Chris Baggott has got blogging exactly right

I had the great pleasure of catching Chris Baggott, Co-Founder of Compendium Blogware, at a recent Direct Marketing Association meeting in California.

Chris has it exactly right on blogging: That it is an effective way to drive traffic, lead thought, and sell things.

It got me thinking, and I found an obscure interview with Seth Godin, which I forwarded to Chris.

Here is Chris' blog entry...

Seth Godin's advice on Search

Posted Thursday, February 14, 2008 by Chris Baggott

Robert Rutkowski sent me a nice note this morning that included a link to a blog post from WordTracker blogger Rachelle Money where Seth Godin talks about SEO and Content:

"In the past you have called SEO a 'black art', but is there a good way of using these tools?"

"My position is that the clients are the problem, not the consultants. That's because they want shortcuts, not hard work. The best SEO is great content. Don't do that and you don't get much.

Thanks to both Robert and Rachelle...you make my case that Data Driven Corporate Blogging solutions are the best way to score on SEO. Generate Content.

The Biggest Mistake CEO's Make in Marketing

When I was 23 years old, I convinced a fairly large client to let me write, produce and direct their infomercial.

I built a 60-second masterpiece of direct response. It raised sales by 786%. Despite charging only $400 -- FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS!! -- I was hooked.

The owner of this company knew a simple truth that most ignore: Marketing is not a cost. It is an investment.

Like I am always saying...

A marketing dollar should always come back with friends.

But from CEOs to sole proprietors (especially sole proprietors), executives simply don't understand the leverage and value of proper lead generation and marketing tools.

See, marketing 'sets up' the sales team perfectly, when done correctly. Sadly, this is not often, based on what I see.

Most smaller businesses hire sales people and this is their marketing program: "There's the door. Go get 'em, tiger!".

Cold calling. Working the rolodex. Selling to your 'book of business'. Relying on references.

How to people stay in business at all?

The answer, if you look at good, long term businesses, is consistent marketing. Lead generators that show up week after week, display ads in every month of the right magazines, robust Google Adwords campaigns, classified ads, radio, etc etc. Constantly. And forever. Those are the companies that can forecast revenue, keep sales people and STAY IN BUSINESS.


Marketing Coaching by Robert 'Fierce' Rutkowski starts as low as $497 per month. See
http://www.fierceselling.com/pages/coaching-check-out.htm

Naming Your Business or Product

The business of naming your business is tricky business.

URL's have been snatched by brokers or opportunists. I can't blame them. Recently a speculator bought beer.com from a college student for (reportedly) $50,000 -- and what college student wouldn't love $50,000 -- and after the internet equivalent of a makeover, resold it for millions.

So any good name has already been URL'd.

That is why companies have fallen to fabricating names. Viagra. Lexus. Accenture.

So, as a small business with the next great idea, what do you do? Can you afford the $50,000 + in fees that the average name consultant will charge? I thought not.

I'm about to save you $50,000.

Here are my 3 simple rules to naming your business or product. (donate the $50k to your favorite charity or political cause!).

Rob Rutkowski's Fierce Selling Rules for...
Naming Your Business or Product


Rule 1 for Naming Your Business: Say what you make

David Ogilvy nailed it: "Descriptive names like 3-IN-ONE OIL, BAND-AID, and JANITOR IN A DRUM...start with sales appeal. But they can be too specific to be used for subsequent line-extensions."

That said, unless you plan on launching a multinational, billion dollar brand, this is the way to go. You'll cut your marketing effort, capitalize on search engine traffic, and your prospects will 'get it' instantly.

Rule 2 for Naming Your Business: Repeat hard consonants or rhyme syllables

Barb's Boots, Super Dupers, Cozy Toes...really look for these hard sounds at the start.

A good place to see this phonetics in action is with celebrities:

Robert Redford
Cary Grant
Brittany Spears
Tom Cruise


Rule 3 for Naming Your Business: Strive for 1-2 or 2-1 combinations of syllables

Think of phrases with this pleasing 1-2 combo-

Honky Tonk
Tonka Truck
Rock Lobster
CitiBank
BearStearns

It just sounds right.

Good luck to you.

Marketing Coaching by Robert 'Fierce' Rutkowski starts as low as $497 per month. See
http://www.fierceselling.com/pages/coaching-check-out.htm