Peter D. Marshall, a veteran filmmaker, asked on Twitter whether anyone had links for social media tips for a talk he's preparing. The talk is aimed at theater people and how to promote themselves using social media.

Now, I see a lot of musicians on MySpace, but I've so far only come across one on Twitter: Henry Rollins. (Not that I've actively searched, mind you.) He's not very active, and only follows 21 other Twitter accounts. Still, he establishes a presence and indicates when he'll be play somewhere next. He also divulges little tidbits that give a glimpse into his life. This has garnered him over 6,500 followers on Twitter.

Yeah, So?

Well it's like having a sort of subscription list if you are a performer, because then you can equate "follower" with 'fan" (most of the time). Now had you started to build these followers from scratch by asking the same 6,500 people to sign up for an official newsletter, you might not have the same response. But now that you have these followers, you can offer something, and because they feel they know you, it's possible that you'll get a much better response. (Just speculating.)

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Wow, what a PR stunt!
British humor at its best.

Paddding lamp posts and draw lines on the pavement

• Pretend to be serious.
• Publish a study and people will jump on that 'scientific' train.

Classical PR linkbait by a classical company on a London road attracts classical media (and me). Kudos for that great and funny approach.

The scientific hook

Britain's first 'Safe Text' street has been created complete with padded lampposts to protect millions of mobile phone users from getting hurt in street accidents while walking and texting.

Around one in ten careless Brits has suffered a "walk 'n text" street injury in the past year through collisions with lampposts, bins and other pedestrians.

The 6.6million accidents have caused injuries ranging from mild knocks and embarrassing cuts and bruises through to broken noses, cheekbones and even a fractured skull.

Here is the full story: Brick Lane made Britain's first 'Safe Text' street with padded lampposts to prevent mobile phone injuries

What is the whole PR stunt good for?

From the about page of 118.com:

Text your question directly to us, you already know the number, its 118118, We’ll text you your answer back, each response only costs a pound.

Only one British pound...

Thinking about publishing an e-book?

I found an e-book example which IMHO looks like an e-book project template for e-book beginners.

Caroline Middlebrook has published (and maintained!) an e-book about 'How to Develop Money-Making Niche Sites with WordPress' (link below). Her e-book is not only an e-book but a whole e-book project! Three arguments why I like this specific e-book:

1. What makes this e-book so outstanding in my eyes is that the e-book shows a very concrete and practical approach instead of hammering out philosophic statements.
2. The great bookmark and navigation structure which makes it absolutely easy to pick out essential single items.
3. The e-book is accompanied by a live website. You can always go there and see live how the website looks. Creating a live website for an e-book is pretty outstanding.

What I don't like: Her approach to create a static website with the blog CMS WordPress. Reading my blog entries you will know that I do not recommend to use the blog CMS WordPress for static pages. For this task I would always use Textpattern which is not only a good blog CMS but handles static pages much better (Performancing.com: Tag Textpattern, Search Textpattern).

The reason for choosing WordPress is clear though. The goal is to get as many e-book downloads as possible. Why? The monetization aspect of the free e-book is to make money from the many affiliate links. Is that goal worth to choose the IMHO wrong CMS platform? From an affiliate point of view the approach is at least understandable.

Having said that here are some details about her e-book project...

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Are you using i.e. Google personal maps?
How do you promote your maps?

Ongopongo is a specialized directory for maps with some digg-like features.

When Google made the 'My Maps' service public in April 2007 (Map-making: So easy a caveman could do it) it only took a very short while until Riley created Ongopongo. This Drupal driven site is a kind of specialized digg clone for links to maps. As far as I have checked out Ongopongo all of the submitted maps are hosted on the Google My Maps service. But you can submit every kind of map because Ongopongo takes links as submission.

Don't expect explanations for the name Ongopongo from me :)

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My thoughts on controversy are that I would much rather have low traffic with a good brand than massive traffic and a poor brand. But that is just me, others believe the traffic is worth whatever backlash and all publicity is good publicity. Who is right? Well, we can see what happens as it happens as a story is just ending over at 1938media ...

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Reading Davids Blog Herald post made me think about some of the characters we meet around the world of blogging. His post is about how while some blogs are big enough that they do not need to promote, or might even think they are above such things, the rest of us need to promote our content in order for it to be seen.

Immediately I thought of the blogging snobs, but then I realized how easy it is to slip into that thinking. We always think our opinions are reasonable, it is "other" people who are snobs, right? Have a look to see if you have ever caught yourself thinking these snobby thoughts ...

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Promoting websites online, just like in the offline world, is about finding the right people with the right resources and having them help you get the word out. By yourself, you are nowhere near as effective as when you have a network of contacts and friends working together to help you promote your new venture.

How do we do this? There are three key steps:

1. Building the network
2. Making the right contacts
3. Leveraging the network

This article discusses the above topics and shows you how to build a network of contacts you can use to get more traffic to your website. That's not the only purpose of such a network - you can use a network in various ways - community intelligence, resource pool, business opportunities, and much more.

In short, if you want to learn how to build your social network of contacts, this article is for you. Read on...

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In the introduction thread of my forum ever-vigilant moderator Jen pulled out a quote from new member Humor Blogging which instantly inspired me:

That’s why I started this site. Something I wanted to exist simply didn’t seem to exist. I couldn’t find it, so I created it.

Could this short quote hold the key to success?

Too many people seem to create solutions waiting for a problem, particularly techies. How many times do people invent something then try to find a market for it. How much easier is it to find an unserved need and fill it?

Disclaimer: The guy I am talking about is an Internet friend. Probably yours too (Are you using 103bees?). I am in no other way connected to his new project.

Lately we were talking about widgets being the hot website promotion tool for the future. Like perfomancing Metrics or ScribeFire were the free website promotion tools which made p.com such a success. My friend Christoph, the guy behind 103bees: Search Engine Traffic Analysis, has a new website and is trying to get off the ground. Christoph is starting the viral promotion via a nice giveaway for webmasters.

His action is a great example how to start a new service or website.

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As 2007 turns into 2008 (yes, its more than a month away but you can't fault me for preparing right now, can you?), it's worth taking a hard look at our blogging and promotion strategies and how those will evolve in the future.

Today I'd like to cover 12 link building tactics that will be most effective in the coming year - like all such lists, there's a good chance that I've left something out so if you have something to add, please let me know in the comments.

1- Linkbait Mainstream Media

Being picked up by the CNN, Fox News, BBC or the Guardian not only leads to plenty of traffic (the type that would crash your server) but also leads to other bloggers picking you up as a news source. Traffic, new readers, links from the blogosphere and links from highly trusted websites.

It's not an easy target to achieve, but you can get there by doing the following:

• Network like the energizer bunny - before you can be recognised as an authority in your niche you need to make yourself known to everyone who matters.
• Establish a pattern for being the first - Quite often just being the first person to break the news can lead you to scoring dozens of links - and once you build a reputation for being first, you'll have reporters and other bloggers turning to you to break the news. Position yourself so you can benefit from such opportunities.
• Linking to top news sources often brings in residual traffic (tech bloggers linking to Techcrunch's stories will confirm), and in several cases it also results in other bloggers picking you up as a secondary source on the issue.
• All of this only works if you have something valuable to offer - whether it's analysis, exclusive images or your own research. Just regurgitating the news isn't going to be of as much help.

And if you haven't already, read this article on how to attract attention from mainstream media.

2- Contests and Giveaways

I expect the tactic of contests and prize giveaways as a means to generate links to be abused beyond reason in the coming year. As things stand, it's an easy way to build links and once your site builds some traction and a readership, it's also a good way to reward your readers and attract new ones.

The key with such contests is to:

• provide value to readers
• break from tradition and do something more creative than an 'article writing contest'
• make a meaningful contribution to your blog
• engage the community, not just your readers

To expand on that last point - I think it's very important to give readers - many of whom will have blogs / be active participants elsewhere on the Net - something that they can do offsite, preferably on their own site or whichever forum they frequent the most.

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The better title is: Building a nice Facebook profile page from your existing content with F8 applications. But that's too long for a catchy title :)

Yesterday evening I logged into my Facebook account and stared at my Facebook profile page. It was pretty boring and I decided to tweak it. But the content should come from existing pages and services.

Use the Facebook F8 applications

First question was which services to use to pull nice content into my profile page. I can offer some valuable sources:

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We've already established that bloggers need SEO, and that it's not PageRank or some other silly metric that you should be running after, it's search referral volume.

Here's a plug-n-play strategy for attracting (and profiting from) search engine traffic to your blog:

1. Build a website that is trusted by the search engines in that niche.

   You need links from authoritative blogs in your niche, deep links from authoritative blogs from other niches, quality directory links (dmoz, botw, yahoo plus 3-5 top niche directories). In addition, if you're smart with your blogging, you can linkbait the hell out of your niche in your quest to build trust into your blog.

2. Track popular trends / news in your niche.

   This isn't hard to do if you have a pulse on the latest news in your niche. Find upcoming events, breaking news, seasonal trends, etc, and prepare for them in advance. If you're covering a news-related niche, this becomes very easy, otherwise you need to work hard on cracking the search tail in your niche.

3. Be one of the first to write an article on fresh trends and news (thus focusing on 3-5 word phrases) - and taking advantage of Google's super-fast indexing, you can be on in the top 5 results for queries within 24 hours.

   Easier said than done, but in most cases the best edge you can find is to be first with the news.

4. Convert that traffic by giving them an incentive to return to your blog / bookmark it.

   With news items, you can improve your chances of attracting comments, links or rss subscriptions. With resource sites, you can work on rss subs and social media votes.

5. Alternatively, you could monetize this traffic using CPM ads, AdSense or any affiliate program.

Of course, this isn't completely plug-n-play - you'll have to adapt your methods for each niche and type of site ('news' sites will work differently from 'resource' sites, which in turn will work differently from 'community' sites). However, if you want to dominate the SERPS for your niche AND you think you should milk Google for what it's worth while building a strong, independent brand, then this is the first step.

2007 has been the year of consolidation and building brands - and with that we're seeing more and more people understanding that to build a successful business you need to move away from 'push' marketing and work more on positioning your product / service and attracting attention by building a powerful brand.

In this article on building brands, Ryan talks about first setting big goals for your blogs and then working hard on building the brands to match those goals. It's easy to say this (dream big, then work your ass off to achieve those dreams), but how do you go about doing it?

Pick Goals Worthy Of You

95% of the people in this world think the other way around - they look at their own circumstances and then allow them to shape their goals. If you follow this route, your goals will be limited to where you are at present and will in fact trap you into the same place, not allowing you to grow and prosper beyond a certain point.

Shed the mental shackles, silence that dissenting voice in your head and go as high as you can go. At worst you'll fail, but let me tell you one thing - working hard for something impossible and failing will get you much farther than working within your means for something that is within your reach.

Marketing = Branding

If you are promoting yourself, then remember that everything you do in a public setting is marketing - the way you talk to clients / prospects / press / employees / competitors / colleagues, the way you interact online through your blog / comments / forums, the quality of your work, your attention (or lack thereof) to detail, your ability to keep your word - everything you do is marketing.

If you are promoting your blog / your business, then everything - from your customer service to your blog design to the error message your readers get if they enter the wrong URL - is marketing.

Branding is often defined as an organisation's representation of what it stands for - I'd like to flip this around. Branding is what your customers - your target audience - think you stand for. A strong brand is one that is consistent, focused and easily identified. Your brand is how your readers, your clients identify you. Your brand is what prospective clients will base their buying decisions on. Your brand determines how people talk about you in your niche (or if you're big enough, outside it).

Marketing = Branding. When you're promoting your blog (or your company), you're essentially building an identity in the minds of your target audience. That process is branding.

3 Simple Steps to Strengthen Your Brand Right Now

Brand-building is often thought of as a difficult exercise that somehow involves lots of brainstorming and boardroom meetings. It can be as easy as following three simple steps:

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We bloggers are a friendly breed. We are always looking to find new readers, and do whatever it takes to build relationships with other bloggers.

Regardless of what people say about online relationships, I believe that online friendships can learn a thing or two from the real world relationships. It's not like online relationships are a mere networking between faceless computers. There are real people behind computers who share this 3 dimensional world with us.

Considering how difficult it is for many bloggers to make friends through blogging, I've made a list of things to do and avoid that will help you make new contacts in the blogosphere.

Things to do and avoid on your blog

Don't speak authoritatively - Although I believe that having authority in your voice is vital if you want others to take you seriously, it is not wise to assume that you are the boss. It's your blog, all right, but your readers are not your employees. Whether they visit your blog or not is their personal choice. Nothing is stopping them to quit visiting if they find your words condescending. After all, you don't pay them to visit.

Be polite and friendly if you want your readers to treat you as a friend. No one really likes to befriend bullies.

Reply to every commenter in person - It ticks me off when I make a comment on a blog (especially when I ask a question) and the blog owner does not care to reply back to me. Comments section on blogs are there for a reason - use them to interact with your readers. There are bloggers who have turned off the commenting option for some silly reason they give, but it's still understandable. They tell me straight away: read this and move on. No comments allowed. But if you have enabled commenting, you should consider replying to those who take the time to comment on your blog.

As I said, virtual world is not a whole lot different from the real world. In real world, if we talk to someone and get a blank stare in reply, we assume that either that person is too arrogant or a bit on the other side of sanity. This is exactly what I think of the bloggers who don't care about my comments. I think of them as too proud or too reserved. So, on I move.

Speak in a conversational voice- As opposed to conventional writing, blogs are supposed to be conversational. None of your formal business-like writing rules hold anymore. Therefore, if you want to elicit replies from your readers, talk to them as you would talk to them in the real world.

This is the beauty of blogging. You can be conversational and yet avoid the mistakes you make in real world conversations. It's writing because you can edit your words and decide what to say and what to hold back. It's a conversation because you are talking to your readers and you want them to respond to you. You get the best of both worlds!

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I've talked about this more in my "tips for building a kick-ass blog" article, but I'd like to expand on the idea a bit more.

The basic idea is that you cannot grow as fast by yourself as you can with the help of others (leverage other peoples' resources). There are two ways you can get the help of others - ask them (nicely, of course), or get them to volunteer to help you. Asking (especially if you're paying for it) works wonders, but right now I want to focus on the second option - having people help you of their own accord.

How do you do this as a blogger?

By helping other people - your readers, fellow bloggers, your contacts, your advertisers and your employees. In terms of your relationships, this means going out of your way to help others, doing them favors when asked, and being there for friends when they need your help. You'll have to give first before you can expect anything and for someone who's impatient for results (like me), it would help to remember that this isn't just you giving the store away, it's you investing your resources in your future. Investments, when done in the right place and the right time, can bring about fantastic returns down the line, and so it is with people.

In terms of your blog, this means giving first (providing value to your readers) and giving a lot (don't assume that you can 'ask' them for something after just one week's of good blogging). And what are you 'asking them'? Their trust, their loyalty and their support. You won't ask for it explicitly, but once you've given a lot to your readers you will notice that your readers will start giving back - in terms of comments, praise, feedback, mentions on other blogs and forums, respect, and if you're selling something, money too.

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