Truly Twisted Marketing

So, I’ve made a decision.

I’m starting my own personal blog.

You heard it here first. Not even my friends and family know.

The reasoning is pretty simple. I have a lot to say (lol, all of you who know me personally DO know this to be very true) and don’t want to be stuck ONLY talking about my specific vocational choice. Not that I don’t love marketing and mixing it up a bit but the truth is this isn’t really the place to post about my last visit to the liquor store or the date I had that turned into some crazy Saturday night live skit. Actually, I’m kidding about those things…well, not the date thingy so much but I digress…

I’m on this path and I really love life and where I am and the whole concept that we create our circumstances and situations and I want to throw it all out there. Who knows, it might help someone else to come along, open a door or light up a new pathway or it may just be crazy ramblings or just plain funny and somewhat entertaining. WHO KNOWS!

I absolutely DO NOT have time to do it. I’m just stating a fact here but I feel like I’ll love it so the time will be there as it’s needed…at least that’s what I’m hoping for.

In any event, I’m toying around with a couple of names.

I sort of like you-go-girl.com or sonya.com (might be too specific) or gladys-inc.com (all you gladys(es) out there will understand the reasoning behind that one). I’m very open to suggestions so send ‘em on in.

Here’s the thought that’s been germinating around in my head.  I think I’d like this blog to be a destination for other women, like me, who are on the way to well, who knows where we are all headed but I’d like to showcase and feature and spotlight other women and have it be a place where they can come for a little inspiration, some humor, maybe some advice and help along the way with business endeavors and personal endeavors.

I know, sounds very hokey pokey-ish. But hey I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said “What if the Hokey Pokey IS What it’s All About…”

So, this is it. TrulyTwistedMarketing will live on but I’m evolving a bit as a person and I want to share it with the world so I’m jumping off into these new unchartered waters – SINK OR SWIM BABY!

I’ll be sure to let you know the name and I’ll definitely be throwing around the link here at TrulyTwistedMarketing so you can meander on over and take a look and grab a laugh or two and hopefully leave feeling a little better and a little lighter than when you first came!

Ok, here’s the scenario.

This is a true story…

A friend of mine came to me with a dilemma.

She found herself in a relationship with a man who was an excellent friend and one day, out of the blue, sparks began to fly between the two of them. Being good friends they toyed around with the idea of being not only friends but lovers. Both were single with children.

They flirted, they danced, they teased, they played…a little. Both being mature and grown up people they talked very openly about how they felt about one another.

The two of them found that they matched up nicely in a lot of areas. Their relationship started to grow – sort of. It was sweet and genuine and natural to begin with and really fun. And there was this sexy undercurrent that was always there between the two of them.

Sounds fun right?

But things started to slide. He didn’t want to date or be open about anything in front of other people…um, yeah, that should have probably been the first heads up or at least to my way of thinking…

But, he was an excellent friend. As she describes him…one of those really stand up guys – honorable, family-oriented and a gentleman. He helped with her kids. She helped with his. They talked about family, life and everything in between. They sent text messages, talked via the phone and online. They got pretty close. They saw each other all the time. That sexy undercurrent didn’t go away.

She began to really think seriously about wanting to do normal things like going out on a date with this person and letting nature take its course – trusting him to hold that space with her.
But there was always that ‘something’ that held her back.

***Just FYI…I call that ‘something’ intuition, inner guidance or simply paying attention and being aware on a different level.

Then something pretty big happened. He posted his profile on an online dating site – not just one but a couple of them. He didn’t tell her. She found it by accident.

Oh man.

Now, I don’t believe there are accidents. I think there are signposts on the roadway of life and when things line up one way or another they collide and we call them accidents – but in actuality they are signals that God, the Universe, our Angels or whatever you happen to call it are shouting as loudly as possible at us to pay attention.

What my friend missed the whole way along this short little journey and finally got when it flew straight into her face was this…his words didn’t line up with his actions.

It’s not a matter of right or wrong but when actions and words don’t line up, what you create can only be…well, a mixed bag of confused nuts.

You see when we create ANYTHING it begins with a thought. That thought begins its manifestation when it is spoken and turned into words. When it is expressed to another, via whatever medium you choose, there are then two people involved in the creation. More power is given to that initial thought because there is now more than one person involved in the creation of it. Two people are always stronger than one in any creative endeavor. And with two people both creating then some sort of action is always sure to follow.

Here’s the rule of thumb: actions follow words which follow thoughts. It’s a simple formula that we forget about all the time.

Now, what does this story have to do with marketing? And, does it have a happy ending?

I’m getting to that. Here it is…

The whole marketing point here is that what we create with our customers is very akin to a good relationship. If our marketing campaigns make false promises, mislead or in any way shape or form don’t line up in an honest viable offer, it will eventually come out.

And, the risk of losing that customer, that one relationship is huge.

In fact, the odds that it won’t be lost are pretty slim. It depends, of course, on the amount of trust that was there to begin with and if your customer believes you made an honest mistake or if you were purposely manipulating and misleading.

But the truth is that once that customer has stepped out and no longer trust your motives it’s next to impossible to get them back.

That’s why it’s important in any marketing campaign to examine your motives, be real, be honest and be of value to the people you want to do business with. Make sure your actions and your words match up and you’ll have a straight shot to getting the relationship you desire with your customers.

Now for the rest of the story…

As of today, there’s no happy ending.

Now, I personally absolutely love and believe in happy endings. In this case, though, I’m not so sure there is one.

My friend did opt out – called it quits realizing she needed a little less game playing and I have to say I’m proud of her. She’s being true to herself and as honest as she can be in her relationships. I am prejudiced, of course, because when I look at her, her accomplishments, her beauty and very big heart I know that she is just like me in many ways.

As for him…he’s online. Dating, not dating…who knows! In the big scheme of things he’s creating his own path, in his own way. He'll find his way to exactly what it is he wants. 

So that’s it for today. Advice on a lot of fronts, I know, but keepin’ it real and sharing the marketing love is what it’s all about.

A little motivational quote to keep you going on this day…

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." 

-Arthur C. Clarke 

Today is an in your face, come on what are you waiting for, kicking your behind to the curb kind of day. 

Are you gonna be a sheep or go your own way?

If you are shooting for sheep, you can maybe pretend (like the cartoon above) at least you are a little different. Pretending in your marketing endeavors will get you…well, not very far. But, hey, you can give it a whirl and let me know how it works out for you.

If you are more into finding some inspiration and some hard cold facts on being creative and not being a sheep. Check out the following list.

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours.

3. Put the hours in.

4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.

5. You are responsible for your own experience.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

7. Keep your day job.

8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.

9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.

11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.

14. Dying young is overrated.

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.

16. The world is changing.

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.

19. Sing in your own voice.

20. The choice of media is irrelevant.

21. Selling out is harder than it looks.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.

24. Don't worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

25. You have to find your own schtick.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.

30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

31. Remain frugal.

32. Allow your work to age with you.

33. Being Poor Sucks.

34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.

35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.

36. Start blogging.

The list above is courtesy of gapingvoid. Love those cartoons. 

I’m sharing a mistake I made.

For all you beginning bloggers out there here’s an important tip that you need to remember for ranking purposes.

I get traffic for all sorts of keywords and search phrases. But the biggest traffic generator in the search engines comes from a little post I wrote when I first started blogging. The post was on the growing MySpace Demographic. The post is here…http://trulytwistedmarketing.com/?p=27.

Now, hind site is always 20-20. And, if you are a seasoned blogger, you’ll notice right off what the problem is just by looking at the url I listed above.

But seasoned blogger or newbie, there are a couple of things I want to point out about this post. First, this little post quadrupled the traffic to my blog and still continues to bring a steady amount of traffic today as it ranks number 4 on the first page of Google. Go ahead, navigate on over to Google and type in myspace demographic. Check it out. Nice.

It was picked up in buzzfeed which gave me yet another boost.  I talked about how that impacted my blog over here. And about how important it is to offer up really excellent valid informative blog articles.

Here’s the problem…the mistake. Actually, there are several but the one I want to point out has to do with the url. Look at this url - http://trulytwistedmarketing.com/?p=27.

Notice my blog name is in there. Good.

Now, take a look at the page it’s going to…/?p=27. Not so good.

If you were looking at the straight url, you’d have no idea WHERE THAT PAGE WAS GOING. 

What we want to see is something like this… http://trulytwistedmarketing.com/myspace-user-demographic-older-users.

So what is that /?p=27?

The url extension /?p=27 is what wordpress software generates as a name for that particular post. It was post number 27. But that doesn’t mean anything to anyone, really, and isn’t helping my search rank in the least.

Luckily there’s a fix. In wordpress you use the “/%postname%” minus the quotes in your permalinks under custom structure. In essence, it’s telling wordpress to automatically generate the name of the post as the url extension.

Now THAT would help my search rank. Might even boost me up to the number one or number two spot.

There’s a catch, though. If you’ve used the default permalink structure (not knowing any better, like I did) made a few posts and then switch it to the custom permalink structure – the previous page might already be cached in google (like mine is) and be linked to by other sources (like my link coming from buzzfeed). So, in essence, I’m stuck with that unattractive url extension hanging out there dangling around.

Here’s the page that’s enjoying the links – the unattractive url http://trulytwistedmarketing.com/?p=27.

Here’s the page I’d like to see enjoying the links – the more attractive url http://trulytwistedmarketing.com/myspace-user-demographic-older-users.

Here’s what’s creepy – they are the same page!

Yes, I know. I had the same reaction. Crazy! Ridiculus! How could that be! Well, it is all those things and more. But in essence, both are legitimate but only one url is being linked to and cached in the search engines.

So, my point? Make sure you set up your blogging software to be completely optimized from the start. In wordpress there are tons of SEO tools you can use to customize and set up your posts and pages for easy indexing in the search engines.

Here’s a tool called the wpSEO-plugin. It’s a little glitchy (no support is written for it in English) but you can find more information on it over at Smashing Magazine. Be sure to check out the complete list of best SEO tools while you are there.

Here’s the all in one SEO Pack from wordpress. And, here’s one of my personal favorite resources jam-packed with seo information for your blog and web site…I mean, JAM PACKED. Cool stuff. Check it out.

Oh, and one more for you…videos from the SEO Book guys. There you go! Enjoy! 

With socialization of the web, video (user-generated video) has never had a more exciting time to shine than now. And what’s really worth noting is that people (regular people like you and me) actually spend time watching those videos on YouTube, JustinTV, Viddler, Seesmic and Brightcove.

This, just in from Pew/Internet and American Life Project  and disseminated from our friends over at eMarketer… 

“…user-generated videos on US-based Web sites drew 22 billion views from users worldwide”

Wow! I think we can call it mainstream. Don’t you?

The demographic profile has changed too. It's almost split evenly between men and women and while the target audience still seems to be the 18-29 year-old group, the 30-49 year-olds and the 50-64 year-olds seem to be tuning in almost as much as their younger counterparts.

The point?

Videos are an excellent marketing channel and the cost is soooooo affordable that small businesses have no excuse not to use them. So, get on out there and broadcast yourself. We are all waiting in mouth watering anticipation…

So, today is my birthday.

I’m 40.

Did you hear me????? F-o-r-t-y!!!!!!

Omg, I mean, like dude…Yikes!

I’m actually kidding, here…I love it. Yep. You heard right. L-O-V-E  it. I love where I am in this life right this second on this day – my life is like a breath of fresh air flowing on a warm spring day. It’s pretty wonderful. Better yet, let’s make it fun and say it another way… cosmically balanced and absolutely perfectly aligned with the moon and the stars. Yeah, I like it. I have a thing for the moon and the stars…but you know, I’m lovin’ some sunshine too.  

So anyways, the point to this post is a little metaphysical. You know, cuz, it’s my birthday and all and it’s my 40th and when am I ever going to be 40 again? I have to keep putting that big 4-0 number in so I can get used to it.

When I was 20, 40 seemed, well, kind of old. But look here. The thing is, I don’t look 40 (although I’m not sure what 40 actually looks like). Everyone says I look early 30-something – sounds good to me. I don’t feel 40 either. Although, again, I’m not sure what that feels like. I’m not creaking around or anything and nothing’s dropping to the floor. Actually, I’d say I’m vibrantly active…that is, unless I’m on one of those stationary bike thingy’s…ugh.

Mostly, I feel free. Free to truly enjoy and actively intention and create the things, people, places and experiences in my life from here on out. I’m no longer caught up in being defined by other people or my job or my kids or all those things that “they” (whoever they are) say you should and shouldn’t be or do. I guess I’ve outgrown all that and grown into myself – this confident, sexy, smart, smiley woman.

I’m not afraid to own it (lol, obviously). And, not afraid to admit I have something to say – something of value that comes from the heart and from all my collective experiences to date.

So, here goes… 

Step out and be fearless. Love big and with all your heart, not just with bits and pieces. Let go of the past and clear your space to make room for the future. Speak with honesty. Believe in miracles because they happen daily. Pay attention because there are no coincidences – those coincidences are God’s divine plan in motion. Take time for yourself. Live every second as if it were your last. Honor the people in your life, the good, the bad and the ugly for the lessons they’ve taught you.

So, my hippie friends and not so hippie friends, take my advice and go out and spread big love and infinite peace and dance a little dance while you are at it …

OMG, did I mention? I’m 40! 

Quick tips to get your marketing off to a good start this week…

1. New customers are fabulous BUT most businesses invest too much in chasing new customers and too little in looking for ways to do repeat business with their existing customers.
2. A satisfied customer is way more predisposed to purchase again - the level of satisfaction is the key here. Pay attention because the odds of them purchasing more is high.
3. It costs less to motivate a known customer to purchase again than to acquire a new customer (go back and read number 1).
4. Customers aren't fickle or un-loyal (is that a word?). It's simply because one of your competitors is paying more attention to them than you are.

I always say we are all connected.

Each and every person on the planet is connected by family, race or religion but the biggest connection is that we are all human beings – a giant matrix of connectedness spanning lifetimes and groups.

I know, I know…touting my own philosophies…AGAIN…but there is a point I am making here so stick with me for a sec. It does relate to a cool new marketing tool.

Let’s take a walk down a virtual street and chat for a moment.

The links coming into your web site and going out from your web site are the connections that keep your site active and on the radar screen of the search engines. Think of them as the roadways of the internet connecting the cities of web sites. No links means no traffic, no visitors means there are no roadways for people to find you.

Linking (as I hope you all know by now) is an extremely important aspect to any good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign. There are people, for example, at Search Marketing firms that ONLY specialize in linking – how to acquire links, when to pay for links, what the most important links are, writing link code…the list goes on and on. You can read to your heart’s content, here, on the whole philosophy behind linking for SEO purposes.

Ok, so can I get a drum roll please? Here’s the cool tool…

Walk2web – walk, explore, have fun

Right now, at this very minute on walk2web, you can visualize the links (connections) between sites. Doesn’t matter if it’s your site, Great Aunt Myrtle’s…I mean, Crazy Aunt Purl's web site, that guy Bob’s web site over in Montana or the average Joe’s web site. The point is you can see the linking matrix and the hierarchy. It’s pretty cool stuff. You can also view, review, bookmark and vote for your favorite sites. All you have to have is a starting point.

***So, um, if you don't HAVE a specific place to start this is NOT the place for you. If that's the case, go to Google and do a search for something…anything…

If you want to see how it Walk2web works, look here. Follow the directions, they aren’t complicated and see where you end up. Or you can click the “Walk Me” button over in the right column of this web site and you’ll bring up my little blog as a starting point and can meander out through my links.

If you want to put your own site in and build up a network, feel free to add me in and share the link love or give my site a review.

What are you waiting for? Go on. Give it a whirl. See where it takes you.