Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

Why I'm Promoting the Social Media Telesummit

As you may have noticed, for the last few weeks I've been actively promoting my friend Leesa Barnes' upcoming Social Media Telesummit, which takes place February 20-29, 2008.

I've also been totally upfront about the fact that I'm one of Leesa's affiliate partners, which means I will receive a portion of the registration fees from referrals I send her way. (For the record, I plan to donate a portion of my cut to charity.)

A number of people have asked me why I am helping spread the word about the Social Media Telesummit, so I figured I'd answer that question on my blog.

First of all, I have tremendous admiration for Leesa Barnes. She's smart, funny, and totally committed to educating and inspiring people to use and benefit from the new media. She's taught me a lot over the last few years, and I've tried to return the favour as often as I can. That's why I signed on.

Second, I'm blown away by the depth and breadth of the speakers Leesa has lined up for the event. Paul Colligan, Sherman Hu, Kate Trgovac, Darren Barefoot, Julie Szabo, Jason Van Orden, Andy Wibbels ... and so many others as well. I'm sorry, but I don't know too many other events that offer a truly international roster of social media and Internet marketing experts like this one.

Third, I love the fact that this is a virtual event that anyone from anywhere can participate in. (Well, if they register for it, that is!) For me, personally, this makes the Social Media Telesummit very convenient as I can learn on my own time, at my own pace, and from the location of my choosing.

Finally, I got the chance to experiment with using social media to promote the event, most notably Facebook. If ever an event called for such an approach, it was this one. That, for me, has been the most rewarding part of this experience to date.

I do hope you register for, and participate in, the Social Media Telesummit. Even if you don't, at least now you know why I've been encouraging you to do so.

An Insider's Perspective on the Multi-Billion Dollar Domain Name Industry

As loyal readers of this blog will know, last month I was in Miami, Florida to attend the biggest domain name industry event of them all, TRAFFIC. While I was there, I recorded interviews with several of the domain name industry's major players. Upon my return, I turned these interviews into six special "road trip" versions of my Marketing Martini podcast, four of which have been released so far.

If you'd like a glimpse inside the rather secretive, multi-billion dollar domain name industry, I encourage you to give these episodes a listen. Here are a few highlights...

What's a live domain name auction? Find out from the man who runs the top one in the world.

In Episode #29 of Marketing Martini, I talked with Monte Cahn, Founder and CEO of Moniker.com, about the world's largest live domain name auction. It was only after the interview that I realized Monte also hosts his own podcast, Domain Masters. Such a small world!

Ever looked up the perfect domain name for your business only to discover it wasn't available to register? Don't give up hope just yet; a good domain could still be within reach.

In Episode #31 of Marketing Martini, I chatted with Peter Lamson of NameMedia about the "aftermarket" for domain names. In a stroke of accidental marketing brilliance on my part, this episode was released shortly after NameMedia filed to go public.

Did you know that buying a domain name is no longer the only way you can gain use of it?

In Episode #32 of Marketing Martini, I spoke with Jonathan Boswell of LeaseThis.com about the notion of domain name leasing. Jonathan was such an interesting interview subject that he inspired two episodes.

I have received such amazing feedback from listeners about this special "road trip" series of interviews that I wanted to bring the series to your attention. Enjoy!

Recommended: Podcasting for Profit, by Leesa Barnes

I am so not into book reviews, however last week I had the honour of leading a roundtable discussion on podcasting at the Digital Marketing Conference. Near the end of the session I was asked to recommend a book on the subject of podcasting. That book was, and is, Podcasting for Profit, by the multi-talented Leesa Barnes.

Leesa's book was published a few months ago, and I've been meaning to blog about it ever since. Podcasting for Profit is unique in that it's not a technical 'how-to' manual about the production side of creating a podcast, nor is it one of those cheezy 'become an Internet radio star' publications. Plenty of those kinds of books kicking around already!

Podcasting for Profit, on the other hand, is focused on the business side of podcasting. Amen!

This is the book to pick up if you're struggling with whether or not you or your company or your clients should be podcasting. And if you've already decided to move forward with podcasting, Leesa's book will help you identify new business opportunities related to podcasting that you might never have thought of.

Written in a warm, honest, and down-to-earth style (it's by Leesa Barnes, after all), Podcasting for Profit is highly recommended to anyone interested in understanding the business implications of this exciting new medium.

You can find out more about the book at http://www.leesabarnes.com/book/.

P.S. I'm also supremely flattered to be mentioned in Podcasting for Profit, along with lots of other podcasters whose work I admire. Congratulations, Leesa!

2007 Digital Marketing Conference

The death of Princess Diana. The Bre-X scandal. James Cameron's Titanic.

Where were you in 1997? And what were you doing?

Although it seems hard to believe, this year marks the - gasp! - 10th anniversary of the Canadian Marketing Association's Digital Marketing Conference.

I'm on the organizing committee for this conference and we've really tried to pull out all the stops in honour of this year's first decade mark.

Some of the featured speakers we've lined up include Mike Murphy from Facebook, Chuck Porter from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and Simon Assaad from Heavy.com.

Ipsos Reid returns for a second year with the results of The Canadian Digital Marketing Pulse survey and we've just added a very special surprise session for Thursday afternoon featuring four Canadians you won't want to miss.

The enormously popular roundtables, "The Experience Exchange," are back by popular demand, and yes, yours truly will be moderating one of the roundtables on podcasting.

If you're serious about Internet marketing, please join me and a few hundred other Internet marketing enthusiasts at the 10th annual Digital Marketing Conference in Toronto, Canada on Thursday, October 25 and Friday, October 26.

For more information and to register, visit the 2007 Digital Marketing Conference Website.

Aesthetic Intent: A Podcast That's Driven By Innovation

Yes, the rumours are true; I've left MacLaren MRM and will be starting a new job in a few weeks. I can't reveal the details of the new gig yet. As a loyal reader of this blog, however, you'll be one of the first to hear the news.

Meanwhile, I wanted to let you know about one of the projects I'm most proud to have worked on during my time at MacLaren MRM. It's a podcast series called Aesthetic Intent and it's for the Buick division of General Motors of Canada. Aesthetic Intent quietly launched during my final week at the agency, and to the best of my knowledge is the first ever podcast by a Canadian automotive manufacturer. Even more noteworthy, in my opinion, is that this podcast is NOT about cars.

Aesthetic Intent is a six-part podcast series that "deconstructs the connection between passion and beauty" and features interviews with an eclectic group of people. Each episode is smart, engaging, and authentic ... as well as "inspired by the new Buick Enclave." It's not an infomercial for the vehicle, and the only quasi-advertising content appears discretely in the last few moments of each podcast episode.

Kudos to General Motors of Canada for continuing to be an innovator in the Internet marketing space. Yes, I said "innovator." There are very few 'traditional' Canadian companies that have invested as heavily in the Internet channel, and launching this podcast is just another example of GM Canada's enthusiasm for the medium. Regardless of whether or not Aesthetic Intent turns out to be successful, you've got to give GM Canada credit for trying new things. I'll miss working with them for this reason.

I also want to tip my hat to the great team at MacLaren MRM that I worked with on this project. It was quite an adventure getting this unconventional project off the ground, however I am confident that all the time and effort will pay off.

Check out Aesthetic Intent and let me know what you think. And if you like it, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Crossing 10,329 Miles with Communication Consultant Lee Hopkins

Last week I had the honour and pleasure of being interviewed by Australia's Lee Hopkins for his provocative Better Communication Results podcast. Despite the fact my Skype connection kept disconnecting us every 6 minutes or so, Lee and I had a lively 30-minute discussion about search engine optimization, business blogs, and social media.

One of the questions Lee asked me triggered me to tell the story of a friend who recently launched an online store and was looking for help with the search engine optimization.

Because my friend's store was created using a database-driven e-commerce solution that was not designed with search engines in mind and would therefore be impossible to properly optimize for search engines, I recommend that my friend focus his efforts instead on creating a blog related to the product he was selling.

I told my friend that this would be a far more effective way to generate targeted traffic than trying to optimize the existing site. Not only would it be good for the search engines, it would also be good for prospective customers. This is not the first time I've made this recommendation to someone, nor will it likely be the last. That's right, yet another great reason to consider launching a blog.

You can download an MP3 file of the full interview (14 MB) or, better yet, subscribe to Lee's podcast feed so you can receive this and future episodes of his Better Communication Results podcast.

The iTunes Advertising Enigma

There's no question in my mind that Apple has done more to advance the medium of podcasting than any other company. For that, I will always be grateful.

Nevertheless, I am still shaking my head in bewilderment about one thing I recently learned related to Apple and podcasts: nobody can buy advertising to promote their podcast on iTunes.

Sure, when you go to the iTunes podcast directory there are all sorts of banners and buttons promoting the virtues of various podcasts. I, like many people, had assumed that the producers of those podcasters had paid to have their podcasts promoted in this way. After all, this type of advertising model exists on a number of other podcast directories, and it's something many of us are familiar and comfortable with.

But get this: I assumed wrong. (Yeah, yeah, I know the old saying about making assumptions...)

After several weeks of investigating this, I have discovered that what I thought were paid ads for various podcasts are, in fact, freebies that the iTunes team creates and runs. According to the various podcasters I have talked to who have been lucky enough to have one of these "ads" put on iTunes promoting their podcast, this happens out of the blue. One moment they're scrounging for subscribers with all the rest of us pod-mortals, the next thing you know they're signing up subscribers by the truckload thanks to a big honking "ad" on the iTunes podcast directory home page. iTunes doesn't even notify them that the ad is running; it just appears one day.

On the one hand I love the eccentric nature of this and the fact that low-budget, independent podcasts are getting free advertising and profile alongside bigger budget "corporate" podcasts.

On the other hand, I am a little frustrated that if I wanted to boost the profile of a client's podcast on iTunes (through the use of paid advertising) I would not be able to.

Finally, I can't for the life of me figure out why Apple is walking away from the chance to generate significant advertising revenue. Then again, Apple's always done things its own unique way. Think different, indeed.

Podcast Idol, Anyone?

In a response to Joseph Jaffe's recent Most Valuable Blogs (MVB) contest, Kevin Behringer over at the Fly-Over Marketing blog has kicked off a Most Valuable Podcasts (MVP) contest.

But wait, it gets better...

I am pleased (if somewhat bewildered) to announce that my Marketing Martini podcast is one of the "Sweet 16" finalists for Most Valuable Podcast. And I'm truly flattered that the Martini shares the virtual limelight with some great podcasts like Joseph Jaffe's Across the Sound, Mitch Joel's Six Pixels of Separation, C.C. Chapman's Managing the Gray, any many more. Congratulations to all my fellow podcasters on the shortlist.

If you'd like to vote for the Marketing Martini and/or any of the other fine podcast nominees, follow this link.

Thanks, Kevin! Let the fun and games begin...

Eight Tips I Picked Up at PodCamp Toronto 2007

I am still coming down from PodCamp Toronto 2007. It was just that good.

Nearly 300 podcasters, podcast listeners (podfans?) and students of all ages descended on Ryerson University for this free, two-day event.

The one thing everyone had in common seemed to be their passion for this new medium. The excitement and enthusiasm of the whole affair fondly reminded me of my first Internet World Conference, which I attended in - oh my God - 1996 in San Jose, California.

Here are a few choice excerpts from the notes I took during the many informative educational sessions at PodCamp Toronto 2007:

1. Podcast listeners are older than you probably realize; the average podcast listener is in their mid-thirties. (Tipster: Leesa Barnes)
2. Since the word "podcast" continues to confuse people, sometimes you are better off using a different term like "Internet radio show." (Tipster: Christopher Penn)
3. Speaking of lingo, some people are confused by the word "subscribe" because they think this means they will have to pay to receive your podcast. Consider using the term "add" instead, especially if dealing with a younger demographic. (Tipster: Christopher Penn)
4. If you are planning a business-to-employee podcast and want to ensure as many of your employees listen to the podcast, give each of them an iPod. (Tipster: Sabita Singh)
5. Creating a Facebook and MySpace profile for your podcast can be very cost-effective way to get new subscribers. (Tipster: Christopher Penn)
6. StumbleUpon is not only a great tool to discover quality Websites, it can drive a lot of traffic to your podcast's Website. (Tipster: Julien Smith)
7. The "itpc" link to subscribe to a podcast in iTunes is more reliable than the "phobos" link. (Don't be concerned if you have no idea what I am talking about. If you're a podcaster, you will.) (Tipster: Christopher Penn)
8. If you ever find yourself, or a client, asking "why should we be podcasting?" try asking instead, "why shouldn't we be podcasting?" (Tipster: Michael Seaton)

I don't know if there will be a PodCamp Toronto 2008, but if there is, you can bet I'll be there!

PodCamp Toronto 2007

I will be speaking at, and attending, PodCamp Toronto 2007, February 24-25, 2007 in Toronto, Canada.

PodCamp Toronto (www.podcamptoronto.org) bills itself as "a 2-day 'unconference' that will teach people how to plan, produce and publish a podcast."

Attendance is free. Yes, free!

According to its organizers, "this volunteer-driven, sponsor-supported event focuses primarily on allowing people to share ideas, interact with each other and learn in an open environment." Attendees will learn about podcasting from hands-on practitioners from Canada and the United States.

I will be one of the panelists on a session entitled "Will Podcasting Kill Radio?" that will be moderated by the awesome Leesa Barnes. You'll have to attend the session to find out what my answer is.

If you are interested in learning more about podcasting, I highly recommend you attend this event.

Visit www.podcamptoronto.org for more information or to register for free. I hope to see you there!