I hope to address that with this post.

If you want influencer’s to talk about you, you must give them a reason to write about you. You must have a story for them to tell that will be of interest to their audience. Without a relevant story it’s game over. So spend time creating a website, blog post or contest… something that is truly remarkable that people can’t not talk about.

Once you’ve created something that is truly remarkable, send an email to the influential blogs that are relevant to your niche telling them why they should write about you.

Some of the blogs you contact may end up writing about you, but most probably won’t. That’s okay, because it only takes one influential blog to write about you in order for your story to spread to other blogs.

If you don’t find success with your first email, change up a few things.

Give them a new story angle.

Perhaps your original story idea wasn’t a good fit for that blog. Present your story from a different angle.

Submit your story idea on the weekend.

ландшафт
I’ve been surprised at how well this has worked for me. Most influential blogs need content on the weekend just like they do during the week. Only problem is that most companies aren’t making news over the weekend. Fill this void by submitting your content when everybody else isn’t.

Try emailing a different editor.

Influential blogs usually have multiple editors. Perhaps the editor that read your previous submission wasn’t interested in your story. But there maybe another editor that is interested.

In conclusion, I want to encourage you to not give up and to always experiment with new ways to reach the influential bloggers in your niche.

You see…today, in order to succeed in internet business; it is NOT ENOUGH to create good content. Yeah, that’s right, it is NOT ENOUGH to create good content.

You have to go beyond creating good content, you need to create entertainment, but not to the price of suffering content. You need to provide content that will bring real experience to the reader.

This practice even started to show in the internet marketing arena. Ever heard of the Thirty Day Challenge? Not only is it a good site for internet marketing beginners, but the concept is interesting. It’s a challenge and at the same time a contest. The contest is to make your first $10 online. Brilliant.

I’ve seen many other marketers in different niches who have tried to become successful in this stuff. Many have made it but yet many others failed miserably.

There are several traits that I’ve noticed about successful marketers which clearly show they’re not doing the same things as everyone else, and therefore, not getting the same mediocre results!

Here are some of them:

• They create a different category

  In the dating industry, Eben Pagan created the category called “dating advice”. In the cooking industry, Oliver James with his unique show created totally another category for cooking by merging his cooking passion and entertainment.

  Why will you be successful if you do this? Well, people will not perceive you like the same ol’ cr**, but as something new. They create a space in their mind about your new category and you’re the first one there. The others will have to play the game of catch up!

• They stand out from the crowd…

  Nial created a great article here about contests. Contests are a great way to stand out from your competitors. But, guess what, there will be one day when they’ll not be so effective anymore! Here’s the good news: There will be ALWAYS new ways to stand out from the crowd. ALWAYS. That’s the beauty of this concept.

• They leverage things

  Almost all successful marketers use leverage.

  For example, in recent years the trend is leveraging online video, many web 2.0 platforms and who knows what else! Lesson: Don’t be a loner, leverage! You’ll introduce something new, and in that way, make your business more entertaining for your customers.

That’s my take on the ideal approach. Feel free to let me know what you think

Contests can be used to attract people to your website, to build your email list and even to build links. Online contests can be a very effective tool for marketers with any budget.

Before running your own contest, one thing you should be aware of is that online contest have mixed reputations in the minds of consumers. Many online surfers have been enticed to click on links offering them a “free iPods” or a “free trip” only to be rewarded with an inbox full of spam. Keep this is mind, you may have to earn peoples trust before they decide to enter your contest.

Build Links With a Link Building Contest

We all know that quality content and quality inbound links are the key to Google’s heart. You might already have great content, but anyone who has tried their hand at link building knows it can be tedious at best. Luke mentioned in his post last week that he has had some success in generating links by networking with influential bloggers and using social media. Another great way to build links is to have a link building contest.

A link building contest is a way to entice people to link to your site in return for the chance of winning something. To see how this is done you can check the This Week in Photography (TWIP) contest page. TWIP is part podcast and part blog. They are currently running their second quarterly link building contest. At the end of this quarter they will randomly select one link and award the webmaster or blogger a Drobo from Data Robotics. This is a $500 prize, and I’m sure the links generated by this contest will be worth a lot more than that.

TWIP also has a bi-weekly photo contest where they give away photography related prizes like books and software to the winning photographer. Their Flickr Photo Challenge Group now has over 2000 members.

Turn A Product Launch Into a Contest

Firefox made an event out of it’s Firefox 3 release by inviting the entire web community to make/break the world record for most software downloads in a single day. Not only did this “stunt” generate 8 million downloads in 24 hours, but it generated a lot of excitement and created a lot of free press for the second most popular web browser. One week later, Guinness is still reviewing the record breaking attempt, and Firefox 3 has now been downloaded 19 million times. If and when Guinness confirms the world record, Firefox will get more free press, more downloads, and as a result more profit.

Don’t Forget To Promote Your Contest

Once you have decided to have a contest, you will need to get the word out. A good place to start is by posting comments on popular forums in your niche (try not to SPAM) and contact contest blogs.

Legal Note

Before running a contest you may want to check with your lawyer, there are certain restrictions when it comes to running contests. If you run your website out of the US you are probably safe as long as you restrict your contest to US residents over the age of 18.

Any designer that deals with clients should also have a good chuckle.

“You paid your brothers nephews friend $50 for that whopping logo.”

In that time I’ve learned a few things about internet marketing that I’m going to share with you now.

1. Social media is very important
Some background about myself: I’m a bit of a laggard when it comes to new things and new technology. (That’s actually an understatement.) Here’s a few examples:

• I still use FreeHand MX instead of Adobe Illustrator.
• I don’t own a cell phone.
• I still use a PC. I know I need to switch to a Mac.
• I’m at least 2 versions behind on Flash.

I never really paid much attention to social media. I knew it existed. I even knew that it was important. But it wasn’t until about 5 weeks ago when one of our web sites made it to the home page of Delicious that I really got on board with it. After seeing the amount of traffic and new links that being on the home page of Delicious brought, I could no longer afford to ignore social media. I recommend that every internet marketer learn how to harness social media asap.

2. Market your web sites to the influencers
We made it to the home page of Delicous because the editor at a Top 10 Technorati site wrote about us on their blog. Then a few other large blogs wrote about us and then about 15 smaller blogs as well. Prior to this, my strategy was to email the smaller blogs and let them know about our site. My guess is that 1 in 10 to 15 ended up writing about us. It takes a lot of time and effort to individually email bloggers. In fact to get 15 small bloggers to write about us would take as many as 225 emails.

Instead the better strategy is to target the influential bloggers in your niche. If they write about you, then the smaller bloggers will write about you too. Now you just have to figure out how to get the influencers to write about you.

3. Having a great web site is VERY important
It’s a lot easier to get people talking about you and build links, if you have a great web site. People won’t talk about a web site that isn’t unique or different from the mold. Spend the extra time making a unique and useful web site that people can’t not talk about. Your link building will go so much easier.

It’s been a great 2 months and I think I’ve learned even more than these three points. But I have to get back to work now.

The Casual gaming market it expected to surpass $2 billion in 2008.

Casual gaming gained popularity with games like Solitaire, Tetris and Bejeweled played on the PC and Nintendo video game system.

The internet has now become the main source of distribution for casual games and social networks like Facebook are playing a major role in their rise in popularity and profitability. Casual games share a few basic characteristics; they offer simple gameplay and simple graphics that can be enjoyed in short burst like during coffee breaks or while on public transportation.

Casual gaming first gained popularity on the PC and video game systems like Nintendo. Many early producers like PopCan Games adopted a try before you buy model, and offered an enjoyable yet limited version of their games for free, and then offered a deluxe version for around $20.

Casual Games are fast becoming one of the most popular online marketing tools. An advertising based model is now becoming just as popular as the try before you buy business model. Advertisers are using casual games to attract people to their websites, and keep them there. Casual games are a great way to get people to spend time with your brand, while they are having a good time and being entertained. The key to successful marketing with casual games of course starts with creating a great game, and that is easier said than done.

What does it take to develop a quality casual game, besides a great idea? Most casual games can be developed by 3-5 people in 6-9 months for less than $100,000. This might sound cheap to companies spending millions on TV and print campaigns, and out of reach for small companies with small marketing budgets. There has also been a rise in indie casual game makers trying to make a name for themselves. So for those of you who can’t afford $100,000 you may be able to team up with one of these indie game makers before they get big.

Buffalo Wild Wings is one example of a forward thinking company that is using casual gaming as part of their branding strategy. On June 2nd, they are launching Night Hunger, a causal game aimed at positioning Buffalo Wild Wings as a contender for your late night fast food dollar. Here is the trailer.

The following is from the Creative Public email I received and was written by Michael Durwin, Creative Director of eyeanimate.com…

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The Orphan Works Act of 2008
Bill # H.R.5889
=======================
The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008
Bill # S.2913
======================

These bills effectively release creative work, whose authors or originators cannot be found, to use by anyone, including major corporations. This will allow large corporations to take advantage of the limited understanding of copyright law by artists, illustrators and other creatives. Essentially profiting from a large group of Americans that barely make a living with their work.

The bills would require the authors of so-called “orphaned works” to go through extraordinary measures to digitally copy and submit their work the the copyright office. This doesn’t just effect artists. If someone posts pictures of their baby on MySpace, then negleects to check their MySpace email, or signed up for the social network using a screen name rather than their real name, they could find those baby pictures being used for a multi-million dollar advertising campaign.

I work for an ad agency and have just as much respect for the artists, photographers and designers who I work with as I do the budget limitations faced by companies trying to promote their products and services.

This bill, however, amounts to legalized theft by big corporation of the property of the little guy.

Unfortunately these bills are being sponsored by Democrats ( Howard Berman D-CA 28th, Patrick Leahy D-VT) who should know better.

I’m sure your members would be very interested in this legislation.

You can read more about these bills here:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11320236

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?bill=11322171

Michael Durwin
Creative Director
eyeanimate.com

MSNBC.com shows that they are aware of our diverse media habits, and they are offering us even more ways to experience the news via www.NewsWare.msnbc.com. MSNBC.com has added Spectra, Newsblaster and Newscroller to their existing collection of podcasts, RSS feeds and mobile applications.

Spectra is a news visualization tool that allows people to navigate the latest headlines in a colorful three dimensional space.

For the casual news reader out there who would rather be playing online games then checking the latest news, there is Newsblaster. It is a take on the classic “Bubble Blaster” arcade game, that rewards you with news headlines and snippets. It is also available as a Facebook application.

Newsscroller is a customizable news widget. It allows you to choose your favorite news and entertainment topics, and can be embeded on your blog, webpage, or social network pages.

Not all of these applications will be of interest to everyone, but I’m impressed to see MSNBC experimenting with different news delivery formats. I’m a podcast junkie, so I’ll be checking out a few of their podcasts.

TLA is giving a 15% off discount in the month of May when you use coupon code may.

Apparently this will give you 15% off your order for the life of your order.

One domain I wanted to purchase had an asking price of $695 and a 1 year rental price of $195. In one year I could spend a lot of time, money and resources building links and marketing the domain name, only to have the owner seriously increase the rental price or refuse to rent it to me the following year.

There are so many reasons why not to rent domain names, and I’m having trouble coming up with a single good reason to rent one.

If you really want a specific domain name bad and can’t afford the asking price, consider a partnership. But make sure the domain name is put into your name. Links and marketing are attached to the domain, not the coding and design of the site.

If you know of a good reason to rent a domain name, do tell.