Create Your Next Customer

About a year ago, I was invited to give a presentation to an industry group on the subject of “The Future of the Internet.”  Now, the good thing about a subject that broad is that I could say just about anything; on the flip side, that future weighs heavily over every business in profound ways and deserves a rigorous examination.  So to begin my research, I took the obvious strategic-thinker step:  I buzzed around YouTube to come up with some ideas. (more…)

Scott Vaughan recently interviewed Dan Shapero, Senior VP of Marketing at Kaseya, an IT automation company. We discussed marketing ROI, research, lead generation, and why Kaseya chose to partner with the InformationWeek Business Technology Network.

One of my favorite things about working in media is talking to our readers and users.   They’re quick to tell you what’s up in the real world, what they’re dealing with on a day to day basis and what we as publishers and marketers can do (or not do for that matter) to help them be more effective in their jobs. So recently when my boss asked me to assume business responsibility (more…)

So why do we still have print magazines today?  Think about it—with a generation of new workers that have not known anything but being online, why the hell do we still need print?  Well, as a publisher of a network of sites, an analyst business, bloggers and, oh yeah, a magazine, it is something that I think about every day.  (more…)

An Effective Type of Social Professional Network

In working with business-to-business professionals, I am becoming convinced the most valuable professional type of “social” network is where there is a true professional membership or affiliation.  To differentiate it from the myriad of online networks, let’s simply call it “Membership Media”.  (more…)

Don’t be alarmed if you can’t decide whether mid-roll is better than pre-roll (the former happens after you turn 30), or if lower-third overlays are a good thing (better than a layover in Dallas, I’m sure), because – and I don’t want to name names here, but I have no choice – nobody’s figured out the right way to make money on web TV.

Last week our TechWebTV crew attended and filmed the aptly-named Contentonomics conference right outside of Hollywood, (more…)

In planning for an upcoming event with CIOs and vendor sales people, I have been engaging in several discussions with CIOs and IT decision makers (Professional IT Buyers) about Tech Marketing, what they like and what bugs the heck out of them.  I was overwhelmed with some rants, raves and stories, but also with some practical solutions and things to think about.   We have some work to do, as the “what doesn’t work” list was 10x larger than the “what works” list. (more…)

Ha. I love the lead-gen discussion. So many marketers are turning to us to help them increase lead quality. Why? Because marketers have asked and publishing companies have delivered. “Give us the lowest CPL possible” says marketer. “No problem” says publisher. Smack. Major issues for the industry. (more…)

So I am guessing that, unless you live under a rock, that you are familiar with the show Entourage. The characters, who I think are fantastic, have developed nicely over the last couple of years, and I find myself looking forward to Sunday nights so I can see what Drama, Vince, Turtle, Eric and Arie are up to. (more…)

Last week, I shared what we had learned about the Economic Outlook and its impact on IT spending and your marketing plans.   So what should you be doing as a marketing pro?  Especially before your CEO or CMO comes and asks for a 12% reduction and starts mucking up your well-thought out plan.  If that has already happened, well time to re-think your go-to-market approach.  (more…)

A big topic happening in conference rooms and hallways everywhere is the impact of the shifting economy – on IT spending and therefore on marketing.  So, should I change marketing tactics during turbulent/shifting global and US economy?  Unquestionably Yes! Your IT prospects and customers are doing it, so should you.  (more…)

If you are a marketing professional in the business technology category, there is no doubt in my mind that you have been forced to learn the best practices for capturing leads to fill your sales channel.  And if you have not, well, then I would recommend you start doctoring up your resume for a new gig and post it, because odds are the demands of your profession are passing you by, and you’ll probably get canned.  But I digress, the point of this blog is to lay down some of the thinking that is in fact working to capture high quality leads—the trick, my friends, is having powerful content. (more…)

Over the 4th of July holiday, I vacationed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Breathtaking? Yes. Dangerous? You betcha. (more…)

One of the core tenets of effective web marketing is to place your offer contextually where your best prospects do their homework and conduct business.  (more…)

I remember first starting in this business and hearing about the “technology market analysts” at various firms in the industry and thinking “what makes these people fit to tell others what to do?”  (more…)

As B2B tech marketers, we are constantly trying to align our message, offers and products with customer pain points and funded initiatives of IT decision makers.  (more…)

You ever download a podcast/audio file that sounded more like a 1920’s radio show instead of a new age audio file?  Or have an expectation of what you will get in a video, only to be disappointed because it did not meet said expectation?  (more…)

Let’s geek out here. Not geek out like YOUR boss does sometimes. Or how I know MY boss does often – he literally speaks in the form cheesy movie quotes. But let’s geek out social media style. (more…)

A few weeks back, I was coerced into spending a few days with 60 CMOs at an inaugural CMO Club session in New York, uniquely dubbed the “You’re Not Alone” Summit. As a marketing executive who works with other marketing peers every day, I was a bit leery about a session that sounded like an indie horror movie. I eventually jumped in for the therapy session and glad I did. (more…)

By this point, I am sure everyone in the world has seen Superbad—it is likely the most kick ass movie to come out in a long time. There are a couple of reasons for that: (more…)