Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

BC AIM Direct Marketing Day 2006

I will be a featured speaker at BC AIM Direct Marketing Day, November 9, 2006 in Vancouver, Canada.

This one-day event brings together guest speakers (like yours truly), entertainment, and members of Vancouver's thriving integrated community to discuss "the whole of marketing."

I will be giving a talk entitled "Generation Google: The Rise of the On-Demand Consumer" on Thursday, November 9. This is starting to become my signature presentation, which is fine by me since I love delivering it.

I've always felt that Direct Marketing and Internet Marketing had a lot in common, so this should be a stimulating event.

Canadian Association of Broadcasters 2006 Convention

I will be speaking at, and attending, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Convention, November 5-7, 2006 in Vancouver, Canada.

According to the Convention's Website, "This is the 80th annual gathering of Canada’s private broadcasters, and the theme for this year’s CAB Convention – New Realities. New Rules. – reflects the tremendous rate of change that Canada’s private broadcasters are experiencing." Boy, you can say that again!

I will be participating in a panel discussion entitled "The New Advertising Pitch" on Tuesday, November 7. It promises to be a lively exchange.

Since I used to work in radio and television, I'm especially looking forward to re-connecting with old colleagues from the broadcasting world.

Seven Things I Learned at the 2006 Digital Marketing Conference

Last week's CMA 2006 Digital Marketing Conference was information-packed and very inspirational, and I'm not just saying that because I am a member of the Conference Committee!

While I learned a lot more than just seven things at the Conference (I took 15 pages of notes), there were a number of key points made by various speakers that really struck me:

1. The Internet marketing talent shortage is now a reality the world over. Get used to it.
2. The number one thing that is holding clients back from investing more in Internet marketing is lack of knowledge. As Steve Levy of Ipsos-Reid so succinctly put it, "clients need to be educated before they are sold."
3. Marketing in the age of the Internet is all about conversations.
4. It's not about the Web page, it's about the clicks.
5. Podcasting is in its infancy like the Web was a decade ago. Now's the time to get in.
6. It's not about people coming to the content, but content coming to the people.
7. RSS readers will become the new portals.

For an excellent summary of the presentations given at the Digital Marketing Conference, and to continue the conversation, be sure to check out the Canadian Marketing Blog.

Tools I Love: Escrow.com

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?
Escrow.com is, as its name implies, an online escrow service. Think of it as a virtual and impartial transaction middleman who protects both the buyer and seller of real or virtual assets. If you're planning to buy a domain name from a third party, for instance, a service like Escrow.com helps you avoid being ripped off, above and beyond the protection afforded by a contract or letter of agreement. Escrow.com does not release the funds to the seller until you, the buyer, have verified that the domain name transfer has been successfully completed.

Why do I like it?
Although it can be used for assets other than domain names, Escrow.com has a dedicated domain name purchase management service that is very polished and very straightforward to use. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, Escrow.com gives you the confidence to smoothly execute important e-commerce transactions with people around the world.

Where do I get it?
When you are ready to transact, you can open an Escrow.com account at www.escrow.com.

How much does it cost?
Escrow.com charges a service fee on each transaction, which can be paid for by the buyer, the seller, or split between them both. Fees vary depending on the purchase price and level of service, however the fee for a typical domain name sale is approximately 3.25%. This, in my opinion, is a small price to pay for piece of mind.

Insider's Tip:
While Escrow.com conveniently accepts payments through many different means, including credit cards, the best way to make payments into this service is through a bank wire transfer.

Tools I Love: Dropload.com

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?
Dropload.com is an online file delivery service. Have you ever found yourself in the following situation? You've got a digital file to get to someone, but it's way too large to send via email, there's no time to courier it over on CD-ROM, and the recipient is not technically-savvy enough to do the FTP thing. Well thank heavens for Dropload.com, which allows you to deliver massive digital files to anyone with a valid email address.

Why do I like it?
This service does one thing, and one thing only - deliver a large digital file to a recipient - and does it with ease and simplicity. Even the most technologically-challenged recipients will be able to figure out how to get their hands on the file you are delivering to them. Quite honestly, this service has saved my derriere on a number of occasions.

Where do I get it?
You can set up your own private Dropload.com account at www.dropload.com.

How much does it cost?
Dropload.com is free to use, although the service's creators welcome donations. If you find yourself using the service, I would encourage you to give the creators a little something; just think of the courier charges you are saving.

Insider's Tip:
Tell your intended file recipient ahead of time that you will be using Dropload.com to deliver the file to them. That way the recipient can watch for the email from Dropload.com indicating that their file is ready for pickup.

Domain Name Advice for Toronto Mayor Wannabes

The race to be the next mayor of Toronto has started to heat up now that 38 people have officially declared themselves in the race for mayor.

As an Internet marketing specialist and long-time citizen of Toronto, I believe it is my civic duty to pass along a few words of advice to those who might aspire to oversee Canada's largest city:

Register your Website address before you start talking to reporters.

For example, if your name happens to be "Stephen LeDrew" and you are purported to be one of the three main contenders in the race to be mayor of Toronto, it would be a good idea to register the domain names stephenledrew.ca and stephenledrew.com BEFORE going on CBC's popular Metro Morning radio show to announce that you intend to run for public office.

Otherwise, you see, someone listening to the show might register those domain names. Who knows, that same someone might even point those domains to their Internet marketing blog and write about it. After all, this is a perfect example of what not to do when it comes to launching a high-profile marketing campaign.

I have to give Stephen LeDrew credit where credit is due, however. He told reporters he intends to run an unconventional campaign, and by golly he's off to a roaring start.

I wish him the best of luck.

Update: October 7, 2006

It's been just over a week since I launched this "media experiment," and I think it's safe to say that I have made my point loud and clear. Some might say I was too successful!

Since this whole affair began on September 29, 2006, numerous blogs and Websites have written about my "Domain Name Advice for Toronto Mayor Wannabes." This story was picked up by the National Post, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Eye Weekly, and Spacing Votes. My traffic peaked when Warren Kinsella blogged about it, and overall there have been over 5,000 visitors to my Internet marketing blog.

I've particularly enjoyed reading the dozens of comments and emails that I have received from all over the country. 65% of the folks who took the time to write agreed with what I did, and the rest accused me of being a cybersquatter, a thief, unethical and an all-round menace to the democratic process and society at large. (Let's just say it's a good thing I don't take things personally.) Thank you one and all for your feedback. Even if we don't see eye to eye, at least I got you thinking.

Since Wednesday, I have been in contact with Stephen LeDrew's campaign management through an intermediary. They're not huge fans of mine right now, although to their credit they didn't threaten me with legal action. I am optimistic that over time they will come to realize that they really did screw up by not registering the domain names ahead of time, and - more importantly - that Internet marketing professionals like me are not the real enemy; naivety (in regards to the Internet) is.

"They have the Internet on computers now?" - Homer Simpson

The official launch of LeDrew for Mayor of Toronto campaign is planned for this coming Tuesday, October 10.

As a gesture of good faith, and to prove to LeDrew's campaign management that I am not an "Internet predator" (their actual words, I kid you not), I will be forwarding stephenledrew.com and stephenledrew.ca to the "official" Stephen LeDrew campaign Website on Monday, October 9 (Thanksgiving Day), one day prior to LeDrew's campaign launch.

I have communicated my intentions to Stephen LeDrew's campaign management, and I have also told them (via the intermediary) that if they want me to transfer ownership of the two domain names to them, I will gladly do so at NO charge.

This never was, and never will be, about money.

Happy Thanksgiving, Stephen, and thanks for helping to inject some excitement into the Toronto mayoral race.