Tribune

Introduction

Brendon Sinclair I'm back! With my fifteen-year-old son, I took a few weeks off to cycle across Australia. Cycling almost 3,000 miles (4,500 km) in 30 days means that I've been spending a whole lot of time standing up since my return!

First up, thanks to Miles for taking the Tribune reins in my absence--it was great to have his input and perspective, and I'm happy to say that we'll be sharing the writing of the newsletter from now on.

In this issue, we'll take a look at how a certain celebrity is wasting her time with Twitter, how and why you can and should control what's said about you online, and how this current economic crisis that has everyone on edge can actually benefit you and your money-making plans.

We're also giving away a ticket to the Edge Of The Web conference in Perth to one lucky reader--read on to find out how!

Finally, check out the Tips section for a tool that has our AdWords expert positively drooling!

Happy reading!

Brendon Sinclair
tribune@sitepoint.com

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Summary

Introduction
Editor's Perspective: How Britney Is Blowing a Huge Opportunity
Marketplace Moments: One More Way to Protect Your Sales
Make More Money in the Economic Crisis
Follow SitePoint on Twitter; Win A Ticket To Edge Of The Web
Tips & Tricks
Latest Tutorials
Hot Discussions
New Blogs

Editor's Perspective

How Britney Is Blowing a Huge Opportunity

I'm not necessarily a big fan of Britney Spears's music, but I think she's been--for the most part--brilliantly marketed. So when I heard Britney had her own Twitter account I jumped on over to take a look.

I thought, "Finally! A celebrity who understands social media, and who will use it to build her brand, strengthen her fan base, and help her make another zillion dollars to spend on alimony!"

But nope--wishful thinking, I'm afraid. Britney doesn't get it at all. Or her people don't. Britney's Twitter account, an account with such enormous potential, winds up being just another tacky PR Twitter attempt to ram her "product" down your throat.

Here's an example of one of the tweets:

"Want to eat the same ice-cream sandwich Britney did yesterday? http://www.diddyriese.com"

They've called the account "therealbritney." But real it ain’t.

And to be effective, the Twitter needs to be real. It needs to be authentic. It needs to be honest and open and not be the usual marketing rubbish. I guess it's about respecting people who follow you, rather than continually trying to sell them stuff.

If you're thinking of harnessing the enormous poential of social media tools, make sure to use them right--or you'll turn off your customers, clients, and fans, whatever the case may be, before you know it.

Marketplace Moments

One More Way to Protect Your Sales

One thing Britney is trying to do with her Twitter attempts is control the information that's out there concerning her--thus, she (or her management) are providing an outlet whereby they can speak directly and without a filter to her fans.

It demonstrates how important it is in business to control the message. On the Web it’s especially important; word about you or your business spreads like wildfire, and is there for all to see for years to come in the form of search data.

If you're anything like me, you'll tend to implement strategies only when something relevant is about to happen–-and selling something on the SitePoint Marketplace or entering the contests is such a time.

Take the time to check out what information there is about you on the Web--I’ll give three tips on where to start below--but also remember some rules of netiquette: don’t get into abusive online arguments, don’t attack people online, and mind your language.

That person just about to buy your web business on the Marketplace for $10,000 just might decide to do a quick Google on you, only to find you accused of being of being a pig and a fraud, leading them to decide that they doesn't want to buy from you after all.

People are far more likely to post bad things about you than the good stuff, unfortunately, so if there is anything out there that can damage your reputation you need to act to take ownership of your business name--and act well before it becomes a major problem.

Tips To Finding the Dirt on You

Perform a search on yourself and your screen names on a variety of search engines.
Set up a Google Alert for yourself--this will give you alerts whenever your name appears online.
Take ownership of your name as a domain; protect your online brand by setting up accounts on social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and the like. When you do a search for yourself, you want to be sure your own information comes up first on the search results--and second, third, and fourth if possible.

Make More Money in the Economic Crisis

Amazing. I go away and leave the place unattended for a few weeks and the whole world economy comes crashing down!

What this means for many people are job losses, salary cuts, less spending, and more expenses.

But it's not all doom and gloom, particularly for web-based businesses or web developers. All it takes is a realignment of your focus, and your business can be doing better than ever.

If you sell products online, you often have a significant pricing advantage that enables you to sell cheaper--and that's what many people will be looking for. So perhaps it's time to start pushing that.

If you're a web developer, many businesses will be looking to increase their customer numbers any way they can--and that will include paying more attention to their online efforts. Why don't you start telling this to your potential market? Remember, advertising costs will come down, so developers can advertise more for less.

Ramp up your marketing: Most businesses cut costs when the economy goes bad. Don't do that--now is the time to get noticed, and it should be easier than ever, with less cost and less competition for attention.
Change the focus of your marketing: People will be looking for bargains, so offer 2-for-1 deals, free giveaways with purchases, and anything else that will appeal to the budget-conscious.
Be flexible: Be prepared to alter your business model to maintain cash flow and keep the wolf from the door.

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Follow SitePoint on Twitter; Win A Ticket To Edge Of The Web

SitePoint is sponsoring next month's Edge Of The Web conference in Perth, Australia and you could win yourself a ticket simply by doing the following:

Sign up for a Twitter account if you haven't already.
Follow the new SitePoint Twitter account (User: sitepointdotcom).
Tell us (via Twitter) why you deserve to win a free ticket to Edge Of The Web. Your tweet should take the form: @sitepointdotcom I want to attend Edge Of The Web because ...

Even if you can't attend the conference (you'll have to make your own way to Perth), you might want to start following SitePoint on Twitter--one lucky follower, selected at random, will also win a copy of the new book that everyone is talking about, Everything You Know About CSS Is Wrong!.

You've got until midnight on Thursday, October 30 (Australian WST), and winners will be announced on Friday, October 31st on the SitePoint Blogs. If you've yet to explore Twitter, this is a good excuse to check it out!

Tips & Tricks

To continue from Miles's previous Tribune article on keeping yourself fit, I just have to mention this brilliant site for bike riders looking to track their rides. It was developed by a previous programmer at SitePoint, and it's truly the bees knees for bike riders planning their rides.

Elsewhere, while Google Analytics provides great detail, the Google Analytics Report Enhancer looks to ramp up those reports to an incredible level.

Using the Enhancer, you can see which transactions are attributed to each source, source/medium, keyword, campaign, new or returning visitors, and more. This one has our AdWords expert drooling all over her keyboard!

Check it out for some great data.

If you think you're using all that CSS has to offer, think again!

Don't be left behind!

That's it for another week--thanks for checking in.

Brendon Sinclair
tribune@sitepoint.com
Editor, SitePoint Tribune

SitePoint tribune

Introduction

Become Your Own Advertising Agency with tyBit's Advertising Value Added Reseller Program (AdVAR)

Editor's Perspective

How Britney Is Blowing a Huge Opportunity