Internet Marketing in NY, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and Olympic Hockey: What your business can learn from 10,000 hours of practice makes perfect
Posted by Salem Global on Mar 2, 2010
SalemGlobal has been in business for over 13 years. We started out very small in an Upper West Side two-Bedroom apartment, moved to a loft in the Garment District on 36th Street West of 8th Avenue and now have an amazing office on 40th Street across from Bryant Park with a view that only a few are privileged to have in a small crowded concrete jungle like New York City. We also have achieved something that I am very proud of and wasn’t even going after. True we have been in the number one position for “Website Marketing NY” and backwards “NY Website Marketing.” And also New York Website Marketing etc. etc. And let’s not forget “Internet Marketing NY and NYC.” But last week we reached the #2 position right behind Wikipedia for “Internet Marketing.” Here is the proof: http://websitestrategymarketing.com/salemglobal-number-2-for-internet-marketing (”Internet Marketing” is searched more often than “website marketing.”)
By the way, you will get the same results if you live in Brooklyn or on the Upper East Side. But what is frustrating is that in Westchester we are no where to be found… So the question is: why does Google show us different results in different locations? Why don’t they have the same results across the board; locally, across the country and all around the world? Is it because part of their algorithm is to show results based on traffic coming from your own IP address? Is it because they want us to see ourselves in a high position so that we can feel good about ourselves? Where do you see us for those keywords? Where do you stand for your own keywords?
Lately I have been writing about “consistency.” Keeping your name consistently in the Internet spotlight. Day after day, week after week, month after month. Each week and month, we create content for ourselves and our clients and then promote it out to the various new media. Corporate websites, press release distribution websites, article distribution websites, blogs, video sharing services, social media like Facebook and LinkedIn and much much more.
In his latest book “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell writes about how some of the most successful people in the world have devoted and invested at least 10,000 hours towards their desired profession or hobby. Some examples: Bill Joy, the programmer behind Sun Microsystems and UNIX. Bill Gates of Microsoft. The Beatles. You might not know this if you didn’t read the book but each of these people (and of course the band), put in thousands and thousands of hours into what they did before they became famous (and of course rich beyond anyone’s dreams). Bill Joy and Bill Gates had access to huge IBM mainframe computers in their schools, neighborhoods and universities in the late 60’s and early 70s before anyone knew what they were. The Beatles actually played in Hamburg Germany for hours and hours and more hours because the musical sets in that particular party scene called on bands to play for 8 hours a night. If you go to downtown NYC or any club in NY or LA, a new band is LUCKY to get a 15 minute set. The Beatles were on stage for so many hours, the needed to learn how to play every single genre of sound, cover every band and artist AND make up their own material in order to stay on stage. They weren’t getting paid a lot but they were absolutely perfecting their skills.
And what do I tell my kids every day (if and when) they have a complaint that “this is too hard” or “I can’t do this!” PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!! (Of course I have banned the word “can’t” from their vocabulary because I am a positive thinker and think that mostly anything is possible). Nothing is too hard and nothing is out of reach when you are disciplined and motivated. (Which is what I actually worked on in my military service as an organizational behaviorist and advisor. Though I had a BA in Psychology at the time, I still was working with soldiers that didn’t believe in themselves “enough.” And if the military can help change or modify behavior through motivation and/or discipline, a defense force will be that much more effective).
And that is why I believe the Canadians are the best Hockey players in the world. It’s not a matter of fact that they just won the Gold (after edging out the USA in overtime); it is most probably because they have more ice time than anyone else. From an early age, Canadians are on the ice, stay on the ice, continue on the ice and practice practice practice. It’s also colder up in Canada so they have more access to an ice rink. Which also is related to Joy and Gates having access to computers before anyone else. (Of course we can also debate this since according to Gladwell at some point their is a saturation point or “enough” ice time to make a team or a player great - but that is for another time)
So in conclusion for this week, your business can benefit from these lessons of hours and hours makes one perfect. Ok, maybe not “perfect” but certainly higher up on the search engines. We have been in business and writing and blogging and linking and building websites for over 13 years. Day after day, week after week, month after month. We haven’t given up. We do the same thing for our clients. If your business follows in our footsteps or let us create a path for you, you will most probably enjoy the same benefits we do.
Next week we will talk more about branding, identity and what to write for your business. If you want to know more about Gladwell, Hockey or Internet Marketing Manhattan (after all, we are #2 after Wikipedia and you can’t get them on the phone), Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com for more information.
Internet Marketing in NYC, The Olympics and Fashion Week: What Your Business Can Learn From 97 Million TV Viewers, Doritos and Your Own Events
Posted by Salem Global on Feb 16, 2010
Its snowing in New York City and it is beautiful. As I write this week’s piece, there is a heavy downfall over Bryant Park outside my office window. And of course, it’s February. We shouldn’t be getting this much snow. But whether you believe in global warming or just the universe and weather, its here. And it leads me to talk about the Winter Olympics.
97 million US viewers tuned in to watch the first 2 days of the Olympics this year. That’s close to the 100 million that tuned in in 1994 when U.S. figure skater Tonya Harding’s ex-husband and bodyguard attacked Nancy Kerrigan. I also read that if every Chinese household watches the Olympics, that’s over 1 billion viewers right there.
But no matter how many people watch the Olympics on TV, it still will never compare to the amount of people who will tune in via the Internet on home and office computers. Sad thing is, according to Bloomberg (businessweek.com), Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE has said NBC will lose $250 million airing the Vancouver Winter Olympics (ok - not really THAT sad). Darn it. Why hasn’t NBC called me yet to help them with Internet strategy! HOPEFULLY they make that money back by airing things on YouTube and Hulu and on their own site. Interestingly enough, 183,000 views have been recorded just to the commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUlJahUtm04 for the Vancouver, BC, Canadian 2010 Winter Olympics. I predict that for actual content and clips of various events and happenings, the true number will far exceed a measly 100 million. I would say at least a billion for US and then billions more worldwide. And if the various media vehicles monetize correctly, it should spell out to gross much more than the $250million lost on the antiquated boob-tube.
And just to keep things in perspective, 2 weeks ago I reported on Super Bowl commercials. It appears that the winner in this race is the spot for Doritos named “House Rules” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0EVSP_6XZA). But wait, there’s more. Doritos didn’t even create the commercial. If you check out the site crashthesuperbowl.com, you will see that these commercials were created for free. All user-generated content. Doritos paid for it with a $25,000 contest for the 6 finalists. Then one of them gets an additional $1m, $600k and $400k. Basically, instead of paying an advertising agency millions of dollars, they are throwing it back to the work out of your house creative geniuses who don’t work for corporate America 9-5. (On the other hand, maybe they DO work in a corporate job and did this in their spare time and made a cool $25k - $1mm in their spare time.
My point is that the Internet keeps on winning out as the best way to market your product. Get fans of your product to sell your product for you. And reward the people who make it happen. There are plenty of terrible commercials (and websites) out there, created, written and produced by huge advertising agencies for millions of dollars. If advertisers want to get the biggest bang for their buck, they will listen to me and rely on the web to sell their product with smart Internet marketing managers (hopefully me and my company 
And as my new sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer says, “you need poll your own audience.” He suggests creating a seminar and inviting all of your customers. And whether they can come or not, ask your customers why they buy from you. You will be very happily surprised to get these answers. Then obviously use this information to get new customers and buyers of your products and services.
It’s also the 2010 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week here in New York, NY in Bryant Park. As I watch model after supermodel get in and out of taxis on my block, I realize that they have a pretty good thing going on. Each year, fashion designers from all over the world come to my house (ok, across the street from my office) and strut their stuff on the runway. Once again, if you think that it’s about the event, think again. When I searched for “2010 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week,” Marc Bouwer comes up with the #1 video with over 40,000 views. I guarantee you that Marc is having a great show this year!
So my message this week is to think about the short term with the long term marketing in mind. Photograph your events. Video them. Write about them. Blog about them. Oh. Did you say that you don’t have any events going on? Well then, CREATE them! Can’t think of an event to create, borrow one from the newspaper, current events, the sports section or the calendar. In addition to the Olympics and Fashion week, this week is the beginning of Baseball Spring Training. And it was also Valentine’s Day and President’s Day and the Daytona 500.
Need help figuring out a long term, short term or event driven NYC Internet Marketing strategy, give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. I will guarantee we will come up with something in 5 minutes of having a conversation. Next week we will talk more about the Olympics, content and Internet strategy. Oh and my latest book, Slackonomics by Lisa Chamberlain.
Internet Marketing in New York, NY, NFL Football’s Super Bowl 44 and TV Commercials: What Businesses Can Learn From 106.5 Million TV Viewers
Posted by Salem Global on Feb 9, 2010
This week there is a lot going on. First, we (as in, the USA) had the Super Bowl. (Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints with their 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.) Then we (as in SalemGlobal) have a breakfast Wednesday morning, a Poker Networking event Wednesday evening, and finally an Internet Marketing Seminar Thursday morning. Oh. And possible snow!
According to NFL.com - the official website of the National Football League, this years Super Bowl was “seen by an average of 106.5 million people, …the most-watched program in U.S. television history.” So immediately my marketing side of my brain starts thinking, “Wow! What if I had a commercial air during Super Bowl XLIV?” So then the analytical side of my brain says “Ok. Here is my $3.1 million dollars… lets see what happens.” And then I do the math. First I take a look at the demographics and say football is usually mostly watched by men ages 18 - 49. But certainly if this is the 44th Super Bowl, older men are going to be watching too. Then I also account for the fact that with the women’s liberation movement and overall change in our egalitarian world, more and more women are going to be watching too. So technically the demographics are going to remain the same and I am only going to advertise my products to that segment of the population. And I can say that as an added bonus, I will get some women and older men to watch my commercials also.
So now lets analyze the types of companies that did indeed pay the $3.1mm for a :30 second spot and see if you can spot the trend. First, click on this link and you will get to nfl.com’s page that lists (mostly) all of the 60 commercials that were aired during the Superbowl. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl-commercials?icampaign=SB_HP_SBTVComm#orderBy:allTimeViews. Note however, this is the NFL’s site and not YouTube which might give us a more accurate view of the most popular commercials. Regardless, NFL might show a smaller subset of the true number.
As you can see, here are the top 10 commercials ranked by “most viewed” according to company and industry, with added values:
By the way - just for full disclosure, there must be some politics going on with this since they don’t have my favorite commercial with Betty White and Abe Vigoda for Snickers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rauK4fBjkI
Doritos - snack food (sex + comedy)
Hyundai - car (celebrity + comedy)
Volkswagon - car (comedy)
Monster.com - job search (comedy)
Bud Light - beer (comedy)
Doritos - snack food (comedy)
TruTV - online TV (celebrity + comedy)
Honda - car (? Creative but not great IMHO)
Teleflora - flowers (sex + comedy. Hey Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday)
Focus on the Family (pro-life (celebrity + some comedy)
Then comes more Bud Light, more Doritos, Dodge, eTrade (my 2nd favorite btw http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl-commercials/09000d5d81644636/eTrade-commercial - milkaholic - milkaWHAT?)
A full analysis of all of the commercials would take up too much time for me. I personally fit right into the center of the demographic. I am 40 years old. Male. Two Kids. My interest SHOULD be in sports and football (they aren’t my top but are for many 40 year olds). I also personally like to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials but now with the Internet, I don’t have to waste my time with the actual game. OTOH, I like to get together with my friends, eat and drink and banter. So it’s usually a good party. I also like beer, I drive a car, I don’t need a job, I like to snack, I am online all day, every day and I love comedy - ok - the sex thing works for me as well but as you can see, most companies go for comedy because that is the value that goes viral. So the commercials are pretty much in line with what they should be doing. And now because of the Internet, when a video is good, it gets passed on from computer to computer just like a virus, thus achieving “viral” video.
So you want to learn how to take advantage of the lessons learned at the Super Bowl and you don’t have $3.1 million? Well, easier now than it ever used to be.
Step 1 - buy yourself a flip cam or any competitor (a client of ours found a Kodak that had similar features).
2 - Think of topic to “vlog” about (video log).
3 - Stand camera on tripod or position yourself correctly with an appropriate background
4 - Turn on the camera
5 - Record
6 - Upload
7 - When uploading, make sure you post the correct URLs and descriptions that will brand you and get links back to your main website.
The main thing you want to do is be able to shoot the video and use the software that comes with it, then quickly upload it to YouTube and TubeMogul. In this race, the rabbit always wins when it’s the same video as in the case where people steal commercials and post them. Advertisers though sometimes don’t mind about copyrights because the general public is helping their brand sell more product. This is different from TV shows that don’t get paid because people watch TV for free and broadcasting companies rely on the advertisers to give them cash.
Now that you have successfully written, directed, filmed, starred in and uploaded your own commercial for your own company or practice, repeat the process. Be inspired by Super Bowl commercials and know that someday, if you have a product that warrants it, maybe you too will have a Super Bowl commercial. But if you are just like the rest of us, then you need to implement your video strategy and integrate it into a larger marketing program.
And of course, I might as well plug here that my Internet Marketing New York City Seminar is coming up this Thursday. So if you want to know more about Internet marketing, video marketing and the 21 things you need to know to succeed online, come on down to my office across from Bryant Park (sign up at www.TheSeminarSeries.com) at 8AM and you will be on your way.
Next week we will get back to our regularly scheduled schedule teaching you how to marketing your company, brand, practice and products over the Internet. And of course, if you don’t want to wait until then, give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com and let’s set up a meeting by phone or in person.
Internet Marketing, Football and Poker: You Win Some, You Lose Some. What we can learn from the Jets loss, the Colts win and consistency
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 26, 2010
So the Jets lost and the Colts won. For all of you New York Jets fans, Sunday wasn’t the greatest. Of course most of you watched the game on TV. My cousin actually drove to Indianapolis for the game. So you gotta ask yourself. Would you rather drive 11 hours TO the game being all psyched and watch live… and then have to drive back home for the same ELEVEN hours! Well. That all depends on your attitude and your overall take on life. I would tend to think that most people would really enjoy a road trip from NY to IN when they have something to look forward to. And they would certainly enjoy being at the actual stadium, feel the actual cold air, watch the pigskin get tossed, and relish the thrill of being in a place where history had the potential of happening. Mind you I am a New Yorker so of course I was rooting for the Jets. Heck, even my friends who are Giants fans were rooting for the Jets. But I have a positive attitude and though the Jets lost and the drive home with a loss is MUCH longer than a drive home with a win, there is something to be said about making the effort.
When I was in Junior High School I was pretty good in math. If I studied, I got an A. If I didn’t study, I usually got a B. Teachers hate us sort of kids. We set the wrong example for the others in the class. And if you are a jerk (like I was), you probably told more than a few people when you studied and how much and when you didn’t and you get the picture. Well, about three months into the school year after acing most of my tests, I decided to take a break from studying before a test and failed miserably. I was devastated. My teacher marched me into the principal’s office and they gave me the bottom line. They didn’t like my attitude and were kicking me out of honors. I was so upset I began to cry. Loud. Everyone in the next classroom heard me. And then on top of it all, I was demoted to the “regular” class. That memory is stained on me and I never want to repeat it. Did I always study from then on? No. I was not a consistent student and I didn’t learn from my mistakes. But now in my adult and professional life, I try to remember this story and the stain and the pain. I try to remember that if I study and keep it up, I will not fail. And if sometimes I do indeed fail, I try to realize that there are always second chances. I will be behind and it will be a struggle to get back but if I keep at it and keep a positive attitude, I will make it to the top.
Last week I met up with some colleagues of mine. A CEO of a video production company and a CEO of an advertising agency. We were talking about our businesses and what we can do together to drum up business in 2010 and beyond. Economy Eshnonomy. People are doing business in this market and we need to do something that will land new accounts. Well, after talking for an hour, the ad agency guy asked me a standard marketing 101 question. “What makes you unique over your competition?” I have a very cool and quick answer for people that ask me that question. Basically there are 5 ways of saying New York; “NY,” “NYC,” “New York,” “New York City” and “Manhattan.” I am in the “Internet Marketing” and “Website Marketing” Business. When you Google those keyword phrases, SalemGlobal comes up #1.
SalemGlobal did not become #1 overnight. It took many years of hard work, strategy and time to get to the number one position. It took patience and it took consistency. So when I meet potential clients, I tell them my story. I evaluate whether their website warrants being in the #1 position for their keywords. I look at their competition and I give them the analysis they need in order to decide whether it’s worth competing or not. The funny thing is that I have found that it is only a select few who realize the power of the web and what I am telling them.
There are three basic ways to do business development in today’s super competitive world. As a business owner, you can place an ad in traditional media (this includes direct marketing as well as print, mail, radio, TV etc.) and wait for the phone to ring, you can network or you can cold call. My answer for the past 13 years has been the web! Internet marketing rules in this new tech based economy. There is no more efficient way to market yourself than using technology. The numbers don’t lie. More and more people are using the web to search for things they need and want. If you aren’t competing online in 2010, you are going out of business. Of course I don’t want to put down networking or cold calling. They work too. But you certainly can’t compare the global reach of the web to your personal local networking. And though you can make a phone call to mostly anyone anywhere in the world, there aren’t enough hours in the day to reach as many people as internet users. So in the playoffs of sales, the Web wins hands down!
So Raphi, all of your theory sounds good, but can you give us a real life example? Sure. Take www.4StarCleaning.com. They have been doing PPC (pay per click) on Google for the past four years straight for keywords “cleaning services” and “office cleaning.” We have had our ups and downs with the campaign, but the President, Fred Ross, recognizes how you have to be in it to win it. He recognizes that consistency wins the race. You don’t just turn on the campaign when you THINK people are going to call you. You let it ride. And though the past two years have been rough, we have witnessed calls come through when we least expect it (and when we most expect it too.)
As an entrepreneur and business owner since 1997, if I gave up every time there was a problem I would’ve had a new corporate job each new moon. I wonder if they teach you how to deal with problems and failure in business school. It seems fundamental to me to have the resiliency to bounce back after every setback. But maybe that’s what separates successful businesses from non-successful ones. Not how to deal with the good times, but how to deal with the bad times.
In poker, the idea is not to win every pot. The idea is to win consistently over time. A little pot here and a little pot there. A monster pot every now and then. And not to lose the monster pots. But you aren’t supposed to play every hand. When dealt a 7-2 non-suited, you are supposed to fold. That doesn’t mean you cash in, it just means you lose your ante and wait until the next round of cards are dealt.
So whether you are the Jets, a business owner or a poker player, remain consistent. Keep playing, keep blogging, keep developing, keep at it. The only obstacle in the way of your success is you. And the only person that can make it happen is you. Make the decision to be successful and keep a positive attitude and stay in the game. Next week I will share with you my son’s Chess game anecdotes. We will also cover more content strategies, newsletters and blogging for your industry. And of course if you want to know more about internet marketing NY and poker and networking, give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com.
Internet Marketing, The JETS and Martin Luther King Jr: What We Can Learn From Current Events, Sports, Keywords, Forums and Blogs.
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 19, 2010
Let’s start off this week by paying homage to Martin Luther King Jr. A great man who was taken down by the forces of evil that exist in this world. May his memory never be forgotten. May his soul rest in peace.
The two things that come to my mind when I think about the great Reverend Dr. are Freedom and Dreaming. Freedom to live and work in this world, in the place that I want. To practice the religion of my choice. To maintain the lifestyle that I desire. And of course to dream. To raise my children in a world of peace and tranquility. Happiness and not sorrow. Pleasure with minimal pain. Should I go on? Well - just 1 more thing…
Sunday night I was with a group of friends after the JETS game and 1 guy walked in and he said he had been DREAMING of a JETS playoff and Super Bowl championship. So “dreaming” really can be whatever you want it to be. For the past 26 years (he is older than that but only been a JETS fan since 1984?, he has endured the PAIN of the JETS not winning a Super Bowl. And by the way, there are plenty of JETS fans older than him that have endured the pain of a no win since 1969 (before he was born…)
So what can we learn about Internet marketing from these two timely events? Well, for one thing, if I am a young student learning about King, all I have to do is go to Google or my search engine of choice and put in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Actually - before I type in the full name I will see “suggested searches.” These suggestions range from King’s name to “moving speech video” to “biography” “quotes” “speech” “speeches” “pictures” “timeline” “day” and “letter from Birmingham jail.” Obviously these phrases are the most searched and will give me the results I am most likely looking for. This goes back to how important it is to have proper keyword research and implementation into your meta data. If you don’t have the proper keywords, you will not be found. If you are not found, you will lose out on lead generation emanating from your website. (Incidentally, it is also helpful to have a 2nd grader come home and want to use your computer to search for Ruby Bridges so you can be reminded that she was the first black student to integrate a white school in New Orleans.)
Which leads me to why you really are reading this post. Because world peace and desegregation are nice and all, but on the cover of the NY Daily News today http://www.nydailynews.com/news/galleries/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010.html as you can see, Gary Myers tells us why the JETS will win. As an Internet guy, I found it more interesting to search for “why Jets will win” and also “why Colts will win.” Even more interesting is that for each of these results you get daily newspaper article results as well as forums.newyorkjets.com and forum.colts.com which leads me tell you that forums and blogs are a great way to market your product and company. (And don’t forget to check out former NFL San Francisco 49ers tight end Dr. John Frank in honor of the upcoming football frenzy http://www.HairClinicUSA.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpajAIaULs8)
If you want to know more about freedom, dreaming, keywords, sports and forums, Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. I guarantee it will be worthwhile to you and your company’s marketing efforts. Next week we will find out what happens when the Jets play the Colts and what searches and results come up and how content affects you in the search engines and your bottom line.
Internet Marketing, Derek Jeter and the Jets: A Quick Primer On Evaluating Your Website For SEO
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 18, 2010
I have come to realize that the more I write about things in the news and specifically anything related to sports, I get a higher open rate, reader rate and response rate to my emails and blog posts. So have I been fooling myself over the past 13 years that people have been reading and are genuinely interested in my thoughts and tips on Internet marketing? Well. The numbers don’t lie (as I have recently come to understand more about statistics and economics from my latest read; Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner). The fact is that my numbers are higher due to more interesting content.
So the fact that my writings and more specifically my subject headlines mention sports together with higher response rates proves that indeed I HAVE been fooling myself. The fact is that internet marketing might be really boring to you. Even though your business may benefit from it and might help you make more revenue and profit by gaining more clients and customers, it just isn’t as interesting to you men that blogging about relevant things to your audience is more important to your business than the fact that the Jets had another great winner on Saturday. Oh - and sorry ladies… Derek Jeter (or his PR firm) just announced that he is tying the knot to some actress named Minka Kelly. (I admit it, I had never heard of her before today. But I have heard of his past girlfriends Mariah Carey, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba. Oh and something else you should know is that Minka is 29 (Jeter is 35) and is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and former Las Vegas showgirl Maureen Kelly. Ok. I just realized another thing. All of this information might actually be more interesting to guys than the Jets winning on Saturday also.)
So Raphi, what does all this have to do with Internet marketing and evaluating your website for SEO purposes? Well, that’s easy. The answer is content.
You see, your website consists of a “Front-end” that consists of content, graphics and links. And a “Back-end” - programming gobbledegook consisting of HTML and other various scripting languages. Google and other search engines are logical tools and work from the top down. That means that the higher up on the page you prioritize the content you want to be found, the higher up in search results it will position. Search engines are similar to humans in terms of what is interesting. So if you place your keywords in the header or at the top of your page, humans and search engines will prefer and rank you relative to your competitors. However, if your programming conflicts with this; meaning, your programming supersedes your content and displays your keywords on the front-end but doesn’t reflect this on the back-end, you might lose the SEO battle for your most important keywords.
Solution: Have me (ok ok, or some other professional) look at the source code with you. This evaluation literally takes a few minutes. An Internet marketing professional will teach you how to look at your source code and make sense out of the gobbledegook.
Remember: If you want to be interesting to people and search engines, put Derek Jeter and the Jets and football at the top of your content. But seriously folks. If you want to show up higher in search engines, your website needs to be evaluated and then you can implement suggestions made by an internet marketing professional. Start off with getting an evaluation. After all, it’s free. You have nothing to lose. Unfortunately, there are 20 other things that I recommend for all of you who are considering improving your website marketing in 2010. Next week we talk about industry keywords and how to research. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and install Google Analytics on your website. If you do, within a week’s time you will have some very valuable information regarding keyword research and your website.
What I didn’t talk about this week: if you love football, you should check out one of our newest partners Dr. John Frank, former tight-end for the SF 49ers at http://www.HairClinicUSA.com, a doctor with a passion for medicine who gave up his NFL career after 2 Super Bowl rings, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the $100 raffle winner who doesn’t know he won, ice-skating in Bryant Park, Team America, The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach and “Goo-gled: The End Of The World As We Know It” by Ken Auletta. And of course, if you would like to know more about evaluating your website, just give me a call at 212-993-5828, shoot me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. Its free you know. As in no charge Now - isn’t THAT interesting?
Internet Marketing, Football, Sylvester Stallone, Ball Droppings and Insanity
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 5, 2010
Last week after writing about football and poker and what they had to do with Internet marketing and well, life itself, I received more feedback (positive feedback) than any of my posts over the past year. Well Happy 2010 everyone and thanks for the communication. After all, after writing, blogging and vlogging for the past 13 years, I deserve SOME form of acknowledgment that people are reading what I write. And it’s not all gushy mushy feel good stuff either. Its hard core marketing lessons that I have learned since I started up this company in 1997. Heck. I was blogging when people didn’t even know what blogging meant. My company pre-dates Facebook (so what) and Google! (Really?!?) Yup. And I have the domain name to prove it: Check out the waybackmachine for SalemGlobal.com - pretty cool huh?!
As I was saying, last week’s post got more feedback not because of my Internet marketing guru-ness, but because I finally gave the people what they wanted… Football! (Yes my friends. Football was more captivating than poker. Sad for me - but true)
And that leads me to write about getting back to basics. Think Rocky. (Gonna Fly Now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ABifVq0pA - Eye of the Tiger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4kLlL6c2Pk) Think about how here was this street kid fighter from Philadelphia who was a nobody but he worked his butt off in the gym, ran up the steps to the liberty bell, lifted up his hands in victory and beat up Apollo Creed. But that’s not the real story. For those of you who don’t know this, I am proud to share with you the REAL Rocky story. The story of a writer, director and actor named Sylvester Stallone who walked into Hollywood, got pushed around and beaten up, but kept coming back for more. You see, Stallone WROTE the actual story and told Hollywood that he wanted to act and direct in it. They said they liked the screenplay but that they would get someone “famous” to play the part. Oh, and there would need to be some editing. Stallone said no way and walked out. They then walked back and said, “ok, here have some more money,” but he still said no. And he kept on saying no until he got his price and name in the credits. Well, as you know, Stallone went on to be one of the biggest action actors in Hollywood in his time. Imagine if he didn’t hold his ground and sold his book screenplay for a measly few thousand dollars. Where would he be today? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/trivia
So who saw the ball drop in Times Square Thursday night? Who watched it on TV? I didn’t. I actually don’t own a television. But I do have a computer with Internet access. And guess what? Some creative geniuses started to broadcast the Times Square NYC ball dropping a number of years ago and now they get MILLIONS of viewers to watch. But wait - there’s more. Some dude I met at a comedy club (Comix NYC) actually was one of the hosts interviewing people in Times Square. Harrison Greenbaum went from emceeing an open mic night to being broadcast into millions of home computers all over the world by being creative. True he wasn’t on TV. He isn’t in LA where thousands of comedians and actors are waiting tables until their lucky break comes. He got his face on the Internet and now he is on his way to stardom. Good going Harrison.
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Well, that is why a lot of organizations went out of business over the past 2 years. Sure, you can blame everything on the economy, on Madoff, on the president, on your personal troubles, whatever. That is what truly sets the winners apart from the losers. Simply put, losers give up. Winners adapt. Winners stay at it. Winners stay in the game and modify their strategy. And that is what you need to do in today’s cut-throat, dog-eat-dog world of business. It’s a war out there and many companies are dying. Business is slow. No one is buying. Everyone is cutting back.
Well guess what? That only means that truly the strong will survive. The endurance runners. The Shackeltons. The Rockys and the Harrisons.
So this year, as your competition prepares for another bad year of business, you need to get creative. You need to think about what you have been doing over and over again and what isn’t working and stop your insane behavior. You need to change it up. Yes its cliché but you still need to think out of the box. But this comes with a warning label. Don’t throw away what you have already done. Use it to your advantage and beat out your competition.
As an example, I know the value of a good domain name when I see one. Over the past year I have picked up some excellent domain names that have been around for years that were let go by businesses that didn’t see the value of a good DOTcom and let it go for peanuts. I can buy a domain name for $30 and turn it into $300, $3,000 and eventually (hopefully) $30,000. With each passing year, the value of a domain name goes up. Not just in price, but also in search engine value. That’s why perhaps I am somewhat of a packrat.
In addition to buying up domain names in the graveyard (you can get good rates on domain names at 1and1), SalemGlobal will be resurrecting 2 particular projects and starting up 2 new ventures in 2010.
First, we will be re-launching our MarketingDirectories.com directory and lead generation project.
Second, we will be re-launching our NYC Internet marketing seminars at TheSeminarSeries.com
Third, we will be opening up our offices to one to one private instruction for companies that can’t afford to hire a website marketing firm but can afford to train someone on staff to do some of the things that we do. Why not learn from the experts at a fraction of the price?
And finally, for now, I am proud to announce a new concept in business networking: Poker Networking. That’s right boys and girls. I am finally marrying 2 things I enjoy very much. Business networking and poker. Details available at www.PokerNetworking.us. Basically, we are starting up an exclusive group that wants to tell everyone who they are, what they do and get leads and referrals, but are tired of the mixers and minglers and breakfasts and lunches. Hey - we have all been networking and running around in the same circles for YEARS. Let’s have a little fun now shall we?
So this week’s message is simple yet you are still going to have to exercise that left-side of your brain. Get out of the box. Be creative. Don’t throw away the marketing you have done to date. Work with it. Review it. Modify it. Apply it and beat out your competition. After all, people and companies are ALWAYS going to need your businesses services. And if you are one small step ahead of your competition, you will win the race.
Want to know more about Internet marketing, football, poker, Rocky, domain names or private website marketing instruction? Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we get back to the 21 basics of Internet marketing; Evaluating your website for improvement. Oh. And Ice Skating, Freakonomics, Team America, Zack and Miri.
Happy 1st Quarter 2010 Everyone!
Raphi Salem
Internet Marketing, Football and Poker: What We Can Learn from 2 Minute Warnings, Sudden Death, Flops, Turns and Rivers
Posted by Salem Global on Dec 28, 2009
Did anyone see the NY Giants football game yesterday? I didn’t. But between Facebook and my poker game last night it was hard to avoid hearing how terribly the Giants fell. This week is your last chance to make things happen in 2009. This is your 2 minute warning, your sudden death and your RIVER card all in one. Huh? What am I talking about? Read on marching soldier…
A 2 minute warning is footballs way of saying there are 2 minutes left in the game so you better move faster, stronger and get your head in the game because at this point you don’t have any more time to strategize. It is now time to act. It’s now or never.
Sudden death takes place in overtime and means that the next point wins. If the 2 minute warning didn’t get your head in the game, sudden death should.
In poker you get a chance to see community cards three times. First comes the FLOP where you get to see the first 3 community cards. Then comes the TURN that can make or break you. The RIVER decides who wins and what will be the best hand on the board.
Internet marketing can be compared to football and poker amongst many other things. Basically you need to set up a short term and long term strategy. You will not get results overnight. You have to be patient, budget your money and time accordingly and then strike when the iron is hot. Many companies lose faith in their marketing. This can be compared to the football players that give up in the second half when they are down in the first. They still have a chance during the 2 minute warning but psychologically they might be finished. Similarly, people lose when they fold pre-flop, after the FLOP or TURN even though they might have the best hand at the RIVER. They lose faith in their cards, themselves and get bullied out of winning the pot. These people need to learn the odds. They need to learn that long term thinking wins.
So my message to you for this last post of 2009 is not to ever give up hope. Keep on truckin’ as we used to say. Next year in 2010 we will all be doing a little bit better. One of the first poker lessons I ever learned was that poker winners do not win every hand. Warriors do not win every battle, but they DO win the war. Superbowl champions don’t go 16-0 during the season (ok ok there is 1 exception to this statement).
Instead of going out in a blaze of glory, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0UzG-Gc7II
or Thelma and Louise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8
…be more like Jackie Chan in “Young Master”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiyJkIn1Nn0
And remember, not to lose faith in yourself, your family, your friends, your company, the economy… you get the picture.
Want to know more about Internet marketing, football, poker or martial arts movies? Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we get back to the 21 basics of Internet marketing. Evaluating your website for improvement.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Raphi Salem
The End of the Year Special: Last Ditch Marketing Efforts of 2010
Posted by Salem Global on Dec 28, 2009
My gym sent me a bunch of coupons in the mail for free drinks and guest passes to be used before the end of the year. (They SHOULD be collecting emails all year round and then blasting out weekly newsletters but they haven’t hired me so this is the forum where I can tell them what they should be doing on their marketing front). Toys R Us sent me an email wishing me Happy Holidays and Happy New Year and items that were 50% off. So did eCost, Buy.com, eBay, PayPal and a bunch of others. They all had the same message. All had the same tone and they all made me realize that I should be doing the same thing for me and my clients. Oh - and of course I am going shopping to take advantage of these deals…
For the non-profit I do work for (at a discounted rate of course), we strategized to send out emails to past donors and supporters to send in their end of the year tax benefit donations.
So whether you are big or small, corporate or not for profit, there is still time to act. Each year I try to hand deliver gift baskets to my clients throughout the month of December. In one case, I actually made a donation to a charity I know my client is involved in. He really appreciated that.
In this “recession” we have going on here, you need to be creative and generous all in the same action. You need to tell your clients and friends that this year was a difficult one and everyone knows it but that you care and appreciate the business you have been getting.
So this weeks tip is one of generosity with self-serving needs. You need to send an email, snail mail, blog and post on your homepage that you are running a recession special. The end of the year/ sign up now and take advantage of the times as they are. Now is the time to strike. Many people think that this year is over. True it is December 22 but there are still 3 days left till Christmas and 9 days left till New Years. People are still working. As a matter of fact, at 6PM last night I got a call from a potential client (an architect) who I am going to see today. Believe it or not, he isn’t showing up on the search engines. He told me that things are slow and what else is he going to do? Wait around for the phone to ring? I like this guy. He is pro-active and recognizes that the Internet is here to stay and that he needs to start taking advantage today. Not tomorrow, not next week and not next year. I guarantee you he hasn’t be reading my tips of the week. If he had - he would’ve already been a client. But seriously, he found SalemGlobal on the top of Google when he searched for a “website marketing company in New York.” And then he sang me the song I love to hear: “Obviously, if you are able to get yourself up to the top of the search engines, you must know what you are doing!”
And that is my secret folks. You all do what you do best. I do my best to be at the top of the search engines for keywords that will bring me business. I do the same for my clients and I would love to do it for you. As a matter of fact - we are running an end of the year special right now. Call me and ask me how to get 50% off my regular pricing. You will be glad you did. Your business will improve and you will be on your way out of this recession.
Next week I hope to celebrate the holidays and New Year with some skiing, ice skating and other fun things. But I will still be working. So if you want to get together or call me regarding your Internet strategy for the end of the year or for the New Year, just let me know, give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com, or visit www.salemglobal.com. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year Everyone!
Raphi Salem
It’s 2010. Wake Up and Smell The Internet: 21 Things You Should Be Doing Online
Posted by Salem Global on Dec 15, 2009
Well, if you check our blog and past history of email tips on website marketing, search engine optimization, you should know that there are 21 things that we here at SalemGlobal recommend to our readers and do for our clients, day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. But before I remind you in this week’s tip what they are, I first wanted to remind you that as a capitalist, business owner and website publisher, that marketing your website, (SEO/ search engine optimization, search engine marketing and whatever term or “keyword” or keyword phrase you come up with) actually means nothing compared to the bottom line. That is, YOUR bottom line. That is, your revenue and your profit.
The reason why you are in business or work is for one reason and one reason only. You want to make money. Even the not-for-profits that we work with want to make money. They want to make it in donations so they can help more people. Doctors want more patients because patients pay them (or insurance companies do, and/or Obama’s Democratic Party healthcare reform bill will), lawyers want more clients, retailers want to sell more product and professionals want to sell more of their services. Regardless, even though SalemGlobal.com is #1 in Google for website marketing around the country and internet marketing in NY, it doesn’t mean a thing. That is, until the phone rings. And even then we (and you) need to get a meeting, make a proposal, present the proposal, get approval, get a signature and finally, get a check. And then you have to keep servicing your clients, with a smile, and keep on invoicing them.
So remember, we are indeed on the eve of 2010. We are 10 years into the new millennium. The Internet is here to stay. If you don’t have an online strategy, whether it is to have a brochure website telling people you exist, or you go all out with a social media strategy and ecommerce play, your competition does or is working on it. And that means that you are going out of business and maybe even retiring. But the good news is that there is still hope. You can change things around. You can get a website for a measly $50 a year. Or you can spend thousands. Is it true that in order to make money, you need to spend money? I don’t think so. But I do think that in order to make money you need to be smart. And by being smart, you need to start using technology to your advantage. So as you read through my not-so-secret list of 21 things your company, office, practice or firm should be doing online, think about your bottom line. Think not only how to market yourself, but also once you do get that customer in your door or on the phone, how are you going to sell them? You don’t need a flashy million dollar website, but you do need a website. You don’t need to spend a thousand dollars a month on maintaining your website if it doesn’t pay off for you ten times that amount. But if you did invest in technology, I guarantee you will be on the right track.
One of my favorite stories from 2009 is the guy who came into my office and was boasting how he spent close to $300,000.00 on his website. It was absolutely brilliant. He paid geniuses from MIT to build it for him and he came to me looking for ideas on how to market it. I gave him the following 21 ideas. I told him my price. He told me he needs to go back to his investors with my price and he will have to get back to me. Well - maybe he will call in 2010. But I can tell him and tell you that if I was an investor and someone brought me a business plan that called for $300k in development and $0 in marketing, I would laugh. I don’t care what business you are in. If you have no marketing strategy, you don’t have a business.
Ok - a few more stories… This year was also the year I met a guy who was going to pay me $1000 a month to market his product that had the potential of making $60,000 a month. Ladies and gentlemen, I now present you with the 60% Return on Investment. Second lesson. Even Bernie Madoff didn’t make 60%. Greed will bring you down. Maybe you won’t go to jail, but be a little more realistic.
And then there was the high-end designer handbag lady. It is amazing to me how you can sell a $500 handbag in New York, London, Paris and Minuch (everybody’s talking about, Pop Musik http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFwy17_M-Ak) and not have the budget to market it online?
Last one. Years ago I met a great entrepreneur who thought he was going to hire us and sell thousands of his products online without an offline strategy to support the online strategy. This was a hard lesson but I learned that a $12 product with a $1.00 profit margin was a pretty bad product. But let’s say we were able to promote it online. Promotion does not happen over night. It happens over time. You need to build up your brand and build up your presence. (And read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.)
As I discussed last week, you need a long term AND a short term strategy. You need an online AND an offline strategy. Of course there are exceptions to every rule but the bottom line is that you have to be smart and be dedicated. There are no shortcuts to online fame and wealth. This is a long distance race. If you want to know more, If you want to know more, please give us a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. In the meantime, here is my holiday gift to you:
21 Things You Should Be Doing Online:
1) Evaluate present website for compatibility with SEO strategies.
2) Research your industry and relevant keywords.
3) Purchase relevant domain names, for housing blogs and marketing websites.
4) Build marketing websites that are optimized for lead generation, areas of your industry and business.
5) Implement appropriate metadata - pagetitles, keywords, metanames, descriptions and search engine friendly URLs.
6) Rewrite and prioritize content and text on site according to research.
7) Submit site to search engines - Google, Yahoo, and the lesser used engines.
8 ) Submit listings to local directories - Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Merchant Circle etc.
9) Increase User Registration and Lead Generation - implement and promote a user registration form.
10) Build and maintain business blogs.
11) Social Media/Networks - Identify existing online communities, and build new ones.
12) Online video production - distribute your video across shared online video sites.
13) Develop new content - increase number of pages to claim being an authority.
14) Develop newsletter (We are a Constant Contact Business Partner).
15) Build and upload sitemap.
16) Write and promote online press releases for your organization (Interactive PR).
17) Write and promote articles - submission to 700+ online magazines for your organization.
18) Manage Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising (Google / Yahoo).
19) Link building - build inbound links from external websites (including industry sites, Directories, and SalemGlobal network sites).
20) Manage affiliate programs (for ecommerce companies).
21) Monitoring and Reporting - Evaluate efforts and results (e.g. Google Analytics and additional 3rd-party tools).