eBooks: Hip and Stylish

You can’t get better timing then this. The same day that an eBook gets described as “super duper white paper” by a coworker (instead of the previous “white paper on steroids”), I see this article from MarketingProf: E-books: A Hip and Stylish Younger Sibling to the Nerdy Whitepaper.

So what is an e-book? For the purposes of marketing using web content, I define an e-book as a PDF-formatted document that identifies a market problem and supplies an answer to the problem. The best e-books don’t sell a product; rather, they brand an organization as a thoughtful leader in a defined market space.

I for one work on a fair amount of web-based Flash eBooks, instead of PDFs. But I do like the terminology used to describe them.

First saw this from B2B Lead Generation Blog.

Splunkd »« My Cubicle

Job Search

I am in the midst of rolling out career microsites for many of the publications at my company, with about 14 already scheduled. We used to work with MediaBistro but have now partnered with eFinancialCareers, a much better fit for our audience.

This has got me scanning the various job sites and seeing how much has changed since I was last in the market looking. GigaOM also has a good post on the Niche Job Boards Rising. I very much like the vertical search model of Indeed since it is pulling from many of the existing job sites and nicely ties in a lot of other information. Om also references the new CrunchBoard as well as 37Signals (tech jobs) and paidContent (digital media) as niche sites, and the more general Jobster (vertical job search) and The Ladders (job seekers pay for access).

These newer sites make the seeking easier and of course have things like RSS, and Indeed has quite a few tools to allow all sorts of ways to access. I have seen a lot of frustration with big sites like Hotjobs and Monster, which is trying to adapt by creating vertical sites like their Marketing channel. And of course Craigslist is huge in the market.

The 10/20/30 PowerPoint Rule »« Email Users ‘Unsubscribe’ via Spam Button

Email Users ‘Unsubscribe’ via Spam Button

Completely reinforcing what I have experienced with email newsletters, the number of people that click the spam button keeps going up. The latest figures come from a ReturnPath survey, which I got to from a post on MarketingVOX.

In a recent Return Path survey, nearly 79% of consumers admitted that they have hit the “spam” or “junk” email button to get rid of email they don’t want. And nearly 37% do it as a way to unsubscribe from things they had asked to receive.

And all this does is make email a less effective tool, but still a good way to push content and drive website traffic. Just another reason to build a robust RSS and other content pull channels.

Job Search »« Snakes on a Plane

SEO as Spam

Since companies and hawksters are getting better and better at optimizing for search, the question becomes when does it become too much? What happens when you can no longer find spamy content?

Stephen Baker at BW asked this question based on a Google Legacy book by Stephen Arnold as well as speeches on the topic by the author.

“Relevance” does take on new meaning and is not all that different than the paid directories that Google replaced. I would hope Google finds a way to maintain the integrity of their product, with of course at least some room for good content to get through… which is not an easy balance and up for debate.

Second Life »« Blog, Podcast and RSS Advertising

Blog, Podcast and RSS Advertising

An interesting study by PQ Media and reported by eMarketer, talking about the alternatives to web advertising. A small but rapidly growing segment.

blog advertising totaled $16.6 million in 2005, 81% of the total spent on the three alternatives. Podcast advertising reached a total of $3.1 million in 2005, according to the report, with RSS advertising, non-existent until mid-2005, generating $650,000 during the year.

Podcasts are also expected to outpace Blog spending, with Video still pull in the most for the New Media options. I know RSS advertising is picking up steam and I can see Podcasting and Video being the easiest to just port over ads from Radio and TV. I am still waiting of a compelling Widget advertising option.

Thanks to Anand for the heads-up.

SEO as Spam »« April Google Rank

RSS for Marketing

Given all the trouble with email marketing tagged as spam, as well as possible email postage (NYT), having another online marketing channel is a necessary strategy.

Of course, RSS is still fairly unknown by most people, but is making progress (but has a way to go according to this Pew Institute study). Not sure if B2B users have a higher percent of knowledge of these keywords. I like the idea of RSS since it pushes out content to subscribers and doesn’t get as “lost” as email does, and both can drive to a website.

eMarketer article regarding using RSS as email alternative:

Really Simple Syndication was originally established as a way to distribute news updates to individuals and is now becoming a way for marketers to distribute product alerts and other messages. A small percentage of users are currently familiar with the term, but that number is about to grow higher as marketers begin to experiment further with RSS and perhaps one day make it a significant way to reach online customers.

Performancing Metrics »« Accoona Search

B2B Email Bad Idea?

I couldn’t resist posting some images that a certain sponser thought was a good idea for the Banking and Financial Services B2B audience. How would you feel getting something like this in an office email from a company that wants to take your money? I for one feel a little dirty.

So is it just me? Maybe I don’t understand the financial audience?

Newsvine »« Ranking well on Google using HTML

Marketing Your Company Online

Here are some suggestions as to how to use the Internet for marketing your company.

• Provide an email account and check it regularly. No point in providing something that you are going to frustrate people with unmet expectations. Checking once a day shouldn’t tie up too much time.
• Use an email address based on your website, instead of your AOL email (or any other ISP). It’s all about branding, and even if you have it forwarded to AOL, using a corporate looking email (also called a ‘vanity’ email) still gives you future options to switch ISPs later. Best case would be to just use a web-based email from your website hosting provider.
• Create an simple professional looking website. You don’t have to pay lots of money for a fancy graphical Flash site, but avoid lossing credibility by just “throwing something up”. Needless to say, a website should reinforce your company branding.
• If you want to provide extra value on your site, create some FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that will answer the most common inquiries about your company and how you stand apart, and provide an easy way for people to get in touch with you.

The Web 2.0 Drinking Game »« Instant Messaging

Internet Faxing

Internet Faxing Service Review:

Quick Summary of the 4 big services

* Efax – Undisputed leader in the field of Internet faxing. Offers free version. Free version doesn’t provide you with a local number. Regular service is expensive. Offers many other products – remote control of computer, etc. Requires proprietary fax viewer software to view faxes. The most local area code numbers available in the US. Free receiving. Plus Account: $13 setup, $13/month ($140/year); Pro Account: free setup, $19/month ($220/year).

* Fax-away – Competitive regular service. Web faxing not supported. Many customizable features and options for sending. The personal fax number they assign you is not local – they are all in some location where the area code is not local to you – just like the free eFax service – not too useful for your customers. Free receiving, $10 deposit, $1/month service charge, 0.11/minute within US.

* Internet Fax Provider – Offers toll-free numbers which can be used anywhere in the US – very convenient for the people sending faxes to you. Best rate for broadcast faxing. Many customizable features and options for sending. Comprehensive Web faxing features. $10 setup, $10/month service fee, Free 100/month sending & 200/month receiving, 0.10/page after.

* MaxEmail – Offers local numbers in the US. However, you will find that only the major cities are covered. No web faxing available. Good receiving plans. Plus Account: $10/setup, $69/year (or $9/month) for 200 pages or voicemails received/month ($0.05/page after), $0.05/30 seconds of transmission.

I had an eFax number for years and enjoyed using their service (used it maybe once a year). Than about a year ago I started getting fax spammed so they killed my account, and I’m pretty sure they sold my fax number for marketing. I currently have a J2 number (same company) and find it pretty annoying with the spam. I will be trying out Ourfax to see how obtrusive the ads are on the faxes.

But if you are looking for a free service for sending, there seems to be:

• TPC is a non-profit collection of fax servers around the world. You can verify a fax number and it might be worth a test. Might be best with simple text.
• OurFax is ad supported and “allows any email user in the world, to send faxes directly from their email address, to almost any fax machine in the world.” Ad supported and their website is sketchy, so not sure if I would trust this operation.

Reviews of all Internet fax services can be found at FaxBeep. Kevin Savetz keeps a very current Internet faxing FAQ.

Google’s Copy and Print Strategy »« Google-Mart

Do’s and Dont’s of SEO

SEO will make or break a site, and as Google gains control, this only becomes more important. The trick is to watch out for unethical SEO “experts”. Article by Mark Lloyd on Purchased SEO.

What is SEO?
SEO or ‘Search Engine Optimization’ literally refers to a set of techniques used to improve the ranking of a website in search engine listings. The importance of being high up in a search engine listing is common knowledge, the number of visitors a site receives can literally dictate weather or not a site will succeed or fail.

Google-Mart »« Best Sushi in Hoboken