Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

You could give me all the components to build a car…or for that matter, a basic toaster..and well, there I’d sit…with a bunch of worthless free components. Help!

Chris Anderson, Wired: Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business.

The new “Freedom” of the Web is great - all that open source software, the cool widgets, Google this, that and the other thing.

These days we can start a company with next to no money if we grok the Web.

But, back to my first point, that “free” stuff does ultimately lead to somebody somewhere buying something (ads)…or needing to buy, so they can put all those components together.

For example, many consultants give away advice - great way to show we know what we’re talking about and how we can help you. Yet, it’s one thing for me to tell you, and quite another for you to apply it to your particular business. I can read about English riding all day long - and then the practical application - ah-yahhhh! You try staying on a two-ton animal who has a mind of his own and is galloping!

So, yep - “Free” is way cool - but that’s not the same as easy or simple.

Note: You can also get a free copy of Wired containing the article. Just fill out this short form. Here’s the really cool thing - they’ve pre-checked the “no” boxes for “Please send me occasional email updates…” and “Please contact me from time to time with special offers…”

P.S. Also, us Webbies have to remember there are millions out there that don’t read or use this stuff. I still get funny, disbelieving looks when I tell people that Google mail is free, that Wordpress is - yep - free and that Firefox and Thunderbird are also free. “Well, then that stuff can’t possibly be any good. I’ll just stick with the Microsoft software in a box.”

Read More: Robert Gorell, The Future Now, on The ROI of Free.

Tags: emarketing, marketing troubleshooting, widget economy, Google

Seems like every day we get some new cool tools we can use in our booming Widgety Wacky Web World:

Want to move beyond PDFs? This looks interesting. iPaper. “Built for the Cross Platform Web” iPaper is a document format built for the Internet. Like a YouTube video, iPaper documents are Flash widgets which you embed in your existing web pages. PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and many other document formats can all be displayed on the web using iPaper.

Like the idea of happy, helpful tech support? This from Phil Gerbyshak, (I think he may be clinically insane, he’s always so dang happy…and I mean that in the nicest possible way, Phil!): Minute Fix, a private beta for tech support. Phil says:

Private Beta: 3 reasons to take us for a spin

1) We’re community powered - Everyone on our MinuteFix team gets the community aspect of technology, and wants to help YOU and get to know YOU and your needs. We have weekly calls of our board and our technicians. of experts,

2) We will be available ALL THE TIME! - MinuteFix lets you get answers and help for any computer-related problem, at any time.

3) It’s super easy! - You’re not a techie. We are. You work with us, and we help you.

And check out the blog at Minute Fix.

Have you got any recommendations?

Tags: tech support, widget economy

Well, if this new survey is to be believed - poor unemployed gamblers with nothing better to do.

The study illustrates that heavy clickers represent just 6% of the online population yet account for 50% of all display ad clicks. While many online media companies use click-through rate as an ad negotiation currency, the study shows that heavy clickers are not representative of the general public. In fact, heavy clickers skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with an income under $40,000. Heavy clickers behave very differently online than the typical Internet user, and while they spend four times more time online than non-clickers, their spending does not proportionately reflect this very heavy Internet usage. Heavy clickers are also relatively more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career services sites – a markedly different surfing pattern than non-clickers.

And so much for “reinforcing the brand”

Further preliminary Starcom data suggests no correlation between display ad clicks and brand metrics, and show no connection between measured attitude towards a brand and the number of times an ad for that brand was clicked. The research presentation suggests that when digital campaigns have a branding objective, optimizing for high click rates does not necessarily improve campaign performance.

Dang! Wonder if all those “online advertising experts” preaching the art of click are gonna have to find a new job?
(Mebbe they’re already some of the heavy clickers hitting those career service sites.)

Related Posts:
Why I’m Not A Big Fan of Google Ads
Marketing is Broken - And I’m Thrilled!

Read More: Esther Dyson, Release 0.9, Don’t Cry For Me MicroHoogle! “The big news is already old news. It’s not that traditional online advertising will go away, but its profitability will suffer as it becomes diminishing-returns efficient.”

Photo credit: cobalt123, Flickr

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, Web advertising, Web ads, Google ads, display ad clicks, emarketing

Type in my name and there I am.

“But, what about spammers?”
“But what about crazy people?”
“But what if they don’t like what I say?”

I’ve heard all of these from people who want to do biz in the Web 2.0, Word-of-Mouth, Viral, Interactive, Facebookin’, Twitterin’ Widget Web World - but, but, but…

Here’s the thing: If you want to be found, you can’t be timid.

You can’t build a web site and hope only nice people will somehow find you and give you money.

You can’t have a “safe” blog. Safe means nobody will read it anyway. And you never know what’s going to set crazies off - they’re crazy, remember?

Word-of-Mouth means you’re not in control. Some of those mouths are going to be attached to people who do not like you - no matter what you do.

I’m selling my brain and my point-of-view - so that means my brand is - well - Mary Schmidt. Not the most exciting name on the planet I grant you - but it’s mine and I do my best for my brand to mean something.

I use my name on all my comments on all types of blogs. If I’m gonna say it, I’ve got to own it. And, as “Mary Schmidt” I’ve met many new friends and several clients through posts on other blogs (including one where I was decidedly snarky about a women’s group. A woman read it and became a client.)

I give you my phone number on every page. And, I answer my own phone. (Yes, I got a couple of threatening voice mails from a crazy (and apparently drunk) woman last year. I wonder if she’d said the same things if I’d answered. Hmmmm….it’s easy to talk tough to a machine…or on blog comment.)

As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam.” I’m not everyone’s favorite flavor (or cartoon character. Friends tell me that in my case that would be the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil.) However, this saves everyone a lot of time. If you don’t like what I’m saying here - you won’t like working with me. So, we don’t have to do the sales and proposal dance. Makes for better business for everyone.

The New Virtual Business Model. I want to stay a sole proprietor “craftswoman.” I’m all about quality of life these days - but I also like to make money. Doing biz on the Web makes both possible. I can work with people all over the world and I can instantly jump on opportunities undreamed of even five years ago.

The Wild Wild Web is a great place to work and play - but you’re going to have to stop the - um - “butting.”

Related Post: Our Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Widget Economy. It’s simpler than ever to build a biz, if you think outside the “safe” brick and mortar, 9-5 corporate box. Also, read more - Bruce Fryer on micro applications.

Want to browse through all my posts? Go to The Idea Pool. Everything I’ve written since I started blogging.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and feel free to disagree! Debate is healthy. I moderate all comments, though, so it may take a bit for your comment to show up.
Thanks for reading!

Tags: web marketing, marketing troubleshooting, business development, widget economy

On Fridays, I try to finish up, catch up and and focus on new things - and that includes looking at new sites, and getting current with good blogs. So, here’s some recommended Web reading for you:

The Art and Science of the URL: Good URL, Bad URL. If you’re just starting up and are looking at Web strategies, this is a good place to begin. (Your Web address is critical.)

Web Budgeting: Launching a site is just the beginning. You also need a maintenance and renovation budget. Won’t do you much good to have a terrific site if you can’t afford to keep it updated and spiffy. Roxanne at Bare Feet Studios lays it all out (with some bonus tips for bloggers.)

Tools for Virtual Teams: Bruce Fryer points you to some good tools to use in today’s ever-expanding Web World.

What Does That Mean? Mike Sansone at ConverStations gives us a good glossary of blogging and social media terms.

What Do People Buy Online? Bryan Eisenberg tells us what Google knows.

Just For Fun! If you’ve not already seen this re Bill Gates’ last day at Microsoft - who knew he was so funny? My fav is the scene with Matthew McConaughey and the exercise balls. And, watching George Clooney explain why he can’t play Bill is pretty cool too.

Happy Friday!

Tags: Friday martini time, Mary Schmidt, widget economy

Forget Web 2.0, Web 4.0, whatever…We’ve entered the era of the Widget Economy - and that’s a whole lot more than fun little chunks of code:

Tech Widgets: You’ve got a ever-growing list choices of “plug ‘n play” cool tools for communications, collaboration and production. You no longer have to be a super techie to implement a screamin’ blazin’ integrated computer system, build a good web site, set up ecommerce or produce professional quality e-letters.

Operation Widgets: You can start a viable, successful national - even international - business with a phone, notebook computer, web site and a healthy dose of chutzpah.

People Widgets: You can collaborate with people as needed for specific projects, products or customers. No formal company needed. No physical office required. Designer in Utah? Customers in Europe? Production in New Mexico? CEO in LA? No prob. (Read More: Bruce Fryer on Virtual Marketing Teams)

And that’s just the beginning! As more people become more Web savvy, even “non-geeks” will easily build technology infrastructures, encompassing whatever Web components they choose…and form profitable relationships (those people “widgets”) on the fly. They won’t have to learn complicated software or actually fly all over the place. (Personally, I call this my bathrobe business model.)

It’s a Wild, Wild Widgety World: We pick what works best for us, put it together and get going. And, we can change as we go.

Sure, there are a ton of kinks still and we’re in the toddler stage. But think of how simple it is to instantly send a huge document anywhere anytime. Now, remember how you did it in - oh, say - 1981…or even 1991? Hmmm….I can remember when you taped the document together so you could put in on the roll in the fax machine, then made the call, waited for the screech, and placed the receiver in the socket thingies. Then, you hoped against hope the paper didn’t jam…I’m always surprised when someone (rarely) wants to fax me something. Hey, just email/upload it!

Now…I gotta go send a file to a printer in Atlanta…Happy Monday!

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, economy, widgets, business development, widget economy