From Z list to A list in a week!

December 29, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Looks like I can come off the z-list.  I made Ski’s A List.

This brings up a good point.  Super popular is very nice, but having a group of really commited advocates that you can get to know and even call friends after a while is a nice consolation prize for not being Oprah.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Is it suddenly uncomfortable at the top?

December 28, 2006 | 4 Comments

First let me say I am a big fan of Seth Godin.  He has a top rated blog I read all the time.

If you do not know who he is, he is the king of viral marketing.  The problem that has cropped up this week for him is that viral marketing lends itself to the underdog.  People like underdogs.  So when a blog meme by mat collier started picking up steam, Seth noticed and got involved.  The meme is a list of z-list blogs (non-top-rated) that are good.  I am very happy this blog landed on the list right away.

Seth was very kind to post the list.  He also did a Z-List Squidoo Lens with Plexo.

Here is how it is backfiring for him.  People are getting upset because it was supposed to be a list of the rest of the good blogs.  He claimed there is no A-List and added himself in the middle of the list.  (BTW, I agree there is no official A-list, but it is the spirit of the thing that counts.)

The Plexo thing is not working well because it starts at zero and lets you vote blogs up or down.  People log in and vote themselves or their friends up and everyone else down.  (I believe I am at -7 now)  Could it be that this blog is just that bad?  Maybe, but I find it curious that not a single person linked from the Plexo/Squidoo page to check this blog out.  None!  Yet I got a bunch of negative votes.

I have chosen to just not pay attention, but then I started noticing that a lot of people are getting their feelings hurt or upset by the negative numbers.

This will be interesting to watch.  Should Seth have stayed on the outside of this viral effort?  Is he too popular to participate in a grass roots effort?  Did he use his popularity to hijack the list?  (Not that he needs more links)

To sum it up, Did it just get lonely at the top?

Updated 12/29/2006 - Seth Replies well on his blog

Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

What should every employee know?

December 27, 2006 | 2 Comments

The Success of an Organization is the Responsibility of Every Member

That is what you will see at the top of the cover of my book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.  The book is about how to get more people involved in creating buzz for the organization.  I am in this field not because of the interest in Buzz and Word of Mouth, but because I am passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.  Helping them be a better part of the place they call work and finding more success and fulfillment. 

There are a few things that I would argue most employees do not do, but if they did they would be happier and they would help the organization be more successful.  Here is my list of critical things employees must know and do.

Health and Fitness

In the US, we have a real problem with obesity and poor health, despite knowing better.  Studies show that productivity is higher and costs are lower with more physically fit people.  If an employee is healthy, they will be more productive, lower healthcare costs and be happier.  This will also spill over to their family, further lowering healthcare costs and increasing happiness.

There is a great book on employee and family health called Move It. Loose It. Live Healthy.  The author, Dr. Gilliam is a client of mine and he also puts together workplace health plans and tracking.

Read More

Every employee should work to keep their mind sharp.  Reading is critical, and a dangerously low number of Americans ever read a book after they finish school.  Read some books for fun, and read some books to understand your organization and world better.

Employers may consider starting a book club that reads one book per quarter.  Employees that participate get the book free and they get a catered book club meetings after work or at lunch.  Well read employees will create more buzz and contribute to the organization’s success.

Be Conscious of your Attitude

Attitude, like a relationship, rarely falls apart overnight.  Instead, it can slip over time slowly down from exuberant optimism to regret and pessimism.  Attitude takes effort.  You have to be conscious of your attitude and combat things that begin to chisel away at its foundation.

One of my favorite blogs about attitude is Make It Great.  Phil Gerbyshak is an excellent blogger and has a simple book about transforming your day and making it great.  The book is something that any employee can read and digest in a few hours.  It also has plenty of work space so you can analyze yourself while you read it.

Word of Mouth

No matter who you are, you impact the word of mouth that your organization gets.  Every employee can create buzz and word of mouth via telling people about the organization, as well as by doing a remarkable job that gets noticed (and talked about).

Being remarkable is not only good for the organization, but also good for the employee.  Remarkable gets notices, and it could get notices internally resulting in a raise or promotion, and it can be noticed externally resulting in job offers, testimonials, demand for employees particular skills, speaking opportunities, etc.

Of course I recommend Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing for this.  I wrote the book specifically to address this issue that gets lost so easily. 

Employees in an organization cannot sit back and just do their job.  To be successful and help the organization be successful, employees have to invest in themselves and not take their job for granted.  Create a work culture like that, and you will have more buzz than you can probably handle.

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Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Small Business, Marketing ROI, Buzzoodle, Employee Advocates, Word of Mouth Marketing, Blog 

Quiet Time, Buzz Planning Time

December 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Being able to sit back and ask yourself, What can we do to be more buzz-worthy?, is something many of us do not have a lot of time to do. However, it is important and will make you more successful if you have some quiet time to give it some thought.

This week between Christmas and New Year is a quiet time for many people. By all means, take some time off. Also, take some time to plan for 2007.

  • Choose 5 little things you could do to improve your communications in 2007.
  • Discover 5 new ways to braodcast your story.
  • Figure out at least one thing that will really make you Blue Ocean different. (Super Buzz-worthy)
  • Set goals for how many buzz activities you will do each week.
  • Plan how to get your customers and employees talking about you more.

A few hours this week will make a world of difference in 2007.�

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Marketing you might have missed

December 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment

We have a lot of new visitors here, with all the linking going on.  So I thought I would highlight 5 articles you may find interesting from the archives.

There are many more posts.  These just highlight the kinds of things I write about and I wanted new visitors this week to know where to look.  Have a great last week of 2006.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Buzz with Blogs, Buzzoodle, Blog 

Is she a marketer or a chief eater at Daily Eats?

December 22, 2006 | 1 Comment

Tery Spataro interviewed me for Daily Eats, where her title is Chief Eater.  You can visit the site and hear the podcast of our conversation about food, holidays and a little bit about what we do.

What I find facinating about this group is they are having so much fun around something they really love, food.  And guess what, everyone eats!  They could interview anyone in the world! 

You have to ask yourself, is she a food podcaster or a marketing genius?  Thanks for letting me participate Tery.

Thanks to Phil Gerbyshak for setting me up with the opportunity.  Phil has a wildly popular blog because he is an insane giver.  He give, gives, and gives some more.  If I ever need a kidney he will be the first person I call.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Review Me

December 22, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Anita Campbell writes about her expereince with Review Me.  It is a service that pays bloggers to write reviews.  As long as you disclose when you are paid, I see nothing wrong with this.  In fact, I am looking forward to giving it a try. 

She reviewed Go Big Network, which is an excellent company with a fun entrepreneurial online community.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Holiday Break

December 22, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Swamped with work + family expecting me to take off some time for the holidays = fewer blog posts over the next week.

If you are celebrating this month, have a great holiday.

A big thank you to:

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Cord Silverstein - Deadhead Marketing Blogger

December 20, 2006 | 3 Comments

Cord Silverstein (Deadhead Marketing Blogger) has tagged my blog.  He has asked me to write 5 things most people do not know about me and then forward the request to them.  Another viral blog thing (I seem to be getting a lot recently, which may be why traffic is up.)  Thanks Cord.

I will keep these brief as you are probably here to read about buzz, not boring me.

  1. My 9 year old daughter has her own business and is more famous than me.
  2. I thought blogging was stupid the first few years it was out.
  3. I have a degree in technology and do not like technology very much.  (Just when it does not do as I tell it.)
  4. I have eaten fried crickets and beef tongue tacos.
  5. I have been an entrepreneur for 7 years and I think I am ruined.  I cannot imagine working for someone again.

OK.  Now I will tag 5 people and they must do the same and spread the virus.  By MUST, I mean they may if they want to.  All in good fun and finding new blogs.

Ron Finklestein, Alexandra McDaniel, Dave Ruller, Dan Tudor and Tony Valle 

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Buzz with Blogs, Viral Marketing 

Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses

December 19, 2006 | 1 Comment

The book, The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses by Ray Silverstein is a must read if you are trying to grow a small business and do not feel like you have made many mistakes yet.  When I first got the book, I flipped through it and thought that it was all stuff I already knew.  When I went back and read it, I found it was full of stuff I had learned the hard way and I wish I would have read this book sooner.

People will read this book and still ignore the advice and make the mistakes.  It is just human nature.  But if you really want to be more successful faster, you owe it to yourself to read this book and really think long and hard before you act in ways that are contrary to any of the advice Ray gives.

This book does have a section on how important word of mouth is to small businesses as well. 

Disclaimer:  I was sent a complimentary copy of this book for review but was not compensated writing about this book.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Small Business 

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