Maxys Max Media and Entertainment

I haven't blogged for the last month (but in a weak defense I have been Twittering). 

I know the blogging experts say "regularity" is one of the most important elements to creating a blog subscriber base but I reckon there's no point writing just for the sake of it.

 Anyway, there's a whole lot of excuses I can pull out - my laptop crashed, I was chasing the last bit of budgets out there that wanted to be spent,  Xmas drinks and more drinks but probably the greatest consumer of energy and time was the plan to shoot a photo a day and post on my Flickr

It's said that it takes something like 21 or 28 days to create a new habit and that day 10 -12 is usually where the enthusiasm wanes and other things take priority.   Yep, the December photo shoot thing suffered the same demise.  The thing I began to realise is that constant quality takes constant practice.

By forcing yourself EACH DAY then you develop quick skills, patterns and work flows.  From a photographic point of view then to quickly identify photos that might work and delete the rest, adjusting levels, reducing noise, a nice blur to focus attention on the key subject etc.   

Anyway, that's enough of the writing for today - an old poem to share the New Year-have a great New Year and all the very very best.

Speak soon 

Maxy

Return to White

From white to black and back again
Like the tidal flows and monsoon rain
Circles drawn and spiral chains
While Pavlov's dog sleeps tight

Awake asleep as night is day
As rivers run and children play
Dreams and thoughts they quietly say
of ‘more than this' we know

A diamond lost but love of gold
A higher ground of giving souls
Honest men the world behold
She gently touches thee

A flower blooms for eyes that see
Of beauty thanks a planted seed
From giving earth a reaching tree
To branch the light we share

A thousand notes a melody
On chord lattice a rhythmic field
A waving progress we touch and heal
Play the note we feel.

So lay your hands to the sun
A new day brings another one
A movie forth will be fun, And we party with a smile.

Online Customer Engagement - building your online brand

This article began with a check for a Technorati ping for my new blog and grew into a checklist to help others build their online brand.

1. What is the customer need?

   Business all begins and ends with the customer or consumer - whether consumption is reading information, subscribing to a feed, creating a contanct, watching a video or purchasing a product or service

   Whether customers know they need your product or service yet is simply matter of time and three things - price, product or service.  From there it is the relationship you have with your customers that counts.
   Your goal, understand what your customer want or will need and reduce their barriers to purchasing.

2. Online Business and marketing plan
   

   1. Is building a business any different than building a house? Any business needs a direction, strong foundations and a blueprint to easily communicate your design objectives to investors, clients, staff, contractors and suppliers.
   2. Your business plan should be focused around servicing a customer need. Understand everybody has different needs and wants and you can't please everyone all the time but there are common characteristics.
      
      1. Segment your products and services into customer needs. Research - search the web, speak to competitors and ask questions of potential customers
      2. Identify the most rewarding target markets. Rewards come in many different shapes and sizes. What is important to you?
      3. Develop your marketing message - don't under or over sell. Create strong value propositions.

3. Web site design implemented incorporating SEO (Search Engine Optiminisation)

   1. Ask these questions of every page - does it Inform, Inspire, Involve, Influence?
   2. Inverted pyramid approach to web design -
      
      1. Broad to specific
      2. Maximum (attempt) three menu layers - use keywords as menu titles
      3. Keep It Simple - people are time poor
      4. Quality - first impression is very important

4. Content creation incorporating SEO

   1. Writing Copy (inverted pyramid approach). Keep it simple at the top layers. Make it easy for your reader.

   2. Images (consistent style look and feel) - a picture tells a thousand words

   3. Video (short and to the point) - if a picture tells a thousand words what is a video worth?

5. Internet marketing - blogging , online social networks and other forms of distribution etc

   1. Blogging - your voice - integrated into your customer needs and marketing plan. Strategies.

   2. Strategies - you are now a magazine producer - how are you going to get readers? (more on this later)
      

      1. Some technologies to begin with...

         1. Feedburner

         2. Technorati (Technorati Profile)

         3. Facebook
         4. Youtube

         5. Digg

         6. Flickr

         7. Delicious

         8. Stumble Upon

         9. Twitter
         10. Linkedin
   3. Email marketing and your CRM
   4. Internet advertising

To be contuinued.....