Internet Strategy Consultant Ryan Dohrn

Hot or Not: E-mail M

2010-08-16T09:53:00.001-05:00

Hot or Not: E-mail Marketing vs. Social-Media Marketing, http://htxt.it/pe2f

In sales? Paying att

2010-08-02T09:36:00.001-05:00

In sales? Paying attention to generational influences can drastically change the outcome , http://htxt.it/q9SB

10 Reasons Why I Am

2010-07-29T10:11:00.001-05:00

10 Reasons Why I Am Not Taking My iPad On My Next Vacation, http://htxt.it/6kn6

Could today be your

2010-07-28T08:03:00.001-05:00

Could today be your lucky day? I am hoping so! Garage Sale Buyer Gets $200 Million Ansel Adams Photos -- for $45, http://htxt.it/YK6i

11 Million Tablets P

2010-07-26T15:45:00.001-05:00

11 Million Tablets Predicted by Year's End, http://htxt.it/s5A7

Ad agencies are brea

2010-07-23T07:32:00.001-05:00

Ad agencies are breaking out social media as a separate ad buy. Hmm. http://htxt.it/nxbY

Where do you push yo

2010-06-23T06:44:00.001-05:00

Where do you push your articles/PR to extend your reach? You may want to consider http://htxt.it/830I

How the IPad Became

2010-06-10T07:21:00.001-05:00

How the IPad Became Child's Play -- and Learning Tool. http://htxt.it/BgRc

Read why one dad is

2010-06-02T07:01:00.001-05:00

Read why one dad is glad he bought an iPad, http://htxt.it/BLRa

Google offers "priva

2010-05-26T07:12:00.001-05:00

Google offers "private" search, sort of, Top Cop, Matt Cutts explains, http://htxt.it/uAg7

Growing Revenue With

2010-05-20T16:40:00.001-05:00

Growing Revenue With Social Media, New article with 10 tips. http://htxt.it/nyHI

Several people have

2010-05-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

Several people have asked me how I find out the email, etc of sales prospects. Thought I would share, http://htxt.it/ae3N

My Rate Card Can Bea

2010-05-12T10:31:00.001-05:00

My Rate Card Can Beat Up Your Rate Card, http://htxt.it/DLka

Micro magazines? htt

2010-05-10T16:47:00.001-05:00

Micro magazines? http://htxt.it/pjoK

Mobile apps for maga

2010-05-03T13:18:00.001-05:00

Mobile apps for magazine publishers: http://htxt.it/qSC0

Can you imagine gett

2010-05-03T09:08:00.001-05:00

Can you imagine getting a $40 million ad buy? http://htxt.it/s6vc

Today I am reminded

2010-04-28T08:53:00.001-05:00

Today I am reminded how a good old fashioned pen and paper "to do list" is mission critical to my daily business focus.

Camp Niche Chicago w

2010-04-21T06:55:00.001-05:00

Camp Niche Chicago was a huge success. Thanks and good luck to all. Next stop, Niche Digital Conference, http://htxt.it/sURx

Download Email Marke

2010-04-14T12:16:00.001-05:00

Download Email Marketing: a Publisher's Playbook. Limited time. Good stuff. http://htxt.it/17XG

Why magazines are es

2010-04-07T16:26:00.001-05:00

Why magazines are essential to advertisers in various important categories. http://htxt.it/H7j7

Study showed that 60

2010-03-26T09:47:00.001-05:00

Study showed that 60-70% of advertisers use marketing mix models. http://htxt.it/T2VQ

Speaking to a group

2010-03-17T08:46:00.001-05:00

Speaking to a group of sales pro's in Charleston today on selling integrated media. Funny to see Today show in AGS covering Tiger-gate.

Back from PPA confer

2010-03-07T19:19:00.001-05:00

Back from PPA conference in Charlotte. Theme, the web changes everything. List 10 things to accomplish in the digital space and do 4. ;)

Speaking at Parentin

2010-03-05T07:40:00.001-05:00

Speaking at Parenting Publications of America conference in Charlotte. Great group! www.parentingpublications.org

Users will pay for c

2010-02-17T17:37:00.001-05:00

Users will pay for content online, with a few catches... http://htxt.it/ucHc

Niche Mag conference

2010-02-04T22:06:00.001-05:00

Niche Mag conference was great. Here is a link to the presentations. http://htxt.it/qgtB

The Best Way To Cele

2010-01-30T10:38:00.001-05:00

The Best Way To Celebrate One Year Of Existence? Declare Something Else Dead!

Watch iPad debut. Am

2010-01-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

Watch iPad debut. Amazing stuff. Mag publishers take notice. http://htxt.it/3Oqq

Live blog keeps you

2010-01-27T12:11:00.001-05:00

Live blog keeps you updated during Apple debut today. http://htxt.it/oGYm

Research Before You Run

2010-01-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

The Internet can be your best and worst enemy. In today’s age of immediate access, a quick search on Google is what people refer to as “research”. I was recently working with a business client on a start up business. When asked about market research they produced 45 pages of Google results about other web sites and business operators in their chosen sector. I applauded their initial step into the process, but asked for something even more simple. Had they determined market demand?

One of the simplest ways to determine demand for a business or an idea is to look at the search volume for the business or idea. Meaning, how many web users have searched for a particular term, key word or key word phrase in the last 30 to 60 days? Simple logic would tell you that if no-one is searching for your business type or business idea, then perhaps you are not headed in the right directions. This does not mean you should can the idea. Instead, this means you need to fine tune your idea.

For example, if you desire to open an interior design business in Naperville, IL you can very quickly determine market demand by determining how many times users have searched for “interior design Naperville, IL” or “interior designer Naperville, IL”. Of course, this is not the end of the research, but a solid beginning. You can then use this research to fine tune your idea. Perhaps you might find that a ton of people are searching for “home design consultants Naperville” and you can alter your business and marketing plans to coincide with the public demand.

The same exercise applies to any aspect of your business. If you are a magazine publisher looking to start a section in your magazine about woman’s running apparel, it is mission critical to determine if there is an interest for “woman’s running apparel” online. Are web users searching for this key word phrase? Are there companion phrases that will help better draw in users? Are my assumptions right or wrong? You can then build a successful section of your magazine around what people “truly” are looking for rather than what you assume they are looking for online. This helps you better align your new business idea with market demand.

There are any number of tools online to help you with this effort, but it often takes the careful eye of a professional SEO expert to help you find the magic mix of terms. The message of this blog entry is this… Research Before You Run.

About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

Ryan R. Dohrn
President/Founder
Brain Swell Media LLC
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
803-867-3769
Follow me on Twitter.com/ryandohrn for daily tips and advice.

Brain Swell Media, LLC is an interactive media consulting firm. We focus on five key business areas; online strategy consulting, website development, search engine optimization (SEO), video production and online sales training. We provide business owners and publishing companies with the tools and resources they need to optimize their presence on the Web and boost revenue.

Will the iSlate or i

2010-01-22T14:08:00.001-05:00

Will the iSlate or iPad device change magazines? Hmmm. We are smelling something good over here in digi-land, http://htxt.it/5yQD

NxtText demo was gre

2010-01-22T09:44:00.001-05:00

NxtText demo was great. Thanks to all that watched. I hope it provided some inspiration. Mobile is it, you ready?

Four Ideas To Increase Banner Ad Inventory

2009-12-13T21:24:00.002-05:00

I have said it once and I will say it again, banner ads work on magazine/newspaper web sites. Why? Magazine and newspaper sites have a specific purpose. Users come to the site for a reason. So, if you can match ads to the users in even the most basic way, you will have a winning situation. So, if you have limited web traffic, what can you do to increase the number of ad units you can sell.

Idea #1: Turn old ad sizes into new sizes. For example, one of the oldest sizes is the 160 pixel wide X 600 pixel tall skyscraper ad. This ad is very Web 1.0 and needs to go away. Replace it with two 300x250 box ads or two 300x300 box ads. This will take one ad unit and turn it into two.

Idea #2: Add a duplicate ad to the bottom of your web site. Many publishers do not have an ad unit at the bottom of their web site as they feel no one will pay for it. Perhaps, not, but add it anyway and double your ad impressions for that unit size. Tell advertisers up front that they are not paying for it and it is just a bonus. What they do not know is that time and time again, online research has proven that users do indeed click on bottom ads.

Idea #3: Add a three block ad unit of 200x200 ads or an additional 728x90 to the middle of long pages. If you do this in a section… you will have the lead story for the section and then a set of three ads next to each other in a table. Or, insert the 728x90 half way down the page. Be careful to not junk up the page. Web users have become use to this approach and it is much less invasive than you might think.

Idea #4: Use top level peel away ads. These are ad units the peel away from the top left or top right of the web page to expose an ad unit. These are fancy ads and are well received by both advertisers and users.

Overall… you just need to be creative. The web is a new frontier and the biggest challenge to your team will be stopping. Meaning, you need to know when enough is enough. When the page starts to look like a wacky blinking Christmas tree, back up three steps and consider the obvious.

About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

Ryan R. Dohrn
President/Founder
Brain Swell Media LLC
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com
803-867-3769
Follow me on Twitter.com/ryandohrn for daily tips and advice.

Brain Swell Media, LLC is an interactive media consulting firm. We focus on five key business areas; online strategy consulting, website development, search engine optimization (SEO), video production and online sales training. We provide business owners and publishing companies with the tools and resources they need to optimize their presence on the Web and boost revenue.

10 TIPS from Ryan's new book How To Be A Manager Without Being A Jerk:

2009-11-21T12:54:00.004-05:00

Just released... 365 tips for being a great manager every day. Looking for a great management book? 50 pages jam packed with 365 management tips! A great gift for that jerk of a boss or a great gift for a new manager that needs a jump start. Used for management training seminars nation-wide!

1. Great managers have their office doors open more often than closed. A Fortune 500 CEO once removed all his senior managers doors for one month to prove this point. Ask yourself, why am I closing my door?
2. Listen in an effort to better understand. All too often managers have some great advice and “tune out” the employee as they wait to pounce with advice. Begin better practices of listening to employees. But, when you engage in the great practice of listening, you need to do so in an effort to better understand. Do not listen to just listen. Listening without seeking to better understand is like listening to a beautiful song and not hearing the melody.
3. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Rarely are managers scolded because they communicate too often to their team.
4. Reward loyalty with as much as you can give. There is nothing, NOTHING more important than being loyal to your team and teaching them to be loyal as well.
5. Take the time to say good morning to each person who works under you, and mean it. As you move up the “ladder” the number of people becomes larger, but this task is more important than ever.
6. Quarterly reviews are an excellent way to let your team know what is going on with your company. Do this in person with the staff. Be honest and point out great wins, but not people in particular. If you do want to single someone out, be prepared to continue this practice with others and be sure you do or others will feel left out.
7. Be careful to not brainstorm in the midst of conversation with your team. Often, this brainstorming from you is heard as orders or directives to be accomplished. In addition, be careful with words like, “we are going to” and “we will create.”
8. Many managers suffer from SPIT (Smartest Person Is Talking) Syndrome. More often than not, the manager does all the talking. This is seen by others in many ways. Most often, it is interpreted that the manager thinks he is the smartest person in the room. Everyone hates the smartest person in the room. Work hard to guide conversations and not do all the talking.
9. Involve your team in the hiring process. Often, the manager will be the only person involved in the hiring of a new employee. The resentment will begin from day one toward the new employee as the rest of the team feels that this new person has been forced upon them or chosen by you. Establish a hiring system that involves the rest of the team and see a dramatic change in how the new hire is accepted into the group.
10. Giving compliments that are only intended to gain favor are quickly discovered and will come back to haunt you later.

Order and read more online at www.greatmanagementbook.com

What others have said about this book...

WHAT READERS THINK OF THE BOOK!!

"One of the best management books I have ever read. Simple, straight forward and fun." -Bob Burns, Davenport, IA.

"I give this book to each new manager on my team. Great for management training." - Jason Brittle, Culver City, CA

"Since reading this book I have seen a dramatic change in the way my teams responds to me. I was a real jerk and did not even know it." - Robert Young, New Orleans, LA

."I was given this book as a gift. I was blown away by how I missed the smallest things My employees were right. I was a jerk and real b*&%h too. This book changed me" Betty Graven, Jersey City, NJ"

This book really made a big difference in my team" Jan Culler, Nashville, TN

"Wow, I was a real jerk. I admit it. But, I did not know how to change. This book helped me in the simplest ways. Thanks Ryan." Trevor Bradley, Aniston, AL

"Jerk, b*^&h, you name it, they thought it. My team hated me. I was a real mess. I truly felt like I was on a downhill run to failure. This book helped me to re-focus and re-think about how I treated others." Robin Johansson, Madison, WI

"This book is what we use as our new mangers training guide. It is simple and effective." Terry Glenn, Traverse City, MI

Order and read more online at www.greatmanagementbook.com

What To Do When Your SEO Fails?

2009-09-26T19:02:00.000-05:00

This past week 140 niche magazine publishers converged in Minneapolis to learn about the digital side of their business. Many of these publishers are struggling to stay afloat and most felt that the Niche Digital Conference could not have come at a better time. There were several sessions and many questions about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A very common question at the conference was.. “What do I do when my SEO fails to generate any traffic..”?

I think this is a very valid question and one that you need to look at very carefully.

There are ten to 30 components to solid SEO according to industry experts. One of the most important, and the most often overlooked is the focus of your SEO efforts.

What is your focus in terms of SEO? What key words or phrases are you trying to gain a Google™ ranking for? All to often I find that most business owners are trying to cast far to wide of a net when they conceive their SEO plan. Being something to everyone only works in the world of Sam Walton. I advise my SEO clients to find 10 key terms or phrases that are meaningful to their business or brand. Then, be sure that those terms share a common focus.

For example, CustomSuites.com is the provider of furnished apartments in the Los Angeles area. To this end, their key terms are: furnished apartments Los Angeles, furnished apartments in Los Angeles, Los Angeles corporate housing, Los Angeles corporate suites, Los Angeles corporate apartments, Los Angeles temporary housing, extended stay hotels Los Angeles, corporate housing Los Angeles and short term rental Los Angeles. You see how this business has chosen a focus, yet they have key words and key phrases that are broad while maintaining that focus. Then, they have created pages on their site about each of these key terms or phrases. Follow the links of these key terms to see what I mean.

When it comes to SEO, my experience has shown me that Google™ rewards you for being focused, specific and relevant.

Once you find your focus, you need be sure that the key words and key terms are “really” being searched for online. Meaning, you can optimize your web site for a certain term, but if no-one is “truly” searching for that term online… why bother? Right? Use the tools available online to find out what users have searched for in the last 30 days. Then, check to be sure your focused list is on track to match those searches.

SEO is a multi-part mission and the adventure can have many twists and turns. Most SEO experts say SEO is simple, but not easy.

Focus, focus, focus for SEO success.

The SEO team at Brain Swell Media is here to help. Contact us for a free SEO evaluation.

Helping Advertisers Measure Success With Your Magazine and Web Site.

2009-08-16T09:30:00.001-05:00

In today’s economic climate, advertisers are looking for proof that their return on investment (ROI) with your magazine or web site generated business. Here is the problem I observe time and time again…. publishers simply do not give the advertiser enough data back fast to help justify their ROI. In addition, publishers do not use the power of the net to help drive data to the advertiser fast and with a high enough frequency.

Bob Liodice, President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of National Advertisers, said, “In our marketing accountability survey, only about 33% of marketers were satisfied with their marketing accountability and measurement programs. We don’t have enough standardization or enough useful marketing media mix intelligence and understanding. Studies and research offer guidance, but marketers complain that by the time they get the answers back, the media world has shifted and the mix or model is no longer relevant.”

Bob’s quote above proves that advertisers will not or can not do this type of ROI research themselves. Thus, we as publishers and sales manager need to step up to the plate and swing hard.

We all know that it is easier to sell to a current client than sell to a new client. So, use this basic sales premise to your advantage. Provide the advertiser great data and give them a reason to stay with you.

Here are three of my top 30 tips and tricks I use with my clients to keep advertisers coming back for more each month.

1. All sales people should have a monthly eNewsletter letter that goes out to their current clients asking if they need any assistance and thanking them for their ad dollars.
2. Each month a proof of performance report should go out via e-mail to the advertiser explaining to them exactly how many magazines were sent out and exactly how many potential people saw their ad. Because you assigned the advertiser a unique phone number and web address, include this data in the report as well.
3. Each month an Interactive proof of performance report should be sent to the advertiser detailing exactly how many ads were served, what the click through rate was and what changes need to implemented to improve performance the next month.

But wait, who has time to do all of this? I would suggest that the question really is… Who DOES NOT have time to all of this?

If you wait for your advertisers to do this work, you will be waiting a long time.

Deliver back to your advertisers solid reports and follow up those reports with solid customer service and you will see happy advertisers return month after month.

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/brandmeasurement/index.php/single-biggest-problem-online-brand-measurement-today

Magazine Digital Revenue Strategies

2009-07-25T10:01:00.000-05:00

With conferences closing left and right and some taking a “virtual” approach to their existence, many publishers are thrilled to see that one group is continuing their face to face approach to collaboration and idea generation. Niche magazine publishers will unite this fall in Minneapolis to learn, share and collaborate around one single theme, making money from their web site and digital assets at the Niche Digital Conference.

When asked by publishing guru Carl Landau to join his executive team to assemble this all digital conference for niche magazine publishers, I jumped at the chance knowing that this was one area of the niche magazine market that needed serious help. As conference director of the Niche Digital Conference I can assure you that there is no more important time than right now to unite magazine publishers around a single issue; growing magazine revenue using your web site and your digital assets. Carl Landau, as many of you know, is the founder of the Niche Magazine Conference that drew nearly 200 smaller niche magazine publishers to Denver this year. When other conferences where closing their doors, Carl’s conference was showing signs of growth and prosperity. I truly believe the single greatest component is the tactical and practical approach Carl demands of each speaker. As a speaker myself, Carl is very particular to tell us to not bring lofty ideas that are out of reach of the smaller publishers. He requests that all speakers present ideas that the publishers can implement when they get home on Monday. This is one of my main areas of focus as the Niche Digital Conference team prepares for this years all digital conference… keep it tactical and practical for the smaller niche magazine publisher looking to make money form their web site and their other digital assets like digital editions and archives.

Learn more about this conference by clicking here… or read more below.

3 TRACKS FOR YOUR REVENUE GENERATING TEAM:

* CEO / Publisher
* Advertising Director / Sales
* Content & Audience Development

CEO/Publisher Track

1. Lights...Camera...Digital Strategy Action Plan!: You know you need an action plan to tackle your digital strategy effectively. But where do you begin? Eric Shanfelt will walk you through the essential steps to building and growing your online business. From evaluation of your current revenue mix to development of a distinct web strategy, a viable revenue model, and technology plan, to getting our staff on board, Eric will take you step-by-step through the process.
2. Turning Clicks to Cash: Every digital publishing model is different. Stewart Day, Hervey Evans, and Rebecca Sterner will walk you through 5 digital publishing models.
3. Staff Up!: New skills, new eMedia staff or reeducation? Rebecca Sterner will help you get your staffing strategy together. Example #1: The online editor - he's not copy editing any longer, he's driving traffic. The 5 key online employees you will need.
4. So, You Need a New Website...: Like buying a car, the options are nearly endless. Where do you begin? Open source vs. custom applications? Big company vs. geek in a garage? Get your tech nerd on!
5. Social Media Shuffle: Twitter this, Digg that...The social media dance does not have to be painful and can be a real fox trot toward traffic and revenue success. Get some tips from Joe Pulizzi, our social media pro.
6. Digital Edition Landscape: It's a big digital world out there! We'll explore how "digital editions" can bring the magazine experience to your subscribers, offer new revenue opportunities, and fit into your overall business strategy. And Alan Zeichick will show there's more to digital publishing than Web sites and browsers! Learn how mobile devices, such as the iPhone and Kindle, can expand your business into new areas.

Learn more about this conference by clicking here… or read more below.

Advertising Director/Sales Track

1. Selling the Wild Wild Web: The new generation of media sales is upon us and you need to prepare to leave orbit. Digital sales is not the unknown vast frontier! Get your digital mojo pumping as Mitch Rouda gets you ready to sell like a digital warrior! From teaching old sales dogs new tricks to creating media packages that sell, Mitch has walked the walk and will help you talk the talk. Sales people unite as you embark on the new digital sales journey.
2. How the Heck do you Sell Digital?: This is the question everyone is asking. How do you price online eMedia and walk the fine line between pricing that sells and that's profitable? And what about the web stats dance, working with our advertisers' desire for quantifiable results? There's no magic buttet, but there are key principles you - and your sales staff - need to know. Kevin Dunn will tell all.
3. Bundle This!: This is what your clients want! Our panel of experts will dispel the mystery surrounding integrated sales. You'll get easy to follow proposal examples of how to combine your traditional print and online eMedia programs into one sweet package.
4. Using Video to Grow Revenue: Video can be a huge revenue boost to publishers' online revenues. Tricia Clark-Stone and mike Bannan will give real world examples of how video can raise your bottom line and make your editorial scream online.
5. Names, Names, Names - Lead Generation for Dummies: If you don't have a lead generation program, you're leaving money on the table! Alan Zeichick will teach you how to do lead generation right...The right lists, the right technology, the right promotion and sales approach.
6. Evolution of Your Sales Team: Train and motivate your team to sell like digital rock stars. Steve Schiffman and Stacey Marmolejo will teach you how to recruit, train, compensate, motivate, and evaluate your ad sales staff. 4 Case studies of compensation plans.

Learn more about this conference by clicking here… or read more below.

Content & Audience Development Track

1. Content that Connects With the New Generation: Creating a digital connection with your magazine readers is mission critical. From blogs to digital editions, great content comes in many shapes and sizes. Is there a secret sauce for online success? What can you do to keep them coming back for more? How do you turn an online reader into an offline subscriber? Todd Smart will dissect the digital machine and show you what's under the hood.
2. Audience Development Mania!: To build and retain audience in today's environment, you need to be working across multiple media to develop and engage your audience. From site usage and development, marketing and promotional messaging, to operations and back-end technologies Toni Nevitt will explore the best strategies and tactics to expand and develop a demographic-rich audience user base to help drive revenue.
3. Community Gone Wild: We have all heard of "building community", but what does that "really" mean, and what does it take to do it right? Is user-generated content all it's cracked up to be? Learn from our community gurus, Esther Schindler and Hervey Evans.
4. Dinosaur to Digital: The role of your editorial team is evolving and editors are no longer just a cost-center. Are you prepared to be a content provider of tomorrow? Bryan Welch will tell you what you need to know to survive the digi-age
5. Get Your SEO Groove On: Mike Bannan will share simple editorial strategies to get your web site noticed. More results on Google means more eyeballs to your online content. More eyeballs equals more sales.
6. Great Email - Not an Oxymoron: Email is golden to reach your readers and drive results! Todd Smart, regularly referred to at conferences as the "email newsletter guy", will share the latest results from his clients that will have you raring to get home and begin making changes to your email marketing.

And much, much more...

Learn more about this conference by clicking here… or read more below.

Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.

Keping Web Video Special

2009-07-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

I remember the dark basement and the lack of light. The flicker of the machine behind me that would make us jump day or night. The noise of things dropping, the subtle excitement of what was about to come as my grandfather prepared to show us yet another piece of magic from his home movie kingdom. The good old fashioned home movie. No sound, no zooming, no fancy fades. Just an image of my mom running and playing as a child.

Today why do we still like to watch these old movies? They were simple, straight forward and contained something special. These three simple thoughts should be a part of all we do in web video web today as well. My kids are home for the summer. Yeah for them. I have bought them a small video camera and we are creating some magic together on my days off from work. As I have preached for years, you do not have to be a Hollywood director to create compelling online video. Think about what your user wants to see and then deliver. If you do not know... ask. I would add one thing to the three points of simple, straight forward and special.... keep it steady. Tripods are a cheap way to add a higher level of expertise to your video clips. From digital side bars to capturing video at a trade show, make your site something special by adding video today. If my seven year old can do it, so can you. Looking to see some examples, go to http://www.holistichorse.com and see how they are taking video to the next level.

What Are You Doing With Mobile?

2009-05-21T09:47:00.001-05:00

Many of you might say… my web site is trash, why do I need to think about mobile? I would suggest you pay attention to mobile now so that two years from now you are not saying… my mobile plan is trash why do I need to worry about (insert new technology here)?

Planning for mobile is not really very hard. Start small and give it a try. What is the one thing that makes your business or magazine unique? Perhaps it is restaurant reviews or listings of summer camps. Start with that one idea. There are two main things to look into. First, how can I get that information into a data-base. BAM! Did your brain just swell? Thus, the name of my company; Brain Swell Media. Start with a simple Excel spread sheet. Second, look to make that data available through an iPhone app to start. There are many app building companies, including mine, that can help you for less than $1,000. Google: iPhone app providers.

The key is this, start playing today so that you have some practice for tomorrow.

Ryan
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Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.

Twitter This...

2009-05-21T07:43:00.003-05:00

In honor of the web site Twitter, I am going to save myself some time and make my blog shorter. Also, based on the what I read from Ad Ages Abbey Klaassen, I have reason to express my concern over the recent trend by publishers to "hop on board" the "Twitter express".
Ms Klaasseen wrote, "Over the past few weeks we've seen countless stories about the "Oprah effect" on Twitter -- TechCrunch suggested more than one million people signed up and many a blog linked to Hitwise data that suggested the talk-show doyenne's endorsement of the service led to a 43% spike in Twitter traffic. While those numbers are important, the breathless reports have not accounted for what people do after they sign up for a Twitter account. Creating a Twitter account doesn't equal becoming an uber-user, or even a casual user, of the micro-blogging site. Nielsen Online data released today suggest more than 60% of people who sign up for Twitter abandon the service." I would suggest that this research is right and that unless you have a purpose to "tweet", you may want to use the extra "tweeting" time to give your wife a kiss, donate to charity or do your job. There is a real reason to use Twitter as a magazine editor or to assign a writer to "tweet" on a regular basis. The service is an excellent way to keep your followers informed on a topic close to your magazine. For example, you are a writer that covers rock and roll. There is a national band in town. You announce the upcoming concert, share your experiences at the show and then report on the show. This is a great way to use the service. But, please spare us the details of your latest disaster at Subway or that you fell down a flight of stairs due to the rain. We'll, on second thought, the fall down the stairs might be good for a laugh.

Ryan
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Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.

Search Engine Food, Feed the Beasts!

2009-03-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

My youngest son can eat! I mean eat! If you put food in front of him, watch out. Only a few minutes past a meal he wants more. Just like my child you need to be sure that you are feeding the search engines at every corner. Each and every page of your Web site is important to search engines and each page must contain food in the form of key word and key phrase data. Each page of your site is important. All to often people place so much effort on their main page that they forget about the others. With that same point in mind, simply repeating the information from your main page to the remaining pages of your site is no smart either. Each word of text is food for the search engine spiders. (Spiders are automated robots that scan your site and bring back data to the search engine database,) This is why you will often search for a seemingly simple word and get back pages from some very odd Web sites. Just like my mom, they see all and no all!

Here are some things to consider when optimizing your pages for search engine spiders.
1. Focus on 10 key words or less that describe the content of your Web site or 10 key words of phrases that people will search for when trying to find your site.
2. Make sure that these key words or key phrases are in your meta data on your site.
3. Make sure that the top 5 key words or phrases from your list are in the title tag of your web page.
4. Make sure that these 10 words are also in the text of your main page. Also, it is better to have these key words in the top 20 lines of your Web page.
5. Create unique pages within your Web site that contain your key words. For example, if one of your 10 key words is “baby dolls”. Write an article that mentions baby dolls in 7-10% of the text. Place this page within your site and be sure that there is a physical link from the main page to that page on your site.
6. Remember, most search engines spiders can not get to pages that are linked from drop down menu’s in your site navigation. To solve this problem you need a site map or an XML map.

The old thought that if 10 key words are good then 20 must be better does not work! You need to focus and not try to be something to everybody. Pick your 10 and push them hard through out your Web site.

Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.

Beware Your Assumptions When Designing Your Web Site

2008-12-20T11:03:00.003-05:00

Brain Swell Media spends a great deal of time re-designing Web sites. You will note that I said RE-designing, meaning, the business has a Web site and we are fixing it or starting over from scratch. From these ventures have emerged a constant theme that might surprise you; assumptions driven by internal arrogance.

I hear on a weekly basis how a publisher has great content online but no Web traffic. Most editorial teams and publishers assume they know what the readers want online and design their sites based on these assumptions. As an outsider I often sit across the table and see the sharp stares like daggers from editors when I question their assumptions about their readers. When designing a Web site, this arrogance will often yield less than desirable results. Rupert Murdoch recently spoke about this very point when he said, “There is an arrogance that comes from pre-Web years of being the god of the written word. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product.*”

I often advise clients that when you assume you loose! When you let your assumptions drive your site design you often get a reincarnation of the magazine online with extra content. While this seems a solid approach, it is the reason that Brain Swell Media is acquiring clients at such a fast rate. Magazines are not using the power of the internet and they are not seeing success online because readers are finding other sources that offer what they “really” want online.

Categorically users want more from the Web than what can be found in the magazine. This takes planning, resources and commitment to the cause. A very important part of the planning process is to take the time to ask readers or users what they want from your Web site. There is no one better to ask this question to the reader than the editorial team. I always advise that a reader advisory board be formed and maintained. So, where to begin?

• Run an ad in your magazine or ask for volunteers via the editorial column.
• Assemble a list of 20 readers that are willing to serve as your online advisory board.
• Reward them with a t-shirt or a free subscription.
• Create a simple e-mail and begin by asking this one question to the group. If we could offer one thing on our Web site what would you like to see?
• Use this information to begin to form your offerings online.
• Use an online forum to ask questions of your readers and let them debate amongst themselves a bit too.

Do not assume that you know what your readers want online. Ask. Do not let your editorial team determine what is needed online without asking the readers. When you offer what someone “really” wants, you will soon see quick rewards online.

This is just one step in an exhaustive list of items that must be accomplished to have a successful Web site. Again, assume and you will loose online.

Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

*Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=95397

Presenting Your Web Stats to Dummies

2008-09-30T03:29:00.002-05:00

Lets face it, all to often the advertisers we sell to know only one thing, the business they run. So, expecting them to understand your Web statistics and how they apply to their business is like asking a fifth grader to grasp the importance of personal hygiene. First, they don’t really care and second they really don’t see why it is important to them personally. (The rest of us sure know.) For these two reasons alone you need to carefully consider your strategy when building your online media kit.

I often hear business owners and publishers say, I don’t have enough Web traffic to sell anything. This could not be further from the truth. Give me one page impression and I’ll sell it! It’s all in the presentation. How do you think some guy got rich off the Ronco Onion Chopper. Was it because it was the best onion chopper in the world? Nope, it was all in the presentation.

Web statistics are boring to most, unless you’re a geek like me, then these numbers get you excited. Why, because I know what they mean and how they can be used to make money. But, all to often, that excitement can get lost in gorgeous graphs and lists of numbers. Unique visitors versus total pages viewed and on and on and on. Unless your advertiser pool is mostly agencies, then you need an approach that is kindergarten in nature. Meaning, simple beyond simple.

There are truly only three things I want to know from a Web site manager. How many unique visitors are coming to your site each month? How many total pages are viewed in any given month? How many ads are on each page? This is not all the data I need, but it is the important meat to present in your buffet of offerings to the public.

The presentation of this data needs to be done in such a way that the end user will understand it without analysis. For example… You are the publisher of Auto Mechanics Monthly. Your Web stats are the following; 20,000 pages viewed, 1,000 unique visitors and you have 3 ads on each page. Excellent, a very good start. Now, how can we present this in such a way that it makes our numbers seem big and our traffic seem vibrant. First, consider your advertiser audience. Let’s assume they are mostly tool manufacturers. Rather than present these numbers in a graph, I would use a more visual approach. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 10 Greyhound buses! These users are captive on the site and look at over 60,000 ads. Just imagine if you were the driver of that bus? Then, show the buses lined up for visual effect. Another example. Each month more people come to AutoMechanicsMonthly.com than you could fit in 500 full size SUV’s! These users come to the site for a reason, to read our rich content and while there they look at over 60,000 ads online. Are you running an ad with us? Then, show them 500 SUV’s in a huge parking lot to further enhance your point.

These examples show you how you can present your data in ways that the end user, your advertiser, will understand. It is a fact that 9 out of 10 people need visual stimulation to fully grasp your point. A four star chef once told me that presentation is half the score in winning a guests affection for your food.

Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com

The Importance of A Mobile Strategy?

2008-06-15T18:15:00.002-05:00

According to In-Stat, blogging, photo and video sharing, location-based socialization services, games and messaging will all converge to deliver a complete social networking experience on the handset, but the pieces of the puzzle are still fitting into place.*

Wikipedia's latest global mobile phone stats as of December, 2007 is 3.3 BILLION SUBSCRIBERS. This huge growth in human communication channels is historically unprecedented. It is this reason alone that business owners need to pay attention to the mobile society growing around them. Only 34% of business owners have taken the first step toward this mobile emergence by registering the .mobi version of their companies domain name. It may be too late to get the .mobi domain name extension registered for your business entity. I advise clients to look into this issue immediately because mobile extensions are a very important part of your future business success.

The U.S. market for ad-funded mobile entertainment will grow to $336.35 million by 2013, expanding the total mobile media market by 4.6 percent, according to a new forecast released by the Mobile Entertainment Forum global trade association. The MEF says brand-subsidized content will yield the majority of revenues at $262.7 million, with the remainder generated by premium content up selling. Mobile video and TV are expected to account for 41.4 percent of ad-funded revenues within five years, followed by music at 34.5 percent and gaming at 24.1 percent.**

One important part of the previous statistic is that publishers are content creators. This means that mobile content operators will be looking for and paying for content. In addition, publishers that are content creators are in a great position to be the host of excellent content within the mobi ecosystem. Publishers that plan in advance can be the place where mobi users come for information. Most internet users find their information and related Web sites by searching. The world of mobi, most users simply type in the .com address of a web site they know serves that information online. So, making mobi a part of your plan now is very important.

So what can you do now to take advantage of this mobile revolution with no budget, no staff and no clue? It has been proven over and over again that mobi users are looking for fast information like movie listings, business listings and phone numbers. Thus, I would suggest that your business look into an online business directory that serves your niche. Then, point or build your .mobi address to harness the power of this online directory. Business directories are easy to build and sell to advertisers. In this tight economy smaller ad buys like online directories are very appealing to budget worried advertisers.

When it comes to creating content for mobile devices, mobile writing guru Lynn Walford*** offers The Ten Commandments (RULES) of Mobile Content Writing:

1. Content shall be designed for mobile users first and foremost.
2. Thou shall be creative and find new solutions.
3. Thou shalt not worship fancy media and high bandwidth.
4. Thou shalt not make wrongful use of copyrights.
5. Remember your users and make their lives better
6. Honor thy carriers, handsets, and screen size.
7. Thou shalt not steal ideas from other media unless it works.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness to viral marketing.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s screen size.
10. Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s iPhone.

A really neat mobile content creation site is Mobilemo.com. Mobilemo lets you instantly create and manage your own mobile site without the need for programming skills. Its full-featured control panel enables you to create interactive pages, add friends, make comments, and publish reviews with ease.

The essence of this blog entry is to encourage business owners to start paying attention to the mobi world and the mobi ecosystem. All to often business owners and magazine publishers play catch up when it comes to technology. My challenge and my mission is to keep you ahead of the technology curve. Keep reading and keep up.

Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com

SOURCES:
*http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/special-reports/five-mobile-social-networking-services-you-should-get-know

** http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/mef-ad-funded-entertainment-to-336m-by-2013/2008-05-29

***http://www.mobilecontentwriters.com/Mobile%20Content%20Articles%20from%20Mobile%20Content%20Writer.htm

Online Revenue Potential

2008-05-20T13:49:00.002-05:00

To expand your presence online will require time, money and proof that revenue will be forthcoming. After all, why would you spend time and money to expand your web presence if there is no revenue to come from the venture. So, how do you predict the revenue to come online? It is more than a mathematical equation. There are three critical components to the calculation; circulation, potential advertiser pool and internal sales staff commitment.

Circulation is not only a measurement of your magazines reach, but a great way to gauge potential Web users to your existing or new Web site. A Web site without a magazine is just a Web site. A magazine without a Web site is just a magazine. Together, you have a very powerful force that is hard to stop. Industry experts agree that the best way to promote your Web site is through your magazine. The ability to push users from the fiber environment to the cyber world is mission critical and it is not hard to accomplish. Whether you choose to run contests or you choose to enhance your fiber articles with digital side bars, you must make a commitment to grow your cyber/fiber relationship. Your reader base as calculated through your circulation gives you a very accurate view of potential Web users that may come to your web site. In most cases, 45% of your Web users will be subscribers. This means that if your circulation is 10,000 you can comfortable count on being able to bring over 5,000 users to your Web site. Since our experience tells us that most users will view 4.7 web pages per visit, this means you can comfortably count on 23,500 potential page views per month. This is an important figure to your revenue planning. In addition, if you are not getting this traffic and currently have a Web site you may be doing something wrong.

Identifying your potential advertiser pool is also critical to your online revenue exercise. You can identify those that may run on your Web site by looking at advertisers that are running on the Web sites of your competitors. Another great way to find out if advertisers will embrace your online plan is to simply ask them. Tell each of your sales reps to ask their top 10 clients how much they plan to spend online in the next ad season and then follow that question up by asking how much they will spend with you online if your Web site is up to par with the competition. A big mistake I see often is that a magazine publisher assumes that there is a potential advertiser pool when there is not one. Another great strategy is to share your online business plan with your advertisers. Get them excited about what you are doing online and what you will be doing online to benefit them. All successful strategic Web site plans have the advertisers in the plan from the first word that is written.

People are most passionate about projects when they are asked to participate in the plan. This is a management technique that I have been preaching for many years. It very much applies to the online revenue exercise because when sales people are told what they have to sell rather than being asked to develop the sales opportunity they are less effective due to their nature of rebellion against being told what to do. Type A sales people are very easy to predict. Their attitudes, natural tendencies and performance are easy to manage if you recognize the obvious. If your sales team does not embrace your Web site plan, why would you expect them to be effective in selling the Web site? You can not sit back and say that they have too sell because it is their job. Sure, they will sell because they are good soldiers, but they will never soar because they do not believe in the plan. Many times management will create the wrong selling situation and then become frustrated when sales goals are not met. Most often these situations can be avoided by putting a representative on the strategic planning team for the new Web site. While I am not advocating a democracy, I am advocating that you get your sales team involved in the project from day one. They are in the field each day and only they know what advertisers are asking about. If your sales team is not 90% on board, you can have the best Web site in the industry, but your revenue potential will suffer.

Now that you have these three pieces of data, you can begin to develop your revenue potential. Based on the circulation example above you will have 5,000 potential web users per month. They will then look on average at 4.7 pages per visit. That means you should or will have the potential to serve nearly 25,000 page views each month. Take the number of ads you have on each page times your potential page views to determine how much ad inventory you have to sell. If 25% of your 70 advertisers are ready to get online that is 17 potential advertisers. You have determined that 50% of your sales staff is excited about selling the Web. That means you have 8 potential sales. In most cases it has been my experience that you can charge 25% of your full page rate as a price base online.

The math and philosophy to make this scenario complete is a bit more complex and requires some further questions and answers. However, if you have no idea where to start this overview should give you a place to begin your journey toward online revenue potential.

Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan Dohrn and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.
http://www.RyanDohrn.com or http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com

About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn ( http://www.ryandohrn.com ) is President and founder of Brain Swell Media, an internet consulting firm that helps business owners and publishers make money online. http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com or FreeAdvice@brainswellmedia.com

Community is key, but Control is Critical.

2008-05-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

Guiding discussions is the key to online community success. I have been teaching for many years that there are three key components to successful Web sites; content, community and commerce. There are two things that often happen when I consult with a business owner or publisher as they contemplate the launching of a community section of their web site. (When I say “community section”, I mean an area on the Web site where users can chat, post, share with other users, upload personal photos, etc. See my blog entry, Online Communities and the Law of Nature for more info. ) These two choices are either, (A) no we do not want the users to contribute for fear that they will post something that is inappropriate or will affect our advertisers or (b) lets allow users to share and see where it goes. All too often these quick choices will yield the wrong results. In brief, both of these thought patterns are wrong.

Creating a fraternal environment on your site is very important. You want users to come back often. This does not mean that they expect you to open up your site and allow them to trash each other, your advertisers or your business/magazine. Since birth humans are looking for leadership. They are looking to be guided. But, just like raising kids, you can go too far and then your users will rebel. Guiding or leading the discussions online is the first secret to success. Editing or censoring posts is also a recipe for disaster.

Create discussion forums that drive around your “theme”. If your “theme” is graphic design, create forum subject topics like, Software, Classes or Design Tips. If you are in a business or your magazine covers a “how to” driven theme, you are in the perfect business for success online. An Ask The Experts forum will allow your staff to been seen as the experts and allows you to tailor the discussion forums toward a simple yet thoughtful discussion on specific topics. In addition, it allows you to welcome your advertisers into the discussion as they are also experts in their respective fields. Remember users do three main things online; e-mail, research and seek entertainment. Your specific theme driven forums answer two of these calls to the Internet. For example, House and Home Magazine, a client of mine, is in the home décor, renovation and high end remodeling business. Their Ask the Experts forum found at www.HouseMagazine.com have been broken down into four areas that they feel will complement their magazine and four areas they know they can cover from a staff perspective. Just 24 hours after launch they had their first question from a user. Let the fun begin. Another parenting magazine I found online broke their forums into three sections; infants/toddlers, k-8 and teens.
Being specific with your topics will not eliminate the problems that come from disgruntled users or “negative Nancy’s”, but it will give direction and allow you to control the direction of the conversation. Allowing users to create the main subject headings is a sure way to open up your site to topic categories like “I hate Hillary Clinton, do you?”.

IMPORTANT TIPS TO REMEMBER: Never have a forum topic like Miscellaneous or Other. This is one of the worst things to do in the community space. Ask your forum/community provider to provide each user that is signing up with a “terms of service agreement” that they must agree to before they can post on your site. Never allow your site to be used against you. Deleting negative posts in not censorship, it is smart. But, if an advertiser is getting bashed online, invite the advertiser to defend themselves before you simply delete the post. Often, the advertiser can make themselves look very good online.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature.

Banner Ads Work in the World of Niche

2008-05-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

Banner ads are not created equal. Some are meant to be effective in conveying your message, while some are meant to be clicked! Low click rates experienced by some online advertisers are not necessarily the result of the medium but rather, the effectiveness of your banner ads in building brand awareness, generating click-throughs, and boosting sales depends on how it was created. Click-through rate or CTR is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign. A CTR is obtained by dividing the number of users who clicked on an ad on a web page by the number of times the ad was delivered (impressions). For example, if your banner ad was delivered 100 times (impressions delivered) and one person clicked on it (clicks recorded), then the resulting CTR would be 1 percent.

In the niche magazine space banners work. Unlike bigger sites, users coming to niche sites are not just “surfing the web”. The days when people said they found your site by “just surfing around” are over. Users are more educated to the online experience that ever before. They are coming to a site for a reason. They are looking for something specific. Maybe it is a hobby they are looking to explore, or an article about knitting. In any event, most users do not just happen upon a rock climbing site or ATV web site for example. Sales people take note, niche users come to niche sites for a reason. So, this makes that niche user a prime target for niche banner advertising. Advertising a car supermarket on www.carsupermarkets.co.uk or car leasing company on www.contracthireandleasing.com will work very well because these are very busy, industry specific websites. Advertising car leasing on a website listing used cars for sale or vans on a car website will not deliver the same level of response or reach the target audience.
100% of all internet users surveyed have used Google. 49% of all online searches are done through Google each day. These users are searching for something specific. This means that banner ads on niche sites are very important. If they were not, Google’s multi-million dollar ad words business would go belly up. It is interesting to note that even Google is recognizing the resurgence of banner ads as they have now begun to serve banner ads into the spots previously reserved for those little text ads on the right and top of every search results page.

In the end you will still come across advertisers that simply do not believe that banner ads work. My research and experience report that banner ads on niche oriented site tend to earn a .15% greater click thru rate than banners on bigger non-niche sites. The biggest click thru rates I have ever seen were reported in a study by Nielsen/NetRatings that showed the right approach to creating banner ads can entice viewers to actually click on a banner. The banners of Harry and David, a gourmet food gifts store, yield a very impressive click rate of 67.21% among at-home viewers; while iWon/PaceFoods' banners generated 40% click rate among the at-work viewers. These figures refute the myth that banner ads will always have a low click-through rate.

Well designed banner ads on niche specific sites where the ad matches the potential user are unstoppable. All advertising works best when a customer wants to see it. One of the major factors influencing the effectiveness of banner advertising will be the quality, popularity, and specific target audience of the website carrying your banner advert.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please visit Ryan’s online at http://www.RyanDohrn.com or e-mail him at ryan@ryandohrn.com

Let the “Big Dogs” Fight. Niche Magazines Shine Bright

2008-03-03T21:08:00.001-05:00

While the big publishers fight for their share of the netscape, its time for niche publishers to show why being agile is often better than being big.

My wife and I raise AKC Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs. Small feisty little critters, but loving none the less. We also have an English Jack Russell Terrier. For those that do not know the breed, they weigh less than 15lbs, but think they are a Doberman on steroids. They are agile, quick and often very quick to the punch. They will often loose to a bigger dog in a fight for table scrapes, but the big dog will know that they have met their match. Thus the tale of big dog publishers and the rest of us ensues. We fight for what is left, but can we even make a meal of the left-over’s? Can we beat them at their own game? Perhaps we need to jump while they are distracted with bigger issues. While the top consumer mags are fighting for space online, you as niche publishers can shine bright with specialized content and specialized media that the big dogs only wish they had time to focus on.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com, March 3, 2008) -- When the magazine industry turned out for its latest digital conference last week, no one doubted the importance of the web. But now that they've moved online, many major magazine publishers are finding themselves nobodies in the new neighborhood, overshadowed by digital brands like Yahoo, MySpace and Huffington Post. So how much of the internet's growth can magazine brands snare for themselves?

What makes self owned and small publishers different is your ability to be agile and makes changes in a moments notice. All too often, I see niche publishers miss this opportunity to out shine the big players. Corporate owned pubs have many checks and balances in place that stop them from make snap decisions and putting up content fast. They have big fish to fry and there are about twenty chefs in the kitchen. I often teach that perfect preparation makes for perfect plans. But, when it comes to competitive strategy, often the more agile ship will win the battle.

Bigger magazines have their minds focused on the bigger issues. This gives niche publishers a chance to slip and steal the prize. What is the prize? Users.

Using very specific key words, key phrases and creating relevant contextual content, niche publishers can place content online that will be search engine friendly and thus will get you better results. Better results equals more users.

Contextual content is simply content that is relevant to your subject matter and that is presented in text on your page. For example, if you are a knitting magazine, you will want to have knitting in your title tag, knitting in your meta data and knitting in your most prominent main page content items. While bigger pubs might cover knitting, their sites will be laden with larger corporate issues and not fine tuned like yours. You have the ability to be simple, straight forward and proactive. You can add knitting video without getting corporate approval or having your video screened by a lawyer. Grab a camera and ask a friend to shoot you teaching a new knot or a new pattern. Do not wait for it to be perfect. We all have to start somewhere. Have an idea, put it up and ask users to take a poll. Want to share a user letter, place it in your blog. No blog yet? Come on now, catch up.

To win online you need to look for ways that you can be more agile and shine bright. You have the ability to throw stuff on the wall and see what sticks. This will make your magazine better and your presence online better.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please listen to Ryan’s audio version of this blog online at http://www.RyanDohrn.com

© 2007 Ryan R. Dohrn

Can Publishers be sued for user comments placed on their site?

2008-02-20T09:15:00.003-05:00

This is a common question I get while speaking and consulting. Can Publishers be sued for user comments place on their site via forums and bulletin boards. The answer is Yes. Seek advice from a legal professional! My experience tells me this... you can be sued for anything. Period. Will you loose or win in court is the better question. The answer received a bit more clarity when the Middle District Court of Florida ruled this week that the federal Communications Decency Act protects site operators from liability for user comments. "The court finds that the mere fact that Xcentric provides categories from which a poster must make a selection in order to submit a report on the ... website is not sufficient to treat defendants as information content providers," wrote Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers division.”

Legal wins by publishers continue across the nation as site publishers embrace user generated content to drive traffic and give users a reason to return to their sites on a daily basis.
There is a quiet dance that must occur on magazine web sites between user generated content and publisher generated content. I talked about this a bit in a previous post about user generated video. Read that post here. http://ryandohrn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=26

User generated content is critical to your sites success online, but “the mix” of this content and the content generated by your editorial team is the real point to focus upon. In some cases a sub site makes the most sense with some information that pulls back and forth between the sites. If your magazine deals with very exclusive and very expensive editorial content then user generated content will often take a back seat, but should not be forgotten. But, this is a bit of a different debate than if you should place user generated content online at all for fear of being sued. Consult a lawyer for legal advice, if you are asking for my opinion, from a internet perspective, user generated content is critical to your success online as it will drive traffic, increase revenue and give your site an overall fraternal feel that makes users feel comfortable on your site. When users feel comfortable on your site, they feel at ease with your magazine. This in turn, will drive them to subscribe to continue that “all in the family” feeling. Also, when users feel a part of your family, they are more open to receiving e-mail blasts and offers from you that also drive revenue.

Wendy Davis from Media Post posted the following online at Media Post that should set most publishers minds at ease to the end that in most cases the publishers win.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=76849&Nid=39529&p=469455

THE PUBLISHER OF ONLINE COMPLAINT site Ripoff Report has won a lawsuit filed by a Colorado company that took issue with users' posts about it tagged with labels like "con artists," "corrupt companies" and "false TV advertisements."
In the case, a federal district court in Florida late last week dismissed a defamation and trademark infringement complaint brought by Whitney Information Network, a company billing itself as offering education in real estate investing, against Xcentric Ventures, the Arizona company that runs RipOffReport.com and BadBusinessBureau.com.
The court ruled that the federal Communications Decency Act protects site operators from liability for user comments--even when the company behind the sites has created tags for commenters to use to classify their posts. "The court finds that the mere fact that Xcentric provides categories from which a poster must make a selection in order to submit a report on the ... website is not sufficient to treat defendants as information content providers," wrote Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers division.”
Whitney Information Network's in-house lawyer declined to comment on the matter, or state whether the company planned to appeal.
Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law and a well-known advocate for online publishers, said the case seemed "entirely consistent with existing precedent," even though the result--that tags created by publishers are treated as if they were user-created--might seem counterintuitive.
He said the court's rationale stems from the concept that "the Web site wrote those terms, but really they're given effect only when the users choose them."
The case raises the same legal issue as another pending lawsuit against roommate-matching site Roommates.com. In that case, a fair housing group in California sued Roommates.com for civil rights violations on the theory that the site enabled discrimination by giving users questionnaires with choices like "I will not live with children," as well as options to indicate whether they're willing to live with straight roommates only, gay roommates only, and the like.
The 9th Circuit appellate court initially ruled last May that Roommates.com was not immune from liability under federal law on the theory that the site had collaborated with users to create the content. "By categorizing, channeling and limiting the distribution of users' profiles, Roommate provides an additional layer of information that it is 'responsible' at least 'in part' for creating or developing," a three-judge panel of the court wrote.
But the 9th Circuit later vacated that ruling and ordered re-argument, which it heard late last year. A host of other Web companies--including Amazon, Google and eBay--unsuccessfully attempted to file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Roommates.com, but the court rejected it in December, apparently because accepting it would have created a conflict of interest for one or more judges deciding the case.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=76849&Nid=39529&p=469455

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please listen to Ryan’s audio version of this blog online at http://www.ryandohrn.com/

By Ryan R. Dohrn ©2007

Which presidential candidates embrace the Internet in a big way?

2008-01-26T11:03:00.000-05:00

Let me first begin by saying that I have been a Republican since birth. I have voted in nearly every presidential election and have always voted Republican. I will probably do the same this November. In my quest for clarity on the issues, I spent some time looking at the “Big 3” candidates from each party to see which of them spent some time and effort to devote a section of their Web site to technology and the Internet. (Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Clinton, Obama and Edwards)

After all, the Internet is my life, my business and OUR future.

On each web site I went to the tab marked “issues.” Funny thing, with the exception of Mike Huckabee, almost all the candidate sites look the same. Very similar in look and feel. This begs me to ask who copied whom? All the sites were well optimized, well laid out and you can tell that each candidate employed some people with excellent web knowledge. Why then did so many of my GOP faithful not even mention the Internet on their sites. If they did, it was buried so deep I could not find it. So, who is the net important enough too that they mentioned it in prime space on their sites… and the winners are…

Of all the candidates, the only candidate with “Technology” on the main issues tab was Barack Obama. From there he digs deep into the issues of technology, media and the internet. From his site, “Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices.”

Oh my and Barack dares to even include technology in a speech, oh my aching heart….

From Barack Obama.com- Technology and Innovation for a New Generation
“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.”
— Barack Obama Presidential Announcement Speech in Springfield, IL 02/10/07
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/

Broadband to my farm in South Carolina… John Edwards where are you? You are from here.

John Edwards had the second best thoughts on the Internet. However, you had to dig a bit past the first issues tab, but it was easy to find. From his site, “Building a Universal, Affordable Internet: The country that developed the internet is now 16th in the world in broadband penetration. While half of urban and suburban households have broadband, less than a third of rural homes do. John Edwards will set a national broadband policy to help make the Internet more affordable and accessible to all Americans, regardless of where they live or how much money they have.”
http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/open-media/

Considering that the Internet drives more than 35% of all retail commerce and that 85% of Americans have daily access to the Internet and that nearly 55% off all political campaign money is raised online, you would think that the net would play a bigger role in the “issues” of the candidates running for President of the United States.

Good thing for the GOP is this… I am not a one issue kind of guy. I want to keep more of what I make and be sure that I get back all the money I have put into the system. I want my kids to be safe and I want to die knowing that I made decisions to the best of my ability. If there is one thing the winner of this presidential race can do for me is set up a call with Steve Jobs and ask him to bring down the price of Mac’s. Or, at least open up the market to the Dell’s of the world. Steve, come on, you need more money? Man that would save me some money.

Long live the net.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please listen to Ryan’s audio version of this blog online at http://www.RyanDohrn.com

By Ryan R. Dohrn©2007

My Web 2.0 for 2008

2008-01-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

As publishers and sales executives in the magazine business of 2008, it is critical that you know the meaning behind the term Web 2.0. After all, it is one of the only gauges we have for determining if your Web strategy, web site and other related digital plan are “up to snuff”.

I can think of no better place to help us learn about this term than Wikipedia. Why? Because Wikipedia is the collective thoughts, definitions and the like from a group of smart or informed people. There collective definition is much better than my single explanation.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Web 2) On September 30, 2005, Tim O'Reilly wrote a piece summarizing his view of Web 2.0. The mind-map pictured above (constructed by Markus Angermeier [1] on November 11, 2005) sums up some of the memes of Web 2.0, with example-sites and services attached.In studying and/or promoting web-technology, the phrase Web 2.0 can refer to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis, and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users. The term gained currency following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004.[2][3] Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use webs. According to Tim O'Reilly,"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform." [4]Some technology experts, notably Tim Berners-Lee, have questioned whether one can use the term in a meaningful way, since many of the technology components of "Web 2.0" have existed since the early days of the Web.[5][6]An IBM social networking analyst, Dario de Judicibus, has proposed a different definition which is more focused on social interactions and architectural implementation:"Web 2.0 is a knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications in a service-oriented architecture." [7]

More from Wikipedia on this subject online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2

Now, for my thoughts. I would encourage all publishers and editors to review my top ten for Web success in 2008. I feel the following components are critical to your success and your quest for life beyond Web 2.0.

1. Unrestricted access to main site stories without registration. Only keep valuable data, like archives, behind a registration system.
2. Archives. Archives are critical to a magazines success online.
3. Easy to find search box that allows users the ability to search all pages of the site and return results that can either be narrowed down or expanded upon once the search is returned.
4. Web extras and web only content. There are additional sidebars that drive readers from the magazine to the web for more. And, the same goes for the web, the web extras should drive them back to the magazine.
5. Online subscription pages. Your readers should be able to do all their circulation fulfillment and management online.
6. Video. There should be 2 sections, publisher created videos and users created videos.
7. Blogs or editorial only sections. It is critical that magazine staff get involved online and write. It is perfectly ok to keep the public and staff blogs separate.
8. Community components. Special sections that have some similar components to MySpace.com or Facebook.com where readers can share, discuss and become a part of your online property.
9. Searchable advertiser index or searchable pages of your actual magazine. This is not to say every page of your magazine is online. Give readers the ability to find advertisers and/or more from your magazine. Digital editions can help solve this problem. As well, digital editions will help prepare you for the day when digital readers will become more prevalent within the public sector.
10. Dedicated insertion of advertisers into the online content. Ads that are outside the content in the stark white exile of your site not only tell the advertisers that you want them as far away as possible, but tells the readers that too. In addition you reduce ROI for your advertise by as much as 35%. Use Interactive Advertising Bureau standards and integrate ads in a rich way into your site.

Web 2.0 goes far beyond site structure and goes deep into content management technology as well. So, do not think that the above list is complete as it is not and it is my opinion. Read, read and then read some more. Also, listen to my new Digital Media OZ radio show as I ask experts about this very topic.

Blessings for a great 2008.

RRD

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please listen to Ryan’s audio version of this blog online at http://www.RyanDohrn.com © 2007 Ryan R. Dohrn

Archives, Your Web Site’s Future

2007-11-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

We live in the here and now. You have heard the old saying, “They can not see the forest through trees.”? The same can be said of business owners designing their Web sites. All too often the focus is on meeting current needs and demands and not on creating a scalable design that can grow with your ever changing demands. To that end, archives must be built around current information that must be placed in an environment where users can find it for years to come.

I am no prophet, but I can tell you that there are many “things” that will come to life over the next year that will affect your Web site. If your fall or springs plans are a redesign of your magazine or business web site make sure that archives are in your plans.

Archives are a constant topic of debate. The reason for this is very simple, people come to the net for three reasons; (1) E-mail, (2) Research and (3) Entertainment. Research is driving force behind the Internet. Enid Burns from the ClickZ Network, reported on Nov 20, 2007 that of the five major or "core" search engines, Google held a substantial lead over its rivals in September 2007, according to comScore research. Of the 9.4 billon searches performed at the five major engines, Google maintained a 57 percent share over competing search engines Yahoo (23.7 percent); Microsoft (10.3 percent); Ask (4.7 percent); and Time Warner including AOL (4.5 percent). An analysis of search activity at the top 50 Internet properties worldwide shows Google's sites lead the pack with 6.6 billion searches, followed by Yahoo (2.4 billion), and Microsoft (999 million). Thus, the ability for your archives to been “scrubbed” by search engines is more powerful then ever before. However, this dos not mean that you can or should blindly place every word of your magazine online.

I would encourage you to think about doing these three things to see significant success from your archives.

1. Get the rights needed to place articles online in perpetuity
2. Give users free access to key word heavy teaser paragraphs.
3. Make search easy to find on your site

The first step in your process toward archive success is getting the rights to place content online from your writers. Hiring a lawyer that specializes in the business of intellectual property law is mission critical. This is an important step that is often overlooked. Here is a paragraph from an online contract that speaks volumes, “Contractor hereby assigns to Company the perpetual, royalty-free right to publish said Content, in whole or in part, in any medium now known or later developed including online archives.” If you do not have language of this nature in your freelance writer contract, you need to call your lawyer. Online archives are your future. Freelances are becoming more reasonable than ever before on this issue. They may want to charge you more up front, but there is a benefit to you in the future. Most freelancers just want to be treated fairly. If a freelance writer is not willing to give you archives rights, you may need to look else where.

Second, find a content management system that will allow you to take the first paragraph of a story and make it readable to the general public free. (Google “content management systems” to find one that will meet your needs.) Then you lock down the remainder of the story behind a free registration system. If the public can read it, then the Googlebot™ can read it. This point alone is a controversial issue, but not if (a) you are a niche content provider or (b) you give the user enough reason to sign up for your site. All too often the sign up process is labor intensive or offers no reason for the user to make that step and give you personal data. This issue also does not apply to those media in the daily news business. There are far too many free no registration offerings to make site sign-up worthwhile on a daily news site. We operate in the niche media space. In this space our content is valuable and worth the price of admission. Especially if the price is just our e-mail and some basic demo information. Once you have a locked system in place you need to place as much of the article online that will meet the user’s research needs. You are not giving away the article because you have two lines of revenue, (1) you have their registration data to sell and use and (2) you can sell ads on the page as well.

Finally, make your search box easy to find on your site. This point alone is paramount to your success. Placing it in the top margin of the page is mission critical. Hiding it in the rail at the bottom is suicide by search. If the user is logged into your site than once they search they see the whole article. If they are not, they get the first paragraph of the story and then are required to sign in for the rest. The first paragraph of the story needs to show enough content that they get a general idea if they have found what they are looking for. Be sure that your editorial staff places a lot of key words in the first paragraph and writes in good old fashioned inverted funnel style and you will be set.

As niche publishers, never forget how valuable your data is online. There is a fine line to walk between free and the registered model we have discussed. I would caution you against a paid model online as it has been my experience that people are not yet willing to pay for the content especially if they subscribe to the magazine. With that said, investing in new technology that opens up the site to subscribers is emerging each day. Already many companies that offer digital solutions that have offerings to meet these needs in a variety of ways. All in all, you need to plan ahead for archives to be an important part of your web site. Never forget that meeting the current needs of your users is important, but using data from today to drive users tomorrow is your future. Get ahead of the archive curve and win in the end. Never forget what I preach over and over, he who owns the data wins.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. Please listen to Ryan’s audio version of this blog online at http://www.ryandohrn.com/

User Generated Video Has A Place On Magazine Sites, But Where?

2007-11-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

Video is king online. There is no denying that copy cat sites ripping off the huge success of Youtube will continue to pop up on the netscape. After-all, imitation is the fondest form of flattery.

There are basically 2 types of video content; UGV and PGV. UGV stands for User Generated Video and PGV stands for Publisher Generated Video. I have seen tremendous growth in video content online, but our company’s growth has been focused on PGV. So, this begs the question, is UGV good for your site? And if it is, where do you put UGV to get the most benefit for your site and not ruin the editorial integrity of your magazine?

My analysis of the UGV situation is based in the theory that not too long ago the average “Joe” did not have access to high quality video cameras and high end editing gear. Now the general public can often shoot and edit with professional results for a fraction of the cost of days gone by. So, developing a system where you encourage UGV to be of very high quality is important. Develop standards for UGV on your site and publish those standards. If users want their videos to be featured on your site, they must comply and in most cases they will. Why? They want their “stuff” on your site. Pick the video and do not just blindly run UGV as marquee content. Truly, this is not the best way to leverage the content for long term growth. To that same end, a legal document that gives you permission and assigns the video rights to you is important as well.

As magazine publishers we are battling to maintain strong editorial integrity while growing our brands online. For this reason, the idea of building special sections of your site for UGV is important and making PGV the focal point of the site is critical. In addition, I encourage publishers to blend UGV with PGV. For example, showcase 3 clips created by your in house team and pick one UGV clip as well. Users come to your magazine site for a reason, you are the leader, you are the source. UGV is often funny, edgy and fast, but the short term traffic results garnered from UGV will not help you build a long term brand online. As magazine publishers you want to be fresh and innovative online. But, you do not want to be a trend or a fad online. This will not help you grow the important cyber/fiber relationship that is critical to your magazine’s success.

UGV holds an important place on all Web sites. User Generated Content is critical to creating that fraternal feel we all want our users to enjoy. But, be careful that you do not get caught up in the USG craze and blindly give away your entire magazine site to the users.

Listen to this blog in audio form online at http://www.ryandohrn.com

Note: The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature.

Web Stats Can Kill A Sale

2007-11-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

Web stats can kill an Internet sale if you do not control the message. One of the biggest problems with the Internet is one of its greatest strengths; statistics. We can give an advertiser numbers down to the smallest degree if they desire. But, is this the best way to secure and keep a long term client?

When teaching sales people I sometimes refer to the legendary book, The Art Of War. To paraphrase and to make appoint I often teach that you do not want to show your enemy your full arsenal up front. It leaves you nothing to pull out to finish the job. The same is true of statistics. Long lists of numbers are meaningless to a person that is searching for a single answer. But, the only way to know what to give the prospect is to ask. He who asks the questions is in control of the sales call. Period. I always begin by asking who the prospect is trying to reach? Then I ask them if they have any recent data to support their thoughts. The reason for this is two fold, (1) I might be able to sell them an online survey and (2) I will only present them stats that meet their given criteria. How many times has a prospect said, “Just send me your media kit.” End of call. I often say back, “I would love too, what do you want me to include in the kit? We customize each media kit to each client. If I know what your goals and budget are, I can send you a much better media kit with a proposal that will not waste your time. We have thousands of pieces of information.” Many sales people overwhelm prospects with data that either (a) the sales person feels is important or (b) makes their job easier. It has been proven time and time again that customized sales proposal and customized media kits win the sale hands down. Using statistics in a meaningful way can help you win the sale.

So, you have won the sale. Good job. Watch out, here come the performance stats from your online ad delivery system. Oh my, more stats. What do you do with all the client stats? The blind answer is forward them to the client. To use another military term, SHOCK AND AWE them into submission. Overwhelm them with data and maybe they will say, “Oh my, this must be working if I am getting back this much data!” You could not be more wrong! I have been selling the Internet since 1996 and I have not ever found one instance where that was the case. I encourage sales people to not send out the full stats report. Now, many agencies will require that, but we all know that agencies are much smarter than the rest of us, so give them what they want. (wink) Instead, I encourage sales people to read and digest the stats. Then, prepare a short, brief custom report for your client. You need to explain the data to the client. If the data is bad you might have a lot of explaining to do. Never assume that even the most astute client will understand the reports that are kicked out by your online ad delivery system. In addition, watch the reports for poor performance. I often encourage a client to run multiple campaigns so that we can gauge which one is working best. Pull down the bad performers.

So, it’s time to renew, use those same stats to renew the sale. You know have POP, Proof of Performance. There is nothing sweeter than being able to prove your right. Ask my wife. Kidding.

Detailed performance statistics are one thing that print media can not offer. If you want to focus on one big difference between print and Web, that is it in a nut shell. But, if you are not careful, statistics can kill a sale in many ways. Never forget, Statistics are only as good as their accuracy and their interpretation. Be proactive so your sale does not get lost in translation.

Read more and listen to this blog in audio format online at http://www.ryandohrn.com/

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature.

Steve Jobs to lower pricing on all Apple products?

2007-09-28T08:57:00.001-05:00

I am a big fan of iTunes and the iPod. We use Itunes as an additional way to distribute two of our TV shows to the masses. I am listening to my Ipod at 36,000 feet as I write this blog on my PC enroute to the Fly Fishing Retail Show in Denver where I will present our new AmericanAngler.com and FlyTyer.com filled with rich video edited on Final Cut on a Mac.

Over my career I have used both Apple and PC. My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20, but my first computer beyond games was an Apple IIe. To say I grew up on Apple is an understatement. I, unlike so may others, am thrilled that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has discounted the price of the iPhone. I wonder if this may lead to a more competitive pricing environment for other Apple products? The massive backlash by Apple loyalists to Steve’s recent decision is perplexing at best. It is sort of like the masses that were surprised when the iPhone had initial system and set-up issues. You Apple junkies want all of us to embrace your passions, yet you become distraught when we mention the price point of Mac use at a corporate level. Your commercials laugh at Vista, which my be truer than false, yet each year another OS for Mac comes out and my “Mac folks” line up at my door with their hand out for more cash. When I ask why I hear, “My God boss, the new version of Blah blah only runs on OS Blah, Blah.” So, now your leader, discounts the iPone and he is slapped, chastised and if you could, set in the public square and humiliated as the town loon?

I applaud Jobs for a job well done. At some point you have to realize that the sticker shock of Apple products is making it harder and harder to push through capital expenditure requests for their great products. This is not about little Suzy in her suburban bedroom where her parents dropped three grand on her Mac. As business people we have to fight every budget season to even keep Macs on our budget. Why, because they are so unreal in their pricing.

Steve, Mr. Jobs, take your great products to the next level. Do not be afraid by the stock market reaction to your decision. Do not falter in your ideals that the greatest customer is the one that will not only by your products, but the one that can afford them too.

The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature.

Google and Amazon, will their e-books impact magazines?

2007-09-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

Does the debut of the Kindle by Amazon.com mean digital magazines are one step closer to your bathroom? Will Google’s attempt at e-books mean that book and magazine printers will go bust?

The famous “3B test” is often called the litmus for whether digital magazines will succeed in the marketplace; bathroom, bus, beach. Will readers change their habits and carry their digital reader into the bathroom? Can the digital reader be seen in the sun on the beach? Is there enough wireless connectivity to read it on the bus? The answer to these questions is becoming much less a mystery every day.

The New York Times reports that Amazon in October will launch the Kindle, an e-book reader. The Kindle will run $400 to $500 and will connect wirelessly to an Amazon e-book store. The biggest flaw I find in this reader is its dependence on a proprietary software format rather than using a more widely accepted format like Adobe’s PDF. The New York Times further reports, “People familiar with the Kindle also have a few complaints. The device has a Web browser, but using it is a poor experience, because the Kindle’s screen, also from E Ink, does not display animation or color.”

In kind, Google will start charging users for access to digital copies of many of the online books that have, in the past, been free to view. It would seem that any time Google gets involved in any equation there is a winning touchdown very near. In most cases even the appearance of a thrown together beta test from Google has been well thought out and tested. For its part, Google has no plans to launch an eReader.

This conversation can not go much further without bringing up the Sony reader that has yet to make a huge splash in the main stream. However, because Sony has not released user numbers, one might speculate that their most recent promotion in some major cities leads to a quiet revolution of sorts for the product.

Peter Kafka, from the Silicon Alley Insider blogs, "There's no price advantage for consumers, either: Even though e-book titles cost much less than physical books to produce and distribute, Kindle -- terrible name! -- buyers will be asked to spend roughly the same amount on e-books as they do for traditional books. Otherwise publishers and authors won't sign off on the venture."

I will bet you a vanilla bean frappuccino that an enhanced magazine reader will be the next add on for the iPhone or the iTouch. Why? Apple is known for actually delivering what people want or what they never knew that they wanted until they held it in their hand. In addition, Apple displays color PDF's with clickable fields on almost all their devices.

The good news is this, those of us in the magazine business are safe. Designers, editors and publishers all have a job in the new world order. eReaders require great content, great design and well thought out editorial plans. There are some things a robot can not do well or at all.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/technology/06amazon.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1189170428-BHQZUnAHzimcbQSK5SFj7Q&oref=slogin

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2007/09/e-books-yet-aga.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frappuccino

Brevity, the spice of life?

2007-08-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Ever said to your self, I sure wish I could get an extra hour in my day. I could get so much more done. We’ll my friends the answer is just a few short words away. I will try and be brief.

I was recently on a business trip to Anchorage, Alaska. ( More online at http://www.chatalaska.com/ ) My biological clock got messed up after just 72 hours in the “last frontier”. Great place to visit by the way. So, the last week I have been suffering from a small fit of insomnia. Now, before you true sufferers of this horrific disorder blow up my e-mail box, let me say that after just a few nights of “suffering” I feel your pain, in a mild way. Sort of like a gnat. Gnats are just annoying enough to bother you, but not bad enough to waste much time killing the nagging insect. Oh great, now all you gnat lovers out there will blow up my e-mail box. Lol. To my point, I have recently spent many late night hours watching cable television. I have come to a realization of what is missing in today’s society…. Brevity! What would be so wrong with an intelligent individual assembling a simple, concise comment about a particular topic? Meetings without chairs is a great start, but that only works if the guy talking is willing to stop when his legs go numb. Brevity does not even appear in Wikipedia as a word to be defined rather as a definition of a comic strip. What? Something missing from Wikipedia? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevity )

From http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/brevity
brev·i·ty Pronunciation: 'bre-v&-tEFunction: nounInflected Form(s): plural -tiesEtymology: Latin brevitas, from brevis: shortness of duration; especially : shortness or conciseness of expression

Do you recall in that recent political debate where one of the candidates answer to a complex question was just, “No.”? That got a lot of press. Why? Because it is so rare to hear someone exercise brevity. The new web site http://www.Twitter.com is all about communicating in short text from wherever you are. I think the point of Twitter.com is just my point. Please cut down the bush, we are all tired of you beating it. Just cut it down.

Now that this post is getting over 1,000 words to my exact point. I am going to be more brief. I would encourage you to be more brief. I think we all need to learn how brevity could make our daily lives better. Here is an oath you may wish to pass around, “I _______ promise to be more concise, more deliberate and more brief in all I do. I promise not to provoke others to long winded answers. I promise to share my passion for brevity with others I meet in life and my career. I further promise to spend the time I gain from being brief with my kids, my spouse and my God.” (Insert, dog, cat or hobby if you are single or do not believe in a higher power.)

As a matter of proving a point I am not even going to finish this blog pos………..

ttfn

Can we learn something from Anna Nicole Smith?

2007-02-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

As a manager I am never surprised by the things that draw my team's attention. Most recently, the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

It seems odd to me that so many people are surprised over the media attention surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith. On NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams said (In my own words,rd) many of us found it unusual when all the cable news channels went a frenzy when it was learned that Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead. Then he and his staff went on to not only have a live shot from Florida, but a fairly detailed report. Are we all embarrassed to admit our infatuation with celebrities and their lives?

At the news stand the number of celebrity driven magazines has risen to over 35 from only 7 some 10 years ago. Can you honestly say you have never read the National Enquirer while waiting in the line at the store only to put it back either when someone caught you reading or when you truly realized how much you were enjoying the article. Despite the tremendous advances in technology allowing us to play games beyond our childhood comprehensions and over 255 cable channels we still feel like we lead boring lives. Is this perhaps because we are all over medicated and over committed? We look toward celebrities for the bizarre, the macabre, maybe the life we wish we had the nerve to lead. I have found myself thinking about that life on many occasions.

Have you seen the TV show High Maintenance 90210 on E!? This is a reality based program where normal Joe's like you and me get jobs working for celebrities or the social elite in Beverly Hills. I think, how can these people waste this much money on such worthless things. I watched a woman drop $20,000 on a necklace and $1,000 on an ugly sweatshirt. YIKES. It is so easy for all of us to say, if I had that kind of money I would donate it to charity or do something good with it.... would you really? Cause, I would catch myself saying the same thing, but putting actions to those words when $20,000 is in my grubby little hands would be tough. Why is this show a hit? Simple. We "normal folk" like to see how the social elite live. We love to chatter about it at work. We wish the chance to live that life if for just one day.

I guess, the purpose of this entry in my blog is to say that I am not surprised at all over the attention that this story has gotten from the media. Fact is, we are drawn to the "odd" in life. Maybe in some ways, I feel for Anna. So, are there any lessons to be drawn from her death? Considering our national life expectancy is over 67 years, the old adage that you may be gone tomorrow, so live life to its fullest today is a bit over rated?

Since this is a blog on management growth, perhaps my advice is to get in touch with the things of today so we can better relate to our teams that seem to get younger each day. To be honest, Survivor and American Idol are pretty good shows. Other than that, perhaps as managers we need to work to create an environment that makes people feel secure and a part of something bigger. Perhaps then, people will not have to dream so far beyond their cubicle.

James Brown vs. Your Legacy

2006-12-26T10:53:00.000-05:00

It is hard not let the more recent criminal news surrounding James Brown shadow my thoughts of his legacy now that he has died. After watching the news, it would appear that I am not alone. Last week when I knew he would be passing out toys in Augusta, just three blocks from my office, I thought of stopping in to see him in person. Never giving it a moments thought that this year would be his last. I guess, in this moment of media bliss(lol), I might suggest a modification to the age old "golden rule". Perhaps a new twist that may say, "Share about peoples lives the way you would want others to share about you." No matter what you do, your legacy will have to be delivered by others. That is a bit scary if you ask me. Brown's death makes me stop to ponder my own.

What do you hope people will say and remember about you when you are gone? There are many stages in your life and career that should cause you to stop and take a moment to ponder. As a manager, you need to always be thinking of what your management legacy will be. What are you doing today that will impact others tomorrow.

Famous CEO Jack Welch and others like him, wrote countless times that your business legacy should be as important as your personal legacy. In many cases the two will be like a fine dancer and his partner. Each matching the other step for step. If I were to resign today, what would my team say about me? Your actions each day impact those around you in more ways than you can imagine. Do you give decisions enough thought or do you want your legacy to be one of quick decisions? Do you have a basis for the decisions you make or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Is your planning about today, tomorrow or ten years from now?

There are a lot of people that say they do not care what people think of them. I wonder if people that say that really mean it? Do they truly know what they are saying? Do they understand the impact that type of thought process can have on the direction of their daily lives?

I care what others think, especially when it comes to my team and the way I manage my team. In more recent days I have come to wonder if I have made mistakes in my management initiatives. We have seen tremendous success in many areas and serious losses in others. Have I been to easy? Have I not micro-managed enough? Have I given people enough rope to hang themselves, but put the noose to close to the ground that there feet could touch just enough to keep their careers alive? A wiser man than me said, "The mere fact that you are asking yourselves these questions means you care. Never stop asking those questions."

Overall, I try to see the best in people. When I am gone from my management position, when I pass on to the next place in my career, I hope that others will say, "He gave me the power to do my job. He gave me the freedom to be creative. He gave me direction so that I could shine. He never stole my thunder. He publicly applauded my efforts. I wish I had another boss like him."

As this year comes to a close, I can say I have found another "golden rule", lead people the way you would want to be lead. Live the legacy you wish to leave.

James Brown is an American icon. Period. We all make mistakes. I should consider myself priveledged to just know that I work in a town that he called home. I should relish the times his car passed me by as I walked Broad street. Why? Because there is one thing that the media has never debated or forgot to mention... James Brown, "The hardest working man in show business. " This was his self-proclaimed slogan. He said it, he belived it, he lived it and now others will say it beyond his grave. Legacy? Perhaps. If nothing else, just a small part of what he left behind.

Using the Internet to Sell Horses

2006-04-07T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Internet has become the fastest way to move stock in the history of the horse business. Never before have you been able to place an ad that can be seen by thousands in an instant. The Internet has opened an international door to horse owners around the globe. It is not unusual for horse owners to call within a few days of placing their ad online asking us to remove their ad because their phone will not stop ringing. But, despite the world wide exposure the Internet can be a wild wide web of confusion for horse owners wanting to cash in on the technology. Whether racing or selling your race horses, it is important to have a plan of attack.

When marketing your horses online you need to know who and where your potential buyers live on the Web. There are two distinct phases of a race horse’s life. Racing and life after racing. It is critical that you identify potential avenues for both phases of marketing your horses. If you are in the racing business then focus on the areas that you can accurately serve. For example, it will be a tremendous waste of money to advertise your race horse on a Web site where the majority of horses are trail horses. Search Google.com for web sites that offer classified advertising categories for “race horses for sale” or “APHA race horses for sale”. Once you have identified that as your primary market, you then need to identify your secondary market. Walmart®, for example, has over 125 secondary markets, but they know each one and how to serve the needs of each. Many race horses can find their second career in barrel racing. Others may be great for showing jumping or reining. You know your horses best, so do a little research and choose your secondary market. Once you decide on your secondary market, you then need to search Google.com for web sites that sell horses in your secondary market. If it happens to be barrel racing, you will find Web sites like BarrelHorses.com to focus your selling efforts. Keep in mind, this is just an example. You may not choose racing as your primary market. That is fine, but you need to know your market. Planning is essential to your success because the real question is, how can you sell to a market that you have not identified? This type of planning helps you create a focus for your business and helps keep you on a path toward success.
Once you have found a good site for selling your primary market then look at the site closely. You want to determine three things: what are the features, advantages and benefits of using a Web site to sell your horse. Classified sites fall into two categories free sites and paid sites. Pay close attention here because there are benefits and disadvantages to both. Free ads are not always the best bet. Free classified Web sites are often littered with ads thus ensuring your ad will not stand out or may never be seen. Early in the development of HorseCity.com, my partners and I determined that sellers who are not willing to pay for the best are probably not the people you want to be next too online. That philosophy has been tested over time. What we have learned at HorseCity.com is that while free classified sites have more ads, paid sites often offer better results. People that are willing to pay to place their horse online are usually considered a much more serious seller. Also, when searching sites, paid sites are not filled with free ads that are often outdated and irrelevant. There are arguments on both sides of the street about this issue. Look and see how many horses are online for sale on the site you are visiting. Most quality web sites will have a hundred or more horses in their data-base. Look at a few ads, maybe even e-mail some of the sellers listing online and ask them about their experiences with the Web site. When selecting web sites to use to market your horses bigger sites are not always better. Be sure that your ad will not get lost in the mix. Does the site offer ways for your ad to stand out? Does the site allow you to place pictures and videos of your horse online? What is the cost of placing the ad? Does the site allow users to search by sire or dam? You need to find a site that works with you and for you. Do some searching, ask lots of questions. The good news is this, most online classifieds are either free or cost no more than $35. So, in the end you are probably not out much money to test the site out for 30 days.

Now, you have determined your primary and secondary markets. You have found some Web sites you like and it’s time to list your horses online. There are some secrets to success in placing ads online.

Writing an effective ad is a great place to start. As my father once said, “Assume nothing.” Never assume that a potential buyer knows anything.

Your ad needs to be specific and tell a small story. Do not assume that potential buyers know what a Speed Index is or that they will even care. Here are two example classified ads. The first ad is severely flawed, the second will have a much higher success rate.

Example #1: Three year old Dash Ta Fame by an own daughter of Shawnee Bug. Broke, rides good. Call 314-555-1212.

Example #2: Excellent three year old barrel prospect by leading barrel racing sire Dash Ta Fame out of a Shawnee bug mare. Rides in and out of the arena, loads perfect, clips without issue and is a true joy to be around. Asking $15,000 call for more details. Call 314-555-1212 and ask for Bobby.

The first ad contains almost no information, looks to be written by a person that does not know much about horses, tells noting about the horses temperament, does not list the price and gives a potential buyer no reasons to buy.

The second ad is warm and inviting. It even gives you the name of a person to ask for when you call. It may seem small , but it works. Remember people are shy and having the name of someone to ask for when you call a blind phone number is very helpful. Telling the price helps avoid people with $100 calling to ask and the second ad, in most cases costs the same online as the first ad.

You have written a solid ad, now lets increase your chances of online selling success by adding a picture. The age old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is very true online. But, I like to say “a picture is worth a thousand words and several thousand more dollars”. It is a proven fact that a picture, no matter the quality, raises your success rate for selling a horse online 34%. Most sites offer you the ability to place more than one picture online. This is critical to your success. Most people are shy by nature, especially when it comes to buying a horse. So, pictures can really put that added sparkle in your ad. Do not put “pictures can be e-mailed upon request” in your ad so you can avoid paying the fee to place your picture with your ad. This does not work. In the long run, it creates more work for you too. If you want to jump that 34% sales rate to 65%, take the time to bath your horse, clip your horse, have your spouse put on a hat and nice clothes, and find some nice trees. Take a picture like you see in many win photos of halter horses. Make your horse look like a statue of beauty. Lance Graves, AQHA World Champion said, “The extra hour you take to make your horse look good in a picture helps solidify your asking price and adds tremendous value to your horse. It’s just like taking a dirty car to a car dealer for a trade in.” Donald Trump on the hit NBC TV show “The Apprentice” said, “I am amazed that people know they can get more for a trade if they wash the car and most people do not. In most cases you can get an extra $350 bucks for presenting a clean car. Seems dumb to me.” Photographs have always been an age old way to enhance an ad. Online research has shown that you are 57% more likely to sell your horse in less than 45 days if the ad is accompanied by a photograph. Digital cameras are cost effective and an easy way to enhance your ad, your web site and your marketing plan. The photos need to be well taken, but do not need to be the quality you see in stallion ads in a magazine. Make sure your horses ears are forward, legs are correct and that there is no manure in the background. Other than that, most pictures are better than no picture.

Besides a well written ad, nothing speaks louder than a picture expect a video. Videos sell horses very fast. Online videos are the fastest way to sell a horse. In the performance industry, it is a proven fact that a user is 89% more likely to sell there horse in 30 days or less if the ad is accompanied by a video. Getting your video online is very easy. Using a simple camcorder you can video your horse in action. Be sure the video is in focus and that you zoom in on the horse. Show the horse’s conformation, show the horse being saddled and show the horse in action. Most solid web sites like HorseCity.com, will offer video services for your ad for no more than $1 per day.

Once your ad is online be sure that you are ready at home. Be quick to reply to e-mails and phone calls. Be sure to ask as many questions of the buyer as they ask of you. Be kind and entertain dumb questions. Some buyers are just needing a bit of education and most are scared to death to call you on the phone. Make buyers comfortable on the phone. I always tell people looking to make it big in the online selling business to under promise and over deliver. Under sell your horse, but be firm about the horses accomplishments and training. If you promise the moon, you better be prepared to deliver!

Online advertising is cost effective and draws a large crowd. For more information on placing your horse online call the HorseCity.com toll free help line at 877-505-4344.
(C)2006

Ten Tips For Horse Owners To Turn Clicks Into Cash

2006-04-07T13:09:00.000-05:00

The Internet has the power to change horse owners lives. It happened to me, my business and it can happen to you. In today’s world it seems impossible to imagine a world without the Internet. My seven year old son can move a computer mouse as fast or faster than my mother. My father once commented about the size of my cell phone saying, “it may be easier to drag a phone booth around.” In 1997, my wife Andre’ had a horse to sell. We had tried all traditional means of selling the horse, but nothing worked. So, we looked toward the Internet. This was the beginning of when we began to realize we could turn clicks into cash.

In our business of consulting horse professionals, we often encounter passionate horse people with absolutely no idea of where to start online. But, one common thread is that all know they need to be online. That is a good place to start.

There are more than 24,000,200 horse web sites listed on Google when you search for horses for sale. In 1995, 16 million users where online. In just five years that number grew to 451 million users. In 2005, 888 million internet users were reported online or have online access. That’s 13.9% of the world’s population and that translates to 71% of horse owners being online. So, there is a need for horse business owners to fill.

Starting a new web site, or sprucing up one that you own does not have to be as painful as a cow kick from your most hated broad mare. No longer must you face the dreaded computer screen alone. Here are 10 tips we share with horse clients looking to make a change.

Tip #1: Keep It Simple. Keep your web site very simple. Be sure that on your main page you answer the most obvious questions. You may be surprised to learn that the majority of Internet users surf to your web site to find out your phone number. Ask your customers what they need or want from your Web site.

Tip#2: Videos Sell. It is a proven fact that videos of horses and stallions online help sell the product. Mare owners want to see a stallion move. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million words. On top of that, videos give you proof after a sale. Save money on postage and place your videos online.

Tip #3: Get Users to Visit Often. Give people a reason to come back to your web site. Offer weekly updates about foals, mares and horses for sale. Give so me tips and advice on your web site. Offer a photo gallery or web cam of your foaling stall.

Tip #4: Get listed on Google.com. It is very important to get listed on Google. To do so, your pages title tag, that is the title that appears in the upper left hand blue area at the top of your web browser, must be exact and precise. Also, you need to have clear text on your page about your key feature. For example, if you sell barrel horses, make sure that “barrel horses for sale” is in your title and in plain text on your main page. You can also use Ad Words that are provided by Google to pay for placement on Google.com. This allows you to target key words people are searching by, but you have to pay every time someone clicks on the link to your site. It is worth the money. HorseCity.com offers a similar service called Ad Match and it is much more targeted to horse owners. http://www.horsecity.com/admatch

Tip #5: Offer Contests to draw a huge crowd online. Running a contest on your web site is not a gimmick and it works. Offer a free breeding to your stallion. Offer a free hat with your farm logo on it. It does not have to be fancy, just fun. Have people e-mail you an entry or set-up a form online. We once had 3,000 entries for a mouse pad. Plus, you are collection data from people and you can use this for future marketing.

Tip #6: Wear Makeup. Your web site is your face to the world; wear some make up. This is a good and bad thing. The Internet allows small operators to appear big and makes big operators look bad if their site is poor. Hire someone that knows what they are doing to make your web site look good. Almost anyone can build a Web site these days. The way I like to say it is this… your uncles, brothers, nephew is not always the best choice. If your site looks bad, so does your business.

Tip #7: Use Pictures: It is a proven fact that Internet users love pictures, so give them what they want. Give mare owners recognition by placing their foals online. Give buyers recognition when they buy a horse by taking their picture with the horse and putting it online. People love to get recognition, so give them what they want. It is easy and it will pay off.

Tip #8: Online classifieds Work. In previous articles I have written extensively about classifieds. A well written classified works and many horse owners are finding the web to be cheap and effective. In a nut shell, Write a solid ad, include the price, include your name and never forget to add a picture. Free ads do not always work so choose a web site that works for you and be specific. If you are selling a barrel horse use BarrelHorses.com, if you are selling a cutter use cuttinghorses.com. Be specific and you will refine your business and increase your results.

Tip #9: Name Your Brand. Be specific with your business and sell it online. Bigger national companies like McDonalds use image branding for a reason. It works. What is your brand? What do you do best? What are you know for? What message do you want the horse world to associate with you? If you are truly the largest stallion station east of the Mississippi, say it. If you are New England’s biggest training facility say it. Be careful to state only the facts. Promotion is one thing, lying is another.

Tip #10: Sell Stuff. Selling the products you use is very important to your image and pocket book. Are there products you use every day on your farm or ranch? Become a dealer and sell them. Put the products on your web site. Put the products in your trailer and on a shelf in your barn. People look to you for leadership and product endorsements no matter who you are. Selling product can change your money trail big time. Plus, selling online opens your products up to the world.

Setting Limits, Personal Relationships with Employees

2005-11-26T11:32:00.000-05:00

Creating personal relationships with each of your employees is very important, but if you are note careful, can put you in a precarious situation. It is hard to be effective when you cross that line between boss and friend. Many managers would say this situation is often exaggerated and does not cause many issues. Recent e-mails to me show that this happens more often than one might think. In some cases, employees try to be your best friend knowing that it is hard to fire a friend. And, being the best friend of the boss can have benefits. Want to the best manager you can be? Learn how a person “ticks” without being their best friend. This allows you to make solid decisions that are not clouded by emotions. There are a few simple rules to follow that will allow you to maximize your relationship with an employee without crossing the line into an area that will place you in “bad” spot.

1. Learn about the family, but not the family’s issues. Be sure you learn the name of each of your employee’s spouse. Be sure that you request to know if an employee’s spouse is hospitalized or suffers a family emergency. It is helpful to know the names and ages of the children that your employees have, but that may be impossible if you have a large staff. Encourage your employee to be the best spouse they can be. Note that time at work outweighs time at home and be cognizant of that when planning overtime on projects or making odd requests for your employees time. Having a work place that values family is important and a recent study by Forrester reveled that family friendly workplaces have a much higher rate of employee retention. For employees that are single, learn a about their mom and dad, perhaps there pets. I once held a bring your pet to work day, it was a HUGE hit! HUGE! Not a real favorite with my boss, but a real boost in inter-office moral. If you have employees that are gay it is critical that you get to know their life partner as their spouse. No matter how you may feel about their lifestyle, you must treat them fair and give them all the respect you would give a straight couple. Give respect and you will get respect. Don’t make a big deal about it, just be fair to all. If you have an employee that is dating, it is not important to know each boyfriend or girlfriends name unless your employee has been dating them for a long period of time. As a matter of note, stay very far and clear of knowing intimate details of an employees dating life. It is very easy to fall into the trap of hearing fun details of a “night on the town” or an evening of “passionate love” and wanting to hear more. These are the juicy details you do not want to hear. Now, just because you should not be hearing these details does not mean you need to stop your staff from sharing with each other. Talk around the water cooler is part of corporate America. Relationships that employees form within their counterparts, is excellent for long term repertoire and employee retention. When an employee feels that they have “family” at work they are more likely to become a long term player in your team.
2. Make note and celebrate birthdays. Set up a system in your office to recognize people on their birthday. A simple system is to have the first birthday of the year be responsible for getting the cake for the next. Collect birthday’s in advance and set this up in your office. As the boss, use your Outlook or whatever system you need, to make note of employee birthdays. Even large corporations have a way of often recognizing birthdays. Send or give a birthday card with a small handwritten note. Be sure that you do not miss one over the other. Do not give gifts of any kind on a birthday as the value of a gift can be perceived differently by different people.
3. Be aware that as the boss you have access to a lot of information. You are charged with making decisions. But, never ask another employee for advice on handling a situation with another staffer. All too often managers do this to gain support for a decision that they must make like firing an employee. This recommendation is especially true if the employee you are asking is on the same pier level as the staffer you are asking about. Besides being wholly inappropriate, it is very likely that your conversation will get back to the employee. taffer. Tever ask another employee for advice on handling anothveled that family friednly ime.have a larg
4. Limit extracurricular activities with employees. An occasional outing is very appropriate, but limit your extracurricular time with employees. There are three reasons for this, (1) Employees need time away from you (2) You need time away from your employees and (3) The more time you spend with employees “off the clock” the greater your personal relationship with them grows. You need to establish this practice in advance and not be shy about your motives. Politely decline and if pressed do not lie. Honesty is always the best policy. Explain that your experience has been that it is hard to be the best boss you can when you are a friend with your employees. If you are currently “friends’ with an employee, then you simply need to have a heart to heart chat that can take one of these two routes (1) We need to stop our extracurricular activities or at the very least limit them or (2) We need to set some clear rules as to our relationship. At work I am the boss. Period. Do not expect special treatment, etc. My experience is that option 1 will always work out better. One final note on this subject, if you do not set clear guidelines in this area, you can also be seen as playing “favorites” to one employee over the other.
5. Make holidays special. It does not take a lot of time and or money to make the holiday’s special for your team. Having hot cider one afternoon in the fall or having a $5 gift exchange is a great way to take an hour from work and have some fun. I always ask a member of the team to take on the task of a potluck around Christmas. Show your fun side and help your team realize that you are a person too. While on this subject, it is important to note that mixing parties, personnel and liquor is a disastrous recipe. Limit drinking alcohol with employees and be very careful about paying for this activity. Celebrating a victory is one thing, just going out drinking for fun is another.
6. Be careful not to give life advice. Giving life advice can put you in a precarious situation. I once had an employee that had some criminal trouble with a son and they called me in the middle of the night. While my heart told me to help, my brain kicked in and I told this person to call the police. Keeping yourself out of the middle of bad situations is smart and takes a strong will. As the boss, you often want to “save the day”. You are paid to be the leader of the group, not the savior of the group. If you do not have a corporate employee assistance program, then find the name of a good general family counsel and have it on hand for these type of situations. Do not make it a requirement, but make it an option.
7. Loaning money to employees is one of the biggest cardinal sins of all time. Enough said.
8. Dating your employees is almost as sure a disaster as loaning your employees money. “Fishing off the company pier”, as many call it, is dangerous. Not only do you put yourself in a bad spot, but you put your employee in a bad spot. Match.com says that 89% of interoffice relationships do not last. Further, once the employee’s break –up, 99% leave the job. Most companies have a policy on the books about this. If yours does not, make one yourself. Live this rule. s is almost as sure a disaster as loaning your employees money. good genreal of the night. and have some fuperiod of time.with an employee without crossing th

Use the rules above to create a buffer that allows you to have a solid relationship with each staffer and yet not cross the line into a personal relationship that may cloud your judgment. Being the boss is not an easy task. Anyone that wants your job or claims it is easy has not sat in your chair. When dealing with employee relationship issues, my father used to say, “If you know it is right, do it. If you know it is wrong, do not do it. If you are not sure if doing something is right or wrong, do not do it.” Thanks Dad.

The opinions stated in this blog are that of the author and the author alone. (C)2006

Motivation Rather Manipulation

2005-09-10T09:49:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a particular result from an employee it is important to remember that proper motivation before and after the request is key to your success. All to often managers will try to figure out a way to manipulate an employee into performing a less than favorable task. Instead a manager should, practice employee praise in advance, get the employee involved in the task from the beginning, praise for present success and use that current success for future motivation.

It is important to remember that people have a passion for projects when they are a part of the plan. Employees hate to work on projects when they have no vested interest in the project or its success. One of my great mangers said, “Your employees need to have some skin in the game”. I could not agree more.

Bob was an excellent welder. His boss was asked to find the best welder to work on a special project on a Saturday. Bob’s boss knew he hated to work on the weekend. It was not about money to Bob so paying extra was the wrong way to approach the subject. Instead the boss shared the project with Bob in advance. Explained to Bob that he was the best man for the job. Asked Bob to get involved in the planning of the project and ultimately rewarded him with extra pay and praise for his efforts. The reason this tactic worked is because the boss had already praised Bob weeks prior about his abilities. Waiting until you need something to tell someone they are the best is a 100% sure sign of manipulation.

Remember a simple saying about employee praise… Public Praise Proliferates Pride. Pride in your job is often ranked as more important than money by many national surveys.

Getting the best result from employees taking planning and strategy. But, your efforts will be made simple if you start with one common goal in mind. Praise your team often. If you are a senior executive be sure that you insist that your managers praise employees in their weekly reports to the boss. Be sure your employees know that they are an important part of the success.

Comments to: Ryan.Dohrn@morris.com

Conflict Happens, Rules for collective conflict resolution.

2005-04-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

To think you can create a work environment without conflict is futile. Conflict is a part of all office environments and if managed correctly can be the basis on which your team feels they have the ability to express themselves. Much energy is spent on conflict resolution. The problem with this focus is that it is very short sided. Conflict happens because people have different views on an issue. If you create an environment where people can engage in unprofessional conflict like yelling and screaming you have lost control of your ship. Where as creating guidelines for conflict will lead to open discussion, idea sharing and in the end conflict resolution if positioned correctly.

Rules for Collective Conflict Resolution

1. Require that all team members subscribe to the rules before a conflict arises.
2. Take time to breathe. Many statements made in the heat of the moment are not productive. We have all heard people say that they have said things they did not mean when they were mad. All too often personal emotions, not solid ideas are conveyed in the heat of the moment. When conflict begins, require the team to go back to their corners to think and prepare a written statement. (Note: If both parties are not aware that a problem exists, then ask the player bringing the conflict to go to step #3 first. You will then ask the player bringing the conflict to read their statement to the other party as noted in step #3. You will then need to allow 24 hours for the other party to cool down and prepare their side of the conflict. DO NOT let the person hearing the statement just start responding verbally. Make them go to step #3. You want people to think.)
3. Prepare a statement. Ask your players in the conflict to prepare a brief, yet detailed statement of their position on the matter at hand. Be specific, but do not be offensive. IMPORTANT: Have an answer to the issue at hand. Require that each party bring back their version of what the best resolution or idea to resolution is. Complaints without ideas for a solution are not allowed.
4. State the facts. Conflicts based on hearsay must be thrown out. Unless an individual has facts to back up their allegations or ideas, basing opinions on hearsay is not allowed.
5. Clearly state the complaint. If the person that is beginning the conflict is not willing to clearly state the issue, throw the complaint/conflict off the table.
6. Require each party to clearly state how they feel the problem should be resolved.
7. 24 hours later bring both parties together.
a. Meet in private
b. Ask if either party wants to just drop the issue
c. Ask each party to read their statement
d. Then again ask if either party wants to just drop the issue.
e. Require each party to say what they agree with in response to the other person’s statement.
f. Require each party to say if they are any points they disagree with, but understand in response to the other person’s statement.
g. As a group see if anything in the statements can benefit the organization. Is the conflict based on an issue related to customer service for example or an issue based on work issues between departments?
h. Require each party to acknowledge one thing that the other party brings to the team. I.e. Creativity, team spirit, organization. These things do not have to relate to the conflict.
i. Next… require each person to say, “If you would just _____ I would appreciate it and we can conclude this conflict.”
j. Now, ask both parties to shake hands and ask if they have anything further.
k. Last you may want to add their statements to a personnel file. This is your call. I keep a file on each employee that contains good, bad and indifferent issues for future reference.

Conflict happens, but you can connect further with your team by actively engaging in the conflict and using the conflict to grow your relationship with all parties involved. Out of conflict some of the best ideas are born. Do not just brush off conflict or force people to just “get over it”. Conflict, like a wound, left untreated will get worse. Active engagement in conflict resolution and having a set guideline for resolution can yield solid results for all involved. People will feel like they can express themselves and not be punished as long as they express themselves in a constructive way geared toward resolution.

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Ryan Dohrn works as a General Manager of HorseCity.com for Morris Communications Company, LLC in Augusta, GA. Ryan Dohrn gives insights on how you, as a manager, can inspire greatness, fix problems, meet goals and increase the overall productivity of your team without being a jerk. The content of this blog is the private work of Ryan R. Dohrn and not that of Morris Communications Company, LLC. All rights reserved, copyright 2005- Ryan R. Dohrn. Please share this blog with others. But, permission to reproduce all or parts of this blog for profit must be granted in writing by the author. ryan@synergystables.com or ryan.dohrn@morris.com or ryandohrn@aol.com An Atom formatted XML site feed of Ryan's blog can be found at: http://ryandohrn.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Don't Keep Your Playbook a Total Secret

2005-03-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Clearly communicating your plan is key to your team’s total success. Are your visions for customer service, marketing, production and other areas of your business clearly defined? Very rarely have I heard of managers that are guilty of “communicating to well”. But, withholding information from your team is a tried and true way to isolate, anger and alienate your staff. How can you expect your team to execute a play when you alone hold the play book?

It is very important to have a clear plan and expectations of each member of your team. These expectations needs to be clearly defined. If they are mission critical expectations, you may want to have them sign a memo stating the expectations. Keep in mind, you will also want to sign the memo as a sign of support. You may even want to put a powerful statement like, “I sign below in support of these expectations and I will do all within my power to help this employee meet all required requests.” This shows your willing to sign on the dotted line as well in their support and that you are not leaving them out in the storm alone. If people know what is expected of them, you hold a power position if things go wrong. However, you can not simply give orders and walk away. Setting realistic goals that are measurable is important. Then, regular follow-up is critical to a successful execution.

Yearly reviews are fine. They are very standard, but monthly reviews of progress are much better at eliminating surprises and catching concerns as they arise. Set your calendar to have a ten minute catch-up chat with each member of your immediate team once each month. The meeting goes like this. Two days prior to the meeting you send this brief e-mail… “Bonnie, I hope all is well. I would like to catch up with you on Friday. Time flies around here and I want to get your thoughts on some things.” Then , the meeting goes like this… “Bonnie, tell me how things are going around here? Do you feel like you have the tools and support you need to get things done? Ok, well that is it, and please remember, if you need help just let me now.” Take notes if needed. Let them know that you are paying attention to them. Communicate back to them any issues they brought up. Ask them if there is anything you need to keep confidential. If there problems are personal in nature, ask them what you can do to help or refer them to another member of your team or a corporate professional for help. Always work to better your team. The last thing is to give them a time frame for correcting the problems or issues they brought up. Then, schedule a follow up. Note that if these type of meetings are regular, it will not raise much “suspicion” amongst your team. The door closed mentality, which we will talk about later, can really create problems. If your door being closed equals problems, then you got another issue in and of itself.

Communicating with your team and with the people on your team is critical to your success. Be sincere. Be real. Create ways for your team to communicate with you. If you have a bad situation then create a suggestion box and ask for feedback. Keep suggestions anonymous. Create an online form they can fill out. Ask for their trust and then give it to them. Very rarely can you get trust back once it is broken. Take an employees trust VERY seriously.

Sure there is often the occasion when to much information will cause a bad reaction too. You know, there can be a bad result for almost any positive reaction. That is just the way the world works. You will need to figure out a balance that works for your team.

Ask yourself this when communication to the group if you are concerned about the subject matter…

1. What reaction do I hope to achieve from this communication to my staff?
2. Is there a reason NOT to tell the staff this?
3. Should this issue be resolved in person?
4. Can this communication be used against me in a court of law?
5. Is this issue confidential?
6. Does the ENTIRE staff need to know this?
7. Does this communication infere that job security is at risk?
8. Am I mad? Should this wait?

Every coach has some secret plays. But, those plays usually only com come out when all else has failed and the game has only 5 seconds left. Plan ahead and don't wait until the game is almost over to communicate your vision for success.

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Ryan Dohrn works as a General Manager of HorseCity.com for Morris Communications Company, LLC in Augusta, GA. Ryan Dohrn gives insights on how you, as a manager, can inspire greatness, fix problems, meet goals and increase the overall productivity of your team without being a jerk. The content of this blog is the private work of Ryan R. Dohrn and not that of Morris Communications Company, LLC. All rights reserved, copyright 2005- Ryan R. Dohrn. Please share this blog with others. But, permission to reproduce all or parts of this blog for profit must be granted in writing by the author. ryan@synergystables.com or ryan.dohrn@morris.com or ryandohrn@aol.com An Atom formatted XML site feed of Ryan's blog can be found at: http://ryandohrn.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Walking the Beat

2005-02-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

E-mail is a great way to communicate, but face to face communication for the smallest of things is another vital step to your success as a manager. You remember the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you got called in to the principles office? No, me either. All kidding aside, no one likes that feeling, not even me. I once worked for a manger that never held a meeting in his office. When he had a question he got up from his desk and walked to the employee and asked the question. He brought himself out of his environment and into the environment where the staff worked. Simple, yet effective concept. Make your face a welcome face. Don’t just show up when you need something. Walk the beat and make it count.

Walking your beat is a tip that is noteworthy for any manager. You know the old police days when a cop was assigned a block to walk. Their “beat” was the one way they could keep an eye on the environment. They got to know each store owner by name, they new who drove which car and they knew how many kids where in the block. In an instant they knew when something was out of place or not right. They could react, they could count on the people of the block to react as well. Do you know the temperature of the water in the tank where your team swims? Walking the beat in your office can be a real treat. It can be lot’s of fun and worthy of your time.

Until your brain triggers this reaction automatically, you may need to set your computer calendar to remind you. Walk the beat every two hours and see how things are going. Offer a lending hand. What will most employees say when you ask if they need anything…. “No, thanks.”. But, you asked. You brought your self out down from the “ivory tower” and walked into the fields to see what is going on and put your toe in the water. Important to this step of communication is not announcing your intentions. Let this be your little secret. No need to put out a memo about your plans to visit every two hours. That is what I call “absurd communication”. It is a sort of like announcing when you are going to fart. Sure it is appreciated, but not always advised. After all, you never know the final result.

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Ryan Dohrn works as a General Manager of HorseCity.com for Morris Communications Company, LLC in Augusta, GA. Ryan Dohrn gives insights on how you, as a manager, can inspire greatness, fix problems, meet goals and increase the overall productivity of your team without being a jerk. The content of this blog is the private work of Ryan R. Dohrn and not that of Morris Communications Company, LLC. All rights reserved, copyright 2005- Ryan R. Dohrn. Please share this blog with others. But, permission to reproduce all or parts of this blog for profit must be granted in writing by the author. ryan@synergystables.com or ryan.dohrn@morris.com or ryandohrn@aol.com An Atom formatted XML site feed of Ryan's blog can be found at: http://ryandohrn.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Clear Communication Creates Community

2005-02-25T16:55:00.000-05:00

Knowledge is not always power. Many people have brains filled with data that is not only useless, but worthless because they either use it to prove how smart they are to others, or they waste it by doing nothing with it at all. Why is it so tough for people to find a good balance within themselves? Truly, I feel, it is because they have not been trained to output this data. All too often managers will gain a piece of data that is confidential. They will hold onto this data as a false sense of power. They hold it deep inside and grin under their smiles knowing that they know more than the members of their team. Often they even insinuate to others that they have data that is confidential and position themselves as the only person of the group worthy of having the data. The test of a solid manager is their ability to manage themselves and know how to balance the data they are given. How much information will drive success and how much will have a negative effect.

Being a good manager means you have to take the good with the bad. People will respect you for your ability to deliver good and bad news. But, your ability to deliver data starts and stops with you. Clear communication to your staff creates a cohesive and reliable channel for your community.

You can not expect your team to deliver data up to you if you do not deliver it down to them. Each Monday I write a ten point update for my team and the managers above me. It is a weekly way to keep the staff up to date on what is new, what was good from last week and what to expect in the weeks to come. In these updates I am honest, sincere and matter of fact. I also try to include one small tid-bit about my week or weekend that truly shows I am human. Perhaps I share about a funny thing that happened over the weekend or I share a funny joke. If you can not come up with ten things that have or will happen in the week to come, you have just found your first stumbling block as a manager. These weekly reports are brief and not detail driven. Upper management will ask for more information if they need it. Do not use a weekly update to hand down policy changes or vital information. Deliver the update via e-mail and also post it to your intranet. Never under any circumstance discuss personnel issues unless they are of a public nature. Do not use these updates to deliver bad news about staff or personal issues.

Communication is critical to your success. Build a quick list of staff e-mails in your address book. Also, build a separate list of your entire staff plus senior managers above you. These two lists are used for different reasons. The staff only list would be for e-mails that contain issues that are important for staff, but not needed by management. For example, a note about forgetting to shut off the copier at night. In almost all other cases I use the list that includes everyone. Even if I am leaving early I send out a quick note. If I plan on being late the next day or a warning about dress code violations. The management above you needs to know that you are doing your job and taking care of business. Also, management above you wants to know where you are and what is going on. It is vital for you to push enough data to them so they can keep a “pulse” on your operation. This gives them the ability to interject if needed because they may have information they have not shared with you too. The secret is keeping the notes very brief.

In doing so, these “mass” all staff e-mails do not apply to personal violations by staffers. If Jim Smith is always late to work, then call him on it. Don’t send out a mass e-mail telling your entire staff to get to work on time. If a person is violating the dress code, step up to the plate and call them on it, don’t churn the rest of the staff for things they have not done. This is a huge error and happens very often. As I am guilty of this offense, I can say the respect from my teams has grown ten fold since stepping up to the plate and calling people out. In doing so, you will address the problem and open up a door for dialogue with an employee.

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Ryan Dohrn works as a General Manager of HorseCity.com for Morris Communications Company, LLC in Augusta, GA. Ryan Dohrn gives insights on how you, as a manager, can inspire greatness, fix problems, meet goals and increase the overall productivity of your team without being a jerk. The content of this blog is the private work of Ryan R. Dohrn and not that of Morris Communications Company, LLC. All rights reserved, copyright 2005- Ryan R. Dohrn. Please share this blog with others. But, permission to reproduce all or parts of this blog for profit must be granted in writing by the author. ryan@synergystables.com or ryan.dohrn@morris.com or ryandohrn@aol.com An Atom formatted XML site feed of Ryan's blog can be found at: http://ryandohrn.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Walk Before You Run

2005-02-22T17:43:00.000-05:00

The old saying that practice makes perfect never applied more than it does to being a good manager. Constant growth and training is critical to your success as a manager, a parent and overall a human. People have hearts, souls and deep emotions. Manipulation of your employees will certainly yield you a reaction, perhaps a reaction toward the goal you had in mind, but the long term goal you wish to achieve; a quality work force that is responsive and self sufficient will only come from the environment you create, the training you put forward and respect you have earned as a manager.

Being a manager is tough.

2005-02-22T17:31:00.000-05:00

Being a manager is tough. Don’t let anyone tell you different. I have worked for good managers and bad. Fortunate for me, both sides gave me lessons for life that I now pass on to my staff. If you are very good, people around you will not wonder how it all gets done. You will never here someone say, “What do they really do anyway?”. It is very apparent what, when and why a manager is good, bad or indifferent. Unfortunately being a quality manager is more than just knowing how to play the “political game”. Quality management comes from a combination of people skills, diplomacy, business savvy and spiritual foundations. High quality managers are born not trained. But, average managers can become great managers if they are willing to listen, love and learn.