Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

Seven Fast Tips for Using Blogger

Now that I've established that Blogger doesn't suck anymore, I thought it would be helpful to share a few quick and easy tips to help you get the most out of Blogger, Google's free blogging software.

1. Tweak the Navbar
   The Blogger navigation bar at the top of every page doesn't have to be a 'loud' blue and orange. While you can't eliminate the navigation bar entirely, you can make it less obvious and tie it closer to the look and feel of your blog. To do so, simply log in to your Blogger account, then navigate to Dashboard > Layout, then click on "Edit" on the Navbar. In addition to the default blue colour scheme for the Navbar, you can also choose tan, black, or silver.
2. Finesse Your Photo
   For the photo of you, the blogger, use a JPEG that is exactly 88x88 pixels in size. This size will look best both on your blog (where more people are likely to see it) and your User Profile page. To change your photo, navigate to Dashboard > Edit Profile.
3. Create Search Engine-Friendly Tags
   Since page titles are very important to search engines, and since Blogger automatically incorporates tags into page titles, make sure you create tags that accurately reflect the content of your blog. This will help increase the traffic you get from search engines.
4. Use a Compelling Description
   The description you use for your blog in the top header section will likely be used by search engines when they display your blog in search results. Make sure you craft your description to be compelling to readers (to motivate them to click) and search engines by including the most important keywords here. Go to Dashboard > Settings to add or modify your blog description.
5. Use Your Own Domain Name
   Just because your blog's URL is likely to be some variation of yourblog.blogspot.com this doesn't mean you can't have a snappier and more memorable URL for marketing purposes. Simply register a domain name like TheBestBlogEver.com (for $10 or less at registrars like GoDaddy) and forward this to your blogspot.com URL. (Blogger also now supports using a custom domain for serving your blog, however configuring this is not for the faint of heart.)
6. Protect Yourself From Spammers
   If you want to provide your email address to your blog visitors but don't want to get bombarded by spammers using email address harvesting software, modify the way you display your email on your blog as follows: billgates[at]sympatico[dot]ca or billgatesNOSPAM@NOSPAMsymptico.ca.
7. Measure Your Traffic
   Blogger doesn't offer any Website traffic statistics (yet), but that doesn't mean you can't measure your blog traffic. Use a free and basic service like Site Meter or, if you're a data junkie, try Google Analytics.

Blogger Doesn't Suck Anymore or: How I Spent My Christmas Holiday

Until recently, if you were an aspiring blogger and you asked me my opinion of the blogging software Blogger, I would have gone into a mini rant about how surprisingly clunky and user-unfriendly it is, especially considering it is hugely popular and owned by Google.

Then I would have added that, of course, you get what you pay for. (Blogger is free.) And finally I would have suggested that you'd be better off paying $5 a month for a service like TypePad instead.

That was until this past Christmas.

In December, Blogger officially launched their new - and vastly improved - software, and I had a really good chance to give it a workout since I spent some of my Christmas holiday helping my Dad set up his first blog, In A Mellow Tone. (He prefers to call it a Website, but that's another story...)

The new Blogger is much easier to use (especially for non-technical folks) and offers some customization and configuration features that rival those of paid services like TypePad. Best of all, it's still free.

For full-blown professional or corporate blogs, I still recommend more robust and configurable paid services like TypePad and Movable Type (along with WordPress, which is 'free' but requires considerable technical prowess). However, for personal or modest little blogs like my Dad's, the new Blogger offers more than enough bells and whistles and is extremely easy to use.

If you haven't played around with the new Blogger yet, I highly recommend it. It's a great way to start the New Year.

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.

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!

Site Search Best Practices

We all know that anything to do with search is hot these days.

And now the smart companies are starting to take a closer look at the search engines on their own sites.

Whether you call this "site search" or "internal search" or 'who-knows-what' search, I predict this area is going to see a lot of excitement and evolution in the next few years.

I recently completed a fascinating site search consulting project for a large media company. Since they publish a number of magazines, they have a vast content archive and a vested interest in making it as easy as possible for Website visitors to be able to get to their content as efficiently as possible.

My company was hired to help the media company understand how to improve their site search. During the course of the project, my colleagues and I developed an unofficial list of what we started to refer to as "Site Search Best Practices." These best practices are independent of any one particular site search system (i.e., the technology solution) and will be of benefit to any company, large or small, that is implementing site search.

So, without much further ado, here are some of our Site Search Best Practices:

1. Make sure you are measuring usage and other key metrics related to site search so that you can keep track of the impact that any fine-tuning to the system makes. You can't manage what you can't measure.
2. Most site search systems allow the Website owner to configure the default search results layout a number of different ways. For instance, you usually have control over whether or not the results display the article's full URL, author's name, publication date, etc. Consider your particular target market and configure the search results layout in a way that is most relevant for them. If you don't know, ask them!
3. Include a highly visible link to 'search tips' content on every search results page, preferably adjacent to the search input text field, and make sure this content is written in plain English and kept up-to-date.
4. Automatically display 'search tips' content if the user's search does not generate any search results. Don't just strand them on a page that says, "No results found."
5. Follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices when creating new content/pages (and design templates) because a page that is well configured for an external search engine will also be well configured for an internal search engine.
6. If you are using a content management system (CMS), ensure that your internal content development team understands how to properly input and tag the content they are creating and why this is so important.
7. Synchronize your site search system's crawling/indexing schedule with your content publishing schedule, whether that be daily, weekly, or monthly. And make sure it stays in sync.
8. Configure the site search system to automatically notify representatives of your company's IT department AND content/publishing department in the event the system goes offline. Because it will, and you want to be the first to know.

Since the site search landscape is in a constant state of flux, I consider this list to be very much a 'work-in-progress.'

Domain Name Research Tools

As someone with more than a fleeting interest in domain names, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite domain name research tools with you.

DomainSurfer - DomainSurfer is a super-speedy domain name search engine that allows you to quickly conduct wild-card searches of domain names. You can quickly find out how many other domain names feature or begin with a word (or word combination) that is of interest to you. For instance, did you know there are 45,583 .com domain names featuring the word "Canada"? Take off, eh!

NameBoy - This is a very useful tool to turn to when you're stuck in the process of coming up with a new (and available) domain name. NameBoy's greatest strength is its ability to suggest alternative domain names for you to consider and indicate their availability. This is an invaluable resource when you've hit a mental roadblock.

NameProtect Free Trademark Search - Curious to know if that great name you've come up with has already been trademarked? This is a quick way to do a preliminary (and free) search for US and Canadian trademarks - and help keep the lawyers at bay. Did I mention it's free? ;+)

Enjoy!

The "Get GOT" Gotcha with Campaigner

When does 'branding' cross the line and become annoying? Here's when...

I've been a fan, and customer, of GOT Corporation (formerly GotMarketing) and their Campaigner self-serve email marketing system for many years. I've also set up a number of my smaller clients with their own Campaigner accounts so they can manage their own email newsletters.

The last time I set up a new client with a Campaigner account I made a shocking discovery.

In the good old days, Campaigner users had the option of toggling on or off a "Get GOT" logo and link in the footer of every email they sent using the system. If you felt like promoting the fact you use Campaigner, you could include the GOT Corporation branding at the bottom of your emails. If you didn't feel like giving GOT free advertising, you could choose to omit this footer.

Today, if you sign up for a new Campaigner account of less than USD $150 a month, you have no choice whether or not your emails get the "Get GOT" branding on them. The only way you can remove this free advertising is to pay an additional USD $250 service charge, and you have to contact an account manager at GOT to find this out.

I think GOT has this completely ass-backward. Why should I, as a paying customer, have to pay GOT an additional fee to stop involuntarily shilling for them? If anything, GOT should be paying its customers a fee for all the free advertising it is getting, or at least giving its customers an affiliate commission on any sales they generate.

Imagine if this obnoxious 'branding' strategy was applied to other similar services, like your phone, so that every time you called someone the person on the other end would be forced to hear "this phone call powered by Bell."

Of course, GOT did not invent this annoying practice, although they are apparently well on their way to perfecting it. Many other email service providers, as well as other online marketing Application Service Providers, have gone 'branding' berserk, although multiple wrongs do not make a right.

Mark my words, a major selling point and differentiator for email service providers (even at the low-end of the market) will be their willingness to let their customers choose whether or not they want to feature the service provider's branding in their emails.