“If you are reading this, it means you have enough education so that you can read and you have a computer or access to a computer and the internet. Chances are you also have sufficient protection from the elements, you’ve had at least one good meal today and you have enough clothing to keep you warm.”

Makes me think of Abe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs… food, shelter, clothing first… then you can move higher up on the intellectual and happiness scale. It’s hard to be happy when you are hungry and cold. You need to get comfort first before you can move on to making your life better. Some people are motivated by this; some people are depressed by it. Hopefully we are all motivated to seek better lives. And hopefully we are blessed by the powers that be and the powers and the universe in which you believe.

So on this Thanksgiving, (and every Thanksgiving and every day for that matter), let’s count our blessings instead of complaining about what we don’t have. And by the way, if you don’t have those things, what can you do to move yourself towards having those things?

Please visit http://www.successories.com/iquote/keywords/15958c95c2d99b9126ca.  Get a “thankful” quote on a motivational poster for your office!

Personally, as a (I would like to think) well-rounded and well-grounded individual living in the USA, I like Wednesday Addams view of Thanksgiving inAmerica:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ccj2BH25c0I

As a vegetarian I am sort of NOT happy about these statistics: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgturkeyfacts.html

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in theU.S.on Thanksgiving. Ewww and Yuck!

I much prefer these vegan recipes: http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/kitchen-assistant/vegan-side-dishes-00418000073746/

Thanks to my favorite food writer for pointing these out: http://adeenasussman.com/ (Also check out her pie baking skills to raise money for cancer awareness for http://www.sharsheret.org/blog/768/third-annual-pies-prevention-thanksgiving-bake-sale)

Thanks also to my favorite fake turkey food company for existing: http://tofurkey.com/

And if you do eat turkey and I haven’t converted you and you live near a Safeway, you must check out this hilarious video: http://www.youtube.com/user/SafewayInc?v=rZd3Xzr5tgI&feature=pyv&ad=

Thanksgiving also means great deals for shopping. In the real world it’s called “Black Friday.” When allof the business world reminds consumers that Christmas is coming soon and you should buy stuff for yourself, your home, your family, your friends and your colleagues.

Check out the #1 for “Black Friday”

http://bfads.net – good for you. You just got a link from me I know I need to buy some stuff. Thanks!

Online we have “Cyber Monday,” the Monday after Black Friday when anything that wasn’t sold in the store goes online. But the truth is you can start buying things at a discount today. But Cyber-Monday sounds cool anyway.

Thanksgiving also means football for you real men and women out there. The #1 search for “thanksgiving football guide” is

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-football.htm.  So enjoy!

If you are in NYC, check out the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lots of fun. This year I hear high winds might keep the balloons grounded. I hope not.

As you can see, there is a lot to be thankful for. What can your business do to take advantage of this holiday season? Definitely have a Black Friday sale. Also have a Cyber Monday sale. Have an end of year sale. Unfortunately, Google and Yahoo have changed their search algorithms and page displays. They are trying to make more money and you really can’t blame them, can you? For a history of the Yahoo! display, check out: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/yahoo-sunsets-site-explorer-a-eulogy.

SalemGlobal can help you with your online marketing. But it takes time and effort. Right now you should be thinking short term regarding the holidays and New Year. But you also need to think about Black Friday and next year one year in advance. Want to meet face to face? Want to know more about internet marketing and strategy? Call Raphi Salem at SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation today at 212-222-3292 or email him at info@salemglobal.com. Let’s come up with a Thanksgiving story for you! Just likeAlice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyXTOHC3w8&feature=related

Saying Ayyy Ohhhh but instead of “Baby Let’s Go” you get to hear “Spin The Dreidel.” Which of course reminds me of Adam Sandler’s most famous Chanukah Song of all time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd9p47MPHg and the more recent (2003) Smooth E. – Eric Schwartz who now even has a gig with Jdate (yes I know firsthand) Hanukkah Hey Ya!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aDDmt-8ZSM.  For more of his videos and songs check out: http://smoothe.tv/videos/.

But surely you must be thinking about the passing of one of the greatest slapstick comedy actors of all time, Leslie Nielsen, 84. Memorials and honors have been all over Facebook all day. And stop calling me SHIRLEY! Here is a video clipping of best of Airplane! and The Naked Gun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKJdmXbBBc (bonus at 0:42 you get to see OJ Simpson before he was a murderer).

My associate here at SalemGlobal also told me a friend of his posted that Leslie Nielsen surely died in a hospital. A hospital, what is it? It’s a building with doctors and patients in it, but that’s not important right now. And stop calling him Shirley.

Here is some more:

“Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen): A good cop – needlessly cut down by some cowardly hoodlums.
Ed: That’s no way for a man to die.
Drebin: No … You’re right, Ed. A parachute not opening … That’s a way to die. Getting caught in the gears of a combine … Having your nuts bit off by a Laplander, that’s the way …I wanna go!”

“Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes.” and “Like a blind man at an orgy, I was going to have to feel my way around.”

Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land?
Captain Oveur: I can’t tell.
Rumack: You can tell me. I’m a doctor.
Captain Oveur: No. I mean I’m just not sure.
Rumack: Well, can’t you take a guess?
Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two hours.
Rumack: You can’t take a guess for another two hours?

Just some Thanksgiving leftovers for you. First is the most inappropriate Thanksgiving Day awards from Saturday Night Live:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/194737/saturday-night-live-thanksgivies#s-p1-sr-i1 and this great Tweet from Ben Stiller who probably read my vegetarian post about PETA last week: “Happy Thanksgiving. Considered hunting and butchering turkey ths year but then didn’t. Going Tofurkey, much less bloody. No dark tofu though” (http://twitter.com/RedHourBen/status/7844071947116545)

Oh – and both the NY Jets and New York Giants won this weekend.

The holidays are the perfect time for your company to get off its Internet Arse and start YouTubing, Emailing, Twittering, social media-ing, SEO-ing and general website marketing. Do you need some help or strategy for 2011? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information about us. Be post-Thanksgiving thankful this week that you are still in business. Let me help you make next year more profitable than the last three lousy business years….

So what does the man of the house do when his team is on a bye? (A bye is when a sports team, specifically your hometown NFL football team is on break and does not play anyone else that weekend) Well obviously he turns to the Internet instead of the TV. According to one website (we will not be sharing the links here on this blog but you can always Google the story yourself), it turns out that porn traffic increases each weekend that there are no sports being played. How is that relevant to your business during 4th quarter?

Well, there are 33 Days till Christmas. 38 Days to the New Year. Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. And guess what? Hanukkah starts next week as well. If you are in the business to consumer (B2C) world, you better think of some strategies quickly, otherwise you will be out-marketed. If you are in the business to business world (B2B) then you should be planting your seeds today. It amazes me that people who have been in business for years don’t recognize 4th quarter for what it really is… a wake up call. Either to be selling product to the public now, or setting your company up for the next year. But I guess that is the difference between organizations that recognize good marketing vs. others who just pray for good luck.

Speaking of luck and betting, though I won $14.00 in Atlantic City last week, I then lost $16.00 in another game but then recovered with a win of $95.00 in my last game. So overall, many hours of fun, as well as profitable. Unfortunately, billionaire Sir Richard Branson lost his bet to Tony Fernandes, the owner of Air Asia. They had wagered services in the form of cross dressing and acting as Flight Attendant over whose Formula One racing team would do better this season. So if you fancy Sir Richard serving you tea in high heels, seats are being auctioned off for charity as I write this.

Latest book of the week is Lance Armstrong’s “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” It’s one of the most amazing true life stories that will inspire you to take a look at your life, what you have, what you would do if you had cancer, on your deathbed and then rally back to win one of the greatest tests of human strength and endurance that exists. He talks about his parent’s divorce, his father, mother, relationships, being a cocky young kid, cycling when no one in America took it seriously, getting cancer, winning it all, losing it all, winning it back, marriage and fatherhood. Of course this book was written in 2001 when good old Lance was still married before his own divorce and relationships with Hollywood celebs, movie stars, musicians and more.

But my point in bringing this up this week is that I know a lot of businesses have been struggling over the past few years. This has been one of the worst recessions ever. Whether you blame it on the government or the people or Bernie Madoff, fact is that fewer people are spending on frivolous items and sticking to the essentials. So in B2C, essentials are related to food shelter and clothing. During the rest of the year, people wait to spend their hard earned dollars on TV’s, cars and Jewelry. But now that its holiday time, people are opening their wallets and getting on line and online to see what kind of bargains they can grab. If you are a retailer you better have sales galore and the cheapest price in town. You better have coupons and ways for your customers to save a penny. Everyone will be doing research online and on line. They better be able to find you on the Internet, eBay and Amazon and then walk into your store and get it for the same price or cheaper.

As for the B2B sector, now is the time to send out the message that when they are looking for that new service contract, your price will not be beat. Whether you are in commercial or office cleaning services, medical billing or website marketing, let your customers know that lead generation is your priority. Let them know that January 1st will be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and that 2011 will be the best recovery year ever! Just like Lance Armstrong’s comeback, so too will the economy come back and your business as well. But you can’t stay down. You need to get back on the bike and work harder than anyone else.

Cancer transformed Lance Armstrong’s body and mind. He lost 20lbs. off his frame which helped him to become a lighter mass on the bike riding up the hills. And this terrible economy has also transformed many businesses. Many new business models have come out of it. People cut costs, people and have become much leaner business machines. Now we need to work on strength and endurance. You still need a good business plan and execution strategy.

Today’s Internet marketing machine is not your 1997 website that was built by your nephew. There are now sophisticated tools out there, beautiful search engine friendly optimized templates to help your business on the web. And now there is this thing we call “social media” with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Need help getting it all done before the holidays or a strategy for 2011? Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalelGlobal.com for more information about us. Be thankful this week that you are still in business. The sun’ll come out TOMORROW!!! (Annie was a huge Thanksgiving and Internet Marketing fan)

Oh – and another player who was NOT sitting at my table won $8,944,310.00 and goes by the name of Jonathan Duhamel and hails from Montreal, Canada. He won the 2010 World Series of Poker. Duhamel is only 23 years old. He beat out a field of 7,319 players and got his real feet wet playing online. Someday when I am at the final table I will tell him that I started up my company when he was 10 years old and have not made eight million dollars yet so he is doing quite well for himself. You can read the full story here: http://www.wsop.com/news/2010/Nov/3150/HABS-AND-HAB-NOTS-JONATHAN-DUHAMEL-WINS-2010-WSOP-MAIN-EVENT-CHAMPIONSHIP.html

Poker is not about winning. It’s about winning, and losing and winning and losing and all the while, keeping your eye on the prize, your emotions in check and keeping a straight face. Similar to business, there are going to be ups and downs, good economies and bad economies and well, issues and headaches that come and go. In a poker tournament, you win some hands, you lose some hands. The difference is when you do win, you make sure it counts. Meaning, you can win 1 hand worth one million dollars and lose five hundred thousand, but if you lose a dollar for every bad hand but maximize your winnings, you will come out over the top. In poker, you need to be in it to win it. You can “limp in” with a dollar or two, get to see your cards and then the “flop” and then decide whether to make your move. There is a lot of psychology involved as well as math and decision making. It’s not like chess where there are smart moves and smarter moves. There are no bluffs in chess. The board is open for all to see.

Speaking of being able to see at a game, were you at the new New York Giants Stadium (in New Jersey of course) this past Sunday night? My associate here at SalemGlobal was. And guess what happened. The lights went out. How much did that stadium cost? http://www.nj.com/giants/ index.ssf/2010/11/lights_go_out_at_new_meadowlan.html You would think that when you spend $1.6 billion on a product, that it works. But apparently, even the most expensive toys need to be tweaked.

And that’s why Conan O’Brien has his own show on TBS now (www.TeamCoCo.com) Because he was doing a great job at NBC or ABC or wherever he was, and then he grew a beard and then he gave out some T-shirts (http://teamcoco.com/blog/10000-free-conan-t-shirts) by the way – the same associate at the Giant’s game also has a Conan t-shirt. Coincidence? I think not…

And finally, guess who told me about the new Facebook email. Yes. Same associate. Yes. It’s good to have him around http://www.facebook.com/pages/email/114776451868604. Everyone is commenting about the new Facebook email. That’s right. No spam. Great filter. Even better than sliced cheese! My favorite comment was that Facebook email is just another email for you to check. But here is the truth. Email for Facebook is a NO-BRAINER!!! Email has always been and always will be the KILLER APP. Everyone has and or needs and email address. And while mostly everyone has one today in 2010, guess what? There are still billions of people that are going to come into this world. And guess what else, 500 million people on Facebook today means 1 billion people in 5 years from now. And guess what else. All of those kids who are in elementary school right now and are getting email addresses can go to Hotmail, Juno, Gmail, Yahoo or whatever. But why not go to Facebook. It seems the obvious choice. Good for you Facebook. May you make the same amount of billions that Yahoo, Microsoft and Google are making. I am one proud user.

So what can your business learn this week?

1. ANYONE can win the world series of poker. And any business can win business. Companies and competition come and go. Salemglobal has won accounts and lost accounts. But we ante up and try to win every day. You have got to be in it to win it.
2. It’s never too late to start.
3. You are never too old.
4. You are never too young.
5. Winning $12 is better than losing ANYTHING
6. My SG associate is a really fortunate guy for having a Conan shirt.
7. Thanksgiving is next week already.
8. That means Christmas and the holiday season is a month and a few days away so if you want to sell your products for the season, you better get a move on

Did someone say 33 Days till Christmas? Did someone say poker? Did someone say Facebook and social media and email are the killer app? That’s right folks. I said it. We are deep into 4th Quarter and your business can gain a little ground if you do some things right, right now. In addition to SEO search engine optimization, my company helps other firms use social media, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google and all online strategies. Are you sending out newsletters yet? Need help with Internet promotion for your business? We have been helping doctors, companies and businesses strategize online since 1997. Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information about us. Next week, Sir Richard Branson and Lance Armstrong… Stay tuned

As my conversations with my clients gets to be very serious about how this past year went vs. how it’s going to be next year, from my biased perspective, you need to pour more of your budget into advertising and marketing now in order to be on top when the economy turns around January 1, 2011. Thanksgiving is coming up. Black Friday is coming up and people have been hoarding their money so they can afford those great holiday presents for their kids. But that’s not all they will be spending on.

People are going to be buying more cars in 2011, going in for that elective surgery and buying the real estate and vacation packages they were holding off on. 2011 is going to be a boom year. It’s very simple. 2007 was a great year. 2008 and 2009 were busts. The economy was faltering and people lost their shirts. Madoff and all of the other Ponzi schemes came to light and people got really hurt.

But think about it. 2010 wasn’t really that bad. People lost their jobs but not as much as in 08 and 09. 2010 was not a recovery year. It was more of a stopping the hemorrhage year. So by that observation, 2011 is going to be a comeback year.

Thanksgiving marks the deciding factor in people’s spending habits. Will they spend money in the retail sector? Will they go another year without a new car, home or vacation? Not necessarily. Of course this is all in the B2C market. Now let’s talk about B2B.

Business to business has really suffered over the past three years but I know it’s coming back. I can feel it in my own business. The calls and inquiries have started to come in. And though most companies are still gun shy, I have received word that many of my contacts would like to start up something “in the new year.” People have been budgeting and now is the time to let go. There are so many new strategies for Internet marketing now. Of course you need a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, but now that Google has changed their results page, you also need to incorporate a local and maps strategy, a social media strategy and an email newsletter strategy. Of course, Google, Bing and Yahoo would also like to take this time to let you know that you are going to need to start spending money with them. They really want your “sponsored ad” dollars. And why not? They deserve it. They built the search engines. And you use them every day of your life. So why shouldn’t they get paid?

So the only reason why they shouldn’t get paid is because there is still click fraud going on. Google needs to curb this evil. They are raking in billions and a hefty percentage of that is all fraudulent. Until they fix the problem, we won’t be encouraging PPC campaigns. We will continue to educate and test but there has to be real ROI.

What about your business? In addition to SEO search engine optimization, are you also testing for PPC pay per click? Are you blogging? Using social media? LinkedIn? Facebook? Are you sending out newsletters? Need help with Internet promotion for your business? We have been helping companies and businesses strategize online since 1997. Call Raphi Salem at 212-993-5828, email info@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com for more information about how to win the election, get the treats instead of tricks and obviously finish 2010 positively.

Macy’s created the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for a reason. They didn’t want to “give back” to the community; they wanted to sell more of their merchandise. Of course they get the benefit of “giving back” because the parade has evolved into a fun family treat for everyone in America. If I don’t take my kids to the parade, we usually watch it on TV. And there is the Macy’s logo, ingrained on my mind, on every float, every TV and every second of the hours it takes for all of the floats to be transported to the Upper West Side, get blown up, get handled, and then walked downtown. When I was younger I used to go to the balloons the night before Thanksgiving and watch them blow up the balloons. People have parties and it has become an event in and of itself. Then I got an office on Broadway and it over looked the parade. I used to host parties there until I moved. And then in 2005 Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s entourage pulled up down my block and I got a picture of him and my son (I still regret not taking off my son’s hat for the photo op but what’re you gonna do… http://www.raphisalem.com/mayor-michael-bloomberg-and-isaac)

So let’s be realistic. You aren’t going to throw a parade on the streets of New York City… But what you CAN do is throw a VIRTUAL parade on your and your friend’s computers. Meaning: using social media and creating a buzz amongst your friends and family. In the past few weeks we have talked about pay per click advertising, contests and emails. Now its time for you to rev up your social media engines and get everyone you know, multiplied by everyone THEY know, and start to spread the word.

On Facebook, this feature is called “becoming a fan.” In LinkedIn, this feature is creating a group and letting your network know it exists. Did you know that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of social networks? Though Facebook is my favorite personal one and LinkedIn is my favorite professional one, there is also Twitter, Ryze, MySpace, Ning and much much more. Sign up for as many social media sites as you can. First let them know you exist. Then let them know you are having a sale. After all, there are only 10 more days till Hanukkah and 24 days left till Christmas.

If you want to know more about Social Media, social networks or short terms strategies for the holidays, please give us a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. You’ll be glad you did.

Next week we will talk about getting ready for the New Year and planting the seeds for your long term online marketing strategy.

As you can see from this newsletter, SalemGlobal is “thanking” our newsletter readers with the opportunity to win $100 in the form of a gift certificate or equivalent. Now I have to be honest with you. We are pretty good at what we do. We have thousands of people that read our newsletter. Thousands of people visit our website each month… after all, we are at the top of Google for keyword “website marketing.” We promote ourselves and our clients over Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube. And to top it all off, we have our own networking organization that you can sign up for at www.BreakfastNetworking.com. So every week I am really already reaching thousands and thousands of people.

So why incent to get even MORE traffic? The answer is simple. Just because we have thousands of fans, readers and visitors, it does not mean that we can’t use MORE business. The goal of every business should be to try to improve upon what they have going on already. If you have thousands, you need to go after TENS of thousands. 10s… MILLIONS! (Think Mike Myers in Austin Powers) So contests get people who are on the fence to act. Your call-to-action should never be for people to just read your newsletter – it should be to get them to call you to hire you.

Contests are fun, exciting, exhilarating and motivating. And you don’t have to give away $100, you could give away a Wii. An iPod. A Flip. A Starbucks giftcard, Barnes and Noble. Amazon.com. You get the picture… Post this on your newsletter, your blog, your website, your Facebook profile and linked in status, and maybe even in a press release. You will be happy you did

But why am I telling you this now? Because NOW is the time to act! NOW is the time to market your products and your services. Some people start planning this stuff over the summer. Some companies start a full year before. But you are a common person that reads my weekly tip of the week. You might know about media planning and organization, but sometimes business and shopping just sort of creep up behind you. So I am giving you some free advice (like I do every week Start marketing your product today!

As the advertising adage goes, it takes at least 5-7 impressions before someone even realizes you are talking to them or selling your product or service to them. Meaning, that if you have a product to sell for the holidays, you need to get your message to them in whatever form you can 5-7 times over the next 2 months. That further means that each week you can run an advertisement in your local newspaper, set up a PPC (pay per click) program on Google, send out 5-7 newsletters (of course to an already opted in email list) or make 5-7 phone calls to each and every person you are trying to sell to.

Of course there is a VERY delicate balance between trying to sell or promote your product or service and spamming. And quite possibly having the complete opposite effect happen to you whereas your potential buyer/customer gets annoyed that you called him/her too much or your ad was in their face too much. (Though, I would be quite surprised to hear if anyone is really not buying GEICO insurance because the gecko spokesmascot is seen too much. Related of course is the fact that GEICO mixes it up with that “bundle of cash with the googly eyes” character and the lovably tormented cavemen. So if you have some humor, sometimes you can get away with overplaying your message.)

If you want to know more about marketing your products and services for the holidays and the upcoming new year, please give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit our site, www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we will talk about email marketing and setting up a newsletter so you can get started on having a great list for the holidays and the beginning of next year.

Have a great day filled with turkey, family and come out strong next week and make the rest of your year the best!

 To your succuess,

SalemGlobal