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Gyutae Park, who you probably know from Winning the Web, launched an intriguing site this week. It’s a paid marketing membership site – a type of site I generally ignore.

Here’s why I think Gyutae’s program is different:

• Hard data: Each month, he’ll produce a case study for a successful site. I’ve seen his first example and it is very in-depth.
• Interviews: 2 interviews per month help you learn from the best.
• Community: I always like forums where you can interact with like-minded members. It’s nice to have a go-to stable of experts and practitioners in your corner.
• Recession pricing: $27/month for the first 200 members (with the first 50 receiving a personal audit from Gyutae) and $47/month for everyone after that.

I don’t normally do recommendation posts like this, but I think this program is different and could help readers of this blog make money. I feel like I can’t ignore that community need with many good marketers out of work or struggling to make ends meet.

You can check out this program at The Winner’s Circle.

I also think Gyutae’s approach is solid. He’s smart, proven he knows his stuff (check out his free e-book for proof), and you get your money back if you aren’t satisfied.

I think it can help a lot of people realize their marketing goals. Check it out and tell me if it helps you!

(P.S. You will notice that I’m an affiliate in this program. But if you’ve read this blog before, you know I’m careful about my affiliate relationships. If you’re still reading, I trust I haven’t steered you in the wrong direction yet.)

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Not long ago, I declared that I’m f*cking sick of the “ROI of social media” debate. The post got some attention, including a follow-up on ReadWriteWeb.

Good. It’s a conversation that needs to happen.

But in past posts, I neglected two topics:

1. A history of media metrics, thereby illuminating how much has changed and how important this is
2. The role of agencies as guides through a web 2.0 world

Today, I rectify that with a guest post on Critical Mass’ Experience Matters blog entitled Why Your Social Media ROI Is Broken– And How To Fix It. (Disclosure: I am employed by Critical Mass.)

Who Should Read This And Why

If you work in or with an agency, I recommend this post. It describes an agency’s changing responsibilities to their clients – how to help clients understand social media and find success with their web 2.0 ventures.

Most importantly, I hope it gives you courage to face this moving target. Here’s a description of the changing marketing world from my guest post:

We are moving from a period of raw quantitative measurement (i.e. How many unique visitors did we have?) to a qualitative period (i.e. Did our social media engagement create more trust which in turn created more sales?). Trust, loyalty, and brand advocacy aren’t intangible anymore.

Is your agency at least aware of these changes? How have they advised you regarding social media metrics?

Trash Your Crappy Web Metrics And Grow A Pair

This is not the time for timid marketers. If you aren’t ready to try new things and risk your neck everyday, please allow the rest of us to move past you.

Let me put it to you straight: web analysis allows you to determine the real ROI which, in turn, allows you to see what tactics are working and which aren’t.

Not the tactics that your boss likes or that tested well in focus groups – the tactics that really work.

Personally, I recommend facing these new challenges head on. It’s tough, but how else will you know if you are really reaching your goals?

What About You?

I would love to hear from you on this topic. Do you measure your social media outreach? If not, what is holding you back? If you do measure social media, what are the elements that you measure? Are these personalized to your goals?

In short, how’s it going out there?

Please check out Why Your Social Media ROI Is Broken– And How To Fix It and leave a comment there or here (comment section below). I look forward to hearing from you.

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(Image courtesy of Charlyn W via Flickr)

BG and I took the train together yesterday morning and I had an epiphany.

The morning commute is the perfect marketing tool. And no one uses it (pretty much).

Yesterday was the first day I wasn’t cocooned in my iPod and book. I was chatting with BG and had my eyes and ears totally open to the world around me.

I’m ashamed to say, it was probably a first.

A New World

I listened to the way people talked about current events, I spied what they listened to on their iPod, and I peeked over shoulders to see what people were reading (yeah, I’m that guy).

It was great! I picked up more details about human interaction than I would have after a week researching online.

How is this a marketing tool? Marketing is all about relationships, and becoming more so all of the time. As I mentioned in a post about how marketers are now anthropologists: “Now, relationships are a prerequisite to business, not vice versa.”

On the train, I was able to observe how people related to media, other people, and the world around them. You can figure out someone’s priorities pretty quickly in a packed train car.

For 30 minutes, I studied sociology, anthropology, and marketing all at the same time. And it was awesome.

Try Something New

What’s the alternative? Enveloping yourself in the retreat of a car interior?

If you live in a city with public transportation, let someone else do the driving tomorrow morning. It’ll give you time to study that elusive “public” marketers are always talking about. To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the customer isn’t an idiot, she’s your train companions.

If you’ve got the guts, we’d love to hear about your experience. Or, if you have another secret marketing tool – a place you go to check out human behavior – please also share it in the comments section below.

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(Image courtesy of paintMonkey via Flickr)

It’s a summer Friday afternoon – let’s talk marketing! Wahoo!

“Yeah right,” right? That’s why I’ll keep this short.

I want you to make a commitment – just something to consider – no sweat or hard work due right now.

Starting Monday morning, I want you to think about the way you lead. If you’re a boss, think about the way you foster your young employee’s careers, about the way you inspire, about the very nature of how you lead. Same goes for mid-level employees with your intern oversight. Hell, even if you are the office intern, it’s a lesson for you as well. After all, who is going to be the boss in 20 years?

Here’s the gist: While I was on my honeymoon (just got back last night), I read some non-marketing books. Among them was Boss of Bosses, a story about the FBI’s mob take-down during the ’80s (it’s the closest I got to beach reading…I did get through almost 2 marketing books as well).

This passage about leadership really struck me:

“[Paul] Castellano knew that the most powerful man was the man who needed to say the least. Neil’s carrying on, his slapping of backs – it had a certain gruff charm, but it did not speak of power. True power resided in the lift of the eyebrow, the barely discernible nod of the head. If ["Neil"] Dellacroce wanted to play the emcee, fine – that only showed the relative weakness of his position.” (pg. 107)

So, what about you? Do you berate your employees with screams and threats? Do they know exactly how to make that vein in your forehead dance the jig?

I’ve always respected my bosses who resisted tantrums. They were the ones that really seemed in control – unflappable, collected, above the fray.

If you have employees under you – or you will someday – you can learn a little something about leadership from the former  boss.

If you agree with this, I’d like you to (re)dedicate yourself to this style of leadership on Monday morning. Take the weekend to think about it. Consider what emotional responses might be chipping away your credibility with your employees. Then take a lesson from Paul and let us know how it goes!

Think about it over the weekend: do you lead with a careful lift of the eyebrow or do you scream your head off to demonstrate your leadership? Which is more effective? And how are you taking steps to make your style the most efficient?

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A lot of popular bloggers put up new blog posts everyday. But you might have noticed that I don’t – 1-3 times per week, usually. But I haven’t explained why I’ve adopted that frequency.

If you are a blogger (or think you might be in the future), I hope this gives you plenty to think about regarding your own blogging frequency.

Why don’t you post every day?

Well, there are a few reasons. Here are the most important:

• Don’t have anything to say: It seems elementary, but for many would-be bloggers, it’s not. There is enough cacophony in the blogosphere already. I refuse to add to it if I have nothing useful to say. (Subscribers to this blog know this – they are only notified when I post; never when I don’t.)
• It’s already been said: There are a lot of smart bloggers out there. I’m not going to repeat or piggy-back on someone else’s good idea. But if you’re interested in the good stuff I’m reading, follow me on Twitter. I always tweet about smart articles (feel free to DM me yours, if you think it’s really great).





• Different priorities: Like many bloggers, I juggle a blog with my day job and family responsibilities. Sometimes, I need to devote my blogging time to the day job (even the 5-7am shift). Other times, I feel it is more important to spend time with BG and the dogs.
• Traveling: Unlike some of the more hard-core bloggers, I usually take travel time as a chance to relax and don’t post while I’m gone. For instance, I’m writing this post at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Mexico. Our honeymoon is going great, but I thought this would be an appropriate topic with which to break from my norm of abstaining from blogging while away. (That’s how much I value you readers…plus BG is taking a nap, so no interference with family time.)

What about you? Have you felt the pressure to post every day? How has that effected your writing? Or, have you changed your blogging frequency for any particular reason?

I’d love to hear from you, even while I’m away. And be sure to take some time off yourself during this summer season. Please look forward to a more regular posting schedule starting next week.

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(Image courtesy of dawnzy58 via Flickr)