Bruce Mendehlson and I have been chatting by email about this. I also spoke to Debra Simpson on the West Coast about this. I plan to speak with Rita Coco and Allison Chisholm about this too.

But, Bruce is the first one that has demonstrated some knowledge about what I think is required to make blogging work for businesses. Here's his thoughts:

There are A LOT of blogs out there, and many (in fact, most) are poorly written, rambling, off subject and add little (if any) value that relates back to the product, service, or business someone is trying to promote.

After all, it's challenging to compose relevant, compelling content on a regular basis--after a few dismal attempts most business owners move on to something else. It's not that they don't have the desire; they don't have the time or the discipline to devote to a labor-intensive product like a blog.

The key is to help your clients understand how a blog (or a podcast, RSS feed, widget, etc.) should and must be integrated within a broader marketing and communications plan. For example, if they have a product in R&D or coming to market, they'll want to use the blog to build interest in and excitement about the product or service. They'll want to create a dialogue with consumers in which consumers can share their thoughts about the product or service.

When it comes to blogging in our Web 2.0 world, it's all about the 5 C's: Collaboration, Content, Converged services, Community, and Conversation. Your job is not only to help business owners understand the important of blogging, but also to invest the necessary resources (time and money) to creating a well-written, interactive online dialogue through their blog.

This is extremely well said. Blogging is just a tool. It's how you use it that's critical.

I've signed on about 15 companies since the beginning of the year who all are in the process of starting their blog, at my suggestion. But, it's not something to enter into lightly. And it's not something I'd recommend someone do until they develop a strategy.

Blogging should fit into a strategy that supports the business. The ultimate goal of most marketing activities should be to generate interest from qualified prospects. So blogging should fit into their traffic and online lead generation strategy. In order to get the most out of it, the following should be done first:

1. Search Engine Optimization Keyword research to inform topics that should be written about. 
2. Launching a blog on a blogging platform that is optimized for SEO and community development - on your own domain name.
3. Reading and commenting on other blogs in order to start entering the conversation. 
4. A system in place that tracks new links, traffic and leads generated from the blogging activities.

If you don't do all of this, you run the risk of writing a blog that noone reads and adds no value to your business.

But, as Bruce points out it's equally important to go into blogging knowing that this is an investment of time and money, like any other marketing expenditure. So, it requires the right resources to pull it off.

In order to help my clients, I'm seeking a stable of professional writers who I can recommend. If you know anyone, please send them to this post and ask them to contact me here. I'm going to need to be comfortable that they can do what Bruce talks about, but also do what I bulleted above.

They are going to need to be able to coach clients towards their business goals using blogs as a tool.

Right now, "How to Generate Leads Using the Web" is the title of my blog. I'll probably change it at some point.

But, "generating leads via the web" is what I am helping my clients do. That won't change. I'm planning on doing a series of step-by-step videos to demonstrate how to do generate leads via Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Blogging and Engaging in the Blogosphere and on Social Media sites... for the benefit of my clients as well as readers. The knowledge to do this should be in everyone's hands. Right now, the knowledge I'm going to share is not known by many people. I'm about to piss off a lot of search engine optimization and social media marketing consultants. 

To do this stuff right, you don't "NEED" them. However, to do it right, you NEED the tools. Since I'm providing my clients with the tools, I have a lot of reasons to share the knowledge of "how to generate leads" openly. I'd rather educate a few hundred people at a time, than one on one.

The place to start is always with Keyword Research. Using the HubSpot tools, I've been able to help almost all of my clients identify keywords that:

• have a large amount of search volume,
• aren't too difficult to rank for in the organic search rankings,
• and where they are already ranking in the first 100 results in google's search engine result pages (SERPs)

These are the gems because with a little bit of work, it's easy to start ranking high on the first page and start enjoying that free traffic. But, since there are a lot of internet marketers publishing to the web, it's difficult to identify keywords for myself. (Luckily for me, Mike Volpe and the marketing team at HubSpot has done the work to rank for "internet marketing" and a bunch of other phrases, and they supply with as many leads as I can call.)

What I'm struggling with is how to show examples of doing it without giving away competitive advantage. For example, we discovered a few keywords that one of my clients should focus on, he changed his title tags and voila ... he went from result 79 to 9 in the SERPs. I would never share what those keywords are because it would make it too easy for his competitors to duplicate. The actual work he did to rank is obvious if his competitors simply look at his site, assuming they have enough knowledge of SEO. (0ne of his competitors already knew about this keyword and is optimized and ranks for it.)  However, I'm not going to advertise how he did it in a video. 

The struggle is over.

So, I'm happy to report that I discovered a solid keyword phrase, where pc4media ranks "19" in the SERPs and there's approximately 140 searchers per month. I would not have discovered if it wasn't for the integration of HubSpot's keyword research tools and web marketing analytics. A few people came to the site as a result of the search. Then, with one click I determined where I was ranking, how many people searched for that phrase in a month and whether or not it'd be difficult to get to the first page.  HubSpot's keyword tool tells me that it's not that difficult to get higher than I already am and I've already made a change to my site to get higher.

So, I've found a good one. Were you hoping I'd share it? Not until I do my videos. I don't want another internet marketing expert to wreck my progress while I'm making the video. I expect others to compete with me for the keyword after I do the video and lots of people see it. But, that's why search engine optimization is an ongoing process.  Also, by then, I'll have done a bunch of blogging, link building and social media marketing in order to rank. It'll be harder to duplicate my efforts. And I'm sure I'll find more terms to go after by then too. But, this'll serve as a good way to demonstrate "how to generate leads" via SEO.

Hubspot's Website Grader was TechCrunch'd today.

There's a few slightly larger than life people, that don't really run in the same circles, that I admire. I haven't necessarily drawn inspiration from them, I don't think. I think I've arrived here more because of things I've done in the past. But, they're all very well known for what they do. And I see a piece of what they do in what I'm doing with PC4Media. And I am sure, atleast on a subconscious level, they've inspired me.

Calacanis: Here's his most recent post, of which, I'm afraid I might be getting lumped into the "knowledgeable skeptics" group. I admire Jason because he builds scalable online businesses that engages the distributed work of people. There aren't many people that know how to do this. He's a master of people, media and tech. I'm good at this. But, not yet a master. I've also given Jason alot of shit over the years through my blog. But, it's all out of respect with a health dose of jealousy. Jason pioneered the concept of the blog network. He did it with high quality paid writers. I am creating a blog network of business owners who are paying me to help them reach a larger audience.

Schefren: I know his name. I get his email blasts, which I'm sure go to 10s if not 100s of thousands of people. But, I probably only ever visited his website twice before. Ironically, he uses a lot of the words I use, such as "Business Growth". I also know that he's good at building networks of people who are helping themselves - and him - at the same time. He pioneered the concept of being an "internet marketing coach". I prefer advisor, but clients tell me I make a good coach. Mostly because I don't let them get away with slacking.

Gitomer: I could have written, "The Little Black Book of Connections". But I didn't. And I wouldn't have done it as well as he did. I missed his seminar when he came to Boston, as my son was born the day before. Peter Moran got me a signed copy of it, though. It says inside, "Congrats on being a dad." How cool is that? PC4Media is all about building a network of businesses that help each other. I hope Jeff will be proud. Jeff's motto is not to sell people things, but to help them buy. Although I learned how to do this from Rick, Jeff is the pioneer.

Godin: Another one I've given a lot of shit to. But, IdeaVirus and Permission Marketing were one of the first "internet marketing" books I've read.  And Seth is a master viral marketer. He might be riding his past success, but as long as the wave still carries the board, why not? I don't know a thought leader that has had a longer run than him. And he did pioneer the switch from interruption marketing to permission marketing. So, credit where credit is due... I might not be doing the things I do, if it weren't for Seth.

Regarding the gauntlet, my first step in playing in these guys' leagues, is to get my site competing with theirs, atleast in terms of a website grade.

Catie Foertsch of OurTown Productions is a member of Next Level Executives, a networking group run by Michael Langford of Course Pilot Financial. I am a member and also help promote our once a month public networking meetings. Each month, a member, group of members or a guest speaker gives an hour long seminar, as well.  Catie shoots video and has started a Next Level Executives YouTube channel for the group. We might be the hippest networking group when it comes to using the web to promote our group and our individual members. More coming on that soon, though.

Dave Lima, Real Estate and Bankruptcy Attorney



Patti Lima, Realtor

Marco Scioletti, Mortgage Advisor


Peter Waeger, Home Inspector


Frank Damelio, Professional Speaker & Trade Show Expert

I am slightly obsessed with "Local SEO". 

I think it's because my experience has been providing services to small businesses who do business primarily locally.

The web is where they can compete with big companies. In traditional outbound marketing and advertising, they couldn't. But, on the web, in their area, they can win because they can focus their online marketing dollars and activities on "Birmingham, AL house designs", for example. Whereas the big guys won't be able to focus on just one city as intensely.

But, this has been just a theory for awhile. It is a rare small business that has been doing this for years.

But, now it's possible for small businesses to compete without any outside resources. The tools are available and the knowledge is digestable and it's all at the right price point. Small businesses can bring their marketing in house, and measure their return on time spent.

The big reason for this is "Local SEO".

Two of the guys that are more obsessed than me just released their "Local SEO" predictions for 2008: Andrew Shotland and Greg Sterling. Worth reading if you don't want to take my word for it - that this might be the year of the small business on the web.

Google just dropped an elbow on the yellow pages biz in the local search ring. They're displaying A LOT MORE local search results for local searches. See the graphic below.

If you aren't listed in Google Local, you better get on that ASAP.



Here's the search. Do you see it?

Problem:

For startups and small business there are two interrelated tough issues; (1) how to formulate a productive web marketing strategy that reaches my target customers with the right balance of methods, content, and accessibility; and (2) how do I support, sustain, and improve the strategy and tactics over the long haul. Small organizations have a lot of difficulty sorting out the meaningful and effective from the blizzard of action in the web world. And, small organizations can not afford high-priced solutions.

Read the rest of Mark Orton's post to see the solution.

At HubSpot, we get a lot of marketing and web design agencies who fill out demo requests, download our internet marketing kits and use the website grader. 

I spoke to a few firms today. I spoke to some firms that are our partners who are very good and I spoke to some firms that are not very good - who aren't.

I think I've figured out the buckets that they fall under. So, if you're a web design firm or marketing agency and I send you a link to this post, be prepared to tell me which one you fall under. It'll save us both a lot of time.

Type 1: www.iknoweverythingaboutinternetmarketing.youcantpossiblyteachmeanythingnew.com
These guys are the most common. Usually, I get people on the phone and ask them a bit about their business. Then, I get into more specific questions to diagnose what they know or don't know. I ask them how they've done keyword research for search engine optimization, whether they use a content management system to update their website; how they manage pay per click campaigns, etc. Most of these guys say "We do all that". So, I then ask a few questions to determine whether they really know how to do that. Something like, "What tools do you use to do keyword research?" These guys don't usually have an answer because they haven't really done it. They know that they can bullshit their clients about SEO because their clients won't know better. These are the same guys that charge $4k to set up a template and load their email list into Constant Contact. 

If you asked these guys why they requested info from HubSpot, and they were feeling honest that day,  they'd tell you they are doing competitive intelligence. But, their real reason for downloading our white papers is because they want to make themselves feel good about themselves by concluding that "they know all that".

If this is you and you want to do business with me, your first step is to admit you have a problem. Then, maybe I'll help you. If you don't want to repent, my goal is to put you out of business. You give all internet marketing professionals a bad name.

Type2: www.ifwecantbuilditourclientsdontneedit.com These guys are generally techies that build websites. Not marketers. They get more excited about writing C# then figuring out what strategies will generate more traffic to your website. These guys are also doing competitive intelligence. But, they don't have the patience or marketing acumen to actually determine how to build something like HubSpot. So, they'll usually just find a "technical" or "feature" reason to prove to themselves why they are better. They'll ask the question like "Does your service have Widget A?" where widget A is pretty trivial and unimportant in the scheme of "attracting more traffic" or "converting more traffic into leads".

I don't see any reason for us to talk unless you want to come work as a developer at HubSpot.

Type3: www.itsnotprettyenoughformyclients.com These are usually the women that come from the marketing and ad agency world. They still have to be reminded of the difference between SEM and SEO. They've just gotten around to recommending email marketing over newspaper ads. They usually advertise that they help their clients with SEO, but their site is built entirely in flash and you will never find their website in the search engines unless you type in their company name. Of course, HubSpot websites can be pretty too. But, "pretty" for "pretty's sake" is not our objective. We help our clients achieve results. And to do that, it's about having a decent design and to focus on content creation, link building, social media, and increasing conversion percentages. Anyway, I just lost you if you're a www.itsnotprettyenoughformyclients.com type because you probably don't want to take the time to learn that stuff.  If you do, just admit you need some help on that side. We can help you still achieve "pretty" for your clients, and add a dash of "results" to the mix.

Type4: www.icharge$50hour.com/whyshouldtheypaymonthlywhenicanbuildthemasitein20hrs
If you want someone to take your brochure and put it online, by all means, hire one of these guys. They are usually graphic designer or IT professionals that decided to get into the web design business. They are good at setting up computers or designing brochures. They don't know how to identify your business goals or recommend a solution that helps you use the web to grow your business. They probably aren't too good at designing websites to convert traffic into leads either.

HubSpot charges a monthly fee because we have 15+ developers working to improve our toolset every day. All of our customers get the benefit of the new capabilities that they develop. You're basically getting the benefit of a bunch of amazing developers helping you build a lot of backend intelligence into your site. We also have an online methodology which prescribes best practices in internet marketing, and you have access to our collective internal expertise through your internet marketing consultant and a client only forum. Our clients have a mini-MBA in online marketing after 6 months of working with us.

I genuinely feel bad for hourly web workers. I think they don't know better. They are usually just scraping by because they don't do that great of work and/or they don't know how to sell properly. OR they are underselling themselves. Either way, we have a lot of work to do if you want to become world class. Your first step is to start to understand how you can add value to your clients by quoting them fixed cost projects and retainers that add long term value to their business.

Type 5: www.wepartnerwithothers.com/whohaveexpertise/soweredoingtherightthingsforourclients
These guys are rare. We have a few partners that are smart and seek outside expertise and tools that can help them help their clients. They realize they can't build everything. They don't pretend to know everything. They are usually very good at making things look pretty, but they don't sacrifice performance. And they only bill hourly for extra stuff after they've developed a good working relationship with clients.

They are always the more successful firms for some reason.  They care about their clients first and foremost. And you know what... that all comes back to them. Clients come back to them. Clients refer them to other prospects who quickly become clients. They know that doing the right thing for clients is also the right thing for their business.

If you're one of these firms (or aspire to be), I'd like to talk to you. I can probably help you grow your business AND help you help your clients grow their business. And if we can work that out, I am sure that you'll be able to help me grow mine. Here's how you should get in touch with me.

From 6th-8th grade, I devoured "State of the Environment" type books.  If I could have figured out a way to save the environment and make a buck, that's the way my career would have went. Went I went to college, there wasn't really that option unless I wanted to be a Civil Engineer and design wastewater treatment plants. I actually took the "wastewater treatment" class in school and decided it wasn't quite for me. When I got into the workforce, I kinda got swept up in the internet. I don't think I'll get back to the environment until I figure out how to leverage the web to save the environment. But, in the meanwhile, I'm enjoying hanging out with some people that have figured out how to make money and save the earth at the same time.

Recently, a bunch of stuff has happened that kinda makes me think business is perking up to the fact that we can't keep consuming the earth like its resources are neverending.

• Local marketing agency owner, Laura Briere, launched the World Green Business Association.
  
• Jay Gallant, local architect, hosted a WhizSpark powered event, called Making Environmentally Conscious Decisions for Your Business at Michael Langford's Next Level Executives Networking Group.
• At the Beechwood Forum Dennis Rice presented how Alternatives Unlimited, Inc has rehabilitated and operates an industrial mill building to a community hub in environmentally genius ways. Here's a writeup of that presentation:
  

Revitalized Whitinsville Mill Home to Alternative Use for Alternatives Unlimited, Inc.
by Bruce Mendelsohn, The Hired Pen

For more than 30 years, Dennis Rice has worked to fulfill a vision of community life for people with disabilities. The organization he leads, Alternatives Unlimited, Inc., creates opportunities for personal relationships to exist between Blackstone Valley communities and disabled people, connecting the two in meaningful and life-changing ways.

Alternatives operates 45 residential and employment programs for people with developmental and psychiatric disabilities throughout Central Massachusetts. Now under construction in Whitinsville, their new headquarters reflects Alternatives’ unique approach to building and bringing together diverse constituents.

Upon completion, Alternatives will transform Whitinsville’s 1826 Brick Mill Building into a cultural hub featuring a museum, performance spaces, galleries and working artisans. The “green” complex will generate 80% of its electrical power and 100% of its heating and cooling needs using solar, hydro and geothermal technologies.

On November 15, Mr. Rice discussed Alternative’s new headquarters with Beechwood Forum participants. “Like our mission,” he reflected, “this project establishes an inclusive community treasure that will attract people from all walks of life—the environmentalists, the historians, the art lovers, the restaurant goers (the facility is currently seeking a restaurant tenant), or even the person who’s going to eat a bag lunch on our riverfront community plaza.”

For more information and to view a humorous two minute movie about the project, visit www.alternativesnet.org. Mr. Rice encourages interested investors and potential donors to contact him at 800-325-6233.

This summary was written by Bruce Mendelsohn, Beechwood Forum member and Principal of The Hired Pen (www.the-hired-pen.com). The Hired Pen provides fast, effective communications solutions for businesses and organizations of all types and sizes.

Thanks to Dennis, Jay, Laura, Bruce and everyone else involved who's renewed my interest and certainly my hope that there are like-minded people out there that care about preserving the earth for our grandchildren. 

If you'd like to meet some of these people face to face, see me speak, and learn how to use online networking to generate leads for your business, you can do all three by attending the Beechwood Forum tomorrow 1/23/07 at 3PM. Register here. We can certainly talk about the environment too.