Category Archives: Social media

Will Blogging Revolutionize Business?

October 31, 2008 – 4:15 am

One last thought from the book on business blogging that I’ve mentioned before, Naked Conversations. From authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, thoughts on whether blogging is a revolutionary phenomenon for businesses: (Click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Why Blogs Boost Search Engine Rankings

October 22, 2008 – 4:15 am

I was just asked a question about the difference between blogs and enewsletters.

Enewsletters help nurture relationships by give customers and prospects positive reinforcement for opening your emails by giving them something of value. Blogs are more effective as a prospecting tool because of the way they help boost search engine rankings.

Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, authors of Naked Conversations, explain it this way: (Click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Enewsletters | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Check Out This Garden Industry Discussion Group

October 15, 2008 – 4:15 am

For a while now, I’ve been enjoying reading The Blogging Nurseryman, which Trey Pitsenberger of Golden Gecko Nursery Center in Garden Valley, CA has been writing faithfully for the last three years. Trey recently started an interesting discussion group on LinkedIn titled Garden Centers, Nurseries and New Media. While the group is geared more towards independent garden centers than the catalogers and online merchants we work with, many topics affect all of us in the gardening industry. Discussion threads include Scotts’ desire to sell Smith & Hawken, the role of big box stores, and what we can learn from Hines Nursery’s recent bankruptcy, among others.

The discussion group is just a couple months old, and membership appears to be growing rapidly. Members include a wide range of professionals, including garden center owners, catalogers, wholesalers, editors, writers and service providers. To learn more about, read Trey’s description or jump right in and join the LinkedIn group. Hats off to you, Trey, for opening the lines of communication among industry members!

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Online marketing, Resources | Comments (2)

A Case Study in Marketing to Gen X and Y

October 10, 2008 – 4:15 am

How to attract and market to Generation X and Y is a perpetual topic of conversation among those of us in the gardening industry. So I was intrigued to learn of Patti Moreno, a.k.a. “The Garden Girl,” a Gen Xer and urban homesteader whose mission it is to introduce gardening and sustainable living to younger generations.

Take a look at her web site and it’s obvious it wasn’t created by a 50-plus-year-old. Likewise, it’s not a traditional web site with some new technology – like podcasts and message boards – tacked on after the fact. I suspect that Patti’s target audience feels right at home on the site before they’ve read more than 10 words.

Two things in particular about The Garden Girl’s home page stand out to me:(click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Online marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

A Surprising Use for a Blog

October 8, 2008 – 4:15 am

Today, another surprising story from Naked Conversations, the best book I’ve read about blogging, about the effectiveness of this new medium. (click headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs | Tagged | Comments (0)

Growth of Emerging Marketing Channels

September 26, 2008 – 4:15 am

With technology changing so rapidly, it’s often difficult to know what’s worth paying attention to and what’s not. A Forrester Research study of 300 interactive marketers, recently covered in DM News, reported what percent of companies surveyed were using new media as follows: (click headline for more)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Online marketing | Comments (0)

Effective Online Marketing in 50 Minutes

August 11, 2008 – 4:15 am

At the Summer Mailorder Gardening Association conference, I moderated a round table on Effective Online Marketing – a rather ambitious undertaking in 50 minutes, if I do say so myself. Attendees shared their experiences with everything from promotional emailings and enewsletters to customer forums and online videos.

I prepared a handout that lists examples of and where to find more about customer reviews, Google Website Optimizer, enewsletters, video demonstrations, online upsell suggestions, paid search (pay-per-click), blogs, podcasts and discussion boards. Let me know if you’d like a copy and I’d be happy to send you one.

I was surprised to hear several participants report that they’ve been getting great results with affiliate marketing. How about you?

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Email marketing, Enewsletters, Online marketing | Comments (0)

Generating Content For Blogs and Enewsletters

July 14, 2008 – 4:15 am

I often speak with clients and prospects who are interested in starting a blog or an enewsletter, but are concerned they’ll run out of ideas. I worried about that before I started mine too, but it was a needless worry. Here’s are some good sources of ideas…

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Enewsletters, Online marketing | Comments (0)

Brent & Becky’s Bulbs Launches Podcast

July 9, 2008 – 4:15 am

Congratulations to client Brent & Becky’s Bulbs on the recent launch of their new podcast. (Full disclosure: we had nothing to do with their podcast except cheering them on.) In the style of a call-in/talk radio show, the weekly 20 to 30 minute podcast offers a wealth of tips on beautifying your garden with bulbs…

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Online marketing | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Here’s Help for the Technophobe

July 1, 2008 – 11:14 pm

If you’re befuddled by terms like RSS feeds, podcasts, Twitter and wikis, do I have a resource for you!

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Online marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)