Business901 Book Specials from other authors on Amazon

Monday, September 8, 2008

Turbocharge your search engine marketing

StartupNation recently collaborated with Microsoft Office Live Small Business to develop a search engine marketing ("SEM") ebook. It's a quick read with very practical tips, free of charge and downloadable without much fuss at all.

Download 3 Steps to Search Engine Marketing Success.

Included in the ebook are the following items of interest:

  • quick definition of what SEM is
  • how to create a rationale SEM strategy
  • whether to outsource your SEM effort or keep it inhouse
  • how to use reports on performance to optimize your efforts and make SEM work for your website.

This one's well worth your time if you're just getting up the curve on what search engine marketing is all about.

Free Ebook that may help you with search engines!

Getting used to infinity

Seth Godin blog had this post today but the interesting comment I think is "we live in a world of content infinity."  As I mentioned the other day to someone it is not about the package, the book or the program, it is about being associated with someone that will get something implemented and done!

BatfliesintostandsI have a new thing to collect.

I collect pictures of crowds stunned by a baseball bat heading their way. I don't collect photos where anyone is injured, just the ones where people are all weirded out.

This, of course, is a crazy thing to collect, but the fascinating thing is that it's possible at all. All of us grew up in a world of content scarcity, and now we live in a world of content infinity.

That means, for example, that finding a rare song is essentially banal. There are no rare songs (except on LP). It means that finding a photo of what you're looking for isn't the hard part, it's deciding what to look for in the first place.

Of course, it's not just photos or music. It's service providers, freelancers, employees, charitable tools, places to live, vacation spots, dogs to adopt, people to date.

If you find a great baseball bat flying in the stands photo, I'm hoping you'll send me one. In the meantime, don't be afraid of infinity. There's a lot of it going around.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

The New School ways

I blogged about the old school and a couple people asked about the new school, so here they are.

SoundBite Back

Learn something new today

Posted: 20 Feb 2008 07:23 PM CST

Communication is changing every day. The only way to keep pace is to learn as much as you can, as soon as you can. This stuff isn't going away, so it's important to get comfortable with it and not fall behind. The good news is that you can learn most of what you need to know quickly, at no cost. And it's fun.
Here are a few ideas to get you started. Pick the thing you know the least about and jump in with both feet--and do it today:

So you say you've already tried all of these things? Great. What else do you recommend for those who are willing learn more about communication technology tools and trends?

What does your written message say to your audience?

If you want to learn more about Duct Tape Marketing, click here!

Monday, September 1, 2008

SoundBite Back

Even a contract can benefit from technology, here is some good resources for old school ways. 

SoundBite Back

Try something new (the analog version)

Posted: 09 Mar 2008 11:12 AM CDT

Last month I challenged SBB readers to improve their communication skills by trying something new. Since everything I listed involved technology, however, I want to issue a follow-up challenge from the analog world. While it's crucial to keep pace with technology, it's just as important to learn how to use some tried-and-true communication tools and skills, like:

  • A library card. Still free, and still relevant. (If you live in Allen County, apply for one here.)
  • The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. Still the best way to find every magazine article in print in a given year, and only available at your local library.
  • Your reference librarian. Reference librarians are the original search engines, and they're better company than Google or Yahoo. When you need to dig deep on a research project, they're the people to see.
  • Public speaking. One of the best ways to raise your profile at work or in the community. But make sure you can do it well before you volunteer. How do you learn?...
  • Try Toastmasters or another skill-building group. There are plenty to choose from in northeast Indiana.
  • Write a letter to the editor. Petrified of public speaking? Let your pen do the talking instead. Click to learn more about where and what to send to the Journal Gazette or News-Sentinel
  • Your writing's not ready for prime time? Well, take a writing class at Ivy Tech Community College or IPFW.
  • Learn a foreign language. Given population trends, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, or Indian are probably good choices. French no longer makes a lot of sense from a practical standpoint, but learning just about any language is worthwhile. (Except Klingon. Learning Klignon is just nerdy.)
  • You'd rather speak with pictures instead of words? Take a photography class. See pg. 32 of the spring Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation catalog from a class that's only $67.
  • Teach a class. Already good at most of this stuff? Consider teaching others. You'll hone your public speaking skills, too, and you'll inevitably learn something new about your topic.
  • Read. A book. A real book. Something with actual pages.
  • Travel.
  • Turn off the computer and talk to someone. Yes, I mean now.

Chalk one up for the apostrophe

Posted: 09 Mar 2008 11:11 AM CDT

More proof that puncutation isn't optional.
Photo from Grammar Girl's Group Photo Pool on Flickr

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