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There were so many questions asked during my Dec. 4, 2007 webcast sponsored by HubSpot that I didn't have enough time during the presentation to answer them. My thanks to everyone who attended! I hope the answers below address your questions adequately, but don’t hesitate to e-mail me if you need more.
Also, click below to download the slides from my presentation. If you'd like to learn more about my services, or if you think I could help explain these concepts to your clients or executives, please check out the other links on this page. Thanks for your interest!
What do you think of Seth Godin's Squidoo lens sites? Are
they a good link to have in your portfolio?
I've only used Squidoo a little, but it looks like a useful
resource for people trying to build their profile and expertise. There are
many networks that let you express your interests through collections of links
and writings. The key is not to get too distracted by trying to be a member of
all of them. Take the sites that seem to be the easiest to use and closest to
your interests. Then focus on building a significant presence there.
How do you feel blogs are affecting local newspapers and
how can bloggers effectively market themselves to a local market?
Blogs themselves aren't affecting local newspapers, but the
overall trend toward social media is having a major effect. For example, readers
rely upon our newspapers to do is what I would call "guided
discovery." In other words, the editors tell them what’s important and
interesting to read. Increasingly, though, individuals are doing at through
their blogs and social network relationships. Bloggers and newspapers actually
have symbiotic relationships in some respects. Reporters are increasingly
looking to prominent bloggers as sources of news and insight. In addition,
newspapers are expanding their opinion sections with topical experts found
through blogs.
However, I believe that the rise of personal publishing will
be more of a challenge than an opportunity to major metropolitan newspapers in
the future. Newspapers’ costs of delivery are simply too high and information
is now cheap. Newspapers have to focus on their local audiences in order to
survive. Unfortunately, so much cost has to be cut out of the structure that it
will be difficult to do this in a timely manner.
Regarding local marketing, remember that the search engine
is your friend. If you're trying to reach a local community, be sure to use
words in your writing that will be meaningful to that audience. This includes
names of towns but also of attractions, people businesses and so on. People
will find you by searching on these queries. Remember that blogs do very well
on search engines.
If you set up a blog and post for a year and there are no
comments, then what should you do?
Focus on building traffic and awareness. Just writing a
blog is no guarantee of visibility. You need to use some tricks and tactics to
encourage other people to link to you. These include reaching out to bloggers
in similar fields of interest and telling them about things you’ve just
written, interviewing experts in the field, covering events and asking for
links from the event organizers and many other tricks. You may have great
content but other people don't know about it. The task is to tell them.
Another thing to consider is the possibility that your
content may not be provocative enough to draw comments. Try to take a stand on
controversial issues. Also, writing about interesting personal experiences can
draw comments. People love to read each other’s stories.
Any information on webinar effectiveness, in terms of
attracting customers and retaining loyalty?
Webcasts (“webinar” is a trademarked term) can be a very
effective way to engage with people because of the human element. The trick is
getting people to attend. You'll probably have your best luck teaming up with
an existing organization that can promote your appearance. I usually try to
get a recording or access to an archive of the webcast to use for promotion to
my e-mail list.
What advice do you have for startups regarding advertising
on blogs?
It depends on price, of course, but this approach can be a
very effective and inexpensive way to reach interested people. You can advertise
on blogs via Google AdSense, of course, but it will be cheaper if you reach out
to individual bloggers and ask them to accept your advertising. Many will be
happy for the business and can work out a deal that's very attractive.
What was the company besides Microsoft that has over 1,000
bloggers on staff?
Sun Microsystems claims to have more than 4,000 now. IBM
also has more than 1,000.
What are the rules of linking to other blogs from your blog?
When does this become 'link whoring'?
In blogging protocol, a link is an acknowledgment that
someone else has contributed something useful to the discussion. It does not
mean that the linker agrees with the person being linked to. I think it's fine
to ask for links if you honestly believe you have written or recorded something
important. However, just asking for links for the sake of building traffic is
a practice that's frowned upon. Bloggers define themselves not only by who
links to them by whom they link to. Don't ask for an acknowledgment unless you
believe you’ve contributed something valuable.
Do you think blogs should utilize AdSense advertising or focus
on direct ad placement? Ithink you make a lot more money with direct ad
placement, if you can find people willing to do it.
Many bloggers use Google AdSense because it's easy. You're
right that it's not as lucrative as direct sales, but sales can be a
time-consuming process and it’s not always cost-effective for people to sell
their own ads. For most people, AdSense is enough.
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