How to Publicize the Solar Toaster

This fun video is a great example of how to demo a product with You Tube video.



We have been using this tool for over three years and we love it! In our internet marketing podcast Episode 11 we discuss ten tips to get press releases picked up in Google and the other search engines.

A big hat tip to CK's Blog and Paul Herring for this video.

Another Cure for Search Engine Fatigue

Last week there was a report published on Search Fatigue showing that 72% of all individuals basically give up because they were unable to find what they were searching for. Margie did a great job on her blog post last week, trying to provide some insight on how to search smarter, but here is a way to search faster. Instead of using Google (or Yahoo) to do your search, then going to Yahoo after you could not find what you are searching for, there is a site that lets you search two engines at once, Polycola.com. The default settings are Yahoo and Google, but visitors can also search Live, Ask, Dogpile, AltaVista and AOL via a simple dropdown. It is also possible to search just the web, images, videos, news, shopping, directory, answers or blogs by clicking on the appropriate circle. The results are then shown splitscreen. One of the pluses is that the results are focused more on the natural search results, not the paid listings.
This, unfortunately does not help searchers search smarter or help "the search engines read your mind" but hopefully looking at two results at once will help the user at least be able to finetune his searching and find what they are looking for sooner before they give up and walk away.

The World is a Better Place and 10 Things I learned at Podcamp Boston 2

1. The world is a better place thanks to the New Media Community. Everyone is so giving and sharing. Everyone is willing to help make you better personally and professionally and this is engendering a spirit of kindness that I pray will seep into the rest of the world (specially those customer service people in call centers).

2. The Boston Community is incredible! Super Powers Chris Brogan and Christopher S. Penn formed a volunteer organizing committee, including true gentlemen Bryan Person, Doug Haslam and John Wall, and they were VERY organized. Podcamp was free. Superstar keynote speakers spoke for free. Podsafe musicians donated their time. Sponsors Pulver Media donated the space and the drinks Saturday night.

3. I have tons of homework to do to check out video dashboard Seesmic , Snitter, Podcast Platform Room214.com , Buzz Marketing, Pacific Coast Hellway, David Meerman Scott (I missed his session), Clipmarks , SocialMarker, PRBlogJots, www.Go2Web20.net, Artist Christine Shomaker and Artopolis in Second Life and Robert Cialdini's book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

4. It was amazing to plug in to the 'pod' tweets on Twitter. You could send and receive messages among everyone attending podcamp by typing pod(space). People used it to make impromptu meet-ups, find out the hot sessions while they were going on (there were 7 streams) and to quote col things they were learning.

5. Twitter is the dominant Micro Blogging Platform. In my presentation I asked how many people use Jaiku or Pownce and only 5-6 did.

6. Mitch Joel was inspiring in his un-keynote 'Always talk to strangers'. Thanks for the reminder Mitch, I have a one inch stack of business cards.

7. David Maister was phenomenal...look for a separate post on his content.

8. Musicians Matthew Ebel and Natalie Gelman were excellent live, I listened to their CD's on the way home and I recommend them both.

9. The term Digital Native is gaining popularity to describe those who have grown up with digital technology (computers, mobile etc.)

10. Canadians rock the podcast world. It was great to meet Hugh McGuire founder of free audiobook website Librivox.org , Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche , Julian Smith, Bill Deys and the rest of my Canadian Homeys. Canadian digital music superstar Jay Moonah had the most Podcamp envy he kept Tweeting in :)

How Twitter created a standing room only audience

Yesterday I shared a new presentation called "Ten Golden Rules for Launching and Promoting a Podcast" at Podcamp Boston2.

When I started there were about 60 people in the room and as I moved through rule 2, 3, 4 the room kept filling and filling until there were people packed in the back - standing room only! I was pleasantly surprised but I didn't know until today what fueled the audience growth.

Podcamp had set up a Twitter tool for individuals to send 'Tweets' (140 character micro-blog messages) to all podcamp attendees.

Len Edgerly was in my session tweeting to every attendee each 'Golden Rule', thanks to Len and thanks to Twitter we had a great crowd and a lot of fun.

We recorded the full session and it will be available on the Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing Podcast by the end of the week.

AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION INTERNET MARKETING TRAINING COURSE TO EXPLAIN MOST EFFECTIVE SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING AND BETTER WEBSITE ROI

The South Florida Chapter of the American Marketing Association will be hosting an Internet Marketing Boot Camp showing the most effective search engine marketing strategy. The one day certificate course will be held on November 14th at the Westin Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

This event will help attendees learn how to achieve better website ROI and develop the most effective search engine marketing programs. It is a one day event featuring top level internet marketing strategy consultants who will speak about topics ranging from seo visibility to hands on search engine optimization reviews. For registration of more information please visit the AMA South Florida website.

Second Life in the Mainstream

Last night on "The Office", Dwight was featured spending time in "Second Life" - complete with headphones and microphone. They showed his avatar flying around, along with Jim's "stealth" avatar (created, he explained, ONLY to follow Dwight around). The joke was that Dwight's avatar was actually still named Dwight and still sold paper for a job - but that was because, as Dwight put it, "My first life was so awesome, that I wanted to create a second life just like it..."

Second Life was also featured on CSI recently (although not in true "in-world" form), and apparently will appear again as part of that show.

I'm very happy to see Second Life breaking through in popular media like TV. Perhaps Second Life is not yet doomed as many currently predict.

The Cure for "Search Engine Fatigue"

In Greg Sterling's blog today at Search Engine Land, he reports on a recent study that found 7 out of 10 Americans Experience "Search Engine Fatigue". After reading his excerpts of the report, I'd define this phenomenon as "the frustration created when spending an inordinate amount of time searching and not finding what you were looking for". Many respondents (78%) actually "wished for a search engine to be able to read their minds".

Greg suggests that this is a strong argument for search personalization – which is a great idea for a sophisticated searcher. But, my first thought was more along the lines of "these people need to learn how to perform a search". Some people are good at search – meaning, they can use a search engine, and most of time find what they're looking for. They've learned how to use keywords, filter their searches and other tactics that many consider "advanced" techniques. But how does the average internet user learn to search and become better at it?

I made a quick visit to the top search engines – looking for a "How to Search" link. Surely, as with any good piece of software, there was a "Help" section, right? Maybe a tutorial of some kind – video or otherwise? First stop: Google. Anything? Nope. Yahoo? Not there either. MSN? Not even close. Ask? Nah.

Of course, there are search tips – but they are buried. If you click on Google's "Advanced Search" link, then "Advanced Search Tips", then "Basics of Search", you will actually finally find a page featuring exactly what I'm suggesting. But why bury this information? All the engines are aware of the limits of their audience, as usability and search trend data shows how unfamiliar typical users are with how search engines work. So, why is there no simple "demo" available right from the homepage of every major search engine?

Search engines should treat their interface like the software it is and provide their users with a "How to Search" link to a simple, readable tutorial; clearly available from the homepage. In my opinion, without this, "Search Engine Fatigue" is going to continue to be a trend.

Podcamp Boston - Podcasts, Social Media, Internet Marketing Promotion and Advertising

Ten Golden Rules CEO Jay Berkowitz will be one of the presenters at Podcamp Boston 2, at the Boston Convention and Expo Center October 26-28, 2007. Mr. Berkowitz, host of the Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing Podcast will present:

Ten Golden Rules for Launching and Promoting a New Podcast: How to produce your podcast including finding music, recording
interviews, and call ins; How to get your podcast listed in Google and the other search engines; Finding your theme; How to find great interview topics; How to launch and promote your podcast; Getting listed in Podcast directories and iTunes; and Ongoing promotion and audience building

Founded by Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn, Podcamp is run by a group of dedicated volunteers from the interactive media community. Boston was the birthplace of PodCamp in September of 2006. Since then, PodCamp events have been held in New York, the UK, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Germany and Second Life.

Internet Marketing Promotion and Advertising Presentations:

Some of the innovative interactive PowerPoint presentations scheduled for Podcamp Boston 2 include:

* Tools of the Social Media Trade- CC Chapman & Mitch Joel
* How to Market with New Media 101- Chris Penn
* The Bigger Better Deal of Podcasting: Work Less, Make More, and Get Back Your Time - Chris Brogan and David Eckoff
* Following and Joining Online Conversations - Bryan Person and Doug Haslam
* The New Rules of PR- David Meerman Scott
* Podcasting for Profit - Leesa Barnes
* Podcasting, Blogging and RSS in Plain English - Jason Van Orden
* Monetizing New Media- John Federico
* Social Networking 101 - Chris Penn
* What is the sound of your brand? - Mark Blevis
* Ten Golden Rules for Launching and Promoting your podcast – Jay Berkowitz, The 10 Golden Rules Internet Marketing Podcast
* The Arts 2.0 - Len Edgerly
* Creating a Great Podcast Listening Experience - Jared Spool

For more information on Podcamp Boston 2 visit Podcampboston.org

Get a Free Chapter of Joseph Jaffe's new book "Join the Conversation"

Triple Threat (Author, Blogger, Podcaster) Joseph Jaffe releases his new book this Sunday October 21st. If you're reading this blog, you will most likely enjoy this book. Joeseph has asked us to buy it Sunday on Amazon so he can get a kick start in their best seller list.

Click here to get a Free Chapter. Perhaps not ironically the free chapter of Joe's new book was written by the community in interactive conversational style (I made an entry but I didn't see it on first skimming, will read the chapter tonight).

Here is a note from Joe:

“The primary message of this book is simple: there are literally millions of alive, human, passionate and authentic conversations going on around you right now. Isn’t it time you joined in? Marketing can be a conversation with the combined efforts of community, dialogue and partnership.”

Here's an ooVoo video:

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting an SEO Campaign

Time and time again, I've read suggestions from SEO gurus on what to ask your perspective search engine marketing agency. However, it's rare that the experts talk about what questions clients should be answering when starting an SEO campaign. So today, I'm going to tell you how to make your agency's life a little easier. Here's what you should be asking yourself.

What are your top keyword phrases that best describe what you do/sell?
What would people type in to Google to find your product or service. Make sure they're at least 2 or 3 keyword phrases.

Who are your top competitors?
Define the sites in your industry you'd like to model yourself after.

What areas do you specialize in, and makes your business/product/service unique?
Find that "special sauce" that makes your stand above your competitors. It will help your agency focus on your strengths.

Are there any areas/products/services that you do not want your SEO specialist to focus on?
SEOs know how to get you top ranked in the search engines but they probably don't know your company inside and out. You need to clearly define what you do and DO NOT do.

This is MORE than a Big Idea!

I was reading Gordon Hotchkiss' "Just Behave" column over at searchengineland.com this morning titled, "Some Big Ideas for a Friday". I went on to have my mind completely blown far too early in the morning by the idea that our brains are being "re-wired" by our internet usage. It sort of reminded me of the old "The Internet is Making Us Stupid" bumper stickers. But, that's certainly not what Gordon is inferring at all.

You can read the full column here, and heady reading it is, too. But the idea is that as humans, it is true that how our brains work is literally effected by what and how we learn - and what we are exposed to. So, as new generations grow up with tools like spell-check and the instant information available in search engines, how are we going to change as humans? And what effect will that have on how advertising is perceived and ultimately how effective it can be.

One of Gordon's last points was something I could relate to. He noted, "People of my generation were forbidden to take calculators to school. You had to learn your times tables by rote, so you could function at a base mathematical level. I always found this a little silly. If I have access to a calculator, why did I need to learn the times table? It’s not like I was learning some higher mathematical truth. I just drilled it into my head that 8 times 7 equals 56. What if the internet becomes the portable calculator of the next generation? What if we stop worrying about the skills we required to navigate our world and turn ourselves over to the power of search (and even, in the physical world, the power of GPS)? And how might this change the reasoning process in my children, or my grandchildren?"

This was certainly thought provoking first thing this morning. I think I'm going to have to read the article again.

Wow! SoCalled You Are Never Alone YouTube video up over 1,000,000 views!

We featured the SoCalled You Tube Video 'You Are Never Alone' on our Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing podcast just 1 week ago and there were 500,000 views, just one week later and SoCalled is a phenomenon with over 1,000,000 views, congratulations Josh (Dolgini)!

I look forward to seeing you live February 14 in Costa Rica.

Blog Action Day



Today is Blog Action Day, a day in which every blog is encouraged to put the environment on everyones mind, by blogging about it. It is a great idea to build awareness to the environment. The Day was organized by three bloggers, Collis Ta'eed, Leo Babauta, and Cyan Ta'eed. There are already 15,959 blogs signed up with an RSS reach of over 12.755 million and that only counts blogs that register on the site.


Are You a Slave to Your eMail?

Interestingly, the folks over at Intel are pioneering "eMail-Free Friday". Which, as it sounds, suggests we spend a workday NOT communicating via eMail. Instead, they recommend talking on the phone, in person or communicating via other methods.

I can't say I agree with this idea personally, as I think the real problem is not THAT we communicate via eMail, but HOW we communicate via eMail. The story offered some of what I think are great ways to deal with your eMail - so it works for you, not the other way around. To paraphrase the suggestions:

- Don't check your inbox so often. Tweak Outlook to check for new messages once every 10 minutes instead of every 2 or 3 to help eliminate distractions from other tasks.

- Delete or file messages you're done with. Some people just leave everything in their inbox, from critical tasks to newsletters to spam...how could this "system" possibly function? Most experts say that you should aim for a maximum of 10 to 20 messages in your inbox at any one time.

- Use a calendar to help you. There's no need to leave a message in your inbox for months to remind you to do something in January.

- Use appropriate subject lines. Seeing "Project due on Friday 10/19" will be much more helpful than a subject line that reads "Hey..."

- Don't forget the phone, IM, or even a walk down the hall. Consider getting up out of your seat. The walk will do you good, and they might have candy in their office.

Do You Jaiku?

Just when I thought it was safe to focus my Micro Blogging efforts on Twitter...Google entered into the Micro Blogging Fray with the purchase of Jaiku. This message was posted on the Jaiku site and those of us with a Jaiku account received an email announcement.



Just a couple days ago I wrote a list of several Twitter applications including TwitterVision, TwitterMap the ability to send a Jott.com to your Twitter, an application to add Twitter Updates in Facebook etc. and this website built a list of 76 links for Twiitter addicts!

With Google's first strike in the Micro Blogging Wars it will be interesting to see who is courting Twitter (Yahoo is leading the rumor mill) and whether or not Pownce has a likely suitor.

In the meantime, please join me at www.Twitter.com/JayBerkowitz or at this link on Jaiku

New Radiohead Album - Pay Only What You Want

Radiohead is making their new digital album, In Rainbows available tomorrow. They are not going through a record label, instead releasing the album through their website as a digital download. Since they are not tied to a record label anymore, they are allowing each individual person to decide what they are willing to pay for the digital album. Simply go to the website and put in whatever price you are willing to pay for the digital album, even if you want to pay nothing and get the album for free. I personally paid Zero Pounds, which based on current exchange rates is $0.00
Radiohead is offering a special $82 version for fanboys which contains a CD, Vinyl copy of the album, additional songs, digital pics as well as an art book.

Halloween is Awesome! See the fun video.

We created this short video for Annie's Costumes on a shoe string budget. The video originally was intended for pick up in the search engines, and it does come up in Google video searches for 'top halloween costumes' and 'Top 10 Halloween Costumes', but to our delight it is a big viral hit on YouTube with over 1,500 views in just over 1 week.

A big thank you to the catchy song Halloween is Awesome by Hyper Nonsense and the cute child stars in top Halloween costumes including Princess Leia, Anakin Skywalker, Dorthy from Wizard of Oz, Power Rangers, Pirate Jack Sparrow, Spiderman, Shrek and Fairy Witch.

John Wood Left Microsoft with a Mission!

I recently listened to an incredibly compelling interview on Mitch Joel's Foreword Thinking Podcast with John Wood, who left Microsoft in 1998 following a trekking holiday in Nepal with a mission: to change the world one book and one child at a time by setting up libraries in the developing world.

Incredibly, the charity John started Room To Read now has over 1,000 chapters and they open a new library every 6 hours!

Congratulations John we bow to you.

The "Margie Trick": Using Display URLs in Pay Per Click Ads

Jay calls it the "Margie Trick" – but only because I was the first one to tell him about it – not because I invented it. Still, it's fun to refer to it that way. It's a Google PPC ad tactic involving using the display URL as part of the real estate of the ad. So, when the URL is www.TenGoldenRules.com, you just follow it with a "slash" and some additional messaging, like:

www.TenGoldenRules.com/Podcasts
www.TenGoldenRules.com/ExpertSEO
www.TenGoldenRules.com/FreeEvaluation

PPC ads have severe character limits per line, but by using the "Margie Trick", you can better take advantage of the real estate you have in your Google ads. And the best part is - our testing has found consistent extra pull on ads that feature this trick.

New Yahoo Search

This week, Yahoo announced the new Yahoo search, which is Yahoo's answer for blended search results. Like Google Universal Search, Ask 3D and Microsoft Live Search, it merges images, videos, and more into one spot. Blended results are fed from Flickr, Upcoming, Yahoo Answers and YouTube.

Upon comparing the new Yahoo Search with its competitors, it showed that:

• Multimedia results show in the main area, similar to Google and MSN.
• Yahoo! Search Assist offers a superior set of example inquiries when compared to Google and MSN. And I especially like that Yahoo allows the user to choose whether or not it appears.
• News results seem to be missing from the blended mix.

Ten Golden Rules Internet Marketing Tip:YouTube.com feeds both Google and Yahoo's video results, this makes YouTube.com a powerful player for SEOs looking to launch their clients into universal search.

Better Website ROI and and Improved SEO Visibility Presentation

Jay Berkowitz, CEO and Founder of Ten Golden Rules will be speaking at the AMA Birmingham Chapter on October 17th about achieving better website ROI and improved SEO visibility.

Topics that Mr. Berkowitz will speak on include:
* The leading tactics to drive traffic to your website, generate leads and accomplish better website ROI
* Strategies for achieving the most effective search engine marketing and better seo visibility
* Second Life, Twitter, Podcasting, Wiki's, Blogging - what new technologies are defining the new internet
* What is the new science behind public relations on the internet

Upcoming Changes to Panama

Last night, I received a care package from Yahoo Search Marketing. In it was a couple of bags of Yahoo branded m&ms, 2 light-up bounce balls, and a travel wine bottle opener (a Yahoo branded version of this). When I called to thank my rep, he also informed me that towards the end of the month, there would be changes made to Panama.
These changes would have to do with the reporting interface, and the ability to get more customized reports on demand or emailed to you. I have not seen any news out there about this new release, but I am sure word will be trickling out soon enough. The question is, what took Yahoo Search Marketing so long, and will these recent upgrades to Panama continue.

Yahoo Search Assistant - Where's the Added Value?

I mean, I guess it's "nice" that the "Yahoo! Search Assistant" will suggest some endings to my search phrases as I type them, but I'm not sure there's really very much value there.

It is interesting to me as an internet professional - as I believe the suggestions reveal search popularity. But, more than that - how much value does this new feature really bring? And if I don't know how much more value it brings, how is the general internet user population going to perceive it? I have a strong suspicion that this feature will turn out to be much ado about nothing.