Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

Delightfully Dumb Domains

Maybe it's the heat, but I just had to share this list of truly boneheaded company domain names with you. I can't take credit for finding these; this list has been making the rounds via email and blogs for the last two weeks. Regardless, if you haven't come across this yet, I think you will enjoy it...

1. A site called "Who Represents" where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity:
   www.whorepresents.com
2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
   www.expertsexchange.com (Note: domain appears to have changed hands)
3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at:
   www.penisland.net
4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at:
   www.therapistfinder.com
5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company at:
   www.powergenitalia.com (Note: site appears to be offline)
6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
   www.molestationnursery.com
7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always:
   www.ipanywhere.com
8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is:
   www.cummingfirst.com
9. Then, of course, there’s the art designers and their website:
   www.speedofart.com
10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their website at:
    www.gotahoe.com

Have you come across any ridiculous domain names in your surfing travels? I'd love to hear about them.

Blogging with the Whales

When I find myself discussing the merits of companies having their own blog as a companion to their corporate Website, I am often asked for examples of "real" companies doing so. (Most of the corporate blog examples I am aware of tend to be from Internet or technology related companies, which are sometimes not considered "real" enough companies by the folks I am speaking to. But that's a topic for another blog posting.)

I was on holiday in New Brunswick last week and stumbled across a seemingly unlikely but unquestionably "real" company that has its own corporate blog. There are at least a half-dozen small companies in the Bay of Fundy area that offer whale watching tours. Based on the limited information I had gathered from various regional tourism brochures, the whale tour companies all seemed to offer pretty much the same service for a similar price. So, like many other people would do in my situation, I turned to the Internet and explored the various companies' Websites.

The companies without Websites immediately lost my business. (That's a topic for another blog posting as well!) The remaining companies offered pretty much the same info on their Websites, with one exception. Quoddy Link Marine, to my pleasant surprise, also had a "Sightings and Updates" blog. The blog is maintained by Danielle, a marine biology graduate in charge of photographing, identifying and recording the whales and sharing that information with various marine research organizations. Danielle's blog chronicles through words and photos (by Danielle) the recent whale sightings and had been updated earlier the day I first looked at the blog with photos of whales that had been spotted that morning.

I was immediately captivated by the near-immediacy of this information and the fact it chronicled the spontaneous nature of whale watching. The "Sightings and Updates" blog also demonstrated to me that Quoddy Link Marine really cared about whales and the environment, not just selling whale tour tickets. Thanks to their blog, I also felt one degree closer to the people behind this tour company than with those from any of their competitors.

Needless to say, I chose to go whale watching with Quoddy Link Marine, not because they had a blog, but because of what the blog revealed to me about the company and its staff, something a typical corporate Website is not usually very good at. And in case you're wondering, the company and the whale watching tour lived up to my expectations. The afternoon we went out we played 'hide-and-seek' with a minke whale plus saw lots of harbour seals, harbour porpoises, and a young bald eagle.

Not only did I have an amazing afternoon on the sea, I also found a great example of a "real" company that has its own corporate blog.

Tools I Love: ProBoards

This is part of an ongoing series dedicated to the tools I regularly use and recommend as an Internet marketer.

What the heck is it?
ProBoards is a provider of threaded discussion forums. If you want to setup a discussion forum, public or private, dedicated to a topic or theme that is near and dear to your heart, then ProBoards is the fastest way to get going. Literally within minutes, your discussion forum can be up and running and accepting posts. ProBoards offers forum owners and their users all the popular features Internet users have come to expect from a forum, without the cost and expense of having to build one from scratch.

Why do I like it?
ProBoards is infinitely, and instantly, customizable. Not only do you have a great deal of control over the look and feel of your forum, but you also have access to some powerful administrative tools.

Where do I get it?
You can get your own forum at www.proboards.com.

How much does it cost?
ProBoards is free if you don't mind seeing third-party banner ads and text ads on your forum. For a nominal fee, you can pay a monthly amount to make them disappear.

Insider's Tip:
Your forum doesn't have to be public. You can password-protect your forum (or sections of it) and only allow paying customers to access the content. Just think of the possibilities...

Tools I Love: Gmail

This is the first installment in an ongoing series dedicated to the tools I regularly use and recommend as an Internet marketer.

What the heck is it?
Gmail is Google's Web-based email service, although lumping Gmail in with other Web-based email services like Hotmail does Gmail a disservice. It really is in a league of its own.

Why do I like it?
Unlike any other Web-based email I have ever used, Gmail is as fast and full-featured as any desktop-based email solution (such as Outlook or Eudora). It has excellent message filtering and categorizing, the fastest search feature you will likely ever experience, and its built-in spam detection engine is one of the best I've ever seen. Most of the people I've introduced to it have pretty well abandoned all their other email solutions and have migrated to Gmail; it's just that good. Every account comes with a massive 2.5 gigs (yes, that's 2,500 megabytes) of storage space, so it's going to be a long time before you have to worry about deleting any email messages. Best of all, Gmail is constantly evolving as the geniuses at Google add new features and refinements to the system based on user feedback.

Where do I get it?
You can find out more about Gmail at www.gmail.com however in order to get a Gmail account you need to be invited by someone who is lucky enough to already have one. (Yes, if you ask nicely, I'd be happy to invite you into the fold.)

How much does it cost?
Gmail is free.

Insider's Tip:
You don't have to migrate to Gmail completely in order to enjoy its many benefits. Since every Gmail account has a ton of storage space, it's ideal for use as an ad hoc email backup system. Simply configure your main email address to also forward a copy to your Gmail account. Should you ever have problems getting email from your primary email server, simply log in to your Gmail account and retrieve your messages from there.

Saluting Three Great Canadian Internet Ventures

In honour of this past weekend's Canada Day festivities, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to some of my favourite made-in-Canada Internet ventures:

RedFlagDeals.com
This site just gets better and better every year. It's a Canadian bargain hunter's dream come true, and is the first (and usually only) place I need to turn when I am looking for discounts or coupons on offline or online merchandise. RedFlagDeals.com recently launched a hotel finding service that is one of the smartest and focused Web tools I've ever seen. Keep up the great work, eh!

iPermitMail
I cannot say enough good things about this challenge-response spam blocking system; it has literally changed my life. Last month alone, this made-in-Canada service blocked over 17,500 junk emails from cluttering up my in-box, saving me an estimated 23 hours of valuable time. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw spam; that's how good this system is. And it only costs $5 a month!

(Update - November 25, 2006: iPermitMail has changed its pricing model and functionality, so it no longer suits my particular needs. After careful research and consideration, I have switched to SpamArrest, which is a very solid alternative to iPermitMail.)

CityMax
I can hear the Web designers screaming in horror as I write this, but if someone wants a decent-looking, full-featured, multi-page Website but has less than $500 to spend, Vancouver's CityMax is the answer. Yes, do-it-yourself Website solutions like CityMax have lots of limitations and the 'designs' are generic, but for some entrepreneurs and small businesses, this is the only way they would ever be able to launch their first Website.

Happy Birthday, Canada!