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Archives for 2008

Baby Blanket Bingo: ambitious entreprenuer rides web 2.0 for all its worth.

November 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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This is a story of true web 2.0 inspiration.
It’s a simple tale of how one woman with little knowledge of internet marketing is quickly gaining worldwide recognition and big distribution for her small niche product — bamboo baby blankets. Hudson, Wisconsin Entrepreneur Tamre Sutphen, creator of shi shu baby, desgned an elegant new line of hand-crafted Bamboo/Cotton blankets that are soft to the touch, yet free of unnatural and chemically treated fibers. Zosel&Co helped her create a simple e-commerce presence immediately to help fill orders from demanding distributors, and promote the product.
The e-commerce website is just the beginning. Over the past two months since the site launched, this energetic promoter has used simple social media marketing techniques to gain thousands of fans, distribution offers from from major worldwide retailers, and much more. WIth no formal training in internet marketing, Tamre began by communicating directly with her target audiences — Moms everywhere — by perusing the MommyBlogoshere. She posted links, put her products up for review, got feedback from Moms everywhere, and ultimately got attention from major retailers who follow these blogs. Using twitter, she miraculously managed to get major retailers following her, and soon offering her distribution of her line.
Plus, did I mention that she did all of this without even having a blog of her own? That’s our next assignment for Tamre. By posting daily to a blog, and believe me she will, there will be no stopping her.
So what’s the point here? Using social media web 2.0 techniques to create buzz is inexpensive, highly effective and definitely not rocket science.

shiweb

This is a story of true web 2.0 inspiration.

It’s a simple tale of how one woman with little knowledge of internet marketing is quickly gaining worldwide recognition and big distribution for her small niche product — bamboo baby blankets. Hudson, Wisconsin Entrepreneur Tamre Sutphen, creator of Shi Shu baby, desgned an elegant new line of hand-crafted Bamboo/Cotton blankets that are soft to the touch, yet free of unnatural and chemically treated fibers. Zosel&Co helped her create a simple e-commerce presence immediately to help fill orders from demanding distributors, and promote the product.

The e-commerce website is just the beginning. Over the past two months since the site launched, this energetic promoter has used simple social media marketing techniques to gain thousands of fans, distribution offers from from major worldwide retailers, and much more. WIth no formal training in internet marketing, Tamre began by communicating directly with her target audiences — Moms everywhere — by perusing the MommyBlogoshere. She posted links, put her products up for review, got feedback from Moms everywhere, and ultimately got attention from major retailers who follow these blogs. Using twitter, she miraculously managed to get major retailers following her, and soon offering her distribution of her line.

Plus, did I mention that she did all of this without even having a blog of her own? That’s our next assignment for Tamre. By posting daily to a blog, and believe me she will, there will be no stopping her.

So what’s the point here? Using social media web 2.0 techniques to create buzz is inexpensive, highly effective and definitely not rocket science.

Filed Under: Blog, Case Studies, Social Media

Is Social Media the new PR? 3 out of 4 PR Pros seem to agree.

November 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Social Media, with its infinite number of media channels reaching millions, is quickly becoming the new way for PR professionals to influence public opinion, polish brands and sell product. If offers infinite opportunities to communicate with slivers of vastly powerful little universes.
I recently ran a short discussion on LInkedIn, and posed the following question on a forum:
PR practitioners: is social media enhancing or destroying your business?
I received the following answers that seemed very positive:
(Enhancing) “Quite simply yes. I run a public relations and social media consultancy and we run integrated campaigns that treat both mainstream media and blogs as important stakeholders/audiences. The importance varies depending on the sector, campaign as well as individual blogs/media/journalists/writers. Just last week we held a preview event to showcase a new TV show specifically to parent bloggers.” — Stuart Bruce, Managing Director, Wolfstar, public relations
“Working at an agency that has been primarily traditional PR until this year, I have seen the benefit to this agency in a number of ways. By focusing on the social media I think the niche is one of the biggest advantages we have. While magazines sometimes are specifically only for one interest, the social media allows us to break our target by age, location as well as industry. Our messages can be more targeted to the most receptive audiences and therefore have the most chance for success.” — John Whitcomb, Social Media Coordinator, Robin Leedy & Associates
“As a PR pro who recently transitioned to social media exclusively, I will say that traditional PR folks need to get on board or risk being left behind. Social media is not going anywhere and it’s an undeniably powerful medium to engage in real time with influencers and audiences in MANY spheres. Best of all, it’s measurable UNLIKE the vast majority of traditional media placements.” — Dina Fierro, Director, Fashion & Beauty at Attention PR & SMM
And then interestingly enough, there’s one PR guy who thinks SM is possibly a fad:
“Until social-media sites are capable of delivering information regarding the demographics of their readers, they’ll always be niche — plain and simple. I know, we’ll probably read a dozen or more stories in the next 12 months talking about some type of revolution, but we’ve heard all that before. In reality, revolutions are VERY few and far between. This very platform is considered Web 2.0 of sorts, but it still involves typing text into a form, something that I was doing back in 1994.
That said, social media isn’t really going to destroy anything. If you represent a consumer product, there may be some blogs that have an audience that’s influential enough to worry about. Most of these are blogs associated with mainstream media outlets, however. For most, blogs are a supplement to their additional media work and something that won’t change the world in the near term. Can those of you who spoke about social media’s unique measurement capabilities explain that? Honestly, I’d really be interested because I’ve not seen ANYTHING reliable. To say that it’s more measurable than traditional media’s a pretty big leap, given that all print pubs have to go through a pretty exhaustive process in regard to readership verification to qualify for 2nd Class postage.” — Cyrus Afzali, President, Astoria Communications

Law_Blogs_PR_thumb

Social Media, with its infinite number of media channels reaching millions, is quickly becoming the new way for PR professionals to influence public opinion, polish brands and sell product. If offers infinite opportunities to communicate with slivers of vastly powerful little universes.

I recently ran a short discussion on LInkedIn, and posed the following question on a forum:

PR practitioners: is social media enhancing or destroying your business?

I received the following answers that seemed very positive:

(Enhancing) “Quite simply yes. I run a public relations and social media consultancy and we run integrated campaigns that treat both mainstream media and blogs as important stakeholders/audiences. The importance varies depending on the sector, campaign as well as individual blogs/media/journalists/writers. Just last week we held a preview event to showcase a new TV show specifically to parent bloggers.” — Stuart Bruce, Managing Director, Wolfstar, public relations

“Working at an agency that has been primarily traditional PR until this year, I have seen the benefit to this agency in a number of ways. By focusing on the social media I think the niche is one of the biggest advantages we have. While magazines sometimes are specifically only for one interest, the social media allows us to break our target by age, location as well as industry. Our messages can be more targeted to the most receptive audiences and therefore have the most chance for success.” — John Whitcomb, Social Media Coordinator, Robin Leedy & Associates

“As a PR pro who recently transitioned to social media exclusively, I will say that traditional PR folks need to get on board or risk being left behind. Social media is not going anywhere and it’s an undeniably powerful medium to engage in real time with influencers and audiences in MANY spheres. Best of all, it’s measurable UNLIKE the vast majority of traditional media placements.” — Dina Fierro, Director, Fashion & Beauty at Attention PR & SMM

And then interestingly enough, there’s one PR guy who thinks SM is possibly a fad:

“Until social-media sites are capable of delivering information regarding the demographics of their readers, they’ll always be niche — plain and simple. I know, we’ll probably read a dozen or more stories in the next 12 months talking about some type of revolution, but we’ve heard all that before. In reality, revolutions are VERY few and far between. This very platform is considered Web 2.0 of sorts, but it still involves typing text into a form, something that I was doing back in 1994.

That said, social media isn’t really going to destroy anything. If you represent a consumer product, there may be some blogs that have an audience that’s influential enough to worry about. Most of these are blogs associated with mainstream media outlets, however. For most, blogs are a supplement to their additional media work and something that won’t change the world in the near term. Can those of you who spoke about social media’s unique measurement capabilities explain that? Honestly, I’d really be interested because I’ve not seen ANYTHING reliable. To say that it’s more measurable than traditional media’s a pretty big leap, given that all print pubs have to go through a pretty exhaustive process in regard to readership verification to qualify for 2nd Class postage.” — Cyrus Afzali, President, Astoria Communications

Filed Under: Articles, Blog, Social Media

Leum PR: simple news release distribution via HTML email

November 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Working efficiently is important for a busy firm like Leum Public Relations. And managing multiple media lists and sending news releases via regular email can be an exercise in tedium. With DIYMail from Minneapolis internet marketer Zosel&Co, Leum delivers their news releases and promotions for clients such as Kalihari Resorts, Lienenkugels, Duluth Trading and others through a white listed server ensuring high deliverability, and excellent open rates. Plus, they can easily upload and manage multiple mailing lists, and accurately track all the opens, bounces, and clicks. They also know who opened and responded as well.

Filed Under: Case Studies, Email Marketing

Five reasons why your company should begin participating in social media now.

November 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Participating in Social media sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and many others, is simply a must these days, particularly if you need to broaden your network, explore new trends, share new ideas, and most important, generate new leads. I’ve been doing it for months now, and have done all of the above.
Quite frankly, I’m hooked. And the benefits of participating on forums, and discussions have helped me create relationships with induvuduals at companies that I never would have dreamed of. Here the benefits I’ve discovered:
1. A great mentoring environment — This BTW, is a two-way street. Especially on Linkedin, you simply present a pressing business question, and you’ll get lots of interesting answers, usually sent to your email if you wish.
2. Inside Sales Info — If you need a specific contact at a company of your interest, Linkedin saves time. You can reach the right people instantly and make things happen.
3. Educate, Share, network, mentor and your next clients will come from a place you never expected. Many swear by Twitter, the 21st century gossip social site. They’ll read a few of your tweets and find you.
4. Staying in touch with important business contacts. Being connected through social media allows us to deliver information that is relevant to their business.
5. Selling or testing a product? Ask your connections to be your instant focus group, give you feedback to improve features, services, or whatever. People on social media site are very generous with their thoughts and opinions. Test ads, copy, proposal ideas, whatever. It is really helpful, and takes very little time.
But don’t take my word for it. There’s so much information on the subject, you can’t keep up with it. If you’re looking for dozens of ways to use FaceBook go to Facebook Ideas Galore. Or here’s a must read article on using LinkedIn 10 ways to Use LinkedIn

social_media

Participating in Social media sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and many others, is simply a must these days, particularly if you need to broaden your network, explore new trends, share new ideas, and most important, generate new leads. I’ve been doing it for months now, and have done all of the above.

Quite frankly, I’m hooked. And the benefits of participating on forums, and discussions have helped me create relationships with induvuduals at companies that I never would have dreamed of. Here the benefits I’ve discovered:

  1. A great mentoring environment — This BTW, is a two-way street. Especially on Linkedin, you simply present a pressing business question, and you’ll get lots of interesting answers, usually sent to your email if you wish.
  2. Inside Sales Info — If you need a specific contact at a company of your interest, Linkedin saves time. You can reach the right people instantly and make things happen.
  3. Educate, Share, network, mentor and your next clients will come from a place you never expected. Many swear by Twitter, the 21st century gossip social site. They’ll read a few of your tweets and find you.
  4. Staying in touch with important business contacts. Being connected through social media allows us to deliver information that is relevant to their business.
  5. Selling or testing a product? Ask your connections to be your instant focus group, give you feedback to improve features, services, or whatever. People on social media site are very generous with their thoughts and opinions. Test ads, copy, proposal ideas, whatever. It is really helpful, and takes very little time.

But don’t take my word for it. There’s so much information on the subject, you can’t keep up with it. If you’re looking for dozens of ways to use FaceBook go to Facebook Ideas Galore. Or here’s a must read article on using LinkedIn 10 ways to Use LinkedIn

Filed Under: Articles, Blog, Social Media

Shi Shu Style: Simple, Inexpensive e-Commerce Store.

November 1, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Shi-Shu Style E-commerce website

When opportunity knocks, you better be ready. Hudson Wisconsin Entrepreneur Tamre Sutphen had desgned an elegant new line of hand-crafted Bamboo/Cotton blankets that are soft to the touch, yet free of unnatural and chemically treated fibers. She needed an e-commerce presence immediately to help fill orders from demanding distributors. ZoselCo helped create a simple store using Yahoo Commerce in less than two weeks on a very tight budget.

Filed Under: E-commerce, Internet Marketing, Web Design

Formula for Success: Email Marketing Lead Generation Components.

October 16, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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If you’re looking to invest in an email blast to a large B2B or B2C email list, you’ll need the following three components to achieve results:
1. A highly compelling offer…something free, a huge discount, a buy one get one, or anything to get your prospects attention so they will buy, register, or respond. Personally I prefer offering something free for registering. It’s your call, based on your marketing goals, but it has to be something that is easily and instantly understood, so the prospect can make a quick decision whether they will click on your email, and take the next crucial step in the relationship. Remember, the prospects on your email list probably don’t know you from Adam, so your first impression is critical.
2. Simple one-page, colorful, exciting email that dramatizes your offer, grabs the prospect by the throat, and convinces them to click to your landing page, and take the next step to being a customer. The email must clearly and instantly tell the prospect who we are, what we are offering, and what the immediate benefit of the offer is to them…what’s in it for them. Also, email creative is no place for anything vague, or wishy-washy. Straight to the point, bang em over the head works best. No newsletters or anything lacking immediate urgency either.
3. Your Landing page –– Once the curious prospect understands our offer, has decided to risk clicking on an email from a complete stranger, and is willing to take the next step on our behalf, let’s make sure they land on a page that will deliver instant gratification. Bear in mind, an average visitor spends less than 10 seconds looking at a web page before deciding whether to take action or move on. Your landing page’s headline and copy must connect to the email they clicked. If your email promotes a free offer, your landing page should focus on that free offer, not on superfluous information that distracts from the free offer. Strike while the iron is hot. Give them what came for, get them to sign up, and move on. Your landing page needs to deliver the information you promised they would receive. Nothing more, nothing less.

template-rhm

If you’re looking to invest in an email blast to a large B2B or B2C email list, you’ll need the following three components to achieve results:

  1. A highly compelling offer…something free, a huge discount, a buy one get one, or anything to get your prospects attention so they will buy, register, or respond. Personally I prefer offering something free for registering. It’s your call, based on your marketing goals, but it has to be something that is easily and instantly understood, so the prospect can make a quick decision whether they will click on your email, and take the next crucial step in the relationship. Remember, the prospects on your email list probably don’t know you from Adam, so your first impression is critical.
  2. Simple one-page, colorful, exciting email that dramatizes your offer, grabs the prospect by the throat, and convinces them to click to your landing page, and take the next step to being a customer. The email must clearly and instantly tell the prospect who we are, what we are offering, and what the immediate benefit of the offer is to them…what’s in it for them. Also, email creative is no place for anything vague, or wishy-washy. Straight to the point, bang em over the head works best. No newsletters or anything lacking immediate urgency either.
  3. Your Landing page –– Once the curious prospect understands our offer, has decided to risk clicking on an email from a complete stranger, and is willing to take the next step on our behalf, let’s make sure they land on a page that will deliver instant gratification. Bear in mind, an average visitor spends less than 10 seconds looking at a web page before deciding whether to take action or move on. Your landing page’s headline and copy must connect to the email they clicked. If your email promotes a free offer, your landing page should focus on that free offer, not on superfluous information that distracts from the free offer. Strike while the iron is hot. Give them what came for, get them to sign up, and move on. Your landing page needs to deliver the information you promised they would receive. Nothing more, nothing less.

Filed Under: Articles, Blog, Email Marketing, Internet Marketing

Rheem Fall Co-op Email Marketing

September 17, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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template-rhm

Rheem, a manufacturer of heating and AC systems, will use internet email marketing to help their dealers promote Fall Furnace Tune-ups. The email co-op marketing program is intended to help cut marketing costs, by sharing the costs with their dealers. It is a “Permission-based” email marketing program which means that all email databases reach prospects who have given permission to receive promotions (100% Permission Based CAN-Spam compliant). All HTML emails and landing pages are co-branded to help ensure success – all designed to appear as if it came from the local dealer.

Filed Under: Case Studies, Email Marketing

Using the internet to market a political campaign.

September 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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When Futurist Author Jack Uldrich entered the race to for United States Senate here in Minnesota in early August, vying for a spot on the Independence Party Ticket, he knew he was facing an uphill battle. Armed with little cash and a huge fund raising challenge, Uldrich decide to use technology and a variety of innovative internet marketing techniques to generate awareness and raise money to battle Al Franken and Norm Coleman. Uldrich’s innovative internet based campaign includes a website that hosts a series of clever video commercials, a regular newsletter that broadcasts to the media and supporters, and Live Feeds from wherever and whenever Jack has something interesting to report, or someone interesting to interview.
Known more for his recent success with http://www.jumpthecurve.net, Jack’s professional biography describes him as “a renowned global technology forecaster, independent scholar, sought-after business speaker, and best-selling author. For more on Jack’s political background, visit www.dotheimpossible08.com

jacblog

When Futurist Author Jack Uldrich entered the race to for United States Senate here in Minnesota in early August, vying for a spot on the Independence Party Ticket, he knew he was facing an uphill battle.

Armed with little cash and a huge fund raising challenge, Uldrich decide to use technology and a variety of innovative internet marketing techniques to generate awareness and raise money to battle Al Franken and Norm Coleman. Uldrich’s innovative internet based campaign includes a website that hosts a series of clever video commercials, a regular newsletter that broadcasts to the media and supporters, and Live Feeds from wherever and whenever Jack has something interesting to report, or someone interesting to interview.

Known more for his recent success with http://www.jumpthecurve.net, Jack’s professional biography describes him as “a renowned global technology forecaster, independent scholar, sought-after business speaker, and best-selling author. For more on Jack’s political background, visit www.dotheimpossible08.com

Filed Under: Case Studies, Internet Marketing, Web Design

Internet Marketing: Simple HTML Do-it-yourself Newsletters.

September 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Everyone knows it’s important to communicate with customers and prospects on a regular basis about new products, services and and general news about your company. Traditional print newsletters are great, but very time-consuming and expensive. So, if you’re not adept at HTML programming, you can really take advantage this great new tool. There are also many online services that allow you create your own newsletters, but the templates they offer don’t allow much customization.
ZoselCo offers an inexpensive solution that offers the best of both worlds. An online newsletter that is true to your brand, yet is simple to update and create yourself. The solution also offers great reporting, letting you know who opened, clicked and lots more.
If you’d like more information please contact Scott Zosel
custom html newsletters

Everyone knows it’s important to communicate with customers and prospects on a regular basis about new products, services and and general news about your company.

Traditional print newsletters are great, but very time-consuming and expensive. So, if you’re not adept at HTML programming, you can really take advantage this great new tool. There are also many online services that allow you create your own newsletters, but the templates they offer don’t allow much customization.

ZoselCo offers an inexpensive solution that offers the best of both worlds. An online newsletter that is true to your brand, yet is simple to update and create yourself. The solution also offers great reporting, letting you know who opened, clicked and lots more

Filed Under: Articles, Blog, Email Marketing, Internet Marketing

Political Internet Marketing: Jack Uldrich does the impossible.

August 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

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Dotheimpossible internet marketing website

Futurist Author and reknowned politcal pundit Jack Uldrich entered the race to for United States Senate here in Minnesota in early August, vying for a spot on the Independence Party Ticket. Known more for his recent success with www.jumpthecurve.net, Jack’s professional biography describes him as “a renowned global technology forecaster, independent scholar, sought-after business speaker, and best-selling author.”

Jack is much more than that. His expertise with future technology makes Jack perhaps the most qualified candidate in this year’s Minnesota U.S. Senate race. And with a small budget, his innovative internet based campaign includes a website that hosts a series of clever video commercials, a regular newsletter that broadcasts to the media and supporters, and Live Feeds from wherever and whenever Jack has something interesting to report, or someone interesting to interview.

Filed Under: Case Studies, Internet Marketing
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