Brent's Social CRM Blog

Chris Garrett and Wordtracker Team Up to Help Your Business Blogging Efforts

Chris Garrett is a professional blogger who wrote the book on the subject - literally. Along with Darren Rowse, Chris co-authored the extremely influential Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

Ken McGaffin is the chief marketing officer of Wordtracker - the makers of some of the leading keyword research tools on the market for search engine optimization.

Recently Chris and Wordtracker put together an information packed ebook - Blogging for Business: 50 Steps to Building Traffic and Sales. I had Chris and Ken on to talk about some of the key points covered in the 160+ page book. They touch on strategies, tools, tactics and techniques for getting off the ground if you're a newbie, or upping your game if you're trying to take your blogging to the next level.

It was impossible to get to everything covered in the book, but we did talk about how Chris uses Google Analytics to track blog traffic, and Feedburner for tracking engagement and conversions. He shares a few tricks he uses to get convert site visitors to subscribers. And Chris also explains why he tracks complaints - and shares why he actually encourages people to complain. And Ken shares how he finds great ideas for getting past writer's block, and a great story of how you can use keyword research to help improve social media monitoring efforts. I hadn't thought of this before but these kinds of research tools are not just good for finding words to feature in your content, but they're also great for finding words you should be monitoring on Twitter to enable you to join realtime conversations important to your business. Also check out Chris talking about the case study he did on using Twitter to launch a new website.

Check out the conversation below, or download the mp3 by clicking here. I got a great deal out of talking to them, and found the ebook to be a wealth of valuable information. And if you're interested in the ebook, you can use this link to get it for $29 - $10 off of the $39 regular price. Big thanks to the folks at Wordtracker for giving my blog readers this special discount.

Technorati : business blogging, chris garrett, wordtracker
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I've Been VanFossened... by Lorelle

I've been doing weekly conversations for three years now. That's a lot talking with a lot of great people. But I have never been on the defensive like I was with Wordpress guru Lorelle VanFossen - author of Blogging Tips (What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging), and Community Lead over at Woopra.

It wasn't because I'm a faithful TypePad customer. It wasn't even because she's used to bossing guys named Brent around (her husband's name is Brent). It's because she is passionate about blogging and does not let anything get in the way of expressing her passion for it - and for doing it right!

Do yourself a favor and check out Lorelle as she shares some great advice on listening to yourself to come up with blogging ideas, why the world is waiting to hear from you, and how you can use WordPress with BuddyPress to create a community around your blog. And especially check out how she keeps putting me in my place!

Use the player below to or download the mp3 file. And a big thanks goes out to Liz Strauss for hooking me up to talk with her buddy! You can check out their act on the Liz and Lorelle Show podcast.

Technorati : lorelle vanfossen, wordpress
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Chris Brogan, Atlanta, Social Media and Bowling

When you think of hot spots for social media activity Atlanta usually doesn't jump immediately to most people's minds. But there really is a lot going on down here. And while there have some good social media events in the ATL, we still don't have that signature event that really puts Atlanta on the social media map.

That all might be changing with New Media Atlanta, taking place on September 25th at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. NMATL will be an all day event very heavily focused on professional folks looking at social media from a business perspective. And to show how serious they are about making this a signature event, Chris Brogan is coming to town to speak!

In addition to Chris there will be a number of knowledgeable speakers to round out the day, including my buddy Desiree Scales of Bella Web Design. Desiree and Matt Fagioli - one of the event organizers - came down to the studios to record a conversation about the conference. They do a great job of giving me the scoop on what to expect for the day. All I can say is that I'm excited to be one of the speakers at what I think will be the first of many years for this cool event. And I'm not just saying this because the after party is going to be at a bowling alley. Did I mention my bowling prowess from back in the day? Time for me to get the old "soup bone" ready cuz I'm about to throw-down like I did back in the day!

Ok... let me calm down - bowling always gets to me... So check out the short conversation here (or download the mp3):

To learn more about the New Media Atlanta go here:

• Event website - http://newmediaatlanta.com
• On Twitter - follow the #nmatl hashtag

I hope to see you there... with bowling shoes on! Oh and if you need even more reason to go to NMATL, check out Desiree singing about why you should go:

Desiree Scales Sings about New Media Atlanta from Desiree Scales on Vimeo.

Technorati : #nmatl, atlanta, chris brogan, social media
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Abraham Lincoln's 269 Word Response to the Character of Our Content

Short and sweet on this one, just like Honest Abe did.

For my monthly column over at Inc.'s technology site I wrote something a little different than usual - The Character of Our Content. I thought of this because I get asked quite a bit about how much content is required to catch people's attention on the web. Or how long should posts be, how many times should I post, do I need funny pictures and videos? Many people focus on the mechanics of content automation and distribution. Others on worry more about the icing than they do the cake. Still others get discouraged because they perceive the investment in time will be too great.

But I really believe that the #1 most important thing in building your web cred, winning friends and influencing today's social customer is quality. It can be long or short, video or audio, daily or monthly, just make it good. And make it true to who you are and what you do.

And one of the absolute best examples of quality having an immeasurable impact in a few words is Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Here it is below in its entirety, all 269 words:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Short, sweet, powerful and everlasting... in under 300 words. Quality will outlast quantity every time. It helps those looking to find the content of our true character. So take a lesson from Abe the next time you're thinking about this stuff.

Technorati : abraham lincoln, gettysburg address, inc.com, social crm, social media
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Liz Strauss, 69,000 Comments and Social CRM

I just posted the latest TFBS show which featured social media strategist Liz Strauss. The conversation was supposed to last about fifteen minutes...we almost doubled that! We did so because Liz had a great deal to share when it comes to blogging to build meaningful relationships. And the numbers back this up, her blog has generated over 69,000 comments from her readers.

Check this short clip of Liz sharing one of the lessons she learned that helped her turn her blog into an ongoing conversation:

Turning your blog into a meeting place where people look forward to participating in the conversation takes time, but it's critically important from a business perspectives. A main piece of the social CRM idea is that your blog content can be the first step in creating conversations that could potentially lead to serious business relationships.

Liz shares a whole bunch during our conversation that you'll probably want to check out. To hear the full conversation just go here - Relationship Blogging with Liz Strauss. And if Liz calls you an SOB, don't me mad...actually you should be glad. Listen and find out why!

Technorati : liz strauss, relationship blogging, social crm, twitter
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Four Good Minutes with David Meerman Scott

I'm working on a new site called FourGoodMinutes.com. I'm basically going through all the cool conversations I've had over the past 19 months on my show and taking four (or five) minute slices I think may be of interest to small business folks out there. Until I get that site set up I'll be throwing some of these "good minutes" up here.

I recently had a really interesting conversation with David Meerman Scott, author of the best selling New Rules of Marketing and PR. If you haven't read it you should at least check out the free e-book he put out. I've been asked a number of times lately about the effectiveness of creating e-books as a marketing tool. If you're curious about this, listen to how David's free e-book led to him getting signed with a literary agent in 20 minutes, a book deal with Wiley Publishing and a very successful speaking business. You'll definitely want to find out how why he had one million reasons to give away the New Rules of PR e-book:

David drops a whole lot more knowledge in the full conversation. You can check it out over at the show site by clicking here.

Technorati : david meerman scott, marketing, pr, web 2.0
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Who Should Be The Country's First Blog Czar?

Tim Berry, founder of business plan software company Palo Alto Software and avid blogger, posted an interesting article over at SmallBizTrends.com questioning if powerblogging could really kill us. I added my 2 cents with the following comment:

Brent Leary Says:
April 10th, 2008 at 9:52 am

Cool post Tim. I'd hate to think we're all putting our lives at risk doing this. I think we need to get the AMA to do a study on the health risks associated with the affects of powerblogging. Maybe have congress hold congressional hearings and call some of the leading bloggers to testify. I might even suggest the next president create a new cabinet post - The Blog Czar or possibly the Blogger General - to look out for us.

Who would make a good Blog Czar? Up for the job Tim?

Anita Campbell seems to like the term Blog Czar, while Tim favored the term Blogger General. I think Tim may be a fan of C. Everett Koop or something.....just kidding Tim. Having made both names up I like them both, so if a cabinet level position were to be added to represent the interest of us bloggers, what should that person be called? Better yet, who should it be??? Who knows, if the first CRM president is elected in November this cabinet position may just actually get created.

I figure this person has to understand blogging and bloggers, be able to stand up for our rights in the face of potential congressional hearings, and have to look decent in a uniform... that is if we go with the term Blogger General. That's asking for a whole lot. I need help on this one.

Anyways thanks Tim for coming up with this one. Tim also had some interesting things to say about blogging when he was on Technology For Business Sake a few months back. Check it out below:

Technorati : anita campbell, blogger relationship management, blogging, tim berry
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Blogger Relationship Management - Oracle Steps Up

This past Friday I participated in what I think may have been the first "blogger call" - as opposed to an analyst call - set up in the CRM industry. Anthony Lye, Oracle's senior vice president of CRM, invited a select group of bloggers to discuss a few developments the company is working on. The call was a little late in getting started and lasted about 20 minutes. And I can't write or comment on what was talked about until March 11th when Oracle makes the information public, but it should be of interest to anyone following the space or who is serious about CRM. What I can comment on is the fact that Oracle held the call in the first place. It's a good sign that Oracle gets the importance the industry blogosphere has with respect to holding important, inclusive conversations with CRM enthusiasts, practitioners, users and customers. Even if I had not been invited I'd feel that way. Because it shows Oracle is paying attention to things that their customers and prospects are involved with - using social media to participate in the conversation. It also shows a great respect for the bloggers, but an even greater respect for the CRM community in which their customers (current and future) look for guidance, information, and to be heard.

So I thank Anthony for putting this together and for inviting me to participate. It puts Oracle ahead in terms of BRM, at least in the CRM industry. Hopefully there will be more questions from the bloggers on the next call (thank God Paul Greenberg was at the ready). Don't take it personal Anthony, we're just not used to being treated like real people....

Technorati : blogger relationship management, crm, oracle
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John Jantsch Gives Small Business a 3 on a Scale of 1 -10 for Online Marketing Efforts

We had a great conversation with small business marketing guru John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing for our next Technology For Business Sake show. He talks about why small business folks should be blogging, the importance of understanding RSS and why he only gives small business a 3 out of 10 when it comes to online marketing. Although this won't air officially until Sunday, you can check it out here.

Thanks!

Technorati : duct tape marketing, john jantsch, small business, social media

Blogger Relationship Management: Dan Perry, This Is YOUR Comment.....

Sorry for the lame reference to the old television show, but this "little ditty" does show the power of commenting. In one of my recent posts I talked about how Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends had a group of A-list marketers share one of their marketing secrets. She also invited anyone interested to add their secret in the comments section of the post. At last count there were 87 comments to that post.

Anyway I recently had Anita join me on Technology For Business $ake to talk about the impact of that post. While we were talking I had the post up and I was asking her questions about the responses from the A-listers. I also was checking out some of the comments and on the spur of the moment brought up one that I liked from Dan Perry on the importance of blogging. Anita and I both talked about the importance of blogging, and even had some fun at the expense of small business guru Gene Marks, who recently wrote a BusinessWeek article saying blogging was one of the ten tech things small businesses should avoid (check this post out to check out the conversation I had with Gene for our show).

So here's why you should take time to write good comments on popular blogs. Dan has Google Alerts set up on his name, and he received an email alert saying that his name was mentioned in a blog entry on SmallBizTrends.com. It turns out that Anita wrote an entry talking about the conversation she had with me on our show. In the post, Anita pointed out where we talked about Dan's one sentence comment, including a link to Dan's blog.

So Dan got pretty good mileage from that one sentence comment:

• it was seen by a lot of people checking out Anita's original post
• it was mentioned on the radio airwaves here in Atlanta
• it was a part of the radio show's podcast that has been downloaded a few hundred times since Saturday
• it was highlighted in Anita's follow up post, which included the actual conversation of us talking about it
• it spawned a post on Dan's blog about this being his first mention on a radio show/podcast
• it prompted a few people to congratulate him on both the Small Biz Trends site and his own blog
• probably a number of click throughs to his blog
• and it prompted me to post this

That's not too shabby for one timely, short, but nicely put sentence. Way to go Dan!

Technorati : blogging, commenting, small biz trends