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Posted: 31 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST

Over the last 8 years I have used about every Press Release Distribution company there is. A branding agency we have been working with for my book suggested we try ereleases.

I wish I had more time to write about my experience with them but this morning I crashed my BMW X5 into a rock (4 foot wide 3 foot tall) and I am trying to get kids car seats moved and logistics figured out for tomorrow but anyway…

So we used ereleases and right away I got a call from their staff. At first I thought it was annoying like they were trying to upsell me so like any good MFCEO I had the phone to my assistant and have her handle it.

She said they just asked if we had any more questions.

Then I got this in the email:

OMG really guys? Ok its cute but cmon you know you just have some monkey photoshop in new clients names…. Right?

But then in my snail mail we got 2 hand written notes. From 2 different people.

They were what they call “brain storming sessions” and they gave me a ton of notes about suggestions on my next steps. Now this was impressive.

Then a few days after that I get this book, in paperback, that is “How to write an effective press release” or something like that. I will post a picture and update this post hopefully before anyone sees it.

I am actually so blown away by the quality of their customer service I haven’t even mentioned how effective the actual service is. Its honestly awesome. I have never… ever used a press release service where I got ACTUAL PRESS INQUIRIES.

Yes – Not sure if you saw that I was on the cover of the Omaha World Herald (money section) a few weeks back. That was because they picked up the release.

All in all over 40 news websites picked it up and syndicated the press release. I even got interviewed by my local hometown radio and news stations.

AND We had 3 different book publishers talk to us about doing a deal with them.

Sometimes, as a internet marketer, I always am so cynical about stuff. I always think there is an angle to everything. But sometimes people still deliver an amazing service with amazing customer service also.

Full Disclosure: I have not received any compensation what so ever for writing this post. Yes I know it was awesome and they should have paid me. Its all good though.

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Real reasons people sue

Posted: 31 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST

Andy Beal recently wrote his thoughts on how to not get sued for defamation online… this coming after a 750k lawsuit was filed for someone something said on yelp.

First I want to say that I have a lot of respect for Andy. He is a really good guy and he has built a very underrated service in Trackur.

Andy’s post is mostly how to keep yourself from getting sued. Now I am not sure Andy’s experience as a plaintiff or defendant but I have found myself on both sides of that isle since I was first sued in federal court way back 8 years ago (that is the intial letter that started it all. The rest was sealed in the settlement). Probably going on 2 dozen.

I have been sued for defamation, libel, slander, hacking someones Facebook (really), and other things. I have sued people for mostly trademark infringement and copyright infringement with a few breach of contracts mixed in.

I absolutely love the legal system. Probably too much. In all of the cases we have been in we have never lost a motion let a lone a judgment. The best part? I have ALWAYS come out cash-flow positive from every lawsuit we have been in. I know that sounds crazy but counter suits are a bitch =P.

A.D.D. reminiscent moment – the only college level classes I truly loved were my pre-law classes. Especially legal debate. I really believe I would have been a hell of a litigator… but anyway…

Oh speaking of lawyers mine always remind me to say that I am not a lawyer and you should consult one before acting on anything I say.

Got it?

As always I am going to talk from my own experience. I am not going to tell you what to do.

This post is more about how to use the legal system… not really to protect yourself. Honestly at the end of the day there is no such thing as protecting yourself. There is only mitigating your risk, intent, and a few other things I will try to point out. So I will take Andy’s points completely out of context to make me look smart.

Ok here is Andy’s first tip on how to not get sued:

Always make sure you have a contract. This benefits both the buyer and seller, even if they know each other and have the best of intentions.

I semi agree with this but not so you don’t get sued but so each party is aware of each others expectations. It’s one thing to come to an agreement over drinks but its quite another to get it down on paper. Its VERY important to have a contract so EVERYONE is clear of what assets and liabilities each party is contributing in this contract.

Now from my experience a contract means dick all as far as keeping you out of a lawsuit. Now your going to hear a ton of people disagree with me when I say that but ask them how much experience they have in the actual matter…

From my experience lawsuits have always been filed because of intent & pride. No matter what the contract said one party felt the intent of the other was to do them harm. Now it becomes a matter of pride.

Unfortuantely almost all of my business deals that came to a legal ending ended with a non disclosure agreement so I regretfully can’t give you much of a specific example but lets just say that you came to me and wanted to start a business together. Terms are simple. My obligation is to provide technical services and financial backing. In the operating agreement it says you are going to provide people for customer service, sales team, whatever.

Then one day I find out my money is actually going to paying for you to outsource the customer service. Now in the fine print you could actually do this. But I know your intent is clearly against what we both agreed on in that you would provide the people who were already on your staff free of charge. But yes technically because of this contract you could do that.

So if you didn’t come to Jesus I would file suit claiming breach of contract and a lot of other thing that would cost you a lot of money. Again mostly because I know you intended to do me harm and also my pride was damaged.

Ok lets look at some real world outside the box cases. We have had several cases with people who have used my AdSense Photo to peddle their shitty products. This might not seem like a breach of contract but it is. That photo can be used in certain ways. When people intentionally use my likeness to confuse consumers into thinking their shitty product is some how related to mine that fucks with my pride. I pride myself on building quality products and services.

I could honestly go on forever about cases we have been through… but I need to go out to the beach (I am still in Maui).

Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?

“X-Ray Vision for Guest Bloggers: Author Stats” plus 1 more

X-Ray Vision for Guest Bloggers: Author Stats

Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST

This guest post is by Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media.

Analytics are great for seeing your site's performance, but we can't usually peek into other people's web stats.

However, there is a tool that gives you a view you may not have seen before. It's called Google Author Stats.

Embrace your new blogging super power

I think of guest blogging as modern-day PR. It has social media and search marketing benefits, and it's a lot of fun. It's a key part of blogger collaboration.

The X-ray vision we're talking about is useful for guest bloggers, but it works for any blogger.

To make it work, you need to do two things:

Use Google Authorship to add a "digital signature" to your posts.
Apply some SEO basics to your writing: a bit of keyphrase research and usage.

If you've been doing this all along, get ready to see through walls! Here's how: log into Google Webmaster Tools using your Google+ login info.

This might seem strange because this account isn't necessarily tied to a website. But keep going.

Now, click "Labs > Author Stats". Here's what you'll see…

You're looking at the SEO performance of every post you've written and tagged for Authorship. Let’s step through the information that’s included here.

Page: the address
Impressions: the number of times it has appeared in search results
Clicks: the number of visits to the page
CTR/Clickthrough Rate: the percentage of searchers who clicked on it
Avg. Position: how high the page ranks on average for all its keyphrases

It's a thrill the first time you put on your Author Stats X-ray specs. You're seeing the SEO performance (an important part of Analytics) for your site, but also other people's websites. It's enough to make a man blush!

Use your powers for good, not evil

Now that you can see through walls, what are you going to do with your new powers? Here's a tip: use them for good. Use them as a reason to reach out and collaborate. Here are a few ways a guest author can continue to work with a host blog based on Authors Stats.

Your guest post has…

Avg. Position of 11-15: You're ranking on page two, but not far from page one. The host blog should look for a few opportunities to link to the post from older posts, improving the link popularity. Or you can write another post on a similar topic with new link to the original post.
Avg. Position of 1-5, but CTR below 5%: You're on page one, but not many people are clicking. There may be a mismatch between the title and meta description and the meaning of the keyphrase. Tweak the title to make sure the keyphrase and the topic are aligned semantically.
Clicks of 500 or more per month: You're driving some traffic! The combination of your content and the host’s domain authority are powering significant visits from search. You should work together more often!

Now take of the X-ray glasses, email the blog editor, and continue to collaborate. Help the blog, help yourself, and help future readers find your content.

Peek at a few final tips

There are loads of competitive analysis tools that can give you a peek into the stats of other sites, but there's still a lot we can't see.

Ever used X-ray vision? Need help troubleshooting it? Got a favorite super power of your own? Leave a comment or question below…

Andy Crestodina is the Strategic Director of Orbit Media, a web design company in Chicago. He's also the author of Content Chemistry, An Illustrated Guide to Content Marketing You can find Andy on Google+ and Twitter.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

X-Ray Vision for Guest Bloggers: Author Stats

Is Your Content ROI Really Untrackable?

Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:07 AM PST

This guest post is by Johnny.

We have all heard about the traditional advertising campaign that cost thousands and makes almost no impact on sales or turnover. But when was the last time you heard that about a content marketing strategy?

I'll give you a clue: you haven't. An effective content strategy can cost as little as the time it takes to create.

However, as more and more blue chip companies are beginning to catch on, questions are being asked about whether this strategy is the right one. Convincing people that it is will almost always require you to show the returns on your investment.

Here we take a look at some tips for content measurement and examine if tracking ROI is actually possible.

Always start from the end

Imagine I am a lost man trying to find my way to the first page of Google. I have no idea where I am and I don't have any directions to get to the search engine, but I know I want to be there. What should I do first?

Knowing where you want to be should be the first step in your journey with content marketing.

Make the goal achievable and set some bench marks. Do you currently have 100 likes on Facebook, but would prefer 1000? What kind of content could achieve this?

Once you have your achievable goal in mind, set a time scale. Even if the goal is ongoing, having a monthly strategy and aiming to hit benchmarks along the way is essential.

One of the biggest indicators of return on investment relies on monitoring whether you’re hitting your monthly objectives or not.

Analyse and track

The majority of businesses undertaking content marketing will be focussing on one thing: sales. This is where a lot of people become confused and assume that you cannot measure sales from content marketing or social media.

This is completely untrue. It is simple to monitor key performance indicators in Google Analytics.

If you are providing content in order to boost brand awareness, monitor organic brand searches on Google. If this is increasing month on month, the work you are doing is obviously having an effect.

If you are trying to generate leads, monitor new visitors to your website. Use Google visitor path to see where your new visitors are coming from, and how long they are spending on the site. Systems like ResponseTap offer a call tracking solution which allows you to monitor how many people are picking up the phone after visiting your website.

Adding a monetary value to each of your goals is imperative to monitoring return on investment. For example, in your first month, you may be focussed on building a community. Monitor how many more visitors visit your website after the content is published.

If on average $100 is spent for every 500 visitors, and your content attracts an extra 100 visitors, then you can put a value on the content ($20). This is a basic arbitrary measure, but I think it’s important in showing how much top-level, real value you are adding, even ignoring the secondary benefits.

Nurture your leads

People who visit your website may be in different places in the buying cycle. Someone may find your content accidentally and become interested in the products you sell, but don't know how they could use them. Do you have another piece of content or landing page equipped to show them how to get value from using your products? You should!

Another visitor may be looking to buy a product like yours at that very moment, so it’s essential to make your pricelist easily accessible. To attract more interested buyers, ensure you have white papers or videos showing why your products are the best on the market, and explaining your competitive edge.

Lead nurturing is the new lead generation. Your customers aren’t stupid. They want to come to their own logical buying decisions, so the more you offer them, the more value they will attach to your brand. The real value in content marketing is in building community, so attaching a value to your community is important.

So … is content marketing ROI trackable?

In a word, yes. Monitoring leads and sales value is possible using the various analytical programmes on the market. ResponseTap and similar companies are starting to bridge the gap between offline conversions and online activity, and I see this as the next step in linking content marketing with return on investment.

However at the minute, the secondary benefits of social marketing are not clear to monitor. Comparing new and repeat visitors to your website is a great metric for seeing how well your content is doing at bringing fresh customers to your site, but how advantageous is this in the long run? It is yet to be seen.

Do you have any of your own insights on content marketing and measuring returns? I would love to hear them in the comments below.

Written by Jonny who is interested in how social media and content marketing are helping small and medium sized businesses increase brand awareness online.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Is Your Content ROI Really Untrackable?