The Love Revolution
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Friday, 18 July 08 - 09:04 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Other Stuff |
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Everyone can do simple acts of kindness
I've been working on a project at work the past few months called the Love Revolution. The idea is to promote everyday acts of kindness. It can be overwhelming when you think of all the troubles and challenges facing our world. It's equally disturbing when we look at all the imperfections in our own lives. Things are tough all over.
So what do we do? What do I do? What do you do?
About all any of us can do is to help someone else. It may not change the whole world, but it changes their world- and yours too. If enough of us do it, we may just make the whole planet better (man I can't believe I said planet, I'm feeling a little corny now).
Anyways, I helped get this Love Revolution website up and running. I'm pretty excited about it because it is so simple. It really leaves everything in the hands of the visitor, because if this truly is going to be a revolution, it needs to start with regular people like you and me.
How do you show love to people?
5 Reasons Why Twitter Will Survive
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Tuesday, 10 June 08 - 08:39 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing 2.0- New Media |
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Some are skeptical, but I think Twitter will be around for a while
If you aren't on Twitter it is hard to explain. It really needs to be experienced. If you are on Twitter I'm sure you have asked yourself how a site that is so simple and yet is constantly down due to technical difficulties can survive. Here's 5 reasons why Twitter will survive.
1. It's not so stupid after all
When I first heard about Twitter I thought it was pretty stupid. Why would anyone want to blog in short sentences. Then a friend recommended it and I read this article in Wired. I finally gave it a try and got hooked. As the Wired article postulates, it gives you a sense of what is happening in the lives of those around you. It's also a great way to look back at what you really do all day which can be good or bad.
2. Early platform
The Twitter developers had a hunch it was not stupid when they created it. Since they were probably the only ones, they had the market to themselves. First to market is a fantastic competitive advantage since it literally can not be copied without the aid of time travel.
3. Number of users
Lots of people using your stuff means lots of other people wanting or needing to use it to connect to them. Twitter has lots of users.
4. Backbone
Because Twitter lacks some features, many third party apps developed to sync with it. Today there are tons of social platforms like Facebook that sync with Twitter. Twitter has become the glue that links these different sites and keeps your status updated across them all. Kind of like Tolkien's One Ring.
5. Familiarity
Ya it's not fancy and breaks down a lot- kind of like your first car, but that is part of the endearing quality of Twitter. It has a bit of the underdog story going for it. Plus, people love to complain and lots of down time makes for great tweets about the lack of service when it comes back up. Humans are funny that way.
Eventually Twitter will work out its technical difficulties and be a reliable communications hub. It will probably get bought by Microsoft or Google and become a mainstay on the web. I think we will miss these days. I can't help but think this is the golden age of Twitter. Tweet on.
Are you on Twitter? What do you think?
Bad Email Marketing Rant
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Monday, 26 May 08 - 08:06 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Key 5: Build Relationships |
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If you are forcing people to get your email you have a problem
It just happened again. I was looking for some information and came across a website with the article I needed. To read the whole thing I had to register, which means I have to subscribe to their email list. I was registered to this site a few months ago and got tired of deleting their messages so I got off the list. Now I have to get their unwanted emails again.
I say again because I experienced the same thing from a local radio station. The only way they will let you stream their broadcast is if you are subscribed to get emails. Why in the world would you force people to get emails from you if they don't want them? Here are some reasons not to do this:
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People will think you suck for this manipulative practice
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It costs you money to send emails to people
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It destroys good will
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It takes control of how to consume your product out of the hands of the customer
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As a radio station you cut people off from hearing your advertising- duh
If the above reasons are not good enough consider you are playing on the precipice of SPAM laws which are getting more stringent by the day.
Do you SPAM?
Free Press Contact List
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Sunday, 30 March 08 - 08:18 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing Tools |
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Get free access to a press database from Joyce Meyer Ministries
I found this cool media contact tool on the Joyce Meyer Ministries website. The purpose on the site is to keep people informed of how they can contact the press and lobby them to be responsible in their reporting. But if you are trying to find press contacts in your area it's a great database driven and up to date tool you can use for free on the site.
What resources do you use to contact the press?
Marketing 2.0 Goes To Space
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Wednesday, 12 March 08 - 07:21 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing 2.0- New Media |
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Well at least maybe my book will make it there
I met Chris at the STL Travel show. She's not really an astronaut, but she wears this outfit at shows to get people's attention and promote the science center in Huntsville, AL. I thought it was a cool idea.
Walking around the booths at the travel show I felt awkward. I wanted to take a gander and use my marketing eye to look for ideas or improvements. After a few minutes I really just wanted to get out of there.
I saw lots of people walking around with bags full of brochures and give aways, but I wonder how effective that is for the vendors. Do people really go home and read all that stuff? When I have collected those bags they usually sit on my office floor for a few months and then I throw them away. This time I resisted the urge to get a bag full of stuff.
That might explain my feeling weird. It seems strange to make eye contact with a vendor, but not stop and grab some stuff. Maybe the bags are a way to politely check out the booth and not be rude.
One thing is for sure, it sure was fun to get my picture taken with someone dressed as an astronaut. I think Chris is on to something...
What is the best trade show booth you have ever seen? What things do you do to attract people when you have a booth?
Free Toolbar
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Sunday, 09 March 08 - 01:20 AM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing Tools |
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Get a free toolbar with some sweet features
Check out the my marketingenious toolbar loaded with cool features like links, RSS, email, radio, video player and widgets. Besides the marketing tools I have pre-loaded, you can continue to customize and add items to your toolbar for yourself.
Don't like the one I made- make your own here for free.
How could a toolbar like this make surfing easier? How could creating your own for customers increase business?
STL Travel Show Notes: Every Marketer's Secret Weapon
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Saturday, 08 March 08 - 10:00 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing Tools |
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Q: What is it that each of you has that none of your competitors can duplicate?
A: You
You are unique, no can have your voice, personality or perspective
Pre-industrial age
• Marketplaces
• Word of mouth
• Reputation
• Conversations
• Relationships
The Industrial Age
• De humanization
• Human resources
• Interchangeable parts
• Lack of conversation
• Corporations spoke corporate talk and pushed messages on the masses
Internet Age
• Democracy of communication
• Removal of barriers
o Cost
o Distance
• More choices
• Re-emergence of the marketplace and conversations
Humans crave relationship
• Worst punishment for a criminal? Solitary confinement
• Accused of taking business too personal- should be more personal
• Business takes place between humans- depersonalizing actually causes problems
• People want to be treated like people, not machines
Branding
• People connect better with people than objects
• Create a personality to represent product
1. Connect to an actual person- Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Michael Dell, George Foreman
2. Connect to a personality- Virgin-Richard Branson, Apple-Steve Jobs, Microsoft- Bill Gates
3. Create a character- Mr. Whipple for TP, Pillsbury Doughboy, Green Giant, Michelin Man
What you need to do
• Humanize yourself
• Tear down the barriers to communication
• Join the conversation in the marketplace
• Use the 6 low cost tools I described in part 1 to facilitate
• Speak conversationally to customers in person and in writing
• Have a sense of humor
• Let the market spread the message- make it easy
Must read books
• ClueTrain Manifesto- free online (www.cluetrain.com)
• Naked conversations- Robert Scoble
• Marketing 2.0- free online www.MichaelDaehn.com
STL Travel Show Audience: Marketing 2.0 Speech
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Saturday, 08 March 08 - 09:09 PM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing 2.0- New Media |
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See how easy it is to post images on your blog?
How could you add pictures or videos of customers to enhance your blog/website?
Free Social Network
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Saturday, 08 March 08 - 01:09 AM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing Tools |
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Learn, connect and share your marketing genius
I know, I know, I have been a busy beaver lately and here's my latest creation: my marketingenious social network, ta da!
Not sure how much explanation is necessary, you just kinda have to jump in and give it a try. Of course these things work best when you use them to network, so tell your friends and networks. Oh ya, and it's free too.
How could you learn, connect and share with other marketers to improve your business?
Free Web Traffic Map
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Friday, 07 March 08 - 01:03 AM (GMT -06:00) By Michael Daehn in Marketing Tools |
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Free chart on how to get web traffic coming to your site
I jumped the gun on this one and posted it last Saturday. I didn't have the heart to take down the old one in case folks already came across it. So here it is again. Pardon my redundancy, but what do you want for free? 
... More items are available in our News Archive
