You send an e-mail to 40,000 people, and get 1 response. Or, you run a Groupon deal that brings 1,000 new customers, who never buy from you again. Wonder why? You got everyone’s attention. They just don’t care. Now you’ve got a choice: Rend your garments, tear your hair and whine about how stupid the …

Elad over at Swifto asked me to review their site. Swifto is a cool service: You post a small errand or task you need performed, and they match you up with someone who can get it done. It’s only in NYC (damn) or I would’ve tested it out. This is a small sampling of the …

Steady, smart content curation can grow your audience on lots of social media outlets. It’s list building, social media-style: You help folks find and filter other people’s good stuff. In exchange, they start paying more attention to your good stuff. Just the facts, folks: This is a step-by-step look at how I do my daily …

This blog post is based on yesterday’s content strategies session at MozCon. If you missed it, or wanted a refresher, give this a read: A quick preview This post is huge. So, here’s a quick preview: The problem. In content creation, you can’t do the minimum required work any more. There is no ‘minimum’. Changes …

This is a rewrite of an old, old bit I wrote on the Portent web site way back when. It’s not the same. Nor are my feelings on the subject. The best internet marketing campaigns are the ones you don’t notice—they just do their job, delivering the stuff you need to your screen, when you …

I just finished a new chart. It maps out the typical steps I take when reviewing an internet marketing campaign for the first time. I was inspired by Julian Hansen’s So You Need A Typeface piece. While it doesn’t have every single step/channel/tactic in it, it does give you a high-level view of the various …

You’re a plumber. You want to rank #1 for ‘Seattle plumbing’. That means you have to write interesting content about plumbing, in Seattle, every 2 days, for the next year. All you can think is “Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap.” Well, Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (ex-college professor) laughs at your silliness. You …

Everyone’s bleating about content marketing. Content marketing this. Content marketing that. For some of us, though, content’s been around since we, well, since we learned to read. Here’s the process I’ve put together over the last ten years. I presented this at Wappow Search & Social last week. Shockingly, it involves content. And marketing. With …

In which I wax philosophical while discussing zombies, specialization and people who reek of cigarettes. This town needs an asteroid. Marketers are specializing our industry to death. Setting the stage: Stinky cigarette guy A few years ago, a guy who reeked of cigarette smoke handed me a smudged business card. He handed it to me …

OK, I have to admit: This post seemed better when I was slightly drunk and buzzed on sugar. But, I enjoy being mocked, so I’m putting it out there anyway: In a typical marketing agency, the fluffy rainbow bunnies prevail. Every idea has to get a fair shake. Every person has to get their say. …