The Art Of Marketing You

Does your geek give a sh#t?, In The News, featured posts...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:11:08 -0500

Hi guys, in the past 6 months, the majority of my design projects have come from people who needed help fixing up blogs or sites designed by other geeks who either...

- didn't really know what they were doing

- didn't give a sh#t about what they were doing

- or took so long to reply to simple requests that the client gave up and moved on

When you hire someone to design or maintain a blog or website, you're trusting them with your business and your image.

Turning over your $$$ and passwords to someone you probably don't know very well takes a huge leap of faith.

This might seem like a really small detail but one of my pet peeves and a sign of what you can expect from the geek you're about to hire is what they throw together as a "Coming Soon" page for new blogs/websites.

The Bad

The example above is about as bad as it gets. You register a domain and while you're site is being put together, your "coming soon" page is filled with advertising and assorted other stuff that you probably don't want to see.

The Ugly

The example above is a "coming soon" page from a site I just took over for someone who has been waiting almost 2 months for their blog designer to get the work done. The typical response is "we're working on it, it should be ready soon". (yeah right!)

Duh! 2 months later and still nothing has been put online except this generic graphic.

A sign of things to come...

A few days ago I started working on a new project for Feng Shui consultant Laura Cerrano and her new website FengShuiManhattan.com

One of the first things I do when starting a project (once we get the domain set up and connected to a webhost) is to design and put up a decent looking coming soon page even if no one will ever see it except my client and their friends/family.

What's my point? You can tell a lot about the people you might hire for a project by their attention to detail. If your geek doesn't take the time to...

- respond quickly to questions

- answer your technical questions in plain simple English

- go the extra step to make sure you, your site and your biz look as good as possible online

...then you're having a preview a things to come. I know there is good and bad in ever industry but I'm really tired of hearing how badly some people are being treated by their techies. Before you sign up with someone to handle your tech stuff...

- see how quickly they respond to questions

- see if they respond to your tech questions in language you can understand

- ask for references that have sites/blogs live online

- contact their clients to see how they feel about the geek or company you're about to hire

- if all else fails, take a look at their client's "coming soon" pages to see if they give a sh#t

On that note I have to get back to work. Have a great week ya'll...

What Detroit Can Learn From the Apple Store by Eliot Van Buskirk

To rise from the ashes, automakers must think like Silicon Valley — blow up “stores” in favor of experience centers. Let people buy what they want, when they want and how they want. read...

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Tooting Your Own Horn Without Sounding Off-Key by Alyssa Gregory

One part of success is being proactive about exploring new opportunities, forging new relationships and positioning yourself in a positive light. You are your biggest champion, especially if you work for yourself. There is, however, a thin line between promoting yourself effectively and overdoing it. read...

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Digg Shakes Up the Advertising Game by Mike Phillips

Digg just took online ads - particularly social advertising - to a whole new level. Advertisements will soon be integrated into regular Digg content (the 'river'), appearing similar to a regular submission. read...

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Al Gore wants to save advertising, too. by Caroline McCarthy

According to former Vice President Al Gore, the importance of sustainability doesn't just apply to the environment. It also is key to the future of advertising. read...

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21 BlackBerry Apps for Professionals by Alyssa Gregory

I love my BlackBerry Bold. It’s almost like my mobile office because it lets me stay in the loop without being tethered to my computer. Here are 21 BlackBerry applications you may want to add to your device to make yourself more accessible and productive. read...

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GM: Here are the top 5 marketing ideas for your reinvention by David Meerman Scott

The new site at GMreinvention.com is quite good. However, from the marketing perspective, the whole reinvention rollout seems to be typical GM, which leaves me a bit sad and depressed. I fear for your long term survival, GM. Here, then, are my top five things that you can do right now to accelerate this reinvention. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news , ideas a nd resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- ActiveRain Community Search - HGTV’s "House Hunters" Is Now Casting Brad Andersohn

- How To Maximize Indexing (RAINdexing) on your Outside Blogs Brad Andersohn

- Welcome to Real Estate 2.0~ Home of the Soft Sell! Jeremy Blanton

- Yes....I can be an arrogant SOB.... But not when I'm working Bryant Tutas

- The Flattened Life - the Impact of Digital Natives in a Traditional Realty World Lola Audu

- How Averages Can LIE to You - Are Home Values Really Dropping THAT Much? Penny Hull

- How Would You Answer This? Did the REALTOR® Lie? Is That Even the Issue? Lisa Hill

- Buyers and Sellers at the Inspection Together - What? Anna "Banana" Kruchten

- Don't Leave YOUR Clients Hanging Out to Dry! Debe Maxwell

- Tweeting or Blogging or Meeting Face-to-Face? Margaret Rome

- The Real Tragedy of General Motors Bankruptcy Russell Lewis

- Google is Not a Scraper Site, Part II Missy Caulk

- If You Do Not "Get" Twitter... Harrison Painter

- Defining Blogging Success Sally Cheeseman

- Positioning Yourself...or Repositioning Yourself... Liz Moras

- SERVICING SPECIAL NEEDS OF LONG DISTANCE BUYERS Allison Stewart

- All It Takes Is 1 Degree Of Seperation: Are You Boiling? Lisa Udy

- The FSBO Marketing Hype - FSBO Statistics Don't Lie - Or Do They? Ryan Shaughnessy

- Send All Your Listings to Twitter with Tweetlister! Bill Gassett

If you're wondering how to customize your blog , take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials a nd graphics that you can download a nd use on your Active Rain blog .

If you have questions about technology , blog design or building web presence , let me know a nd I'll try to answer them in a future post !

http : / /twitter .com / garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away , please subscribe to our blog using the button below . . .

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist .com TheArtOfMarketingYou .com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty .com

New Rain graphics preview, June calendars, REsources, In The News...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:10:34 -0500

Hi guys, even tho I'm busier than God these days I wanted to stop by to say "hi" and give you a preview of some stuff I've been working on that will be out later this month.

One of the great things about ActiveRain is how it continues to evolve over time. That also means that some stuff I designed for you to use months ago, doesn't fit the new Rain blogs the way they should so...

I'm designing new blog graphics to fit the new header dimensions of the standard Rain blogs & the outside Rain blogs. Here's a quick peek at a few in the works...

The Rain Rocks

Think Green

Firestorm

Geometry # 1

Also, if you're looking for a new wallpaper/calendar to spice up your monitor for the month of June, here are 2 new ones for you.

June 2009 calendar download here

Lake Norman, NC download here

On that note I have to get back to work, later...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Make a "best of" list from Twitter posts... TwttrList

Topsy is a new kind of search engine, with a new way of looking at the Internet. Topsy doesn't think the Internet is a collection of documents. Or even a web of documents. Topsy sees the Internet as a stream of conversations... Topsy.com

TweetLister is a free service that allows real estate brokers and owners to take full advantage of the vast, wide-reaching social network on Twitter... TweetLister

Obsessing with Google PageRank by Mihaela Lica

Every time I write an SEO article I get a bunch of comments from web marketers who are obviously obsessed with Google PageRanks, so obsessed that they literally believe that PageRanks influence everything from rankings into Google’s SERPs to the overall online influence of a site. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news , ideas a nd resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- CRB Real Estate Brokers - Building and Supporting Hyper-Local Blogs Brad Andersohn

- Lake Norman Real Estate's June Calendar is here! Diane Aurit

- REBar Camp in Philadephia : Rock Stars of Techno Hannah Williams

- I don't want to go to real estate jail!!! Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- MLM, The Ponzi scheme and the Pyramids: They all work if you are the guy at the top! Todd Clark

- Referral Tip for ActiveRain Agents: Timely Response May Net You 15K Chris Olsen

- Tweet it up to google page 1 - Twitter and Google Juice Brian and Rita Burke

- Advantages of Using Your Own 'Buyer's' Agent Jo-Anne Smith

- Maybe THIS Will Grab Your Attention: Marketing Ideas You Can Implement Jeff Dowler

- An Incredible Brunch At Norma's (The Wordy C Margaret Rome Interview) C Tann-Starr

- Coming out of the Pocket...Profitability & Pretense Lola Audu

- Biznik: Business Networking That Doesn't Suck! Susan Templeton

- How Is Your Blog Like A Fine Wine? Pam Dent

- Staying in Touch with Your Sellers with Trulia Client Reports Missy Caulk

- Twitter Treasure-Trove... This is Awesome!!! Mirela Monte

- Multitasking Madness Can Lead To Messes Gary Woltal

- Are REALTOR.COM Enhancements Worth the Money? Fran Gatti

- Should a Realtor give closing gifts? Scott Larson

- Top Ten Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling Their Home: Greg Nino

- Real Estate Ad Reads "Nice Home, Nice Yard, Nice Layout... Andrew Mooers

- Internet dominance is only the first virtual step in achieving business success Richard Weisser

- Professional Courtesy between Realtors Stewart Penn

If you're wondering how to customize your blog , take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials a nd graphics that you can download a nd use on your Active Rain blog .

If you have questions about technology , blog design or building web presence , let me know a nd I'll try to answer them in a future post !

http : / /twitter .com / garaughty

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist .com TheArtOfMarketingYou .com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty .com

Marketing Week in Review, REsources, In The News...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:39:47 -0500

P.S. I'm busy juggling several projects but will be back in the Rain soon...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Hand drawn websites are a growing trend. This post will showcase ten such free handwritten style fonts... view/download

Who Owns Your Name on Twitter? by Julia Angwin

Social media domain names – such as Twitter.com/yourname – are a whole different ballgame. They can be doled out arbitrarily. Even if you get a name first on a social network, you are not allowed to sell it and it can be reclaimed by the social network at any time. read...

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Online Reputation Management: How to Handle Negative Publicity by Alyssa Gregory

Even if you do everything right, there may come a time when you face negative publicity. Harmful feedback can happen for many reasons – a misunderstanding, a wrong doing on your part, varying points of view, or any number of other reasons that you may not understand fully. read...

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Online Reputation Management: 16 Free Tools by Alyssa Gregory

This post will outline some of the free tools available for monitoring your online reputation. read...

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What You Can Learn From One-Person Media Companies by Shenaz Zack

Here are three important lessons large partners can learn from users in the YouTube Partner Program read...

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More Google SEO Myths Exposed by Mihaela Lica

Google’s Susan Moskwa wrote in 2008 on the Google Webmaster Central Blog an article titled Demystifying the “duplicate content penalty”. One year later many webmasters still look at “duplicate content” without really understanding what it is and what it does. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Winner of the Active Rain Newbie Contest !!! - Being different from the CROWD Jeff Belonger

- What I learned at REbar Camp Charlotte 2009 Diane Aurit

- Making a sale has never been this much fun! Deb Brooks

- Yard Signs & Why 2 Heads Better Than 1 Tina Gleisner

- Protecting Your E-Mail Address Book Tip From Worms Robert Hammerstein

- Give and Take...Do you know how to do both? Margaret Rome

- Do's and Don'ts to Succeed in Today's Real Estate Market Kelly Willey

- Do you have a "Major League" mentality?...or AAA? Darin Osenberg

- IF A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS- IS ONLY ONE REALLY ENOUGH? Allison Stewart

- Going Past Professionalism- When Clients Become Lifelong Friends Sally Cheeseman

- Another Think Tank Story Liz Moras

- The Men and Women Sides of Communication Gary Woltal

- Looking for some sizzle in your “virtual tours”? Shane O'Gorman

- Do You Generate Leads Or Do you Convert Prospects? Lisa Udy

- HelpfulHannahs Helpful websites for Analytics Hannah Williams

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

The Marketing Week in Review...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:08:46 -0500

Hi guys, I've been a little preoccupied with my paint brushes this week so I'm just stopping by to say a quick "hello" and to thank everyone for all the excellent new posts. Have a great weekend...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

35+ Creative Business Cards

Seth Godin: Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world

Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so. view...

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Followfriday is Sabotaging your Twitter Experience by Andrew Mueller

Everyone who has used Twitter for more than a couple weeks has surely seen, and likely participated in, #followfriday — Don’t! The once productive and effective way to recommend to people to follow has turned into an unsustainable self promotional orgy that is clogging the arteries of twitter. read...

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The Death of Twitter by Mark Hornung

You read it here first, folks: Twitter — at least as it is structured today — is going down. Oh sure, it’s easy to be a contrarian: simply watch where everyone is going and then head in the opposite direction. But the media attention on Twitter means we need to monitor its impact on social interaction read...

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How To Deal with Negative Blog Comments by Maria Reyes-McDavis

What is the best way to deal with negative blog comments? That was the question last night at a weekly blogging chat (#blogchat) hosted by Mack Collier (@mackcollier). The discussions that occur weekly, center around bloggers discussing blogging — and what a great discussion it was. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Top 10 ActiveRain Tools for NEW MEMBERS and RainMakers Brad Andersohn

- Are you Optimizing Your ActiveRain Blog on Twitter? Jeremy Blanton

- You're A Guest...Try To Act Like One...ROAR! "The Lovely Wife"

- Fewer Comments on Posts-Why? Midori Miller

- How to Write an Effective Real Estate Prospecting Letter Marte Cliff

- Rely on your broker - they can help you get unstuck Anna "Banana" Kruchten

- Have you Googled yourself lately? Do you like what you find? Georgina M. Hunter

- Thinking Inside the Box Claude Cross

- Simple steps for making and maintaining connections... Anne Marie Malfi

- Is the 100% Commission Plan for Real Estate Brokers a Good Idea? janeAnne

- Is Your Blog Mobile? Pamela Cendejas

- Getting it Right Matters! Kathy Nielsen

- Is Google a Scraper Site? Missy Caulk

- Do You Market Your Blog? Here's a tip to get your blog more exposure Lisa Udy

- The Top 7 Tips to Find Your Mobile Marketing Mojo Rebecca Levinson

- Convert Blog Content to Printed Newspaper with Feed Journal Ryan Shaughnessy

- Experience or Technology - How's a Consumer to Decide? Margaret Woda

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

Lessons from the Art World: Sex & Coffee

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:38:38 -0500

Two posts today really caught my eye, Early Morning (Yawn!) Networking by Peg Silloway for...

"At the beginning of April I went to one of those early morning networking events that I dread... For a non-morning person this is not easy, especially since these shindigs generally start no later than 7:30 in the morning."

and LET ME DRINK MY COFFEE FIRST! Being Cognizant of Time Zones by Sally Cheeseman for...

"There have been times where we all get a phone call in the wee hours of the morning or wee hours of the night... Please be Cognizant of others time zones when calling people"

Unless it involves mind numbing sex and industrial strength coffee, it's really not a good idea to bother me before 10 AM.

I am so NOT A MORNING PERSON. My usual bed time is around 3 AM. And as Sally points out, it's good to be aware of other people's time zones. Because of my weird body clock, I normally turn off the phone when I go to sleep. Last night I forgot!!!

So my phone rings around 4 AM. I somehow find it in the dark and managed to say something like "who the F%#k is this"... actually I just mumbled "hello???". So I'm pretty much asleep but aware that I'm talking to someone that I can barely understand.

It turns out to be some guy from Vietnam who found my artwork thru a Google search. I have friends and clients all over the world so I'm used to heavy duty accents but when I'm half asleep I can barely understand English.

The short version of the call is that he loves my work, wants to commission some paintings and kept telling me he was "soooooooooo impressed" that Google "rates" my website in the top 10. What???

So I go back to sleep and when I crawl out of bed around 9:30, I do what I always do, make coffee and check my website stats from overnight, Sure enough there is a hit at 3:54 AM from Google (Vietnam)

Here is the link & search results for abstract expressionism paintings from Google (Vietman) showing my art website in the top 10 for the phrase "abstract expressionism paintings".

The reality is that Google doesn't rate my site, I just happen to be decent at marketing myself and know how to keep my sites in the top 10 for a lot of words & phrases that potential clients use.

But "Mr.4 AM phone caller" was thrilled to see that Google "rated" me so highly and that is the real power of SEO. Obviously it's nice to be in the top 10 of a search because it makes us easy to find but a lot of people incorrectly assume that the top 10 search results are also the best of the bunch.

And that's a nice place to be, even if it's only their perception. So other than mind numbing sex and coffee, I can also tolerate new clients at 4 AM who want to send me money. Hey, we all have to compromise sometimes. ;-) So the lesson is, keep working on your SEO and have a great weekend...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Cell phone voicemail that saves you time... YouMail.com

The Nest Unclutterer helps keep your Twitter account tidy

Save time managing your status update for all your social networks with HelloTxt

The 10 Commandments of PageRank Sculpting by Shayne Tilley

Remember that Google ranks pages, not web sites. Whilst sculpting might begin at your front page, shouldn’t stop there. With a large site (where sculpting is even more critical), you’ll have 2nd and 3rd levels to consider. read...

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Let's Get Over Who 'Owns' Social Media by Chris Perry

Social media circles are full of critics, many angling to do more directing themselves. This analogy is important, given the conversation around traditional media, marketing and the subject du jour, social media. As the online conversation rages on, the subject increasingly involves the question of who "owns" it. read...

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Your Blog vs. The World: 7 Steps To Winning The War for Attention by Jonathan Morrow

You’re in a battle for visitors. The blogosphere is full of people who have put out their welcome mats and are hoping for somebody, anybody, to stop by and take a look around. Lots of passersby think about it, but very few of them decide to come inside. They’re busy, my friend. Places to go, people to see. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- REALTORS® - Important 100K Announcement! Brad Andersohn

- Widget Wednesday~ Tips to enhance your Outside Blog ¡Part Deux! Jeremy Blanton

- The Secret Behind Blogging on ActiveRain Sally Cheeseman

- Active Rain Newbie Contest Reminder - Be different from the crowd Jeff Belonger

- What's the Cost of Your Integrity? Rich Jacobson

- Finding the you in real estate... Jeani Thomas Richie

- Did you know? If not you better... Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- Advertise Locally on Twittersphere - Marketing Tool for Real Estate Professionals Petra Norris

- How to Get More Referrals! Harrison Painter

- Remember To Print Your Emails For Your Real Estate Transactions Midori Miller

- Referrals and Repeat Marketing-Not For Members Only R. Greg Osmond

- Having a Bad Day? Liz Moras

- Think Payoff When It Comes To Achievement Gary Woltal

- Google Mobile Blogger on the GO Hannah Williams

- Stager Advises To Keep Pup Out for Open House! Is She Crazy? Margaret Oscilia

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

I'm brain dead so let's do Wordless Wednesday, REsources, featured posts...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:01:26 -0500

P.S. I'm real busy, will be back real soon...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

How to Survive the 2009 Financial Crisis

WhatTheTrend.com: Find out what's trending on Twitter and why

Live Search Makes Twitter Even More Relevant by Kit Eaton

In its battle for success, Twitter just made what looks like a minor change, but it could actually transform the lifecasting networking site in terms of increased relevance, and also turn it into a very powerful tool. The microblogging service added "search" and "trending topics" boxes to everyone's homepage. read...

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10 Twitter crimes that will get you unfollowed by James Rivington

Social networking sites seem to have a lifespan of about two years before the next-big-thing arrives to steal the limelight. The problem is that as people migrate across the Twitter, they bring their bad e-habits with them. And with every individual seemingly interpreting Twitter's usefulness in entirely different ways, people are inevitably starting to annoy each other. read...

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How Google Determines the Relevance of a Page by Mihaela Lica

Have you ever wondered why Google.com delivers different results for a user in the US than for a user in Germany? This is a question I recently had to answer for a client, and it would have been much easier to send him to a link than to spend half an hour trying to explain what many skilled SEOs already know. read...

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Ten Things Marketers Can Learn From CDC's Response to Swine Flu Epidemic by Pete Blackshaw

Marketers consistently pick up their best lessons in times of crisis. We think differently about ROI. We act more intuitively. We become more agile and flexible. We "sense and respond." We really don't have much of a choice but to act and not allow yesterday's rules to justify complacency. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- ActiveRain Referral Exchange - A Great Way to Manage Referrals Brad Andersohn

- The Ultimate WEB 2.0 Business Card Brad Andersohn

- 3 Smartphone Applications to make you a Real Estate Social Media Genius Jeremy Blanton

- Photoshop Tutorial - Creating a Frame in Photoshop CS Debi Boucher

- Yes I do Answer Blocked Caller ID! Margaret Rome

- The Trials & Trepidations of picking a…Business Card? Russell Lewis

- How Twitter Can Help You Sell More Real Estate Kevin & Monica Ray

- 5 Ways to Add Punch to Your Community Profiles Jeff Dowler

- Green Signing...Real Estate Marketing for the New Global Economy! Lola Audu

- Marketing Nuggets Via Jonathan Gunson's Traffic Cafe Susie Blackmon

- Setting Up YOUR Google Profile Missy Caulk

- The Misconception of Wealth Midori Miller

- 10 Top Ways to Use Market Reports to Your Advantage Jeff Dowler

- Lil Devil and Lil Angel : Online Connections Kathy McGraw

- Are Realtors® An Endangered Species? Sally Cheeseman

- Look Before You Tweet... Michael Thornton

- What's All The Fuss About This Twitter Thing? Fitting It All Into 140 Characters Mirela Monte

- YEO - Maintaining Contact With Thousands. Why Do You Care? Jeff Turner

- Google Analytics for Beginners By HelpfulHannah Hannah Williams

- The truth is easy to remember Steve Loynd

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

May 2009 wallpaper/calendars, Rain Blog Graphics, In The News...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:29:16 -0500

Hi guys, in the next few weeks I'll be sorting thru and organizing all the graphics I've designed for your ActiveRain blogs so...

Instead of having to search thru my posts from months ago to find what you're looking for, everything will be in one place including blog headers, subscribe buttons, copyright notice symbols, etc...

We'll also have lots of new stuff available so stay tuned and watch my blog for more news & updates soon. Until then, here's some May 2009 calendar/wallpapers ready to download. Later...

The Rain Rocks download here

Lake Norman, NC download here

I Love My Planet download here

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

We all know someone who needs this... Create your Twitter Resume, Post a Job Opening!

A million blind squirrels by Seth Godin

My dad likes to say, "even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then." And it's true. You shouldn't pick your strategy by modeling someone else's success. The success might have been strategic and planned, but it's just as likely to be a matter of blind luck. read...

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How Twitter Helped Me Land Anthony Robbins by Michael Stelzner

And here’s just one of the many stories I could share about how Twitter has helped my business close a deal. And it just wasn’t ANY deal, it was the world famous Anthony Robbins, author of Unleash The Power Within. read...

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Microsoft chugs toward Windows 7 release by Ina Fried

Microsoft isn't confirming just when Windows 7 will launch, but it is hoping that the fact that not too much has changed between the release candidate and beta versions will convince people that the product is nearly ready. read...

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Your Facebook Profile Makes Marketers’ Dreams Come True by Eliot Van Buskirk

Social networking feels free, but we pay for it in ways that may not be readily apparent. The rich personal data many of us enter into these networks is a treasure trove for marketers whose job it is to target us with ever-increasing precision. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Widget Wednesday~ Tips to enhance your Outside Blog Jeremy Blanton

- Cancer Sucks - however thanks to Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure Jim Paulson

- What Does it Take to be a REALtor? Deb Brooks

- Going The Extra Mile, Taking a Few More Minutes... Missy Caulk

- Become Irreplaceable Lou Ludwig

- Realtors ARE PAID Too Much! Harrison Painter

- With A Little Yelp From My Friends... René Fabre

- I'm not going to try anymore Steve Loynd

- What's Your Biggest Real Estate Fear? Lisa Udy

- How to convert your “site” visitors to clients…it’s quite simple really Anne Marie Malfi

- LARGE COMPANY vs small - The pros & cons in today's real estate business Jeff Belonger

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

Sneak Peek: new Rain wallpaper, REsources, In The News...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:35:50 -0500

Hi guys, while I'm busy working in the background putting a whole bunch of new stuff together, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at a new Rain wallpaper that will be available soon.

One of my favorite things about the web is the ability it gives us to connect and share stuff with more people than we could ever reach in traditional ways such as newspaper ads, direct mail, etc...

Think about it... now we can easily get our message across to clients & potential clients and totally bypass traditional media.

Powerful marketing has gone from ultra expensive to practically free. Social media lets us connect with people in powerful, fun and interactive ways, leaving the middleman out of the equation. But that doesn't mean it's easy to get our message across.

preview of a new RAIN wallpaper coming in May

Although I have a lot of projects in the works, in the coming weeks/months I want to take a closer look at how we can connect our online marketing efforts with the "real world", bounce some ideas around with you guys and create some fun, innovative ways to reach people. On that note, I gotta run, later...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

The smart way to save, sort, and share webpages using any browser or mobile device

What's being copied from your website?

How to Create the Right Avatar for You and Your Brand by Mihaela Lica

In contrast to corporate or business avatars, personal ones are simple: crop a photograph you like and that’s it. It doesn’t matter whether people like it or not. That avatar represents who you are, and since you don’t care about branding that much you don’t need to worry about what’s in that little picture. read...

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35 Incredibly Useful Facebook Applications for Better Connectivity by Steven Snell

Here are more than 35 of the best Facebook applications that could be useful and make your profile efficient and appealing as possible. read...

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30 Beautiful Real Estate Websites by Jacob Gube

In this showcase, we’ll explore some great designs of real estate websites. We’ll also discuss some commonalities between them to tease out current trends in real estate websites. read...

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The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines by Brian Clark

Twitter has become the place for sharing content links. If your content catches attention on Twitter and spreads, suddenly you’re getting significant traffic from people who may have never visited your site before. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Tools to Enhance Your Real Estate Video Brad Andersohn

- Christa and Bob Sitting in a Tree... Missy Caulk

- Don't wait for your Blog to "Pull" people in..."Push" it at them! Bryant Tutas

- A Home Stager, A Chiropractor, and Free Wine - What is The Connection? Sharon Tara

- USDA Loans & FHA Loans - Be very careful of deceptive web sites Jeff Belonger

- Lil Devil and Lil Angel: Know it all Real Estate Agents Kathy McGraw

- Seven Keys to Help Your Business Grow! Harrison Painter

- So, You Want to Write A Book William Johnson

- Do You Have A Sneeze Page? John Novak

- Photoshop Tutorial - High Pass Sharpening Debi Boucher

- Text Messaging ... Etiquette for the Addicted Connie Goodrich

- Do You Qualify for a Short Sale? Frank & Sharon Alters

- Why Should I Refer a Client to YOU? Sally Cheeseman

- Life Is This Great Big Wonderful Multiple Choice Test Gary Woltal

- "Modern Marketing" featured in San Antonio newspaper Kristin Moran

- Publishing E-Books and Much More with MyEBooks.com Ryan Shaughnessy

- You May Not Like The Big Boys But The Consumer Does! Midori Miller

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

In the mood for a quickie? New calendar, iPhone/BlackBerry wallpaper & blog header previews...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:35:10 -0500

Hi guys, my brain needs a serious rest from writing tutorials and I have a busier than busy month coming up so right now, I'm taking some "me time" to relax, have fun, eat like a pig and watch hockey. ;-)

Today I just wanted to give you a preview of some new stuff I'm working on that will be coming out sometime in May including... a new calendar/wallpaper that you can use on your own sites & blogs, a look at a couple of cellphone wallpapers and a new series of blog headers for both ActiveRain & Wordpress.

preview of the May 2009 calendar/wallpaper

The wallpaper/calendar shown above is a preview of the one I'll be giving away on my art website in May. I'm playing around with some ideas based on geometry and kind of like how this one turned out.

If you'd like a full sized copy that you can add your own text to and giveaway on your own blogs & websites, just send an email with "May calendar" in the subject line to...

coming soon... 'I Love My Planet' wallpapers for the iPhone & BlackBerry Storm

The images above were inspired by Earth Day earlier this week. I really do love my planet and thought this might be a fun way to show it. These iPhone & BlackBerry Storm wallpapers will be out in the next few weeks.

coming soon... The Geometry series blog graphics for ActiveRain & WordPress

And last but not least, I've started working on a new series of blog graphics based on geometry. This series will be soft, elegant with a touch of color and a lot of space to add text. Each graphic in this new series will be sized to fit the ActiveRain blogs and a new WordPress theme I have coming out.

On that note, I gotta run. The weather in Montreal is absolutely amazing so I want to enjoy it while it lasts. Have a great weekend...

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

Wordless Wednesday... After The Rain # 16 + REsources

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:54:33 -0500

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Virl... Share Photos, Shorten URLs & Spread the News on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, blogs, etc...

TweetFind:Twitter search results based on user rankings

Real-time protection against online threats for free—forever

Twitgoo is a quick, easy and reliable image host for Twitter users

Dear Twitter: Please take my money by Rafe Needleman

There is real business happening on Twitter. Yet Twitter itself is still run too much like an experimental start-up. There's too much about the service that's unbusinesslike for businesses to rely on it. read...

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Windows 7 could change our perception of PCs by Don Reisinger

Aside from compatibility issues, one of my biggest complaints with Windows Vista was its design. Microsoft tried to be too fancy with the look and feel of the OS instead of focusing more on its ease of use. It wasn't an improvement over XP and it ruined my experience. But Windows 7 is different. read...

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How Giving Back Can Help Your Business by Alyssa Gregory

I’m a big believer in giving back by donating your time and expertise to your community and your industry. Volunteering can have a number of benefits... But giving back can also help your career and business. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- ActiveRain Goes International Brad Andersohn

- Earth Day Contribution - Stop those junk catalogues! And its FREE Matthew Hans

- But We Were on a Break... Amy S Zender

- Twitter - Free E-Book - How to For Real Estate Jane Grant

- How Twitter And Real Estate Combine To Confuse Me Joe Manausa

- That's just BAD BUSINESS! Feng Shui in NY And a Word about MINDFULNESS Carole Provenzale

- Active Rain & Mixpo! - A Dynamic Duo! Donna Bigda

- Understanding Clients That Are Yoda Dogs Gary Woltal

- Real Estate Teams - Are You a 'Team Player'? Gina Bendel

- Can You Sleep With Yourself At Night? Midori Miller

- 101 Ideas To Jump Start Your Real Estate Career Lisa Udy

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

Rain Blogs or WordPress? Wrong question! A solution & REsources...

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:46:50 -0500

Hi guys... this week I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at something I've been working on to try and address/solve a question that comes up more often than I can count...

Almost every week I get emails from fellow Rainers asking something along the lines of "hey marti, I'm thinking of signing up for an ActiveRain outside blog but I'm also thinking about using WordPress, what should I do?".

Since this question has been around for months and doesn't seem to go away, I thought I'd answer it publicly to give you my opinion and a preview of a solution that should make everyone happy.

Full disclosure... for those of you new here, I design/install custom WordPress blogs and I also create many of the graphics you see here on ActiveRain blogs.

Here's my very short, to the point answer. Anything that brings in quality leads/prospects, makes you $$$ and helps to build or extend your brand is a smart investment. Whether that's on WordPress, ActiveRain, a static website, LinkedIn, Twitter or whatever. It's not "either/or".

I think a lot of the problem comes from misinformation that makes things look more complicated that they actually are. Much of the info I've seen posted here about WordPress leaves out pertinent details that can be more confusing than helpful.

Take a look at this post by Linda Greco... Paralysis by Analysis

I know Linda's post speaks for a lot of people because I receive the same type of emails week after week after week. If you're not tech inclined, this stuff can seem like magic at the best of times and totally overwhelming most of the time.

Another factor is the cost. Somewhere between the less than impressive freebies floating around the net and the ultra expensive custom jobs are other solutions and possibilities. And that's one of the projects I've been working on.

This is my standard ActiveRain blog

This is my Rain blog design/graphics on WordPress

In the coming weeks I'm going to start a new series of tutorials on Wordpress for the "tech challenged" that will cover everything from...

- choosing a domain name from a marketing point of view

- finding a reliable webhost

- connecting your domain to a web host

- installing & setting up WordPress

- installing a theme

- using your ActiveRain blog header/graphics in a WordPress theme

- connecting your ActiveRain blog(s) to your WordPress blog(s)

- and a ton of other stuff that I won't bore you with today

A few months ago I mentioned that I'm "preparing to introduce some new stuff to help you to stand out from the crowd more than ever, not just here on Active Rain but on the net and in your local area"...

Now that I'm winding up a few large projects I've been working on I'll have more time to head in this new direction. My WordPress series is something that I see a BIG demand for so I've been putting the pieces together in a way that's easy to understand & use. And if you think that you won't be able to do it...

If you can read plain English (no tech talk), you'll be able to do this!

Since I have more projects going on than I know what to do with, I'm cutting back on stuff that sucks up too much of my time to design projects & products that will help more people than I could ever do customizing stuff one on one.

I'll post more details about this new project as soon as I finish the tutorial I started a few weeks ago about The Art Of Marketing YOU on Twitter, etc... And the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia hockey game is starting in a few minutes so I gotta run. Have a great week...

To save you some time, here are some of my favorite resources that I found on the web this week. Unless otherwise indicated, these are all freebies!

Free Super High Resolution Photos - Caribbean Skies Set 1

10 Hand Written Great Free Fonts

Over 75+ Beautiful Twitter Design Icons

TwitZap lets you slice Twitter into channels of stuff that matters to you

Three start-ups attack Twitter Search by Rafe Needleman

New companies are emerging to address the deficiencies in Twitter Search. This isn't so easy. The challenge for anyone trying to fix Twitter Search is that the service is extremely good at showing you what's happening on Twitter at any moment. read...

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Gary Vaynerchuk’s Secret Ingredient (And Why You Might Not Need It) by Sean D'Souza

A lot of golfers envy Tiger Woods. And a lot of bloggers envy Gary Vaynerchuk. But is that a good comparison? It may well be, because Gary has used social media to rocket his company to fame (and reasonable fortune). And he’s done it mostly through blogging and social networking. read...

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How to make money with SEO by Seth Godin

There are two ways to use SEO to help your organization. One is reliable and effective, the other is a glorious crap shoot that usually fails but is wonderful when it works. I'll start with the second. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Top Search Engines Reveal - The Top Real Estate Social Networks Brad Andersohn

- Big Prize: Win A Trip to Seattle and VIP treatment For A Special ActiveRain Event Jeremy Blanton

- My Answers to SKCAR Panel Questions hosted by Claudia Wicks of RE BaseCamp Rich Jacobson

- "Our Clients Are On Sale Today...Would You Like to Buy Some?" Lola Audu

- Not All Realtors® Suck Sally Cheeseman

- Does honesty still exist? Cori Endrody

- You FINALLY Got a FEATURE--Now USE it! Carole Provenzale

- Sorry, I'm Too Busy to Tell You About My Listings Ryan Hukill

- 6 Stupid Ways To Advertise Your Listings: Greg Nino

- Don't try and READ your readers mind! ASK them! Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- HelpfulHannah's NEWS Free Invite to Google Voicemail Hannah Williams

- Marketing to the Neighbors in the La Costa, Carlsbad Real Estate Market Jeff Dowler

- To be or not to be an EXPERT, that is the question - Such as an FHA Expert Jeff Belonger

- Jessica, what if we're not satisfied and want to cancel our listing? Jessica Wynn Horton

- Competitive Link Intelligence: Why You Should Spy On Your Competition Lisa Udy

- People Come To You And Hire Your Learning Gary Woltal

- Add Your Blog To Placeblogger Bill Gassett

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

How ActiveRain introduced me to Seth Godin (the Butterfly Effect)

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:36:22 -0500

Hi guys... there's not a drop of snow left in Montreal and today I'm enjoying a serious coffee/chocolate buzz. In other words, life is good!

On top of that, 2 days ago I received the coolest Easter gift ever (no, it's not chocolate) and I wanted to share it with you since the reason this gift was sent to me has a lot to do with ActiveRain, my Rain friends and my ActiveRain blog

If you don't know what The Butterfly Effect is, here's a short definition from Wikipedia...

"The phrase (Butterfly Effect) refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location."

You can read more about it here but the essence of the idea is that small things we do can have profound, long term effects.

The Envelope

On Friday I found a large heavy envelope stuffed inside my mailbox. Since I didn't order anything recently I had no idea what it was or who it was from. I didn't recognize the return address but I love surprises and this was such a fun way to start the weekend.

Seth Godin

So I tear it open and out falls a book and a note that said...

"Here's your review copy of (new book title)... we hope you can blog your review as soon as possible and then give this book away to someone who needs to read it...

Sasha & Seth"

Seth??? Seth Godin??? Why would he send a relatively small potato like me a book to review? Or a better question, how would he even know who I am? Then I remembered...

A few months ago, Seth was looking for bloggers to review a new book. Even though I still haven't had time to launch my WordPress blog because I'm too busy with other projects, I took a chance and sent him a message along with my basic info, a link to my blog and marketing group here on AR and then forgot about it.

If you've read my Rain blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a BIG fan of Seth Godin. I've read several of his books, I read his blog daily, soaking up his insightful marketing gems and often refer to his earlier posts for inspiration. So finding this in my mailbox this was so cool.

My point is that everything little thing we do can open doors and possibilities that we can't even see or imagine right now. I also know that if we keep trying to reach out to new people, to put our own spin on ideas, to become a little better at what we do each day, people will eventually notice us.

- I found ActiveRain by accident

- I learned how to blog by trial and error using your feedback, comments and emails as a guideline

- I stumbled across Seth's call out to a few bloggers to do a new book review

- I forgot about it until 2 days ago when the book showed up in my mailbox

- this would probably never have happened if I didn't find ActiveRain by accident

I realized that this was the Butterfly Effect in action. The real magic of sites like ActiveRain, Facebook and Twitter is that they multiply and accelerate the Butterfly Effect. It's up to us to make the most of it. And now I better make another coffee and start reading. Have a great week...

Opening acts and rock stars by Seth Godin

Most marketers are opening acts. The ad or blog post or tweet is a desperate attempt at attention, at keeping people from switching it off or booing. The posture of the marketer who is an opening act is unstable and a little sad. read...

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Zemanta's "Social Actions" suggests ways to change the world

With increased focus on our writing we have increasing opportunity to talk about they ways we can change the world and to point out to specific actions one can take.Zemanta Social Actions read...

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Self-Promotion 2.0 - Promote Yourself without Looking Self-Promotional by Michael Martine

Imagine you’re at a party, and you meet the guy who only wants to talk about himself. You know, that guy. Everything is about him. I bet that’s what you think of when you think about self-promotion: smarmy, selfish tactics that turn people off because they they bring no value. read...

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How to Use Social Media to Attract More Customers - Free Marketing Webinar

Businesses now have the power to leverage the Internet - search engines, blogs, social media - to reach customers more effectively. This includes connecting with customers where they hang out online and engaging in conversations about the topics most important to them. details & sign up info here

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- Save This Dates and...Active Rain Gathering Margaret Rome

- What Constitutes Real Estate Expertise? William Johnson

- The NEW Relationship: It Ain't What it Used to Be Jeff Dowler

- Reciprocity, Karma, it's payback time Jenny Stoddard

- No, I don’t present my offers directly to the seller! Todd Clark

- Why You Can Sell in Person, But Your Marketing Copy Fails Marte Cliff

- Create screen videos in an instant? AND it's free? Lee & Pamela St. Peter

- Sometimes You Have To Win The Race With Your Shoe Untied Gary Woltal

- What you state about other members on A/R can cost you sale on a listing! Lynn911.com

- Add Yourself to GeoFollow a New Twitter Directory Bill Gassett

- Should You Call That Guy? Greg Nino

- Hello! Nice to Meet You. Will you Marry Me? Regina P. Brown

- How To Create a Signature Brush in Photoshop Debi Boucher

- Finding Customers- Answers & Questions Chuck Willman

- Free Websites to Assist Buyers with Building Design, Interior Design and... Ryan Shaughnessy

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com

Copyright Violation 101... don't learn this lesson the hard way!

marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing YOU) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:35:22 -0500

Hi guys, I want to start off by saying that this post has nothing to do with the graphics I share and/or give away here on ActiveRain. When I post free blog graphics, wallpapers, calendars for you to use, it's because I want to and I'm more than happy to do it. That being said...

I'm not sure why some people on the net insist on learning things the hard way but I wanted to share my latest weekend adventure in hopes that anyone who still doesn't understand the consequences of copyright violation, will learn from someone else's mistakes and avoid being hit with a serious fine and/or legal action.

Here we go... once in awhile I try to take a weekend off... no work, no emails, no blogging. I thought this weekend would just be food, fun, watching movies & hockey. As often happens, I was wrong! I spent my Sunday afternoon taking the steps necessary to deal with another graphic artist using my work without my permission.

2 or 3 times a year, someone with even less brains than talent seems to test my willingness to defend the copyright to my artwork & graphics.

Late Saturday night I received an email from a fellow Rainer telling me about a custom Twitter background she had won from a graphic designer. Cool. I'm happy for my Rain friend. But there is a little problem, actually a BIG problem!!!

The graphic designer running the Twitter contest had taken one of my graphics (without my knowledge or consent), edited my work and pieced it back together with some text, a photo and a bunch of other stuff to the point that it looked like a really bad MySpace page.

Not only was this illegal and a copyright violation of my work, the amature, hacked up result of what she created (using my graphic as a starting point) reflects badly on me because my images are fairly unique and easy to recognize.

I've spent years developing my own style and a rock solid reputation. Having someone hack up one of my graphics to give away in a Twitter contest without my knowledge or consent is copyright violation at it's worst and judging by what I saw on their blog, they seem to be doing the same thing with other people's work. But that isn't my main concern.

If you're new to blogging and aren't aware of how serious and costly it can be to violate someone's copyrights, take a look at...

this post by Lenn Harley...

DON'T BE TRICKED BY WIKIPEDIA! Just because you believe it is in the "Public Domain" doesn't mean that it is. Even when someone says it is.

and from Rich Jacobson...

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words? How About a Thousand Dollars?" Community Guidelines Re-Visited

and a definition from Wikipedia...

Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by copyright law, in a manner that violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.

The reason I take this much more seriously than years ago is because it happens more and more often. Some people think that the net is such a BIG place that they'll never get caught. THEY'RE WRONG!!!

Years ago when I found someone using my work without permission I simply sent them a warning. Unfortunately a polite warning doesn't always work, especially if it's not backed up with "teeth" and a law firm.

After discovering one pinhead using an image he grabbed from my website and selling it as greeting cards on Cafe Press, that was the final straw. I began taking copyright violations much more seriously, found 2 law firms that specialize in internet law and copyright infringement if/when I have to take further action.

I have no idea why some people only seem to learn things the hard way or only when they receive a letter from a lawyer but this kind of stuff is so easy to avoid.

Reality # 1 is that if someone asks my permission to use one of my graphics on their blog or website, 99% of the time I say YES. Additional exposure never hurts and as long as I'm given credit for my work, I usually have no problem if someone wants to use it.

Reality # 2 is that with decent digital cameras costing just a couple of hundred dollars and stock photos & clip art available for free or next to nothing, there is no reason for anyone to take a chance stealing and using other people's work without permission.

Reality # 3 is that so many of us are connected in so many ways on the net, eventually someone will notice the copyright violation.

Reality # 4 is that when issuing judgments and penalties, the courts often look at how well someone defends their work so more and more creators of images, music, etc... agressively pursue every copyright violation.

Reality # 5 is that the one time someone gets caught violating a copyright, it can cost them anywhere from $750 tp $150,000 (see Lenn Harley's post above) so it's definitely not worth taking a risk.

To protect yourself, if you didn't create the images you're using you should always ask or be able to verify where the image came from before using it on your blog, website, business card, etc...

If you hire someone to design a blog, website, business card, you win a Twitter background or whatever, ask the designer what the source of the image is. It never hurts to ask them if that image they just created is 100% their own work. Otherwise you might end up on the wrong end of a hefty fine.

My point isn't to scare you, it's to make you aware of the realities of copyright violation and to be sure it doesn't happen to you.

If you want to use someone's images, all you have to do is ASK PERMISSION and many or most will say yes. But using, editing and giving away images that don't belong to you can be a very expensive lesson.

Why No-one is a Social Media Expert by Skellie

The term ’social media expert’ has been the subject of a lot of talk and a lot of controversial articles lately. People have written about the different types of social media expert, whether it’s OK to call yourself a social media expert and outlined who they believe are (and are not) experts in social media. read...

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SEO - Fact or Fiction? by Trish MacQueen

Most people who are not aware of how indexing works believe that the more keywords and links in each article or blog, the higher their site will be indexed. This is False! Sites are indexing using a combination of information and not just SEO content. read...

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I Need To Read This (new tool)

Ever lose a cool blog post because you didn't have time to read it right now? Those days are over. read...

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How to Grow Your Google Authority by Chris Garrett

Many new Internet marketers obsess over Google pagerank believing it to be the route to rising in the search results, where in fact pagerank is just one of many factors involved in your search engine ranking and, most misleading, what you see in the Google Toolbar is very inaccurate anyway. read...

The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news, ideas and resources from the past few days by some of the sharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- How To Create and Maximize Your Outside Blog Brad Andersohn

- ActiveRain Comments - Did You Know? Brad Andersohn

- Add $50,000 to your bottom line: Hit your target with your links! Bob Stewart

- I WONDER HOW SO MANY FOLKS BECAME EXPERTS IN SO MANY FIELDS?? Lenn Harley

- New Form Of Identity Theft--Agents AND Consumers BEWARE of Craigslist Scam Debe Maxwell

- Lake Norman Real Estate's April Wallpaper Calendar Diane Aurit

- Is Somebody Using Your Username on Social Media Sites? How to Check! Wendy Timmons

- Please Take Safety Precautions When Displaying Addresses On The Net! Midori Miller

- It's Not Your Brand...It is What You Do Missy Caulk

- Defining Success Sally Cheeseman

- That Sneaky SOB - I Can't Believe He Did That! Leesa L. Finley

- Is your target audience and your target market finding each other? Todd Clark

- The New Nano Blogging... Making Fun of Twitter... Hilarious! Mirela Monte

- SEO and local expert status. The two go hand in hand to generate leads! Richard Weisser

If you're wondering how to customize your blog, take a look at our group's guidelines page for tutorials and graphics that you can download and use on your Active Rain blog.

If you have questions about technology, blog design or building web presence, let me know and I'll try to answer them in a future post!

http://twitter.com/garaughty

If you'd like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing partnerships or to stay on top of all the new graphic goodies we'll be giving away, please subscribe to our blog using the button below...

For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com