Cool Talk audio file

Today's episode of Cool Talk is ready for your ears.

Another week of essential online marketing tips and strategies...

Hit the 'Play' button below and get out a pad and pen!

57 mind blowing links just for you...

My head is spinning.

I just reviewed the transcripts of the last 3 episodes of Cool Talk and was blown away by the huge volume of super useful killer information that has been shared (not only by me but by all of those who participate in my weekly LIVE call-in webcast).

For last week's replay, hit the 'Play' button below and get ready to take notes!

If you've been on the call (it's free and it takes place Thursdays at 1:30PM EST here) you've probably noticed a nice pattern starting to develop:

1. We cover three themes:
• generating leads or customers
• converting those leads
• creating content
  
  
2. We share a lot of great links with each other
   
   
3. We dissect web pages and marketing strategies in a collaborative effort (think 'sandbox')
   

Our 'playtime' usually begins with me presenting a page or site on which I'm working. From there we discuss various elements of page building and online marketing that attracts many great contributions (via chat and call-ins) from you.

The goal is for us to truly collaborate and build sites together, track the results, and end up with a template (and process) that can be used over and over for all kinds of sites and businesses.

The first two sites in our sandbox are:

Stop The Pitch Count

and...

How to Search The Web

I'll introduce a third project this Thursday (inspired by the link tonnage gathered from the first 3 shows and shared below)

Every week, I'm joined by Markus Allen of Stump Markus, a veritable reservoir of cool marketing tips.

This week, I anticipate the return of Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing to our panel.

Again, Cool Talk goes live at 1:30PM EST on Thursday. Mark your calendars and join us to have your questions answered.

OK, following is a list of the resources and links discussed during the last three episodes of Cool Talk. You can share your favs by adding a 'Comment' at the end of this post (and I look forward to seeing whatever you contribute)


Generating leads and customers

Social bookmarking sites are getting quite a bit of attention on Cool Talk, of the 40 or so sites, these are the ones to hit first: DIGG, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia. Want to explore more of the web 2.0 universe? Start clicking on these sites. And I hear Orkut is great. Also, building a profile on a site like 9rules can lead to lots of secondary links. Friendfeed is a good resource to keep up with all your friends on different social networks, lets you add 3 video sites and anything you post to any of them in your FriendFeed stream. Finally, when you post to your blog (or find anything that you'd like to share far and wide), spread the love using Socialmarker and Shareaholic (it's an add-on for the Firefox browser--the only browser I recommend)

BTW, just when I was feeling really good about del.icio.us, Ian Lurie had to turn me onto Diigo....WOW!


Converting your traffic

Try this pop up creator...or this one.

The most important tool you possess in your online marketing arsenal is an e-mail list builder/autoresponder. I currently use Aweber although I recommend that you also take a look at GoldbarOne (this is a crazy great suite of tools at an unbeatable price)

Here's a great screen capture and browser recorder. Ideal for creating simple tutorials and demonstrations (from the maker of Camtasia). If you're a Mac person, for full length, try Snapz Pro.

Video captures attention and converts traffic. If you're creating videos, submit them to the many video directories out there using TubeMogul (free) and Traffic Geyser (not free but loaded--use it, don't abuse it)

Here is a neat attention grabber that you can slap onto the upper right corner of your web page. And here's another more elaborate one.


Content

If you're looking for stock photos to add to your website or marketing materials, check out Dreamstime and Stock.xchng. Also, for as little as a $1.00 you can find very rare medical images here.


Great marketing advice and tools

Create a user-friendly '404 Error' page

For tips to promote your blog, check out these points on Webreference. And, of course, spread the word with Google's BlogSearch. Also, put an RSS feed on your blog using Feedburner and then sell ads via your RSS feed using Feedvertising from Text Link Ads

TitleZ makes it easy to see how a book or group of books has performed over time, relative to other books on the market. Useful when trying to come up with a title for your publication

Here's a great tool from UPS to capture someone's attention (click on the 'control pad' in the lower left corner, visit the 'Break Room' and then 'Create Your Own Whiteboard')

Tracewatch, the best FREE analytics program (just type 'tracewatch' in the search bar, upper right)

Andrew Lock is one of those online marketing experts with great character and a very polished presentation.

David Bullock, a master marketer, appeared on Stump Markus a few weeks ago and inspired the How to Search project.

Here's (another :) ) great blog for online marketers.


Productivity and time management tips

You've seen it before and it's worth repeating--this post I recently created highlighting my absolute favorite productivity aids (read it monthly)

Create process maps for everything you do. I use bubbl.us (allows for collaboration). Here's a map I created to help me plow through my daily checks before hitting the 'big pickles' (remember this post?). Here's another map I created for the How to Search project. Thinkature is another neat collaborative tool.


Miscellaneous

Rich Schefren's Internet Business Manifesto (a must read for all online entrepreneurs...and a free download. Incredible.)

Here's a great tool for converting one file format into another

Here's a good website for design ideas and (getting) design jobs. Also, if you need a logo at a great price, visit GotLogos

To have your site reviewed by Cool Site of the Day, go here.

You can find me on Twitter although I'm now also Plurking.

For project management and collaboration, play with Basecamp. Same company created Highrise, an excellent CRM tool

Until the next Cool Talk,

Mike

'Cool Talk' is the place to be on Thursdays

Yesterday's 'Cool Talk' found me chatting with some special guests sharing some VERY valuable information. Thanks to Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing and Markus Allen of Stump Markus for all their wisdom and for making it a great show!

Click on the 'Play' button below and get ready to take notes!

Have I got a copywriter for you...

When I launched my Cool Site of the Day VIP coaching program a couple of weeks ago, I figured I had room for 25 clients and that I'd fill those slots within 4-6 weeks.

My copywriter had other thoughts.

Later today I will closing the VIP program. Thanks to my copywriter, Janet Beatrice, and her impeccable rewrites of my initial draft, the VIP sales page generated over 100 applications. Since I only have room for 25, I'll be combing through each application, making followup calls and deciding on the final list of clients over the next several days.

Make no mistake, Janet took a draft of my main VIP sales page and absolutely supercharged it.

Let me be a bit more specific: if I do my job and keep each of those clients happy, simple math tells me that I'll be taking in nearly $150,000 just from consulting via webinars and teleconferences thanks to a well-crafted sales page.

I suspect that, say, with a list of 40, I will have a waiting list that will allow me to have a steady stream of clients as current clients reach their goals and move on or perhaps hire me for more services ($500 a month isn't much if clients follow my advice ;)

Bottom line: Janet's letter was so effective that I wonder if I could ever put up another web page without her 'OK'.

And that's funny because many Internet marketers (like me) are reluctant to hire copywriters, or they think it should cost a few hundred for a letter.

Fact is, a lot of time and effort goes into writing and editing an effective sales letter and handing it off to a pro is the best decision I've made all year (in my case, Janet spent nearly 3 weeks caressing my VIP page).

For reference, you can expect to spend anywhere from $1,500 to $15,000 and more for the right sales letter (Janet is neither at the low end nor the high end but I can tell you she is worth every penny).

Now, before I go on, when I told Janet that I was going to write this post, she graciously offered to do website evaluations to the first 10 readers to respond at a special discount ($95 vs. $195).

I can tell you that the comments she would share with you 'post-evaluation' would be worth several hundred dollars -- you could expect not only a basic critique of the copy, but also an evaluation of the overall website, including fonts, graphics, navigation, etc.

Janet will tell you if she believes you need her copywriting services, but there’s no obligation to hire her and she’s definitely not pushy. If you do hire her to rewrite your copy, though, she will take the evaluation fee off of her copywriting fee.

Anyway, I'm not going to blow her horn any longer--I'll let her convince you. If you have a need, or even if you're just wondering how much more effective your copy could be with a pro's input, I suggest you reach out to Janet asap.

OK, I'm nearly done, but I'd just like to say that if you're making a career out of internet marketing you should consider learning to write your own copy. Unfortunately, this is not as easy to learn as some think it is. You need to devote considerable time and effort to it. And no matter how much you learn, there's always more to learn. Plus, you can never stop honing your skills. It's kind of like playing an instrument.

So, unless you're able to make the time to write perfect copy, take Janet up on her offer. You won't regret it.

Cheers,

Mike

Get all your questions answered next Thursday

Folks,

Thanks to all who called in yesterday to the debut of Cool Talk, my weekly LIVE podcast hosted by TalkShoe.

Every week, I, along with some very special guests, share my most prized tips, strategies and methods for running my web sites and mastering online marketing.

And here's the best part: I've scheduled Cool Talk to start every Thursday at 1:30PM EST following my appearance on Stump Markus, Markus Allen's insanely informative podcast (also hosted on TalkShoe).

Here's your chance to get expert advice (or just a kick in the pants) to move your online business in a very forward, very positive direction.

So, if you need a lifeline in this ever changing and wonderfully exciting world of online marketing, do what hundreds of other smart web folks are doing; join us every Thursday from 12-2:30PM EST for a dizzying amount of quality information designed for one purpose: to make you HUGE on the 'net!

Here's what to do now: mark your calendars and stamp your brain with the following:

1. Stump Markus begins at 12 noon EST. Here are your coordinates.
2. Cool Talk follows immediately at 1:30PM right here.

Talk to you then!

Mike

P.S. If you want to get full access to all of the Stump Markus audios (and companion notes) and pickup tips, strategies, and methods on how to build your business, visit this page and take advantage of the 30-day free trial to his Marketing Junkies Inner Circle Membership while it lasts (if you don't find thousands of dollars worth of great advice, I'd like to know about it)

"Cool Talk' Call-in Show Debut