TLDR

• Go read “Great by Choice”, it has some amazing ideas not outlined here. “Fire Bullets, then Cannonballs” is a rather great retelling of the idea of the power of prototyping and test markets.

• Especially if you’re a small business, never ignore the power of sustained growth. If you do, you’re really missing out.

• Promotions are great for highlighting something in the news, getting a rapid influx of people or generating buzz.

• Sustained growth’s strength is in its affordability and long-term benefits. Suffers from diminishing returns.

• You can’t afford to compare apples to oranges. Promotions and sustained growth serve different purposes and have their own strengths.

Jim Collin’s latest book, “Great by Choice” is a well-crafted reimagining of some of the fundamentals of good business practices. Collins introduces us to the notion of a “20 mile march” – leading with the strategy of sustained growth over the whims of normal market volatility. That perhaps the turtle does beat the hare in the long term.

But what if this notion should be plied to our trade as well? And how? Whenever I build a new framework for business, be it finance, strategy or social, I create a fictitious mom and pop cupcake company, “Dainty Cakes.” Dainty has just decided to build their first marketing campaign and have gone to two separate marketing companies for support. The only criteria Dainty gives is that they would like it to be on Facebook.

Company A

A recommends a cupcake-palooza event. Company A describes it as a multi-platform social event used to drive cupcake enthusiasts into Dainty’s Facebook page where they will then receive regular brand messaging. The idea is slightly risky due to the nature of the volatile nature of cupcake enthusiast’s acceptance of branding (“advertising just makes cupcakes oh-so-passe”), but company A assures Dainty that most of the time these types of contests yield positive results.

Company B

B recommends an organic growth strategy. Dainty has some pretty popular web assets already that enthusiasts love. Namely an online cupcake builder and a website which publishes baking tips and insider information via a very popular blog. B would rather increase organic traffic by converting the “Read More” part of the blog to go to a Facebook note, build in some open graph integration using Facebook’s new [noun] [verb] system and lastly build a brand voice Dainty can then take to popular forums or Facebook to build brand engagement with enthusiasts.

Which would you go with? Let’s assume the cost of each campaign is the same. Collins notes that one of the successful traits of a “10X” (high growth) company is that they would pick option B – to build a strategy around sustained growth over one big-sexy risk.

The Hidden Nature of Sustained Growth

Good news everyone! Dainty receives a new investor. In the heat of jubilation the CMO approves both ideas from A and B! Victory all around. Both companies are hired. At the end of the month, the numbers come in.

Campaign A is declared victorious and future business goes to them. Wait…what? Companies, especially younger ones like Dainty, tend to think in terms of campaigns. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s how the marketing industry works, but it leaves a fundamental flaw to be reconciled.

Although based on a broader spectrum, Collin’s idea that sustained growth is more powerful than volatile growth is a powerful one that can apply to the social sphere. Sure, company A would keep launching new (and likely) successful campaigns, but even then they need to spend more money just to keep up with company B’s strategy.

A Hare and a Tortoise

Here is where Collins and I diverge a bit.

The difference between successful modern marketers and unsuccessful ones seems to be multidimensional versus one-dimensional thinking.

Those who focus solely on promotions suffer from a lack of overall growth. When the marketing of a channel stops, so too does its ability to grow. They also put themselves in the hands of those campaigns which can run a spectrum of the most amazing thing in the world to a very epic waste of money.

On the other hand, those who focus solely on sustained growth soon suffer from the notion of diminishing returns. Eventually you run out of optimizations you can make or usability paths. Every additional dollar you pump into optimization is worth slightly less than the one before it. Bursty volatile campaigns also play off of, boost and synergize with other new endeavors that may need more focus in the press in a short period of time.

Jim Bruno breaks systems, particularly in marketing, for a living. He’s also the biggest geek in the world.

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It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 10 months since I became the Social Media Manager at Carnival Cruise Lines. This year has gone by faster than any other I can remember, and it’s also been one of, if not, the most memorable.

I’ve experienced so many new things (visiting Europe for the first time being my absolute favorite), have had the privilege of working with and learning from so many smart and talented people on an every day basis, and most of all I’ve continued to challenge myself like never before.

Throughout all of these new experiences, I’ve learned a lot about business, life, and everything in between. I’m hoping to share a lot of these “lessons” throughout future blog posts, but for now, here are 10 I’ve learned (and some re-learned) over the last 10 months (in no particular order):

1. If you want something bad enough, fight for it. But you better be sure the juice is worth the squeeze.
2. Positivity is contagious. Negativity is deadly.
3. Bacon goes good with everything, especially dessert.
4. Learn to trust your gut… 99.9% of the time it’s right.
5. NEVER SETTLE.
6. If you want to be successful, prioritization in KEY.
7. Talk is cheap and promises are just words. Don’t believe anything until it’s done.
8. Life is way too short to hold a grudge. People make mistakes. While it may be hard to forget, learn to forgive. You’ll be surprised at how much better it will make you feel.
9. It’s important to disconnect from time to time and spend quality time with those you love. You’re work isn’t going anywhere, but the people close to you might, if you always put them second.
10. No matter what, always be yourself. People can spot a fake in a second (this applies to businesses/brands too).

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Instead of making this a long, drawn out intro filled with personal recollections, funny anecdotes, or a bunch of stuff most of you could care less about, I figured I would just get to the point.

For those of you that haven’t heard yet, last week I resigned as Social Media Manager at Clickbooth.

Now before you jump to conclusions and start assuming that it must have had something to do with the company, it’s stability in the industry, or whatever else may have popped into your head once you read that, let me stop you right there and say that this decision had nothing to do with Clickbooth.

First off, Clickbooth isn’t going anywhere. They are THE leader in the performance marketing industry and will be for a long long time (IMHO). In fact, the stuff CB is currently working on and should be releasing some time in the near future is truly mind blowing and is definitely a game changer to say the least. (And since I don’t work there anymore, I have no bias or reason to make it up. They really are doing some amazing things over there and trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.)

In addition to their constant innovation, they are truly a stand up company who have always done things the right way (regardless of criticism), and have proven their integrity time and time again (which is one of the main reasons they are so successful today and also why I have so much respect for John and the whole company).

I also think it’s important to note that I left Clickbooth with no hard feelings or bad blood at all. In fact, I am proud to call each and every person at CB a close friend of mine and even more so…family for life. They are some of the brightest people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, have huge hearts, and I truly love each and every one of them. To be honest, saying goodbye to a lot of the people over there was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in a very long time…

So I know what you’re probably thinking. if Clickbooth is all fine and dandy, why did I leave?

Well some of it had to do with personal reasons and me wanting to live closer to my family, but the biggest and most important reason had to do with me listening to my heart and knowing deep down inside that it was time for a change and that I needed a new challenge. And with a phenomenal team and a functional strategy and plan now in place at CB, it was the right time for me to take on this new challenge.

Now from all the AIMs and emails I’ve received over the last week or so, I know many of you have been wondering where I decided to take the next step in my career.

Well….I am happy to say that I am back home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (living near my family and close friends) and I’m very proud to be working for a company/brand that I’ve loved and respected for as long as I can remember. Not only that, but the minute I walked through their door, I immediately felt right at home and knew instantly that this was where I was supposed to be. (It also didn’t hurt that the owner also happened to own my favorite NBA team as well )

With that said, (if you haven’t guessed it yet) I am excited to announce that I am now the Social Media Manager for Carnival Cruise Lines.

I can’t even begin to explain how great the team is over at Carnival and how excited I am to be a part of such a 1st class organization. These guys are some of the smartest, most creative, and nicest people I’ve ever met and there’s only one way to describe the working environment over here – FUN! (go figure )

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and that everything I’ve done over the last 5-6 years has brought me to this point, and I honestly couldn’t be happier.

In addition to this new role, I am now able to devote A LOT more time to this blog, something I’ve been wanting to do since forever and I can’t tell you how happy I am about it. I have so many ideas for posts, different types of content, and tons of stuff I can’t wait to try out and I look forward to sharing the process with all of you every step of the way.

Now before I go, I just want to mention how grateful I am for all the friendships I’ve built in the affiliate marketing industry over the last two years. I consider every single one of you as family and I want you to know that if you ever need ANYTHING, feel free to hit me up anytime. I am and will ALWAYS be here for you guys, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

Thanks again for all the continued support you all have given me over the last few years; it means more to me than you’ll ever know.

Oh…and in case you were wondering, yes, I will be at ASW 11 and as far as I know, will still be speaking with my buddies John Chow, Murray Newlands, Jonathan Volk, and Greg Rollett on “Dominating Your Niche With Blogger Outreach”. This is going to be a really fun and informative panel and I look forward to seeing you all there!

Til next time,

Eric

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While I was at BlogWorld 2009, I had the chance to meet up with Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA, and talk about their newest product, Sponzai.

Watch below to learn more about the new service and how you as a blogger can start making some additional income with sponsored guest posts.

What are your thoughts on Sponzai? Is it a service you would consider using as a blogger? Why or why not?

If you’ve already used the service, please share your stories below so that others can benefit from your experiences.

While I haven’t used Sponzai just yet, I will definitely be looking into it a lot more over the next few weeks and plan on doing an in depth review on it soon.

For more info on Sponzai, you can check out their website here. You can also follow Ted Murphy on twitter here.

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While I was at BlogWorld Expo 2009, I met with a variety of the companies in the expo hall that had some really cool products and services. Some aimed at helping bloggers increase their traffic, others to maximize their efficiency, and a variety of them were geared towards helping them monetize their traffic.

One of the first companies I started talking to was Blog Catalog. Let’s take a look at what Blog Catalog is and how they might be able to help you expand your reach and increase your blog’s traffic.

Have you used Blog Catalog? What’s been your experience with it? Has it helped you in any way? Share your stories below!

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As most of you already know, I recently attended BlogWorld Expo 2009 in Las Vegas. I’ve always heard good things about this conference, and was anxious to finally check it out for myself and see what all the hype was about.

Right when I got to the show, there was such a great vibe in the air. So many people looking to learn, collaborate, and share information – it was like social media heaven.  

For those of you that don’t know, one thing that’s different about BlogWorld than the rest of the conferences I normally attend, is that it caters to a wide variety of bloggers and people in the Social Media space. There wasn’t just your typical “general” blogging sessions, the conference really went out of their way to target people by niche, so that the attendees got the most out of the conference. There were sessions about blogging in the Real Estate industry, miliblogs (which are done by people in the military, spouses etc), sports blogs and mommy blogs.

I made it a point to at least attend one session in each of the different niches, because I really believe that you need to open yourself up to see how people in other industries are using Social Media, because in most cases, it is usually pretty different. There’s so much you can learn from them, that can really help inspire new ideas and strategies. 

Some of the other panels that really stood out to me were:

The Internet Marketing For Smart People (featuring Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, and Brian Clark) which was so full I had to sit on the floor. The panel discussed some of the different strategies they used to grow their blog and community, and provided some excellent tips and advice to help the audience do the same.

The Sponsored Conversations panel ( with Jeremiah Owyang, Ted Murphy, Wendy Piersall), was a full house as well. The point of this keynote session was to talk about the new FTC act that requires bloggers to disclose anytime they are getting paid to write about a product, service, business etc. The entire session was pretty much all Q&A so bloggers could have all their questions answered before the act goes into effect on December 1, 2009.

The Blogging Super Panel (with Zac Johnson, John Chow, Darren Rowse, and Brian Clark) was another panel that I thought was extremely valuable for the people that stuck around the last day. Bloggers had the opportunity to pull their blog up and ask the experts what they could do to better monetize it. While this type of advice and consultation would normally cost you a lot of money, BlogWorld attendees received it for FREE. 

Another thing I liked about BlogWorld was the networking. One thing that most beginner bloggers seem to forget is the power of face to face networking and how it can really help fast track the success of their blog. Whether it’s to find a blogging buddy, or to meet someone that will link to you or allow you to guest post, there are so many opportunities you can find at conferences that won’t appear anywhere else. 

So all in all, I thought it was a very successful event and it was great to see so many new and old businesses (tons of brand names!) committed to Social Media and listening and engaging with their customers.

I took a variety of interviews while I was there and will be sharing them throughout the week, but for now, check out some of the pictures I took below.

Me, Peter, and Zac Johnson

John Chow and I at the Clickbooth booth

Me, David Risley, and Tim Jones

Me and Loren Feldman from 1938 Media

Me and the infamous Guy Kawasaki

Jun Loayza and I kickin it at the Expo Hall. 

Me and Justin Levy from New Marketing Labs and Workshifting.com

Congrats again to the BlogWorld team (especially Rick Calvert) and I definitely look forward to attending next year’s conference.

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This is a guest post by Murray Newlands from MurrayNewlands.com, an email marketing blog.

Email marketing has been one of the phenomenons of affiliate marketing for the last 10 years on both sides of the Atlantic. Postal direct marketing has been generally superseded by email marketing as a tool of choice for many marketers. As products and services have become commoditized, marketing has become one of the differentiators and email marketing has provided a cheap method of mass communication with immediate and tangible results.

You send an email and see the results within hours. In a world where businesses want to know defined and measurable results, email marketing has had few competitors in many sectors.

Shawn Collins recent survey revealed that 51% of affiliates collect email lists, which shows that email marketing is still on an upwards trend. Nelsen published a report this week that said social media power users also consumed large volumes of email lists.

Email marketing solution providers have not been slow on the uptake with these, enabling users to post them directly to Facebook and other social networks. This has produced some spectacularly positive results for email solution providers. By re-targeting and encouraging those people to post more to their social networks, marketers have generated huge amounts of positive traffic.

OK now here is the question. What will happen when consumers learn the power of this and start posting about brands that email them too much? Watch for the social media tidal wave brand flashback.

Thoughts?

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I had the pleasure of interviewing Kris Trujillo of CashTactics.net the other day and it was great getting to know a little more about him, as well as some of the tips and strategies he uses as an affiliate marketer.

If you haven’t heard of CashTactics.net, its a great resource for affiliates to learn about the industry, engage with other affiliates, and improve their skills at affiliate marketing.

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IZEA Fest 2009 is a little over a week away and that means it’s time to start training for one of this year’s most grueling events, IZEAHunt. If you haven’t heard of  IZEAHunt, it’s a timed interactive scavenger hunt where you take pictures, film videos, and collect physical objects all around the city of Orlando.

Last year the Mommy Bloggers went home with the crown, however this year will be a totally different story. Clickbooth and I have been working our asses off training for this event, to ensure that this year’s IZEA HUNT Championship Title comes back to Sarasota with US!

Don’t believe me? Then check out the video below

Haven’t registered for IZEAFest yet? What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

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This is a guest post by Dennis Yu, CEO of BlitzLocal, a firm doing local Internet marketing .

This morning, I got a Facebook chat window pop-up from someone I barely know (yeah, don’t you hate that “popping” sound it makes?) It was from someone well-known in the industry, of whom I have many friends in common. I won’t out him here.

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