If you’ve been submitting your blog posts to places like Digg, Netscape, ShoutWire and the like, you know how time consuming it can be.

Now the same guys who wrote Authority Black Book have come up with a tool that drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to do Web 2.0 promotion.

Here’s what it does:

* Saves and automatically processes logins for several of the most high-traffic Web 2.0 news sites on the internet.

* Easily archive your stories (blog post) to make every submission extremely easy and gives you the ability to recall it later.

* With the push of a button, the software fills the forms on these sites so all you have to do is review and submit your story.

* Enter the content of your latest blog post one-time and submit to all of the sites individually for maximum efficiency.

The reason I’m even recommending it is because it’s completely white-hat, and will save you loads of time in syndicating your blog articles.

Check out the demo of the Web 2.0 Submitter here.

Fake blogs, bribing bloggers, and corp speak. Can companies think of any more ways to screw up their public image?

In an article in iMedia connection, B.L. Ochman, one of my fave PR bloggers, gives us an overview of the social media campaigns that failed, and the ones that didn’t.

She profiles campaigns by companies like Ford, Wal-Mart, Microsoft and Sony, that got brickbats from the blogosphere, and those by Dell, Netflix and Lego, that led the way to a more enlightened handling of social media campaigns.

Ultimately the message that comes through strongly is:

• Be Authentic
• Build a Community
• Think Out of the Box

Read her excellent analysis of What Kills a Social Media Campaign.

The funky guys at WebProNews have an interesting take on social marketing and your online reputation. They believe that

Social marketing is quickly becoming an integral part of generating business online. While search is the on-ramp, social networks are the destination. And just like any social setting, your rep is important.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Jason Lee Miller writes, in his article titled, “Mom’s Guide To Social Marketing”, how following your mother’s advice can keep you out of hot water in the tricky, new Web 2.0 world.

Here’s Jason’s list of “Mom’s Top 10 Steps To A Good Online Reputation”, paraphrased for brevity.

1. Create visibility. Show up.

2. Don’t be a wallflower. Participate.

3. Do the work and keep your nose clean.

4. Use everything you’ve got, and then some more.

5. Understand your audience. Be interesting and linkable.

6. Keep your friends close.

7. Think before you speak. Words have a much longer lifespan (and greater reach) online.

8. Be real. Be authentic.

9. Mind your manners. Do unto others…

10. Stay on the ball. Stay updated.

And, last but not least, don’t forget to send your Mom that mother’s day gift.

It’s about time bloggers set a code of conduct, not only for writing, but also for tolerating what sort of comments they will tolerate on their blogs. Arecent New York Times’ article notes:

A few high-profile figures in high-tech are proposing a blogger code of conduct to clean up the quality of online discourse. Last week, Tim O’Reilly, a conference promoter and book publisher who is credited with coining the term Web 2.0, began working with Jimmy Wales, creator of the communal online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to create a set of guidelines to shape online discussion and debate. Chief among the recommendations is that bloggers consider banning anonymous comments left by visitors to their pages and be able to delete threatening or libelous comments without facing cries of censorship.

Having been at the receiving end of nasty comments myself, I think it’s is a good start to cleaning up the blogosphere. It’s not about restricting freedom of speech. It’s about making the blogosphere safer for people who want to express themselves freely without being subjected to cyber-bullying and hate attacks. Besides I believe that my blog is my home online. And it’s up to me to decide who I want to allow on my turf.

My personal policy for blogging and commenting is just that it should follow the rules of common human decency. I don’t mind the comments, just the sentiment behind them. I don’t write anything on my blogs that I would not say to someone in real life. Nor would I tolerate comments that I would not tolerate in actual conversation. And that is what blogs are - a conversation.

I do, however, make an exception for critical comments posted with good intention, and reply to these with like intention. Honest criticism is always welcome, because it’s what makes blogs so valuable as a medium for marketers to communicate with their audiences.

It’s the comments posted solely for the purpose of being nasty, that I delete, and advise you to delete them too. Not because I give a damn for what the “trolls” think, but because I simply choose not to allow negativity into my life. As the Blogger’s Code Of Conduct states,

We believe that feeding the trolls only encourages them — “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it. (George Bernard Shaw)” Ignoring public attacks is often the best way to contain them.

The Blogger’s Code Of Conduct guidelines, that were based onTim O’Reilly’s post, are excellent and I agree with them, to a large extent.

1. We take responsibility for our own words and reserve the right to restrict comments on our blog that do not conform to basic civility standards.

2. We won’t say anything online that we wouldn’t say in person.

3. If tensions escalate, we will connect privately before we respond publicly.

4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.

5. We do not allow anonymous comments.

6. We ignore the trolls.

7. We encourage blog hosts to enforce more vigorously their terms of service.

Another issue raised by the NYT article was that of vandalism and misuse of photos posted by well-read bloggers like Heather Armstrong. As a mother, I have (what I believe are) valid concerns for my family’s privacy. Because of the likelihood of photographs being copied and vandalised, morphed or misused, I avoid posting any that identify any member of my family clearly, and rarely share anything that’s very personal (except my opinions, and some travel photos) on my blogs. Email is, and will always be, my preferred medium for sharing personal photos. But that’s me.

I think it’s the well-read and/or controversial bloggers who are more likely to be targeted by vandals and cyber-bullies (Ah, the price of fame and book deals!). So the ordinary blogger, like you and me, will, hopefully, not have to worry about being targets, except for the occasional troll who wanders along.

The NYT article also mentions attempts to get bloggers to adhere more strictly to a journalistic code of conduct, which I believe, will go a long way in making blogs a more credible source of information and eliminate the objections that some critics have to the “dark side of blogs.”

Talk about creating several sets of guidelines for conduct and seals of approval represented by logos. For example, anonymous writing might be acceptable in one set; in another, it would be discouraged. Under a third set of guidelines, bloggers would pledge to get a second source for any gossip or breaking news they write about.

I think anonymous blogging might be valid in countries where political freedom is suppressed, or where certain views might be considered to go against religious sentiment. Bloggers weild wield a great deal of power in the wired world, and increasingly, in the mainstream media. It would be wise for the blogging community to remember that “with great power, comes great responsibility” and weild wield their pens with humility and respect for others.

Now will someone please come up with a solution to zap those spam comment posters?!!

Via WebProNews I learned that the guys at SEOmoz interviewed 37 leaders in the world of organic search engine optimization (SEO) on the various factors that are estimated to comprise Google’s ranking algorithm, and came up with an awesome summary representing “90-95% of the knowledge required about Google’s algorithm”.

Personally, although I keep up with the search engines’ changing algorithms, I never build sites solely around these factors. I’d rather focus on creating authority sites with unique content, using a mix of both, online and offline marketing and PR tactics. Unique content ensures that your Pagerank doesn’t fall, and is more likely to attract inbound, one-way links. It’s worth spending good money on creating unique content. On the other hand, the PLR content and article mashers that everyone is using, are a huge waste of time and money.

Keep in mind that websites that are user-friendly, easy to navigate, and provide the user with relevant and useful information, are also likely to be bookmarked more often by users. All the experts agree that social bookmarking is going to become even more important to your rankings in 2008.

I also think that repeat traffic will become more important (given that Google most likely has access to your user’s cache), so having a subscriber database, to which you can email updates and newsletters that bring visitors back to your site regularly, should always be part of your marketing mix. Despite the inroads made by RSS, email is still one of the most important ways of sending out updates.

It’s important to keep building links slowly and consistently, using press releases and article marketing, with some blogging and social marketing thrown into the mix. If you’re into video and podcasting, they can be valuable tools to build traffic, too.

I’m currently reviewing Mike Cheney’s Traffic Videos, and they’re an excellent resource that cover a wide range of marketing techniques - which really, is the best way to build consistent and repeat traffic to your website. Though there’s something in there for everyone, white-hat and black-hat, I’d avoid the black-hat if I were you.

But if you’re a serious search marketing expert, the SEO Report on Google’s Search EngineRanking Factors is available here and is essential reading.

Michael Cheney, one of the most-respected names in Internet marketing, and the man behind the 6-Figure launches of AdSense Videos and 11 Days To List Profits, has unveiled a new video product titled “Michael’s Traffic Videos”. His new package promises to show you how to get boost web traffic (the holy grail of any webpreneur) and comes with 100,000 instant ad credits and a tailored Fast-Track To Traffic Action Plan.

He allowed us to post this interview and offer you a free 40-page E-book on traffic that Michael has written to help you avoid the Top 20 Traffic Disasters. In the interview below, the Adsense expert explains how, just like everything else on the Internet traffic changes very quickly. So, the methods of getting traffic change all the time and that’s where webmasters who don’t keep up with the trends get “caught out”.

Here’s the rest of the interview.

What do you mean by “caught out”?

Well people fall into the trap of thinking that just because they know one or two traffic generation methods that they are some sort of traffic master. In reality just because you know how to start a pay per click campaign or a little bit about search engines doesn’t make you anywhere near a traffic expert. I’m trying to spread the word that there is a massive array of traffic tactics that most people aren’t even aware of, let alone using or mastering.

Can you give us some examples?

Sure. Offline for example. You might immediately think that getting traffic is a purely online activity but the truth of the matter is that there are lots of things you can be doing offline to get people into your website. And it’s usually these sorts of areas that are being under-utilized and therefore there is less competition for that traffic as well.

So by offline you mean advertising offline?

Not necessarily. That is one method, yes, but I’m thinking of more creative ways to get people into your website. It all comes down to the fact that having asked people on my list it came as no surprise that most people want to know about free rather than paid traffic sources. I’ve had to become an expert in free ways of getting traffic in my time online.

What do you mean - I thought you were running a successful online business with lots of cash flow?

I am. But it’s not always been this way. When I first started out in 1995 I had nothing. No money to play with. Just my own initiative and imagination.

So are you saying you’re against paying for traffic online?

No. No I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is that, especially when you first start out, you always want to focus on the free methods. You get the traffic in for free, make some sales and then you can reinvest some of that money into paid methods of getting traffic. This speeds up the process.

So what particular offline methods are you referring to - can you give us some examples?

There’s one tactic I used that costs nothing to implement, is relatively quick and ended up getting me thousands and thousands of targeted visitors into my websites. When I’ve shared this tactic with other marketers at seminars they’ve started laughing and slapping their foreheads when they saw how easy it was. They were also embarrassed that they had failed to use this tactic. It was quite amusing.

So are you going to tell us what this method is?

No! (laughs) It’s in my course! I truly believe in rewarding those people that are most eager to learn so instead of giving away all my traffic tactics in interviews like this I’ve put some of them in an E-Book I’ve written. It is free though if people want to get it.

So how can people get hold of it?

It’s called “How To Avoid The Top 20 Traffic Disasters” and you can get it by going to Michael’s Traffic Videos - you’ll see it mentioned on that page.

What’s in it?

Well I really wanted to raise the bar on a free E-Book so I spent a lot of time creating it. It’s 40 pages long and stuffed with juicy content on what NOT to do when it comes to traffic. As far as I’m concerned too many people out there tell you what you should do but not what you shouldn’t do. That’s where this E-Book comes in.

So, if you’re serious about getting more traffic into your website (and if you’re reading this blog, you are!) you should go to Michael’s Traffic Videos and get that free E-Book.

Just came across two nice articles on social marketing, both by Helen Leggatt, I thought I’d share here.

The first titled “User-generated product reviews increase conversion” notes that

User-generated product reviews are being recognized as a powerful tool in converting browsers into buyers. Around 40 percent of online shoppers are advocates, says Yahoo’s Diane Rinaldo, and they influence purchases two-to-one over non-advocates.

The second, titled “More marketers to use social networking tactics in 2007” notes that

The number of marketers using online social networking tactics could increase by around 10 percent in 2007, suggests a new report, and marketers need to learn how to get the best out of these environments. In 2006, around 38 percent of marketers used social marketing tactics and, according to a new report from JupiterResearch, 48 percent plan to utilise social marketing sites during 2007. eMarketer estimates that ad spending on social networks will hit $865 million this year.

My new online magazine and portal for Indian women, Naaree.com, launched today.

I’ve often said that building a community is important to the success of your online business. So I built something I’m passionate about - a community that will inspire Indian women to rise above challenges of family and society, and live lives of purpose and fulfilment.

Read the press release announcing the launch here:
Naaree.com Celebrates The New Indian Woman

Thanks, Rajesh, for featuring us on Alootechie.

Happy New Year, folks! I’m back from Goa and I’ll soon be posting some photos of my vacation on my Goa Beach site. This time I just visited my family so that my daughter could meet her cousins and be pampered by all my aunts. Also pigged out on Goan food so much that I HAD to make a New Year’s resolution to join the gym and work off all the holiday pounds.

I came back to this nice, insightful article by Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, in which he take a stab at predicting the Top 7 Marketing Trends for 2007. I’ve paraphrased his points to reflect my own take on these predictions.

1. Corporates become more human: We’ll continue to see more “corporate bloggers” and more touch points for customers to interact with the true personality of a brand. Social media will play a bigger part in overall marketing strategy of corporates. The launch of sites like Sunsilk Gang Of Girls by HLL, clearly targeting their female audience, is evidence that the trend is even catching on in India in a big way.

2. Marketing with Widgets: Offering a free tool or widget has bcome an accepted marketing technique for marketers looking to offer a quick introduction to their service, or those seeking to create an online connection with customers.

3. SEO Is Dead! Long Live SMO!: It’s official, people. SEO is dead! Even hard-core black-hat SEOs now admit that their SEO practices are earning diminishing returns, and that SEO must evolve into what is being described as Social Media Optimization. SMO involves building traffic through blogs, tagging, social bookmarking and creating buzz online, moving far beyond linking strategy and smart SEO into the marketing mainstream. Hooks to allow site visitors to easily share and bookmark content may become more commonplace than those ubiquitous “email a friend” links, notes Bhargava.

4. AutoTagging and AutoSorting: In 2007, we will see more solutions like this that offer autotagging, autosorting and the next extension of this technology … auto recommendations, where new content of any format can be recommended and people can find new content more easily.

5. Social Bookmarking or Human Filtered Search: The exponential increase in the amount of content online, thanks to blogs and video sharing sites will continue to lead online users to search beyond the algorithm for new ways of finding information. Social bookmarking involves people sorting content on the web, creating their own groupings and sharing that with others.

6. Contentcasting via RSS feed: Contentcasting, spurred on by the now ubiquitous use of RSS, and the growing number of online users that have taken to RSS feeds in a big way. This includes videoblogs, audio podcasts, and frequently updated content in any area of the site - from a blog to a newsroom.

7. Online Identity Shifting: Having and sharing your identity online is hot right now. The appeal of sharing our lives with those we care about - through blogs, photos, videos, podcasts - will continue to represent a force in driving more people towards social media.

Within these online representations of self, brands and products will continue to play a large role. People will talk about products they like and don’t like - they will share brand experiences, and they will even become brand ambassadors for products and services that they care about. In this world where individual lives are shared online, there will be huge oopportunities for marketers in 2007, concludes Bhargava. I concur.

Tags: online marketing; seo; search engine optimization; blog; blogging; social-media; web 2.0; podcasting; public relations; social media optimization; tags; tagging; folksonomy; RSS