I just saw this book selling contest that I thought was very interesting.

As marketers, one of the things we look out for is an opportunity to address the market. Now, with the stock market in its current volatile state, guess what is selling well?

Well, genius, books about stock markets.

So, see if you can win the contest. Let us know.

I am sure by now, all of you would have had the joy of discovering the power of YouTube videos in promoting your product, services or brand.

It is particularly powerful when it comes to delivering socially conscious corporate messages, don’t you think?

But what if you do not have the video talents? Surely you do not want your products or brand image to be tarnished by an amateurish video effort? Well, I just found a new best friend - the corporate film-maker. Imagine that you have the resources and experience of a producer that has worked with big names and big brands. Then imagine that you can discuss your needs with him/them. Isn’t that better than begging those young ‘uns in your department to cook up a YouTube video that you might not even dare show your mother?

Chuckle if you will, but don’t joke with your corporate image. I was puzzling through this question - how can I participate in the YouTube phenomena if I can’t make a decent film. Well, I was wondering until Director Tom visited my site and I saw his link on the MyBlogLog widget.

Problem solved.

This might be silly, but this video really strikes a chord…

Sorry, but I really love this!

Here is a chance for you to write, have lots of fun, and win US$100 all at the same time!

Head on over to ReallyLousyDates.com and enter their Valentine’s Day Contest. It is the Worse Valentine’s Day Story Contest. If you have a story to tell, now is the time to do it.

Unless of course, like me, all your Valentines were perfect… :)

It is not often that you read about a customer being served. Well, I mean, legally served. Actually, the customer was arrested.

Our friend Kailani had this terrible experience which she talked about in her blog: Some People Just Shouldn’t Drink on Flights.

Certainly, the customer is always right. However, once you violate the “higher laws”, you are no longer considered a customer, but a criminal. The most common of course, is the shoplifter. He is certainly not a customer, though he started as one when he first walked in. Another very interesting customer is the one who pays his bills with a bounced check.

In many countries, willfully issuing a bounced check is actually an offence. Many people are not even aware of this. To them, it is just a “clever” way to stall the payments a little while more.

In the world of sales and marketing, customers are our life blood. But as small business owners, we also have to realize that sometimes, that person might not be a customer. It would serve us better not to have anything to do with them.

Robbery is a crime, but most people don’t even blink an eye when they refuse to pay their advertising agency their fees. Think about that.

Yes, I know, heard it all before. Well, so did I. Until I read this book released by Armand Morin.

It’s a simple book, with a simple message. He debunks some common myths about Internet Marketing. But there is one reason why I am now telling you about this:

If I read this book 2 years ago, I would have pooh-poohed it

You see, the “obvious truth” that Armand Morin reveals is so obvious that most of us know it already. So, the question then arises, if that were true, then why aren’t all of us Internet Marketing Millionaires?

When I told a friend of mine how wonderful the information was in the book, her first comment stopped me dead in my tracks. She said, “You think it’s great now, but what if you heard it two years ago?”

It’s true. If I had gotten this information two years ago, I would have been more than just sceptical. I would have simply dismissed it as just another bit of fluff floating in the internet marketing space. But I have learned a lot since then. Mostly, I have learned how much I did not know.

After several years of marketing on the Internet and interacting with so many bloggers, I am in a situation of “… if I knew then what I knew now….”

I am sure many of you have reach that point some time in your life. So I am telling you. Get the book. Read it. Apply it.

Well, I wish I had read Glenda’s post Getting Smart About Setting Goals earlier. Then maybe, I would have set better goals for 2008. But well, it’s too late. The year has already started. I can’t set goals anymore. I am set on a path to an aimless year. Really.

It’s that time of the year, when old resolutions get dusted off and taken for a whole new spin as the beers go around. But this time, really, you are going to keep them. Right.

Many companies seem to have the same problem with their marketing objectives. They have brainstorming sessions, workshops, hire consultants, they do everything to get a set of nice, coherent marketing objectives for the coming year. Then, at the first move by the competitors, somehow, those objectives are forgotten.

“We must respond to this new threat”

“This new promotion must be countered immediately”

So, Mr Marketing Manager, why aren’t you doing something about it?

Well, you see, our “Marketing Objective” was to establish a strong brand name with a clear association with quality and consistency. So, responding to a “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” campaign with a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” campaign is not in line with our objectives.

Yes. Of course, you are right, Mr Marketing Manager. But you see, you have been derelict in your duty as you allowed yourself to be complacent, acting only on your own agenda and ignoring market forces. Now, get off your high horse and get that new promotion out of the door.

And there goes another “New Year’s Resolution” out the door.

This year, I was thinking, to combat this, the ideal solution was to make a resolution that I would absolutely be able to keep. My resolution for 2008 was: “I will not make any resolutions this year.”

It was going pretty good. Until this evening. I made a resolution that I would need to commit to blog regularly with good quality posts…