Share/Bookmark

Or is there a better way…

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing has been deemed by some to be scandalous. You know a direct marketing site when you visit one. 18 point Tahoma red font, yellow highlighter, and a ton of over the top testimonials about making a million dollars in a month.

It is true, there are plenty of shaddy folks trying to scam a buck by selling some pretty lame products. There are also some very savvy marketers making a ton of money.

Direct marketing when done well will create emotion and demand results. Those two elements are very sought after in Internet marketing.

Relational Marketing

Relational marketing is a term you’ll hear quite a bit in the blogosphere. Give ton of content away, interact diligently with your audience, and hope to make money some how.

If direct marketers are Montgomery Burns then relational marketers would be Smithers. They tend to get walked on, taken advantage of, and are usually not very profitable.

What to do…

So you may be asking yourself, what should I do? Well the answer is both.

Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, and Chris Brogan have coined a term called “third tribe”. They refer this as the combination of the two marketing strategies, but focusing on the positives of each.

Build relationships, provide great content, create emotion, and demand results. These 4 elements combined will create a following, loyal customers, and repeat/referral business.

While marketing your business, be sure not to verve to far to the right or the left.

Here are three questions to ask yourself about your Internet marketing.

1. Am I providing content that adds value to my not-yet-clients
2. Am I professionally positioning myself as a leader in my industry
3. Am I creating a desire to purchase my product or services

This list is not all inclusive, but if you’re not doing these three things on a regular basis your probably looking a lot like Mr. Burns or Mr. Smithers to your traffic.

image rights to The Simpsons

Share/Bookmark

As I was ready this, I realized that I get way to stuck in the things I do.

I need to focus more on why I do the things I do, rather than how I do all the stuff on my to-do list.

The download link is below. Check it out and then come back to comment on what your thinking about.

What Matters Now: get the free ebook

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I’ve organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you’ll find it worth the effort. (Download here).

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here’s the deal: it’s free. Download it here. Or from any of the many sites around the web that are posting it with insightful commentary. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. I think it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It’s a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version on Scribd as well and from wepapers. Please share.

Share/Bookmark