Listen to John Follis and other top marketing thought leaders discuss the most relevant topics of the day. http://themarketingshow.net

In a recent survey by Technorati.com, self-employed professionals reported the benefits of blogging:

• 71% have greater visibility in their industry.
• 63% said clients purchased products or services after reading their blog.
• 56% say their company is now regarded as a thought leader.
• 40% have been asked to speak at conferences.

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Marketing a product successfully isn’t easy. But, it just got easier. Listen as Blog Talk Radio host, Liz Lynch, interviews John Follis about his effective “Marketing Therapy” program. John also discusses the value of “G-Cred“, guerrilla marketing, creating buzz, small business branding, and why working with a web, SEO or social media specialist can actually be detrimental to your business. Right click here to download.

The past decade saw a seismic shift in marketing communications as blogs, podcasts, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter led the media evolution. It’s an exciting time. Yet, with this cool evolution the focus on a clear, compelling company or product message has often been devalued. In many cases the over-reliance on media and technology has shifted the focus away from the resolving the key (and usually tough) marketing issues necessary for growing a successful business.

The most successful companies and organizations (Apple, Google, Team Obama, etc) work with top, independent marketing firms and experts to help them develop and maintain a strong brand message realizing that the media and technology is only a tool to help them get their message out.

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A blog has many benefits for any business, and by clicking the “blogging”category link in the nav bar on the right you can read all about them. But there’s one blog benefit that applies to anyone… It’s empowering.

Blogs and Social Media (YouTube, Twitter, etc) have given the “Daniels” of the world something potent to use against  business “Goliaths” who BB (before blogs) could get away with some pretty irresponsible stuff. And, by “Goliath” I don’t just mean a huge corporate giant. It could also be a badly behaved doctor… like Dr. Joan Gerwitz, a Stamford, CT  ophthalmologist who I saw this week. Without going into unnecessary detail my experience with Dr. Joan Gerwitz was not a good one and I’d hate for anyone seeking a Stamford, CT  ophthalmologist to experience what I did.

Whether, or not, this post about Dr. Joan Gerwitz will make a difference is questionable. But, just knowing that it could makes me feel a helluva lot better.

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See more clips on “How Blogs and Podcasts can Build Your Business.”

You’re bound to read plenty of articles about how to succeed this year. Some undoubtedly have great tips, but just as many have uninspired, absurdly upbeat ideas that you’ve read a hundred other times. So, I thought I’d mix it up a little with a primer on how to shoot yourself in the foot, create your own problems, and just plain screw up this year.

No, I don’t want you to follow my advice, but these not so gentle reminders will help you avoid some of the most common ways that so many of us fail. Enjoy! (more…)