Register Your Domain Name

June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

This is for all you Non-techies.

I cannot stress enough the importance of registering and maintaining your own domain name.  I just got a call from a client that had let a previous host register his domain name for him, and every year it has been a huge headache and far more expensive than it should be.

This year he finally is transferring it to his own oversight, but he waited until the last day and now it is stuck in limbo because he cannot access his email, which is tied to the domain (he should have used a different email that would not go down if the domain did.)

I know many people are not technical and they just want someone to take care of it for them, but this is kind of like letting someone else manage your telephone number.  It is better to just pay that bill on your own because your phone is too important.

You can register and manage your own domain name at www.outstandahosting.com - and you will get 100% control of either hosting it there or hosting it elsewhere.  So when you are no longer happy with your web site host, they cannot hold you ransom - you just log into your domain management account and change where it resolves.

Here are 5 tips to keep your domain safe.

  1. Use One Account for all Domain Names
    You may register a domain in one place, then find another place that is $1 per year less.  Don’t do it.  Just keep all your domains in the same place so you can manage them well.  Any price $10 per year or under is fair.
  2. Never Use your Domain Email as the contact
    If you use the domain email and the domain goes down, you are stuck because you cannot approve changes that come via email.  Set up a gmail account or use different emails in the different contact areas.
  3. Register Multiple Years
    Google likes to see that you register your domain for more than one year.  It is also easier to manage if you just pay for a few years up front, and will often save you a little money.
  4. Multiple MX Records
    Your email gets forwarded to an email server by the MX Record.  You can have multiple MX Records as a failsafe for your email.  I have never seen an email host without at least two options.
  5. A Record
    Your A record is where everything gets sent that is not otherwise specified.  In many cases, you only have to set up your A Record and your MX Record, and your hosts will take care of the rest.  Then if you later chance hosts, you just change these addresses - they cannot hold your domain hostage and overcharge you for changing.

I am writing this because it really is important that you take the 1/2 hour or so to understand it and do it yourself.  Even if it is a free add-on from your service provider, go straight to a registrar like www.outstandahosting.com and do it yourself.  Then things will just stay simple and you will never experience the frustration of transferring a domain.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Internet Mini Profit Centers

June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

OK, if you remember from the last article, we have assumed you are now sophisticated marketers that are blogging, writing and using social media effectively.

One of the big mistakes that I see people make, and that I have made, is by focusing on the big picture too much.

Lets take a business example of this first.  You probably know certain metrics for your business. 

  • How many customers you have
  • How much money you spend
  • How much money you make
  • How many hours you work

Good, you can calculate your profitability divided by your hours and get a clear sense of what you are earning.

But what would happen if you broke down each client as a profit center?

Unless you are selling widgets at the same price to everyone, you will see that some customers are much more profitable and take up less time than others.  If your business model is designed around maximizing value AND profit while minimizing your time involved PER client, you will have a successful business.

Internet Marketing is Exactly the Same

Instead of thinking of your Internet Marketing, start thinking about various Internet profit centers.  This can get tricky, because one could generate the lead and the second can generate the revenue.

Let me take my email course as an example.  It costs roughly $20 per month.  Our main website and several blogs generate the people that sign up for it, and this email system actually generates sales for us when people are interested in our products or affiliate links.  It has a high profit margin but by itself does not pay enough to support me.

I have other websites that do not sell anything, but they do generate leads for the eNewsletter, so the better they produce email subscribers, the more profitable they are even if they do not directly generate a penny.

This can all get fairly complex, which is why you have to think of each individual web effort on its own merit and with its own goals.

The outcome can be one of three things:

  • Actual Revenue
  • Links and Traffic
  • Audience

Actual revenue might be a micro-site that is a one page website that sells something.  Since it probably costs less than $5 a month to host, you should be able to turn any website into at least a minor profit center with a solid product and good copywriting.

Links and Traffic are the currency of sites that you host, hopefully with minimal effort, that point to your higher value sites and drive traffic to them, as well as help them rank better.  These are “profitable” based on the total value of each visitor and link minus the cost to maintain.

Lastly, audience.  Also called the list and referred to as the most important asset a business has.  Have you given some thought to setting up a website that does nothing but offer a free white paper to build your list?  The long term value of your list, if used well should make your one page website & white paper download a big profit center, although not via direct sales.

Buzz Marketing is most effective with simple things that are easy to pass along.  If you keep focusing on the big picture, you are building bigger and more complex things and you may not know which parts are working.  If you create targeted efforts with clear potential for eventual profit, you will get more referrals and buzz.  It is just an easier message to communicate.
 

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Small Business 

Start or Join a Blog Group

June 27, 2008 | 1 Comment

bloggroup Blogs are the best networking tool I know.  Better than events, clubs, etc.  Not because of volume, but because of strength of relationship.

I do not expect my blog to help me reach a lot of CEO’s, but neither do I expect that from BNI or IRN.

Five of us showed up for the Akron Bloggers Community (ABC) yesterday.  Here is a picture.  Blogging starts on line, but spills to real life all the time.  People meet you in person for the first time but already feel like they know you.

The picture, left to right - Ron (me) McDaniel, Stephen Hopson, Chris Brown, Norma Rist and Deborah Chaddock Brown.

With no real agenda we were all shooting ideas back and forth on Blogging, Podcasting, Monitizing Blogs and tools that help build the audience.  I could have stayed for hours, but I think some of them have real businesses. 

Deborah is currently a member of our Virtual Buzz Assistant network where she is a freelance writer.

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

The Uncomfortable Truth about your BUZZ

June 26, 2008 | 4 Comments

ronmcThe uncomfortable truth about the buzz you have tonight is that it could lead to a headache in the morning.

I was just reviewing projects on a freelance job site and I was shocked at how many people are "Buying" unethical buzz.  You know, I will pay you one dollar per review to write great reviews about my restaurant on www.yelp.com - Not cool, man.

So if we cannot really trust these sites, what can we do to build trust?  People are only going to refer you if they understand you, appreciate what you are doing and have some trust that you will do what you say you will do.

The uncomfortable truth is that you have to invest in building solid visibility with a great foundation that cannot be faked.  Sure, you can get a lot of quick traffic from quick things, but if the traffic does not trust you, they will probably not do much in the end for you.

So how do you build a solid foundation that will help people trust you?

1. Blog - I know, I know….I am always suggesting a blog.  Look, if I told you to build a website, it would seem silly.  Everyone already has a website, right?  Blogs will be that common, and we are already seeing that many new businesses just start out with a blog and skip the whole website thing.

So how does a blog build trust?  Look at mine - 900+ articles.  All but a couple written by me.  (We have had some guest posts)  Sure, I could pay a writer to do it for me, and that would be fine as long as I am truly committed to putting out great information on my topic.  Trust me, at times I wish I could blame someone else for the writing.  The point is, even with my flaws I have built a trusted resource.

Does a blog work for a restaurant?  Sure.  There are all kinds of ways to create a real community around a blog/restaurant combo.

2. eNewsletter - When I started doing eNewsletters years ago we were blinded by the term Newsletter.  Don’t send people your news.  Send them special announcements that might be of value to them and send them great information they can use.  My autoresponder course runs with no effort on my part via aWeber and continues to generate clients every month.

3. Speak - Love it or hate it, even if you are speaking to a small local group, the very act of speaking puts gives you expert status (and trust) with the audience.

4. Social Networks - One way to participate in these communities is to set up an account, SPAM it and forget it.  The better (and harder but of higher value) way is to create an account, be clear and honest about who you are and use it actively to help people and occasionally promote yourself in a useful way.  You can become a trusted member of the community, but it takes time.

5. Blog commenting - by commenting on a blog with a quality, interesting comment you become a trusted member of the bloggers readership.  This can win you special recognition when they mention you or when other people click on your link and visit your site via the comment.  Just tell the truth about who you are and link back to a great resource for building additional trust (probably your blog.)

There are of course more ways to build and destroy trust.  These are fiv e that work well for me. 

Use the comments and let me know how you build trust with your audience.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Buzz with Blogs, Small Business, Word of Mouth Marketing 

How I use mistakes to write blog posts

June 23, 2008 | 2 Comments

Some of you may be under the assumption that I am a guru of some sort.  I know at least once I have been referred to in this way (Thanks you, silly people.)

The reality is I pay attention to my mistakes and write about them.  Also, I keep trying, which is why I keep making mistakes and learning.

Case in point - I tend to refer people to www.ronmcdaniel.com if they need bio information about me before I speak.  I cannot be bothered to send them the bio and intro I want them to use, I guess.

So I am speaking at SMEI Akron - and I send them to that site and let them know that if they need me to shorten it, let me know.  I failed to think about the bother of emailing me again to get me to shorten it.  So they found something they liked and used it.

Now, my bio is an old story they found in the about section, but not my bio.  It is on their website and sent via email newsletter - no getting it back.

I should know better.  Now I do know better.  From now on, I will send people exactly what I want them to use (a short, intro version and a longer version if they need it.)

Here is what my bio ended up being—- which has nothing to do with the presentation!

Ron McDaniel is CEO of Buzzoodle. In 2004 he sat at a staff meeting and asked the staff of his Internet company to start creating more buzz. They argued that they did not know anyone. They argued that they were not sales people. One programmer even told him he only hung out with losers that would have no interest in what they do or have money to buy their products. Ron countered that he was just asking them to talk about them more, not to actually close sales. Finally, one of his very good employees said what they really all had on their mind. "It is not my job."

Ouch! The success of the place that pays him is not his job?

Maybe he was naive to think employees should care as much as the owner. Maybe it had been too many years since he’d had just a job. Ron was determined to understand this culture and attitude of "my job" and find a way to change it. He lost several entire nights of sleep puzzling through how he’d gotten to that comment and what was wrong with the picture.

Then, at around 11:00 PM on a work night a few weeks after the incident happened, Ron got an idea. It started with the idea to write a book on the importance of creating buzz. Then he decided in his infinite wisdom to spend a ton of money building a buzz software package that would challenge people to get out of their comfort zone and create buzz. He did not sleep that night, and it might go down in his personal history as the most valuable 8 hours of work he ever did.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

JohnCow Contest - Buzzoodle is a winner!

June 20, 2008 | 2 Comments

I just want to thank all the little people that have made this moment possible.

OK, before I piss everyone off, that is a joke.  If you want to see the right way to do a contest, look at JohnCow.com - I won a 10 hour audio blog mastery set - I just wish my blog would have gotten a back link.  :(

Since the audio is from Yaro Starak - who is a master blogger - I am thrilled.  I am sure the first hour or two will be… what is a blog…..but I expect to learn a lot from this full time blogger that is currently traveling the world and making money from his blog.

John Cow did a great job of documenting the creation of a website (blog) through its sale - all in about a month.  I am interested to see how much it sells for, because many hours went into making it a fast success - and anything short of $10,000 I would consider a bad investment of my time.

You can see the current bid for the next few weeks at the top of his blog.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Free Virtual Buzz Assistant Project Posts

June 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I have to admit, I am still figuring out the best formula for the Virtual Buzz Assistant project posts.  For now they are free.

I originally had them priced $199, but companies were worried they would not like the match and the money would be lost.

Then I dropped it to $19 - mostly to make sure people were serious about buying the service.  The problem with that price is I could not get involved, and if people did not get a quick match then they felt that they did not receive a value.

So now I am trying free.  I know that is going to lead to some requests that are not serious - but for now we are going to see how free works and make adjustments.

That means that if you are interested in having a virtual assistant do internet and Buzz Marketing activities for you, this is an excellent time to request some quotes.  http://virtualbuzzassistant.com

Please note, the virtual assistants are not free.  Only your project submission is - and who knows for how long.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Buzzoodle 

Social Marketing Hierarchy

June 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

This is just a quick post to point you to Duct Tape Marketing  - The Hierarchy of Social Marketing.

 The most profound thing here is the blog as a base.  I have said for a long time that a reasonably good blog is the foundation for all other social media.  Social media tools create interest - and your blog is how people act on that interest and get to know you.

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

7 Stupid Social Media Mistakes - Are you making them?

June 9, 2008 | 19 Comments

There is a variety of problems with social media.  I have identified the 7 mistakes that really make you look like a rookie that just learned about the Internet thingy.  Don’t worry if you are making some of these mistakes, you are not alone.

  1. Trying to participate in too many tools
    If you are siging up and building a profile on every new thing that comes out, you better be a writer for Mashable.  No one can keep up with all the new things.  Find some you like and do a good job in them.
     
  2. Expect that just setting up an account will yield results
    Guess what - you have to do more than just set up an account to get results.  If I had a dollar for every person that has told me they set up a LinkedIn account and nothing happened, I’d be rich.
     
  3. Not using the tools to connect with people
    Nearly every site makes it possible to connect with other people (I think that is why they call is SOCIAL media).  If you are not connecting, no one is finding you.
     
  4. Giving up after a short time
    Social media is about making and sustaining connections.  The only way you can grow your influence is long term.  Stop crying - if you do not like the fact that it takes time, don’t do it at all.
     
  5. Promoting yourself without providing value
    The fact that you signed up for an account does not give you the right to promote yourself constantly.  And it is a sure way to get people to run in the other direction.
     
  6. Not using the tools to link to other resources
    Similar to not connection to people, if you only link to your website or blog and never bookmark or link to other interesting resources, you will never gain the respect of your audience.  Nor should you.
     
  7. Not intentionally building a target network
    Don’t pick the biggest network or the one that your kid brother said you should use.  Find out where your current customers go and your target audience hangs out online.  Intentionally build value and influence in the right communities, even if they are smaller.

If you are a business person trying to get into this social media thing, I fully expect that you have made all of these mistakes.  I promise you that if you get these things turned around, your popularity and influence will rise online, as will your pocketbook eventually.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Interesting Buzz, Networking 

Is Twitter Your “Get Out of Jail Free” Card?

June 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I speak a lot about ways to create buzz, use the web to create relationships, etc.

One story I have begun to include is the person that twittered one word and got out of jail.

Now he is trying to help a friend - read about it here.

Yes, Twitter can seem pointless and annoying - but it can also be a very powerful tool if you build up a real network.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog, Internet Marketing 

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