Viral Marketing -- The New Rules

The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free is a great new & free ebook by  David Meerman Scott you should download and read now -- it'll just take a few minutes.

David knows viral marketing, as evidenced by his last viral ebook which has had hundred of thousands of downloads and which he can directly track hundreds of thousands of dollars revenue too, including a book contract and speaking gigs (and he's a great speaker!).

His book includes great examples and simple advice. There is also an enormous dose (of often missing) reality: "viral" is an art, not a "science." For example, it better be remarkable and memorable.

How can you tell if something will go viral or not? You can't! You can increase the odds greatly by following some simple advice though.

How do you make a successful viral YouTube video for example? Make a whole mess and hope one takes off -- really.

David also gives some very specific advice for creating a viral ebook, of immense interest to me as I released my somewhat viral (OK, maybe only bacterial so far) ebook, Effective Internet Presence, Now required for success in business and life, a couple of weeks ago.

It's doing well. My server's been overloaded a couple times from several thousands of downloads, the media has been quoting me and my ebook, I've been doing podcast and radio interviews on the topic, and one publisher so far has approached me with the thought of writing a full blown paper bookstore book on the topic.

I didn't follow all of David's advice. No surprise, I rarely follow all of anyone's advice. I'm not a gifted leader by any means, but I'm a poor follower :)

I agree with and did most of what David advises, but I don't have many pictures or images as he suggests (hmmm, do I have any??), I didn't use a professional editor or proofreader (I should have, but was in too much of a hurry to get my ideas out), and I am going to use conventional advertising to help promote it; My ebook will appear on the Good Year Blimp at the Superbowl.

OK, I'm lying, but I will have a facetious ad in Personal Branding Magazine in a few days -- will post it here too.

David's book is a very fun, interesting, and remarkable read. I'm not posting about it because David's a great guy, or because I like it, but because it's remarkable and I think most people will like it.

Quite viral indeed.

Today, Blog Business Success Radio and Effective Internet Presence

I'll be a guest on Blog Business Success Radio with Wayne Hurlbert January 31st at 8PM EST.

Hope you can join us at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WayneHurlbert/

Wayne always has a great show!

The show should be archived, but last time I was on Wayne's show there was a recording error and it unfortunately wasn't.

Wayne and I will be discussing how to build an Effective Internet Presence and why it's now required for success in business and in your personal life.

If you haven't downloaded "Effective Internet Presence" yet, my 100% free/no email required/no registration/no homage/no tribute/no animal sacrifice required ebook, it's available at
http://www.EffectiveInternetPresence.com.

A few thousand downloads so far, and since the first couple days the server hasn't overloaded again, so if you tried before and the download failed, it should work just fine now.

Blog Names - You Are Your Own Brand

I like people that use their own name for their blog.
They might call it 'Joe's Blog,' ' Joe Baldwin's Ramblings on Nanotechnology for Trolls and Gnomes,' or maybe just stick their name on it with no other apparent name.

Ben Yoskovitz, when asked about what he'd name his blog, says:

That's a very good question. My initial reaction would be to just use my own name for the domain -- benyoskovitz.com -- but I always hesitated to do that because my name isn't easy to spell. Still, it would have probably improved my own personal brand that way.

I like blogs where people use their name - you can't get around tying the blog and everything associated with it to the person in question, and it affords you more freedom to write about what you want, instead of having a domain name that pigeonholes you in some way.

Been currently blogs at Instigator.com, and writes some great stuff.

Dawud Miracle, another blogger I admire, has somewhat similar thought:

And, as I write, being a solopreneur, I am clear that I'm my own brand. As a business owner and as a blogger, I think people are drawn to work with me - as a person.

A blog doesn't need a name -- it can just share yours. Sometimes this makes a lot of sense.

Blog Names - Owning an Idea, Aaron Wall

A blog name is great for owning an idea.

For example, Aaron Wall of the SEO Book blog, not only named his blog "SEO Book" but has it at the domain seobook.com, and is (not surprisingly) the #1 search engine hit for SEO Book.

He also is the author of the awesome SEO Book.

In Aaron's own words:

I think the name I gave it was good for owning an idea and was right at the time. If I could name it again today I might want to chose a broader brand and/or different topic, but I don't regret the current name or niche because it being so niched allowed me to gain marketshare and mindshare.

I feel the same way about "Blogging for Business" -- great name for this blog, the name of my first book, and the focus of much of my consulting. But it is somewhat narrow, and of course I do a not more than blogging for business (not that I can claim I own the name).

So want to own an idea? Or at least gain mindshare with that idea?
Name your blog after that idea. Hey, while you're at it, why not write a book with that name too :)

Squidoo Lenses vs Blog Posts

Squidoo Lenses versus Blog Posts, both can gather high search rankings and traffic, and Ben Wright of Hack-igations asks which is best.

As is often the case, it depends . . . :)

With a blog post, once the post is no longer on the front page, most people won't see it, and typically/traditionally bloggers do not update old posts. Now search engines quite well may send lots of traffic and rank it highly, but most visitors to the blog won't see it once it's off the front page.

A lens is a simple website built by opinionated experts (is there any other kind?) that doesn't contain much material, but which has links to LOTS of useful information. Squidoo is a free platform/company that makes building lenses very easy. Much more here.

With a Squidoo lens, you actively update it periodically. In fact some parts you may setup to update automatically, for example from an RSS feed from a blog for example. All visitors to the Squidoo lens will see that main content, unlike with a blog post.

Which will the search engines rank more highly? Could go either way. There are so many variables involves that "it depends," however there are basic differences between a post and a lens as outlined above.

Also of course you need a blog in order to write a blog post, but anyone can create a lens for free.

Here is the horribly out of date Ted Demopoulos Lens.

What's a Blog?

I've long said there are no rules -- guidelines perhaps on what's worked for others, but certainly no rules, not for something so new as blogging.

Seth agrees:

    I try to avoid any advice that includes the word "must."

and adds that many big companies, i.e. "the slow and the big," demand iron clad rules, whether for blogging, advertising, or anything else.

Copyblogger Clark, who started this discussion, says:

     what ever happened to it depends?

although he does try to "try to stick to fundamentals of solid writing."

A blog is just a tool. Use it however you'd like. How should you use it? It Depends.

I’m on Facebook -- Now What ??? Book Review

I learned more about Facebook from this book in fifteen minutes than I have in the entire year I’ve been using it. I learned not only what I can do and how to do it, but what should I be doing to help myself and my business.

I’m not exactly a newbie online – we’re getting up to 30 years since I first used email and got on the Internet (amazing!), and I’m been on Facebook for about a year.

I’ll admit it though, I barely understood Facebook until I read a review copy I’m on Facebook -- Now What ???  by Jason Alba and Jesse Stay.

It's pretty much the indispensable guide to professionals and business owners using, or considering using, Facebook. It's preorder now and available really soon, maybe a few days.

So you want to write a book?

An amazingly high percentage of people want to write a book -- probably more people than actually read books! The percentage among bloggers is even higher.

If you want to write a book someday, I suggest to listen to this episode of Blog Talk Radio with Nettie Hartsock, where Publicist & blogger Nettie Hartsock discusses how writing a book will boost your credibility & how blogs help your book sales skyrocket.

Her advice on actually writing your book is priceless.

I'll also be on Blog Talk Radio with Wayne Hurlbert on January 31st 8PM Eastern discussing how to have an Effective Internet Presence, which curiously is also the name of my new free ebook :)

Why is My Latest Book is free ???

Why is my latest book Effective Online Presence, Now required for success in business and life free?

Well Seth Godin says online movie rentals should be 50 cents. How much for digital?

Well most of the costs are fixed or gone. The 10,000th download costs as much as the 1st to me -- nothing. I've already got the Websites, the bandwidth, the blog, etc.

I wrote it once, it just took time, and it's done. It is free, so I leave it free.
There is no need to follow or model on the dead tree paper publishing industry

Sure, I'd love to make a million from it, but I'd rather spread ideas right now.

Free is --- good. Cheap is --- good. As long as it's good, the price doesn't matter, no matter how low :)

Effective Internet Presence comments

Some great comments on my ebook Effective Internet Presence -- over 5 million downloaded (I'm exaggerating, although the server buckled under the downloads a couple times!)

Morty Schiller at Wordrider  says:

It's not enough to be online.

Alfred Thompson the Cyberspace People Watcher says :

"I recommend to people who either don't think they need an Internet presence or who have realized that they do but don't know how to get started building one."

Becky McCray SmallBizSurvival mentions Effective Internet Presence in her brag basket, and also interviews me in An effective internet presence for your small business.

Phil Gerbyshak, at Make It Great! says:

One the most web 2.0/Internet/blog savvy people I know is Ted Demopoulos   
The ebook is a fantastic primer for all who are getting started developing their web presence, and I recommend you download it and read it right away. It'll only take 20-30 minutes to read, and then more time to follow Ted's suggestions, but it will change the way you think about your Internet presence.

Dianna Huff at Marcom Writer Blog says "great guide" and

In fact, I recently had someone from my son’s school email me with this opening line, “Hey! I Googled you. I didn’t know you were a writer!”

In other words, it’s really hard these days to remain anonymous, so it really pays to ensure your online presence shines the best light on you possible.

Dianna and I will be collaborating on teleseminars later this year.

Raven Young at Raven's Brain says:

If you blog or are simply looking to build your understanding of creating and developing an effective Internet presence check out the free ebook Effective Internet Presence, you can't go wrong!

Liz Fuller at More Than We Know describes it as a:

Free gift for reading through a somewhat lengthy post full of great resouces on "take advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves in our lives"

Liz also talks about How to get quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other msm using me as an example

John Kremer was kind enough to mention the ebook in his excellent Book Marketing Tip of The Week newsletter.

Wayne Hurlbert and I will be talking about an Effective Internet Presence at 1/31/2008 8:00 PM Eastern on Blog Talk Radio -- Wayne always has a great show as I mentioned before and it'll be good to be back!

Kristen Havens at The Post Pub says:

" . . . essential (and quick) reading for anyone who's just starting to get their feet wet with personal branding online.  This is a primer on how to manage, control and improve your reputation online -- not a guide to aggressive online marketing.  But it's a good, solid starting place for anyone overwhelmed by the possibilities and wondering where to start."

My old friend Andy Piper at The lost outpost  says:

I really do encourage you to take a look at the full book - there were a number of snippets that resonated or made me think.

Christopher Penn at The Financial Aid Podcast and I discuss an Effective Internet Presence, especially from the student perspective, for quite a while on the podcast. Christopher understand this stuff at least as well as I do! This was picked up by the mainstream media as well.

Ricky Mondello at Eposay says:

The information is great, and I recommend that every online citizen, especially those who are on the job market, take a listen.

Mark Lloyd at Without Prejudice says

I think I'll have to read Ted's book.

I'm sure I missed a few more recent links and comments, but just want to thank everyone!

Addendum:
Thanks to Beth Kantor for all the delicious links!