Earth Hour Perth Australia. What happened?

Movie how Earth Hour took place in Perth Australia. It was disappointing to see that only the top lights went out when the rest of the office towers were fully lit... on a Saturday night. Like seriously... turn your lights off when you leave on a Friday.

Watch Earthhour go down in Perth Australia:

Thanks for those who participated.

How I did it. Using a tripod I was standing in Kings Park and took a photo every 60 seconds using a remote control.

Start: 8:20pm - 10:15pm.

The downtown area was about 15 min late but there was 1 high rise that shut down the lights at 8:30 exact. Can you spot it in the video?? Guess who it is? :)

Made by: Chris Bjorklund: http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Next Earthhour will be better!!

How to Hire a Search Engine Optimization Consultant

I recently got a question on “What should a SEO Professional deliver?” This person had been scammed before where they paid a bunch of money for a guy to “Get them ranked number 1” only to realize nothing happened. So I thought I would write a blog post to help other people in the same position in getting the right person onboard.

Do I have qualification to be an “expert”? I think I do but you can be the judge of that. *wink* *wink*

Direct SEO Consulting Experience in 2008:
Stockhouse.com Nowpublic.com Bytephoto.com (personal media project)

Since I first started SEO optimization in 2002 I have over the years devised a few strategies that allowed me to get my personal photo review site, www.bytephoto.com included in the top rankings.

Since I have my own sites to test new SEO strategies on I have extended this knowledge to my clients. My typical SEO Audit identifies key traffic issues and opportunities with site traffic. I create an effective competitive analysis and give recommendations on what needs to be applied in order for the site to be search engine compatible.

Because clients have different needs, e.g. launching a new site, I would recommend focusing the SEO audit on the competitive landscape to ensure a lift in rankings and traffic versus competitors. I would look at link-related matters such as external, inbound links, page saturations and keyword rankings. Last I would coach the client’s team on what needs to be done, how to write articles and what technologies to use. That way you ensure a smoother transition and client satisfaction.

Sample Deliverables in an SEO Audit: (Going from an old site to a new site)

• Keyword Analysis and a list of targeted key phrases
• Link-related matters: outbound links, inbound links
• Analysis of major competitors and current search engine placement report
• Keyword Density and metrics
• Link popularity and link strategy
• Content audit and advice on how often the targeted keywords should appear on pages
• Samples of head tags, titles, descriptions, h1 and h2 etc
• One (1) SEO Best Practices document
  - A full and specific analysis of their website and situation, outlining findings and suggestions.
  - Clear explanations about what they need to change and, more importantly, how to change it in order to obtain top rankings.

Until next time. Stay hot stay tuned!

All the best,
Chris

The smart way how to deal with negative bloggers about your business.

Question:

What's the best way to deal with a blogger who consistently writes negative posts about your company/brand?

I have personally experienced this as one of my clients had these so called “attackers” consistently posting negative comments.

There are 2 types of “hate attacks”. 1) Spammer 2) Genuine concerns.

Here is how I approached it with number 2. (Dealing with number 1 is basically block his IP addresses)

1. Listen to all his comments/post
2. Write them down and categorize them in order of importance vs. value to your organization
3. Once you know what he is commenting about and how important it is, get your team together from multiple departments. Don’t ask your PR person only, ask the right people. It doesn’t have to be managers either.
4. You as the moderator (in a meeting room eg.) go thru the comments and if the comment is legit, write down an answer and learn from it. Even though it’s negative and sometimes the commenter is misinformed, some truth is there.
5. Fix your problems (learn from this)
6. Time to address this Negative Commenter
7. Post a post asking for a private conversation or even a phone call. Be genuine about you wanting to solve his concerns and listen to him/her.
8. During the conversation (chat or call) Best to get him/her on the phone.
   a. Tell him that you are truly concerned and wanting to fix the problem (if it’s reasonable)
   b. Also tell them (after you have made him warm and fuzzy) that it is not cool to post all these negative comments.
   c. After your call or conversation. Send him/her a thank you note signed by the CEO. Maybe include a gift or some promotional material.

Lessons learned.
Address negative comments early on to stop potential disasters. Remember that everything is transparent in today’s Web 2.0. Don’t reply to negative posts without putting some real thought into it. Most of the time it disappears in the clutter or evangelists will appear to save and fight for you.

Use this above when it gets really bad and you need to put out a fire. It has helped me with my clients so hopefully it can help you.

Cheers
Chris
www.ReallyHotIdeas.com

Is Dell and McAfee Fooling Customers to Make Money?

It is of great sadness I write this because I like these two companies but I have no choice but to reveal their "scammy" like sales method. I'm talking about Dell and McAfee.

Dell is a company that I have looked up to. They have a great story and been able to compete really well online. I also think they make good laptops. In fact I just bought another one from them. I hate “bloat ware”. Bloatware are programs that come with the PC and expires as the trial runs out. I hate that stuff but Dell and other companies use it to sell more stuff. Makes business sense and I recommend my clients to do similar things. McAfee came with my Dell for a 30 days trial. Here's the problem and solution.

Dell and McAfee are in fact purposely inflating prices by over 100%.

After 15 days of buying this laptop I received an email from McAfee sponsored by Dell telling me that I need to update my anti virus subscription. They used very scary sales copy to get me really scared of virus. Ok, you have scared my parents and other non-nerds. :) lol

This is their sales message after the scary part:
“You also won’t wait to save as much as 33% on powerful new McAfee SecurityCenter. Renew now, and instantly save a bundle on all the enhanced features of our new software. Do it soon, because these limited-time special offers expire 30 March 2009.”

Things to highlight:
- Cost: $79.95 for 1 year. (20% savings)
- 33% savings (3 yr subscription)
- Renew NOW to take advantage of this offer
- Limited to this email only

Most people would fall for this and buy right there and then. After all, 80 dollars isn’t a lot of money to be protected.

BAD MONKEY! THEIR SALES TRICK REVEALED!
I have developed, marketed and managed sales programs for all kind of software including anti-virus. $79.95 for a 1 year subscription is insane. I thought Dell and McAfee must have made a typo UNTIL I received another email today urging me to buy now and that this amazing offer is no longer valid. This is insane! Who falls for this?

I went to McAfee.com and saw the same offer advertised on the homepage for $34.95. The regular price is $69.95. (Canadian and US). How in the world can $79.95 be a 20% savings as they claim it to be? I used http://www.xe.com/ for exchange rates: 34.95 CAD = 41.7067 AUD.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt that I am in Australia but live in Canada so maybe they got their geo targeting all wrong. Nope. It works. They have identified that I am in Australia and I received the Australian promotion. The same software is $99 in Australia on sale for $79.95 but on the web site (North America) the same software is sold for half that price.

Did the coin drop?

Good business model?
I would have to say "hmm....yeeeees" but it's not really smart or honest. They can be smarter and more honest about it. I say this because I have used this model for other clients when they are selling software from US to Europe. I have built sales strategies that have sold millions of dollars worth of software glabally using smart and honest sales channels. Why does Dell and McAfee have to do this? So... anyway... there are costs involved...

Translations = Added costs. Customer pays.
In my personal case I know there is an increased cost of translating it from English to lets say German. That cost needs to be recuperated. The smart and honest way to sell it is by using “on the fly exchange rates”. $34.95 Canadian is $41 AUS. There are books written about this so here is the short version. They should sell it for that price directed by exchange rates. Not inflate it and risk people like me finding out and telling everyone about their “scam”.

Economic Downturn = Fooling customers? I don't think so. Not in Web 2.0.
I do understand why they are doing this. It makes money. Lots of money. The economy is bad.
The economy is tough and if people still buy at higher prices then maybe that will save jobs. Good for them but I don’t think this is the smart way to do business. It is definitely not honest.

Do Aussies speak English?
Look at it this way. In Australia they speak English. I think it is fair to assume that Australians are smart people. Is it then smart for Dell and McAfee to be selling the same software for twice the price? Hmmm... Furthermore, what if they can get away with selling it for so much more? Is that good? I would have to agree that it is very clever way to make money. But how long will that last? And to what cost?

Only a few % (people like me...online marketing nerds) :) know where to shop smarter and get the best deals. Majority of people will buy for the full price and are completely ignorant of the real value. In this case the software is worth $34.95 ($41 AUS) instead of $79.95.

Dell and McAfee – Words of wisdom.
If you are in fact going to continue these promotions then make it completely hidden for me to investigate price options. But then again I just saw the same software for $37.99 on an affiliate review site.

So use smarter ways to sell your software and I will personally guarantee a boost in sales conversion. On the fly conversion rates will eliminate errors. In todays Web 2.0 everything you do is transparent. Happy customers are your best advertisers. So... now I am going to buy Norton. Thanks for making my choice easier. :)

Until next time. Stay Tuned. Stay Hot. Stay Smart.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Yahoo Search Marketing | Behind the times in Web 2.0?

I recently sent a question to Yahoo Search Marketing as my account needed to be transferred from US to Canada. Standard thing really but I got a bunch of errors. I needed some help how to pay my bill. Long story short I have used Yahoo’s SEM service when they were Overture so needless to say, I know their system in and out. Plus I spend a significant amount of money with them. Ok, I tooted my horn. :)

What follows is super crazy dumb but so easy for Yahoo to fix.

The question I had was laid out in detail and submitted to their support team. This question I had is easy to solve. In fact Google makes it REALLY easy. With Yahoo... not so much.

The Reply:
So the reply I got back from them after 3 weeks (note that I am not spending any monies with Yahoo during this time) so they missed out on 3 weeks of revenue. The reply was cut and pasted from Yahoo’s FAQ plus an apology.

CUT AND PASTE!? Apology? Huh?

I wonder if this person even read my support ticket? No need to apologize. They are the ones who missed out on revenues from me. I simply boosted my spend with other search engines. No skin off my back. My sales are still good. I think they are actually up.

So many companies are doing business this way. You know the standard “Sorry for your inconvenience”. Blah blah blah. Why not just address the problem and fix it?

SOLUTION:
In the Web 2.0 era, which I call “So how do we use Web 2.0?!” companies need to get smarter. In this case; answer my question. Companies need to:

1. Listen what people are saying and talking about. I sure hope executives at Yahoo read this post. :)
2. React faster to concerns.
3. Be smarter in their communication messages. The CEO might say smart things but if the ground level staff don’t know, what good is it?
4. Passion is transparent. Customers can easily tell if the service they get is genuine or regurgitated info.
5. Focus on influencers rather than influencing me personally. (If their FAQ had more help from influencers they would help me. LIVE help??)
6. Monitor, measure. In this case support tickets. Did it solve the problem? Am I happy?
7. Make it easy for customers (like me) to communicate back to them. E.g. They never answered my question but I have no way to reply to the message. Do I start all over again? Who do I reply to? Should I even bother?

On the flip side I am happy that companies are still clueless because it employs me as a Strategic Web Marketing Consultant. So keep doing “wrong things” so I can get more work. lol :)

Until next time. Stay tuned. Stay hot.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Will your online advertising spend increase or decrease this year?

Take the poll here...

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/25152/wwiph

Building a Herb Garden and Marketing?

Built a herb garden today. Don’t know anything about gardening but I have always wanted fresh herbs as I enjoy cooking. What has this go to do with online marketing? Everything really.

I asked the staff at the garden place today how to plant my herbs. Not much help. Dirt, water, watch em grow. Hmmm…. I know it’s not that easy. I didn’t get upset about the lack of help but my mind started spinning as it raises a good question. If this company had a marketing engagement plan to help me (the customer) become a better gardener would I be more or less inclined to buy from them in the future? I would definitely buy more plus I would tell my friends how great this company is. So… why do I feel like I need to see another garden store next time and not go back?

Low hanging fruit is the easiest revenue boost a company can make. Happy customers are your best advertisers. Find out more at http://www.reallyhotideas.com.

Internet marketing using emotions

I read this from InfusionSoft and thought I would share it because it is very valuable. The 7 things you absolutely MUST know about your prospects using emotional advertising and messaging.

1. Age- Everything you say and write, including slang, allusions, word difficulty, and topics should be adjusted to meet age appropriateness.

2. Gender- Despite the dual roles men and women tend to fill, most individuals can be segmented (and sold to) based on gender-specific interests or needs.

3. Location- Values and culture tend to vary based on demographics. Having a clear understanding of regional difference will improve your targeted messages.

4. Education Level- Similar to age appropriateness, education levels should determine how you address your prospects and what benefits they will find in your product or service.

5. Income- The needs and wants from one social class to another should be a guide to the types of products and services you should be selling them.

6. Marital Status- The values, needs, and desires of married persons greatly differ from those that are single. Marketing family messages to single persons (and vice versa) can lose the deal for you.

7. What Keeps Them Up At Night- This is the most important one. You’ve got to know your prospect’s fears, worries, concerns, excitements, hopes and dreams. When you know the conversation inside your prospect’s head, you can enter it, speak to it, and build a relationship that leads to a customer.

The relationship between Branding & Conversion?

I recently got this question and it has been in my head for a very long time because it is very delicate: Here is the full question: Should the brand be subject to the “tyranny of the designer”? And, if conversion rate optimization data is available as a result of statistically valid experimentation, should not the designer’s aesthetic sensibilities and ego be secondary to customers’ preferences? The person I talked to said; the brand is important - but only to achieve company goals. Unfortunately, graphic designers often use ‘the brand’ to mean ‘my artistic preference’, and the result is an artistically-clever but functionally-frustrating experience. What do you think? What is your experience with this?

My Answer:
What a great question! I have direct experience with this battle between Sr. management, graphic design and online sales. It’s a communication, reward/bonus/motivation issue.
Issue:
- Sr. mgmt – Need brand but we also need more sales

- Graphic design – I want it (e.g. advertisement) to show my artistic abilities and creativity

- Online sales dept. – Need to increase conversion rates to make my bonus and sales quota

Big issue and very hard to fix. Here is my approach and how I solved it: (Remember it’s stems from a communication’s and reward/bonus/motivation issue. Why people come to work?)

First of all you need to separate bonus programs so that sales and marketing (graphic design) are separate. They both need to get bonuses but based on different criteria.

Run A/B testing on “in-house” designed ads vs. outsourced designed ads. Do the outsourced ads so no one knows about it but do follow the brand guidelines. Make the online sales team run AB split testing for a day or so just to get enough sample data to see the effect on sales.
Present findings (hopefully you have proof) to Sr. Management and show on black and white what made more money. Now you are cooking with gas.

This is a very risky approach and you can step on many toes but my successes within online sales and conversion is as follows. At the end of the day it is the bottom line that counts – Did the company make or lose money? Once you have the hard data on what has worked, showcase it professionally and be delicate about it. No one has done anything wrong. BE DIPLOMATIC!!

You (as the online sales guy) are simply helping to fix the situation but it might not be perceived as so. You need to show that there are 3 or more concerns at stake (like I listed above). These 3 teams must communicate with each other or you might as well close shop or get a new job. This might sound like a rather “harsh approach” but it is a difficult situation. Sr. Management must adress it quickly.

Remember it boils down to bonus ($$$) and what motivates people to come to work. Makes things pretty or make money? Can we do both? Yes you can! Team work!!