We all love Thomas the Tank Engine. I bought a full set for my son when he was four. I bought them for my nephews. I bought them for my friends’ kids.

Well, seems like one of the latest range of Thomas has been recalled voluntarily by RC2 Corp because they were found to contain enough lead to cause lead poisoning! I read this over at Marcie’s post. On the one hand, this is really scary to think that a popular children toy can be toxic. On the other hand, it is good to see the company take responsibility and recall the toys.

In a sense, this is what crisis planning is all about. Crisis Marketing sounds strange. Yet, this is exactly what happens when you take positive action to correct a wrong. If you handle it well, it can reflect positively on your company. It can increase consumer confidence in your brand. So, out of the ashes, the company rises purer and more trusted. Marcie’s post focused a lot on the effects of lead poisoning and the legislative stuff, so you can read all about the on-going saga there; including links to Chicago Tribune’s reports and so on.

But over here, we just want to emphasize that marketing ultimately focused on the needs of the consumer equals good marketing. It will hurt you, possibly a lot, but in the long run, you emerge stronger.

Technorati Tags: toys, thomas the tank engine, lead poisoning

One of the most effective and important contribution of marketing to the growth of your business is niche marketing. Gone are the days when everyone tries to market to everyone else. Today, the ability to identify and address profitable niches is the life-blood of many companies.

Some niches are easy to identify, some are a little less obvious. For example, take a look at holidays in Majorca, this is clearly a very targeted effort to sell into a highly competitive market. There are millions of cheap travel sites to choose from on the Internet. So, in order to stand out, you need to identify a clear niche.

Using technology is also an important part of this strategy. Again, back to the example above, you can use the search engine to easily find the best bargains from UK’s leading brand Tour Operators including First Choice Holidays, Thomson and Thomas Cook.

Celebrate summer. Go on a holiday. But I think, not just any holiday. Go search for your ideal choice over at Holiday Hypermart!

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Technorati Tags: holiday, cheap travel, summer holiday, vacations

Keywords are the life-blood of all online marketers. And feeding that is Google Adwords. Of course, there are other pay per click systems out there, but you have to admit, Adwords is far and away the most significant.

There have been many books written about how you can optimise, exploit or just simple use Adwords. There is no end to the junk out there. There are also lots of gems. But you, as a serious marketer, need to be able to pick up the gems and ignore the junk.

I cannot say for sure what the gems are, as there are many. Also, do bear in mind that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Therefore, an Adword campaign strategy that does not work for you, does not imply that it is a scam or that the concept is lousy. Everyone will have to find their own way through the maze.

AffiliateKB has some really good articles generally about affiliate marketing. Their latest article is about taking a Unique Look At Adwords Advertising. Again, this is not about finding the pot at the end of the rainbow. Rather, it is about picking up one more gem and hoping that this is your Rosetta Stone.

If you are consistently learning and picking up new knowledge and new skills, you will find your marketing efforts to become easier and much more fun!

Technorati Tags: adwords, adsense, internet marketing, online marketing, online advertising

When I was growing up, my mother used to say, “Study hard. Get good grades. Get a good job. Marry a nice girl….” sounds like a great formula for some happily-ever-afters.

But the world, they have changed, mama! Today, a “good job” means really different things. My uncle used to work for British Telecoms. That was a good job. Is it still a good job today? Many people are now starting their own business. That is not surprising anymore. Many of these people are setting up their new businesses from home. That is the new wave. The Internet has made it almost too easy to do that.

But one of the biggest disadvantage of working from home as opposed to having an office is infrastructure. In the office, you have all the facilities. You can network with your peers. You can gossip over a cup of tea. Well, modern conveniences cannot solve all these shortcomings. However, be glad, at least you know that you will have no problems with your Home Office Furniture.

I don’t live in the UK. My uncle does. But each time we speak on the phone, its raining over there (I think he lives in the suburbs around London, or thereabouts…). So, I think a home office would be a really cool thing to have over there. At least I don’t have to be cold and damp. I can be warm and cozy with my tea at my home office!

For me, I will choose from the range of Glass Desks. Somehow, they don’t make the room look too cluttered. Some people may prefer wood furniture, but well, to each his own I guess. Well, with Saxen’s home delivery service, I wouldn’t worry about moving the desks myself.

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Technorati Tags: home office furniture, home office, furniture

Marketing is fun. But some people mistake “marketing” as “going to the market to get stuff”. So, here is an interesting twist on marketing just for a gaffer - Hollwywood Trash for sale.

If you say my used Kleenex, would you pick it up? How about if I passed you my used dental floss? Love it, huh? Well, you would, if I were Paris Hilton! Don’t believe me? Take a look at what Gayla found!

So, for those of you who think that you have seen it all, take a gander! There is no end to human oddity and no end to marketing ingenuity!

Technorati Tags: paris hilton, trash, hollywood stars

We all get stressed. We are all under pressure. If you are a marketing professional, you will most likely feel a lot of those. When you kick off your latest marketing campaign, you not only have to deal with all the details to ensure a successful launch, you also have to meet the expectations of many different groups of people.

Your “bosses” (your managers or your clients) will expect that once the marketing campaign is launched, the sales will start rolling in. Customers will waltz through the door and stagger out with loads of the good stuff.

Your “market” will expect to be thoroughly impressed and carried away by your brilliant campaign. They look forward to that irresistible offer that you would surely have prepared for them. They are waiting for that ultimate “good deal” or else, they are going to reach for that Feedback Form.

You, the perfectionist expect everything to be on target, on time and that everyone will bow down at your feet.

It really is no fun when you are under so much pressure. I read this very nice article over at Randa’s blog where she has a very nice take on managing expectations. Obviously, most marketers will know that we need to manage expectations. We cannot promise the moon and deliver nothing. The simple five-points in Randa’s article are so true and practical that everyone should pay attention to them.

When you become adept at managing expectations of all parties involved, you will find that you can truly begin to enjoy your marketing experience.

Technorati Tags: manage expectations, successful marketing

If you can have fun doing your work, then it will not feel like work at all. In fact, sometimes, people have so much fun working, they end up addicted to it. Sounds like a problem, doesn’t it? In the past, it was. Work related problems are real, even today. But they are taking a different form.

Marketing online is becoming more and more challenging. But it is also becoming more and more fun! You will learn more and more and enjoy it more and more. I am sure you already know how much fun everyone is having with YouTube, MySpace, Friendster and so on. But, as the cliched Internet Marketer’s mantra goes, “… there’s more!”. I will try to share some of them with you. Have you heard of Second Life? How about Squidoo? Maybe MyBlogLog?

Well, let’s just do it one at a time. For today, let us take a look at Squidoo. There is an excellent article to be found over at AffiliateKB “Affiliate Marketing on Squidoo” which gives a very good overview of Squidoo. To sum it up, Squidoo is yet another free site where you can post up your stuff. However, there is one very important difference between Squidoo and the other sites like MySpace and other free sites - Squidoo encourages you to promote your “thing”. Yes, it actually encourages you to use Squidoo to promote yourself, your products, your service, your business, or your hobbies. Basically, it is a platform that helps web surfers to zoom in on specific items. That is why pages in Squidoo are called “lenses”. Their main purpose is to provide a focus. And it could be on anything. Blatant commercial promotion is not frowned on. It is encouraged. After all, if people are looking for it, they should be allowed to find it. Conversely, they cannot find it if no one posts it up. So, anything goes. They even allow adult content (of course, this can be filtered).

For those who have not yet tried it, take a look at Squidoo. For those who do not know what it is and how to use it, hop on over to read the article “Affiliate Marketing on Squidoo” over at AffiliateKB.

Technorati Tags: squidoo, online marketing, internet marketing, promotions, keywords

I usually don’t do the usual “blogger stuff”, but the past 2 days have just been totally annoying. Drivers. In fact, just this morning, I saw a car parked EXACTLY in the middle of two parking lots. The divider, running right down the center of the car. Fantastic driving. Stupid parker. And then I saw this post by Agnes and I just can’t help it. Since I did not take any photos of those idiots… well, posting someone else’s works just fine for my venting pleasure: go see this Car Stuck on Hill!

Technorati Tags: stupid drivers, cars

I realise that I am not alone. I am not alone in my desire to make money online. I am not alone in dreaming about quitting my day job. I am not alone in slogging faithfully at my keyboard each night. I am not alone in my excruciating birthing pains squeezing that first dime out of my online marketing adventure.

Like everyone else, I have read with fascination the success stories of many. But these were just stories. They remained stories, bordering on fantasy, to me until one day; the story took place where I could see it first hand. A buddy from my good old army days, told me that he was going to quit his job and go full time into Internet Marketing. Usually, you hear people saying they were going “try it out…”. But he was going to quit his job. For a moment, I thought he had lost his marbles. And I continued to think thus for almost two years.

Today, he has become one of the silent heroes on the Internet. One of those who has managed to carve his niche. Full time. That was when I decided to crawl on all fours. But it was not necessary. It appears that he has decided to “give back” to the world. He started a new program called “FreeMoneyFormula.com” that is targeted for people just like me (see para 1).

FreeMoneyFormula.com is the brainchild of Mr Thomas Choo and Mr Winston Yap. Both of these young men make their living full time on the Internet. They have prepared a fantastic program that will enable newbies to begin making money online. And it all starts by joining their FreeMoneyFormula.com program. They promise to guide us, step by step, using articles, blogs, videos and ebooks. They promise a FIVE YEAR PROGRAM! Can you beat that? I don’t know about a 5-year program, but if anyone is willing to help me see how I can start making online revenues with no money down (or little money down), I would be deliriously delirious.

I am sharing this with you. Take it with a pinch of salt, or not; it is up to you. But I can tell you that just the getting started videos alone would have set you back quite a few dollars at other places. But why speculate? Join up. Or go back to para 1.

Technorati Tags: online marketing, internet marketing, make money online, free online marketing program

I learn something new everyday. That is part of the fun of marketing in the online world. Whatever you want to say about online marketing, you can never call it dull. Today, I learned about Hoodia Gordonii. Why am I interested at all?

Over the past few years, in my efforts at healthy living, I have gained 20kgs (well, that is about 45 pounds for the un-metricated!). So, like all enthusiastic weight loss wannabes, I have adopted the tomorrow diet. I will diet, tomorrow. So, I caught up on some Hoodia Information.

Seems like you can get quite a lot of information about this Hoodia Gordonii stuff from this site. They have information on the science behind this fascinating plant, a history of its use and even a shopping guide if you want to purchase Hoodia products. For me, I zoomed in on the diet pill lenses. There is going to be lots of reading for me. If reading cannot help me lose weight, I hope this Hoodia can.

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Technorati Tags: diet, diet pills, weight loss

This is the 9th part of my “leadership” series.

Good leadership is a very subjective measure. Do you measure the results or do you measure the man? Can you ever get the real measure of a man in the first place, and are results all that they are cut out to be?

Whatever your yardstick, good leaders usually share similar characteristics and beliefs. One of those almost universal beliefs would surely be, that no leader can be considered successful without a successful team. A General with his entire army wiped out can hardly be considered a success, even if he is the last man standing. Hero, maybe, but a successful leader; that is debatable.

If a leader’s success is measured by his team’s success, then it is clear that all leaders should ensure that everyone experiences success. No glory seeker would ever be successful over the long term, exceptions aside. A leader must be able to attribute successes to each team member. In any endeavour, there will be milestones; and each milestone can be measured for success. Celebrate these successes. No matter how small an accomplishment, it cannot be too small to be ignored. No task is unworthy. A leader who knows how to draw out the best in his team usually knows how to show appreciation for their efforts.

Yet, a good leader also knows that showing appreciation is not limited to successes. There will be many stumbles along the path to success. Yet, each stumble, no matter how painful, still works towards bringing the team that one tiny bit closer to its objectives. Here lies the distinction between a good leader and a truly great leader. Balance the struggles of the team with its triumphs, reward the heart. Allowing even the weakest member to experience appreciation might do nothing for the “bottom line”, but the overall impact on the team is tremendous.

Everyone knows to show appreciation in the light of success. But for the good leaders, showing appreciation is both a skill and an art. A tool and a reward. It is both a carrot and the stick. Beware the trap of favoritism.

Following are the previous eight articles in case you need the links:

1. Articulate Your Personal Vision As a Leader
2. Putting Action To Your Words
3. Have a Vision
4. Share the Vision
5. Learn and Grow
6. Take Risks
7. Promote Cooperation and Trust in your Team
8. Share Power

Technorati Tags: leadership, good leaders, share power

Since the time when one man had the meat and the other had the corn, this activity has been going on. Contrary to popular belief, the oldest trade is… trade itself. That was when we did not have money. Money as a concept was not born yet. I don’t know what they called it then, but today, it is called swapping.

The more things change, the more they look the same. And so, it is no surprise that the Internet, with its huge network of friends, people and needs, have given birth to SwitchPlanet.com. So, what do you swap online?

From the looks of it, you can basically “switch out” of the stuff you have gotten tired of, and get something different. DVDs, CDs, Games, Books, you name it, you can swap it. But this system is of course far superior to anything our caveman ancestors had. You can post a wish list of what you wanted, and a list of what you had to give for them. It is very simple to list your items. This site design is clean and uncluttered. There are groups you can join and “stuff” are all put into various categories. And if all else fails, the Search function seems to be fairly targeted.

But all this activity is simply a disguise for something a little deeper. Go take a look at the site. Tell me I am wrong. The way I see it, its just excuse to get together with people who like the same things as you and swap stories. But then, it could be just me.

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Technorati Tags: swap, trade items