When registering your domain name (URL) the one I recommend you secure, that is the most important and popular, is the one that ends with a .com extension. Assuming then that you have secured the .com extension, you are in great shape. However, you may want to also consider registering the following extensions: .net, .org, ,info, .biz and .us if you are in the US.
For example, my blog name is hosted under www.ChadBarr.com which is registered and owned by me. What if someone decides to register one or all of the other extensions, such as the .net which would then make www.ChadBarr.net available for them to populate with their content. This could and would create a situation that when my clients search for me, they would most likely find the other domains that are actually not associated with me and my company.
So the primary reason you want to consider this, is to avoid others from trying to take advantage of your success and then registering and owning the other domains associated with your company name or brand names.
One final point of consideration is that once you have registered and own all these extensions (URLs) is to redirect all of them to your .com domain so when one tries to type the others, they will end up on your main domain.
I am delighted to share with you that I have just completed the writing of my new book Million Dollar Web Presence – Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am co-authoring with my great friend, colleague and partner, Dr. Alan Weiss. This took five months to complete, will be published by Entrepreneur Press and is expected to hit the stores by March 2012. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements, excerpts from the book and remarkable new ideas, to help you transform your business.
Developing a sound strategy is critical before success is achieved on the Internet. I often talk with prospective clients who ask me to further articulate and provide them with additional clarity as to what strategy is. So with that in mind, I have decided to write this section for my new upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence. Since I get asked this question a lot, here it is for your benefit.
A strategy is the framework that helps you identify where you are taking your company and what you want it to become. It is all about answering the “what” and the “why” questions while tactics are the detailed action plan that answer the “how” to achieve these type of questions.
Answering these questions will provide the clarity necessary to then develop your tactics or action plan:
Convert visitors to prospects and prospects to clients?
Enable products purchasing for passive income?
Leverage marketing effectively?
Promote your products and services?
Create a community?
Promote your books?
Capture visitors’ information?
Become the hub and the repository of your intellectual property?
Help you gain as many clients as possible while reducing your labor intensity and increasing your responsiveness significantly?
Visitor to have fun?
2. Who is your audience(s)?
Identify all groups.
Where do they hang out and what are their geographic areas?
What do they read?
What trade shows do they attend?
Where are they on the web?
What are they looking for?
What is their age group and sex?
Do they search on search engines?
Do they use social media platforms and which ones?
Should journalists be targeted?
3. What do you want to become?
Thought Leader?
Consultant, author, coach, speaker?
All or others?
What are you known for?
4. What is the outstanding value you bring to your clients and your offerings?
Let me finally suggest that no technology should be discussed or design executed prior to the strategy being clearly identified followed by the tactics. As you’ve heard me say: “Strategy first, technology second!”
This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.
Here is a partial list, from my new upcoming book, of five marketing master practices that I see quite often:
1. Leveraging your sites and technology to increase your credibility.
2. Incorporating the accelerant curve in your overall strategy of products creation.
3. Recognizing that your site is the ultimate repository of your remarkable intellectual property.
4. Effectively leveraging social media platforms and connections to build a community around your brand. Then, nurture this connections and your community.
5. Incorporating a blog to drive content and interactions as part of your web strategy.
This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.
I am delighted to announce the new site we’ve launched of Kelli Richards, President & CEO of The All Access Group, located in California. Kelli’s focus is on creating connections across music, entertainment and technology.
What I like about this site:
World-class design and navigation to help Kelli strengthen her thought leadership and brand.
Outstanding content in the form of articles, podcasts on site and on blog talk radio, videos, newsletters, updated blog and social media interaction.
Focused strategy and tactics to create credibility, deliver value, effective marketing leverage, promotion of books, products and events, capture of visitors’ information.
Here is a partial list, from my new upcoming book, of five marketing mishaps that I see quite often:
1. Using a link that takes the visitor to your home page and not to a targeted landing page. This is a huge mistake. Instead, formulate unique pages that are clear to understand with effective calls to action and direct your visitor there.
2. Not attempting to capture your visitor’s information and not offering free valuable content in return.
3. Trying to do it all yourself. This applies both to your site and strategy as well as content creation. Hire an expert and partner with others for your content.
4. Evolving your content slowly or not at all or inconsistently. A great analogy that comes to mind is the one of athletes and the grueling practices the engage in to fine-tune their skills in order to get to the level of success they desire. Your practice manifests itself in the format of creating and publishing.
5. Ignoring additional effective aspects of marketing gravity and expecting your web site to be the only tool to bring in business and possibly overnight.
This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.
This is a rare interview I have just conducted with Gail Goodman who is the bright, innovative and visionary CEO of Constant Contact, the email and event marketing giant. We discussed topics such as growing your business, strengthening your brand, leveraging creative technologies, the Internet and social media. You’ll here answers to questions such as: Where to find more business that most customers don’t look for? With social media amplifying everyone, who should you really amplify? Who should you follow to improve your success? And much more.
This is a podcast interview you must listen to. So click the play button and enjoy.
I have recently started to contact some of today’s most successful and well-known global thought leaders for a one day event I am planning on organizing. I have to admit that, for me, this has been an interesting experience. I was impressed with the direct and quick response from quite a few of these thought leaders or their assistants.
This is where this story gets interesting. One of these very well-known thought leader wrote me back that he is interested and that all such engagements are handled through Tom (a made-up name) with his speaking bureau whom he copied on the email. I immediately contacted Tom who wrote back to tell me how busy he is during the entire week and that he needs more details before we talk. Tom finally wrote me back that he is available to connect all day Thursday. I wrote back suggesting 9AM. Tom replied later that he has a meeting at 9AM (don’t forget, he said he was available the entire day) and suggested 2PM. I replied, agreeing to 2PM only then to get a reply back from Tom’s assistant who wrote that Tom has another meeting and suggested 2:45PM?
That’s when I’ve lost it. I wrote Tom letting him know that this is getting absurd and my time is as important and busy as his. He did write back apologizing and commenting that he just needed to change his schedule. I wonder how many other possible speaking opportunities did this well-known thought leader miss because Tom just needed to continually change his schedule?
Years ago when Chad first started to use Facebook, he asked this question on his Facebook wall: “Is anyone seriously reading or even paying attention to these silly status messages?” A few minutes later, his nephew from Australia replied: “That is what we live for!” Although probably a humorous but sad commentary of what may epitomize the trivial interest level of Facebook members, it also made us wonder, could it be that some are looking for quick, stimulating interesting and provocative ideas to interact with or reflect upon or is it possible that they have nothing better to do? Let us share with you some conceptual differences between such posts and ours. Here is a random and quick sample of some of the posts on our Facebook walls today and please keep in mind that these are from entrepreneurs and service providers:
Thinking of taking surfing lessons later this week. Been watching them and I think I can do it!
Eating healthy, went for a brisk walk.
Missed my flight this morning for the first time in about 9 years..
Oooommm …. “I love my life.” “I love my life.” “I LOVE MY LIFE!” Repeat this all day long to yourself & out loud to others. Wishing you a peacefully & delightfully glorious Tuesday.
Do something amazing today!
This quote hit me between the eyes so I have to share it…
“He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees.” – Benjamin Franklin
View from my coaching room – Just counted 19 bunnies!
Marketing contest is underway. The votes are fascinating. I love seeing the numbers and what people think. Check out my blog or search on FB.
On the other hand, here is a quick sample of some of the posts from Chad Barr and Alan Weiss:
Language controls discussions, discussions control relationships, relationships control business. Watch your language. Below is an example of how this thought has stated to generate a discussion.
Confront, don’t enable, poor behavior: “You’ve cancelled 3 meetings at the last minute. I can’t work with you if you do that.”
Requisites for veterans in consulting: Building brand, becoming IP, thinking big.
Viral marketing incorporates exponential power by leveraging the web, people & your outstanding content
How easy is it to contact you? Just had to call a colleague but no phone # on his site or email signature!
How frequently do you have something new to say? Increase your success by saying something unique & often.
Our recommendation is that you ought to consider how unique, qualitative and provocative your posts are. Notice also our incorporation of powerful hyperlinks to the proper landing pages on our sites. And finally, if you are attempting to strengthen your thought leader position, why not demonstrate original thoughts and quote yourself and not others.
This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.
The Bridge to Web Success
This resource guide contains a collection of articles that address today's ever changing and fast moving world of the web. The world will keep moving forward; it is our duty to keep one step ahead of the game.
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The Bridge to Web Success
