Archive for August, 2010

Without Government Spending, Can GDP Grow?

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

This chart speaks for itself.  Are we talking economic growth of substance and private sector expansion?  You know the answer.  It speaks for itself.  Get ready for more of a rough ride economically.  Yes, this is a current 2010 chart.

Marketing can help.  Let it work for your business now…

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Gutenberg has a Kindle: Changes in Traditional Book Publishing

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

My book is your book.  You are my reader.  I wrote it for small business owners and employees; not publishers.  Ultimately, it’s the small business owner who needs marketing help and not an editor who thinks he knows my reader segment.  It gave me control of my content destiny.  This freedom benefits my readers, clients, and students.

After I read Seth’s post about the death of the publisher-centric century, I got excited.  He is so right.  Let me say it another way: he is Right On.  Book publishing as we know it is changing.  With my new book, I thought of going with a “traditional publisher,” but then researched the alternatives available in the self-publishing industry.  After weighing the pros and the cons, I went with Createspace (http://www.createspace.com), a division of Amazon and a leader in the self-publishing paradigm shift.

Seth Godin’s post on publishing:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/moving-on.html

In marketing, the consumer is the decision maker–not the product or the producer of that product.  It’s the perfect fit for the changes occurring in publishing.

If only Gutenberg was alive and sitting at a computer.  Can you imagine him with a Kindle?  Can you imagine his thoughts…

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Is Social Media a Fit for Your Business?

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Before one engages in any form of marketing, it’s important to have a plan.  If you jump, land with both feet on the ground.

In spite of what you hear, social media is not a fit for every business.  Applying a tactical plan rather than joining a faddish, digital bandwagon is a wise course of action.

Zack Swire, CEO of SWIRE, a marketing communications agency, says it well:

“Many companies just go out there and get on Facebook.  They say, ‘I’ll put an intern on that.’  But you have to know whether or not it’s a natural extension of your brand,” says Swire.  “Do you have a business plan around your social-media strategy?  Are you using Twitter as a customer-service tool?  You can’t do it all, and you have to do it right, and you have to allocate people and resources to it.”


Zack is correct.  In addition to learning and testing the social media frontier, it’s important to develop a plan.  For starters, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is social media a fit for your business model?
  • Why use Facebook vs. Twitter vs. some other platform?
  • Is social media a natural extension of your brand?
  • What’s your long-term plan and why?
  • How can I integrate E-mail marketing as a branch of your social media strategy?
  • Can you match manpower with available resources?
  • Do you have the time for social media?
  • What are your objectives for each social media platform?
  • What are your long-term goals for your social media campaigns?

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The Marketing Drummer is “On a Roll” About his New Small Business Marketing Book

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

One of the best words to describe marketing: FUN!

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What Does GM, President Obama, and the Ground Zero Mosque Have in Common?: Branding

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

John Tantillo, president of a New York marketing firm, makes some thought-provoking comments regarding what GM, President Obama, and the Ground Zero mosque have in common.  Our positions on these matters may differ, however from a marketing standpoint, one common strand connects them all: branding.

http://www.marketingpower2.com/blog/marketingnews/2010/08/john_tantillos_winner_and_lose_16.html

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