Archive for February, 2007

As you may know, it's getting increasingly difficult to find good keyword research tools online that are free. While I always promote wordtracker as being one of the best tools (also the most cost-effective), it's always nice to know there are other places to start.

With that in mind, here's a list to get you going…

Sometimes it's quite useful to have an idea of what your competitors are doing on Pay Per Click, what keywords they're bidding on, what they're spending, stuff like that. Disclaimer: Neither of these tools provides a completely accurate picture but they're both very useful:

SpyFoo.com - Gives you a list of major keywords your competition is bidding on, an estimate of their daily budget, data about their organic listings, average bid position, and how many competitors they have.  Rather insightful.

GoogSpy - A related technology, but presented in a different way.  The keyword list it generates is incomplete but quite helpful.

Lexfn - Type in a word and it gives you related terms and concepts.

Yahoo Buzz  and BuzzFeed - Following pop culture to see what's hot this week?  This is a great place to do it, 'cuz the clicks always tell a story.  I don't know that this is terribly useful for keyword research per se (unless you have a very deliberate strategy that plays on celebs & stuff like that) but it certainly gives you topic ideas that you can tie into newsletters, rants, etc. 

Zeitgeist is the equivalent tool on Google.

And, lastly, Google's Keyword Suggest -as you type a search term, Google suggests related words. 

Happy Keyword Hunting!

A brief note from one of our affiliates…

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Never, not even once, in my very vivid imagination did I ever think I'd be watching Nascar - or, more precisely the Daytona 500.

But what does Nascar have to do with marketing?

As it turns out, quite a lot.

Now, being raised up in the south, I grew up knowing about Nascar but I can't say I ever thought about it as a sport. Truthfully, (stay with me here, I know I am offending the very nature of being a southerner because racing and living in the south go hand-in-hand) I always wondered what was so fabulous about it. And not once did I consider Nascar a shining beacon of good marketing techniques.

Oh boy.

I've now been initiated into racing. And, I don't think there's any turning back. Just check out that photo finish above. It took watching two races (only two) and I was just like all the rest of the rednecks (and proud of it) around here…whoopin' and hollerin' for my favorite driver…completely converted.

And the marketing? Fun. Very fun. Make no mistake, there is lots of money floating around just like with any sport (still getting used to calling men driving fast cars around in a circle a sport) and it's serious stuff. But the ad campaigns, the personalities of the drivers…what can I say?

It's a total blast. I'm hooked.

(Just a note…Mom, if I start guzzling copious amounts of beer and worshipping Dale Jr. you might want to line up an intervention)

I'd like to introduce you to Marketing and Merchandising Diva, Mandy Mercado. 

And, no, that's not a whip in her hand.

By day, she's an average online merchandising pro but with a "click" of her mouse and implementation of the Mercado software platform she magically transforms into a sexy, sleek, superdiva - able to add cross-sell items with a single keyboard stroke, able to set up promotions with a mouse click…she's…well…she's Super Mandy!

Mandy is the creation of the Mercado marketing team led by Randi Barshack (VP of Worldwide Marketing) and she's causing quite a stir.

Not only is there a full-fledged comic book of Mandy Mercado's adventures, the campaign includes a metal lunchbox packed with all sorts of sweat treats and a mug that displays the cartoon as hot liquid is added.

Even Mercado partners, CoreMetrics, Omniture and Power Reviews got in on the action. Each with a cameo showing in the comic book of their own superhero creation.

I  caught up with the brains behind the campaign, Randi Barshack, and she shared the inside scoop with me on the why's and how's of this ultra cool campaign. The campaign, Barshack explained,  is a series of 5 comic book episodes. Each one created to go out over the early winter months culminating in the final episode timed perfectly to coordinate with a new Mercado product launch.

You can check out all the episodes by following these links: Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 3; Episode 4; Episode 5. 

The series with the lunchbox and coffee mug really kept Mercado on the top of the minds of the prospects and current customers who received them. And the feedback, Barshack said, has been very positive. They wanted to create something that was high touch, nostalgic and fun. For example, the lunchbox was filled with all sorts of candy everyone loved as a kid - pop rocks, jaw breakers, m & m's. The mug was sent during the busiest time of the year for online retailers (Christmas) with hot chocolate and a note saying "thought you might need a break right now…"

The timing and the execution of the mailers were coordinated to raise awareness of the new product launch, speak to issues ALL online business owners face and offer up usable information in a quirky and unusual way that was memorable.

All in all, it worked…fabulously. And, while Barshack couldn't give me a specific return on investment, the campaign did do exactly what it was intended to do…create buzz, create a memorable presence in the minds of the 400 or so prospects that received the campaign and open the door to ultimately increase sales.

Served up fresh on this Valentine's Day….it's looking like V-day 2007 might be a lovely day for online marketing.

Here's the breakdown:

• 64% of small business owners in the U.S. believe consumers will be making more purchases online for Valentine's Day 2007.
• 53% of small business owners plan to run special sales and marketing promotions this Valentine's Day, with online marketing beating out traditional print and advertising by a landslide.
• E-mail marketing ranks as the most popular promotional tactic method, cited by 66% of respondents, followed by other online methods, including paid search and banner ads.

And, wondering exactly what it is that people are purchasing? Flowers, food and my favorite…jewelry.

If you are like me, you might be wondering what consumers will spend on these items. Well, I've uncovered a bit of information on that very topic… 

• The average consumer will spend $119.67 on Valentine's Day. (up from from $100.89 last year)
• 2007 Valentine's Day total spending is expected to reach $16.90 billion.
• The average male is expected to spend $156.22, nearly double the $85.08 that the average female will spend.

Data collected from the National Retail Federation's (NRF) 2007 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF

Ok. Where are they?

This blog is owned and operated by a woman – yes, that would be me. I know there are tons of other blogs by women but where are they?

The reason I’m asking this question is simply that I was thinking the other day about women and that we, as a group, don’t really have a place online or enough places online that are just for us.

Okay, guys, no eyeball rolling please.

And to take it one step further, I don’t really see women-owned blogs at the top of the heap. My line of thinking…which (I have to warn you) tends to run rampant once I latch on to an idea…really got started by doing a Google search on women bloggers.

Go ahead. Try it.

#1 womenbloggers - web ring (directory) but still a great place to get a link from and good information.

#2 blogher - cool conferences, good information

While the blogs I found were interesting and offered up valuable information. They still didn’t quite answer my questions. I wanted to know who those other women were and what they were blogging about - work, family, kids, parents, hobbies? Are they on Technorati, Squidoo, or using social networking in any way? Women tend to be relational by nature. They talk and share -a lot. So, why am I not hearing those voices? Is it because I’m not listening? Is ANYONE really listening?

I think it’s time to turn up the volume.

I saw an article last week posted in the Reuters Second Life bureau  where one of the top Technorati bloggers Arianna Huffington was interviewed on her new book. There were two things that struck me:

First, she's a grown-up, successful businesswoman, author, radio personality and she has an avatar in Second Life (Arianna Hera). Don’t know about you, but for some reason, I just hadn’t thought about the two going together but it makes sense when you realize she has a grasp of technology and definitely knows how to use it.

Second, she’s not afraid to be bold, put herself out there and create controversy - thus her new book on being fearless.

Interesting.

So, here’s my challenge. If you are a woman and you are a blogger – leave me a comment or send me an email about your blog, about you. You can be brief and add your links. I’ll post the responses (links and all) and let’s see what kind of conversations we can get started.

Here’s an example format to follow:
Name:
Blog:
Description About You and/or Your Blog (3-4 sentences):
Your Biggest Challenge in Blogging (feel free to dish!):

Women of the blogosphere….UNITE!
(um, just couldn’t resist that one)