend Mom, Dad, and the Boss on Facebook…Safely
Would I really want my mom to see this pic of me on Facebook? Should I add my boss as my friend? Many of us have pondered these questions. While there may not be a “right” or “wrong” answer, this article offers some good insight. My opinion- everyone has a personal life and putting a few pictures of you having fun on Facebook just shows you are a real person.
Denny’s Free Breakfast A Grand Slam
Remember this Super Bowl ad? In our current economy, a free breakfast is not something that is easy to pass up. Several of us at Fusework Studios took advantage of this offer and the experience that went along with it. The people definitely came out in full force on Tuesday, February 3rd for a free Grand Slam….now will they come back again?
I’m Sorry We’re Out of Time
This is a great blog post from Seth Godin on making the best use of your time when giving a presentation. Read this post and please stop trying cram everything in the last minute of your presentation. I won’t remember any of it. And neither will anyone else.
Slumdog Millionaire Review
This is a must-see movie. Read the Rolling Stone review and go check it out.
1 Comment | facebook, internet marketing | Tagged: dennys grand slam, facebook, facebook privacy, slumdog millionaire review, super bowl ads, super bowl dennys | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
February 3, 2009
I want to take a moment of your time to explain my blog’s theme. Interactive. Multimedia. Expressions.
Interactive
A blog should engage your reader and open up a two-way line of communication. While a blog is typically someone sharing his or her thoughts, it is important to invite your visitors to leave comments or any other type of feedback. Everyone wants to be heard in some way My blog is always open for comments and suggestions- that is what it’s all about.
Multimedia
Content (typically in the form of text) is THE key ingredient for a blog to be found. But multimedia elements such as video and audio clips are the key factors that engage your audience once they have found you. Change it up a little. Giving your followers a chance to get more familiar with your personality helps build a solid connection. If you have any videos or other multimedia productions you would like to share with me, I’d love to check them out.
Expressions
Simply put, a successful blog is an expression of one’s thoughts or feelings on a particular topic. It is shared in a manner that helps make your voice findable as well as viral. I could have set my blog up with ONE solid theme and posted about the same topic every day, but I chose to leave it open. While many of my posts are on social media, if something comes up that I want to share I do not want to worry about it fitting into my overall theme. I want to be able to post my thoughts on any subject at any time-to me that is a true expression. I also like to let my audience guess a little to keep things interesting. Predictable is no fun. I hope you agree.
1 Comment | Blogging, social media | Tagged: Blogging, derek mcclain, expressions, interactive, multimedia, social media | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
