Online and Offline Business Success is About One Thing

The Client!

Zig Ziglar was one of the first real sales trainers and motivational speakers I heard speak live…and it transformed my thinking and my life!

Zig Ziglar said something all those years ago that has stayed with me throughout my business life and has been the basis of every entrepreneurial endeavor:

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

I’ve always thought of it as pushing others up. I’ve heard other describe it as pushing people forward.

Regardless of how you phrase it, one thing is certain, if you push enough other people up, you can’t help but ascend the ladder along with them. In fact, if you help others succeed, they will generally bend over backwards to make sure you do too.

Some of the skeptics out there may disagree with that last statement…but I have found it to be true over and over again.

People are wonderful!

And, like you and I, all most people want is a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

If someone owns a business, they want to make sure their family, friends, and employees are taken care of and that they have built up a successful enough business to either sell it when the time is right, thus providing for themselves and their loved ones; or, they want to pass it along to the kids, other relatives, and/or loyal employees when the time comes.

The Life Lesson My Grandfather Taught Me

My grandfather was an incredible force in my life, an example of the type of person I have just described and have always aspired to become!

In the early 1980s, Chevrolet decided they were no longer going to have what they call a point, that means a dealership presence in a given area, in downtown Detroit. Detroit had weathered the riots a few years before and GM was moving most of its dealerships to the suburbs.

So, after almost 50 years in business my grandfather was closing his doors. Trumbull Chevrolet was the first dealership in downtown Detroit and an institution for decades. They were a casualty of the times; and, of urban blight and suburban flight.

The thing that amazed me, and has stayed with me for the last 28 years, not unlike the Zig Ziglar quote above, was that prior to closing his doors, my grandfather made sure every person working for him had a job.

That’s right!

In the midst of the worst economy since The Great Depression, my grandfather got 73 of his 74 employees jobs before he closed his doors once and for all.

The 74th person was the real lesson!

The 74th person was a man I knew only as “Little Joe.”

Little Joe had started with my grandfather many years before. By the 1980s, Little Joe was too old and too well-paid for him to be placed anywhere. Consequently, Little Joe was the one person my grandfather couldn’t find adequate employment for. In corporate America, Little Joe would have been out of luck!

Not so with my grandfather!

My grandfather, having no other option that would sit well with who he was as a man who loved and cared for his employees, hired Little Joe to help my grandmother around the house, drive her to the store, basically help her with whatever she needed help with.

Joe was probably the highest paid helper/companion in Detroit at the time. My grandmother was showing the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease and needed a companion more than anything. Little Joe needed a job.

It was a marriage (or a job) made in heaven!

Little Joe could barely help himself most days, but that didn’t matter, my grandfather was faithful to Little Joe and Little Joe loved my grandfather and my grandmother.

A Business and a Life Lesson Learned from the Detroit Riots

In fact, during the 1968 Detroit riots, my grandfather’s dealership, a block away from Tiger (Briggs) Stadium in downtown Detroit, was not touched. During that entire summer of upheaval and rioting? Not a window was broken not a single car was vandalized.

While National Guard tanks rolled up and down the city streets and into the suburbs, Little Joe sat with my grandfather, so he would be safe…and they protected “the store,” together.

My grandfather came to find out later that many of his employees, people who lived in the neighborhood, had more or less let it be known that Trumbull Chevrolet was not to be touched. My grandfather had made it a point to hire his neighbors, and his employees became his second family.

When he needed them, his second family took care of him…and their business.

So, while Detroit burned, my grandfather and Little Joe sat and watched from the dealership’s showroom windows. And his employees, who also loved him, made sure he was OK and that the dealership, and the office building that had held the Detroit Lions offices, also owned by my grandfather, were not touched.

He had made it his mission to help the people of Detroit and they returned the favor…and then some.

Like I said, people are wonderful!

People deserve to be treated with integrity and honesty. If you treat people according to the way you want to be treated and help them get what they want…you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

And, you’ll be able to sleep at night!

In sales and marketing, and particularly in Internet marketing, I see things that, even after all these years in sales and marketing, I do not understand. Seth Godin says much of it has to do with Little Lies…or at least that’s how it begins.

I agree!

But I also believe it speaks to who we are as individuals!

It is so easy to succeed in business, any business, if you help enough other people get what they want. Forget about the shortcuts, forget about the “fast and easy,” and forget about the secrets to success.

There is only one secret to success:

The Golden Rule!

Who among us wouldn’t help someone who has helped us get to where we want to be in life? Who wouldn’t treat us as we wish to be treated…if we’ve treated them well?

It’s about pushing people up!

The “secret to success”? Push enough people up or forward and treat them as you would like to be treated.

It really is that simple!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

This Sort of Scarcity Ploy is Dated and a Huge Turnoff!

When Will the Internet Marketing World Learn that People Are Not that Gullible!

We are well past the point of a simple oversight, this is a ploy designed to heighten the impulse to purchase based on one thing:

Scarcity!

If this is Affiliate Marketing 2.0? They can keep it!

The Little Lies Continue: The Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture 8-26-2010 3:54:17 PM

The Affiliate Marketing 2.0 with All the 1.0 Tricks!

Time to End the B.S in Internet Marketing

Will this “stuff” ever end? Watch the video below this image, in the first part of this series, and let me know what you think?

Here we are, 48 hours after the launch floodgates opened and the same horse manure continues! I am being a bit server but when what a few bad eggs pull affects everyone making a living online.

If you don’t believe me, read the entire Digital Future Report for 2010 on the state of the Internet. I mention the report in a previous article at The Ultimate Internet Image.

Take a look at the latest image and watch the video below and let me know if you too are “Mad as Hell and not going to take it any more!“

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

This image was from this morning’s sales page: 10:37am 8-26-2010 (verifiable with time stamp)

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture: This image was from this morning's sales page: 10:37am 8-26-2010 (verifiable with time stamp) and shows that some things never change! Are you as tired of these ploys as I am? And I'm an inbound marketing consultant! I have never had to resort to these methods to make a sale.

The Loss of Credibility Online: It Starts with “Little Lies”

I’ve watched launch after launch over the past 2 years and I have gone from interested to completely and utterly skeptical…as I am sure many of you have. Not only are the same ploys used over and over again, but many of these Internet marketers must thing we are all stupid.

There can’t be any other explanation!

Not only do have have to deal with the same garbage over and over again but there seems no end in sight. That’s why I made the video below and decided to speak my mind.

I am taking a risk, I know that. But I would rather speak up than stay silent and watch people be taken advantage of…or worse.

The fleecing of America and now the world begins online and it has to stop!

Online trust is down significantly according to Inbound Marketing, Internet Usage Trends, and The Digital Future Report 2010

In a recent launch I noticed a series of “Little Lies,” as Seth Godin called them. Little Lies in the moments  and situations when we simply don’t tell the truth, when for whatever reason it is easier to “fib a little,” the shades of gray that lead to bigger lies and greater deception.

Whatever you call them, in a recent launch the marketers were definitely in the gray area and it turned me off completely…as I am certain it did others.

Rather than tell you about it, I’d rather let you watch the video and then you will understand what I am talking about.

The images below the video were taken over the first 24 hours of the launch, after it went live.

The “Little Lie” is subtle but it is part of a marketing mindset, and a ploy used to increase a sense of urgency, that I think we are all tired of.

I know I am and I know many of the people I’ve talked to about this are!

I hope you understand, my motivation is not to knock the guys personally but to knock their tactics.

If you agree? Leave a comment!

If you disagree? Leave a comment!

Thank and I hope you find this interesting.

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

PS, Yes, there were other gray areas to be sure, and we could discuss them at length, but it starts with the Little Lies…and grows from there!

PPS, I know, I know! I have got to hit the recumbent bike again. The video doesn’t lie…in any sense!

The images below show an offer page for a recent and ongoing Internet marketing product launch. The times and dates are accurate and can be verified. Notice the scarcity ploy and the fact that the number never changes over more than 30 hours?

Either they failed to sell one seat or…well, you know!

No Up Sells, Down Sells or Cross Sells…

Just scarcity and a few other ploys…

When will it end?

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture Date and Time Stamped: 8-24-2010 12:44:01 PM

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture Date and Time Stamped:8-24-2010 2:25:18 PM

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture Date and Time Stamped: 8-24-2010 7:16:01 PM

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture Date and Time Stamped: 8-25-2010 10:46:19 AM

Little Lies in Internet Marketing: The Affiliate Dot Com Capture 8-25-2010 3:23:26 PM

Affiliate Dot Com Screen Capture Date and Time Stamped: 8-25-2010 6:44:57 PM

The Truth About Most Online Marketing Gurus?

They Aren’t Gurus!

But I am getting ahead of myself! Let me explain. And yes, I will get to the survey and who the top 10 Gurus are. At least the Top 10 Gurus as far as the residents of Lakewood, Ohio are concerned.

But again, I need to explain.

When I first started my Internet quest, my first fledgling steps towards making a living online, I read anything and everything I could get my hands on in order to get a good start. In fact, I told my wife I was going to pursue it as if I were pursuing a second doctorate, this one in Internet marketing. I had a lot of time on my hands and I was intrigued. And, I didn’t want to work for anyone else ever again…on that point I was dead certain.

So, the entrepreneur’s life was for me…once again!

It was very early in my quest for Internet marketing knowledge and I was wrestling with a ton of information from a myriad of sources. I was at the point we all get to early on…information overload coupled with the uncertainty that comes with it.

Who was I to listen to?

Who were the authorities?

That was the point at which I was exposed to the phrase:

“Internet Marketing Guru”

During my initial Internet marketing studies, while attempting to figure out this whole marketing money online thing, I was exposed to the very best and the absolute worst the Internet has to offer; and that included many so-called “gurus.”

While searching for information, the nuts and bolts I needed to make my Internet marketing quest a success, I took time to dig deep into the offerings of many of the best known Internet marketing “gurus.”

Significantly, I also spent time reviewing the thoughts and ideas of some of the leading MLM “gurus,” although I sincerely wanted no part of the whole “MLM thing,” it was interesting. I also looked at a lot of material being produced by some of the less-known “wannabe gurus,” some just then beginning to make their own way online.

Yet many of them were already calling themselves Internet marketing “gurus!”

The education was an interesting mix of concepts and ideas, an education to be sure. But it was not the education I had envisioned when I started off. It was more about the state of the Internet and the quality (or lack thereof) of the information itself.

The education was less about the practical, nuts and bolts, A through Z approach to making money online I had thought it would be, and more about hazy concepts, why I should buy more of so-and-so’s products, and a ton of outdated material!

I discovered one thing early on in my Internet quest:

The only reason many of the Internet marketing “gurus” were being called “gurus” was because they referred to themselves as such!

In other words, they were self-appointed, self-pronounced “gurus” and nothing more.

Sadly, this remains the case through this writing!

The fact is, many marketing “gurus,” and this holds true more for online than offline marketing, have little, if any, real world marketing experience.

Incredibly, a vast number of these Internet marketing “gurus” have absolutely no “real world,” meaning offline, business experience at all!

This has real implications for those individuals in the inbound marketing consulting field because an understanding of how traditional, brick and mortar business is crucial. Not only is some sort of real world, nuts and bolts experience necessary for practical purposes, it is crucial for both perception and empathy.

The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed!

So, I learned two things early on in my Internet marketing, online business education, my Internet Marketing Quest Revealed:

1. There are very few Internet marketing “gurus” worthy of the designation, and all that comes with it.
2. Most Internet marketing “gurus” are simply slick marketers, I will give them that, individuals who are salesmen and saleswomen pushing a particular business perspective…and the products along with it, usually their own.

I realize the definition, and indeed the meaning, of the term Guru has changed somewhat over the years.

However, as far as I am concerned, a Guru is someone who places the welfare of others above their own in order to add to the “greater good.” A Guru is one who seeks to educate and enlighten others, not for financial gain but to enhance the well-being of their followers, those receptive to and following their message.

Naive?

Perhaps!

Let’s look at the term Guru for a moment.

Wikipedia (who else) offers a definition from the more traditional, religious perspective…and then adds to it:

A guru…is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)….As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation [the individual] from…ignorance to the light of knowledge. In its purest form this principle manifests on earth as a divine incarnation (saint), a person with supreme knowledge about God and all creation.

Other forms of manifestation of this principle also include parents, school teachers, non-human objects, and even one’s own intellectual discipline.

….the word “guru” is widely used with the general meaning of “teacher“. In Western usage, the meaning of guru has been extended to cover anyone who acquires followers, though not necessarily in an established school of philosophy or religion. In a further Western extension, guru is used to refer to a person who has authority because of his or her perceived secular knowledge or skills, such as in business….A guru is a spiritual teacher, but is also used to refer to anyone knowledgeable in a particular area (e.g. a computer guru). [bold and italicized passages altered to provide emphasis]

Here’s a very general perspective, if not a cut and dry definition for the term Guru:

• In the East and in the West gurus are thought of as:
  • Experts, “knowledgeable in a particular field,” sharing their knowledge with others
  • Teachers (usually but not always)
  • Having followers in one way or another
  • Individuals offering guidance
  • Individuals providing influence
  • Selfless individuals contributing to the greater good

Interestingly, if you were to ask a number of people at random who or what is the first thing to pop into your head when you think of the term “guru”?

What answer or definition do you think they would respond with?

I have written about this several times because it continues to be an issue for me and for others, based on the email and comments I get.

And, because this whole Internet marketing guru thing is perplexing to me!

So, three weeks ago I initiated a survey.

The survey was centered on one question:

What do people think of when you mention the term Guru?

I thought my answers would be very different from the ones half a world away, say, in India.

Now? I am not so sure.

The methodology was simple (and yes, less than scientific):

Ask anyone and everyone I ran into one question and then shut up!

Over a period of two weeks, while walking my dog, TuffGuy, I stopped virtually anyone and everyone I could and asked them the same question:

“What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say the word ‘Guru’?”

The survey was not scientific, as stated above, at least not in the strictest sense. But the selection was random, as random as I could make it.

The people were all from the Midwest, a fairly safe assumption given the fact that they were walking on the sidewalk, in Lakewood, Ohio.

The participants were from all walks of life, men and women, young and old, in every sort of dress imaginable, at various times of day and well into the evening, and so forth.

In total, there were 228 people and they took anywhere from 2 to 15 seconds to answer.

Interestingly, they all seemed to “shoot from the hip,” so to speak. Meaning, they all appeared to give it their best shot.

Yes, I had a couple of Ronald Mc Donalds, one Bugs Bunny, and one White Rabbit. The latter obviously a Lewis Carroll fan. Perhaps, more likely, a Johnny Depp fan? But many of the walks were late at night and the individuals who came up with these “off-remarks” seemed quite “happy,” if you know what I mean.

Their responses were thrown out, of course.

These are the top 10* responses (out of a total of 27 total responses):

1. Dalai Lama
2. Saint
3. Computer wiz
4. Bill Gates
5. The Pope
6. Teacher/Professor
7. Minister-Reverend-Priest
8. Billy Graham
9. Monk
10. Donald Trump-Steve Jobs

*I told all of the individuals who participated in this survey to give me the very first thing to pop into their heads, that they were not to consider it but to “go with your gut!”

Interestingly, 62% of the answers had a religious connotation and 23% had computer or computer business implications. The remainder of the responses were from the business world and included Warren Buffet, Richard Branson, and Stephen R. Covey; the field of sports and included Michael Jordan and Pat Riley; and, others included President Obama, Seth Godin, and Tony Robbins. Interestingly, while I failed to mention living gurus or gurus from the past, an oversight on my part, I still had 3 people mention Napoleon Hill and 1 mention Vince Lombardi.

The only mention of a marketing guru, in any way, shape, or form was Seth Godin!

The actual numbers are available upon written request and will be included in The Ultimate Internet Image’s new ebook, Inbound Marketing A through Z to be released on September 7, 2010 to subscribers of The Ultimate Internet Image.

Gurus?

Ultimately, we all assign meaning to labels in different ways. The problem I have with the phrase Internet marketing guru is that it rarely meets any sort of minimum standard, or rather the “Internet marketing gurus” do.

Or, more precisely, what my perception of what a Guru ought to be…is thought to be!

When all is said an done, one thing is clear:

There is a huge perception between the label and the reality.

The Label: Saint and Teacher, Selfless and Knowledgeable

The Reality: Salesman and Marketer, Slick and often Self-Serving

Interestingly, I started out to write a very different piece, my thoughts about one of the first products I purchased from a well-known, often well-thought of Internet marketing guru. The product was a very high-end product, a recycled seminar on DVD hungry students paid thousands of dollars to attend. The product is so full of information and so utterly and completely boring I have yet to get through it.

It is a narcissistic display in once sense and devoid of personality in another. Imagine conflating those two images…I know but it was the best I could do. It’s that bad. Honestly, it is truly awful.

And, it was created by an Internet marketing guru who is next to impossible to reach, completely unaccessible to all but a very small group in the Internet marketing guru clique, say that 5 times real fast.

And yet, he is very successful.

Go figure!

So, he is a slick marketer, a great salesman, and the antithesis of what a guru is all about.

At least to the way of thinking of 228 people from mainsteam America in the summer of 2010.

You see, while they have no idea who he is or what he is about, they do seem to have an idea who or what I Guru is…capital “G!”

The Dalai Lama on the other hand?

A man from a country halfway around the world, following a religion foreign to everyone I talked to, all agree in one thing…he is the embodiment of the term Guru…saint…teacher!

I guess the ultimate questions and the ultimate analysis comes down to this:

Do you want to be viewed and remembered as a slick salesman or do you want to make a lasting impression? Does anyone care what kind of car you drive or what kind of a house you live in or how much money you made on your last product launch? Or can you help push others up, better their stations in life, and help them achieve their dreams…in turn bettering your life and well-being through service to others?

Or you can just brag about how much money you made in how many minutes on your last product launch?

Guru or “guru”? It’s that cut and dried!

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, I hope they gave you food for thought. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think or share your story! I would love to hear it and it will add so much!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
The Internet Marketing Training and Services Company
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004

The Ning Violation

Is Ning’s Decision Good Business?

I usually write about Internet marketing, inbound marketing, online business, offline/online business, and the like here at The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed. This blog post is related to all of those topics and more.

The decision Ning made, and will enforce tomorrow, will affect people from all walks of life, many who simply built a wonderful little, or not-so-little, online community.

The Ning Violation is, in fact, a violation of a commitment, an agreement between Ning and all of those little online communities and their members. It will affect many people and it has been handled badly. It is not about the money.

It is about an implicit contract, a social contract if you will, between Ning and its users.

That is why I call it The Ning Violation!

The Ning Violation

I awoke this morning, went through my usual routine, and then went to my email box. I always put off email until I have accomplished my two major tasks of the day, so as not to be distracted. Email is the bane of almost every marketer’s existence. You can’t work effectively if you focus too much time and attention on email, it will suck precious minutes and hours out of your day; and, conversely, you can’t do business without it, email is a crucial component in today’s interconnected, online world.

So, on to my email inbox and what do I find?

An email announcing The Ning Violation, a take it or leave it upgrade policy. I have Ning pages and have set them up for clients, so naturally I was concerned. Several things popped into my head almost at once, the first was a twinge of anger at the prospect of my work being held hostage; and, right along with that thought was the thought that, if this was rubbing me the wrong way, it had to be affecting others the same way.

Mountain out of a mole hill?

Tempest in a teapot?

Perhaps!

After all, at first glance I can upgrade for as little as $2.95 per month or $19.95/year.

Peanuts!

But then, I looked at what I get for “peanuts” and it seems pretty obvious where I am being pointed by the marketing team at Ning.

Next, I reviewed Ning Plus with Advanced Features for $19.95 per month or $199.95/year and it looks a bit better.

Until I realize that Ning has conveniently left out the capability to add new videos or offer music, two of the most popular Ning features. They do allow access to current videos, so they do appear to understand the concept of grandfathering, but it appears to be too little, too late.

Finally, we get to Ning Pro, announced as being Built for Scale. Ning Pro os $49.95 per month or $499.95/year…and I save 17%!

API Access, unavailable at the lower levels is offered as an upgrade at the Pro Level, as are additional Bandwidth and Storage.

Ning offers sponsored networks for Education at the Mini level and Health at the Plus level. Both sponsorship networks require an application process and a sponsorshiop acknowledgement must be placed on the header of your Ning Mini or Ning Plus page.

If it is in one of those two categories and if it qualifies.

Several questions popped into my mind:

1. Why was this notice the first notice? I am very good about catching this sort of thing and even go through my spam folder before deleting it to make sure nothing important gets trapped. But I will concede this point, perhaps I was missed or missed the announcement.
2. Why am I getting this notice one day before the cut off?
3. How are my clients going to react to an increase in fees, however small, for something they perceived as free?
4. Is this ethical?
5. Is this good business?

The Ning Violation

This is clearly not a lot of money and we all have more important things to occupy our time.

So, why do I feel violated?

This is the heart of it:

This is bad business, plain and simple. The cost is irrelevant, the threat is, take it or leave it. It is unethical. Interestingly, if you have a Ning page and you do not upgrade to the appropriate level? They are holding your content. You can’t see it, it isn’t available to anyone through their network, but it is there and you can download it to your computer.

But then what?

We all know who the content belongs to. It belongs to the creator of the page and the members. That content is as much a part of their lives as anything they have built online and now they either accept Ning’s terms or they have no vehicle for expression.

Yes, I am sure Ning has that tied up in the Terms of Service (TOS). I haven’t checked as of this writing but it is irrelevant at this point because they have lost a user, several actually.

Ning obviously knows what a Grandfather clause is.

Why didn’t they use it in some way, shape or form?

Let’s look at a possible scenario:

A community develops a soccer program and tells everyone in town they can play and the community will pick up the bill, play on the community fields. etc. Coaches can create the best team possible from the available pool of children who want to play. To build the program and the individual teams, everyone will invest their time to get the program going and make the individual teams successful.

Now comes The Soccer Violation

After a couple of years the program has been built and the teams are flourishing.

Now, the community steps in and says:

“Things are going to change beginning tomorrow. Beginning tomorrow, you can play in the pasture over by the barn for $3 a month per child or you can play in the baseball diamond outfield for $20 a child or you can continue to play on the nice, new community soccer fields for $50 a child. Up to you, take it or leave it…the new program starts tomorrow.”

There will be a lot of kids out of soccer in that community…today!

I am willing to bet, there will be a lot less Ning pages in the online community tomorrow and a lot of ill-will for a long time to come.

Here are the questions that started rattling around in my brain as soon as I read the email and as I dug into this deeper:

If Ning can do it, who will be next?

If Ning can pull off The Ning Violation, why not Facebook or YouTube or Twitter?

Perhaps it is coming, in one way or another. Bit by bit and drip by drip, things will change, they always do. But many have asked this question, faced this scenario head on, and balked.

Why did Ning push the envelop?

Are they in trouble financially?

Hard to say!

But the question I come back to time and again is:

The Ning Violation: Is it Ethical?

This is not what I had intended to write about for this blog today…but I think the question deserved the space.

I hope you agree!

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read this post/rant.

Please, feel free to comment and don’t forget to subscribe…we have an awesome ebook coming out on September 7, 2010 and it is only available to subscribers…free.

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
Skype: johnzajaros1

PS, Check out our newest blog at Ultimate Inbound Marketing. It is still young but will grow fast…I hope you will grow with us!

Premium Blogging, the New Media, and Inbound Marketing

Once upon a time, the only reputable way to share content on the internet was with a “static” website. These sites were simple, like billboards, a few pages at best. They would display content to visitors, and those visitors would treat the message conveyed on a take-it or leave-it basis. The line between content-producer and content-consumer was obvious and rigid, leaving no opportunity for companies to interact with their prospective clients or clients (customers) beyond an opt-in form or an online shopping cart.

Those days are gone…and hopefully for good!

Blogs, once simply online diaries, have become clearing houses for everything from political news to consumer goods.  In the new media, inbound marketing world, a high quality blog is the perfect place for customers to find and interact with your message in an informal yet professional way.  If you want to keep your customers informed and involved, maintaining a premium blog is your best option.

What is a Premium Blog?

A premium blog is a professional, interactive website where the reader is the focus, not the writer. They exist to offer information and interaction instead of serving the blogger.  In other words, it’s a bout relationship building. A good example might be Gizmodo.com, the gadget blog that leaked the new iPhone; LifeHacker.com, with a constant stream of information pertaining to all things Internet; or HubSpot.com, the current King of the Hill when it comes to inbound marketing information and the latest new media resources.

Inbound marketing consultancies are often hired to create and maintain a traditional brick and mortar business’ online presence, their Internet image, to include:

• Social Media Management
• Email Marketing
• Video Marketing (i.e., production, distribution, etc)
• Content Development (articles, video, blogs, social media, etc)
• Online Brand Awareness (often as part of a broader inbound marketing strategy)
• Blogging (a premium blog that could easily function as an independent website)
• Other New Media Resources and Relationship Marketing Tools

One of the major benefits of a full-function, multi-featured premium blog is that not only can many writers contribute to them, they may serve a variety of different functions.

Significantly, both “offline,” what are commonly referred to as brick and mortar businesses (i.e., retail outlets, service businesses, professional practices, charitable organizations, etc), and online businesses stand to benefit from the features a premium blog.

In Bloomberg Businessweek, TECHNOLOGY February 20, 2008 ( reprint from an April 2005 article), reported that blogs are: “Simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business—including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite.”

Two WordPress themes used by The Ultimate Internet Image are:

Studiopress

Thesis

Both of the above mentioned blog themes are in effect much more than simply themes, they offer a complete suit of interactive resources for enhancing a business’ online presence…their Internet image.

Will it work for my business?

Imagine creating an environment where your customers willingly come to read a report about your business or industry. Perhaps they come to check out the tips for buying a featured product or explore other features unique to your business. Perhaps they come to see what others have written in the form of comments about an offering or an idea? It makes sense to offer a platform of this kind, particularly in the permission-based, consumer search-driven marketing environment we are now a part of.

Advantages

• Ease – Premium blogs have become increasingly feature rich. Yet their best feature may be their ease of use. WordPress, as well as other blogging platforms, allows even relatively unskilled users to easily create fully functioning websites in a few minutes…rather than hours or days.  This allows even a very small business to provide interactive media for prospective clients and clients; and, compete with the “big boys” without shelling out the big bucks.
• Sales – A Hubspot study recently noted that companies that use blogs get 55% more visitors to their online real estate than those who don’t.  You can also double your inbound links and the number of pages your site has, something that is very difficult to do with a static website. Both of these benefits do wonders to improve Page Rank and your ranking on search engine results pages. All of this means more traffic to your online real estate, more prospective clients exposed to your product (with the proper message), more sales for your business, and a healthier bottom line. Who can argue with that?
• Promotion - Any real life billboard along the side of a country road, or an adbuy in whatever media for that matter, can be mimicked online either free or for pennies; and, it will reach farther and faster with a blog. With blogs, your customers will regard you as an authority and regard themselves as participants in the marketing of the information you wish to convey.
• Value – While premium blogging isn’t free, the services it offers to both user and creator carry so little cost it just makes sense.  Blogs offer value in terms of relationship building and brand awareness that firms used to pay a fortune for. Interestingly, many otherwise dynamic companies are still paying top dollar for polling firms to take their clients temperature, attempting to stay ahead of the curve when ti comes to consumer expectations.  A blog can serve as both a suggestion box and support forum, demonstrating to your customers that their input is important to you in a way that a recorded phone message could never convey. In a new media, inbound marketing world, social media has demonstarted convincingly that people want a voice and they must be heard…or they will go elsewhere and take ntheir business, and their dollars, with them.

An Easy First Step for Brick and Mortar Businesses of All Sizes

Building an online presence, The Ultimate Internet Image, for your offline, brick and mortar business can be an overwhelming prospect.

• Who do I need to hire?
• What do I need to invest in?
• Do I need to be engaged in social media?
• How much time should I devote to it?
• Do I need to make videos?
• How do I get my videos and articles distributed?
• How many blog posts do I have to write a week?
• Do I need to buy advertising on Google?
• How do I maintain my online presence once you’ve worked hard to create it?

The Ultimate Internet Image offers the answer to these questions. A premium blog is a good first step and should be your online hub, the linchpin of your inbound marketing strategy. A blog will help you find your footing on the internet by creating a dynamic and friendly space for your clients to visit.

A blog, once set up, can be maintained by The Ultimate Internet Image or by your employees with next to no training and almost no cost.  The Internet offers literally millions of consumers who love blogs, trust blogs, and use blogs often; these consumers are waiting for you.

Why not get started today?

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype; johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

Making Money on the Internet is Something You Must Excel At…To Be Any Good At!

I read an interesting quote a long time ago, it was actually a line from a book I was reading entitled Hearts in Atlantis. The book was eventually made into a movie, as all Stephen King books are. Interestingly, unlike most Stephen King books converted to movies, this was a good one with a stellar cast. Anthony Hopkins was masterful, as usual, and a young Anton Yelchin, later to emerge in Terminator Salvation with Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, was amazing…perhaps the role of his life.

The quote:

“…and wishing doesn’t make it so! ”

This quote is so common, at least in the sense that it has been around forever, as to be almost cliche.

Almost…if it weren’t so true!

Interestingly, the quote has carryover power into almost any milieu and in virtually all walks of life.

There is another quote, a bit cruder, that pretty much carries the same message, albeit to a little different crowd and in a much different way.

The quote:

“If you wish in one hand and sh*t in the other…you can be certain of one thing…sh*t!

I warned you! It’s all in the delivery.

Ultimately, the messages are the same:

“Success takes effort…no amount of wishing will make it so!”

We are told daily to attract this and envision that.

Yes, visualization is crucial. But visualization and goal setting without follow-through is worthless. This hoo-haa (technical term) being peddled of late is garbage. You’ve heard the stuff (two technical terms in a row!), it’s being pitched everywhere.

Unfortunately, it is like baking a cake without adding heat…it ain’t gonna happen!

Success takes effort. Success takes real, concentrated, long term effort. Success takes getting through what Seth Godin refers to as The Dip. Very often, success takes getting through and beyond several Dips!

Success takes balls!

There, I said it!

That’s about as crude as I have ever been online or offline, at least since the Army (1972-73), but it is true and someone needs to say it.

If you can’t “grow a pair, you’re destined to fail!

Success is tough.

Success is often dirty.

Success is frustrating, tiring, and humiliating!

Success is wonderful!

Success takes concentrated effort and it is never easy.

Not real success, the kind of success that lasts, the kind of success that is meaningful, that you can share…that you want to share!

Beware of the following quote:

The Easy Path to Riches!

Do you know how many results you get when you type in that keyword phrase?

Over 1,000,000!

Many people are caught by the Siren’s Call:

“The Easy Path to Riches!”

Short term thinking will lead to long term failure. Don’t fall into the trap! It takes more than setting up a website and tweeting all day on Twitter to succeed. If that were the case, we’d have witnessed hundreds of thousands of “success stories” by now.

And that ain’t happening!

It takes more than a few articles and dozens of videos to succeed online. I takes more than creating a Facebook page and a LinkedIn profile.

It takes learning, applying, tweaking, throwing most of it out, and beginning again.

Success is never easy…but it is always worth it!

Ultimately, success means different things to different people and what you thought would define your success when you started out will be nothing like the success you end up with.

Guaranteed!

Success is indeed the journey. But more than that, success is a process, a growth process that never ends…until we do.

So, how do we succeed online? By growing, by learning, by sharing, and by growing some more. In the end, your success will be defined by your effort and by what you put into your endeavor.

Finally, I believe success has little to do with making money, money is just a measure, and not a very meaningful one. The success you achieve will define you as much as you are defined by it. So stick with it, apply yourself, ask for help, and be flexible.

Because, as stated above, the success you end up with will be very different from the success you set out to achieve.

And wishing doesn’t make it so!

Contact me anytime!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-7018 (cell)

How to Use Social Media Effectively: A Lesson in Overlap, Privacy, and the Power of a Tweet

Social media is the newest toy, a fad, a phase, a resource, a platform for social expression, a political weapon, a marketing platform, a symptom, a pathology, a paradox, a conundrum, a black hole….

A MYSTERY!

Social media may be all of the above and more. In fact, social media is whatever you want it to be…because you define your experience!

Or do you?!

Ultimately, only time will tell. As with everything new, and in the grand scheme of things social media is in its infancy, in geological terms an instant in time (or less), there will be myriad changes before anything approaching its final expression will emerge.

The ultimate social media question, particularly interesting from an anthropological perspective may be:

What will social media look like in its final form, if a final form is indeed possible, or will it simply evolve until it eventually goes extinct? Will social media go the way of the Yo-Yo, the hoola hoop, console televisions, the Sony Walkman, the Commodore computer, Atari, the American Football League, the USFL, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Milwaukee Braves?

Think of all the things that were “here to stay” in your lifetime. I’ll bet you can name quite a few. Where are many of them now?

If we can bank on one thing, it is the attention span of the public, or lack thereof, the public here in the USA and around the world. It is fleeting!

Doubt it? For those of you who have been using Twitter for the last couple of years, how many of the people you connected with, “tweeted” with on a daily basis two years ago are still around? Of the ones who disappeared, I would be willing to bet many are still following you…they have simply vanished! And I am talking about people you really hit it off with, not the plethora of entrepreneurs engaging with you in an attempt at “relationship marketing” (a.k.a., social media marketing – an oxymoron), I am talking about people you conversed with daily about everything!

They are gone! Lost interest. Didn’t pay. Whatever!

Retention is social media is beyond the scope of this post but it is in the mix. Why? Because as social media continues to evolve on its way to a final form or extinction, it is going to reveal a lot about its users and about how society uses information.

And that is the reason for this post dealing with social media!

I came across this slide presentation dealing with social media at length on SlideShare and it is brilliant, thought-provoking, and even a bit frightening. I guarantee you haven’t thought of everything this man has. This SlideShare presentation is worth your time to read and digest because it is instructive, informative, and…a warning!

Social media is all of the above and none of the above mentioned manifestations. But whatever it is to you, it is a resource for others, an information base that is being compiled for a myriad of reasons.

So, be careful what you share on social media because regardless of how you perceive social media, there are others who will USE what your share differently; and, ultimately, for their own purposes!

Enjoy the slide show! It is worth the time!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimateinternetimage.com

PS, Please leave a comment if you like it…or if you don’t!

Life is Full of Lessons, You Simply Have to Pay Attention!

A funny thing happened on my walk with TuffGuy…I learned something about people!

You might call it a marketing lesson or simply a lesson about people. Ultimately, it was another life lesson and I had fun learning it.

I was walking along the other night and I got this idea. That happens to me a lot! Some of the ideas I get a pretty good and other seem really good at the time but end up failing my “Light of Day Test.”

The Light of Day Test

I read Stephen King’s memoir about writing, aptly entitled On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and he said something about his process that’s stayed with me over the years. King said that when he has a good idea he kind of lets it sit in his head for a while, to see if it has traction, to see if it takes hold. If it stands the test of time in his head, he takes it to the next level.

My Light of Day Test is quite similar. I get ideas all the time, we all do, but I rarely act on them immediately. You see, when you get as many ideas as I do, as well all do, there are good ones, not-so-good ones, and then there are the ones that just plain stink! The funny thing is that at first it is hard to tell the great ones form the stinkers…it takes the Light of Day to expose them for what they are or aren’t.

Consequently, whenever I have an idea, I either set it down in one of the little black books I carry around (purchased for a few bucks through Amazon), an idea I got from Perry Marshall, or I record it using my little digital recorder, the one I carry with me wherever I go.

You see, ideas are a lot like dreams; and, if you think you can remember them by simply saying to yourself, “That’s a great idea, I’ll have to remember that one!” You are kidding yourself! Within a very short period of time, you will find yourself struggling to remember the idea, if you can even remember that you had the idea in the first place.

The mind is funny that way!

So, I record everything…in one way or another. Then? I let it sit for at least a day and usually two. 48 hours seems to be best. If it stands the Light of Day for 48 hours, it’s a good one and I need to act on it. If I still haven’t done anything with it after 96 hours…it’s either uninteresting or a stinker.

I was struggling for a way to say Happy Birthday America and Happy 4th of July to my subscribers and clients. It’s all been done and most of it has been said to the point of cliche…so I struggled…until I came up with the idea I eventually ran with.

Happy Birthday America!

I got the idea to have people on the street say “Happy Birthday America!” But how? That was tough because I was a bit nervous about walking up to people on the street like that and I wasn’t sure how over the top I wanted to go with it either. Would I go to the metro parks and ask people? Would I go to the local beaches?

Anyway, I always carry my Flip MinoHD with me wherever I go. Yes, I know! Digital recorder, Flip MinoHD, cell phone, it’s all a bit much. I agree! Heck, I could probably help jump start a car with the battery power I carry around with me! But in today’s world, and particularly as an inbound marketing consultant, it pays to be plugged in. Not that I like it, mind you…it’s a necessity.

So, there I was walking down the street with TuffGuy, it’s about midnight or a little before on Detroit Ave in Lakewood, Ohio; there are a lot of people out an about on their way to their favorite night spots.

It’s now or never…so I go for it!

I pull out my Flip MinoHD and screw in the mini tripod so I have something to hold onto and stabilize the shot a little. Before I know it the first group comes along and I blurt out:

“Hey guys! Will you say Happy Birthday America!?”

And they do!

Great! I’m off and running and each success fuels my enthusiasm and I get bolder. I even start asking people to do it over if they haven’t given it their all…and they do!

Marketing Lesson One:

People will surprise you. If you are genuine and ask their permission…they will respond! But you have to ask! And you must smile!

Interestingly, almost everyone said “Yes!”

Almost everyone!

Two groups of young ladies said no, not particularly surprising given the hour of the day, midnight, and the fact that I was a “strange” man, strange to them, with a camera asking them to do something out of the ordinary. What was interesting was how many said yes…that was interesting.

One person said no in a not so pleasant way, a man. I would say he was his early 30s and walking alone. It wasn’t that he said no, he wasn’t profane, he was rather contemptuous. Yes, I got all of that in less than a second or two.

Malcolm Gladwell is right. I got it all in a Blink!

Of the two groups of young ladies, diffusion of responsibility played a role (see the incredible story of Kitty Genovese for how powerful a force this can be). In both instances at least one person in each group appeared willing until the more dominant personality said no…then all bets were off. Interesting!

In each instance, the dominant personality determined for the other or others, and the remaining group members simply acquiesced. Only in one instance did the group respond with “Happy Birthday America!” after one member of the group said no. In this instance, the two in agreement were clearly dominant and were out to have a good time. The third in that group did stay in the frame but was clearly shy and out of her element.

Again, interesting!

Significantly, the early successes fueled my enthusiasm and provided a buffer against the disappointment of the occasional no. Many sales people and marketers are stopped by a no early in the prospecting cycle; and, after all, wasn’t I prospecting?

Every time I got someone to shout of “Happy Birthday America!”, and some even sang it (Ha!), I made a sale!

Think about that for a minute from a sales and marketing perspective! Heck, from a human perspective:

• I was walking along an at times, poorly lit city street at midnight
• I am a 5’11″ and 220lb man in his mid-50s with a little dog
• I am a complete stranger
• I have something in my hand!
• Not only that, I am walking right up to them
• I am making eye contact
• And I am asking them to get out of their comfort zone and do something totally unanticipated and even uncomfortable

And they did it! Not once or twice but over 30 times in the course of two hours with a 10% refusal rate!

Marketing lesson number two:

Some people will say no…to anything!

I could have been providing ice water at the Earth’s core and the same three groups would probably have said no. In fact, they will probably say no to most things. Sometimes you just can’t give stuff away.

So, relax, play the numbers, and smile!

Rejection:

• Expect it
• Live with it
• Understand it is not personal
• Move on

Once again, it is not personal, move on!

Marketing Lesson Three:

This is probably the most interesting takeaway of all…people will surprise you!

The results of my little impromptu, marketing experiment were, as I’ve said above, interesting. The results were also encouraging. The individuals I approached had every right to say “Buzz off!” or worse and they didn’t, they were friendly, open, and receptive.

Why?

I can only guess without a proper survey but I would have to guess that it was a number of things:

• I smiled!
• I had TuffGuy with me and TuffGuy acted as a foil. He offered enough contrast and offset what may have otherwise been viewed as a threatening situation.
• My age, I look like someone’s grandfather. I am someone’s grandfather!
• Almost everyone I approached was in a group and I was alone. There’s safety in numbers.
• The situation was conducive for such an approach. People were out having a good time and were relaxed, apt to “give it a shot.”

I could go on but I think the best strategy from here is to let you see the reactions of the people. I did cut a couple of clips for the sake of time and to edit out the clips that were just too dark to see. Otherwise, the clips are as is…as you will soon see.

If you are into marketing as I am, you will no-doubt find the video interesting, particularly in light of the marketing takeaways described above.

At least I hope you do!

As always, contact me if you need anything or leave a comment and I will respond!

Thank you for taking the time to read the above and view the video. If you like it, tell others. If you have feedback, let me know. If you wold like me to cover a certain aspect of marketing, drop me a line.

Thank you!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
440-821-7018 (cell)
216-712-7004 (bus)