Even if your BMX track has a website already, my friend and colleague Teresa Linn and I are giving away free custom websites for any BMX Track and BMX Team.

If you’re in Florida, California, New Mexico, New York, or East Bumpkin we don’t care; we want your track to start making some green to support your riders.

Click the Screen Shot to Visit Naples BMX

Here’s what you’re gonna get:

1. Free hosting (no traffic limits or space restrictions)
2. Custom wordpress theme and a logo if your track needs one
3. Event calendar on the site (No more using a third party solution or redirecting to a different site, visitors stay on the site to see the events, and its MOBILE FRIENDLY!!!!)
4. Photo & Video Galleries (Unlimited picture posting on the site.  Not via flickr, smugmug or other third party site.  Unless you really want it to.) Videos are uploaded and posted directly in the site and posts.
5. Youtube video pulls and a whole page of Youtube videos pulled by our tubepress plugin.  If you have a channel we can pull that directly in the site or pull videos with specific key words in the titles.
6. Emails for board members.  No more personal emails if you don’t want to mix and mingle BMX and Grandma Joyce’s Christmas Cruise photos.  Oh, and we can give you webmail for those as well.
7. ADVERTISING SALES for your track!  Can you hear that everyone?   You can make banner and 125px square ads on all pages and track their clicks!  Start generating some revenue for your track instead of giving it away.
8. Track business directory.  Start doing business with the people you and your kids race with.  Free or Paid system- your choice.
9. Classifieds section.  This can also be a free or a paid system.
10. Piece of mind-  There are people behind you that will be there when you need help.

We’re BMXers too.  I race, my son races and I see how tracks struggle. This system that Teresa and I put together has the most requested features tracks asked for.  Remember it’s free and there are no strings attached!

If you need more information you can click here to send me an email or call me at 239-280-6077!

Thanks again-  Chris Rabkin and Teresa Linn

After showing me the initial drawings and illustrator designs for their logo concept, we set to work. This is a classic example why a commercial artist is essential for certain services. The Dutchkinz logo is based on multiple components that require different skill sets to produce.

The first component is the Dutchkinz text based or logotype. This required pairing text and graphics to make a memorable lasting brand deserving a second look.

The next component required infusing Dutch culture into a multi-use branded image which conveys warmth, trust, and good taste. Sebastian Hermans had started integrating his two children into the logo which did not lend itself to cohesion. The children’s likenesses or caricatures were disproportionate and not well executed. Here’s where the classical art training behind being a commercial artist is essential. By looking at photos of the children, we were able to transfer their likeness to side profile images and then convey happy, warm, tasty, and even this product is delicious thoughts; with these two children holding a plate of poffer pancakes with their aroma rising from the stack.

Without correct anatomical construction, viewers would not be able to move past the malformed bodies of the children and the brand impact would be completely lost.

Once the logo and the branding were complete, packages, banners, collateral print material, apparel, and other essential marketing pieces were easily created.

Finally, after all pieces were client approved; all images, fonts and uses were placed i a standards book and sent to the legal council for the Trademarking process.

Dutchkinz Pre-imageProjektions

Dutchkinz Final Trademarked Hex Logo

Dutchkinz products can now be enjoyed at a major league ball field near you!

Rock on Sebastian!

By scanning the above image with your smart phone the QR code will take you to a website run by the Red Cross to support Japan after their earthquakes. Scanning that code will save you from manually typing 58 characters in to your phone’s browser which we know less than 1% of the people would even try.

QR Codes have kind of, almost, in a way, taken over the in America, but not really. Confused? Read five different blogs and you will hear many different opinions on what the future of the QR code is. For the uninitiated, the above middle square is a Quick Response code.

QR codes have been popular in Japan and South Korea for awhile, and seemingly like always, we are slower to pull in new technologies which still blows my mind.

So why the fractured feelings about the future? Marketers. Marketers made us hate picking up the phone during dinner time. Marketers forced the government to create a Do Not Call List. Spammers (the worst marketers) made us buy spam blockers. Marketers stuff our magazines with multiples of those subscription cards that keep falling out but all have the same offer. Marketers make us turn the volume down on commercials because they jack up the sound, well, they claim to Congress that they don’t. Liars. If it sounds louder I don’t care what you call it.
So Now What?

QR codes are still in the novelty stage where people will click them to see what Easter Egg they will find. The novelty will wear out and it will go back to what is constantly preached, quality.

Few QR codes that I see actually mentions what I will find on the other side. Tell people what to expect so that they aren’t disappointed. And please, oh please, make sure the site they go to is optimized for the mobile experience. You’ll just piss a customer off if you don’t and that’s not your goal right?

Already over half of the internet viewed through mobile devices so QR codes will become just more useful. Soon, if new technology doesn’t wipe it out, you will need to give people a reason to scan the code. If your pitch, product, or service isn’t good enough, they won’t; just like it should be.

Here’s the scenario… You hire a web designer/company that builds websites (whatever you want to call them) to create you a masterpiece on the World Wide Web (Booming echoing voice in the background.)

Everything is going fine and all of a sudden something affects the dynamics of the relationship between you and your web people.   So the back and forth ensues, tempers escalate, and you find yourself asking these questions:  Do I really own my website?  What legal rights to I have to get copies of my website?  What if my web team is no longer a good fit what legal rights do I have?

Let’s address these aspects point by point.   And truth be told, I have gained clients and lost clients because of similar circumstances, either because views change, expectations change or scope encroachment happens.

Point 1: Do I really own my website?   The answer is yes.   You do own your website and you are free to take it to any service provider that can service the needs and requirements for your website.  The part of the site that you may or may not be entitled to is the programmatic or code aspects.  If your site was custom built, you have customized functionality built on to your site, or anything that you paid for the development to you are entitled to that intellectual property.  You are not entitled to intellectual property if you just signed up for a service that aids in the construction of your website or helps deliver content.

Point 2: If you paid for a website unless it states otherwise in a contract or specifically states that you do not own your website (which I find pretty silly that anyone would ever sign such a document) you can take your site and go anywhere with it.  The only caveat to this is if you still owe your web people money. If you still owe money, your site is the property of your web team.  Sorry, no way around it.

Point 3: You are wanting to dissolve your relationship with your web team here is your legal rights.  If all the points I mentioned are covered (like you didn’t sign anything dumb, or owe anyone money) You are the copyright holder and intellectual property owner of your website.  Ill go into more legaleze in a few.

Seems that the writer of this article and the reposter are of the same view I am.  I think there are too many so called experts and that a large majority of them prey on those who don’t know any better.  As they say in this article about not painting with a broad brush, neither do I.  Many experts or gurus are legitimate and honest.  So with out further a due, I will repost the article in its entirety.

What is a guru?

Literally, a guru is a teacher. The word guru means “heavy” or “deep,” thus a guru is a person “heavy” or “deep” in knowledge. In this sense, a schoolteacher is a guru, a coach or athletic instructor is a guru, a fine-arts, or even a dance teacher is a guru. One’s parents are also gurus. In the religious field, where the word is most commonly used, a guru is a Hindu religious teacher. So a priest or any person learned in Hindu lore may be a guru. The main purpose of the guru is to teach. (Source: What is a Guru?)

Personally, I don’t believe in so-called “gurus” – whether they’re self-proclaimed or anointed. Nevér have. But I do believe in teachers and mentors. And I’m all for free enterprise – for everybody making as much money as they possibly can, with this caveat: Not off the backs of the desperate, naive, and people who can least afford it.

That’s taking advantage of people. I have a problem with that.

They’re Like Vampires

And that’s why I have a problem with some Internet Marketing (IM) gurus. Not all, but some. They’re like vampires… they stick their fangs into your neck, with no concern for your regard, and they just keep sucking your blood (i.e., money), until there’s nothing left but a trail of bodies of the broke, wounded, and disenfranchised.

That being said, if you have disposable income and want to give it to some guru, I don’t have a problem with that, as long as you’re not taking food off your famíly’s table.

Guru Groupies

Marketers who are gurus – self-proclaimed or anointed, often wear the label “guru” like it’s a badge of honor. That’s their prerogative, of course. And while I’m an expert in my field, as well as a teacher, I don’t consider myself a guru, and I don’t consider it an honor to be called one. I just don’t like the term “guru.” Despite my business success, and years of marketing knowledge and expertise, I don’t place myself above other people. I’m not better than you or anyone else.

Conversely, I don’t place anyone else on a pedestal either. I haven’t ever been into hero worship. For example, I’ve always been a huge Michael Jackson fan – all the way back to the days when he was “Little” Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5.

I have every single one of his albums/CD’s. But there was always a limit to my devotion – a reasonableness, if you will. I did not spend thousands of dollars to go see him in concert. I did not follow him around like a groupie, and I did not stand in line clamoring for his autograph, or bid outrageous sums of monéy for his sequined gloves.

This is the kind of irrational behavior I see exhibited toward IM gurus. They are treated like rock stars. Their fans follow them around like groupies, spending thousands of dollars on endless new product launches and expensive seminars. It’s beyond insane.

My Experience With Gurus

Let me tell you about my own personal experience with gurus. A few years ago, I purchased a couple of e-books and a software product from three different IM gurus.

The blood-sucking started almost immediately. Non-stop e-mails… one right after the other. Welcome e-mails, tutorial e-mails, new products launches, past seminars, upcoming seminars, etc., etc., etc.

I got over twenty e-mails from these guys in a period of only 48 hours. It was extremely irritating, to say the least.

Anyway, to make a long story short, that experience so disgusted me, I unsubscribed from their lists, and I actually requested a refund on two of the three products that I ordered.

I requested a refund because the products didn’t come close to living up to the hype – and that’s exactly the point: More often than not, gurus’ products DON’T live up to the considerable hype.

Don’t Believe The Hype

Gurus make everything sound so easy, don’t they? Just follow their “magic” blueprint, and you will “get rich in 90 days!” As a result of these outrageous and unrealistic claims, too many people approach IM thinking that it’s easy and doesn’t require any effort – other than to place a few Adwords ads, kick back, relax, and watch the money roll into their PayPal account. And while a rare few realize success quickly, the vast majority get hit with a brutal dose of reality. That’s right, the vast majority fail. What a surprise.

Let me tell you something, despite what some gurus tell you, success in IM is neither quick or easy. It requires time, patience, discipline and hard work. There are no shortcuts. Or, in the words of famous philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie…

“Anything in life worth having is worth working for.”

Hard work starts with education – learning your craft. If you’re truly serious about succeeding in IM, put in the work. In addition to reading articles like this one, read as many quality, online and offline small business publications as you possibly can.

A few of my online favorites include SiteProNews, WebProNews, ClickZ and MarketingProfs. My favorite offline small business publication is Entrepreneur. Purchase books. Purchase lots and lots of books. Learn as much as you can about sales and marketing. More importantly, apply what you learn. It can make all the difference in the world to your success or lack thereof.

Now there is a top 10 list of books that David Jackson recommends, I have my own list so I’m going to omit his list and let you read them on his site.  Ill post my list tomorrow and y’all can compare notes on your own.

Good Gurus, Bad Gurus

Despite my rant, I want to strongly emphasize, I’m not painting all gurus with one broad brush. Like with everything in life, there is good and bad. That applies to gurus as well. There are good gurus and bad gurus. There are some good, responsible gurus out there who give back generously – who aren’t taking advantage of people – who provide excellent value for the dollar – who don’t promise results that they know they can’t possibly deliver. They are conscientious, honest and responsible marketers.

Read the rest of David’s article at SiteProNews.com
Guru Kool-Aid: Are You Drinking It?

About The Author
David Jackson is a marketing consultant, and the owner of Free-Marketing-Tips-Blog.com – Powerful, free marketing tips to help grow your business! free-marketing-tips-blog.com

Vlogos for Love

February is the month of love people!
So to celebrate all our Vlogos are only $59.00

What you get for 59 bucks is the best logo you will ever have made for you!

You are entitled to 1 revision with 2 different versions of your logo.  You pick the best on and we revise it one time to make it perfect.

I used to be 1/2 of 99dollarlogos.com and our success rate with logos is second to none.  Give it a try! You have nothing to lose and a great Vlogo to Love!

Oh my gosh!!!!  Someone posted bad things about you on your facebook page.  For a private person or J. Doe this is not the end of the world, but for a professional person or a business this can have dramatic consequences.  This damages reputation, credibility and causes loss of business which means less money in your pocket.

But Chris… How do I fix this?

Well like any thing if it’s caught early we can mitigate the damage and do what we call reputation protection.   We have an expert that is awesome at protecting your reputation in social media. Coach Denise as we call her round here, is our social media engineer.  She has worked for companies like Procter & Gamble, IBM and smaller groups, companies, and individuals like yourself.   Her ability to do “Damage Control” is unparalleled.  Combine that with the tactical advantage of being a social media expert and really getting how the negative posts are displayed just like positive posts helps you mitigate the negative.  We can also do fact finding and counter the negative comments by addressing the individual directly on the wall.  If the truth is that a person or competitor is posting negative stuff because they just don’t like you, that will all come out and be dealt with.

There is a caveat to this.  If what they say about you is true, for instance you did bad business and it’s not just one person that’s being negative on your wall or in your twittery nest, then you my friend are on your own.

Bottom line, we can help honest businesses manage their reputation effectively and dishonest ones, well not so much.

Everyone play nice in the sandbox and have a fantastic day!

-Chris

Yourhearingaidbatteries.com is the frist ecomerce website that I have worked on and also the first time that i have had the pleasure of having Chris bring my vision to life online. I thought that i was going to get a cookie cutter website that looked like everyother ecomerce website. I was very wrong thankfully!

Chris not only gave me a great deal on the website build and hosting but also went above and beyond helping me to put togather a blog (which was not part of his original quote) as well as helping me develop my first advertising campaign.

Chris continues to be available for any questions that i have and always promplty andcouteously responds to all inquiries. I highly recomend Chris as one of the best media professionals in southwest florida.

Theron Horgan

Yourhearingaidbatteries.com

In 1944, there were not enough able-bodied men available to eliminate forest fires. They were fighting in the war. The Ad council decided to launch a campaign to make people more aware of forest fire prevention. The bear is known by at least 70% of all American citizens. During the course of the ‘only you’ campaign, Smokey Bear has been seen with celebrities, organizations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and has been featured in cartoons, live action shows, and print ads.

2. The Absolut Bottle [Absolut Vodka, 1981]

The first of the successful print ads, Absolut Perfection, came to Geoff Hayes in the bathtub. Over 1500 advertisements have been created for the company, using over 300 artists from all fields. The company’s popularity has soared since the first advertisement, it is now the third best-selling liquor in the world behind Bacardi and Smirnoff.

3. We Try Harder [Avis, 1963]

This idea was not a gimmick, it was the company’s business philosophy. In 1962, Hertz was undeniably at the top position in the car rental market. This print ad campaign was a simple response to the question on the minds of consumers everywhere: ‘Why should anybody ever rent a car from you?’

4. Think Small [Volkswagen, 1959]

This advertising campaign has been credited with changing the way that individuals thought about advertising. At the time, Volkswagen was not the prettiest or the largest car. The advertisement was minimalist and highly effective. In that campaign, the advantages of great gas mileage, low oil intake and the ability to park anywhere were mentioned. People became aware of the Volkswagen design, making sales skyrocket.

5. Just do it [Nike, 1980]

Like many advertising campaigns, the Just do it was based around a simple idea. The hip and trendy, no-holds barred approach worked very well to help Nike compete with Reebok. These advertisements used celebrities from all sports venues to advertise its sports apparel. Today, Nike sponsors many world football teams like Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Arsenal.

6. The Marlboro Man [Marlboro, 1955]

Marlboro transformed cigarette advertising forever by associating a tough, rugged cowboy with cigarettes. This series inspired Marlboro Country, encouraging people to consider the pleasures of life. Philip Morris experienced a sales growth from $5 billion to $20 billion in the course of a few years.

7. Calvin Klein Jeans [Calvin Klein, 1980]

The clothing designer is known for pushing the envelope with its controversial print and television ads. Brooke Shields, a teenage icon, used sex and sensuality to sell the jeans. Marky Mark came on board to be a print ad spokesman for the Calvin Klein underwear.

8. The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud [Rolls Royce, 1958]

The Rolls Royce ad is an example of classic and compelling copywriting. It boldly speaks to consumers who are searching for a better car. The ad creator went for a believable concept, one that instilled trust within the readers. This advertisement proved to advertising executives that trust and believability sell products.

9. Macintosh [Apple, 1983]

In December 1983, Apple launched its advertising campaign with a Macintosh Introduction. In November 1984, Apple bought all of the advertisement available in Newsweek for a post-election campaign. Apple has always been very focused on its advertising, purchasing space in major magazines for each of its products. It is difficult to focus on merely one advertising campaign that Apple has run, as most of them have become famous.

10. Got Milk? [California Milk Processor Board, 1993]

This ingenious advertising campaign inspired people the world over to drink milk. It was supported by fashion models, style icons, and celebrities, each sporting the iconic milk mustache.

Print advertisement has played a major part in the shaping of societies throughout the world. What are going to be the products of tomorrow?

3 Reasons Why Print Advertising is Still A Lethal Weapon for A Winning Marketing Campaign
Posted by Mariam Noronha on April 23, 2011

The power of print advertising: Advertise on special print issues to celebrate Diwali
In the era of the internet, most people tend to attach little or no importance to print advertising. A deluge of pop-ups on your computer screen and mobile message beeps herald the launch of many a new product or service and we tend to think… who reads the papers?

Regardless of the growth of the internet and burgeoning popularity of online advertising here are 3 reasons why print advertising is still a lethal weapon in any advertising campaign…
Segment Your Way to Success

Segmentation is a precondition for marketing success and print media targets a specific audience. There is virtually no wastage of resources as a fashion magazine highlights apparel, footwear, accessories and make up while a health magazine spreads the word about health foods, organic foods and vegan choices.

Segmentation cannot get more specific than it gets with print advertising. Reaching out to a specific audience who subscribe to a particular newspaper or magazine is the best way to cater to a niche market segment.
Positioning Strategies

The biggest plus with newspaper and magazine advertising is that an advertiser can request special ad positioning. This means that a paragliding service provider can ask that his ad is placed in a specific page or within a column article about adventure sports or adventure tourism.

A positioning strategy such as this will bring greater visibility to the brand simply because the ad is in line with the central theme of the publication. A highly effective commercial specific ad positioning ensures that potential buyers will notice it.

I have noticed this with newspaper advertisements as well where ads for olive oil as a cooking medium appear in the health food recipes column. A great way to sharpen the edge of your advertising campaign while ensuring it reaches who you want to.
High Score on the Credibility Scale

In time newspapers and magazines create a large pool of loyal readers who attach a lot of importance to the quality of content that appears in their favorite publications. I have known people who swear by the research base of articles printed by the Reader’s Digest and others who say the columnists in Cosmopolitan know what they are talking about.

One particular trend in print advertising that I’ve noticed in India, particularly in Maharashtra state where I’ve lived all my life is the impact of the Diwali Ank (a special issue that magazine publishers come up with for Diwali, the festival of lights). I know people who stock up on these issues and read them over a period of time and discuss the contents with others. Such is the impact and credibility of print media.

So if you had just about written off print advertising from your “to do list” in your marketing campaign… think again. It is in fact a lethal weapon that could just help you make a bigger, better and more lasting impact.