It's Okay To Drift + It's Okay to Make Money

I am shifting way off course here today and I think that's okay. I was reading Skellie's blog a few days ago and his focus was on escaping niches. I thought it was a great post and worth a read and is something that I think my own site has done over the last two years. I tend to write about things that pertain to what is happening in my life and relating that to Social Media, Gen-Y and entertainment/music/whatever. At the end of the day it all comes back to this being my personal site, written by my crazy ass ideas. It's about the things that I do, see, think about and experience.

He then went on to talk about sites like Tim Ferriss's blog, of which I am a big fan. When you think of his site you might say he blogs about time management and lifestyle design. But would you categorize writing about the Amish, Twitter Giving and How to Lose Extreme Weight in 24 hours to be in the same blog?

Niches Don't Matter if People Love "You"

We all tend to focus on our niche, and I have done the same as well. I force myself to think about topics that lend ideas to marketers and other members of Gen-Y about the new marketing landscape. Most of the time, I think the posts are good (not great) and have to be forced out of my brain while telling myself that I have to post today.

In the business world, we were focusing strong on hospitality, we even released a Whitepaper on Gen-Y and Hospitality to get some attention and show some credibility. The last 3 clients we sold - a start-up music site, a real estate "community stabilizer" and a law firm. WTF?

What really happened was that these companies fell in love with us and what we do and not our niche. It didn't matter that our site is geared towards restaurants, hotels and timeshare people, they saw value in us, so we got them on board.

Get that money while its still worth something

my personal money hungry quests I have been looking into some Internet Marketing ideas and trying to get into the affiliate game. It has been fun, eye opening and exciting thinking about the truckloads of ca$h that are going to show up at my house when a product launch goes through the roof. Everything from list building to relationships and trust magnets - I think they all hold merit in the real marketing world and if we don't start asking for the sale, we are never going to get it.

Gary V (damn I am name dropping today) had a great talk the other day (I can't find it but when I do I will link it up) about getting paid vs being true to the social media ethos. The purists who say not to put affiliate links in Twitter, or don't sell shit on your blog or generate traffic through PPC or other advertising are hating on those that are making a dime or 2 in this industry. I say

if you can get people to pay for the value you bring, then you should.

These Web 2.0 companies that are living in the "give all their shit away for free world" are going to wake up one day and realize that their 100gabillion users don't mean shit because they can't monetize them via shitty ad networks and they can't up-sell them because there is no value in their premium model.

There is money in this economy, the proof is in the $5million dollars that Frank Kern made in 48 hours launching a ridiculous $2,000 IM product. Hate the industry all you want, but when products like that sells out and you can't charge $5/month for your web service, something in your marketing, value prop or target audience is wrong.

It's Ok To Shift Focus and Drift

When looking to market your products to the youth market, you also need to understand this principle. That focus group you had 6-9 months ago is useless for a product launching in the summer. Buzzwords come and do like clothing styles and even musical tastes. 37 Signals has a great philosophy, release early and release often. I think that speaks very loud and clear when pushing products to Gen-Y and teens. Get your product out already. Build buzz and release. Test in a live market, get feedback, improve, supply great customer service and do it again. Waiting only gives them time to focus on something better, cooler and flashier than what you have cooking.

Ok, I'm off to watch some video on how this revolutionary PPC system will drive 5 figures into my bank account this afternoon. wOOt - I'm not going to miss the wave - but I also won't fall for your crap.

-Greg

Is It All About Them Benjamins Baby

photo by DavidDMuir

It's no secret that the startup life is hard. Jun Loayza and I have traded war stories over the past few weeks on the late nights, the relationship strains and the "damn I wish I had some Taco Bell money right now."

That brings us into a struggle I've had with my company over the last few months. To take, or not to take angel funding. In the beginning of the whole creation of Endagon Innovations, we were set on being a web application company that had clients to subsidize the money going out on development. As the summer ended and funding opportunities started to dry up, I started seeing more of a need for client services in SEO and Social Media.

Small businesses were starting to catch the wave, more and more younger employees were starting to take leadership roles in local companies and mainstream media started to jump in on the craze (Twitter + Current TV for the elections). It seemed an opportune time to look into helping businesses listen to conversations and find ways to improve their brand message, communication platforms and recruitment strategies.

As this switch in a business approach came about, our overhead should have been reduced. Did we possibly make a mistake in taking on office space and extra employees too early? Unfortunately I think so. While my team kicks ass and works even harder, I often think about running a smaller operation as we get our feet wet and build up advocates and a bank account.

Then comes the questions of funding
Now that we are 80%+ client side, I have voiced my opinion about staying away from funding. With fewer lenders to choose from and an above average interest rate, it would be ill-advised to take in funding and put our company into debt during the biggest recession in our country's history.

I understand the immediate freedoms, don't get me wrong. I'd love to actually get a paycheck from MY company and maybe even be in the office during business hours. However, I would rather build it debt free and have the freedom to make choices and business decisions based on our own goals and paths, and not of those that would benefit an investor or make us second guess to make sure we have their payments on time.

Do I think we will be successful either way?
Hell yea. We are in a prime position to create a great buzz around our services and find a niche that we can dominate for long term success. Does it mean living close to broke for a few more months? I think so.

So where does this leave us? I am not sure today, I might not be sure tomorrow. I might change my mind if someone waves 6 figures in front of my face. Or I might tell everyone on my sales team that they will get a super bonus if you can find a client willing to believe in us so much that they will allow us to take on a 6-figure contract to make their company better through the belief in Social Media and Search Marketing.

So help me out. Sell out or DIY? It's like deciding on a record contract, something that I still haven't ruled out! ;)

-Greg Rollett

What Seperates NYC from Orlando? Big Spenders

Are companies stingy down here in Orlando or are we (Social Media leaders, gurus, consultants, add your title here) afraid to ask for the bucks?

Orlando doesn't have the skyline, the billboards, the glitz and glamor of New York, but we do have some great companies and the potential to market and promote them in a New York way. They key to local Orlando marketing is finding your niche.

3 key niches in Orlando

1. The college crowd - 55,000+ at UCF and don't forget Rollins College, Valencia, Seminole, Full Sail and the bevy of career colleges in the area.
2. The out of towner's - The tourists, mostly from overseas who are spending more money than we can think about at this point, and they are doing it in our backyard.
3. The locals - Downtown O-Town is not NYC, but there are plenty of areas that we can improve in promotion, marketing and brand awareness.

How to get the money:

1. Ask for it. I had been shy in my first few client interactions and paid for it drastically. Up all night working on tedious client work for pennies. I woke up, analyzed my time and now ask for what I want from clients.
2. Prove it. I once heard that an SEO is only as good as his own sites perform. How can they get you to the top if they are stuck at the bottom? Now that I have established my brand, I can (unfortunately) neglect my own site in favor of my clients as long as I am producing for them and well, my dinner table is good to go.
3. Analyze - What are they spending their money on? Look for trends and ask about their ROI. If they are spending 6 figures a month on Times Square billboards, what will 4 or 5 figures put into Social Media or PR or recruiting do for their business.

This is not a complete list, but rather my list. It has worked so far. Getting companies involved in Social Media is not always an overnight task. It is a growth period, a time for trial and error, commitment to the project and an investment. If companies do not see the monetary investment of using your services, move on.

There are plenty of businesses here in Orlando and every city for that matter. The more we can teach them about Social Media, the more opportunities will arise for us to make money and feed our families with Social Media.

At Social Media Camp NYC, the speakers were talking about their clients that spend money. The courses they teach that make them money and the commitment of their clients to try this thing out and make it work.

We need to open up some eyes here and get them to open up their budget. The ones that do will be the big winners when the economy turns. Brand yourself as a leader now.

Why wait for things to get better, when you have the power to make them better now?

It's all about the Benjamin's baby!

-Greg Rollett