The environmental movement is rising almost as fast as the rising cost of fossil fuel and the Internet is playing a major role. Environmentally-conscious consumers and the overall population are turning to social networks, online communities, niche-market websites and blogs for green products, hybrids, organically grown food and eco-tourism. 

Just look at some of the numbers from Sarah Radwanick's post, The Internet Goes Green:

TreeHugger.com, a popular green site, has seen visitation reach 515,000 people in March 2008, an 81% increase from March 2007.

Freecycle.org, site connects people in communities to exchange items they no longer need or want for free, gained 15% from the previous year to 322,000 visitors in March 2008.

(Reference: ComScore blog, The Internet Goes Green, by Sarah Radwanick)

Using comScore Marketer, a search intelligence tool, Sarah Radwanich investigated several green search terms and came up with the following:

Terms such as “ecotourism” and “climate change” have experienced large search query increases in the past year, with “ecotourism” growing 574% to 12,864 searches in February 2008 while “climate change” jumped 167% to 9,542 searches.

Searches for “hybrid cars” also gained (up 48% to 68,332 searches), while basic environmental word searches have also seen growth, including “recycle” (up 35% to 72,779 searches) and “pollution” (up 58% to 32,788 searches).

At AIM Custom Media, we're seeing more interest in the environment as well. One of our new clients, Eco-Gardeners.com (a new blog by The Happy Gardener), provides articles and organic gardening tips for gardening enthusiasts. In addition, they offer a full-line of organic gardening products that are safe for children, kids and your kitchen table. Their business model also includes the opportunity for passionate gardeners, and/or savvy entrepreneurs, to start their own home businesses.

The Happy Gardener, has been featured in Women's Day, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Prevention Magazine and the Richmond Times Dispatch (among others).

Annette Pelliccio, owner of The Happy Gardener, said,

 “Everyone involved with our growing company is committed to helping families learn healthier methods to benefit the future of our communities and the environment.”

Going green to gold isn't limited to gardening and numerous corporations are helping to drive the environmental moment. One book explains how, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage (you can read the reviews on Amazon).

There are several articles on this topic. Here are a few more for those interested:

• Corporations Find Business Case for Going Green (MSNBC article)
  Global giants, from Wal-Mart to HP, see cost savings, other benefits
• Corporations Finding Green in Going Green (Engadget.com article)
• Companies That Go Green Really Help (ABC News article)
  Firms Like News Corp. Set a Good Example for Climate Change, Environmentalists Say

Integration of online and offline marketing campaigns remains an effective strategy. According to a recent Google study conducted by Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo, print newspaper ads are being used effectively to increase online sales. The study found that over half (56%) of newspaper readers researched or purchased at least one product advertised in the newspaper in the last month. Of those who responded to a newspaper ad by going online, 47% went directly to a URL they saw in the ad. And, 48% of respondents said they would trust the product more if they saw it in the newspaper after seeing it online, and over half (52%) said they would be more likely to purchase that product. 

Offline custom publications are nothing new to savvy online companies and marketing departments maintain healthy budgets for in-house print magazines. Folio has an article titled, "Custom Publishing’s Potential," - the article profiles three projects and provides insight into how it’s done.

From DMNews, Custom publishing packs a marketing punch:

Custom publishing's popularity has increased dramatically in recent years, growing in just five years from a niche magazine business to a varied and mighty $55 billion industry today, according to Lori Rosen, executive director of the Custom Publishing Council (CPC). Although custom publishing is still evolving as a chan­nel, it is rapidly becoming a favored tool for building and maintaining last­ing customer relationships. 

In addition, several online services exist just to tell you where to find the best deal offline. Before burning up that expensive gas, lower your CO2 footprint and check out SalesCircular.com to find the best local deals for retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Kmart, Office Depot, Office Max, Radio Shack, Sears, Staples, Target, Wal-Mart and other select local retailers. 

Email blast after email blast with little, if any, content of value. That appears to be the email marketing strategy of business network Fast Pitch. Everyday, another email like this:

Last chance to become a Platinum Member for only $99 per year. 
Offer ends tonight at midnight (Wednesday, March 26, 2008). 

Give your profile top ranking, receive 10x more visibility, make unlimited connections, get ranked higher on search engines, post unlimited press, see who visits your profile and more… for less than $9 per month (normally $27 per month).
 
Upgrade:  http://www.[DELETED OUT OF RESPECT FOR OUR READERS TIME]

Once you click the link (above), be sure to click on the special promotion image to receive the special discount.

If you want to learn how to alienate your customers using email, just sign up at Fast Pitch - it won't take long for the onslaught of promo emails to arrive. I deleted my Fast Pitch business networking profile "fast." Maybe they should consider changing their name to, "Fast, Switch" to another online business network!

UPDATE: April 3, 2008 - More questionable tactics from Fast Pitch: 

It appears they hired people to combat negative press about them or they may be posting this b.s. themselves using one-up gmail accounts. I rec'd the following comment after publishing this post from a person claiming to be a paying customer (they didn't provide their website address or an email that shows up anywhere on the Internet BTW):

I've gotten those too.  A little annoying - sure.  But, I've got to say… of all the online business networks out there, Fast Pitch! has provided me with more valuable advice than I can remember.  After I signed up, I received 6 weeks worth of 'How To Market My Business' Advice emails from the company.  They taught me how to enhance my profile for search engine optimization, the importance of creating content, how to generate an audience for my press, blog, profile, etc…), how to make introductions to people online, and more.   In fact, I also received a Welcome Call from the company 3 days after I created my profile . . . I've always been able to reach a customer support rep through email, live chat and phone.  In fact, the CEO chatted with me the other day during what they call a virtual tradeshow - whereby hundreds of members actively networked online using webcams.  Cool stuff. I think your being a little too sensitive…

The person that submitted the comment above didn't leave a website address, I did a quick search for the "text content" of the message without the name of the company.  No surprise, the search results came up with a Blogger blog edited by the Fast Pitch owner! And, posts with the similar text and "cool stuff" claims - a mere coincidence, I doubt it. The IP address range is also from the same area, SE Florida and the owner is, where else, Florida. It appears they are paying people (or doing it themselves with fake gmail accounts) to leave positive comments about them. 

I agree with David, Fast Ditch! may be a better choice for their name. 

First, I want to thank Bill Boyer for contributing another business article for us all. I find his thoughts on business management of value and believe you will also. In fact, the following suggestions provided by Bill are often overlooked by growing business owners - or by business owners wondering why his or her business isn't growing. 

How Do I Find the Right Balance?

Managing a small company is very difficult.  J. Willard Marriott said, “Don’t do anything someone else can do for you.”  Many owners and CEO’s find this hard to do, because they know that they can do everything better than any of their employees.  When an owner thinks, “My people are not good enough to delegate to,” it really means, “I am unwilling to take a chance on my people and give them permission to fail.”  However, at some point you will run out of time.  And your company will not operate at its full potential.

There are many reasons you do not delegate, but most of them have more to do with you than with the talent of your employees.  Do you hire the best people you can?  Do you train them, either internally or using outside courses?  Do you follow up with them and give them feedback about their performance?  These issues must be addressed by you.

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Organic search engine optimization (SEO) is considered a higher priority by most seasoned marketing pros when compared to pay-per-click (PPC) and other online ad programs, especially for branding campaigns. Here is one good reason why:

‘Heavy clickers’ distort online advertising 

The people clicking on your banner ads may not be the target audience you’re seeking, according to a new Starcom USA study. The study revealed that so-called “heavy clickers” are typically between the ages of 25 and 44, with a household income of under $40,000. They represent only 6% of the online population, but account for 50% of all display ad clicks.

Heavy clickers spend about four times more time online than non-heavy clickers….they aren’t necessarily brand loyal and often don’t even pay attention to the brand they are buying….

Source: BizReport.com, February 13, 2008 (Hat's off to the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce for including this piece in their email newsletter, "Business Intelligence Report," March 2008)

Assuming the above is correct, there is a tremendous amount of money being spent on 6% of the online population when you consider these recent reports published by

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Those that invest years of their time gaining experience in a particular field review a vast amount of information. Translating the information into knowledge requires the skills of organization, prioritization, and collaboration. From those with both the experience and the skills, you can acquire wisdom.

Blogging Tips
After blogging for several years now, I find the greatest value, and wisdom, comes from bloggers that express their point of view based on their personal knowledge and experience; before they send readers off to another website via a link. When you post a link on your blog, tell your readers why you recommend the link and add your own unique content. The end result creates value for your readers as you foster a relationship with them.

Did you ever wonder where the term “weblog” came from? A guy named Jorn Barger coined the term in December 1997. And yes, he has many years of experience on the web. Barger is a philosophical guy and his advice can be somewhat esoteric but he does share his wisdom. Here are a few of his blogging tips that I like from a brief article published at Wired.com:

1. Re-post your favorite links from time to time for people who missed them the first time. Here are a few of my favorites:

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Not many know it but, content management systems (CMS) are replacing websites and savvy website developers are using certain blog functions as both management and marketing tools. And, as we discuss frequently with business owners, CMS-driven websites are hands down one of the most cost-effective online marketing tools. In fact, many small business owners are generating enough revenue from their blogs that their "blog" is now their "business" (these fortunate few no longer have real jobs). How did they do this? Several ways but first let's take a look at a few blogging facts.

Citation from the Wall Street Journal,
New Services Help Bloggers Bring in Ad Revenue by Kelly Spors:

If you're not making money off your blog, 2008 might be the year.

As more people see potential in earning money off the Internet, there is a quickly expanding array of advertising services and tools for bloggers that go well beyond the standard pay-per-click [PPC] text ads or display ads.

Many of the most widely used programs are adding features to allow users to customize the appearance and placement of ads on their sites. Some also are introducing newer money-making mediums such as audio and video. . . [You can read the full WSJ article here.]

What the WSJ article doesn't tell you is "all of the story." For example, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.com explains how difficult it was to build his business; and a little luck didn't hurt as he discusses here. I personally discovered Darren's blog well over a year ago. He does an excellent job but he admits his success is an anomaly. Let's face it, most business owners are not interested in becoming professional bloggers. However, this doesn't mean they can't use blog technology to market online, lower their annual website costs and improve their ROI. That's the real story but first let's get back to our discussion concerning how to generate blog revenue.

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During the Superbowl this Sunday you'll see some of the most creative advertisements of our time. Pay particular attention to the Pepsi ad but you won't need to listen. It is all images - no words. Why would they consider this strategy for such an expensive ad? One reason all savvy marketers are aware of is that 93% of communication is non-verbal and that people - your prospects and clients - are more effectively persuaded by solutions that they can see.

When you create your marketing materials the graphics, as well as the layout, are as important as the words. This fact is especially true online whether you are creating

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After marketing your company successfully, it grows. The following business article is for our clients in the process of adding to their staff. Our friend, Bill Boyer, contributed the article for publication here (his contact info can be found at the end of the article). 

TOP GRADING

Top grading is a concept that has been used by some of the larger well-run companies (for example, GE and Allied Signal) for many years, but it is probably unknown by most smaller company CEO’s and owners.  However, it may be more important to the small company, especially at the initiation or expansion of the company, than it is for any of the major corporations.Top Grading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Right People, written by Bradford D. Smart, describes the process in detail.  Smart has been a guru of employment selection for over 35 years.  In this book, he details an extensive process for selecting employees.  This includes developing very specific performance objectives for each position, a detailed job description, and detailed interview processes.  Reference checks and background checks are critical.  In addition, he recommends giving a homework assignment to the finalists.  The goal of this assignment is to determine if the individual is a self-starter, and whether they are willing to roll up their sleeves and work for the job.

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This article covers simple online marketing strategies you can use to improve your ranking for local search results (SEO). So, how do you let everyone know you're in town?

Local Search Marketing Strategies and SEO Tips

Before you start bidding on keywords and throw money at PPC (pay per click) marketing, consider using simple "organic SEO" online marketing strategies to improve your local SEO results. Whether your revenue comes from business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C), increasing your local search ranking will benefit your business.

First and foremost, create an SEO friendly website. The first step you can take to improve your local - as well as your overall search engine results - is make sure your website is search engine friendly. Make it easy for search engines to identify your business location and your keywords by following this short-list of SEO tips for local search:

• Prominently display your business name and address as text on both the top of the page and in the footer. In the header, it helps if you use an "H1" tag that includes your address. Avoid placing your address and keywords in image files given they can be hidden from the search engines. Also, it is difficult for your site visitors to capture your address and phone number for future reference when it is embedded in an image.

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The amount of research supporting the effectiveness of online marketing is staggering yet many business owners are still unconvinced or just inadequately informed. If you are seriously looking for reasons to justify spending marketing dollars online, here are a few facts and trends to ponder:

Although most marketers allocate minuscule amounts of their budgets to their email efforts, the channel continues to deliver substantial returns on every dollar spent. According to the Direct Marketing Association, marketers spent $500 million on email in 2007 to capture an astronomical $23 billion in sales - yes, $23 billion in sales; that's not a typo.

The DMA forecasts:

• During 2008 marketers will spend $600 million on email to drive $27 billion in sales; and
• Email delivered $48.56 in sales for every dollar spent in 2007. A substantial return is also predicted for 2008; $45.65 for every dollar spent. More from the DMA is available here.)

The results are in. The success of online marketing is supported by reliable research reports and marketing pros have taken notice. In McKinsey's July 2007 global survey of marketers, more respondents used email than any other form of digital advertising. Some people still don't understand the value but those that do are moving online across the spectrum of marketing activities, from building awareness to after-sales service. They see online tools as an important and effective component of their marketing strategies. 

McKinsey survey of marketing executives reports that:

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Almost every day now we can read an article that tells us how more ad dollars are migrating to online marketing campaigns. And, for good reason.

Today's example from the publisher's of AdAge Digital includes the article, "Automakers Will Steer More Spend From TV and Print Toward Digital." It'll be a banner year for Detroit — online. Not only do they understand the value in marketing online, they understand the value in taking care of their existing customers according to Susan Jacobs, president of auto consultant Jacobs & Associates. She says:

. . . expect automakers to put a lot of their efforts toward keeping their existing buyers . . . "In a down market, it's better to channel your marketing efforts on retaining your owners [existing customers] instead of on advertising to conquest new ones" . . . So car companies will focus on customer relationship management and owner-loyalty programs, she added. << Full article here at AdAge digital >>

Whether your industry is in a down market or not, focusing your attention on your existing clients to build strong customer relationships is always a good idea - one with the highest potential returns.