Spending a little time today reflecting on the year, setting new goals and revisiting old ones. I’ve archived some really fun, helpful and just plain cool stuff this year – Here’s a sampling. Enjoy!

100 People I hate on Facebook – I particularly appreciate #21, 79 & 91

Top 75 Apps for enhancing your Facebook page - One of my goals for 2011 is to become absurdly proficient at landing pages and other handy FB apps.

20+ awesome and unique uses of google reader that you probably didn’t know about – I sure as heck didn’t.

12 gifts most freelance designers only dream about – I admit to dreaming and yearning for #1

Mapping America; Every City Every Block – this is so cool! Put in your zip code and find out how diverse (or not) your neighborhood is…

The top 40 iphone apps of 2010

One of the BEST twitter cheat sheets I’ve seen so far!

Meatball Sundae
I’m reading a brilliant book by a brilliant guy, Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae. It is for sure changing (and validating) the way I view traditional marketing. Traditional marketing is like a car alarm- In the 80′s if a car alarm went off we all looked out the window to see if it was our vehicle…today an alarm sounds and nobody notices. Not only is the alarm ignored, it’s not even heard. Invisible. Well, isn’t that what is happening today with traditional marketing? TV, radio, Newspaper even billboards? We are so inundated with messages and they are coming at us so fast and furious in so many ways that we just stop seeing them. I know I do. Godin defines New Marketing as sort of caveman marketing, the sort of marketing that existed before money and corporations took over. New Marketing doesn’t understand top-down command-and-control thinking. It’s consumer telling consumer what to buy. It’s about creating stories that spread because people want to spread them.
Permission Marketing
The term “Permission Marketing” was coined by the afore-mentioned Marketing Guru, Seth Godin. Permission Marketing allows marketers to gain consent from customers or prospects before sending them a marketing message. This type of marketing is a win-win. The advantage to the consumer is that they are in control of what messages they receive and when so the messages are anticipated, personalized and relevant. They can also opt out at any time. The advantage to the Marketer is that cost is low, feedback is instantaneous and they are speaking to a loyal, captive audience who will likely pass the message on. What is more credible that consumers promoting your product?
Does it work?
According to a study done by University of Texas at Dallas Professor B.P.S. Murthi, this marketing method has proven to be two to three times more effective than conventional direct email and ten times more effective than banner ads. According to a survey by Flownetworks, inc
an incredible “94% of consumers opt-in for permission based email”.
Is it Easy?
I don’t think so. I think you have to be diligent and work just as hard. More to come on this as I explore the world of contemporary marketing and how I can help my small business clients navigate this new world.

Smart organizations face uncertain times with optimism. It is during chaotic times that fortunes will be made. Out of chaos comes order… and market leadership.

Research indicates that companies who continue to spend on marketing and sales survive a recession better, plus come out of the recession stronger than their competitors.

Research also indicates that companies who reduce other staff before reducing marketing staff have a better chance of surviving than companies who cut marketing first.

If you represent one of those companies with a limited or non-existent marketing staff, how can your company or products come out of this mess as a market leader? The answer is simple… outsourcing.

Outsourcing tasks to an independent consultant is like hiring a Virtual Marketing Manager. You can activate the Virtual Marketing Manager only when you need it, and not have to pay for the gaps in between like a full-time employee. Plus, you get all the experience of a seasoned marketing veteran, unlike hiring a low cost entry-level person.

How Do You Know If You Need a Virtual Marketing Department?
~ Do you have a great marketing goals and no one to implement them?
~ Are you tired of having to select and manage costly web developers, graphic designers and writers to get
your marketing initiatives done?
~ Have you considered hiring a full-time marketing staff person, but can find the right candidate with the
skills you need at a price you can afford?
~ Are you focused on your business operations and have little time to set the strategy and implement
effective marketing programs?
~ Are you read to accelerate your company’s growth?

I really believe that in this stressful (economically speaking) time our small businesses should strongly consider virtual employees or contractors. What is the downside? I don’t see one. Save on payroll taxes – Use this person when and if you need them….Objectivity…it makes sense to me…How about you?