The Art Of Marketing You

 Hi guys, in the past 6 months, the majority of my design projects have come from people who needed help fixing up blogs or sites designed by other geeks who either...

- didn't really know what they were doing

- didn't give a sh#t about what they were doing

- or took so long to reply to simple requests that the client gave up and moved on

 

 When you hire someone to design or maintain a blog or website, you're trusting them with your business and your image.

 Turning over your $$$ and passwords to someone you probably don't know very well takes a huge leap of faith.

 

 This might seem like a really small detail but one of my pet peeves and a sign of what you can expect from the geek you're about to hire is what they throw together as a "Coming Soon" page for new blogs/websites.

 

The Bad

 

 The example above is about as bad as it gets. You register a domain and while you're site is being put together, your "coming soon" page is filled with advertising and assorted other stuff that you probably don't want to see.

 

The Ugly

 

 The example above is a "coming soon" page from a site I just took over for someone who has been waiting almost 2 months for their blog designer to get the work done. The typical response is "we're working on it, it should be ready soon". (yeah right!)

 Duh! 2 months later and still nothing has been put online except this generic graphic.

 

A sign of things to come...

 

 A few days ago I started working on a new project for Feng Shui consultant Laura Cerrano and her new website FengShuiManhattan.com

 One of the first things I do when starting a project (once we get the domain set up and connected to a webhost) is to design and put up a decent looking coming soon page even if no one will ever see it except my client and their friends/family.

 What's my point? You can tell a lot about the people you might hire for a project by their attention to detail. If your geek doesn't take the time to...

- respond quickly to questions

- answer your technical questions in plain simple English

- go the extra step to make sure you, your site and your biz look as good as possible online

 

 ...then you're having a preview a things to come. I know there is good and bad in ever industry but I'm really tired of hearing how badly some people are being treated by their techies. Before you sign up with someone to handle your tech stuff...

- see how quickly they respond to questions

- see if they respond to your tech questions in language you can understand

- ask for references that have sites/blogs live online

- contact their clients to see how they feel about the geek or company you're about to hire

- if all else fails, take a look at their client's "coming soon" pages to see if they give a sh#t

 

 On that note I have to get back to work. Have a great week ya'll...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

 

What Detroit Can Learn From the Apple Store  by Eliot Van Buskirk

 To rise from the ashes, automakers must think like Silicon Valley — blow up “stores” in favor of experience centers. Let people buy what they want, when they want and how they want.  read...

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Tooting Your Own Horn Without Sounding Off-Key  by Alyssa Gregory

 One part of success is being proactive about exploring new opportunities, forging new relationships and positioning yourself in a positive light. You are your biggest champion, especially if you work for yourself. There is, however, a thin line between promoting yourself effectively and overdoing it.  read...

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Digg Shakes Up the Advertising Game  by Mike Phillips

 Digg just took online ads - particularly social advertising - to a whole new level. Advertisements will soon be integrated into regular Digg content (the 'river'), appearing similar to a regular submission.  read...

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Al Gore wants to save advertising, too.  by Caroline McCarthy

 According to former Vice President Al Gore, the importance of sustainability doesn't just apply to the environment. It also is key to the future of advertising.  read...

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21 BlackBerry Apps for Professionals  by Alyssa Gregory

 I love my BlackBerry Bold. It’s almost like my mobile office because it lets me stay in the loop without being tethered to my computer. Here are 21 BlackBerry applications you may want to add to your device to make yourself more accessible and productive.  read...

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GM: Here are the top 5 marketing ideas for your reinvention  by David Meerman Scott

 The new site at GMreinvention.com is quite good. However, from the marketing perspective, the whole reinvention rollout seems to be typical GM, which leaves me a bit sad and depressed. I fear for your long term survival, GM. Here, then, are my top five things that you can do right now to accelerate this reinvention.  read...

 

 

 

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news ,   ideas a nd resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in   The Art Of Marketing You group

 

- ActiveRain Community Search - HGTV’s "House Hunters" Is Now Casting  Brad Andersohn

- How To Maximize Indexing (RAINdexing) on your Outside Blogs  Brad Andersohn

- Welcome to Real Estate 2.0~ Home of the Soft Sell!  Jeremy Blanton

- Yes....I can be an arrogant SOB.... But not when I'm working  Bryant Tutas

- The Flattened Life - the Impact of Digital Natives in a Traditional Realty World  Lola Audu

- How Averages Can LIE to You - Are Home Values Really Dropping THAT Much?  Penny Hull

- How Would You Answer This? Did the REALTOR® Lie? Is That Even the Issue?  Lisa Hill

- Buyers and Sellers at the Inspection Together - What?  Anna "Banana" Kruchten

- Don't Leave YOUR Clients Hanging Out to Dry!  Debe Maxwell

- Tweeting or Blogging or Meeting Face-to-Face?  Margaret Rome

- The Real Tragedy of General Motors Bankruptcy  Russell Lewis

- Google is Not a Scraper Site, Part II  Missy Caulk

- If You Do Not "Get" Twitter...  Harrison Painter

- Defining Blogging Success  Sally Cheeseman

- Positioning Yourself...or Repositioning Yourself...  Liz Moras

- SERVICING SPECIAL NEEDS OF LONG DISTANCE BUYERS  Allison Stewart

- All It Takes Is 1 Degree Of Seperation: Are You Boiling?  Lisa Udy

- The FSBO Marketing Hype - FSBO Statistics Don't Lie - Or Do They?  Ryan Shaughnessy

- Send All Your Listings to Twitter with Tweetlister!  Bill Gassett

 

 

 

 If you're wondering how to customize your blog , take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials a nd graphics that you can download a nd use on your Active Rain blog .

 If you have questions about technology , blog design or building web presence , let me know a nd I'll try to answer them in a future post !

 

http : / /twitter .com / garaughty

 

 If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away , please subscribe to our blog using the button below . . .

 For more info about how we can help you stand out  from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

   TheBlogArtist .com         TheArtOfMarketingYou .com         The Ultimate Closing Gift         garaughty .com

                                                                                                                                 

 Hi guys, even tho I'm busier than God these days I wanted to stop by to say "hi" and give you a preview of some stuff I've been working on that will be out later this month.

 One of the great things about ActiveRain is how it continues to evolve over time. That also means that some stuff I designed for you to use months ago, doesn't fit the new Rain blogs the way they should so...

 I'm designing new blog graphics to fit the new header dimensions of the standard Rain blogs & the outside Rain blogs. Here's a quick peek at a few in the works...

 

The Rain Rocks

 

Think Green

 

Firestorm

 

Geometry # 1

 

 Also, if you're looking for a new wallpaper/calendar to spice up your monitor for the month of June, here are 2 new ones for you.

 

June 2009 calendar  download here

 

Lake Norman, NC  download here

 

 On that note I have to get back to work, later...

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

 To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Make a "best of" list from Twitter posts... TwttrList 

 

 Topsy is a new kind of search engine, with a new way of looking at the Internet. Topsy doesn't think the Internet is a collection of documents. Or even a web of documents. Topsy sees the Internet as a stream of conversations... Topsy.com

 

 TweetLister is a free service that allows real estate brokers and owners to take full advantage of the vast, wide-reaching social network on Twitter... TweetLister

 

 

 

Obsessing with Google PageRank   by Mihaela Lica

 Every time I write an SEO article I get a bunch of comments from web marketers who are obviously obsessed with Google PageRanks, so obsessed that they literally believe that PageRanks influence everything from rankings into Google’s SERPs to the overall online influence of a site.  read...

 

 

 

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news ,   ideas a nd resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in   The Art Of Marketing You group

 

- CRB Real Estate Brokers - Building and Supporting Hyper-Local Blogs  Brad Andersohn

- Lake Norman Real Estate's June Calendar is here!  Diane Aurit

- REBar Camp in Philadephia : Rock Stars of Techno  Hannah Williams

- I don't want to go to real estate jail!!!   Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- MLM, The Ponzi scheme and the Pyramids: They all work if you are the guy at the top!   Todd Clark

- Referral Tip for ActiveRain Agents: Timely Response May Net You 15K   Chris Olsen

- Tweet it up to google page 1 - Twitter and Google Juice   Brian and Rita Burke

- Advantages of Using Your Own 'Buyer's' Agent   Jo-Anne Smith

- Maybe THIS Will Grab Your Attention: Marketing Ideas You Can Implement   Jeff Dowler

- An Incredible Brunch At Norma's (The Wordy C Margaret Rome Interview)  C Tann-Starr

- Coming out of the Pocket...Profitability & Pretense  Lola Audu

- Biznik: Business Networking That Doesn't Suck!  Susan Templeton

- How Is Your Blog Like A Fine Wine?  Pam Dent

- Staying in Touch with Your Sellers with Trulia Client Reports   Missy Caulk

- Twitter Treasure-Trove... This is Awesome!!!  Mirela Monte

- Multitasking Madness Can Lead To Messes   Gary Woltal

- Are REALTOR.COM Enhancements Worth the Money?   Fran Gatti

- Should a Realtor give closing gifts?   Scott Larson

- Top Ten Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Home:   Greg Nino

- Real Estate Ad Reads "Nice Home, Nice Yard, Nice Layout...   Andrew Mooers

- Internet dominance is only the first virtual step in achieving business success  Richard Weisser

- Professional Courtesy between Realtors  Stewart Penn

 

 

 

 If you're wondering how to customize your blog , take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials a nd graphics that you can download a nd use on your Active Rain blog .

 If you have questions about technology , blog design or building web presence , let me know a nd I'll try to answer them in a future post !

 

http : / /twitter .com / garaughty

 

 If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away , please subscribe to our blog using the button below . . .

 For more info about how we can help you stand out  from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

   TheBlogArtist .com         TheArtOfMarketingYou .com         The Ultimate Closing Gift         garaughty .com

                                                                                                                                 

 

 

                                                                            

 P.S.  I'm busy juggling several projects but will be back in the Rain soon...

 

 

 

 To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

 Hand drawn websites are a growing trend. This post will showcase ten such free handwritten style fonts... view/download

 

 

Who Owns Your Name on Twitter?  by Julia Angwin

 Social media domain names – such as Twitter.com/yourname – are a whole different ballgame. They can be doled out arbitrarily. Even if you get a name first on a social network, you are not allowed to sell it and it can be reclaimed by the social network at any time.  read...

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Online Reputation Management: How to Handle Negative Publicity  by Alyssa Gregory

 Even if you do everything right, there may come a time when you face negative publicity. Harmful feedback can happen for many reasons – a misunderstanding, a wrong doing on your part, varying points of view, or any number of other reasons that you may not understand fully.  read...

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Online Reputation Management: 16 Free Tools  by Alyssa Gregory

 This post will outline some of the free tools available for monitoring your online reputation.  read...

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What You Can Learn From One-Person Media Companies  by Shenaz Zack

 Here are three important lessons large partners can learn from users in the YouTube Partner Program  read...

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More Google SEO Myths Exposed  by Mihaela Lica

 Google’s Susan Moskwa wrote in 2008 on the Google Webmaster Central Blog an article titled Demystifying the “duplicate content penalty”. One year later many webmasters still look at “duplicate content” without really understanding what it is and what it does.  read...

 

 

 

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news,  ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in  The Art Of Marketing You group

 

- Winner of the Active Rain Newbie Contest !!! - Being different from the CROWD  Jeff Belonger

- What I learned at REbar Camp Charlotte 2009  Diane Aurit

- Making a sale has never been this much fun!  Deb Brooks

- Yard Signs & Why 2 Heads Better Than 1  Tina Gleisner

- Protecting Your E-Mail Address Book Tip From Worms  Robert Hammerstein

- Give and Take...Do you know how to do both?  Margaret Rome

- Do's and Don'ts to Succeed in Today's Real Estate Market  Kelly Willey

- Do you have a "Major League" mentality?...or AAA?  Darin Osenberg

- IF A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS- IS ONLY ONE REALLY ENOUGH?  Allison Stewart

- Going Past Professionalism- When Clients Become Lifelong Friends  Sally Cheeseman

- Another Think Tank Story  Liz Moras

- The Men and Women Sides of Communication  Gary Woltal

- Looking for some sizzle in your “virtual tours”?  Shane O'Gorman

- Do You Generate Leads Or Do you Convert Prospects?  Lisa Udy

- HelpfulHannahs Helpful websites for Analytics  Hannah Williams

 

 

 

 If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

 If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

 

http://twitter.com/garaughty

 

 If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

 For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

         TheBlogArtist.com     TheArtOfMarketingYou.com     The Ultimate Closing Gift     garaughty.com

                                                                    

 

 

 Hi guys, I've been a little preoccupied with my paint brushes this week so I'm just stopping by to say a quick "hello" and to thank everyone for all the excellent new posts. Have a great weekend...

                                                                                                       

 

 

 

 To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

35+ Creative Business Cards

 

 

Seth Godin: Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world

 Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.  view...

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Followfriday is Sabotaging your Twitter Experience  by Andrew Mueller

 Everyone who has used Twitter for more than a couple weeks has surely seen, and likely participated in, #followfriday — Don’t!    The once productive and effective way to recommend to people to follow has turned into an unsustainable self promotional orgy that is clogging the arteries of twitter.  read...

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The Death of Twitter  by Mark Hornung

 You read it here first, folks: Twitter — at least as it is structured today — is going down. Oh sure, it’s easy to be a contrarian: simply watch where everyone is going and then head in the opposite direction. But the media attention on Twitter means we need to monitor its impact on social interaction   read...

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How To Deal with Negative Blog Comments  by Maria Reyes-McDavis

 What is the best way to deal with negative blog comments?  That was the question last night at a weekly blogging chat (#blogchat) hosted by Mack Collier (@mackcollier).  The discussions that occur weekly, center around bloggers discussing blogging — and what a great discussion it was.  read...

 

 

 

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news,  ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in  The Art Of Marketing You group

 

- Top 10 ActiveRain Tools for NEW MEMBERS and RainMakers  Brad Andersohn

- Are you Optimizing Your ActiveRain Blog on Twitter?  Jeremy Blanton

- You're A Guest...Try To Act Like One...ROAR!  "The Lovely Wife"

- Fewer Comments on Posts-Why?  Midori Miller

- How to Write an Effective Real Estate Prospecting Letter  Marte Cliff

- Rely on your broker - they can help you get unstuck  Anna "Banana" Kruchten

- Have you Googled yourself lately? Do you like what you find?  Georgina M. Hunter

- Thinking Inside the Box  Claude Cross

- Simple steps for making and maintaining connections...  Anne Marie Malfi

- Is the 100% Commission Plan for Real Estate Brokers a Good Idea?  janeAnne

- Is Your Blog Mobile?  Pamela Cendejas

- Getting it Right Matters!  Kathy Nielsen

- Is Google a Scraper Site?  Missy Caulk

- Do You Market Your Blog? Here's a tip to get your blog more exposure  Lisa Udy

- The Top 7 Tips to Find Your Mobile Marketing Mojo  Rebecca Levinson

- Convert Blog Content to Printed Newspaper with Feed Journal  Ryan Shaughnessy

- Experience or Technology - How's a Consumer to Decide?  Margaret Woda

 

 

 

 If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

 If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

 

http://twitter.com/garaughty

 

 If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

 For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

         TheBlogArtist.com     TheArtOfMarketingYou.com     The Ultimate Closing Gift     garaughty.com

                                                                    

 

 

 Two posts today really caught my eye, Early Morning (Yawn!) Networking by Peg Silloway for...

 "At the beginning of April I went to one of those early morning networking events that I dread... For a non-morning person this is not easy, especially since these shindigs generally start no later than 7:30 in the morning."

and LET ME DRINK MY COFFEE FIRST! Being Cognizant of Time Zones by Sally Cheeseman for...

 "There have been times where we all get a phone call in the wee hours of the morning or wee hours of the night... Please be Cognizant of others time zones when calling people"

 

 

 Unless it involves mind numbing sex and industrial strength coffee, it's really not a good idea to bother me before 10 AM.

 I am so NOT A MORNING PERSON. My usual bed time is around 3 AM. And as Sally points out, it's good to be aware of other people's time zones. Because of my weird body clock, I normally turn off the phone when I go to sleep. Last night I forgot!!!

 

 

 So my phone rings around 4 AM. I somehow find it in the dark and managed to say something like "who the F%#k is this"... actually I just mumbled "hello???". So I'm pretty much asleep but aware that I'm talking to someone that I can barely understand.

 It turns out to be some guy from Vietnam who found my artwork thru a Google search. I have friends and clients all over the world so I'm used to heavy duty accents but when I'm half asleep I can barely understand English.

 The short version of the call is that he loves my work, wants to commission some paintings and kept telling me he was "soooooooooo impressed" that Google "rates" my website in the top 10. What???

 

 So I go back to sleep and when I crawl out of bed around 9:30, I do what I always do, make coffee and check my website stats from overnight, Sure enough there is a hit at 3:54 AM from Google (Vietnam)

 

 Here is the link & search results for abstract expressionism paintings from Google (Vietman) showing my art website in the top 10 for the phrase "abstract expressionism paintings".

 

 The reality is that Google doesn't rate my site, I just happen to be decent at marketing myself and know how to keep my sites in the top 10 for a lot of words & phrases that potential clients use.

 But "Mr.4 AM phone caller" was thrilled to see that Google "rated" me so highly and that is the real power of SEO. Obviously it's nice to be in the top 10 of a search because it makes us easy to find but a lot of people incorrectly assume that the top 10 search results are also the best of the bunch.

 And that's a nice place to be, even if it's only their perception. So other than mind numbing sex and coffee, I can also tolerate new clients at 4 AM who want to send me money. Hey, we all have to compromise sometimes. ;-) So the lesson is, keep working on your SEO and have a great weekend...

                                                                                                       

 

 

 To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Cell phone voicemail that saves you time... YouMail.com

 

The Nest Unclutterer helps keep your Twitter account tidy

 

Save time managing your status update for all your social networks with HelloTxt

 

 

 

The 10 Commandments of PageRank Sculpting  by Shayne Tilley

 Remember that Google ranks pages, not web sites. Whilst sculpting might begin at your front page, shouldn’t stop there. With a large site (where sculpting is even more critical), you’ll have 2nd and 3rd levels to consider.  read...

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Let's Get Over Who 'Owns' Social Media  by Chris Perry

 Social media circles are full of critics, many angling to do more directing themselves. This analogy is important, given the conversation around traditional media, marketing and the subject du jour, social media. As the online conversation rages on, the subject increasingly involves the question of who "owns" it.  read...

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Your Blog vs. The World: 7 Steps To Winning The War for Attention  by Jonathan Morrow

 You’re in a battle for visitors. The blogosphere is full of people who have put out their welcome mats and are hoping for somebody, anybody, to stop by and take a look around. Lots of passersby think about it, but very few of them decide to come inside. They’re busy, my friend. Places to go, people to see.  read...

 

 

 

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news,  ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in  The Art Of Marketing You group

 

- REALTORS® - Important 100K Announcement!  Brad Andersohn

- Widget Wednesday~ Tips to enhance your Outside Blog ¡Part Deux!  Jeremy Blanton

- The Secret Behind Blogging on ActiveRain  Sally Cheeseman

- Active Rain Newbie Contest Reminder - Be different from the crowd  Jeff Belonger

- What's the Cost of Your Integrity?  Rich Jacobson

- Finding the you in real estate...  Jeani Thomas Richie

- Did you know? If not you better...  Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- Advertise Locally on Twittersphere - Marketing Tool for Real Estate Professionals  Petra Norris

- How to Get More Referrals!  Harrison Painter

- Remember To Print Your Emails For Your Real Estate Transactions  Midori Miller

- Referrals and Repeat Marketing-Not For Members Only  R. Greg Osmond

- Having a Bad Day?  Liz Moras

- Think Payoff When It Comes To Achievement  Gary Woltal

- Google Mobile Blogger on the GO  Hannah Williams

- Stager Advises To Keep Pup Out for Open House! Is She Crazy?  Margaret Oscilia

 

 

 

 If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

 If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

 

http://twitter.com/garaughty

 

 If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

 For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

         TheBlogArtist.com     TheArtOfMarketingYou.com     The Ultimate Closing Gift     garaughty.com