Friday, January 22, 2010
Will the iSlate or i
NxtText demo was gre
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Four Ideas To Increase Banner Ad Inventory
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.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
10 TIPS from Ryan's new book How To Be A Manager Without Being A Jerk:
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
Saturday, September 26, 2009
What To Do When Your SEO Fails?
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.