January 2004
"Don't be a schmuck." - Rob
Frankel
Yummy. Such a quick and easy article idea. I have
been reading book after book after book about marketing and branding.
I come to the conclusion that everyone has their own opinion, and so
this is mine.
Seth Godin shaved his head and spoke at any and all
marketing conferences. Jakob Nielson has one of the worlds ugliest websites.
Rob Frankel
help create the amazing ReMax brand. Google's simple design is part
of its branding. Christopher Locke is successful for his Rage Boy antics.
That is an exceptionally diverse group. Often times it's members are
criticized by groups of others.
Christopher
Locke has a home page which states "To enter, your IQ must
be over 18! If you're dumber than that, please leave now." He gets
emails like "You really just don't give a fuck, do you."
Google has "fans" such as Daniel Brandt
over at Google
Watch.
Seth Godin
crafted tons of buzz words and each of his products is delivered in
a format that is the embodiment of its purpose. Of course the error
in the Permission Marketing model is that off the start some companies
still are required to interrupt people to get their initial attention.
In "Gonzo Marketing" Christopher Locke paints a picture of
Seth Godin in the Marketing Psych Ward for some of his ideas.
Jakob Nielson even
has a drinking
game bashing him in
much the same way people have bashed George Bush. Incidentally,
Bush sucks!
The group above are all successful because they took
radical steps to differentiate themselves from their piers. Shaving
your head, being mad at everything, or even having a super simple site
design ...these all work.
Pick something that makes you different than everyone
else. Here is the catch, it should not be hard to do. Just as I am frequently
over the top and overtly outspoken, you also have a natural
voice. Use It!
Pick your target not based on finance, but based on interest. I could
make a site about cigarettes (a while ago when I was new to the web
I wasted time making one), but because I do not like smoking it is a
crappy site. Do something that interests you!
Your logo and name help, but neither of these are
your brand. They are just morsels of what your brand is. These also
should be an extension of who you already are.
Its really easy to pick a name that will be able to
get optimized links or sound overly clever, but a simple and marketable
name usually will take you further in the long run.
I just got my first professionally designed logo.
Its really large. My friend Mike said "It's way too big."
I knew it was perfect. I do not think any other SEO
website has a logo that takes up about 30% of the screen.
Does it hurt my usability, YES! Is it obnoxious, YES!
If I were a quieter type, a logo of that size would be no good. Since
I am a loud mouth its perfect. It is an extension of who I am.
You know things I never will, and you have your own
perspective. Think of how you can use that to solve my problems
or make me laugh. Creating colorful slogans for no reason is
stupid. Do not be afraid to be wacky, loud, orange, pink, purple
or even Burnt
Sienna (currently ranked #44). Just make sure the color is who you
are.
