I occasionally pop up cartoons from brilliant caricature artist Phil Spratt. Phil's just shot me through his latest and it makes me feel a bit unsettled.
I don't really like it, but it's very effective at making its point.
Brilliant work from Phil as always.
P.S: Phil's always happy for his cartoons to be displayed as long as you give me a link back to his site.
In the past if you wanted to sell a .com.au domain name license you had to sell the business that owned the domain name. Today I received my first piece of spam from some guy trying to flog his domain name: Congratulations to Matthew G!
The first line has the obligatory "This is not spam as it has been directly sent to this address as a single email and complies with the spam act 2003."
Ummm, it's unsolicited commercial email = spam.
If It Says It's Not Spam It Usually Is
If it looks like spam, smells like spam, tastes like spam and says it's not spam: it's spam.
Mathew/Matthew (he spells his own name wrong in the email) then proceeds to try and flog his domain name - www.domainregistrations.com.au - with this gem:
".....currently has a first page page rank in Position 1 and 2 for the search term in google.com.au "Free DNS""
Big deal.
The fact it comes up 1 and 2 for that term means nothing. Whole the hell searches for "Free DNS"?
Hardly anyone, that's who.
So few in fact, that using various keyword tools I still failed to find one that showed me it gets searched for at all.
This seller then finishes with "Please consider your Environment before printing."
Ummm, here's a tip:
Please consider the number of people you're annoying with your spam before sending. Just an idea.
We'll logically it would be at a time of great national pride - when the Australian Socceroos played in the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament springs to mind.......and let's not get in an argument about how dopey it is that national pride is at its highest for a game of soccer!
Flag poles sales would be on the rise then, I'd think.
So you start marketing your flag poles web site then right??
In a word, no. Too Late
Then is too late.
If you're targeting a specific period of time then the time to start is now. You need about 6 months of pretty solid work (depending on your niche of course) to be in best position to take full advantage of events of major interest.
I'm thinking Christmas or Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, etc.
Here's the oldest marketing trick people fall for every time.
If it gets attention, it must be good.
A couple of years ago here in Australia, we had a toruism ad that had a beautiful girl say to the camera "Where the bloody hell are you?"
The makers of the ad knew full well the ad would be banned in the market it was going for, but did it anyway. Their strategy was obviously the PR focus.
So the promoters got the ad banned (like they knew they would) and then kicked up a hell of a stink to get awareness of the ad.
But that doesn't mean it was a good ad.
The only measurement is this: Did it do what it was meant to? Not "How many Ad Awards did it win?"
The ad didn't do it's job of attracting more tourists.
"The number of tourists visiting Australia from the three countries that had most exposure to the campaign - Japan, Germany and Britain - fell in the months following its launch."
As regular readers might know, part of our business is our own e-commerce stores.
Mel runs Eczema.com.au - a site selling a range of eczema and psoriasis products.
We've just relaunched it today with a new look, a new cart system and much more. We're celebrating the launch with the biggest sale we've ever had - so if you have an itch we can scratch it!
We also did something a bit more interesting than the usual corporate dull blurb on the About Us page - I really like these personal kind of pages. Let me know what you think.
As appalling as this guy seems, his lawyer (Montgomery Blair Sibley) comes up with one of the most hilarious responses when asked why he was wearing a kilt.
....or you can do it yourself in 30 seconds for free. Or we'll do it for you for free if you're a client of ours.
One of the most time consuming parts of our business is fobbing off idiot web marketing companies who try and take advantage of clients.
Domain Name Scam The Most Annoying
There are so many (the domain name renewal scam is the most annoying) that I'd say we spend a couple of hours a week explaining to clients why they shouldn't take the deal offered.
The latest one is from a web marketing firm who have made this offer to a client:
"We'll get you listed in Google Maps for just $495 - it's a special introductory offer we're making."
Getting listed in Google Maps is easy and free
The client asked us if this is a good deal.
Well, no it's not considering he's already in Google Maps and it takes about 30 seconds to get listed there!
As regular readers might know, my 15 year old son Jack (and I) are cycling across Australia in September. That's 4,500 kms in just 30 days.
Our training has included 400 kms a week on the bike, physio/chiropractic (for me!)/massage sessions, stretching sessions and up to 3 sessions a week with our personal trainer, Chris van Hoof of Chisel Fitness.
These sessions vary from:
tough circuit work,
running through thigh-deep water whilst holding a 5kg medicine ball above our head,
exhausting strength work.
Yesterday's ride for Jack and I was a tough 104 km to the top of a mountain and then to the top of "Best of all Lookout" (and home). You know it's going to be a big hill when it's named "Best of all Lookout"!
Chris offered to come along for the ride just to see how Jack would go on this very hard ride in an effort to see just how fit he is at the moment, and to assess what else he (Chris) might need to focus on.
Parts of the road are so steep you just look up and wonder how you could possibly make it.
I'd be thinking "There's no way Jack could make it up here!"
Jack and Chris conquer Best of all Lookout
Then I'd look behind me and there is this little 15 yo guy grinding away up this massive climb (probably thinking "There's no way my old man will make it up here!").
It's because he actually cares - not many trainers would go on a 5 hour tough, tough bike ride just to see how a client is applying the training and offer some encouragement.
But Chris does and he does it because he genuinely cares about how his clients are going.
Just like when he started training Mary - her goal was to get fit enough to climb a local mountain called Mt Warning and see the sunrise.
I've heard a heap of musicians over the years and when I lived in my home town of Hobart I'd only go out of my way to listen to a guy called Cameron Tapp play at Nickelby's - a great bar owned by my mate Thommo.
You owe Me 50 Bucks Bob Dylan!
There are some crap performers out there - yes, Bob Dylan you doped out moron. I'm referring to the time you stole 50 of my hard earned $ at the Derwent Enterainment Centre all those years ago (I'm still angry!).
Anyway, Cameron was a young guy just starting out back then and I was thrilled to read a nice story about him just now.
It's the tale of love, luck and using opportunities to promote yourself effectively.
Here's the song he'll be singing at the wedding (read the story to find out what wedding!).
Steve Nicel is a web designer in Shepparton, Victoria here in the land of Oz who has just given me the best back-handed compliment ever delivered to my cherub cheeks.
That's Steve writing the message to me on the left!
"I Didn't Mean It That Way."
Steve called up to say he didn't really mean it that way! Sure, sure.
Too late to back out now buddy!
Anyway, Steve and I chatted about his web design business near Shepparton and the difficulties of working from home. It's something a lot of web developers do and it's something a lot of them struggle with.
When we first started close on 10 years ago, we started from home. It's a tough gig with plenty of distractions. The Best Thing To Do When Working From Home
The best thing you can do working from home, I found anyway, is get out and join those business clubs, golf clubs, have breakfast with friends once a week, etc.
Get away from home, clear your head and you'll find yourself so much more effective and efficient.
A part of the post I particularly like is where he says:
"If there is a law requiring the link, the wise business decision is to weigh the relative risks and rewards for compliance, and act in accordance with the corporation’s best interests.
All is not black and white in business. Any law is arguable, and arguing costs money. The balance has to be in the corporate favor."
Basically, the more money you have the more powerful you are in business because you can ignore pesky little laws that might reduce your profit.
** Winner Web Design Library - Best Book of the Web Industry 2004 **
The Web Design Business Kit is a compilation of everything Brendon has ever done and every document he has ever used to build and grow his business!
It contains two huge ring-bound folders with over 700 letter size (8.5x11) pages, plus a CD-ROM which has everything you need to build a thriving Web Design Business...
To find out more about The Web Design Business Kit click here
When is a good time to market them? 
Getting listed in Google Maps is easy and free
You know it's going to be a big hill when it's named "Best of all Lookout"!
Jack and Chris conquer Best of all Lookout
Oh bloody hell Steve - Meooooooooooow!!
with:
