Internet Marketing and Web Strategy Development in Grand Rapids, MI

So I Voted Today…

Posted by Mike July on November 2nd, 2010

When I first created this blog, it wasn’t my intention to write about politics or religion or any other ideologies on this site and I made it my personal policy not to do so. I wanted this site to focus on personal and professional growth. After all, there are plenty of sites out there already that do a fine job of reporting on those types of topics. But, after careful deliberation, I’ve decided to go against the grain on this policy and sound off on something that I think needs to be said.

Source: Forthepeopleofthepeople.com

I’ve voted in every election for as long as I’ve been of age to do so. Sometimes I wonder why but when I am in the booth filling in little circles next to names of men and women I’ve never heard of, I don’t wonder at all. The reason I continue to vote is simple: Because I can.

If you know me at all, you know that I apply logic and probability to almost every situation I am in. I’m like Rain Man that way. With that in mind, it actually makes little sense to participate in the voting process. Think of it this way: In the state of Michigan, about 3.5 million people are expected to cast votes today. I think that the odds are pretty remote that my participation will have any influence on the outcome. Combine that with the bleak chance that the results of the election are going to have any impact on my life one way or the other and you’ve got a formula for a pretty unproductive use of 30 minutes of my time.

So You’re Already an Expert. Now What?

Posted by Mike July on September 9th, 2010

Whether you’re an master auto mechanic, a leading .net programmer or simply a stay at home mom whose raised four kids, you have some area of knowledge that would be valuable to others in some capacity or another. If you’re looking to establish a presence online in order to share what you know, there are a few things you’re going to need to get lined up before you can jump in cyberspace. The good news is that the most difficult task has already been completed.

If you’re already an expert at whatever it is that you do, you have already done the hardest part.

You are Always on Stage

Posted by Mike July on August 24th, 2010

Have you noticed lately that it is becoming less and less commonplace to hear about some dumb thing a certain celebrity or politician had said or done on the recent past, only is just now being discovered and/or reported? Well, I have. And you know why that is? It isn’t that people are behaving better these days – far from it – it’s that literally everything gets reported in real time anymore.

It doesn’t even have to be something important – even stuff like a candid snapshot of so and so random celebrity knuckle deep in a nostril while sitting in traffic is enough to make the front page of TMZ.com. But, you don’t have to be a celebrity to know your life is under a constant microscope. Between handheld flip cams and security cameras and cell phones with built in video capture capabilities – not to mention everything you put out there voluntarily by way of your blog, Facebook, etc., your entire life is potentially being recorded whether you like (or know) it or not.

What this implies is that not only is everything you do possibly being recorded and archived, the millions of avenues of self publishing and broadcasting means that the ability to bring your shenanigans to the masses at warp speed is readily available.

The whole point of all this is the fact that the world we live in now forces us to come to terms with what some may consider to be a rather sobering reality: Whether you like it or not, you are always on stage.

You Know More Than You Think You Do

Posted by Mike July on July 27th, 2010

Anytime you’re looking at a career change, or a new course of study, or just looking to start a new activity that looks like fun such as learning to play the guitar or piano, the hardest part is often getting started. After all, if you’ve never done something, even the fundamentals look complicated as hell. But as I’ve noted before, it feels impossible only until you do it.

The best piece of advice I received when I transitioned from brick and mortar retail management to Internet Marketing and Web Strategy Development was to take inventory of the marketable skills and experiences you already have, and find ways to apply them to a new line of work.

Source: teamdivinesuccess.com

Once I got started – and shortly after I was committed to pursuing my online endeavors I realized that I knew a helluva lot more than I had given myself credit for. Every day I found myself more and more confident talking the talk and walking the walk with people who’ve been in this game for years. Even though I am a pretty quick study and tend to pick things up rather quickly, at first I was apprehensive and slightly intimidated when it came talking about what it is that I do. It wasn’t until I explained my occupation to a relative with almost no knowledge of the Internet or how it functions that I realized that I was much further along.

Transparancy is the Key to Doing Business in the Digital Age

Posted by Mike July on July 12th, 2010

I was in a casual conversation recently with a friend/business colleague of mine who asked me point blank why I have my toll free number dial directly to my cell phone. His tone wasn’t necessarily critical per se – but more of an overt type of concerned observation as to why I would go to the trouble and additional expense to set up an ’866′ number, just to have it ring straight to my hip pocket. He implied that employing an additional service directing the caller through a series of prompts would be a much better implication that I am a large successful entity.

At first, I was a little annoyed at this suggestion, but it occurred to me that my friend wasn’t wrong in the traditional sense; it’s that his sense of how small business is conducted has shifted dramatically in recent years.

transparancy in business

The advent of blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting and the overall unprecedented access that the everyday person has to virtually everything they could ever want to find out has remove the facade of businesses small and big alike. The old days of the mystique that businesses were afforded have been replaced with an age of complete transparency. The internet has placed everyone in a glass house. Those who accept and embrace this new shift in culture have thrived; those who’ve rejected or ignored it have paid a price.

The reality about transparency is that this is not a bad thing at all. Is it really unfavorable that your clients are able to verify almost every claim you make? Not if you’re genuine. However, if you didn’t really manufacture all of the products on your site like your ‘about’ page says you have, then you’re probably going to have a huge PR problem sooner or later.

Six Principles I’ve learned After One Year of Internet Marketing

Posted by Mike July on July 7th, 2010

The beginning of the second half of the year Twenty-Ten marks the one-year anniversary of my first paying job in this ever changing industry.

That first job was a simple research project that was completed in less than a weeks time, but it opened the door to a wide variety of new tasks and challenges over the past 12 months that have rocked my world in every conceivable way … OK not every conceivable way

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com

One of the things that I really loved about this industry that was a complete 180 from the world of retail management is the fact that no two jobs are alike. I’ve had projects that revolved around computer server repair, sunscreen, local restaurants, online auctions, etc.; every single project presents a different set of objectives to achieve and challenges to overcome. Even multiple tasks for the same client are often very different in scope.

Along the way I’ve learned millions of things – way too many to fit into a single blog post. But there are a few things that I’d like to share – you may not find this groundbreaking or life-altering but hopefully they’ll at least provide a fundamental reiteration of some basic principles if nothing else.

You’re Never Too Busy for Social Media

Posted by Mike July on June 25th, 2010

By now there’s no excuse for not taking advantage of the amazing amount of opportunity that effective participation in Social Media can offer. SM can and will provide a benefit to your life or business whether it’s connecting with someone who knows someone who needs a service you provide, or if it simply offers a way to hook up with a handful of new people to play poker with on Thursday evenings. There is quite literally something in it for everyone.

Source: francisanderson.files.wordpress.com

But, when talking amongst colleagues, clients and prospective clients who may be a little late to the party about the benefits of Social Media, the single most common point of resistance is that participating in Facebook, Twitter and the like is an unproductive use of their time – especially when they consider all of the other ‘real world’ obligations they have pulling them in 100 different directions. The truth is that although there is a little bit of a schedule commitment to Social Media, it isn’t nearly as much of a time-sucker as it is often perceived to be.

When Something Needs Fixing, Try the Simplest Solutions First

Posted by Mike July on June 18th, 2010

Note: I actually wrote this about four months ago and never published it for some reason, hence the odd time-frame references you’ll notice.

During the decade I spent working in retail sales/management in the auto repair industry, it was often a duty of the position I held to explain the various car repairs that were necessary to get the clients’ cars back up and running again.

Anyone who’s ever spent any time diagnosing and performing auto repairs knows that it isn’t an exact science, especially when you consider today’s sophisticated technology. Whenever the time would come in the diagnostics process where it was time to try something, I would explain it to the client this way: Whenever it’s not possible to diagnose the problem 100% accurately, you have to try something. When this is the case, you start with the simplest solutions and progress from there.

Sometimes I need to be reminded to follow my own advice.

The Internet is not a Small Town in Indiana

Posted by Mike July on June 10th, 2010

If you’ve ever lived or owned a business in Small Town USA, you know all too well the element of community that makes small businesses go. The patrons of the locally owned restaurants and grocery stores and auto repair shops are all very well familiar with the owners of these businesses, as they usually live in the area and it’s not uncommon for their businesses to have been around for generations.

Source: eclectecon.typepad.com

The element of community is strengthened by the fact that more often than not, the owner of the business is also the same guy who operates the register. Loyalty to the local economy feels good knowing their hard earned dollars are going into the pockets of another hard working man or woman that they’ve known and trusted for years. Business owners know that these relationships are built one at a time and are the core of their survival.

So it’s only natural instinct to apply this same principle when your business ambitions expand into cyberspace. The first thing you’re naturally inclined to do is fill the homepage of your new website with a bunch of warm and fuzzy text telling the visitor about how your business was founded by your great-grandaddy Jebediah and has been in the Podunk community for 700 years and on and on. The problem is, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

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So I Voted Today…

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