TheWHIR Blogs - Hartland Ross Web Hosting Marketing Blog

Unconventional advertising - Part 1.

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:46:01 -0400

By Hartland Ross Countless thousands of dollars get spent every year on viral advertising, in pursuit of the Holy Grail of one million-plus views on YouTube. But the truth about viral videos and games is that you can't really plan and design them - you can only create them, release them in the vicinity of a suitable host, and hope it spreads. A viral ad or video is viral only if it actually goes viral, so be skeptical when someone says they can create one for you.

Six more savvy rules for news releases

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:36:04 -0400

By Hartland Ross 1. Frequency. As I mentioned before, make sure your press releases are either newsworthy, or that they tell a good story: Quality always trumps quantity. But that said, try to make sure you issue frequent releases to help keep your name high in the minds of editors. 2. Target your releases. Don't just send them out to every publication and PR service you can think of. Ask yourself who will find your release relevant and send it to them.

17 Rules for Writing Press Releases

Mon, 18 May 2009 18:44:34 -0400

By Hartland Ross 1. Make sure your press release is newsworthy. If it is truly a newsworthy story, editors are much more likely to use it. 2. If you are sending a release about a product or service, write a story about uses and benefits, not a blatant pitch for your business.

How to Cut Marketing Costs with Newsworthy Press Releases

Tue, 05 May 2009 00:41:28 -0400

By Hartland Ross Let's say you are spending too much on marketing and need to cut costs, or you want greater marketing exposure, but can't increase your budget. One quick answer is to use the power of press releases to enhance your marketing. There are four good reasons for using press releases for marketing: 1. Press releases cost much less than other forms of advertising. They may be distributed free, or for a small one-time fee.

How can you compete against multi-million dollar ad and marketing budgets?

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:47:09 -0400

By Hartland Ross The short answer is: You can't - at least not head to head. But there is a mighty lesson to be learned about competing with giants from a small Australian company called Messages on Hold (MOH). MOH may no longer be as small as they once were, but they are still tiny compared to the major telecom carriers in Australia and the Pacific region. Nevertheless, in a very short time they have climbed from obscurity to become, in the entire region, the leading company offering promotional telephone message services. And they did it all while spending very little money on advertising.

These are churning times -- and not just stomach-churning ones.

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:47:08 -0400

By Hartland Ross Whenever the economy takes a hit, churn rates rise as companies seek ways of paring costs. It's almost identical to what happens with mobile phone services, as subscribers seek out ever-better deals. The answer to churn, of course, is stickiness - and stickiness is built through customer service. Actually, it's a little more than that: stickiness, or customer loyalty is built by serving your customers in ways that delight them.

Is there an upside to this recession?

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:23:14 -0500

By Hartland Ross Talk to companies in the hosting industry and you'd have to say yes. I deal with hosting companies every day and I've heard from only a few that their businesses are in decline. In fact, I most often hear that their businesses keep growing - sometimes with record revenues and profits. One company I deal with has experienced 300% growth over the past year and expects to double the number of its employees over the next two years. Another, admittedly a smaller company, will double its employees in less than a year. The side benefit that many are receiving from the recent layoffs is that there is a large talent pool to draw on where previously attracting and retaining talent was difficult.

Who is it really all about?

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:48:24 -0500

By Hartland Ross Who is it really all about? For several years I've read a blog that provides in-depth investigative reports I can't get in the daily newspapers. I won't name the blog, because that's not the issue.

15. The secrets of marketing in a recession

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:32:16 -0500

By Hartland Ross Frankly, there are no secrets. Good marketing works in all kinds of economic circumstances. So, the non-secret to marketing in a recession is this: practice sound marketing, paying particular attention to the rules and techniques of direct response marketing:

Oh no! The bubble has burst! Hooray!

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:24:41 -0500

By Hartland Ross You can admit it now: In your heart you always knew the housing/credit/market bubble was going to burst one day. So now what? I recently read an item by a marketer saying they were glad the bubble had burst, because now they could get back to real marketing.