05.07.10
It was the 20th Century business icon Peter Drucker who famously said, "Business has two (and only two) basic functions: marketing and innovation. All the rest are costs." As we survey the business landscape today we see that marketing has changed dramatically since Drucker's days. But I imagine he would still stand by these words today. A solid marketing plan is still absolutely critical for success in business and yet so few companies really understand the marketing tools that are available today. What is a label converter to do? You can throw up your hands and admit defeat or you can try to learn about marketing in the 21st Century. If you read the five blogs reviewed here, within a few months you will know enough to implement most of today's marketing tools in your business.
I think that Seth Godin has one of the smartest marketing minds on the planet. He is also a prolific writer. Not only does he write original new content on his blog every day, he is the author of 13 books on marketing, every one of them bestsellers. According to Technorati, Seth's Blog is the No. 1 blog on the planet that has a single author. I have been a reader since 2005 and it has certainly made me a better marketer. Enough of the accolades, what is all the fuss about? To put it simply, Godin likes to challenge conventional wisdom. He doesn't delve into the latest marketing tactics (at least not much), rather he writes posts that make you think. If you only ever read one marketing blog heck, if you only read one blog, period you should read Seth's Blog.
Marketing Profs is the leading online marketing community with over 365,000 marketing professionals as members. It is a vast online resource with coverage of virtually any marketing topic imaginable. The Daily Fix is the blog of Marketing Profs and a wonderful resource in itself. There are over 100 contributing writers to the Marketing Profs blog, so you get authors who are really experts in their field. Unlike many multi-author blogs, they don't bombard you with new posts, there is an average of just one new post every business day. Recent posts have discussed the importance of marketing statistics, why most businesses fail with their websites, the importance of email marketing, measuring social media efforts, and business to business lead generation.
The Sherpa Blog is from the people at MarketingSherpa, an online marketing community similar to Marketing Profs. What sets MarketingSherpa apart is its focus on case studies and research. The bloggers find out what marketing programs have actually worked, whether it be email, direct mail, telemarketing, Google paid search, Facebook or any other marketing tool. The Sherpa blog provides a window into this rich world of research and case studies. Most blog posts focus on revealing what works and what doesn't, and often the blog provides completely new content that isn't available elsewhere on MarketingSherpa. With just one to two posts a week, you can usually read everything the Sherpa blog publishes in a few minutes. It is one of the oldest blogs in existence, dating back to 2000.
The Online Marketing blog is from the people at TopRank, an online marketing and public relations firm. As the name implies, the focus here is purely on online marketing. They discuss search engine marketing, blogging, social media, online public relations and any other online marketing tool. The Online Marketing blog is not for the complete novice, but once you have the basics of online marketing mastered (by reading the other four blogs reviewed here), you will find some very useful tips here.
Seth's Blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/)
Marketing Profs Daily Fix (http://www.mpdailyfix.com/)
Marketing Profs is the leading online marketing community with over 365,000 marketing professionals as members. It is a vast online resource with coverage of virtually any marketing topic imaginable. The Daily Fix is the blog of Marketing Profs and a wonderful resource in itself. There are over 100 contributing writers to the Marketing Profs blog, so you get authors who are really experts in their field. Unlike many multi-author blogs, they don't bombard you with new posts, there is an average of just one new post every business day. Recent posts have discussed the importance of marketing statistics, why most businesses fail with their websites, the importance of email marketing, measuring social media efforts, and business to business lead generation.
Duct Tape Marketing (http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/)
John Jantsch, author of the Duct Tape Marketing blog, has been called the world's most practical small business marketing expert. This blog is also one of my long time favorites; what I like is that Jantsch doesn't just review the latest marketing tools, he explains in detail how you can implement them in your business so they drive more sales. He is all about the application of new tools in the real world. He devotes many posts to helping readers understand how to use the latest marketing tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Analytics, and he also discusses the brand new marketing tools he has discovered that haven't yet become widely known. My only complaint about his blog is that it has a large number of ads, but you can avoid them by reading his posts through an RSS reader.
Sherpa Blog (http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/)
Online Marketing Blog (http://www.toprankblog.com/)
The Online Marketing blog is from the people at TopRank, an online marketing and public relations firm. As the name implies, the focus here is purely on online marketing. They discuss search engine marketing, blogging, social media, online public relations and any other online marketing tool. The Online Marketing blog is not for the complete novice, but once you have the basics of online marketing mastered (by reading the other four blogs reviewed here), you will find some very useful tips here.