Check out Jim Whelan… as he says…

“He’ll get you saddled up for the big bucks.”

NOTE (and a WARNING): If you’re easily offended, don’t bother signing up for his newsletter. In the new Obama Nation, it’s politically incorrect. But, I hear Rush and Sarah love it…

Berks Lancaster Business Directory, a business directory site which will profile local independent businesses in Berks County, PA and Lancaster County, PA is officially “Pre-Launched” today.

If you’ve found your way here to The Marketing Caddy and are either a resident, or business owner in Berks or Lancaster County… stop on by, say “Hi”, and give me your input… and participate!

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… Bailed Out the Blogging Bacon of a Tech-Challenged, ADD-Prone, Detail-Deficient, Baby Boomer with an aching back from too many hours hunched over his computer, pissed-off because he’s not playing golf, Big-Picture Small Business Marketing Guy

A look Inside what makes The Marketing Caddy Blog Work

Right up- front…Ben Cope, The Internet Genius…

“You Da Man!”

Back a couple short months ago, I was one frustrated blogger:

• Permalinks didn’t match post titles in search so my visitors ended up on unexpected posts. Who knows how many repeat visitors and subscribers this cost me?

• My post URLs displayed twice in search results? Again, very confusing to visitors.

• My free, off- the-shelf WordPress theme looked like a million other blogs.

• Inserting pictures in posts was a real time-sucking struggle.

• Video in my posts? Turned my blog posts into a Picasso abstract.

• Plus dozens of other nagging little details that wasted my time, gave me headaches, and ruined my golf game…

In addition to all these little nagging issues, I wanted to move my blog to The Marketing Caddy domain. Of course, I was concerned about losing an inventory of blog posts and content that was ranking for my keywords.

So, I posted a project on e-Lance. I got about seven responses, mostly from guys in India. Now, nothing against them, but I wasn’t sold that they really understood, based upon their broken English responses… “I fix blog. You happy results.” Huh?

I knew I wanted someone who would take over and handle these nagging details, help me develop a unique look and feel for my blog, and be available as an ongoing technical resource when I ran into questions or issues.

The Internet Genius to the Rescue

A couple active members at Social Marketing Central were singing the praises of Ben Cope, The Internet Genius:

Martin Malden at WealthyDragon.com

Darlene Norris of Cool Cat Care Stuff

So I took a peek…

Now, I gotta confess… at first glance, I didn’t like the look and feel of the Dream Theme. The fonts seemed too large. The layout looked “off” to me. But, the flexibility, multiple category capability on the Home Page, and the Featured Post impressed me. But, what really sold me was the idea of having Ben’s support.

So I shot Ben an e-mail, and outlined what I was trying to accomplish with my blog, and described all those little pain in the ass things I wanted to fix..

We chatted on the phone. I was immediately convinced Ben understood what I was trying to accomplish, and I gave him the green light to fix my blog problems.

And here’s what happened…

In less than 24 hours Ben:

• Backed-up my existing blog content and database

• Switched my blog to the new domain name

• Imported content for my old blog to The Marketing Caddy, the new blog

• Set up everything in the WordPress Dream Theme

Very cool… very impressive.

Next, I outlined exactly how I wanted to tweak the Dream Theme Look and Feel.

Ben and I went back and forth a couple of times via e-mail and phone calls until we nailed it down.

Finally, Ben set up the aWeber Opt-in form, upgraded to WordPress 2.5, uploaded and tweaked all the plug-ins, set up the FeedBurner RSS Feed, and checked the ping list.

Finally, The Marketing Caddy was rocking. What a relief! Finally,I could concentrate on developing content and marketing my blog.

Check out the WordPress Dream Theme Video here:

Phase II … Inside the Ropes

So for a couple months, I’m dumb and happy. Blogging away, adding content, casting my social marketing net far and wide… I’m also busy developing a small business marketing training and coaching program.

Of course, this raises all kinds of questions:

• How to create a squeeze page for the e-Course?

• How to deliver the e-Course?

• After the e-Course, how do I direct my prospects to my training and coaching sales pages?

• How do I create a Look and Feel different, yet complementary, from my main blog?

• How I put all the million and one pieces together?

Ben Cope,The Internet Genius, Back To the Blog Rescue

Again, I shoot another e-mail outline to Ben. We chatted on the phone to clear up all the details..

In less than 24 hours, once again, my “Inside The Ropes” back-end e-Course, and small business training/coaching program was born.

• Sub-domains set up at my blog host, Go Daddy

• Video Sales Letter Dream Theme up-loaded and attached to my main blog

• Brand-new header graphic developed

Quick and easy…

Now here’s the real, big, fat benefit of the Video Sales Letter Dream Theme:

You control and write all the content for your squeeze pages, thank you pages, e-Course, sales pages, pre-order pages… everything yourself. You don’t need a web designer, or need to know complicated HTML programming.

It’s so easy…

Yep… even a techno-challenged Caveman like me can do it!

Click the image for more on Video Sales Letter Dream Theme

Ben, you’ve saved me hundreds of hours of working on stuff that I truly suck at doing. You’ve lowered my stress level and blood pressure. Your Dream Theme package is the best outsource decision I’ve made in my business.

• Now, if you’re also looking to reduce your blogging hassles and headaches…

• If you’re looking for a powerful theme to present your content… no matter what niche you’re in…

• If you have ideas about the specific Look and Feel you want for your blog…

• If you want to focus on creating content and marketing your blog, instead of learning RSS, CSS, My SQL, PHP, and a whole bunch of blogging tech stuff…

• If you want a simple, yet powerful integrated blog and sales machine…

Shoot Ben Cope, The Internet Genius an e-mail and outline exactly what you’re looking to accomplish. Get on the phone and talk to Ben. He’ll be glad to answer any questions you have and will make sure you get the blog that works for your business.

To Less Stress and Better Blogging…

P.S.— As soon as I upgrade my computer and learn enough to be dangerous about video… Watch Out! I’ll unleash the full-power of the Video Sales Letter Dream Theme.

Oh yeah… since you read this far, why not enroll in my “Inside The Ropes: 7 Simple Marketing ‘Secrets’ of the Pros” Free e-Course and you can see for yourself how all this works.

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Here’s great tool to boost your blogging efforts.

Automate your social bookmarking activity.

Check out the details here: Web2Submitter

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Yes, a blog can… and will… help your small business marketing efforts. Today, Jennifer Haubein explains that a blog is no longer a fad, but a powerful business tool to establish your expertise, communicate, and build relationships with your prospects and clients.

Isn’t it time you jumped on the blogging bandwagon too?

5 Ways A Blog Can Help Your Business

A lot of small business owners are jumping on the blogging bandwagon and there is a very good reason for this. A blog is a very effective tool for your small business, if used correctly. You’re probably wondering if a blog can really help your business or if it is just another fad. There are several reasons business owners are blogging about their business. Blogging helps not only their bottom line, but also their customer relations. Below are the top 5 ways a blog can help your business:

1. Helps potential customers and the media find you- Search engines love blogs! If you post to your blog with search engines in mind, potential customers and the media will find you and your content rich information much easier. But be aware that just because you set up a blog and post a few times does not mean the search engines will find your blog right away. It does take a little bit of time to grow your business blog. Just keep posting content related to your expertise and the press, clients, and search engines will come.
2. Establishes your role as an expert in the field- A blog is a great tool to set yourself apart from the competition as establishing yourself as the expert in your industry. By sharing your opinions on industry news or topics your customers are interesting will automatically generate public speaking invitations and a general perception of your clients as “the expert”. For consultants and coaches being viewed as “the expert” is essential. This allows you to raise your rates and never have to worry about where your next client will come from.
3. Creates a dialogue between you and your customers- A blog is different from a website, because it creates a dialogue between you and your blog visitor. As long as you allow comments on your blog, which I highly suggest you do, your blog sets up a unique dialogue between you and your customers. Wondering if your next product or service will be a success, just look to your blog for the answer. If you’re already blogging, but haven’t received comments yet try asking questions at the end of your blog posts to get the conversation going.
4. Another format to constantly reach your customers- With spam filtering and junk mail settings, sometimes your emails never make it to your customers. But with a blog and a RSS feed, a geeky term for how your blog is delivered, your customers can receive your blog content automatically. It’s best to reach your customers in multiple formats whether it’s mail, email, blogging, or public speaking. Blogging just adds another tool to your follow-up methods.
5. Free advertising- Who doesn’t want free advertising for their small business? A blog is a great way to advertise your services and products without spending a dime. But be careful not to hit them over the head with a hard sales message. It’s best to just give great content and mention a few of your services or products within the posts.

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Jennifer Haubein publishes “SiteNotes” a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you’re ready to start making more money online, get your FREE tips now at www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html

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… Kenny Banya

One of my all time fave Seinfeld lines…

Hey, today Ben Jones included yours truly, The Marketing Caddy, as one of his “41 Absolute Best Blogs About Entrepreneurship and Small Business”

Here’s Ben’s Stumble Bio: “Ben of Ben Means Business. Entrepreneur Extraordinaire, Small Business Consultant, Blogger, Father, Husband, & Comedic Genius!”

Nice list of attributes there Ben!

Ok… show Ben some love. Get over there and comment, Stumble his post and blog, add Ben as a Stumble friend.

Oh yeah… let me think… Ben put together a pretty good list…

Anybody missing?

I’d suggest:

Mason Hipps Small Fuel Marketing

Love the simple, clean design and solid small business content. A mix of strategy and fundamentals and latest online tactics.

Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller’s Gravitational Marketing

These guys simply ROCK the small business marketing world!

Dan Kennedy’s hidden, no comments allowed “Power of” blog The Millionaire Maker’s Marketing Blog

Endless nuggets of marketing genius… from The Marketing Master.

Jonathan Fields’ Awake at the Wheel

An eclectic blend of entrepreneurship, corporate careers stuff, family and fatherhood, comedy, and spiritual topics. Always interesting and thought-provoking.

That’s just off the top of my head… I’m sure I’m missing someone.

If you think of any, add ‘em here in the comments.

Looks like I have a few updates to my Resources page.

Oh yeah… Ben, sorry, I didn’t see that you had your blog listed at the bottom. I like the way you think!

“Gold, Ben, GOLD!”

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Forget those big, noisy sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Check out these 10 smaller social networks that focus on professionals and businesses.

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Who is Cooper Lawrence?

No clue…prior to reading my blog feeds this morning, and discovering Chris Garrett’s post.

If you’re an XBox 360 Mass Effect Gamer, you know Cooper Lawrence… and probably blasted her book at Amazon.

Now, I have no dog in this hunt.

Gamer? Nope.

Concerned parent? Nope, no kids.

Cooper Lawrence? As stated previously, not a clue about her.

Fox News? Fair and Balanced? Nope. News? Nope. MSM playing the ratings, grab ad dollars game.

Oh yeah… here’s the Fox News clip that sparked it all.

Go ahead and “Google” Cooper Lawrence.

Now Cooper, I’m sure your publicist arranged your 15 minutes of fame on Fox to pimp your book.

Here’s the lesson: If you, fellow marketeers, land a Fox interview…

Play the freaken’ game.

Or…

Maybe Cooper is dumb like a Fox…

“Gaming” us into buying her book?

Ok… so I’m busy “Propellering” a post, and I Stumble Upon this gem. (Thanks to The Onion)

“Depressed Candidate Runs Attack Ad About Self”

Damn… I gotta stop snorting Red Bull all over my keyboard.

I subscribe to lots of Feeds.

My Google Reader is one big, bloated cow of unread posts.

What’s with all the Feeds?

Well…

Like most bloggers, I track news and posts in my niche. I’m constantly looking for the good, new stuff that I can share with my readers.

Here’s the problem.

I write and ghost-write in a wide-range of diverse fields:

• Personal finance and taxes
• Home Improvement projects
• Water treatment for homes and business
• Golf fitness
• Golf travel
• Small business marketing tools and tips
• Small business growth strategies

All of these are big active topics with tons of new content hitting the blog-o-sphere each and every day.

So, what’s a guy to do?

Well… in addition to making the decision to hire a digital coach, and also outsourcing all the mundane crap that I suck at doing, I’m adding a nifty little tool that will help me sort out my Feeds and boost my personal blogging productivity.

Kudos to Zack for helping me with my Information Overload gorging.

Here’s to “Getting Fed” a healthy, nutritious diet of content you can easily digest and re-purpose to energize your business.