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How I Use Third Tribe Marketing

ceb — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:59:27 +0000

I’m a co-founder of Third Tribe Marketing, a private membership site where we talk about online marketing. It’s been the best thing I’ve done in 2010 so far, and I say that because I’m really enjoying the interaction with the over 2000 members, and because I’m making money (or at least getting more effective, in some cases) thanks to the information I’m finding in the forums.

I thought I’d write about how I use it.

For Consulting

Not everyone can pay my day rate. Not everyone is the ideal client for New Marketing Labs (my company). But some folks might want to ask me a simple question or two about their business, and by signing up at Third Tribe Marketing, you pay a whopping $47 for not only my advice and insight, but whatever else you get from the other participants in the forums (who often have astounding feedback and ideas).

So, if you’ve got some questions for me that aren’t a full blown marketing project for New Marketing Labs, then Third Tribe might be the place.

For Resources

I just copy/pasted a whole bunch of informational resources from a few threads in the forums at Third Tribe Marketing for a project I plan to launch in about a month. It’s awesome for that. Oh, and the other day, I asked a question about graphics types to help with another idea I had. Tons of connections.

For Education

There are many types of internet marketers in there. We have franchise professionals, big corporate types, b2b, small shops, lots of solo businesses, and many people who are creating their own businesses based on what they’re reading. It’s a real blast listening to what they’re doing, following links to their projects, getting a chance to talk up what we can improve or not. That’s one thing I really like about Third Tribe is that the folks are really participating.

Is It For You?

I don’t really know. Nonprofits are in there. Big companies are in there. Little guys. It’s a big blend. People seem happy. We get the occasional person who leaves, saying it wasn’t what they wanted, but those were often people who weren’t really interested in marketing techniques, tips, and resources. Or maybe the ideas were good, but they couldn’t use them right away. Because you can cancel whenever, it’s not a big deal to leave after a month, if you’re not ready to execute. I mean, we’d love to have you around, but you can leave after you get a few bits of actionable advice.

I’m pretty happy with what we’ve created there. If you want to talk in depth with people about online marketing, check out Third Tribe Marketing. It’s where I’m spending a good 30-60 minutes each day, and where I’m finding ideas that turn into money (or at least value for my clients).

On OPEN Forum – Make Love to Your Database

ceb — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:40:16 +0000

I wrote a post over at OPEN Forum called Make Love to Your Database. (First off, I’m so jazzed that the title was okay, editorially!)

Here’s the first little bit:

Lately, I’ve been thinking that we have too much data. We can collect data all day: Web site stats, sentiment analysis, survey results. The thing is, if we never act on what we’re collecting, then it’s just as bad as not having collected the data in the first place. For instance, one of my jobs is as a professional speaker. I’ve never yet prospected my email newsletter list for whether I could find speaking gigs there. When I finally took some time to look, I was stunned by the quality of companies I could reach with my messages.

Read the rest here.

Winners of the Donald Miller Project

ceb — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:59:41 +0000

I just ran a giveaway, because of my passion for Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Entrants had to write a blog post about the importance of story. I’ve just compiled the list of the first 100 submissions, who will be receiving a book. You might enjoy this. There will be quite a lot of interesting posts at the end of the following links.

Here are the 100 people who will be receiving a copy of Donald Miller’s book (and their stories):

Sarah
Drake
Marek
Kim
Jack
Susan
Scott
tom
Doug
Ken
Siddhartha
Mark
Zach
Arminda
Cindi
Kathleen
Ed
Tracy
Jay
Michael
Ken
Andre
Dave
Bruce
Jason
Jule
Ben
Rebecca
Bayberry
Nancy
Debbie
Sandy
Kelly
Thomas
Christy
Susan
Angela
Susan
Lynn
Todd
Jose
Emily Ann
Nick
Paul
Julie
Anne
Dan
Gregory
sam
Nanette
Karen
Judy
Ladee
Jef
Amanda
Todd
Chris
Glenn
Rex
Lindsey
Mike
Michelle
Chris
Melanie
Mark
Rich
Maria
Lark
Mark
Sandra Lee
Sal
Peter
Melissa
Amber
Alisa
Sherry
Nathan
Alicia
Brandon
Mark
Mat
Erika
Heather
Sydney
joe
Andy
Krista
Charles
Chris
Josh
Jackelyn
Douglas
Emma
Jeff
Jason
Chris
jon
Joseph
Steven

You as an Entertainer – An OPENForum Post

ceb — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:37:25 +0000

Over at OPENForum, I wrote about the concept of you as an entertainer. I think business is shifting, that we have to add an “entertainer” layer. Ads are boring. Interesting and useful content are great. That’s the mindset, at least.

What do you think?

You as an Entertainer.

On OPENForum – Make Decisions or Else

ceb — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:24:25 +0000

Over on OPENForum, I wrote a post about how important decision-making is to a business. In the case of this post, I am mostly talking about deciding when NOT to do things, but I feel it goes even further than that. You face lots of decisions every day.

Want to talk more about it?

Swing by OPENForum.

My First Action Figure

ceb — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:30:33 +0000

Thanks to my friend C.C. Chapman, I am now an action figure. No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.

Here’s a quick video to show it to you:

You’ve gotta admit that’s kind of a cool promotion, right?

People always ask which camera I used to shoot my video. I use the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (that’s a review of the camera).

San Francisco – Come Visit New Marketing Experience

ceb — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:00:18 +0000

We’re running a one-day event in San Francisco on April 13th called New Marketing Experience. The idea is that people will gather to share One Big Idea that will improve your marketing experiences. I’m thrilled to see how this all comes together. The goal is to be helpful, to share the good stuff, and to give you a no-fluff learning experience.

One thing that’s different with my events than with other events: every sponsor and exhibitor and speaker is someone we think has something to offer you. We pick our sponsors with great intention. We endorse their products. We are users of most of their products. We appreciate their voice in our experiences. Thus, time spent with them is also time spent learning new marketing the way we see it.

So, it’s a 1 day event. There’s no fluff. It’s packed with info. We can hang out. AND I want to give you 50% off. If you use code = CHRIS50 when you REGISTER HERE.

I hope you’ll come for the day. I’m sure you’ll leave with something useful and actionable for your business.

Social Media Projects You Could Start Today

ceb — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:10:00 +0000

If you’ve got the powers that be convinced that social media’s the set of tools you need, or if you’re the one making the decisions and you feel hooked, but don’t really know where to start, I’ve got a few ideas for you that might get you going down the right path. You might want to bookmark this one. I make that really easy with the “Share This” button at the bottom of the post.

Here are some ways you could get the ball rolling:

First, here’s what I’d do if I started today.

It might be helpful to consider setting up a simple presence framework.

If you need the larger picture, here’s some thoughts on how outposts improve your ecosystem.

Want some blogging advice? Here are 50 blog topics marketers could write for their companies.

Those are probably some good places to start. If you want something like this that’s a bit more portable, that’s why I wrote Social Media 101, a book that gives you these kinds of posts written down on paper (81 or so of those kinds of posts) such that you can hand it over to the folks who need to know. Click the photo if you want to learn more.

Or, just hang out with me here. I’m happy either way. : )

photo shared via flickr

On OPEN Forum- Quick Customer Touchpoints

ceb — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:12:23 +0000

I’ve written a post called Quick Customer Touchpoints for business people today over at the American Express OPENForum. It talks about contact/customer management topics, as well as some ways to keep your connections alive.

Hope you enjoy.

Quick Customer Touchpoints.

Nikon Just Let Me Use a New Camera

ceb — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:13:14 +0000

The folks at Nikon let me try out a D300s camera. It’s a lot more pro-feeling than my Nikon D-60. Honestly, I’m not yet that clever with it. I’m trying it out, and shooting stuff, and they’re giving me little tips so I can try to do better stuff with it.

I’m part of their outreach project, which they’re doing for the South by Southwest event in partnership with YFrog. So, if you check out http://yfrog.com/nikon, you’ll see what me and a few others are shooting.

Why let an idiot like me use such a powerful camera instead of someone who’s a really great shooter? There are a few reasons. One’s obvious: I have a big audience, so Nikon is hoping that I’ll somehow coax you into buying one. I’m not sure how well that kind of option works. It’s not an inexpensive camera, so it’s not like you do an impulse buy.

However, the OTHER reason they let me use it instead of some pro is that I can be more like an “everyman” user. (I’ve written about the everyman before.) This is why Scott Monty of Ford is perfect for Ford. He’s their everyman.

So, the post? I’ve got a mixed reason. First, I’m telling you, “Hey, look! Nikon wants you to see me making their camera take fuzzy shots because I’m not a good photographer, but darn it – they like me!” Second, I’m saying, “as marketers, take a look at this kind of outreach and ask yourself what’s the yield. Believe me, if I somehow magically convince you that “even I can use this camera,” which is possible maybe, then how many will I be selling?

What’s your take?