The Best Internet Marketing Techniques

November 21, 2012 by 7 Comments

Have you ever wondered which forms of online marketing produce the best results?

Here’s a case study on what works as far as Internet marketing is concerned.

“More and more the internet is becoming a primary marketing tool for many businesses, and those who have not yet taken the plunge are starting to get left behind. Most businesses accept the fact that without an online presence it’s hard to stay afloat, but with all the choices out there it’s easy to end up treading water, and instead of gaining more customers you can end up drowning in Tweets and Facebook posts that never seem to produce results.

To help those just getting their toes wet in the online ocean, we’ve put together a case study that shows you exactly what works and what doesn’t work when promoting your business online. The study below follows a start-up summer camp through their first year of business. The camp has four different camp specialties, each with it’s own website: Windsurfing, Photography, Climbing and Outdoor Adventure. The camp has a fifth website to act as a landing page. Over the course of 6 months they tried different marketing techniques, spending similar amounts of capital on each option.”

The best

  1. Blogging
  2. Online directories
  3. Google Ads

The Worst

  1. Spam email
  2. LinkedIn
  3. Deal Sites (Groupon, Rupu and co.)

Does this tally with your own experiences? What do you think?

Read the full Case Study

The Nairobi Project

November 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

I Want to Draw a Cat For You! founder Steve Gadlin tells of how a young Kenyan playwright, Victor Gido, contacted him in 2009, offering original scripts.

This is how Victor contacted Steve (unedited):

hello there.my names is Victor Gido from nairobi kenya and would like to ask i fyou people are intrested in any plays for the moment.i can assure you that you wont regret by doing so.please do reply with immediate effect.i will be looking forwad to hear from you.my email adress is xxxxxx@xxxxxx.com

After some back and forth, they agreed that Gido would write one to order for $50. In the words of Steve Gadlin, My gut told me that I was setting myself up to be the victim of a scam. But I was lured in by the possibility of producing the worst stage play, by the most unlikely playwright. Along with his $25 deposit, I sent Victor the following plot synopsis for his play:

A millionaire named Quack Quack Quimby has forgotten the true meaning of the Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat. His daughter goes to great lengths to remind him of its meaning, and make him happy once again….

The Nairobi Project begins with Gadlin at his laptop, trying to decide whether Gido’s email is legitimate, includes a video of cast auditions, and ends with a performance of Gido’s one-act play, The Price.

Victor Gido’s original work, The Price, was be performed VERBATIM, in its entirety, as part of this hilarious show based on a ridiculous plot by a writer with little to no command over the English language.

So, dear readers, what do you think of this? It seems that “success” is still only an email away!

NationHela?

August 13, 2012 by 20 Comments

Today I came across a very interesting new service: NationHela. So what is NationHela? According to them: NationHela is a new, simpler and more convenient international money transfer service that allows you to receive money, from anywhere in the world, straight to your NationHela prepaid Visa card and mobile phone. A prepaid card is one [...]

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Niche Marketing in Developing Countries

July 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

The basic challenges of creating, maintaining, and growing a successful business are the same worldwide. In developing countries, these challenges can be amplified for a variety of reasons, including widespread poverty, lack of infrastructure, and unstable government. The objective is not to overcome these challenges overnight, but to work within them and make them work [...]

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To Have or Not To Have a Rates Page

July 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

Whenever I visit a shop or stall and see something I like, I ask the price. Usually, the vendor will bring the item down, hold it in a better light, and extol its superior virtues. It’s a good sales tactic, but it makes me nervous. The more the seller praises the item, the more I’m [...]

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How to Avoid Online Job Scams

July 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

As more and more employers are making the shift to listing potential jobs on online job boards instead of traditional media, it is becoming harder for job seekers to flesh out which ad postings are legitimate jobs and which are nothing more than a scam. Because job scams seem to be on the rise it’s [...]

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Invest for 1,000!

July 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I was on leave for three weeks recently, and I realized just how fun it is to do nothing but sleep, watch TV, and get paid. I wondered if it was possible to do this all year round without marrying a rich old man. Today, I’ve discovered a way to do that, and all without [...]

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