tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19921814180959332372024-03-13T05:52:52.446+00:00T-Shirt StrategyA blog about t-shirt strategy, SEO, online marketing, social network marketing, how to run a business, t-shirt stats and interviews...a place where you can ask any questions you have and I'll go and try find the answer for you...LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-5433878146079300632010-06-13T17:13:00.004+01:002010-06-13T17:18:18.916+01:00An Insight into Facebook Fanpage Insights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0N16gf-CXpxQ4YdsENX_AkwBLHRP5a7XfR2ULz5_jH_511qSYZ_xBAKKP8fZwyMR94DKRUpQOJOVUDYwm9_AgyIdE2E82ohTraYm8E4Bocs_EH7KCOX9uZp-yo-bqemVr2ujMZdZEUHq/s1600/insights.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0N16gf-CXpxQ4YdsENX_AkwBLHRP5a7XfR2ULz5_jH_511qSYZ_xBAKKP8fZwyMR94DKRUpQOJOVUDYwm9_AgyIdE2E82ohTraYm8E4Bocs_EH7KCOX9uZp-yo-bqemVr2ujMZdZEUHq/s320/insights.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471961110783066418" /></a>There are between 400 million to 500 million people on facebook but out of those continental size figures you really only need to concern yourself with your hopefully growing fanpage fans (or "likers"). Facebook has gone out of their way to make it easy for you to get useful information on your fanpage fans and this post will give an insight into facebook fanpage insights.<br /><br />Fanpage admins can access their fanpage insights by pressing the "See all" link in the insights section in the left hand panel. Amanda from <a href = "http://www.teesinapod.blogspot.com" target = "_blank">Tees in a Pod</a> has created a very useful video below which gives useful information and explains all the graphs and statistics available in the insights - everyone likes videos so enjoy it. <br /><br />I will now try and explain how the insights can be used to improve your fanpage from what I have noticed from the LadyUmbrella <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella" target = "_blank">facebook fanpage</a>. One of the key ratings for a fanpage is the Post Quality Rating. This rating is expressed mathematically in the following:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdScAu3w-fYm1HbGmcEZEJP8mG77R3bVD-VUSt0ZwdxOYuaRNK-nzvttG0ZmbDfyOJyxDe418eq9a5bcDMXf78NBsnjWnZWKwRc71KwY_vrooEj761Ii0Ezmtqebkftr8LW8-ZrRo_Qz1q/s1600/ecuacion.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 394px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdScAu3w-fYm1HbGmcEZEJP8mG77R3bVD-VUSt0ZwdxOYuaRNK-nzvttG0ZmbDfyOJyxDe418eq9a5bcDMXf78NBsnjWnZWKwRc71KwY_vrooEj761Ii0Ezmtqebkftr8LW8-ZrRo_Qz1q/s400/ecuacion.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471955395265371602" /></a><br /><br />In words this can be represented as the No. of Interactions divided by the No. of Posts Made all divided by the No of Fans in the fanpage then divided by Other Fanpages of similar sizes. This last division is used to create a comparison to other fanpages. <br /><br />I have formalised Post Quality Rating in the above in the hope that those who read this will share their ratings so that we (fanpage admins) can get a fuller and more precise understanding of the Post Quality Rating.I believe the above equation may hold true and from it the following theories can be derived:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1)</span> to get a better post score don't post updates too frequently. The more updates you post the more interactions required. For example one update which gets 12 interactions is better than 2 updates that get say 15 and 7 interactions respectively. Too many updates may result in "fan fatigue" which causes lower interactions and some fans may leave.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2)</span> as your fanpage fanbase increases the number of interactions you receive should increase relative to your fanpage growth. Mass fanpage expansion with non targeted fans who may never interact with the fanpage will lower post quality rating. When it comes to fans for post quality rating an interacting fan is better than a mass of uninterested fans. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3)</span> keep an eye on other fanpages with similar amount of fans. If possible find fanpages of similar stature and gauge how you are doing compared to them. If they are getting more interactions than you then try to up interaction count as ultimately you are in competition with them.<br /><br />I believe the Star Rating gives an estimate of how your fanpage post quality score stacks up against other fanpages. It is a 5 star rating and one could make the assumption that:<br />***** = Top 20 percentile for fanpage post quality score<br />**** = 60 to 80 percentile for fanpage post quality score<br />*** = 40 to 60 percentile for fanpage post quality score<br />** = 20 to 40 percentile for fanpage post quality score<br />* = Bottom 20 percentile for fanpage post quality score<br /><br />The benefit of having a 5 star rating and high post quality score is that your updates persist longer in fans news streams. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qZSSJBNsTqI71DDZVXYRi7CFLGtMw0T_nmvxl7a85B5Rkc6RKoHiunD2xrzFyT10k-VZyq_ALk4NLKrcxkipYdL_Uqg5-9ymHe57VyTWCesJAijty4IORcv17dSCMpSo1tKuV7joPuGW/s1600/topnews.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 85px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qZSSJBNsTqI71DDZVXYRi7CFLGtMw0T_nmvxl7a85B5Rkc6RKoHiunD2xrzFyT10k-VZyq_ALk4NLKrcxkipYdL_Uqg5-9ymHe57VyTWCesJAijty4IORcv17dSCMpSo1tKuV7joPuGW/s320/topnews.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471957907102065394" /></a><br /><br />The reason for this is that facebook wants to give their users the "top news" and they use the star rating and post quality rating as a metric to determine what is "top news". With a 5 star rating your content will be exposed to more people for longer which may result in more interactions which can become a self perpetuating cycle. It is important to note that "top news" items also include status updates which receive a lot of interactions even if the fanpage has a low post quality and star rating. <br /><br />Understanding what influences the post quality and star rating is key to fully utilising insights. In the video below Amanda details all of the different statistics which are available but it is the post quality and star rating which give the snapshot of fanpage health. I hope this post coupled with the video has provided and insight into fanpage insights. If you have any tips for insights that you would like to share we would love to hear them.<br /><br />I would also urge you to share some of your ratings either privately or publicly so that I can conduct further analysis on these key factors which affect fanpages. If interested please leave a comment or e-mail teesinapod[AT]gmail.com and give details regarding: fanpage size, star rating, post quality score & no. of interactions. There is no need to give fanpage name if you don't want to. With some more ratings it should be possible to fully understand post quality rating and star rating system. <br /><br /><object width="300" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-fsI4WqQYkg&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-fsI4WqQYkg&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This post was written by Rob from LadyUmbrella <a href="http://www.ladyumbrella.com/" alt="ladies t-shirts" title="ladies t-shirts">ladies t-shirts</a>.</span>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-67087055144713717052010-05-06T01:36:00.005+01:002010-05-06T01:48:00.136+01:00A Rock Stars Social Media Strategy - Whiskey Optional<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63yjIAfE65OpIDAmShkiuv3PTU5iJWrSBdm_Hhv_7DGxq1B_DPTiqMZR0xzvJdhG9wtwCS4ogR6yvquBmA7zd4IK-3NYsv0c19w94LBDKUYxWLvHUMXSLPdxGWf9xZM_2HDaw1QcV-HY8/s1600/whiskey.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63yjIAfE65OpIDAmShkiuv3PTU5iJWrSBdm_Hhv_7DGxq1B_DPTiqMZR0xzvJdhG9wtwCS4ogR6yvquBmA7zd4IK-3NYsv0c19w94LBDKUYxWLvHUMXSLPdxGWf9xZM_2HDaw1QcV-HY8/s200/whiskey.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461189637901576018" /></a>Hello all and welcome to a rock fueled insight into ways one can apply social media principles and strategies to music, brands, shops or anything your mind can conjure up. I believe it is now time for everyone from plumbers to pizza men and percussionists to postmen (well maybe not them) to join the social media revolution. <br /><br />Why? Well, that is where the much talked about <a href = "http://garyvaynerchuk.com/search/eyeballs" target = "_blank">Gary Vaynerchuk "eyeballs"</a> are. This blog post will talk about the basic things one should do to establish an online presence backed up with real life rocking facts from a sensational up and coming Irish band - <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/sevendaysofficial" alt = "Seven Days" title = "Seven Days" target = "_blank">Seven Days</a> (who I highly recommend and check out the video at the end of this blog). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Dynamic Duo</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsUxUSEFqK89aVZKeyfc2VPzgC2_o_MM4dkC7TXrXwY3Pe5zAlVoVjR588vGN19bnakXwKGQ3X-FoFWcY_BQdvkafgZCyBKM7Bqg7RNKUyHcwMzD5cOt-7H0PBy4VPB3M0y1IIj11DrsR/s1600/dynamic+duo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsUxUSEFqK89aVZKeyfc2VPzgC2_o_MM4dkC7TXrXwY3Pe5zAlVoVjR588vGN19bnakXwKGQ3X-FoFWcY_BQdvkafgZCyBKM7Bqg7RNKUyHcwMzD5cOt-7H0PBy4VPB3M0y1IIj11DrsR/s200/dynamic+duo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461190047673489442" /></a>When you hear social media there are two landmark social media sites that instantly spring to mind - Facebook and Twitter, the dynamic duo of the social media world. The crux of their popularity and effectiveness lies in the explicitly viral nature of how people interact with each other on twitter or on fanpages. This very public interaction gives rise to a sort of mob rule (the good kind though)..When people see other people are interacting with you on these social media sites their curiosity peeks and they will be inclined to check it out. It is akin to passing by a packed restaurant, peering in the window and feeling a pang of hunger - you have seen the social proof of people and so want to check it out yourself. <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/sevendaysofficial" alt = "Seven Days" title = "Seven Days" target = "_blank">Seven Days</a> have a presence on both of these sites and the interview with the band which follows will show how social media can be applicable to all types of efforts - and the whiskey is optional.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Roll Out the Blogs</span><br />Forget the red carpet, the glitz and glam and the rock star poses but in my humble opinion a blog (and hard work to maintain it) is a must have in this day and age. Everyone, from budding rock stars to rattlesnake experts should regularly catalog their recent events, successes and news in a blog. Why? - well, I'll bullet point it for you:<br />- Expands your web presence<br />- Builds trust between you and potential customers/groupies ;)<br />- Gives loyal fans and customers all the information about you they could possibly crave<br />- Can be an SEO goldmine<br />- Each new blog post is new content and something fresh to "talk" about<br />- Keeps search engines happy <br /><br />And, on a personal note, it gives you a place to put your thoughts, an online diary if you will for how your business, brand or band progresses. I couldn't not blog about what I do at LadyUmbrella <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "ladies t-shirts" title = "ladies t-shirts" target = "_blank">ladies t-shirts</a> - it's part of the routine now.. Surely you would like to be able to look back in a year or 5 years and see how you have progressed and reminisce? Writing a blog is easy IF you are 100% passionate and committed to what you are doing and IF you are not 100% passionate and committed just stop, right now. Really...if you don't view what you are doing now as the foundation of your legacy (what you write will persist pretty much forever now..."Hi grand kids that I don't have yet") then maybe you should look for something that you want to become your legacy. Seven Days are making writing their future autobiography a lot easier as they're blogging it up - and it helps them!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zPuI39Ru3_G4iImZpMn1rYylDsRXfwsg5iTa6JKL-7ClVvIAn5CU4qpsImYB9KMYtecy0qDjHjcgpmtmuFBwun9va8SOW9RZ77ZMDDV21blvNoHpMeuP5gxD63ZJGkW63jXya9NHcvET/s1600/social+bookmarking.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zPuI39Ru3_G4iImZpMn1rYylDsRXfwsg5iTa6JKL-7ClVvIAn5CU4qpsImYB9KMYtecy0qDjHjcgpmtmuFBwun9va8SOW9RZ77ZMDDV21blvNoHpMeuP5gxD63ZJGkW63jXya9NHcvET/s200/social+bookmarking.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461190932443373602" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Social Bookmarks</span><br /><a href = "http://www.digg.com" title = "_blank">Digg</a>? <a href = "http://www.reddit.com" title = "_blank">Reddit</a>? <a href = "http://www.stumbleupon.com" title = "_blank">Stumbleupon?</a> - do these names ring any bells with you at all? They are all social bookmarking sites or content aggregators where millions of people consume content on a daily basis and "vote" for it so that the cream of the content rises to the top and ultimately hits the motherload for web traffic. People submit blog posts (oh, wait a minute, could you submit your own blog post to these sites?? - yes, start a blog now), entertaining videos and pictures and then the finger flexing frenzy continues as the votes pour in. The traffic from these sites can range from tsunami to gentle trickle but the flow of the traffic is determined by only 2 factors (again, in my humble opinion)<br />1. The quality of content you submit<br />2. The amount of effort you put into building up a network on any of these sites<br />and thats it..<br /><br />With some thought and time it should be possible to create great content (wait until you hear the Seven Days single on our podcast) but if you are unable to do so Poppa Google and Uncle Youtube can help you out. Future blogs will explain in depth some ideas for social bookmarking sites but for now apply a little bit of Factor 1 + 2 from above and you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll learn and how much it'll benefit you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR8Xc3v2lRMgRtDsSl9aTtfIRew72RZBqGCGkRdexwdOSKiSMTs0h7Z2o1k_-bdQ3sOffa3aa66enejTO8G4Hl6Jy4NGKNEBep77WZ84tvAYytIXWCIuHFDFim5OUI33mojFI63R5awfB/s1600/seven+days.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQR8Xc3v2lRMgRtDsSl9aTtfIRew72RZBqGCGkRdexwdOSKiSMTs0h7Z2o1k_-bdQ3sOffa3aa66enejTO8G4Hl6Jy4NGKNEBep77WZ84tvAYytIXWCIuHFDFim5OUI33mojFI63R5awfB/s200/seven+days.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461191301391956482" /></a>And now, to back this strategy up with a real life rocking case study I would like to first thank <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/sevendaysofficial" alt = "Seven Days" title = "Seven Days" target = "_blank">Seven Days</a> for taking the time to answer some of my questions. They hail from a town called Kildare in Ireland and are on the precipice of insanely big things. Despite their hectic gigging schedule when I contacted the band via <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/sevendaysofficial" target = "_blank" alt = "Seven Days on Facebook" title = "Seven Days on Facebook">facebook</a> and <a href = "http://www.twitter.com/sevendaysonline" target = "_blank" alt = "Seven Days on Twitter" title = "Seven Days on Twitter">twitter</a> I instantly knew that they would do the interview. Why? Because they get "it"..they engage their online fans, work hard and are now reaping the rewards..Please, enjoy the following interview from Seven Days, an Irish band you'll hear a lot more about very soon...<br /><br />------- Interview Starts -------<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Please state your name, your bands name, your instrument and are you Internet savvy?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - Nicky Brennan Guitar , Ricky Byrne Drums, Ian White Vox Keys Acoustic, Darren Sweeney Bass, Seven Days and were all Internet savvy<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - What social media sites are Seven Days on? Any one in particular that is your favourite?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/sevendaysofficial" target = "_blank" alt = "Seven Days on MySpace" title = "Seven Days on Facebook">MySpace</a>, Facebook, Twitter and Bebo. Our favourite is probably facebook for the amount of interaction you have with people and fans, being able to send event invites and keep people updated on the band makes it a fantastic promotional tool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Any gigs or opportunities arise as a result of using social media sites?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> Yes most definitely. we had a lot of people who contacted us through facebook and myspace to book the band for gigs. It provides such an easy access to us and has been a real vital part in our attempts to make the band bigger.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Any web awards are mentions on big websites that have helped you out? I found an article about you in <a href = "http://www.galwaynews.ie/12175-hotly-tipped-seven-days-residency-d%C3%A1il-bar" target = "_blank">galwaynews.ie</a> about a sweet gig deal in The Dail Bar - any other gems like that?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - We're delighted about the Dail bar and the gigs there have been fantastic. We got a <br />lot of gigs along the way that have led us on to bigger gigs in that area. The Edenderry Harbour festival has just put us onto our own headlining gigs there. The Meteor awards also proved to give us excellent exposure simply for all our attempts e-mailing and messaging through facebook and twitter. Our myspace hits sky rocketed from this event.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Get any groupies? Seriously like;)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - Ha ha :) we've got some fans <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg63Rou7grdLpEPR9UeR0rAMeVN6qb9TU0TJgdcI_XTCaKunw4Hk_SnnBoX1bs2useJMmeUMuaDF5RgvEoW5qqI_VBtWo3g61bDDeic9DsZLkXi_0cDd-BO2ii-fEkeJKF2XPxfweh12k1/s1600/groupie.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg63Rou7grdLpEPR9UeR0rAMeVN6qb9TU0TJgdcI_XTCaKunw4Hk_SnnBoX1bs2useJMmeUMuaDF5RgvEoW5qqI_VBtWo3g61bDDeic9DsZLkXi_0cDd-BO2ii-fEkeJKF2XPxfweh12k1/s200/groupie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461192612356004658" /></a>that have been absolutely amazing. Between coming to all of our gigs and leaving us comments it really keeps you motivated. Theres a girl in England who went around a shopping centre promoting us with her own made poster and drawing. That's really cool! as she has never seen us play live and only found us through myspace and twitter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - When a friend joins your fanpage that is cool but also kind of expected if they are a supportive friend but when a randomer joins it's a different kind of special. Do you give people incentives to join? or is all a very natural, rocking and organic growth? <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - Of course at our gigs we always plug the myspace and facebook pages and encourage people to join. Its great after a good weekend of gigging to sit down and reply to some nice comments you got from people who saw you. Wether it be a new fan or an existing one! so in that sense I would say the online growth is very organic. We are a band that gigs quite frantically (up to four gigs in a three day weekend) which is a regular occurance. This week actually comes to five to hopefully we can expect some more comments!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHRyFL7anv2a4n93rf4DKpQXd66CVnJaZFofy4cNOQ2vEXhRJLgWFvbOQ68KdMt_-PP5VX1N6c0wVmtU0rGmdCJZRX7olJH_mr3APsPShP0pW0hLHAugPJqSTSZUgf31-mK2ONOro4A4L/s1600/justin+bieber.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHRyFL7anv2a4n93rf4DKpQXd66CVnJaZFofy4cNOQ2vEXhRJLgWFvbOQ68KdMt_-PP5VX1N6c0wVmtU0rGmdCJZRX7olJH_mr3APsPShP0pW0hLHAugPJqSTSZUgf31-mK2ONOro4A4L/s200/justin+bieber.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461193204357004626" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Any final thoughts on how you think social media can help you in the long run? You've heard of Justin Bieber on Twitter ye? - could you be the next trending topic?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seven Days</span> - In todays age social media for the likes of ourselves and other band etc is an absolute necessity. When someone hears of a new band the want to check out they instantly turn to their computer. In which your sites have to be in good shape and up to date. Otherwise that person isn't going to think a lot of you! In the long run once you maintain and built your sites you should have a very solid block of impression, perception and support. This makes for quite a stable foundation for an artist.<br /><br />I don't know much at all about Justin Bieber. Mostly that he is a young artist brought to the front by his you tube videos and social networking. I may be wrong due to my lack of knowledge on him but I think we try to use social networking in a different way.To encourage people to come and see us and support us as opposed to putting your performances online and solely using that as your marketing. That was his focal point where as ours is to use online networking to encourage people to see our focal point (our live shows) As I said though I could be wrong! I don't think were trying to set a trend. Were just trying to make music we love to play and try our hardest to get you all to listen!<br /><br />------- Interview Ends -------<br /><br />And so, there you have it, an from a band who are putting social media to use to get themselves into the back of a tour bus for a global adventure. Check out the video they made as a digital thank you those who have helped them below! Whatever your goal or target is social media can help you get there quicker. You just have to plan a bit of a strategy and stick with it...and whiskey is optional!<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQe6hdI3xh4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nQe6hdI3xh4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-41277931836466998162010-04-14T18:19:00.004+01:002010-04-14T18:27:24.177+01:00Crouching Twitter, Hidden Dragon - 4 Ninja Tips for Twitter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMV4FF3mbIBkW_ZX1gufWaq3bNRqMukvPfx4btDuaUS51PpGnf9RdovBXjlvdKm2LKSr0pYIh8U50fYS_CwWrstjKiH9l8svEIKfLZscSNf2isMy-7-h4CkBsAotOt5LzgVwluwEvBYKj/s1600/ninja_twitter.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMV4FF3mbIBkW_ZX1gufWaq3bNRqMukvPfx4btDuaUS51PpGnf9RdovBXjlvdKm2LKSr0pYIh8U50fYS_CwWrstjKiH9l8svEIKfLZscSNf2isMy-7-h4CkBsAotOt5LzgVwluwEvBYKj/s200/ninja_twitter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456716474040604562" border="0"></a><br />In this digital day and age it's of paramount importance to have a presence on the web and in particular, Twitter. This post will dish out 4 ninja tips so that you can use twitter a bit more effectively and efficiently with the poise and elegance of a well trained ninja. If you've never used Twitter before don't run to the hills if the info below intimidates you but bear it in mind for when you do start your twitter career :) And so, without further ado, here are 4 top ninja tips that you can use to improve your twitter experience right now..<br /><br /><font style="font-weight: bold;">1) Use of Lists</font><br />Lists, are a somewhat new feature to Twitter, but for all intents and purposes allow you to categorise (list) people that you want to keep track of based on certain criteria of your choosing. An example of lists might be, "People from Ireland", "T-Shirt lovers" or "Podcast Pros". Lists are located on the right hand side of your Homepage view on Twittter, beneath the twitter search feature. <br /><br />Now, onto the ninja tips..I really wish lists were around when I started on Twitter so I could have started using them for all my followers as they allow you to create "channels" based on a certain stream of tweets. By channels I mean, if you clump and organise people properly you could create different "channels" (like television channels which focus on one topic) on twitter - a list for social media experts, sports fanatics, Twilight lovers, competition junkies etc - this can help you quickly get the information you want from twitter. Another advantage of lists, is that if you are following a couple of thousand people you're twitter stream will be full of "noise" that isn't of any real use to you and you may be missing out on tweets that you would deem more important. Maybe a potential customer has contacted you - add them to a list so you can keep tabs on what they are up to and an opportunity for a sale may arise in the future...if you don't list them, finding their tweets within the other thousands of tweets will be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.<br /><br />Here are three things you can do right now that will improve your twitter usage:<br />1. Start some of your own lists and ask people how they would like to be listed - this will help you find out more about the people you follow, may serve to break the ice a bit and help build relationships with more tweeps.<br /><br />2. Find out who has listed you and why not say "thank you for listing me" - again, another opportunity to break the ice and show that you are real and actually care what people think. Also, by seeing how you are listed by others you'll be able to get a better idea of people's perception of you or your brand. If someone lists you, it generally means you've made some impact on them and that they want to be able to quickly and easily get to your tweets - you're now on one of their "channels".<br /><br />3. Pay attention to lists and see if there are any good ones you should follow. Certain lists of tweeps that people have created could be of some use to you (lists regarding bloggers for your niche for example). Follow those lists and give props and thanks to whoever created it - people like random thanks.<br /><br /><font style="font-weight: bold;">2) Auto DMs Bad, Scheduled Tweets Good</font><br />One of my pet peeves on Twitter is receiving a lame auto direct message like "thanks so much for following, looking forward to your tweets, go to my site and buy my stuff - link" (we've all got them ye?). However, what makes it even more frustrating is when you reply to the DM only to be told "there is an error sending to the recipient". I call this the caught with the pants down scenario and it really highlights why auto DMs might be a bad idea. People can generally tell if a DM is automated (we just have a 6th sense for it) but when you can't reply it is because the other person isn't following you back. If they're not following you, the likelihood of them sending a DM to say thanks is slim to none - unless it's automated. When this scenario happens to me I unfollow whoever sent me the DM and I'm sure I'm not alone. Anyone agree with me here or am I barking up the wrong tree?<br /><br />Not all automation is bad though. Scheduling tweets can be a great way to make sure you pump out tweets regularly if you aren't going to be at your computer for a few days. Personally, I haven't used the services like <a href="http://www.socialoomph.com/" target="_blank">Tweetlater (Socialoomph) </a> too much, but they do have their benefits. Being able to schedule tweets gives you the freedom to have a holiday and still maintain a twitter presence. One word of warning would be, to make sure that you follow up all those who reply to your posts upon your return. When scheduling tweets its best to pay attention to the time that the tweet gets posted. Posting at 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am etc will look very automated or at least more automated than 1:12am, 2:08am, 3:28am, 4:21 etc...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxHw98YQLe409cs30tkilDV4F43rxCRSQXIzMSEK8FhA02Hxo8jJNe_bBP7l3Dwv4SVk_sLoRfqWMi8TSfMgArvYKFuwSAa3mWGUyTq9GVSj5_UN9Wqilr5oHmkOhAVjtHBIwCNgWISX9/s1600/urlShorteners.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 96px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxHw98YQLe409cs30tkilDV4F43rxCRSQXIzMSEK8FhA02Hxo8jJNe_bBP7l3Dwv4SVk_sLoRfqWMi8TSfMgArvYKFuwSAa3mWGUyTq9GVSj5_UN9Wqilr5oHmkOhAVjtHBIwCNgWISX9/s200/urlShorteners.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456718046215459890" border="0"></a><font style="font-weight: bold;">3) Link Shorteners and RT Space</font><br />It's time to make some new friends with <a href="http://bit.ly/" target="_blank">bit.ly</a>, <a href="http://ow.ly/" target="_blank">ow.ly</a> and <a href="http://su.pr/">su.pr</a> - some link shortening services which are free and powerful. In twitter you have 140 characters to get your information across or make a link as juicy as possible for someone to click on. If your tweet contains nothing but a long link then you are wasting a lot of valuable characters. My link shortener of choice is bit.ly which I use for every link I put up. Most of these services allow you to also customise the shortened link which can make it easy for you to remember. This helps the link look better and increases the "trust" that someone will have in clicking on the link. An example of this is a bit.ly link I created for LadyUmbrella which is <a href = "http://bit.ly/lusite" target = "_blank">http://bit.ly/lusite</a> - LU for LadyUmbrella and site because it's our website - it is easy for us to remember and if people look at it they could perhaps decipher and trust the link a bit more (or at least we hope so).<br /><br />As mentioned, you are given a limit of 140 characters to make people want to click on a link and you probably would like a few people to retweet your stuff. As a general rule I try to leave about 20 characters free in each tweet I'd like to get retweeted. Why not retweet this blog with the handy retweet button at the top? go on, do it :) <br /><br />The reason for this is when people retweet the format is RT @username "tweet message goes here". You need to factor in that people who retweet are going to need space to include your username, the @ symbol, 2 spaces and "RT". Some people (angels, saints and heroes - truly great people) will actually edit your tweet so that they can retweet it but these people are in short supply - make it easy for people to retweet your stuff. <br /><br />[HOT TIP] The recent addition of the retweet button means twitter has made it easier to retweet long and cumbersome tweets but I believe there is still more value in the old school RTs when someone takes the time to copy and paste your tweet and maybe add their 2 cents to it..Also, it is very hard to see who has retweeted your tweet via the retweet button as you don't receive it in your @mentions. Instead, tweets which have been retweeted using the twitter function get squirreled away in the retweets section (on the right hand side beneath favourites) in the third tab "Your Tweets Retweeted" - make sure to check this frequently so you can give kudos and thanks tho whoever has retweeted you tweets..<br /><br /><font style="font-weight: bold;">4) The 90/10 Rule</font><br />It's counter intuitive, it'll make you scratch your head and for those who have a financial manager breathing down your neck harping on about ROI (return on investment) and targets the 90/10 rule will really blow their spread sheet savvy minds. I believe to be successful on twitter you have to give a lot more than you get. The 90/10 rule basically says that 10% of the time you can pump out a "hey, check out our products" tweet but the other 90% of the time you should be, well, human...Talk to people, interact with people, forge relationships, RT your competitors (it'll blow their mind as well and they might just RT you in the future as well - their followers are also your target market), RT crazy news or gossip that your followers might like - basically anything but a tweet about you or your products..At first, no doubt, it feels wrong, almost dirty, but it is important as I think it in someway gives you more street cred which is what is needed on all social media sites..<br /><br />The 90/10 rule is an easy enough rule to follow (90% of the time you tweet about things not related to you or your busines, 10% you do) but it is a very hard one to implement. It can seem nonsensical to retweet and promote your competitors but consider each non promo retweet a good deed done for the day..The 90/10 rule is without a doubt one of the most important twitter tips of the lot..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92Y4dmsiRom_PQS1VixEgnesE9M33lLAhloiPkUF00Gsy2Sp-fJ9WiiAo_LbZcuAMfX5ioNm-JTTWCKUjSCHFH1zr2biFYKHLeeRH612rb0hOOlHO0QRaAWkHNxocH0hZ5d_pf7TJ_tZm/s1600/chuck-norris-twitter.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92Y4dmsiRom_PQS1VixEgnesE9M33lLAhloiPkUF00Gsy2Sp-fJ9WiiAo_LbZcuAMfX5ioNm-JTTWCKUjSCHFH1zr2biFYKHLeeRH612rb0hOOlHO0QRaAWkHNxocH0hZ5d_pf7TJ_tZm/s200/chuck-norris-twitter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456719039743113666" border="0"></a>And there it is, 4 Ninja tips for Twitter without a Chuck Norris reference (until now...How do you know Chuck Norris is not on Twitter? - the whale fails, it wouldn't fail if Chuck was on Twitter! [P.S. made up on the spot, sorry]) that you can start to apply today to improve your twitter experience and efficiency.<br /><br />So, how many lists are you on? - want to be on one more? Leave me a comment with your twitter name and I'll list you... Any top twitter tips you'd like to add?<br /><br />And, any other Chuck Norris and Twitter jokes? Has to be some good ones out there, lets hear them...<br /><br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-43231507397033818852010-03-22T03:13:00.006+00:002010-04-14T18:27:09.882+01:006 Onsite SEO Tips You Can Do Today To Improve Rank!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoI9TYk-ucpDd7EQRr8_o8EeAGoNjTDM2CjSy7BBgx_S24IwC9XxXBhwL2gnwhx36BFqQYQEmlVx4MrfqsHk92VaHTbnWHtlP0WxEJ6zO_HRaEB3X0GQdpIOXtex-GONQw_lZRmGbwDLE/s1600-h/SEO+Cartoon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoI9TYk-ucpDd7EQRr8_o8EeAGoNjTDM2CjSy7BBgx_S24IwC9XxXBhwL2gnwhx36BFqQYQEmlVx4MrfqsHk92VaHTbnWHtlP0WxEJ6zO_HRaEB3X0GQdpIOXtex-GONQw_lZRmGbwDLE/s200/SEO+Cartoon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451291176336037586" /></a>Sorry for such an intensely long gap between posts, the reason why will be relealed later..This post will briefly touch on <span style="font-weight:bold;">6 onsite SEO tips</span> you can use on your website right now to improve and help with your ranking in the search engines. Rather than being long and rambling the points have been kept as concise as possible to encourage further "googling" and and encourage some questions out of you..a lot of onsite SEO is mindset I believe and by thinking about what search engines want the entire process becomes easier to understand..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1)</span> Ensure there is a well written, non-duplicated attractive, title and description tags on every page which contain some of your keywords. Google does NOT like duplicate titles. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2)</span> Use of h1 tags - only once per page and for key keywords. Google does not like more than one h1 tag. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3)</span> Avoid use of "click here" or "more info" type of links as they don't give the search engines much information. Always use alt/title tags when linking and try link via a keyword.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4)</span> Make sure that you have a robots.txt file - this way will ensure all pages get indexed and invites the spiders in to come crawling<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5)</span> Check that important images are labeled properly with the alt tag and name them according to your keywords. Why not put the images in a folder so that the img src looks like keyword/keyword - keep the search engines happy.<br /><br />6) Use the footer on all pages to link your pages via keywords. It keeps users as it makes navigation easy and makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site as well as giving the search engines useful information about pages.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">BONUS</span><br />Not really a SEO but will help get the onsite to sprawl to the offsite..prominently place your social media links so that people can fan/follow etc..just like you can fan and follow LadyUmbrella <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "ladies t-shirts" title = "ladies t-shirts">ladies t-shirts</a> (the business I launched around the time this blog stopped posting regularly, will try get back in the groove now) on <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella" alt = "LadyUmbrella on Facebook" title = "LadyUmbrella on Facebook" target = "_blank">facebook</a> and <a href = "http://www.twitter.com/ladyumbrellaltd" alt = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter" title = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter" target = "_blank"> Twitter</a>..<br /><br />And there you have it, 6 hangers in the SEO cupboard that we'll dress up with more in depth SEO info in the coming weeks..but, for now, lets see some comments with any questions you may have and any of your top SEO tips - I want to learn too.. ole..<br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-31878107074995731242010-01-27T01:21:00.018+00:002010-01-27T03:04:19.722+00:00IWYS Interview - A one on one with Jason Sadler<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEQcKHlB522Ik7u_hSZ0pDyRJe6bG23vNu9a36m9Fi0WUaga8PrCBrhVtgv-WeoxsRH3ZSTKC0fxPnaUhyphenhyphenf8IlYdHoIfW_MXwwHOSNkkhSfxZF8Cx6IkvZiMHpZgMmYKC92vZHQrBehA/s1600-h/iwearyourshirt.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEQcKHlB522Ik7u_hSZ0pDyRJe6bG23vNu9a36m9Fi0WUaga8PrCBrhVtgv-WeoxsRH3ZSTKC0fxPnaUhyphenhyphenf8IlYdHoIfW_MXwwHOSNkkhSfxZF8Cx6IkvZiMHpZgMmYKC92vZHQrBehA/s320/iwearyourshirt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431237393298997634" /></a>Hello once again avid readers, t-shirt lovers, marketing and branding strategists and hapless browsers from all around the world. I'll skip the apologies for the chasm of time that has passed since the last blog and instead turn it to appreciation and thanks for Jason Sadler, the mastermind behind the marking tsunami that is <a href = "http://www.iwearyourshirt.com" target = "_blank" alt = "I wear your shirt" title = "I wear your shirt">iwearyourshirt.com</a> who was kind enough to take some time out of his jam packed days to answer a few questions for me. From my work with LadyUmbrella <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" title = "ladies t-shirts, quirky t-shirts" alt = "ladies t-shirts, womens fashion">ladies t-shirts</a> I came across Jason and by this stage I'm sure most of you reading this right now also have. So, lets cut the chit chat and get down to the good good, lets peer insides Jason's marketing and branding brain a bit and get to know the him a bit better...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy61w5a6ZIP7a0-uLmCETbGNxW72vkAdr-cmr82aa8qgJntOzNTihDjCiIfFVg8wVq9SqJbvr0B5dPfMBRom4ekdgjXnevhZG6pwg8bolzw7JWMSkNXJdclvg6ebrfOzem0Wz2twn1Jg/s1600-h/iwearyourshirt+logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvy61w5a6ZIP7a0-uLmCETbGNxW72vkAdr-cmr82aa8qgJntOzNTihDjCiIfFVg8wVq9SqJbvr0B5dPfMBRom4ekdgjXnevhZG6pwg8bolzw7JWMSkNXJdclvg6ebrfOzem0Wz2twn1Jg/s320/iwearyourshirt+logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431237551043469554" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Jason, firstly let me just say thanks a million for agreeing to be interviewed by me - from seeing all your <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/JasonSadler" target = "_blank">facebooking</a>, <a href = "http://www.twitter.com/iwearyourshirt" target = "_blank">tweeting</a>, <a href = "http://www.youtube.com/iwearyourshirt" target = "_blank">youtubing</a> and <a href = "http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwearyourshirt/" target = "_blank">flickring</a> I know you're insanely busy so thank you..So, lets get things started - for those who haven't heard of you or the advertising tsunami that is iwearyourshirt.com would you care to enlighten us?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> iwearyourshirt.com was 1 guy in 2009 who got paid to wear t-shirts and advertise those companies through social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Ustream.tv, Flickr and the iwearyourshirt.com of course). People bought days throughout the year at face value, starting on January 1 for $1 and increasing $1 per day until December 31 at $365. I sold out the entire 2009 calendar on August 10 and had plans in place to add a 2nd person wearing shirts in 2010 and double the price of the calendar. As of this interview there are only 74 days left for sale! <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. due to circumstances beyond our control there has been quite a delay since conducting this interview with Jason and its publication - there are now only 58 days left. We chastise ourselves daily for the delay, apologies]</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1s18pqAvXmtt3S3YusROXEiG20gk0o3bDpJmoxF-ceiyJcm_hmoXGcu4hUb-jhuKKBHufUXW92BALZ53SLEU7_r60lUsKi_BCNEJr9qdxFr1TPJuDXuryG4nL8wxwSuiY9hzdtpJKsM/s1600-h/zoolander.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1s18pqAvXmtt3S3YusROXEiG20gk0o3bDpJmoxF-ceiyJcm_hmoXGcu4hUb-jhuKKBHufUXW92BALZ53SLEU7_r60lUsKi_BCNEJr9qdxFr1TPJuDXuryG4nL8wxwSuiY9hzdtpJKsM/s320/zoolander.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431238126197332082" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> So, would you consider yourself a model or an animate advertisement? And, do you enjoy your job? From the outside looking in it looks all rosey and awesome but you must have some serious deadlines to meet. How you do stay focused and organized with so many things going on? At iwearyourshirt.com are there any other staff or are you flying solo?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> I think I'm an advertiser who's directly reaching a focused audience. I definitely enjoy what I do because at the end of the day it boils down to being myself, being social and wearing a t-shirt. It's been a crazy year and a ton of fun. I continue to meet new people/companies on a daily basis and new friends/followers. Staying focused comes with having a very supportive family and audience. Everyone keeps me in check but also helps me get creative when I need it. It was just me in 2009 and next year my buddy Evan White will be wearing shirts with me everyday from Los Angeles, California. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. ..and who hasn't heard of <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/YourFriendEvan" target = "_blank">Evan</a> by now??]</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXK-ZhBaI1uGn5CaB7z8d7yDe1zAiC9dSV714vJ4BR2lPBUD_UB60SqpaFUg6DF8yKaSb6O31pz36eDDTi7eLOFgIQGbc9bp2mr96XRxdQr5PdXDGxLGyEN854m3UIZCTnPioMIwCbFs/s1600-h/abc-logo-90x100.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 90px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXK-ZhBaI1uGn5CaB7z8d7yDe1zAiC9dSV714vJ4BR2lPBUD_UB60SqpaFUg6DF8yKaSb6O31pz36eDDTi7eLOFgIQGbc9bp2mr96XRxdQr5PdXDGxLGyEN854m3UIZCTnPioMIwCbFs/s320/abc-logo-277x300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431239029786913218" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> From one of your tweets I saw that the good folks at ABC were talking about you and then checked your <a href = "http://iwearyourshirt.com/press" target = "_blank">press page</a> - over 60 listings ranging from the LA Times and NY Times to Yahoo! Japan and AOL.com - how did you achieve that? And which bit of publicity/press has been the most beneficial to you thus far? Any top tips on creating good press releases? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason - </span>Press Releases are a waste of time. I've never created one and have tried to advise people against doing it. You build press for your company by creating interesting marketing campaigns and getting people involved with your brand. If you are working hard enough and smart enough, the press will come. I've been incredibly lucky to have the NY Times and The Guardian write about me very early on in the project. That initial press helped get people on board, but it was my continued effort and participation from my audience that landed the Reuters feature that turned into a story on the homepage of Yahoo.com & AOL.com and eventually a few major network evening news spots. I am very grateful for all of that press, but word of mouth continues to be the best sales force for iwearyourshirt.com. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - Note to self, scrap the press release plan]</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7Z4LLebiDdAMYiIKU9YQU9xspW-DONXZZsWpkcdaZCuRR0balHUzw610dhBnYHXaq9d9atkV84q6tIkQwGFoeykgT-ZeA8J3C2ydJ4FzWpsgVYJNxdxcIc7qIOnTB6kMeZ-FEA9kICk/s1600-h/party+time+in+jamaica.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7Z4LLebiDdAMYiIKU9YQU9xspW-DONXZZsWpkcdaZCuRR0balHUzw610dhBnYHXaq9d9atkV84q6tIkQwGFoeykgT-ZeA8J3C2ydJ4FzWpsgVYJNxdxcIc7qIOnTB6kMeZ-FEA9kICk/s320/party+time+in+jamaica.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431239618138829586" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> You were recently in Jamaica which must be a nice perk of the job I'm sure. You engage in any water sports or when you're not wearing someones shirt what do you like to do to unwind? [Ed. - at time of interview it was recent, again apologies]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> Yeah it was an awesome opportunity to go on the 5-day cruise to the Caribbean courtesy of http://www.MSCCruisesUSA.com. I do enjoy traveling, especially when it's to a tropical place. And to unwind I spend time in the gym, I play tennis and basketball and live at the beach. It's refreshing to step away from the Internet for an hour or two each today, especially with the amount of hours I am on my iPhone, laptop and on camera. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> You're a marketing major - was it from your studies that you got the idea for iwearyourshirt.com or where did it come from? Or did you just see an opportunity and go for it? Most, if not all, of your job entails social media and being online - have you always had an affinity for computers?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQTr838PwM_TY53CaPgfygDbIf-RO1-8li2Cf56sZa8QIDmtkDPFIg2NXRkRctg__YK6ZRVarN5LG2864s8M5QPgM87riR2jc6dOk6sB4uS13LRsdhIy5zb2Lzvzjd1qKV1Fp5kfh_b0/s1600-h/duck.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQTr838PwM_TY53CaPgfygDbIf-RO1-8li2Cf56sZa8QIDmtkDPFIg2NXRkRctg__YK6ZRVarN5LG2864s8M5QPgM87riR2jc6dOk6sB4uS13LRsdhIy5zb2Lzvzjd1qKV1Fp5kfh_b0/s320/duck.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431240257181033330" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> Actually I was a Graphic Design major <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - very hard to get good research staff these days]</span>. From an early age I picked up design and constantly tried to teach myself new things and experiment with new technologies. College for me wasn't a learning experience in the sense of skill set, but more networking and learning how to interact with people. For as long as I can remember I've believed in the "it's all who you know, not what you know". It's interesting though, when the idea of iwearyourshirt.com came about I only had a couple hundred friends on Facebook, 0 followers on Twitter and had NEVER made a YouTube video or done a live video. I knew that I had the personality to put myself out there and dove in head first. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - I don't know what those of you who are reading this think but I think that is quite incredible, like a digital duck to wwwater]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Once you got the idea for iwearyourshirt.com how long did it take you to get it up and running? You've been wearing t-shirts since January 1st 2009 but surely there was lots of hard work before that? What key things did you do before you launched that you look back on and "ye, I'm so happy I did that" or "that really worked out well"?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> I thought of the idea in September 2008 and bought the domain name. A website was up in mid October and the first day sold November 11. I spent a month and a half interacting with people on Twitter, Facebook and starting to put myself in the social media space. By the time January 1, 2009 rolled around I had 5 1/2 months sold and was well on my way. I think it was a combination of people I knew, a bit of luck and people thinking the idea was unique. I wouldn't change one thing because I wouldn't be in the position I am today. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - just wow, only four months to get the whole machine in gear, incredible]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> What do you attribute your success to? As we said, you operate in the social media world and you're (obligatory Gary Vee reference - you've actually met him ye?) crushing it - any tips for success in social media? And I recall a post you made on <a href = "http://www.t-shirtforums.com">t-shirtforums.com</a> and now your on ABC and CBS - what is the coolest company or brand you've represented this year or top 3? Are your starting to feel a tad famous now or get recognised in places?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vH7Vk7lxpw7uAJXXJmoLJ-x8VvgvP5g8s8AOr1Y01Y3mEhbMiAHlcVLMLWfoYPxJzjGec-HUh99JG7NSxAglljA_Fd4L97p2Nk8QEDp-vbzO5-WcJrJwcYVy16GjgteY4-nNko8JlcA/s1600-h/bill+cosby+photograph.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vH7Vk7lxpw7uAJXXJmoLJ-x8VvgvP5g8s8AOr1Y01Y3mEhbMiAHlcVLMLWfoYPxJzjGec-HUh99JG7NSxAglljA_Fd4L97p2Nk8QEDp-vbzO5-WcJrJwcYVy16GjgteY4-nNko8JlcA/s320/bill+cosby+photograph.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431240758079831522" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> My success has come mostly from hard work and being myself. I have had some good bumps through using http://HelpAReporter.com and the advertising services there <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - shall be checking them out]</span>. That is the ONLY advertising service I believe in and it has been a big help in growing iwearyourshirt.com. As far as tips go, it's incredibly important to be yourself, to talk to people in your network and to focus on something. I've actually had a couple ideas I think are great and could make more money than iwearyourshirt.com, but this is the business I am working on now, it's doing well and I want to make sure I ride this wave while it's here. It definitely helps validate the idea when companies like Zappos.com, LifeLock.com, Bill Cosby, Wired Magazine and Gary Vaynerchuk had me wear shirts for them. But I don't neglect the "little guys" either, all the other companies I've worn shirts for are great and have their own unique story to tell. And I don't feel famous at all, nor do I really want to be famous. I want to continue to provide a unique value for people through t-shirt wearing and social media and make some decent money. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - well said..so, readers, which company that Jason has worn a shirt for do you think is the coolest? any memorable iwys vids you'd like to recount, leave a comment]<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> 2010 heralds the dawn of two timezone t-shirt wearing goodness - how is that looking so far for you? Any friend called Evan you'd care to mention? And beyond 2010 what are your plans - a global t-shirt wearing empire?<br /><br />As I mentioned earlier, there are only 70+ <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - 58]</span> days left for sale in 2010. So people either REALLY love my buddy Evan or this t-shirt wearing thing has proved to work well. And I will continue to say that I think $730, the most expensive day in 2010, is a bargain for the content we are creating for a company and the size of audience that company is immediately exposed to. You couldn't get all the social media content created for the price we are asking and then who would you show it to? That's the big selling point to me. 2010 is 2 guys in shirts, 2011 will be more people in shirts and I eventually hope to get up to 50-100 people around the world wearing the same shirt in a day. Imagine 50 people all with 5,000 social media friends.... that's 250,000 people seeing your brand in 1 day. Wouldn't that be worth $1000 a day or more? <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - I think it would be worth $1000 and think you have got a fantastic marketing formula here..Hehe, I nominate myself as Mr. GMT and am sure with the way things are going come 2011 there will be lots on the more iwys crew]</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX-iJAmRf3R_WEpE2MWfq_2co2wXa01Fq9FGEp9J3hh3026IiW3YclAQ02MiOsUfOMlO2ZtSfSDkddMIQMm6MSMRsyqoqDv9bqc_m2jujUtqk_lfUgkMWd108aJF2V1-QUfyfp7cZYt4/s1600-h/wikipedia+logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX-iJAmRf3R_WEpE2MWfq_2co2wXa01Fq9FGEp9J3hh3026IiW3YclAQ02MiOsUfOMlO2ZtSfSDkddMIQMm6MSMRsyqoqDv9bqc_m2jujUtqk_lfUgkMWd108aJF2V1-QUfyfp7cZYt4/s320/wikipedia+logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431241239197961682" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Ok so, we're nearly there...but, importantly, any random Jason Sadler facts that you don't want the world to know about? And you have an <a href = "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wear_Your_Shirt" target = "_blank" alt = "I wear your shirt wiki page" title = "I wear your shirt wiki page">i wear your shirt wiki page</a> - pretty cool...did you create that yourself or you do you have a super stalker out there?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> Ha.. I have a wiki page??? I had no clue, where's the link? It's flattering when people take the time to do those things... I'm heading to Google right now. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Well, Jason, it has been a privilege, a pleasure and an honor to be able to ask you a few questions. You are somewhat a champion of the social media age and a pioneer for things to come. I wholeheartedly wish you a ton of success as you're a bonafide good guy and would like to give you this humble medium to address the masses - the stage is yours...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jason -</span> Thanks for having me and I encourage anyone to connect with me and chat with me on Facebook, Twitter or wherever else you can find me on the web. I answer every email that comes to me, as long as you aren't asking me if I want to partner with you and have you wear hats for a living.<br /><br />And I encourage you all to connect with Jason (and Evan) too. They have recently kicked off the <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/IWearYourShirt" target = "_blank" alt = "iwys facebook fanpage" title = "iwys facebook fanpage">IWearYourShirt facebook fanpage</a> so you can join them there for all sorts of fun and games. <br /><br />I'd like to briefly throw my two cents into the IWYS mix. Personally, I think it is a phenomenal idea that has been executed immaculately by possibly the only guy who could do it so well. His success has led to others to jump on a similar bandwagon but I'd be surprised if you ever get to hear of any of them. Jason has created a company with solid foundations rooted in hardwork, honesty and giving value to the customer. He excels with customer service and, unlike so many others who preach, he actually cares about his customers and is passionate about giving them a good service. The fact that he enjoys it is obvious and I can only see IWYS going from strength to strength and I wish him all the best.<br /><br />...and thats a wrap, no more gushing from me. Thanks once again to Jason and apologies for the tardiness in getting this interview up. So, readers, what do we think of IWYS? Will it be a flash in the pan or do you think, like me, that there is some longevity to the business? Have you come across any IWYS copy cats? What is your favourite IWYS clip? And the real clincher of a question, who do you prefer - Evan or Jason? (ye, I went there)..<br /><br />I look forward to your comments and will endeavour to get blogging more regularly here again. Stay happy.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-78516729649039893862009-12-17T01:10:00.019+00:002009-12-17T22:55:53.034+00:00How to market your brand - 9 marketing tips and ideas<span style="font-weight:bold;">Marketing, branding, raising brand awareness</span> - its not easy but it is essential to any new brand in any business, t-shirts or otherwise. I apologise for not posting anything in a while (I've been extra ordinarily busy with <a href = "http:www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees from Dublin Ireland" title = "quirky, cool, artistic ladies t-shirts from Dublin, Ireland" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella t-shirts</a> and haven't been able to blog here). A few weeks ago John from <a href = "http://www.jbenjaminclothing.com/" title = "J. Benjamin Clothing" alt = "J. Benjamin Clothing" target = "_blank">J. Benjamin Clothing</a> asked me about marketing and branding and the likes so here are my 9 marketing/branding tips - hope they are of some use.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm2zAYuVoCYmk04kFWdeDjDbBem6i00JSECeWpafgySvyzLBBUJUvlbjQ-VlnJa4EGTmBmrj3hcnG43007GWrvgADRmzzJP2qb3Za0DkiP8CYb4B8bpeMh9_7LKBfSV65E1N47bT24rM/s1600-h/believe.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm2zAYuVoCYmk04kFWdeDjDbBem6i00JSECeWpafgySvyzLBBUJUvlbjQ-VlnJa4EGTmBmrj3hcnG43007GWrvgADRmzzJP2qb3Za0DkiP8CYb4B8bpeMh9_7LKBfSV65E1N47bT24rM/s200/believe.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416302095928777250" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">1)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Believe In Your Brand</span></span><br />Not so much as a tip I guess but if you don't believe in it then no one else will. As a result of this all subsequent marketing or branding efforts won't be given 100% commitment as you don't believe in them - or, that's how I roll anyway..100% belief will yield 100% conviction, determination and application - all vital traits for brand marketing. It will take time and effort to build your brand, be ready to sweat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2)</span><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Consistency</span></span> <br />In everything you do try have a common trend or a link between designs. In slogans, colour choice, logos and images try make it easy for people to recognize them as coming from one source, one brand. Further to using the above consistently use them constantly...anything that you "put out there" ensure that it has something that links it back to you, be it web address, logo, slogan, image, whatever - make sure that if people see it they recognize it and importantly associate it with your brand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3)</span> <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Suspense and Intrigue</span><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MtFURdMopYczyu-zBPIdQMSzZRbDLPX9ME3i4wii84sMxRjGcgO1vjrYbB3iv3P17fbDv9AFXTFkiv51pcdO0llY-2ADpWQNKGG_5WxLrVqGRiYccw8dHMgPNgED48qDnyl-ZVvI6N8/s1600-h/wimax+google+it.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MtFURdMopYczyu-zBPIdQMSzZRbDLPX9ME3i4wii84sMxRjGcgO1vjrYbB3iv3P17fbDv9AFXTFkiv51pcdO0llY-2ADpWQNKGG_5WxLrVqGRiYccw8dHMgPNgED48qDnyl-ZVvI6N8/s200/wimax+google+it.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416302573016017938" /></a>Build up a bit of mystique or intrigue about your brand. Don't just show your cards from day one but gradually give nuggets of enticing info that arouses curiosity in whoever may view it. We, humans, are curious creatures and are generally drawn to things that we don't know about, that intrigue us, that leave us wondering a bit. For example, Smirnoff Vodka (oh, how we love it) ran a campaign for Smirnoff Mule which just featured a plush looking velvet stage curtain on billboards. WiMax also ran a suspense rousing campaign that honed it on their target market perfectly. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4)</span> <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Catchy and Memorable</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl9rOWv98o1gTcEh7iH7jL4OJdk1fj-GxUTjTZX1OdDEKMRE-fk1bOLgq63UsDtHDK7z2PHhvx8d2ziT5_tbLpkgZfKaOwomX4kOJFQzgQLffSyx5XsNkJPHFKAHacFowaRCsLmo_gdg/s1600-h/coca-cola_logo5.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl9rOWv98o1gTcEh7iH7jL4OJdk1fj-GxUTjTZX1OdDEKMRE-fk1bOLgq63UsDtHDK7z2PHhvx8d2ziT5_tbLpkgZfKaOwomX4kOJFQzgQLffSyx5XsNkJPHFKAHacFowaRCsLmo_gdg/s200/coca-cola_logo5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416303057147014530" /></a>You want to make it easy for the viewer/reader to remember your brand. Use alliteration when writing slogans etc as this rattles around in our inner ear for a bit. Think of all successful brand names/slogans, they rattle around a bit. Prime example would be Coca Cola (um, with some Smirnoff = win). Another way to make things memorable is to make them shocking, get a response from whoever views it, motivate them into looking twice, taking a gasp or ideally, compel them to view your t-shirt designs. Also, the brain has 3 main sections which and a combination of food, sex and danger seem to spark a response from each region. I strongly suggest reading this blog which talks about the 3 regions of the brain and how to influence them - <a href = "http://www.doshdosh.com/ways-to-influence-people-online" target = "_blank">11 Ways to Influence People Online and Make them Take Action</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Stickability</span></span><br />You want your brand to stick around don't you? to be able to persist? Try think big in every aspect of your branding or marketing and invest time in creating things that won't be instantly dated due to surroundings or other. Think of other avenues you can venture down in a bid to expand your brand - hats, scarves, boxer shorts? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Be Remarkable</span></span><br />As Seth Godin says be the purple cow, be a bit different, be something remarkable. Its not to dissimilar to being catchy but instead of going for the majority within a society be remarkable to a few who truly relate to your brand, get your brand and you could quite possibly be good buddies with. These people will help you find niches or possibly even create niches for you by getting all of their friends to like your brand. Brand zealots are a rare commodity and should be appreciated and thanked. Ultimately, you want to the purple cow to a few - watch this video. <br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBIVlM435Zg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBIVlM435Zg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM)</span></span><br />Word of mouth marketing is getting people talking about you. Think of what you pass on to your friends? "oh, there is a deal here" or "I got this for free from..." or "you should see this brand, so cool" and 9 times out of 10 you'll act on it, or at least consider it more because it was told to you by a friend. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqxF7_DkvSsXgO-UjWEwRbXU32GrcTe59Osn5fgMYYtzrYFyEDikQr-jOzWRG7rtP4B5JcRv4Uy76MZdrLk6wiEbTar5x1bPAZL4lGh3LjDRHQvEDuym43y7BtkQCU83d0aJYGCpOnIg/s1600-h/chit+chat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqxF7_DkvSsXgO-UjWEwRbXU32GrcTe59Osn5fgMYYtzrYFyEDikQr-jOzWRG7rtP4B5JcRv4Uy76MZdrLk6wiEbTar5x1bPAZL4lGh3LjDRHQvEDuym43y7BtkQCU83d0aJYGCpOnIg/s200/chit+chat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416303298433830066" /></a>Some stat I heard stated that there is an 89% conversion rate on word of mouth market versus 12% on standard marketing. So, use competitions and freebies to stimulate some chit chat amongst friends. Another key element of WOMM is managing customer expectations. Customers inherently have an expectation of what they are going to get based on price, what you've said and what they've heard from friends. If you meet their expectations you get a pass grade and nothing really happy. If you fall below what they expect then you will have more than likely lost a customer. If however you exceed their expectations they will talk about you, they'll be happy with the product they have received from you and will be compelled to talk about you. How do you try to exceed your customers expectations? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Persistence</span> </span><br />Marketing and forming your brands identity and persona will take time. There is no overnight solution (not that I have discovered anyway although I'd love to find one) for building your brands reputation so be persistent. Never miss an opportunity to market your brand but don't overkill it. It goes back to my very first point really, you have to keep applying yourself and promoting and pushing your brand - if you don't do it no one else will..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9)</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Responsive</span></span><br />Ideally what you want is to get the WOMM machine revved up and in high gear. You then have to be responsive to what gets said. How can you use what is said to further your marketing campaign or branding efforts? What opportunities are to be had by getting in touch with people who mention your brand? What if someone says a negative thing about your brand? Be responsive and thank those who like your brand and give them something to talk about. When receiving negative comments deal with them quickly and in a nice manner - turn the negative into a positive. <br /><br />And so, there it is, 9 marketing tips and ideas. I'm not a guru by any stretch of the imagination but the above are just some of the things I am aware of and try practice myself. Your thoughts on the above, what your marketing efforts consist of, or any tips/ideas/suggestions are warmly welcomed - knowledge is no burden.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-90300332776956249742009-12-11T17:47:00.019+00:002009-12-11T21:43:28.255+00:00GritFX Interview - A one on one with Amanda Vare<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zBFmr3I_ulI86rxWZzaSS_ovEIvOHr9z5yRoGF9UzOW-dOtr9XhOd4f8luTi2EkEzObpDnT1SZPYtYTE4hyphenhyphen9nBIPih-ZlSnxx_KN9HMnHCHNoxYaASfPZCtROrlk89LONhGoKHPdi5k/s1600-h/gritg_contlogo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zBFmr3I_ulI86rxWZzaSS_ovEIvOHr9z5yRoGF9UzOW-dOtr9XhOd4f8luTi2EkEzObpDnT1SZPYtYTE4hyphenhyphen9nBIPih-ZlSnxx_KN9HMnHCHNoxYaASfPZCtROrlk89LONhGoKHPdi5k/s320/gritg_contlogo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414040344256943890" /></a>I'm way down under, putting a shrimp on the Bar-b, shouting at the flaming mongrels, drinking Fosters and thinking like an Australian for the <a href = "http://www.gritfx.com" target = "_blank" alt = "GritFX T-Shirts - Movie, TV, Pop Culture, Humorous and Weird Tee Designs" title = "GritFX T-Shirts - Movie, TV, Pop Culture, Humorous and Weird Tee Designs">GritFX T-Shirts</a> interview with the awesome Amanda a.k.a Manz. Despite the mind boggling time difference (and weather difference) the power of the web has enabled me to delve deeper into the t-shirt and artistic world of GritFX, a truly great company based in Australia. Lets get it on...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span> So, Manz, good'ay mate (and that'll be the last of the Oz cliches I hope),many thanks for the interview. How is all in Oz today? - you're almost in the middle of summer now ye? Surfing, ice creams and t-shirts? what is your favorite ice cream?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>Summer is upon us now (came a little early this year with some stinking hot days already). I can tell you that I don’t surf (believe it or not, not all Aussies do – I tried once but didn’t get past the breakers), but I do eat ice-cream. In summer, nothing beats a “Splice”. I’m not sure if they are only found here in Australia. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJgOrnxqfUpIkCSOZm9bCJfEOXrXrFSMZ0z6p-Akn5je7XQztobKqm2cdmPcxIDaszS4OFLpCeX0-GVjK63xStMfVQO2CdBc3KCt_0Z2MbL993CZsTw7qh2nOz1icVOmRGTgfOfv26s8/s1600-h/Sts-Splice-125x110_tcm72-58736.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 125px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJgOrnxqfUpIkCSOZm9bCJfEOXrXrFSMZ0z6p-Akn5je7XQztobKqm2cdmPcxIDaszS4OFLpCeX0-GVjK63xStMfVQO2CdBc3KCt_0Z2MbL993CZsTw7qh2nOz1icVOmRGTgfOfv26s8/s200/Sts-Splice-125x110_tcm72-58736.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414040866512447362" /></a>It has lemon/lime flavoured ice<br />around a sweet, coconutty ice-cream centre. It’s been my fave since I was<br />a kid. At other times, it’s just vanilla with chocolate topping. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - Never heard of them but Google has, anyone else hear of them?]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Alrightly, lets get down to it. GritFX seems to be an extremely passionate ensemble of characters with a love for Lego who really want to give something to the "independent" community at large. What is your company mission or goal? Whilst you do sell lots of cool t-shirts (and we'll get to them later) you seem to have many facets to GritFX - care to discuss?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>Well, honestly, like any business, the goal is to make money. We will hopefully get to the stage where we can print our own t-shirts, but for now, POD suppliers are brilliant. As far as the other facets to GritFX – we are basically a group of friends and extended friends (some of us have known each other since high school) who work in artistic fields (graphic design, copywriting etc) but didn’t have an outlet for certain things we wished to pursue. We thought it would be more beneficial and stronger to combine everything we do into one entity. GritFX, whilst being a business, is also an avenue to share the things we all are interested in, which obviously also influences our t-shirt designs. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDXoYPUtthcjsGUMqkNZJgYg-z-s7tUd5gHgR_SfP2Kpv0xll2uhPOJ2xZ1HJw2ocUDDQcz6n4JtnRzsCC9lW5kYv7ahgyXEZ7SU6uAJJ2BbZTQsQyQkvZtPsoUyTKkPq13viCtJ-EpE/s1600-h/spic_manz.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 141px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDXoYPUtthcjsGUMqkNZJgYg-z-s7tUd5gHgR_SfP2Kpv0xll2uhPOJ2xZ1HJw2ocUDDQcz6n4JtnRzsCC9lW5kYv7ahgyXEZ7SU6uAJJ2BbZTQsQyQkvZtPsoUyTKkPq13viCtJ-EpE/s320/spic_manz.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414043757658618610" /></a>There is a lot of competition in the t-shirt industry, and also in artistic fields. So many wonderful artists, musicians, writers, etcetera, never gain the recognition they deserve. All of us at GritFX have a deep respect for artists, and that’s one of the reasons I have decided to show support to other t-shirt designers & online shopkeepers. The<a href = "http://www.gritfx.com/g_friends_sks.html" target = "_blank"> Support Shopkeepers</a> page is completely unbiased and boils down to supporting groups or individual designers/artists rather than the “man” and the “machine”. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - I strongly suggest contacting them, they are supporting my efforts with <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" title = "ladies fashion tees from Ireland" alt = "quirky ladies t-shirts from Ireland" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella t-shirts</a>, much appreciated guys]</span> As far as the Lego goes, that’s Will’s domain. He created the little character pics we use on the website – when he sent them to us, we all thought they were far too cute to discard.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span>One of the GritFX team, a certain Will Thame, has some serious Lego and video skills..how long has he had a love affair with Lego to be able to able to create the movies that he does? How long does it take him to make one like below and have you ever seen him in action?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span> Will (also known as Wadrick Jones) has been watching movies incessantly since he was ten years old. That’s twenty-odd years of celluloid infusion. He reckons that if he didn’t know how to make a movie by now, after watching so many, that would be pretty sad. But I think he is just being modest when he says that. I can say that he’s his own worst critic. To call him pedantic would be an understatement.<br /><br />He dropped out of film school years ago after about a month because of “all the damn pretentious twats!” He works on the animations in his spare time – the two parts of The Rookie took him about six months, but by his own admission, there were stretches of time where he didn’t work on the film at all. He loaded the first part of The Rookie and told us the second part would be ready within two weeks. It wasn’t until a few months later did we finally see it.<br /><br />I have never seen him in action (Dave has), but I do know he uses an old Video8 tape video camera to film. And he edits on iMovie, which is rather impressive considering the programs’ limitations <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - from my limited experience with iMovie I concur, extremely impressive]</span>. Will is always bemoaning the fact that iMovie will only allow him 10 frames per second. He says that Lego is the easiest toy to animate, but his love affair with Lego goes back to childhood. Apparently, the new film he is working on now (“Kingdom of Scum”) features some of the Castle Lego he had when he was a kid. We never get any sneak previews of his work though. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - Check out part 1 of the Rookie below and find out more about Will Thame at <a href = "http://www.gritfx.com/g_house.html" target = "_blank">The GritHouse</a>]</span><br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l6VZgzbkkrs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l6VZgzbkkrs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFC4Zp5sTHC8FMVSXDt-fRvvFu3oH8vEaUowzje6lNN9eodzHf5_o4bZ0JLJdK2Yed93btlKSAcLMAhkRXSnvwb73ntPys73gzeSWv1-doUFiDZEvZHDKK8kGPABZEqcTSo1Lp5WMTkYM/s1600-h/willWorkForPeanuts.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 184px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFC4Zp5sTHC8FMVSXDt-fRvvFu3oH8vEaUowzje6lNN9eodzHf5_o4bZ0JLJdK2Yed93btlKSAcLMAhkRXSnvwb73ntPys73gzeSWv1-doUFiDZEvZHDKK8kGPABZEqcTSo1Lp5WMTkYM/s320/willWorkForPeanuts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414046053110987010" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> So lets get onto <span style="font-weight:bold;">t-shirts</span>. I was perusing your impressive catalog and particularly liked the <a href = "http://www.zazzle.com/peanuts_mens_ringer_grey_blk_tshirt-235065559886785875" target = "_blank">"I'll work for peanuts"</a> tee (maybe its because I can relate to it) - that design happen to be done by you as I know there are a few designers at GritFX? who is the most prolific designer you have and which is your favorite design? Any clear top seller? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>Thanks for the kind words. The “Peanuts” design is one of mine. Basically, Dave and myself are the main designers – most of the black and white graphic works (famous faces etc) are the work of Max. The ideas however, come from everyone. Will has a background in graphics too, and has worked on a few designs (but he, as he’d tell you himself, is rather lazy). So I guess Dave and I are the most prolific. That’s really our area I suppose (as well as, in my case, marketing). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV65Ph8j9IBaD7oKbi0DU9VRrzVDt5o7vC0bw3iqAjWMB2ffwmPVzrpypYpceXzrGQC0e8eV0F-jVHN1V-FBwFAWRDYDS47vq3mb8fiVEiiob6f_WgBOu1x-Y9yf3e6DP2_RlI1Vr86qk/s1600-h/cs_waterfight.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 184px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV65Ph8j9IBaD7oKbi0DU9VRrzVDt5o7vC0bw3iqAjWMB2ffwmPVzrpypYpceXzrGQC0e8eV0F-jVHN1V-FBwFAWRDYDS47vq3mb8fiVEiiob6f_WgBOu1x-Y9yf3e6DP2_RlI1Vr86qk/s320/cs_waterfight.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414046853108188274" /></a>My favourite design from all our stores constantly changes! Right now, it would definitely be <a href = "http://www.gritfx.com/cultureshock/des_waterfight.html" target = "_blank">World Water Fight Champion</a> <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - That is a pretty cool tee, no doubt about that]</span>. That’s one of Dave’s. With summer upon us in Australia, that design makes me nostalgic for my teenage days. As far as best sellers go, the clear winner at the moment is <a href = "http://www.gritfx.com/popcornclassics/des_winchester.html" target = "_blank">“We’re Going To The Winchester”</a> from our Popcorn Classics range.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span>One thing I really like about your store is that most of the t-shirts have cool, amusing, anecdotal type stories about them so, what comes first - the design or the story or do they both evolve together? And what do you think is the benefit of writing stories about tees? <span style="font-style:italic;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>The designs always come first. The stories are secondary and are just a fun thing for our writers to do. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYPGvui3b7qiC3NLCkziqmo8mCZtOFio9CkgSN9C9a9RQKQhF5CObk0V-xPs8uvWI0FPP4piOOU3jhPBSrRMJdrXbaJm56A5SbMZg9kiLDMJqf7JZhLB410nfGt0PBbe-sRQYUP-SyLU/s1600-h/design_winchester.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYPGvui3b7qiC3NLCkziqmo8mCZtOFio9CkgSN9C9a9RQKQhF5CObk0V-xPs8uvWI0FPP4piOOU3jhPBSrRMJdrXbaJm56A5SbMZg9kiLDMJqf7JZhLB410nfGt0PBbe-sRQYUP-SyLU/s320/design_winchester.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414051089649216546" /></a>Honestly, there is probably no benefit that we can see, other than the fact that visitors to our store may be amused by the story that goes with the design. And if a smile is put on a face, that can’t be a bad thing. Sometimes it is just a case of “this design needs some kind of explanation”. And I suppose that because GritFX includes other areas of interest aside from our commercial enterprise, it is just an extension of those other elements (or, in other words, just another biased way of displaying the work of our writers). [Ed. - for the benefit of my beloved readers out there, here is the tale from the tee for "I'll Work for Peanuts" - That’s correct. I will work for peanuts. I’ll also take other food as payment for any services rendered. But I do prefer the peanuts. You don’t even have to remove the shell for me. I like the shell. I’ll eat the shell too. Scoop up any crumbs. I won’t leave a mess. Please. I need peanuts. Give me something to do and all I’ll ask in return is for some peanuts….and somebody to love me.]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span> You also do custom work and orders at GritFX. How is that side of the business working out? One might imagine the customer service side of things might be a bit tougher as customers have more scope to be "unhappy" - any hair raising customer situations to tell us about? or, any top tips in how to deal with customers complaints with aplomb?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span> Dave and I have run a small graphic design business for a number of years and have plenty experience in dealing with “unhappy” clients and those who seem to be difficult for the hell of it. But it is always important, when dealing with clients who have asked you to create a design, to not be too precious with your artwork. Sometimes a client will request something that doesn’t fit into your own artistic aesthetic. But if it is what the client wants, that’s what they have to get, and you have to live with it. Alternatively, there is always the old-fashioned method of just telling clients to go f#@k themselves. [Ed. - ole, throw some fingers in there for good measure too I say..]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span> Since you've been in the "tee game" for a while any top tips for new companies? What are your views on the social media, facebook, twitter revolution - a fan? Noticed any impact on your business since using social media?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span> Persistence is key and a tip would be to allow for change and growth and to not be frightened of re-evaluating designs. As your brand evolves, your work may also. Keeping quality standards high is important. There are graphic design projects that I was once proud of, yet would never consider for inclusion in a portfolio today. Apply that reasoning to your online store. Even if you have a distinct brand look, some concepts may become stale and introducing new work keeps your online store fresh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPK3D3iR-Uq50CWJuHE534DKjWkQgSuPAnRkaPzAaj6A9FTgWz4NxDu38usuqbZiRW5ecxJSEZwBNqAetq7eMnydc5S5a1RwqW2XMTLZ_dmmT2fBmbQQcZMOKfjM1JtjMSpyT3a8khQk/s1600-h/Beach-opt.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 261px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPK3D3iR-Uq50CWJuHE534DKjWkQgSuPAnRkaPzAaj6A9FTgWz4NxDu38usuqbZiRW5ecxJSEZwBNqAetq7eMnydc5S5a1RwqW2XMTLZ_dmmT2fBmbQQcZMOKfjM1JtjMSpyT3a8khQk/s320/Beach-opt.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414051405994220354" /></a>As for social media, as a group of gen-Xers who grew up on stable diets of cinema visits, playing cricket in the streets, and wasting days away at the beach while we waited for our photos to be developed – taking the plunge into social media wasn’t all that natural. Around 6 months after launching our t-shirt brand, we instinctively set up a <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000527625865#/gritfx?ref=ts" target = "_blank" alt = "GritFX Facebook Fanpage" title = "GritFX Facebook Fanpage">Facebook page</a>. It’s there for fans to join, ask questions and comment should they feel like it. It’s important to us to have this option for fans to interact with us - which social media such as Facebook provides - but we don’t actively promote it and ask people to join. <a href = "http://twitter.com/gritfx" alt = "GritFX on twitter" title = "GritFX on twitter" target = "_blank">Twitter</a> on the other hand has become a big contributor to the referred traffic to our website. It took a lot of convincing for me to create an account, and it was only recently that I changed the username to GritFX. I think women can be too self-conscious at times, and dwell on what others may think - which may hamper the optimum use of social media. Being perceived as a “spammer” was and continues to be an issue for me. Therefore, I’ve been working on getting in touch with my “inner male” and I’m now working at convincing Max to help tweet. If you can use 150 characters to entice someone to click on a link, then Twitter is an amazing FREE marketing tool.<span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - I agree, Twitter is incredibly powerful and every member of every t-shirt company should be on it and active.]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> From a previous competition you guys ran I think it could be fair to say that you like Bill Hicks - or, maybe just a little..Who would your favorite comedian be? And, what about your competitions - how are they working out for you? Any tips on running successful ones? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPJCPG6s54k0BLOm-jBVJx1zmb7zEo4E3pCYEbY2XjP0ckfwhNh5cbcegCYCZbFPW2_9-c90CB_fNvEIL5QwdL19Y5aq2yAmmagC9zYIBP9UuUMly0F5izpcNsHhSoK0xP5tvAVSGlt8/s1600-h/billhicks.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPJCPG6s54k0BLOm-jBVJx1zmb7zEo4E3pCYEbY2XjP0ckfwhNh5cbcegCYCZbFPW2_9-c90CB_fNvEIL5QwdL19Y5aq2yAmmagC9zYIBP9UuUMly0F5izpcNsHhSoK0xP5tvAVSGlt8/s320/billhicks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414052238472825666" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>Bill was a legend – ahead of his time. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - I agree, Bill is a legend, any other Hicks fans out there?]</span> Decoy summed it up beautifully in his article for our Magazine. Personally, I’m not really a huge fan of comedians. There are a few that I do like – Richard Pryor comes to mind, recently Jon Lajois and I do enjoy Saturday Night Live from time to time. The guys (Decoy, Max, Will etc) tend to be more interested in comics with something of import to say – Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and the like. Here in Australia, in my opinion, our comic talent is pretty thin (regardless of what some may say) and perhaps that’s the reason I don’t get into more comedians.<br /><br />Our competition questions will always relate to something that we are either interested in (music, movies, pop culture etc) or something that has been included on our site. In the case of our last comp and the question about Bill Hicks, it was on the back of Decoy’s <a href = "http://magazine.gritfx.com/bill-hicks-1997/" target = "_blank">review of Hicks’ Rant In E Minor</a>, which was very well received by readers. That competition was pretty successful. We plan to make them a regular thing (we have another comp running at the moment) and the idea is always to make it as easy as possible for people to enter. We found in previous comps that people were less likely to enter if the entry process itself was complicated. That’s why we have set up an online form that makes it all the more easy. It’s obviously a great promotional tool, and I do recommend running competitions simply because of that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob -</span> Music is also a part of the GritFX DNA - any awesome bands from Oz that you've worked with that we should know about? And what about the music that motivates Manz? what melodies make you muse these days?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span> I once worked with the SBS Television Youth Orchestra who were great and up for a fresh, young design. But we haven’t worked with any bands of note. Music, however, is essential to any productive day in the ‘office’. There are a number of great bands in this country (along with a fair serving of shite bands) – Dirty Three, Magic Dirt, The Necks, Spiderbait (now defunct, I think), 78 Saab, Crow (also defunct), to name a small few. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - My music knowledge does not stretch that far, best get a google on]</span> At the moment, high on my album rotation is Two Suns by Bat For Lashes, Cold Fact by Rodriguez, My Maudlin Career by Camera Obscura, It’s Blitz by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Kick Inside by Kate Bush, Fun House by The Stooges and Who’s Next by The Who.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob - </span> Finally, what does the future hold for GritFX? A little birdy told me that 27th of July 2010 should be a day for the calendar? We mentioned it earlier, but 27th of July will be a day of social media incarnation for you - care to tell us?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Manz - </span>Well, continue to do what we do and hopefully take over the t-shirt industry (wink, wink). The 27th of July 2010 is definitely a day to watch, as that is when GritFX will be featured on iwearyourshirt.com. Jason has enlisted another guy (Evan) for the 2010 calendar year, meaning double promotion of the GritFX brand for the full day! We’re cooking up some ideas on what we can have the guys do on our calendar day, and therefore make the most of their social media skills (whilst also delivering some entertainment to fans!). With any luck it’ll coincide with Jason’s appearance on Oprah or Ellen and give us some serious exposure (fingers crossed). <span style="font-style:italic;">[Ed. - now that would be pretty incredible, Jason is doing some good things]</span>.<br /><br />And, so thats a wrap...immense thanks to Manz and the GritFX crew for taking the time to get back to me with some really great answers..For those of you who made it this far I commend you and hope you enjoyed the read..let me know what you think - comments make me smile...and, stay tuned for another interview coming soon..guess who it will feature?<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-10167537721965249052009-11-28T04:33:00.009+00:002009-11-28T05:40:08.031+00:00Facebook Terms of Service Changed for Competitions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6CmQVOC7AiyTLv-pDHQBpqk33jEfxI_0FOQWIWLOJ7OygaRo8d9v3gjozKxVWP8og6v-zZROlO00rGfrqwXHbNdeejscgZYyL7pARfIwR77Zyqhp7GgKlMZS4Hg4byPGP_F7bMCBpcE/s1600/rules_1668_1668.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6CmQVOC7AiyTLv-pDHQBpqk33jEfxI_0FOQWIWLOJ7OygaRo8d9v3gjozKxVWP8og6v-zZROlO00rGfrqwXHbNdeejscgZYyL7pARfIwR77Zyqhp7GgKlMZS4Hg4byPGP_F7bMCBpcE/s200/rules_1668_1668.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409016854192782178" /></a>Hi all, well, as I'm sure you are aware from my previous blog postings I'm a big advocate of Facebook for t-shirt companies and competitions as I have been able to run one successfully for <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "quirky ladies t-shirts from Dublin, Ireland" title = "womens fashion tees, clothing from Ireland" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella t-shirts</a> in the not too distant past. Sadly though it looks like Facebook has "moved the goalposts". <br /><br />I was first alerted to the change by Tim at <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com" target ="_blank">Sogeshirts</a> and he himself said he had been notified by Bulentm at <a href = "http://www.ragtees.com/" target = "_blank">Ragtees</a> (credit where credit is due). So, lets get down to it..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1)</span> - Facebook now has to <span style="font-weight:bold;">approve any competition</span> you are going to run. With all the companies now joining Facebook and running competitions this will result in, one would imagine huge waiting times - the days of ad hoc give aways could be gone. T-shirt competitions will now have to be planned well in advance and strategically so to tie in with new launches of t-shirts, upcoming holidays etc - I guess it would depend on how rigorously and vigorously Facebook are going to clamp down on competitions and how rapidly they can <span style="font-style:italic;">"approve"</span> competitions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2)</span> - Competitions <span style="font-weight:bold;">can't be run on the wall</span> which really, to a degree, negates the benefit of running a competition. Competitions are run to raise brand awareness or attract new customers and having people enter t-shirt competitions by posting comments, pictures etc was an ideal way to harness the viral and social nature of Facebook. So, now other strategies will have to evolve, perhaps using blogs in conjunction with facebook - a tactic of "get 10 friends to join my fanpage and win a badge" kind of idea with "contestants" notifying you via twitter or blogs..any other suggestions on how to keep the competitions rolling?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3</span> - It is important to note that Facebook has not crushed competitions entirely. You can <span style="font-weight:bold;">still run them via tabs and FBML</span> - just not on the wall (where its easy and really useful). Presumably Facebook is doing this to try reduce spam or clutter on peoples streams and so allowing competitions in tabs would do that. Unfortunately, FBML is not the easiest of things to play around with which may result in the need for a costly "coder". Are Facebook looking to get more big name brands with big pockets to use their platform?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVjPpHYQ-10A7NUO2vBWiY6QLtbeBvllgodwRk9JyWXrJTB5ccGqqEHy9SkO4id5qtbyftW8tNoGDR4pYfQDRihqOIajTGdJl7kZraqq4_Jhv1XKkFU75TO94LYA3L1rRO7zqM85RZRc/s1600/goalpost2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVjPpHYQ-10A7NUO2vBWiY6QLtbeBvllgodwRk9JyWXrJTB5ccGqqEHy9SkO4id5qtbyftW8tNoGDR4pYfQDRihqOIajTGdJl7kZraqq4_Jhv1XKkFU75TO94LYA3L1rRO7zqM85RZRc/s200/goalpost2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409015792101364866" /></a>Whatever the reasoning behind it it seems somewhat illogical to me. Facebook have been one of the pioneers of social media and networking and tried to make it easy to interact be it with events and useful apps but creating these new rules flies in the face of that. <br /><br />For further reading and some direct quotes from the Facebook crew I suggest you check out what I <a href = "http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/11/want-to-run-a-promotion-for-your-company-facebook-must-approve-it-first/" target = "_blank">read</a> - but not before you leave a comment and let me (and the t-shirt population at large) about any ideas you have to keep competitions running or any other information you may have heard about Facebook changing the competition rules. <br /><br />Also, it would be in the spirit of things to alert our fellow tee peoples of these changes - I'm sure no one wants to unwittingly run the risk of getting their fanpage closed down. <br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-74011959271118273172009-11-24T23:17:00.013+00:002010-11-01T12:46:13.155+00:00Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee Twitter and Tees - 10 Advantages of Twitter<a href = "http://www.zazzle.com/tweedle_dee_and_tweedle_dum_tshirt-235761644673804349?group=mens&lifestyle=sport&rf=238259058631101346"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OGaYP5yNytdap6oyeChGNt7qZl000qRuiGx693yeHk9Gb8PBIlTk3R1osSpqxI6piHCXyS_ckQ440uNBLcxNbnSobUsGqGH4I-VDbsOWiayXp4BhCjzn4QMwFsbVOZ0N2j7VTMxImBE/s1600/tweedleDumTweedDee.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OGaYP5yNytdap6oyeChGNt7qZl000qRuiGx693yeHk9Gb8PBIlTk3R1osSpqxI6piHCXyS_ckQ440uNBLcxNbnSobUsGqGH4I-VDbsOWiayXp4BhCjzn4QMwFsbVOZ0N2j7VTMxImBE/s200/tweedleDumTweedDee.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407821000116427410"/></a></a><br /><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tweedle_dee_and_tweedle_dum_tshirt-235761644673804349?group=mens&lifestyle=sport&rf=238259058631101346">Get a Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum T-Shirt Now</a><br /><br />The humdrum debate about the value of Twitter to business seems to carry on and I would suggest mainly by those that don't use it either often enough or properly. Twitter gives an ideal free to platform to quickly engage your customers and to prospect for new ones. <br /><br />In this post I'll outline what I deem to be <span style="font-weight:bold;">10 advantages of Twitter</span> from my own usage of the <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "womens fashion tees from Ireland" title = "cool quirky t-shirts from Dublin">LadyUmbrella t-shirts </a> <a href = "http://www.twitter.com/ladyumbrellaltd" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter" title = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter">Twitter account</a>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1 - </span> Twitter is <span style="font-weight:bold;">free</span> so that's one excuse not to use it ruled out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 - </span>Twitter has <span style="font-weight:bold;">millions upon millions of people</span> using it - surely you want to talk to at least some of them?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3 - </span>You can find people who may be <span style="font-weight:bold;">interested</span> in your product by finding similar brands on twitter and following those who follow them - targeting your market doesn't get any easier than that<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4 - </span>Twitter is another weapon in your <span style="font-weight:bold;">online marketing arsenal</span>, a quick and easy way to stay in touch with your customers, to be available and is key for your online presence. In fact, I find it odd if a company or brand doesn't have a twitter now..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5 - </span>It's often said that Twitter is like "<span style="font-weight:bold;">word of mouth on steroids</span>", this is true. If a few people RT (re-tweet) your post which may contain a link to your site you can get a lot of traffic quickly and somewhat easily - how cool is that?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6 - </span>You can build your <span style="font-weight:bold;">brand image</span> easily on Twitter. Get in touch with people who follow you, be real, talk about what you care about or what you're doing so that people can relate to you and start to build up trust in you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7 - </span><span style="font-weight:bold;">Google</span> loves Twitter so if your user name or URL is www.twitter.com/yourcompany then even though your own homepage may not rank in google results (due to keyword competitiveness or other) there is a chance that your Twitter page might which may result in more traffic to your page that you would not not have gotten. Anything that helps the SERP effort is always a bonus.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8 - </span><span style="font-weight:bold;">Twitter is fun</span>, really...once you get "into it" and start to connect with people you'll find that you will make friends and business connections..be it suppliers, customers, bloggers, web designers - whatever, they are all on twitter waiting to be spoken to..if you don't speak to them someone else will!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9 - </span>Twitter provides a useful and easy way to build <span style="font-weight:bold;">relationships</span> with potential customers and keep existing customers happy..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10 - </span>Twitter can be a very quick way to <span style="font-weight:bold;">get the word out</span> about product offers, competitions or deals you have going..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQW2DMX8l-nh9Plkg-Sf101LVOeVGpf8sIEwRHYDEDwLmyEgpdkTJqUCObDHBoLxnmkYDnoDWUV-TgQk3Hvepo39MlW0JgdeuNOepILoVS7UsiOaEzb448fN8LbR9l3Bd-i_zIfYU8Ow/s1600/Twitter-Logo.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQW2DMX8l-nh9Plkg-Sf101LVOeVGpf8sIEwRHYDEDwLmyEgpdkTJqUCObDHBoLxnmkYDnoDWUV-TgQk3Hvepo39MlW0JgdeuNOepILoVS7UsiOaEzb448fN8LbR9l3Bd-i_zIfYU8Ow/s200/Twitter-Logo.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407820657625381842" /></a>From my own experience there are a heap of great t-shirt people on Twitter and it seems like there is a real community spirit evolving, connections being made and help and advice being freely distributed. I could go into a long list of great t-shirt peeps I've met on Twitter but I'll save that for a rainy day..I do encourage you to leave your Twitter name as a comment though and feel free to follow me<a href = "http://www.twitter.com/ladyumbrellaltd" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter" title = "LadyUmbrella on Twitter"> follow me</a> - why not like?<br /><br />What are your views on twitter anyway? Think it is an unproductive waste of time or a gift from a 140 character deity? What are your twitter tips and don't do's? <br /><br />Ultimately, you will get out of it what you put into it..you can't expect an instant result but as you create your online image, just by being yourself, you will slowly but surely see the rewards and (possibly/probably) have a good time doing so...<br /><br />P.S. - I've added "Tweet this" links to all posts in this blog, I give you permission to go nuts tweeting :-)<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-68881136430140521652009-11-22T18:17:00.011+00:002009-11-25T01:34:58.601+00:00The Dawn of Adquarius - Google AdSense Ads<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyIf8zOAguDBeSmP0Y2lApu1HPiYEO7e849j5LceIsQQqoDklNjG-TPPYWbcx033h64ETg6BjR4eKv1KwpdrRSzeRPWxWQbK0XgS_mCA26JNHZnrKHCKlSNb1hjhKH9cMaEiLXgOiQsc/s1600/getgoogleadsfree.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyIf8zOAguDBeSmP0Y2lApu1HPiYEO7e849j5LceIsQQqoDklNjG-TPPYWbcx033h64ETg6BjR4eKv1KwpdrRSzeRPWxWQbK0XgS_mCA26JNHZnrKHCKlSNb1hjhKH9cMaEiLXgOiQsc/s200/getgoogleadsfree.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406997416284993058" /></a><b>The Dawn of Adquarius</b>, the arrival of a new era for the T-Shirt Strategy blog. I have just started to run Google AdSense ads on this blog, not as means to make money (but that would be nice) but more as a bit of an <span style="font-weight:bold;">experiment</span>.<br /><br />I'm considering utilizing Google ads and/or google AdSense ads for <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees from Dublin, Ireland" title = "cool, quirky artistic ladies tees from Dublin Ireland">LadyUmbrella</a> but before digging deep into my pocket I want to try ascertain click through rates one might expect - by having ads on this page I might be able to see what sort of click rates ads get and hopefully learn a thing or two about them. I will post updates on what I learn about Google Ads and AdSense as and when there I discover something. <br /><br />From my own browsing experience I very rarely click on an ad however the PPC (pay per click) nature of them means that if no one clicks on your ad then you don't get charged so surely its win win? Even if they don't click on the ad they might still notice the ad and who knows what the <span style="font-weight:bold;">subconscious</span> might store - your company name or logo perhaps? This exposure, although limited, to the potential customer may "butter them up" and make them more receptive to any future marketing efforts embarked on by your company? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_90gMWjboHnPyH49mNrkPzXaa95pSrK2gwyLj6Q9GBM5tVhJrDzF1r6jUl4RqdeUx-_THiy9-ItBAjcZGx7VHlNkui6Efve9hLtQdT3akfKShyphenhyphenQ3KN-ci7gSxXPBSekghdYu4oGRYt80/s1600/google-adsense-logo-350_0.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 82px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_90gMWjboHnPyH49mNrkPzXaa95pSrK2gwyLj6Q9GBM5tVhJrDzF1r6jUl4RqdeUx-_THiy9-ItBAjcZGx7VHlNkui6Efve9hLtQdT3akfKShyphenhyphenQ3KN-ci7gSxXPBSekghdYu4oGRYt80/s200/google-adsense-logo-350_0.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407001263804622434" /></a>Any one currently using Google Ads or AdSense? What sort of click through rates do you get? and, more importantly, do Google Ads lead to a higher conversion rate for your business? <br /><br />And one other thought that has been on my mind - do AdSense Ads or Google Ads on a blog (or website) have an impact on a potential customers <span style="font-weight:bold;">"opinion"</span> of the shop owner/blogger? Does it in someway <span style="font-style:italic;">devalue the content</span> that is on a blog? Or, does having ads on your web shop "lose" you any potential customers? <br /><br />I would love to hear your thoughts on it so please leave a comment with your musings. And, hehe, and if you happen to see an ad that interests you your click will get me a fraction of a slice of bread closer to a loaf. <br /><br />Personally, I think the whole google ads/adsense topic is quite interesting, they are playing a big part in the <span style="font-style:italic;">shift in advertising</span> (and dare I say it society) from old school TV/Radio/printed media etc to the online world of social media, on demand video/everything and (ultimately hehe) <a href = "http://garyvaynerchuk.com/" target = "_blank">Gary Vaynerchuk</a> - <span style="font-weight:bold;">the Dawn of Adquarius</span> is upon us. Let me know what you think..<br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>QBF7FM3QQHZJLadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-20312056190132774622009-11-19T19:53:00.017+00:002009-11-19T21:38:44.154+00:00Soge Shirts Interview - A one on one with David Cree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeoe-0I9YBmbew_hWledOmcRSynbWeOTMDpcGdSvFRhgmF9Cv0ylV53TLLugArEATCnnFe4UMEpdBYxdw-8I7Ej2edQgHMx-feLLhH66diTIsZX-63Y6CPVZidZRavhcD87i8bEjY7lY/s1600/sogeshirts.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeoe-0I9YBmbew_hWledOmcRSynbWeOTMDpcGdSvFRhgmF9Cv0ylV53TLLugArEATCnnFe4UMEpdBYxdw-8I7Ej2edQgHMx-feLLhH66diTIsZX-63Y6CPVZidZRavhcD87i8bEjY7lY/s200/sogeshirts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405909517442413906" /></a>Sometimes when cruising around the t-shirt web world with my <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees, quirky ladies t-shirts from Dublin, Ireland" title = "womens fashion tees, quirky ladies t-shirts from Dublin, Ireland" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella</a> work I come across things that make me "lol" proper - that happened to me when I found <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com" target = "_blank" alt = "soge shirts funny cool offensive t-shirts" title = "soge shirts funny cool offensive t-shirts">Soge Shirts</a>. I got in touch with the guys behind the scenes asked if they'd like to be interviewed. David Cree, half of Soge Shirts, was kind enough to take time out and give some intriguing, real raconteur answers to my questions so get comfy and enjoy BBQ tales, naughty bananas and a handful of melons...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Hey David, thanks a million for letting me interview you..so, lets get down to it, you kicked off Soge Shirts in 2007, what was the catalyst for the company to start up? And where does the name come from or whatdoes it mean?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - We had about 20 different ideas of making websites, and somehow earn a living over the internet. That working on a laptop from the beach idea seemed great. One of our ideas was dumb funny t shirts. I could draw, and Tim is just awesome. We had no idea how to build a website, or where to print t shirts and clothing, or just find money to start a company. We found a third party company that would print our stuff with little effort on our part, and a whole bunch of web design info on the web, and from friends. After a few design flops and printing errors, we found a system that worked and stuck with it. <br />Where the name comes from is a long, but short story. The name is actually an acronym for our first company we started to be a Graphic Design, Marketing, SEO, and Enterprise for our bigger dreams in life. That company is called Son Of Grace Enterprises. (SOGE) The name Son Of Grace Enterprises came from a website domain name I bought years ago, to try my attempt at web development. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwwnCerr1F4OpR2bVpgMMYBxv15xTUfAoGAHk0oUvgq41mRj_8iAUt3Q_knABipPqvrZLL7AhwI0JkvXmZfXri3MCy9OWr56wQ3E4RJhchr6KEsqX8BlRG8xxEDLIisnhI0OaRmZ0ZyA/s1600/Cree.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwwnCerr1F4OpR2bVpgMMYBxv15xTUfAoGAHk0oUvgq41mRj_8iAUt3Q_knABipPqvrZLL7AhwI0JkvXmZfXri3MCy9OWr56wQ3E4RJhchr6KEsqX8BlRG8xxEDLIisnhI0OaRmZ0ZyA/s200/Cree.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405927408039014434" /></a>My last name is Cree, and in Scottish, it derives back to Mac Rae, which when translated means, "Son Of Grace." I've fallen from grace many times in my life, and learned to pick myself up. Both Tim and I were in such a happy mood to start a company, we didn't think to hard about a clever name for a t-shirt company, and just rolled with an acronym of our first company, hence the Soge. Pronounce it any way you like. With a french accent and a oui oui, after it sounds funny. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - Oooh la la]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - And are they <a href = "http://sogeshirts.blogspot.com/2009/09/high-quality-cheap-tshirts-for-low.html" target = "_blank">high quality cheap t-shirts?</a> I was reading on your blog and saw that you have some views regarding pricing of t-shirts. You guys seem to be price conscious so you add value to your customers - from a business point of view does this not really hurt your margins? or you have any cost reduction strategies that you guys employ?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - First off, we love our customers because they have decided our shirts were for them, even with a few high prices of some of our items. Our third party vendor, has it's positives and negatives, like any other company, one of the negatives being higher margins of production for our shirts. Our cheapest tee shirt is $11.99, and it is comfortable cotton. It's breathable, and a tough shirt. Of course our higher quality tees like our dark t shirts are much heavier, thicker, stronger, more comfortable, but they are over $20. We are growing larger and larger by the minute, and we are about to produce many t-shirts of your favorite designs, in bulk because we really want to bring the public cheaper t-shirts. We are working very diligently to make our t-shirts around $6 - $7 cheaper. Other shirt companies are much larger, and can bring cheaper good to consumers. We will be there shortly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - So, what is your all time best selling t-shirt and why do you think it is your most successful one? Might you have gotten lucky/planned with the timing of the t-shirts release or did you ratchet up the marketing effort to aid the sales? Any top tips?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - One of our older designs, <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com/store/cpshop.cgi/soge/sogeshirts/3998829" alt = "Cheapest Gasoline from Soge Shirts" title = "Cheapest Gasoline from Soge Shirts" target = "_blank">Cheapest Gasoline</a>, came out during the gas crisis. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMFRiJ89tkB9p7c1LE-RenUCtlrZ6G9GgnngxRJKnDUe4y8zTvjWDMlJB40jYELsQUxIJqGeVWRHxIYc4XRFVenSw9TQw6NNovAdHHOs_Pl3L_0nasbBldXB9w_J3dIZ1qLdtwEpwKik/s1600/cheapest+gasoline.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 167px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMFRiJ89tkB9p7c1LE-RenUCtlrZ6G9GgnngxRJKnDUe4y8zTvjWDMlJB40jYELsQUxIJqGeVWRHxIYc4XRFVenSw9TQw6NNovAdHHOs_Pl3L_0nasbBldXB9w_J3dIZ1qLdtwEpwKik/s200/cheapest+gasoline.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405913357672807170" /></a>It was planned, but we got some well appreciated bumps from our third party vendor on their front page. The sales just came. It was a timing of the market place, and season, but what took it higher in sales, was the promotions of it. Distributing the product, to those who would relate somehow to the shirt, brought about good positive feedback from our fans. Even when they didn't purchase a shirt, we took that feedback, and promoted our shirts along with that feedback, giving the shirt product more value to a consumer reading about another person liking the same shirt. More often than not, this translates into more positive feedback, and then progressively, more sales. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OR7wcNvX33JQ5mEDmBFkZi-aIcKvvBYBU3KCxh4-lXwbYxNYeQoFR4LPVd0LqTzU7YC-Fw3McAZkWFG1KtqMVDg9jgpcBn_yvKOxrFVBQ35nIddr-KS1QMlKjRGuTPBJSXRaE9pna7k/s1600/when+life+hands+you+melons+t-shirt.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OR7wcNvX33JQ5mEDmBFkZi-aIcKvvBYBU3KCxh4-lXwbYxNYeQoFR4LPVd0LqTzU7YC-Fw3McAZkWFG1KtqMVDg9jgpcBn_yvKOxrFVBQ35nIddr-KS1QMlKjRGuTPBJSXRaE9pna7k/s200/when+life+hands+you+melons+t-shirt.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405914645691195042" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - You have a huge catalog of t-shirts, really, a staggering amount have you counted them all? which is your favorite design? One design I like is the <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com/store/cpshop.cgi/soge/sogeshirts/6941183" target = "_blank" alt = "When life hands you melons from Soge Shirts" title = "When life hands you melons from Soge Shirts">When life hands you Melons</a>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - Yes, I have counted them many times.. for my hand still aches from drawing so many of them. We have over 200 designs, some get deleted because of personal preference, or they're just too offensive, or just wrong, from a design stand point. I'm kinda anal about details. If I don't feel right about a shirt, I talk to Tim, and I'll pull it down. I do love the When life hands you melons, you might be dyslexic one as well. My favorite one right now, that's taking off and selling well right out of the gate, is <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com/store/cpshop.cgi/soge/sogeshirts/6902355" alt = "bananas gone wild from Soge Shirts" title = "bananas gone wild from Soge Shirts" target = "_blank">bananas gone wild</a>, with a banana stripping off it's banana peel. It's a bad fruit joke. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - hehe, what a ridiculous grin on that banana, quality]</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKMe_5KnQQeCkk_mxw2GJX7M8CFrYYDewPIltxN4ILRIArdwPyxTtF3xbMeMPr2We4unMU5L4-9cXP41NJdlTLbjg9FuTpUCSOZyL4OYh75Jll6Q4qRGPpxyTGV210Q-fjDQL-m-_3aU/s1600/bananas+gone+wild+t-shirt+girls.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKMe_5KnQQeCkk_mxw2GJX7M8CFrYYDewPIltxN4ILRIArdwPyxTtF3xbMeMPr2We4unMU5L4-9cXP41NJdlTLbjg9FuTpUCSOZyL4OYh75Jll6Q4qRGPpxyTGV210Q-fjDQL-m-_3aU/s200/bananas+gone+wild+t-shirt+girls.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405916309369667378" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com/store/cpshop.cgi/soge/sogeshirts/6794897" target = "_blank" alt = "Every time you eat meat a hippie drops a hacky sack from Soge Shirts" title = "Every time you eat meat a hippie drops a hacky sack from Soge Shirts">Every time you eat meat a hippie drops a hacky sack</a> - I laughed when I saw this. You happen to be at a bbq and witness said event or are you the hapless hacky sack hippie?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - I used to live out of my car for a few months, and carried multiple hacky sacks around to all the people's places I crashed at. Met many different people, and a few were hippies. Great, wonderful, amazing people, not because they associated with the hippie group, but of who they are. We talked long and hard about the circle of life, and how you have to keep the hacky sack going to everyone to complete the circle. When it dropped we joked about people dying, or trees falling every time someone drops the hacky sack. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLmPwMMfMIyJBBwBkc3-5oSc3CB8zBA0oFQwm_nAu4aheFNwdU4jXSXPcOJtjqPxyRCOy9D0tvybXcXo61AISx8kgDPH4pSC8K4VnGvtOza9xx9vXvLFe0_i9Fq2elxZ0zYq16BBw_60/s1600/every+time+you+eat+meat+t-shirt+funny+tee.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLmPwMMfMIyJBBwBkc3-5oSc3CB8zBA0oFQwm_nAu4aheFNwdU4jXSXPcOJtjqPxyRCOy9D0tvybXcXo61AISx8kgDPH4pSC8K4VnGvtOza9xx9vXvLFe0_i9Fq2elxZ0zYq16BBw_60/s200/every+time+you+eat+meat+t-shirt+funny+tee.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405917389619936994" /></a>One drunk night, my friend Mike and his brother and I went to a local Mexican food shop and ordered super chips with lots of meat. We joked about meat and how it will kill a hippie if you eat it, cause Mike's blue Volkswagen van, was the mystery machine, and he looked like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Years later, I heard something about hippies and eating meat. I laughed thinking back to that night. I felt the circle of life is torn apart if hippies everywhere can feel each time a cow dies. I took it a step further remembering the circle of hacky sack. I am a hacky sack hippie in spirit, with a shaved head, lol. I love nature, animals, spiritually feel connected to everything, explore alternative states of consciousness whether I want to or not, and feel passivism, and non violent political action is a must, but I can't classify myself as a hippie completely, cause they'd never let me in. I've got one foot in hippie land, and one foot in the "I love juicy burgers" world. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - now, thats quite an answer]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - And from BBQ food to feed burner you've got a whopping 1110 on your feed burner mailing list how long did it take to acquire that amount? Are you in regular contact with those on your mailing list? any direct results from e-mails sent? Any tips on how to operate a successful mailing list for tee sales?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - Our <a href = "http://sogeshirts.blogspot.com/" alt = "Soge Shirts blog" title = "Soge Shirts Blog" target = "_blank">blog</a> is credited to Tim. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpKXU3tXOcunPw9OzS_8wYhe1EHDOkUjLVemxUcPVXIR2rjx4TZUFPe3_IEweaR58WG2TGOwixtEiDAhpLVRJuAuxkbQMsSZT38imc8Sxt9vZHwLroz7CxvwJK4sgbMVtyaw5C0gCJXk/s1600/feedburner.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpKXU3tXOcunPw9OzS_8wYhe1EHDOkUjLVemxUcPVXIR2rjx4TZUFPe3_IEweaR58WG2TGOwixtEiDAhpLVRJuAuxkbQMsSZT38imc8Sxt9vZHwLroz7CxvwJK4sgbMVtyaw5C0gCJXk/s200/feedburner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405931226099349810" /></a>He writes the vast majority of humor articles, randomness and fun stuff that comes through that avenue. We decided to match our sense of humor, with our tee shirts, and bring about ways our fans, and potential consumers of our products, can really relate to who is behind the product. People started getting interested in us as people, and not just a tee shirt company, who's trying to force t-shirts down their throats. I think people just liked good positive detours from life, and our blog was built to attempt that. <br />From a marketing standpoint, any newsletters a t shirt company sends, should have value. Know your market, if at all possible. Understand the attention span of yourself, and others around you. My point on this is some people can only read something for 5-6 seconds, before they make up their mind if they'll continue or not. A great introduction, or anecdote provides value to stay interested. Using language and writing content that evokes feelings of emotion, and value, keep readers interested, and relating to the vibe and energy you put into your emails. As a reader, I want to relate to a product, I want it to enhance my life in some way, and I was to know more about it if I decide to find out more. Thinking from a reader's standpoint, definitely helps with marketing to your consumers. Foreshadowing how your readers might react to content in your emails, and thinking about potential questions that could be asked, can help you develop a well balance mailing or email, with enough information, enough value, and enough customer relations, so that a majority of the people on your list, can get what they're looking for.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Are you a tee-totaller? that is to say that your sole job is with Soge Shirts or are you multitaskers?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - I have to be doing more than one thing. I am multi-tasked by nature. A jack of all trades, master of none.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyuSKqtJDQQJDcLzYKvzPENEWFmOTgY_0hu5XT2XMSFr-5Ccg5D5Qh4MNOStcKukXTLJNE2STJtQw3NqtcgcWudNRbr-_Y_PThNpprr8C3et30HSl-YnGvTrjZppv9Mv8yR1G-Bc07Sk/s1600/jack+of+all+trades.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 131px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyuSKqtJDQQJDcLzYKvzPENEWFmOTgY_0hu5XT2XMSFr-5Ccg5D5Qh4MNOStcKukXTLJNE2STJtQw3NqtcgcWudNRbr-_Y_PThNpprr8C3et30HSl-YnGvTrjZppv9Mv8yR1G-Bc07Sk/s200/jack+of+all+trades.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405920849291035474" /></a> Drawing tee shirts, developing the websites we run, graphic designs for our advertisements, writing content, setting up our shops for sales, handling modeling contracts, finances, accounting, and all that legal jargon, is a weekly routine for me. Tim and I constantly are talking throwing ideas around for new shirts, new blog posts, new ventures online, and new ideas for the SOGE empire. (unlike Rome, we wont force people into a coliseum to fight lions and knife wielding midgets.) Tim does many multitasking ventures. Everything I can't do, or wont do, Tim does. He helps me out on everything listed above except the drawing. He has designed a few shirts, but he might tell you he can't draw. He makes up for it with everything else he can do. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - a regular Batman and Robin team]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - So, you've been in business since 07, that's a few years of experience. What would you say is one of the highlights of being in business so far and with is the worst thing that has happened in that period?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> - The highlights are many.. but I think the one that sticks out was the first shirt we sold. We both were in a daze and couldn't really believe someone actually wanted something we created. It took on a whole new life for us, bringing what we can, to the public, and people liking it. Maybe the scariest thing, was when we almost got scammed out of a large bulk tee shirt order, with someone attempting to use a stolen credit card. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - umm, this seems to be a recurring trend]</span> Luckily, it never happened <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - as Mr. Burns would say, "Excellent"]</span>, but it was scary. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_420fT00w5gzy77SuZFAVNH21C9ayB6MuPUCP2Ji93ARuxmpFt_vVBvyR9rJ9o-S3rbWz6Wv1aYSi4OupPftnxbb4G0vDDtSYRDikKKdjHQewacxWBWqhyphenhyphenw9EqgGAQ8OxRuQVgYINZ3I/s1600/The-Simpsons-Mr-Burns-Excel.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 147px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_420fT00w5gzy77SuZFAVNH21C9ayB6MuPUCP2Ji93ARuxmpFt_vVBvyR9rJ9o-S3rbWz6Wv1aYSi4OupPftnxbb4G0vDDtSYRDikKKdjHQewacxWBWqhyphenhyphenw9EqgGAQ8OxRuQVgYINZ3I/s200/The-Simpsons-Mr-Burns-Excel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405926135215461522" /></a>Some bad things turned good, one was losing money on some ventures that didn't work, and even having to learn to work together, as a business entity, and not as two people with different opinions. We have had our tough times, when we first started out, cause we didn't know what we were doing. Keeping our heads on straight, was hard, but it allowed both Tim and I to grow together as friends, and business partners. Being able to change and adapt, is a constant highlight of our work. Seeing more and more how our designs, change and grow, makes all those harsh times worth it. <br />I'd say to all companies starting out, find those things that work, and duplicate them. Don't be afraid to change directions, if you can handle it, and remember, you can handle a lot more than you think. Hard work, never fails, the mistakes only shows you what you didn't know before. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - some sound advice there]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Ok so, time to wrap it up, but what about the plans for the future for Soge Shirts? Anything in the pipe line you'd like to divulge?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">David</span> -Totally! Always new shirts, and new website ventures. Right now we're working on two stores in California, <a href = "http://www.pangaeaoutpost.com/" target = "_blank">Pangea</a> in Pacific Beach, and <a href = "http://www.leapinglotus.com/" target = "_blank">Leaping Lotus</a> in Solona Beach, selling our products. Hopefully, by next year. Once we get into stores, we are thinking about opening up a Soge Shirts Rack, where our top selling shirts, will be sold for much cheaper than on sogeshirts.com. We love our fans, and want to bring them fun clothing, without breaking the bank.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The End</span><br /><br />Well, nothing left to say but thanks once more to <a href = "http://www.sogeshirts.com" target = "_blank" alt = "soge shirts funny cool offensive t-shirts" title = "soge shirts funny cool offensive t-shirts">Soge Shirts</a> for a pretty darn interesting interview if I do say so myself..Find the guys on <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Sogeshirts/14840189044?ref=ts" target = "_blank">facebook</a> and on <a href = "http://twitter.com/sogeshirts" target = "_blank">twitter</a>. So what do you guys out there think? which is your favorite Soge t-shirt design? Few more interviews lined up for the T-Shirt Strategy but if you would like me to interview you just get in touch...stay happy...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-83665708861992612922009-11-17T17:38:00.014+00:002010-04-01T23:58:51.434+01:00I AM THE TREND Interview - A one on one with Adam Hendle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7SQKm9Hzaj4FfHa-dDyBLsl4jUeWcIdvypfi0_EvvauQnHloPdxpwNjOV1XIfEtaY0VbDdr509nVvQ6X-567iS5AEfzmJhEdy-HYrvf5yjFMIDrj_7oVKdtJQDpmjFLQkAXwJlHmhGc/s1600/adamHendle.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7SQKm9Hzaj4FfHa-dDyBLsl4jUeWcIdvypfi0_EvvauQnHloPdxpwNjOV1XIfEtaY0VbDdr509nVvQ6X-567iS5AEfzmJhEdy-HYrvf5yjFMIDrj_7oVKdtJQDpmjFLQkAXwJlHmhGc/s200/adamHendle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405137944007634178" /></a>When I first started to explore online t-shirt sites as part of my work with <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees from Dublin, Ireland" title = "cool, quirky, artistic t-shirts and ladies fashion" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella</a> one of the first ones I came across was <a href = "http://iamthetrend.com/" alt = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" title = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" target ="_blank">I AM THE TREND</a> and found it to be a very useful and informative site..I've managed to track down the man behind the site, Mr Adam Hendle, to ask him a few questions..get comfy and enjoy..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Hi, firstly, Adam, thanks a million for agreeing to be interviewed by me. And secondly, apologies for titling this "I Am The Trend Interview - One on one with Adam Hendle" because clearly that isn't doing you justice..you have your hands in many other pies such as watchteev.com and iatt.tv, like to mention a bit about them and any other sites you're involved with?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - Not a problem! Thanks for asking to interview me, this is the first time that the tables have been turned and someone else is asking the questions! The main site I run is <a href = "http://iamthetrend.com/" alt = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" title = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" target ="_blank">iamthetrend.com</a> but I do spend some time running <a href = "http://watchteev.com" target = "_blank">watchteev.com</a> which I'm basically trying to build into the youtube of t-shirt videos. <a href = "http://www.iatt.tv" target = "_blank">IATT.TV</a> really ties in pretty close to iamthetrend.com, basically just the domain where we host IAMTHETREND TV our weekly webshow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - So, I AM THE TREND, you recently updated your website and it does look pretty darn swanky but so did the old version (or I think so anyway). What were the motivations behind the redesign did you get better <a href="http://www.midphase.com/website-hosting/">website hosting</a>? Add any cool new features or functionality to the site? make it super SEO friendly (if so, any top tips)?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - Thanks a ton! The main goal with the new site was keep it simple! This is actually the third version of iamthetrend. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - the 3rd version, my bad]</span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDi0oVNzlDkn_kFKLGWVpBX0stJ4kObzZs8xEqme9H-ekmFV148ZdAWnwXR8MLWv-KXt5kETXEsAZT5v_yVW1NyOhHiwp9IJdfZiOFYHoq_y1JuKbNw1Tg8tsSuuROVuerKRmga790_0/s1600/iamthetrendlogo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDi0oVNzlDkn_kFKLGWVpBX0stJ4kObzZs8xEqme9H-ekmFV148ZdAWnwXR8MLWv-KXt5kETXEsAZT5v_yVW1NyOhHiwp9IJdfZiOFYHoq_y1JuKbNw1Tg8tsSuuROVuerKRmga790_0/s200/iamthetrendlogo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405139282222016914" /></a> When I started iamthetrend.com the main goal was to create a directory of indie clothing lines, bands, artists and indie products. I thought it would be great to have a place where people could easily go find what was new and cool in those categories. I quickly became pretty bored with that site. It was very stagnant, basically people would submit there company, we would put up a yellow pages type listing and that was that. <br /><br />So when it came to IATT 2.0, I wanted to become a bit more interactive, thus we started doing weekly interviews and a few articles, which really got us on the path to where we are today. Unfortunately with the 2.0 site the layout was a bit confusing and the more and more I got involved with some of these companies, artists and bands the more I wanted to write daily about them.<br /><br />Long story short I really wanted the site to be as simple as possible and I really think with the new redesign we accomplished that!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - You're famous man!!...I've seen you on TV before, well, internet TV but in this day and age the lines are blurring...we mentioned it earlier, but <a href = "http://www.iatt.tv" target = "_blank">IATT.TV</a>, nice little site you have going there. You've had some jam packed shows - which were the most enjoyable for you? were you nervous when you first kicked off the show and sitting in front of the camera? And in general how are the shows going for you, what do you want to achieve with IATT.tv? Any juicy shows in the pipeline?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - Hahaha, maybe one day we will be famous for doing the show, but for now we really do it as a compliment to the website. The push for online video is just growing enormously and constantly, so we figured it would be a fun way to make the site a bit more transparent and basically give a face to the brand. On top of that we really wanted to create a place to show off some amazing tees, bands, artists and products! <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - check out the most recent show]</span> <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="320" height="280" id="utv311289" name="utv_n_49571"><param name="flashvars" value="loc=%2F&autoplay=false&vid=2575165" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/2575165" /><embed flashvars="loc=%2F&autoplay=false&vid=2575165" width="320" height="280" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" id="utv311289" name="utv_n_49571" src="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/2575165" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /></embed></object><br /><br />The most enjoyable show was probably our Halloween show. We had ten or so companies send in their Halloween/Horror Inspired t shirts and had a blast reviewing them! We even dressed up as zombies for the show! <br /><br />I still get a bit nervous doing the show just because there is a ton of pressure getting everything together and ready before we go live and it always seems like we are racing against the clock to get the show up on time! But once the show is live and going its pretty much a breeze from there.<br /><br />As far as where I see the show going, I really hope that it gets to the level of a Winelibrary TV. Gary Vaynerchuk does an incredible job running his show and is someone I definitely look up to for inspiration. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - another Gary Vee mention, he is 2 for 2 now for mentions in interviews - maybe I should interview him?]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - I know you from "t-shirt circles", that is to say I first came across you on the likes of <a href = "http://www.t-shirtforums.com" target = "_blank">t-shirtforums.com</a> and <a href = "http://www.emptees.com" target = "_blank">emptees.com</a> (I think..pretty sure) but I AM THE TREND is about more than tees, you clearly love music - in a band yourself? what sorta music you have on your i-Pod (or you an anti i-podder?)? and I guess, what gave you the kick to start iamthetrend.com and whats your current role in it - or is every role yours?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - When I started iamthetrend.com I really thought to myself how well clothing, music and art tie into each other and I really felt that there weren’t many sites that tried to take on the task of discovering and talking about the emerging players in those fields. So that’s when I decided to take on the task of starting a website that would tackle all of those categories. My first true passion was always music. I have actually been playing guitar in and out of bands for over ten years, which is actually how I met Beau (iatt.tv cohost and iatt contributor). Shameless plug you can check out my current project A Hero Named Hope at <a href = "http://www.aheronamedhope.com" target = "_blank">www.aheronamedhope.com</a> <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - check it out everyone, videos, music, off the good good]</span>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCc8EYTOmlBzDXzbykA1aPdgSsCl_0AAsLxM25lVa6Eq7BTg61IRf2elEcYvuaLSx5M4taBv3gpjtC8fAUhCvMJl7b8JJ03rBPA76rDoD3nijU9Nblwy-UgHhEeLaXR43jWtXPoJkAFs/s1600/aheronamedhope.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCc8EYTOmlBzDXzbykA1aPdgSsCl_0AAsLxM25lVa6Eq7BTg61IRf2elEcYvuaLSx5M4taBv3gpjtC8fAUhCvMJl7b8JJ03rBPA76rDoD3nijU9Nblwy-UgHhEeLaXR43jWtXPoJkAFs/s200/aheronamedhope.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405140583856413922" /></a> As far as my ipodding goes, I use my iphone for everything! I have currently been jamming on the new <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/everytimeidie" alt = "Everytime I Die Myspace" title = "Everytime I Die Myspace" target = "_blank">Everytime I Die</a>, <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/thealmost" alt = "The Almost MySpace" target = "_blank">The Almost</a>, and <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/dancegavindance" alt = "Dance Gavin Dance Myspace" title = "Dance Gavin Dance Myspace">Dance Gavin Dance</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - You've checked out and reviewed many tees in your time, do you design tees yourself? Any cool t-shirts spotted recently to report? and do you have like a favorite tee?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - I have definitely seen a lot of tees, but as far as designing tees go my skills are pretty limited. Over the years I have designed a few of my bands t shirts, but at this point there are just so many talented artists that are readily available there I found no reason to design my own. As far as cool tees go I try and put my latest findings daily on <a href = "http://iamthetrend.com/" alt = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" title = "iamthetrend indie clothing directory and indie art site" target ="_blank">iamthetrend.com</a> so your going to have to check there for that info ; ) I really don’t have a “favorite tee” there are just way to many amazing designs on there, but I do have a favorite color tee, which would be American Apparel Heather Grey. I love that color and usually love any design printed on it! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - When you relaunched the site after the redesign did you do any hardcore marketing or promo to mark the event? if so, any things that worked well for you guys? And is i am the trend your full time job now or have you cloned yourself successfully so that you can work and maintain cool sites?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - As far as marketing the site goes, we really just tried to hammer hard the social sites such as <a href = "http://twitter.com/iamthetrend" target = "_blank" alt = "I am the trend twitter">twitter</a> and <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/iamthetrend" alt = "I am the trend on facebook" target = "_blank">Facebook</a>. I also made it a point to try and get some interviews with some bigger names, such as Aaron from Underoath whom also runs <a href = "http://www.myspace.com/pigcloth" target = "_blank">Pig Cloth Clothing</a>,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsComHinVcxvWem8jxYfn7QoxwG4tEPvyYpnTZ0AWVFo_ImwQlZdx6dIrEH-j5CdeLuzMcQ2xb8otTNOPPZMqJKhq4T1HnSIXw1n80Y5-69lcvKwK-2KinDflChmIh_uC7VpoRHFQbM0/s1600/pigcloth.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsComHinVcxvWem8jxYfn7QoxwG4tEPvyYpnTZ0AWVFo_ImwQlZdx6dIrEH-j5CdeLuzMcQ2xb8otTNOPPZMqJKhq4T1HnSIXw1n80Y5-69lcvKwK-2KinDflChmIh_uC7VpoRHFQbM0/s200/pigcloth.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405148489489939554" /></a> and Jordan from Everytime I Die whom is an incredible illustrator. <br /><br />Unfortunately IAMTHETREND is not my full time job, but I am striving and working hard for it to one day become my full-time job. My long term goal would be to open up a IAMTHETREND store, in which I could sell all the amazing upcoming lines I come across daily. <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - sounds like a cool idea to try get a store going]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Ok so, I think I've delved deep enough...but any random personal fact you'd like to throw out or any anything you want to get off your chest or mention...the mic is yours now and you're the MC...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Adam</span> - Here might be a few interesting bulletins:<br />-My original idea for the site came while reading Alternative Press. <br />-The original website was going to be called trendspend.com, which looking back now is just a terrible name! <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - I concur]</span><br />-The name IAMTHETREND came to me while mowing the grass <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - man, I used to hate having to cut the grass, used to take 6 hours]</span><br /><br />We are always looking for guest authors to write for IAMTHETREND so if anyone is interested please email us at info@iamthetrend.com Also if you would like to see yourself, your company, band, etc on IAMTHETREND also email us at info@iamthetrend.com Lastly tune in every Monday night at 8PM Central to <a href = "http://www.iatt.tv" target = "_blank">www.iatt.tv</a> to watch IAMTHETREND TV! Just wanted to say thanks for the interview! It was interesting being on the other side of the questions! Good luck with <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees from Dublin, Ireland" title = "cool, quirky, artistic t-shirts and ladies fashion" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella</a>! <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - hehe, cheers]</span><br /><br />And so thats that...interview two in the can and thanks once more to Adam for taking the time to get back to me...So, who likes I am the trend? Any regular iatt.tv viewers? And if you have some t-shirts to submit or want to get the word out about your band you now know the place to go...also, if you'd like me to interview you just get in touch...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-52836148567791973012009-11-16T03:09:00.001+00:002009-11-16T15:49:31.785+00:00Running an Online Competition to Increase FanbaseOk so, in this blog post I'm going to talk about running a competition to increase your fanbase and how I ran one for <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" alt = "womens fashion tees from Ireland, cool artistic quirky t-shirts" title = "womens fashion tees from Ireland, cool artistic quirky t-shirts" target = "_blank">LadyUmbrella</a> on our <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella" target = "_blank"> facebook fanpage</a>. For a new brand trying to get up and running I found it to be useful as we had: 144 entries, 119 votes and gained over 500 fans in the month period that we ran our <a href = "http://ladyumbrellatees.blogspot.com/2009/09/ladyumbrella-t-shirt-competition-and.html" target = "_blank">compe-tee-tion</a>. Here comes the info, brace yourselves...<br /><br />Firstly, I think its important to make sure your competition is easy to enter, not just the actual entering part itself but also the question or puzzle..you want to include as many people as possible and make it simple for them to enter..KISS - keep it short and simple..<br /><br />Secondly, you should set targets for what you want to achieve out of a competition..Do you want to swell your mailing list numbers, get more facebook/twitter/myspace fans or do you want to try get sales as a direct result of the competition? For us, we want to get more fans and spread the word of LadyUmbrella..this is primarily because we are a new t-shirt brand and company..more bedded in brands may want to get sales directly from the competition..<br /><br />Once you have decided upon your competition and how it will be entered with some realistic targets set now the games begin..You have to promote the life out of the competition..Get on twitter, facebook, myspace and shout about your competition (obviously don't shout aggressively though, be friendly like)..this will get you some traffic and entries..Get down and dirty with Google and see what it returns for searches like "sweepstakes submit", "online sweepstakes", "sweepstakes forums"...If you get lucky you'll find some incredible forums with thousands of active members who just live to "comp" (as they call it)..there are also lots of directory type sites for competitions that also have huge numbers using them to "comp"..Here are a few that we have used and that have been effective for us:<br /><br />- www.contest.co.nz - very active forum in NZ, quite a few entries and a nice friendly forum<br />- www.sweeps247.com - not sure how much entries this one has given me but we do get page views from it<br />- www.hypersweep.com - has got a lot of traffic for me, not sure about entries/new fans<br />- www.gimme.co.nz - got a few entries from here<br />- www.loquax.co.uk - wow, got a lot of traffic from here and nice friendly forum<br />- www.forums.moneysavingexperts.com - also got a lot of traffic from here but be careful in the forums, you're not allowed mention your own competitions..<br />- www.winprizesonline.com - not that successful but they all help<br />- www.online-sweepstakes.com - not a lot of traffic from here but again all helps<br />- www.forums.about.com - not a whole lot of success here but....<br /><br />Ok so, the last three listed weren't dynamite fan making entry yielding machines for me but...in this day and age of King Google it is important to get backlinks to your page to appease the SEO(verlord) and the even if sites don't give you a lot of traffic they will give you that all important backlink..hopefully some of you will find some use for the above?<br /><br />Alright, I'm going to call time on this soiree...another hopefully useful post in the can..let me know how you get on with your competitions ye? and any tips that you have leave them in a comment..rock on all...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-46975960077518255702009-11-14T00:31:00.000+00:002009-11-16T03:11:57.442+00:00Keywords and SEO - make it more effectiveKeywords and SEO - vital to t-shirt companies I think - especially if you are hoping to sell online, you need to get people to your site...one top tip is to check out and do what Tim at <a href = "http://www.assaultblog.com/" target = "_blank"> Assault Blog</a> says - I learned a heap from reading is blogs...I'll try outline some things I have done and found useful...<br /><br />One way to give you keywords more weight for targeted customers is to add you ad to the google locals directory/google maps, then when people search for "keyword in Location X" you'll be up near the top in the map listings..this also helps pull your site to the top of the listings in the top 10..<br /><br />With keywords you should have them in your:<br />- title [title] [/title] *change the ['s to <'s <br />- header [h1][/h1] tags on each page<br />- in the text you write start it with the keyword if possible<br />- in the text you write use [strong][/strong] tags around your keyword<br />- when linking to your page externally have your keywords in the [a href = "www.yoursite.com" alt = "lovely keywords" title = "lovely keywords"]lovely keywords[/a] *change the ['s to <'s <br />- the effectiveness of keywords is dependent to a degree on the number of "votes" (links) it gets from other sites to your site..the higher PR (google page rank) of the page linking to your site using your keywords in the a href the stronger the vote for those keywords to your page the more effective or higher ranking your page will be...<br /><br />When using keywords there are two sides to it, onsite and offsite..the onsite is what you have in the text of your page and the html you use (w3c verified pages, with clean, spider friendly html help your onsite keywords no end)..the offsite is links back to your page using your keywords...you can get these from directories, blogs about you, blogs you write yourself..the top tip here would be to write a blog with links to your site and then submit this blog to social bookmarking sites, digg.com, mixx.com, stumbleupon etc which would then multiply the number of links using your chosen keywords back to your site strengthening them...<br /><br />........or at least thats a synopsis of what I have read..I don't know if it is fool proof, I doubt it but for some of my keywords it has worked...for my google anyway..actually, if anyone can try google "quirky ladies t-shirts" or "ladies t-shirts" from the entire world, not locally, I'd be curious to see if I feature..would really appreciate it..<br /><br />Anyway, good luck with keywords and SEO - its an endless pit of research and work but interesting none the less..any other top tips you have please leave a comment and let me know - would love to hear from you...knowledge is no burden..LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-1827058268220058412009-11-11T16:57:00.018+00:002009-11-12T02:04:49.318+00:00Rizzo Tees Interview - A one on one with Chris ReimerIn the t-shirt strategy blog I hope to interview lots of people from within the t-shirty industry, find out more about them and their business and any top tips they have..In the following interview Chris Reimer, the man behind <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com" target = "_blank" alt = "funny, cool t-shirts, hilarious, political and political t-shirt designs" target = "funny, cool t-shirts, hilarious, political and political t-shirt designs">Rizzo Tees</a> talks frankly and honestly about his business, his hopes, social media and more...just read it...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqsbf_znCbIKHmkxtoTlR7ptoxG6mtUNr0jdLx68wQlz5WA8Ryf5QnD58WJ80OdaCNexU0N6pBcycwVsX0EKdiCa0YaWp5rFE1tKU_3rgDvTzQN11dz2fO3rF8MbE8UoPyaLYrwSN8-g/s1600-h/Chris+Rizzo+Tees.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqsbf_znCbIKHmkxtoTlR7ptoxG6mtUNr0jdLx68wQlz5WA8Ryf5QnD58WJ80OdaCNexU0N6pBcycwVsX0EKdiCa0YaWp5rFE1tKU_3rgDvTzQN11dz2fO3rF8MbE8UoPyaLYrwSN8-g/s200/Chris+Rizzo+Tees.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402894814607767074" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Hey Chris, firstly, thanks very much for being the first person from the t-shirt world that I'm going to interview...and also, congrats on your one year anniversary of <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com" target = "_blank" alt = "funny, cool t-shirts, hilarious, political and political t-shirt designs" target = "funny, cool t-shirts, hilarious, political and political t-shirt designs">Rizzo Tees</a>...Did you do anything special to mark the occasion?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - It's funny you ask that, because I didn't do nearly enough to mark the occasion, business-wise or personally. On the business side, I tweeted and Facebooked about the big day (9:45am on 30/10/2008), but I didn't have a big blowout sale or anything. I didn't email my email list. I was so busy with regular life things as the day approached... and all of a sudden it was the morning of the 30th, I had to go to work... and my celebration was boiled down to a tweet and a Facebook update. I should probably do a little more next year! On a personal level, my wife wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate, and this might sound grumpy, but I told her no. I said, "I don't feel I have anything to celebrate yet." Businesswise, I'm rather impatient and unsatisfied by nature. There will come a time for big celebrations, but at this point I'm a million miles away from there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> -...lets get down to it, are you as funny as your t-shirts suggest you are in real life? how do you get your ideas for your tees or your "inspiration"? I think its fair to say that your designs and ideas are a bit of the beaten track "Props to my tweeps" for example or "Do it for the Halibut" or "Kama Supra"...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> -I am scary funny. In all seriousness, if you ever meet me in person (can my wife and I come crash on your floor in Dublin. I am serious [<span style="font-style:italic;">Rob - the floor is yours or the spare bed, your call</span>]), I'm a pretty fun, easygoing guy. I've never done stand-up comedy or anything like that, but I have a wit that was probably shaped by watching shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQYQbWsuAfy2EVoXOKL5gwVJrp3z6AX1nxJtoL-hcOZq8F5TMgeWlX3zVXxgLvTIzLSvOUBjs9g3t6eK13hUINkBx2oUO4wEQ6ZyE7JgcFjBsWvazxvkBdvPPK7mGggT4p8iR8-56oxc/s1600-h/LG-Kama-Supra-t-shirt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQYQbWsuAfy2EVoXOKL5gwVJrp3z6AX1nxJtoL-hcOZq8F5TMgeWlX3zVXxgLvTIzLSvOUBjs9g3t6eK13hUINkBx2oUO4wEQ6ZyE7JgcFjBsWvazxvkBdvPPK7mGggT4p8iR8-56oxc/s200/LG-Kama-Supra-t-shirt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402897379264212082" /></a><br />And sometimes I'm just a nerdy weird guy... and nerdy weird guys have lots of thoughts that occur to them, and I found that many of those could translate to t-shirts. At that point, I realized I had found a great business to start. As far as the tee ideas, I keep track of all of my ideas in an Excel spreadsheet, and I have hundreds of them. My wife and I literally scored them in the beginning, weeding out some of the terrible ideas. <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com/do-it-for-the-halibut.html" target = "_blank" alt = "Do It for the Halibut Rizzo Tees" title = "Do It for the Halibut Rizzo Tees">Do it for the Halibut</a> - some joker in college used to say that (he'd also say, "No, I did it on Porpoise.") <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com/kama-supra.html" target = "_blank" alt = "Rizzo Tees Kama Supra" title = "Rizzo Tees Kama Supra">Kama Supra</a>... I just thought it would be hilarious to have a Supra getting another Supra from behind. After debuting with 32 designs, I feel like some of my latest designs are actually my best. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB8N2fdmDYzLJVfNjOP8Xg7l3EqLp-k7vd_0b2pSo4NwHQKReQ9EfAMZ9rAkhL7JbE1iPoIvmi1l6Cs45nKXTwXTK-TWonZBv0KQHv452TEIDVYcnSWVjmOSOX5ufLNok-xQpzhPSGPU/s1600-h/LG-THUMB-HALIBUT.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB8N2fdmDYzLJVfNjOP8Xg7l3EqLp-k7vd_0b2pSo4NwHQKReQ9EfAMZ9rAkhL7JbE1iPoIvmi1l6Cs45nKXTwXTK-TWonZBv0KQHv452TEIDVYcnSWVjmOSOX5ufLNok-xQpzhPSGPU/s200/LG-THUMB-HALIBUT.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402987870469246978" /></a> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - So, now, you're one year into your t-shirt career...have you been able to make it your full time job or do you have any other job? or, in a past life, what job did you have and any skills from that job which are helping you in your t-shirt career?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - I continue to have a full-time job by day. I am very far away from being able to make this my full-time job. I need to sell about 50 shirts a day, on average, in order to make it my full-time job, and I feel that's really a bare minimum. I have a long way to go. I am a CPA by trade, which in the United States means I'm a professional accountant. I have been a Chief Financial Officer of various organizations around my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, so I actually have alot of business experience. And I found that business experience helps when you're starting a business! : - )<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Twitter...you seem to be the t-shirt champ on twitter (well, maybe threadless have a few more followers, just about though) and are growing daily..do you think your success on twitter helps your sales? any direct link between the two that you can establish? And how long were you "working" with twitter before it became really useful for Rizzotees?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - <a href = "http://twitter.com/rizzotees" alt = "Follow Rizzo Tees on Twitter" title = "Follow Rizzo Tees on Twitter" target = "_blank">Twitter</a> is currently my number one sales channel - it has been a literal Godsend. Google Analytics proves that it's my #1 sales channel, besides the interaction I have with customers (where they tweet "Hey, I just bought a shirt from you!") My goal is to have Google organic traffic be my number one channel, but this is another goal that's still out on the horizon. I am approaching the first page of Google for various important keywords, but it is HIGHLY competitive - it's a dogfight! The cool thing about Twitter is that I love it. Like I said, I have so many random thoughts that occur to me - what better way to dump them on an unsuspecting community but a microblogging service? 140 characters = low committment - this versus having to maintain a blog, constantly pump out new content. I do have a blog and have made some pretty decent posts on it, but I prefer the quick-hit nature of Twitter. I joined up last November I think, so it's been about a year. It started helping me immediately. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Besides from Twitter your "social media game" is really on point...your facebook fanpage has over 2,500 fans which is pretty staggering..any top tips on how to get there?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - The <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/therealrizzotees" alt = "Rizzo Tees on Facebook" title = "Rizzo Tees on Facebook" target = "_blank">fan page</a> is growing pretty well at this point - my goal is to get up to 50,000 fans. A few keys: 1. Link to it from your main website, 2. Tweet about it - ask for fans, 3. Promise fans they're gonna get something special for being a fan, 4. Pump out content on it - make posts, post pictures, do anything you can to attract fan photos, and 5. Get other fans to suggest your page to their friends.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Would you say you are Crushing It? And how did you manage to be able to do a book review for Gary Vaynerchuk? (check it out <a href = "http://rizzotees.posterous.com/crush-it-gary-vaynerchuk-video-review" target = "_blank">here</a> if you haven't seen). I'd love to be able to review that book as for me I'm converted to what Gary is preaching...alas, I can't get the book here in Ireland yet...but, I digress..have you found the book helpful? meet Gary Vee himself?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - I would love to tell you that I'm crushing it - I have to be honest and be sorta hard on myself at this point. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished so far, but completely unsatisfied and a little cranky about it. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGL5B1nYWOPeAvEEj5PmP5l021NE5d0Z1m-W9erHM5yI5Y0L8UceErkzqzh5BSJgW9aa4Ib4R5St2S93EI3lE63p8m3Pw3ZiYmSmlvlZBc3Q5RAb_d56R3YYlL1RUCL9puVMt4RZ1kNrE/s1600-h/crushIt.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 152px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGL5B1nYWOPeAvEEj5PmP5l021NE5d0Z1m-W9erHM5yI5Y0L8UceErkzqzh5BSJgW9aa4Ib4R5St2S93EI3lE63p8m3Pw3ZiYmSmlvlZBc3Q5RAb_d56R3YYlL1RUCL9puVMt4RZ1kNrE/s200/crushIt.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402991653549187186" /></a> My wife keeps telling me it's all so amazing what I've been able to do so far, almost all on my own, and I just keep telling her "we're not even close." I am always lecturing her about "stopping to smell the roses," but when it comes to my own business, I can't even do that. Perhaps that's a healthy thing for business, but I can't help myself - we're eons away from meeting with true success. The question was "Am I crushing it?" There are TOO MANY times when I go to bed instead of working until the A.M. hours. Part of my life credo is balance - Gary Vaynerchuk has NO balance in his life. And that is working for him - he is raking in five figures per keynote, selling tons of books, they just started Cinderellawine.com and MY DAD is already addicted to the site.... he's working 20 hours a day. I am not doing that. I am working a full-time job, trying to do the best job I can there. I am driving my kids to school, picking them up. The past month or so, I've been sleeping alot more than I used to (6-8 hours a night, versus 4). I can't lie to you - there are times of self-doubt when I realize that I am NOT crushing it. It can be hard to motivate yourself when you're just mentally and physically drained. In direct reference to Garyvee, I am a huge skeptic of the "internet gurus," the stars that give these keynotes, ask you to buy their systems, have an answer for everything..... Gary is the sole guru-type guy that I actually listen to. I was on one of his Ustream chats, and as I am apt to do, I started making tons of comments. His book was being discussed, he was asking for help, and I commented that I would tweet the F**k out of it when it came out. Gary took note and said, on the live Ustream, "Rizzo, I need more from you." He said it several times. So I emailed him and told him to send me a prerelease copy (this was like a month and a half before it came out). He wrote back, cc'ing his publisher, and said let's do it. A week later I was holding a prerelease copy of his book. I hate reading books - I have no patience or attention span for such things. But his book actually was a very easy and compelling read - I can honestly recommend it. I think you can get a version for Kindle and for iPhone too - I don't know if that's an option for folks in Ireland or not. I have never met Gary himself, but he's coming to St. Louis for a booksigning, and I'm going to go to it and say hi. I actually sent Gary a "Props to my Tweeps" shirt as a thank-you for inspiring me to work hard (that sounds cheesy and corny but it's true). However, I have yet to see any photographic evidence that he's worn it. : - ( <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - Gary Vee, if you happen to read this, snap a pic of you rockin' the "Props to my Tweeps" and send it to Chris - make his day]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Throughout your debut year I'm sure there must have been some ups and downs...what moment gave you the most elation in the last year? and then, the other side of the coin, what made you question why you're selling t-shirts and how did you get over it? - or has it been all plain sailing..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - During this year, I have not once questioned whether all of this is a good idea, whether I should have taken the plunge... I am having a great time, and I am convinced I am in a great business. I think I have a nice website and a good product, and for not having any paid advertising, I feel I'm taking pretty good advantage of all of my free options (social media, blog commentary, etc). I'd say the worst thing that's happened this year would be attempts to defraud me - people with stolen credit cards pounding my site. It's just silly - I'm not shipping out anything that's even remotely suspicious - and it's rather unfortunate - I just feel bad for the people that have had their card numbers stolen. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uav5jzO5Bux4zknxH4r7wW9BlErny6KQsLxlnLWNy4yFMY8lZGJq0WpTrVljxAims_MmX392m34R0VrYNT9ASRvRaZCIy6hoR8uzfHTOGOPqJRdVGh_XizLBmLL817t1XmDnvVMvAUQ/s1600-h/OBAMA-LG-THUMB.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uav5jzO5Bux4zknxH4r7wW9BlErny6KQsLxlnLWNy4yFMY8lZGJq0WpTrVljxAims_MmX392m34R0VrYNT9ASRvRaZCIy6hoR8uzfHTOGOPqJRdVGh_XizLBmLL817t1XmDnvVMvAUQ/s200/OBAMA-LG-THUMB.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402988870671392722" /></a> It's the seedy underbelly of business - not the fun part of selling stuff, interacting with customers. It's the bullshit of running a business. It's hard to pick one event that caused me the most elation. I would say seeing my tees on people. Any time someone posts a picture of themselves in my tee, I get HELLA excited! I have not yet personally ran into anyone randomly on the street wearing one of my designs (that will be mindblowing), but I came close. My brother in Milwaukee said he was out in his backyard, and he saw his neighbor's brother wearing my <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com/barack-that-ass-up.html" taret = "_blank" alt = "Barack that Ass Up Rizzo Tees" title = "Barack that Ass Up Rizzo Tees">Barack That Ass Up shirt.</a> His brother had bought one of my designs, happened to be wearing it that day, my brother happened to see.... what are the chances? I emailed the customer and we had a good laugh about it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - Alright, we're getting there..just a few more questions...what is your top selling t-shirt? and any idea why you think it is your top selling tee? And, can you spill the beans and put a number on how many of them you have sold?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - <a href = "http://www.rizzotees.com/props-to-my-tweeps.html" alt = "Props to my tweeps Rizzo Tees" title = "Props to my tweeps Rizzo Tees">Props to my Tweeps</a> is number one. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjeS_XMh03bHWxOsUhO1J7NkBD19RbZva1G0LZld_OtleK0eltS95_BXjgXRJwJjz3KSGxd8EavtA9FM7dV9fCDHY2Fv0F0hRILWu8i2ATmH76sQkhMylJ1FXnhESpSQQ1IoW0uhkJfw/s1600-h/LG-THUMB-PROPS-TO-MY-TWEEPS-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjeS_XMh03bHWxOsUhO1J7NkBD19RbZva1G0LZld_OtleK0eltS95_BXjgXRJwJjz3KSGxd8EavtA9FM7dV9fCDHY2Fv0F0hRILWu8i2ATmH76sQkhMylJ1FXnhESpSQQ1IoW0uhkJfw/s200/LG-THUMB-PROPS-TO-MY-TWEEPS-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402899850195356882" /></a> I don't know how many I've sold - I don't pay alot of attention to the numbers (which is funny because of my trained profession). I have had to print the tee three times, while I have designs that have never gone to a second printing. And the tee debuted in May 2009, so all the other tees had a head start on it, and yet it's #1. I think it's a good looking shirt - good color choices, good knockoff on the Twitter font, and it obviously speaks directly to the millions of people that are rapt by the phenomenon that is Twitter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rob</span> - And for all the Rizzo Tees fans out there what does the future hold? Do you have any ideas in the pipeline you'd like to tell us about? Some new designs on the horizon? or just a special someone you'd like to say hi to hehe...the stage is yours....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris</span> - The future holds moving some more cotton! I have hundreds of ideas in the pipeline - it's a matter of money. My basement (what do you call a basement in Ireland?) has plenty more room for tees, so space is not an issue. I just have to sell more of my existing designs in order for my new designs to see the light of day. On my "About Us" page, I say that I never want to have to hire anyone, that I like being on my own. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfg-nKGPt3OUVxLjUr97tTZg-JGmVXm4rrOvqbbbNLOVF3Q-xqb7TUouNgmAW997NBd2bmaGsG79kBIsb2qHtP2hX3zyiOi7oO2oDaFfs1hp8OOF2r-DYgU5AnY1WRXH4P-BqC7LzMjmI/s1600-h/guinness.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 116px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfg-nKGPt3OUVxLjUr97tTZg-JGmVXm4rrOvqbbbNLOVF3Q-xqb7TUouNgmAW997NBd2bmaGsG79kBIsb2qHtP2hX3zyiOi7oO2oDaFfs1hp8OOF2r-DYgU5AnY1WRXH4P-BqC7LzMjmI/s200/guinness.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402992247884553458" /></a> Philosophically, this is true. However, if I can truly "break thru," take my tee ideas into the mainstream, and sell hundreds a day, I can assure you there is NO WAY in hell I will be able to handle this on my own. During the next year, I am going to try to put out at least 12 new designs, continue to market the F out of the company, and hopefully get closer to that day when I can make it my full-time job. At that time, I will feel like I truly TCB'ed. (TCB = takin' care of business). Hey man, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you! Cheers! *tips back a Guinness* <span style="font-style:italic;">[Rob - Great minds think a like, might get a refreshing beverage myself]</span><br /><br />And that concludes the first interview. Super sized thanks to Chris for taking the time out of his clearly hectic schedule and getting back to me...so, what you guys think? Any Rizzo Tees fans out there? ...any one like me to interview them? - get in touch with me and we'll get something sorted...until next time...ciao...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-4760748717232580072009-10-31T13:37:00.006+00:002009-10-31T14:01:46.609+00:00What makes a t-shirt a top seller?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0sxpmL5U2OOjpCEzYo0j7zxbp55va9VjOV1ZASVAhC8ftTtvmVHoY9PK_9QGc1V89TQhmFN8EXWwOF5haS5-5a5qRoCp6_CuKagHkL9YJzb-rJFTGLL144oaVpqGsr9JnwSUhSGGfe0/s1600-h/mystery.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0sxpmL5U2OOjpCEzYo0j7zxbp55va9VjOV1ZASVAhC8ftTtvmVHoY9PK_9QGc1V89TQhmFN8EXWwOF5haS5-5a5qRoCp6_CuKagHkL9YJzb-rJFTGLL144oaVpqGsr9JnwSUhSGGfe0/s200/mystery.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398762433113114194" /></a>What makes a t-shirt a top seller? - if we knew the answer to that how easy would it be to have successful lines? Is there some secret formula to what makes a t-shirt a hit, some broad similar characteristics that unite the heavy weights of the t-shirt sales world?<br /><br />Well, as far as I can tell I don't think anyone has actually tried to study it - to nail down if its colour, design, t-shirt used, marketing, ease of website use (number of clicks until a buy), payment options available on site or whether a design just hits a topical theme on the head...<br /><br />Also, wouldn't it be nice to actually have some numbers, some cold, hard data on what it takes to have a top selling t-shirt..With your help out there I will do the donkey work (and the arithmetic) to try find some results..because, well, this is some info I'd like to have to aid me in running <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella women clothing for designer fashion" title = "LadyUmbrella women tees for quirky fashion">LadyUmbrella womens fashion tees</a> and I would hope that it would help some others out there...<br /><br />So, please, what I need from, the t-shirt sellers of the globe:<br />- Name of your top selling design<br />- Length of time you've been selling it for<br />- Website where its available<br />- Number of tees sold<br />- Marketing effort made, ie, a brief synopsis on what you have done to market your shirt/brand (just like 2 or 3 lines, no need to go into detail).<br />- Spread this onto those you know who sell tees please...really, this is the crucial part, get the tweets on, bookmark, facebook it, shout about it, whatever..I hope to get about 50 "data-sets" to try give some useful results...<br /><br />You can e-mail me at ladyumbrellaltd [aT] gmail.com or just post your top selling t-shirts info in the comments section...Also, any suggestions on how I could improve upon this idea are of course welcomed...<br /><br />Heck yes...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-35457701604879479512009-10-29T02:44:00.004+00:002009-10-29T17:11:47.909+00:00SWOT Analysis for a t-shirt companyIn this blog I'll deal with <span style="font-weight:bold;">SWOT Analysis</span> (Stengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for a t-shirt company...These are things that I have thought about whilst getting <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella women clothing for designer fashion" title = "LadyUmbrella women tees for quirky fashion">LadyUmbrella womens fashion tees</a> up and running.<br /><br />I'll start by saying focus on what you can do not what others are doing...by all means, monitor your competitors (once you establish them) and do some good old SWOT analysis...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Strengths</span> - what does/will your company have that your competition won't be able to do, or how will you be different/better than them..focus on this element and make sure that when marketing yourself you make your key strength clear from the get go..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weakness</span> - how is your competitor than you? in what way? I think its fair to assume that initially the main advantage that all your competitors will have is brand recognition (to a certain degree at least depending on how successful they are). How can you improve on your weakness? before launching get the word out, work, hustle (Gary V style), post, comment, blog, social media yourself to the brink of death so that when launch day comes at least some people will know about it..reducing your weakness...the other key thing competitors will have will be trust from customers that the product/service is reliable so from day one ensure you have everything in place to ensure timely delivery of quality goods so that you can quickly earn customer trust...happy customers talk nicely about you and get you more customers - unhappy customers shout angrily about you and end your business..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Opportunity</span> - what has your competitor overlooked? What area of your niche or market have they not successfully reached out to? how can you reach out to them? what is your USP (unique selling point) that will give you the opportunity that your competitor doesn't have..this may not be an actual tangible betterment of any good or service that your competitor provides but market it differently, bundle it nicely, present cleverly..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Threat</span> - what is your achilles heal? where can it all go wrong? what other company or competitor can compete in your niche? thing of worst case scenarios and how you will be able to turn them into positives or bounce back..always have a reliable plan B..or C..that could be if trying to sell online and it just doesn't work out yet you have a load of stock do some research on potential retail outlets that may stock your tees (or whatever)..figure out how to approach them and start working on associated materials to give to them upon meeting them...and, if plan A (selling online) does happen to take off there is no harm in getting another revenue stream going too..<br /><br />I've been setting up my brand for the last 3 months or so now and these are things I've thought about and worked on...I can't say it will guarantee anything (I don't even know myself as we are still to launch) but at least you'll give yourself the best opportunity to succeed and be satisfied that, even if it all does go wrong, that you did all you could and weren't half hearted and so will have no doubts or regrets...or thats my hope anyway...<br /><br />P.S. I'm not a business head at all so my above SWOT could be complete garbage, willing to stand corrected and learn if that is the case...LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-55759186272478131752009-10-29T00:27:00.010+00:002009-11-01T22:04:56.693+00:00Facebook Fanpages - How to make them grow..Hey, we kicked off our <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella" target = "_blank" alt = "Ladyumbrella Facebook Fanpage" title = "Ladyumbrella Facebook Fanpage">fanpage</a> for <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "Ladyumbrella Womens Fashion Tess" title = "Quirky Ladies t-shirts from Ireland">LadyUmbrella Ladies Tees</a> at the start of August (the 8th of August to be exact) and have done a few things to try promote it..I'll now share some of the things we did with you, hopefully it will be of some use..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Competitions run via the fanpage</span><br />You want people to comment on your page and become fans. Then their friends might check out your fan page as they will see that someone they know has "fanned up" or left a comment..To do this create some competition where people have to leave comments..we did this and it has been quite successful..has gained us about 350 fans or so I think..I have a blog post you can check out where I talk about what we did..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- discount for "fav t-shirt is.."</span><br />Instead of 30% for joining give them a discount for letting you know which t-shirt of yours is their favorite. Then again you'll get a comment which their friends might see except it will be the best advertising you can get "My favorite t-shirt is your XYZ design - give me my discount" - imagine if you were getting a few of these a day how many people would be checking out your page to see what its about and how many new fans you might get<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Keep interacting</span><br />Try engage your fans, again, more comments = more fans..it will also help you maintain your activity rating which I think increases your chances of your fanpage appearing in the right hand side ad section, where it says "Friend Y has become of fan of Fanpage X"..You don't want to go overboard though, try find the balance, if you notice that you lose fans when you post too much then check yourself before you wreck yourself...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Create a poll</span><br />Get people to vote on things...You can create polls that appear on tabs on the fanpage where people can vote on whatever..make the poll interesting and relevant to you niche and then set about marketing it. On the likes of twitter "link bait" it to a degree so that people want to click on the link to see what the poll is about..the poll is housed on your fanpage so you might get more fans that way..Don't limit your tweets to polls though - tweet til the cows come home...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Ask your friends to join</span><br />Really, invite them all...to your good friends ask them to invite their friends as well..this can have unprecedented jumps in numbers...Also, importantly, when a friend joins your page leave them a comment to say "thanks for joining the XYZ fanpage - spread the word" or something like that..now anyone who visits your friends page will see a comment saying that they have just joined a certain fanpage and us humans are curious creatures so they might just check it out...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Fanpage Exchanges</span><br />Know someone who has a fanpage? How about you suggest their page to all of your friends and vice versa..again, you don't want to do this too often or you'll annoy the crap out of your friends but it can be a good way to get some fans..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Facebook Ads</span><br />Facebook ads can be a good source of a steady stream of fans..you might not get dizzying numbers but done well the costs can be kept down and you'll get steady growth..also, for every person who joins you don't know how many of their friends might also join...you can just hope that some do and that the circle of fans keeps extending...I recently ran Facebook ads and had some success with it, I'll detail in a later post how that worked out for me and what I learned..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Targets</span><br />Set targets for what you want to achieve. Be realistic, break it down into the number of fans you want to get per day and what you can do to get them...Work hard to get these fans..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Blogs</span><br />There is no harm in having a blog, perhaps not for growing a fanpage but for keeping fans happy. Give them a place where they can find out more about the company etc..they may send a link to a friend and then you might get another fan - make it easy to join straight from the blog..also, blogs are a useful tool in the never ending SEO battle so the sooner you start the better..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">- Website</span><br />On your webpage make it easy for people to join your fanpage..use the "facebook badges" that you can get which are really handy..again, tell them that if they join they can get a discount or find out about competitions or the latest product news..<br /><br />After doing all that our fanpage has grown to a little about 1260 fan (hehe, and I don't have that many friends).. Not stellar by any stretch of the imagination but a nice start. A prime example of a successful fanpage is <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/therealrizzotees" target = "_blank">Rizzo Tees fanpage</a> which is the type of active fanpage I want to have somday...<br /><br />Hopefully some of the above will help you and feel free to ask any questions you may have...would also love to hear how any tips you have or what you do to try keep your fanpage buzzing...<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript"> var owHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + owHost + "onlywire.com/btn/button_3181' class='owbutton' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-6770731517685770992009-10-29T00:07:00.000+00:002009-10-29T00:19:44.927+00:00Hi...I'm Rob, a t-shirt nut...This is just a short introduction post to say hi to whoever may read this (although I'll probably be my most frequent reader) and let you know what this blog aims to be about..<br /><br />I'm currently starting a t-shirt company making <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella women clothing for designer fashion" title = "LadyUmbrella women tees for quirky fashion">LadyUmbrella womens fashion tees</a> and are due to launch in late November or early December. Over the last few months I have become a recluse and done nothing but research all I can about the t-shirt world. This blog will chronicle the things I have learned and hopefully will become a useful resource for some other budding t-shirt designers...<br /><br />And, I'll leave it at that...you can find out more about <a href = "http://www.ladyumbrella.com" target = "_blank" alt = "LadyUmbrella women clothing for designer fashion" title = "LadyUmbrella women tees for quirky fashion">LadyUmbrella quirky ladies tees</a> at our site or else on my other <a href = "http://ladyumbrellatees.blogspot.com" alt = "Robs LadyUmbrella Ladies T-Shirts Blog" title = "Robs LadyUmbrella Ladies T-Shirts Blog">blog about LadyUmbrella t-shirts</a>..If that doesn't exhaust you you can also have a look at the <a href = "http://www.facebook.com/ladyumbrella" alt = "LadyUmbrella Facebook Fanpage" title = "LadyUmbrella Facebook Fanpage">LadyUmbrella Facebook fanpage</a> and by all means feel free to become a fan...<br /><br />Laters...LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-28431287520791866032009-10-29T00:04:00.000+00:002009-10-29T00:20:46.818+00:00Give people the "scent" for better sales conversions..Giving people the "scent"...<br /><br />The "scent" is something that I hadn't heard about before but as part of my nightly googling for online marketing/sales/etc I came across the following:<br /><br /><a href = "http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/04/23/trigger-words/" target = "_blank">Bryan Eisenberg on Using Trigger Words to Boost Landing Page Conversion</a><br /><br />(note: at the end the guy does a bit of promo for himself, I don't know him at all but the video is good - I highly recommend it)<br /><br />Basically, the scent is when someone finds your page via a google search/ad you want to instantly make them feel that they have arrived at a place they want to be..what the video suggest and what I think is a great idea, is to have tailored landing pages...for example if some one searches for "t-shirts in new york" and comes to your page have a title of "You've come to the right place for T-Shirts in New York" - straight away you are letting the potential customer know that they are at a site they want to be on and creating a link between what they searched for and now what they have found - doing this dramatically increases conversions...to 72% I think...<br /><br />Now, once you have given the scent to the customer that they are on the right page you want to anticipate their next question and answer..again, following on from the New York t-shirt example your landing page could contain "So, now you've found us would you like to buy one of our t-shirts [and have pictures with buy now links] or just cruise around our site...either way, have a good time"..<br /><br />By doing this straight away the person who has searched for you, has been welcomed, given the "scent" and called to action to do something that is relevant to what they searched for and has a much better chance of increasing sales...<br /><br />I know a lot of people have their t-shirts on display on their homepage and may say "whats the point?" but I think if you have a tailored landing page to what people search for then you will have a better chance of conversion...any ads I run with keywords will all have tailored landing pages anyway...generally, homepages are more about who you are or what your company does (whilst also, in most cases, containing pictures of t-shirts and buy now links) and not about reaffirming a searchers belief that they have found something that they have looked for...<br /><br />Anyway, thats my summary, no substitute for watching the video but hopefully some will find it useful...LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1992181418095933237.post-48351790341438491062009-10-24T02:28:00.000+01:002009-11-24T02:28:39.285+00:00Tee TalkA place to talk tee shirts...<br /><br /><div style="height:400px;"><iframe style='overflow:hidden;width:100%;height:100%;' frameborder='0' border='0' src='http://chat.zoho.com/mychat.sas?U=bh%252FBK%252FATJnN9IDTwKGRtng%253D%253D&chaturl=Tee%20Talk&V=000000-70a9e1-eff4f9-70a9e1-Tee%20Talk'></iframe></div>LadyUmbrellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08490953519952382710noreply@blogger.com0