SEM: Part 1

Just returned from an all-day conference in San Fran about one topic: SEM. What, pray tell, is SEM? Simply what I believe -- along with a LOT of other people -- is the KEY for almost every business to not just survive, but thrive in today's market: Search Engine Marketing. In other words, building a really cool, even great web site isn't enough; the real "thing" -- the real art (and science) -- is not just getting people there, but getting the right people there: the people who will want to read what you have and see what you have and listen to what you have to listen to and, yes, BUY what you have to buy.

My two quick take-aways from the day (much more to come soon) are these:

Quick-take No. 1:

Buy stock in Google. Please, hurry. Buy all you can. Trust me on this: you'll thank me later. Big time. Why? Only that online advertising is expected to grow from approximately $1.6 Billion currently (yes, that's Billion) to roughly $4.5 Billion... in three years. And Google currently owns 78% of the search engine market share, with no signs of slowing down.... Buy Google stock. NOW.

Quick-take No. 2:

Every business should focus on the two critical components to creating a successful email/online campaign:

1. Have a great story to tell and use great graphics and photos to highlight that story, and

2. Have a specific, clear, easy-to-see-and-understand call to action

That's all you have to do to move to thriving.*

More about the conference soon....

*I know, I know, I'm being "funny" when I say that's all you have to do. Why? Because doing those two things well is EXTREMELY difficult. Trust me, I live-and-breathe this stuff. It's a knife fight in the back alley-kind of difficult. If you need help, or at least a resource to bounce ideas off of, contact me.

P.S. I have no idea why I added this pic, with this post; I just thought it looked cool. It's the school house in the town of Bodega that was part of the set of the movie The Birds. It's still there. If you wanna find out more, Google it.

Just What IS This?

Welcome to the launch of Surviving to Thriving. Our goal is simple: to provide ideas, information, and resources to help entrepreneurs launch and/or grow their business. You'll want to check back here frequently, as new content will be added two to three times each week.

Now I know that some of you are looking at this and thinking: What exactly IS this? Is it a blog? Is it a Web site? Or is it ______?

The answer is: All of the above! I call this my "Web Presence." It functions like a Web site, with the added features of a blog. So... (and I've had many, many business owners ask me this) what IS the difference between a blog and a Web site?

Here goes... A Web site provides information. It's a great marketing tool (and almost, in my opinion, imperative for almost every business these days). Web sites, however, have two big (again, in my opinion) limitations though: one, they don't promote interactions with visitors, and two, you need to be a fairly sophisticated programmer/designer (or hire one) to create and manage a Web site.

A blog, on the other hand, functions as a Web site, with these two added features: Blogs are much easier for the average person to create, run, and update frequently; and blogs promote two-way interaction between the blog "owner" and visitors. The blog owner hosts an "Internet diary" of sorts and visitors are allowed to read and comment on anything posted. The tool provides constant and instant feedback.

So again, check back here frequently for great info and ideas on moving your business from "surviving" to "thriving" and don't be shy about posting a comment (such as asking a specific question) on this... this... well, let's just call it a web resource!