Between bouts of butt-cheek-numbness (Pro tip: remember to bring a bleacher seat or stadium chair to a wrestling match) I was treated to a fun day of watching little men at various stages of development open up a can of whoop-ass on each other.

There were three rounds of wrestling for each wrestler, which means a full day of fun and frolic. Between bouts, I could not help but draw parallels between what I saw on the mat and what I see every day in the marketing world.

1. How bad do you want it?

One consistent theme during the tournament was the kids who wanted it more came out on top. The kids with heart consistently beat the kids whose hearts weren’t into it. The desire to win was the key differentiator in many matches.

How bad do you want to win in your marketing efforts? What lengths are you willing to go to in order to win? Is your heart in it?

2. Natural talent is eclipsed by preparation & effort

Many kids in that gym are natural born athletes. I’ve seen them perform in other sports and outshine their competition. This (wrestling) was different. Kids who wanted to win and/or who came into the match better prepared consistently outperformed the natural athletes.

How prepared are you? Have you done everything you can to learn new tactics? No matter your channel or marketing discipline, preparation and staying on the cutting edge is critical to success. What have you learned lately?

3. Wrestling isn’t sexy. Neither is marketing.

Heart does not show up in a pretty package. Kids that “looked” the part were not necessarily the best prepared to kick butt and take names.

We have a tendency as a community of marketers to move onto the next sexy thing. But those things are more often than not a distraction from executing on tactics and channels we already know work. I’m not suggesting your ignore those new shiny things completely – just be realistic about them. Does your business REALLY need a mobile strategy or a QR campaign? What if you spent that time focused on improving conversion on your existing web site? What if you could double the open rates on your e-mail campaigns? Resist the temptation to chase the shiny object, unless it’s a good fit for your objectives.

4. There’s more than one way to win

There was a diversity of technique deployed by the winners. I found that fascinating. Some were very strong, some had a strategy of executing takedowns and letting the other kid up (2 points for every takedown while giving away 1 point for an escape) until they won a “technical fall” a 15 point lead. Strategy was all over the board – no single strategy prevailed in the gym. As these kids mature, the good wrestlers may be able to morph their strategy to their opponents.

It is critical to ensure you’ve aligned your marketing strategy with your business objectives. Not every business needs a social media strategy or a Facebook page. I realize that’s not a fashionable thing to say in today’s marketing world, but it’s true. Tie your strategy, channel and tactics to your business objectives and you’ll never go wrong.

5. Take your lumps and learn something from them

Watching some of these kids pour their heart into the match only to lose was a gut-wrenching experience. The strain on their faces. The tears. Ugh. In every situation like that, the coaches came back and taught the kids something after the loss.

Make sure you take time to debrief from each campaign and review lessons learned. I subscribe to the WWW-TALA debrief method espoused by the manager tools podcast. WWW = What went well. TALA = Take a look at. Ask yourself those two questions after every campaign. What went well? What should we take a look at? Be brutally honest with yourself. It’s the only way you’ll learn from your mistakes. Then pick yourself up and move onto the next measurement cycle.

6. Perfect one move before learning another

I watched some kids win a match with little more than one move – but they knew that one move very well. I suppose even at this age you can say they “mastered” that one move – because they did it so well they were able to overwhelm their opponents with it, if the opponent did not have a way to counter it.

Before adding a new channel into your marketing mix, make sure you have mastered your existing channels first – or at least taken them as far as you can.

I hope you’ll find these tips useful. And next time you’re rewriting an e-mail subject line for the 12th or 13th time, imagine the 7 year old kid doing wall sits with sweat dripping down his back and a grimace on his face. And ask yourself before you throw in the towel and just go with headline #11 – ask yourself – “How bad do I want it?”

Sean McGinnis is VP Sales & Marketing at DotCO Law Marketing, a digital media network that provides internet advertising opportunities for lawyers and law firms. Sean consults, speaks, and authors on a variety of topics related to digital marketing and sales. He is co-founder of the community blog 12 Most and has 12 years of internet marketing experience. Follow Sean on Twitter and on Facebook.

But before you turn your articles into particles, let’s look at what the content universe is made of. Once we know what’s on the Periodic Table of Content, we’ll be ready to start smashing particles in the content accelerator.

What follows is a description of each particle and examples of how to break it down or combine it with others. If you don’t want to read them all, just look at the ones you already have and the ones you want to create.

Tw (Tweet)

Tweet is a tiny particle, which survives in nature only a short time. Tweets are known for traveling far and in many directions, and they may be comprised of subatomic links, mentions, hashtags and quotes.

•  Any content can be atomized into Tweets. Doing so can lead to small chain reactions of shares and clicks. Quotes, stats, captions and headlines can all be made into tweets.
•  Tweets can be combined into post. Use three tweets and add your own commentary, or simply list 12 related tweets.

P (Post)

One of the primary building blocks of web content, Posts can be seen as updates on social media sites (Facebook, G+) or in corporate blogs or other streams. They tend to be timely, short-lived and date-stamped. Posts are informal and highly shareable and may include images.

• Since Posts are already small, they can only be broken down into Tweets.
• Posts are strongest in compounds with other elements: Link to posts from Tweets and Newsletters. Link from Posts to Web Pages.

Ne (Newsletter)

A newsletter is an out-bound particle that lives slightly longer than the Tweet. It has more properties, including subject lines and link tracking, so it requires careful handling.

• Newsletters should always link to Posts and Articles. Their energy is lower unless this bond is created. If a Newsletter gives the full text and doesn’t link to something else, the visitor doesn’t click and no traffic is generated. Never put the full text into a newsletter. Always combine!
• Newsletters should contain smaller particles.

Pc (Podcast)

The Podcast is pure, distilled audio and has no visual energy. Podcasts are typically less powerful than Video, but more powerful than text, because of their ability to convey tone. Create them using radio frequency microphone technology.

• Podcasts are easy to create by reading summaries of Articles and Case Studies.
• Podcasts may be by-products of the Presentations creation process. Simply pull the audio track out of a Video or Webinar, or record the presentation using a smart phone and edit later.

Pp (Presentation)

No longer just viewed on projectors during speeches, today Presentations can be found across the web, ranking in searches and shared through social media. They are most powerful when charged with visual content, such as charts and images.

• Post to Slideshare and embed into Web Pages, including LinkedIn
• Record the audio track to create a Podcast
• If possible, use social media coverage to live tweet those juicy soundbites during the presentation. Use a predetermined hashtag sub-particle.

Re (Reviews) (aka recommendations, testimonials)

Since the recent explosion of these particles, Reviews can be found everywhere. Find them on your Yelp page, LinkedIn, Google Place Page or free-roaming emails.

• Combine them with your Web Pages through testimonial chemistry, but never create a Web Page of testimonials. Reviews are supportive content that increase the credibility of other Particles. When they stand alone (on a testimonials page) they are weaker, since visitors don’t go to website to read reviews. They go to get information and learn.
• Add reviews to Case Studies, Newsletters and Press Releases.

Cs (Case Study)

Sometimes known as a “success story,” Case Studies increase credibility and are useful when trust is critical and the sales process is long. The problem-solution-result structure is easy to spot. Case Studies are powerful because they can be atomized into almost anything.

• Break them down into outbound Newsletters, less formal Articles and two or three tweets to increase traffic.
• Combine with Reviews (use the Testimonial isotope) and link to Web Pages to increase conversions.

At (Article)

An extremely versatile element, Articles are slightly larger than Posts and more structured. They are less self-serving than Web Pages. Articles are created to inform and entertain, not just market and promote.

• Atomize Articles into Posts and Tweets
• Transform into Web Pages (add product/service information) or into Case Studies (restructure, add example).
• Combine 5 articles into an eBook or 20 articles into a Book.

Pr (Press Release)

This targeted, highly-charged particle travels quickly. Although it was once directed specifically at media, today it can be found ranking in search engines and reaching a wider spectrum.

• Press Releases are easy to convert into Web Pages and Articles, but be careful. Rewrite the Press Release before posting it on your site to avoid the duplicate content penalty. Each Web Page particle on your site should be original and unique on the web.

Vi (Video)

Although the content and messaging may overlap with surrounding particles, the format stands alone as one of the most compelling and powerful formats for content.

• Most content can be atomized into Video in any properly equipped lab.
• Video becomes more powerful when bonded to a Web Page (a process known as “embedding”) improving the conversion rate (visitors into leads) of the Web Page.

Wb (Webinar)

Similar to a Presentation, but always with audio and sometimes with video.

When viewed in real time and given a hashtag, Webinars often generate Tweets.

• Create Video or Podcast particles through recording technology.
• If the Webinar requires registration, be sure to atomize some aspects and make them viewable as Articles (transcripts).

Pdf (PDF files)

These are supportive particle that should never stand alone. Any valuable content that is currently within a PDF but not on a Web Page should be atomized immediately, since they are not as search friendly and lack Analytics.

• Best when bonded to Web Pages as an alternate (print-friendly, downloadable) versions of Articles, White Papers, Press Releases, etc.
• There are only a few, specific environments where PDFs can stand alone and still have value: Scribt and Slideshare.

Wt (White Paper)

Also referred to as a Research Report, Technical Brief, or Guide,

White Papers tend to be formal, text heavy and a bit boring. Historically common, many White Papers still exist in legacy content and sometimes they are relevant for years. These are prime candidates for atomization.

• One White Paper can often be broken down into three or more Article or Posts.
• If the White Paper is available only as a PDF, make it into a set of Web Pages.
• Post on Scribt
• If there is an Executive Summary, this may be broken off into a Case Study or Web Page.
• Subatomic quotes and stats can become Tweets.

Wp (Web Page)

A stable particle that’s clear, direct and easy to control. Their effectiveness is also easy to measure. Web Pages are powerful in both search engine marketing and at converting visitors into leads and customers. However on their own, they are not frequently shared.

• Case Studies, Articles and White Papers should all be atomized into Web Pages.
• Marketing PDFs should always be converted into web pages.
• Reviews should not be combined into a Web Page since “testimonial” pages generate disproportionately low visits. Reviews should be added to various pre-existing web pages.

Bk (Book)

Offline particle with a history of endurance. No particle is older except the ancient Scroll (Sc) and Slab (Sl).

• Books can be created by combining many Article particles through editing fusion. This process releases large amounts of credibility.
• Books can be atomized into Articles and White Papers

Eb (eBook)

Similar to the Book but shorter. Similar to the White Paper, but less formal and text-heavy. eBooks typically feature more design elements (charts and images) and can be created easily using presentation software such as Powerpoint or Keynote.

• Convert White Papers into eBooks
• Combine Articles with a similar theme into an eBook

Atom Smashing Examples (good and bad)

• Multiplying Video (good): Brad Farris of EnMast made a one hour webinar interview of three experts. Later, he atomized the video into three shorter videos, each was of an expert answering a specific question.
• Atomic Meltdown (bad): A biomedical company hired a PR firm which then used their home Web Page as a Press Release, submitting it to online news wires. The explosion in duplicate content caused Google to blacklist the domain. The company no longer ranked, even for it’s own name. Hazmat suits and a Reconsideration Request were needed to clean up.

Final Thesis

Content marketing is exactly like high energy physics. Well, not really. But you can accelerate your publishing if you look at the content around you and think about combining things and breaking things down….a webinar becomes a podcast…the podcast becomes a blog post…combine the blog post with a newsletter…etc.

Be a web marketing scientist, find something to atomize, and make your marketing go boom.

by Andy Crestodina. You can find Andy on Google+ and Twitter.

Putting Clients in Control

A decade ago we noticed a trend that business marketers wanted the freedom to do this, but most other web design firms charged hourly for simple content changes. In 2001, there were few affordable packaged solutions we could afford to offer our clients, and open-source options were not, in our opinion, user-friendly. They were great for “webmasters,” but they were too complicated for amateur website administrators.

SiteBot

So, I decided to develop Orbit’s own content management system.

The system had to be easy for clients to use to minimize support calls.

• It had to be simple.
• It had to be secure.
• It had to be flexible so custom features did not require custom back-end development.

The first version of our content management system, called SiteBot, was released in 2003. We included SiteBot in all our proposals and priced our website services no higher than the average Chicago firm. This strategy provided us with a big advantage over our competitors, and business started to grow.

The Orbit Baby is Born: Mighty-Site

By 2005, WordPress, Drupal and several other open-source CMS’s had gained attention, but they were still meant for developers and webmasters – not marketers. As websites with a CMS were a standard requirement, we wanted to offer something noticeably better packaged and more powerful to make an impression on prospective clients.

Orbit released the second major version of its content management system and branded it “Mighty-Site”. Brand and usability were the primary motivators for the upgrade. This build was a team effort involving Orbit’s new design team and new PHP programmers. Inspired by a 1940’s ad, I illustrated my second daughter – who just learned to stand – swapped a rattle for a barbell, and the Mighty-Site baby was born!

Ecommerce

By 2006 we had more opportunities to design and develop ecommerce websites and needed an out-of-the box codebase to offer. Ecommerce platforms were highly competitive and offered many features, but we believed we could design and build something better. Utilizing Mighty-Site’s flexibility, it was relatively easy to expand its capabilities for product catalogs, coupons, shipping rules, sales tax, and everything else that makes ecommerce complicated.

Usability => Money

At this point, developing the website was the greater challenge, but we focused on the aspects that made clients money – Design and Usability. Ecommerce sales conversion was a hot topic, and we believed we could deliver a more user-friendly process than off-the-shelf software. For example: to reduce confusion, website users placed items into their cart without needing to leave the product screen, and to prevent cart abandonment, we designed the one-page checkout form and never required a customer to create an account.

Affordable Customization

Most ecommerce projects needed something customized for their customers. Because the developers of our websites were also the developers of Mighty-Site, we had a cost advantage over random developers enhancing random open-source codebases. Thus, our clients were able to invest in custom built ecommerce sites without absorbing expenses for enhancements to the content management system.

Custom Applications

Experience gained from ecommerce development created opportunities for us to offer more complicated and custom front-end website applications. New clients were taking advantage of our services to create websites highly integrated with their normal business operations:

• Membership Directories
• Event Calendars
• Ecommerce for Event Registration
• Location Searches with Google maps
• Custom products for publishers and travel agents
• Customer Relationship Management

Mighty-Site never needed customizations to handle the administration of the custom data. However, there was an unforeseen consequence to the complicated data architecture: Mighty-Site was reaching usability and technical limitations on the amount of data it could effectively serve per screen. We also needed the ability to quickly expand its feature set with custom management applications and various reports.

Mighty-Site 2.0

In 2008, Orbit went to the drawing board with a new design and development team to plan the third major release of the content management system – Mighty-Site 2.0. The motivators for improvement were Speed, Organization, Expandability and, of course, Usability. Mighty-Site 2.0 was released in 2009 and is still in use today.

We have launched at least 150 websites with this system. What is more remarkable is that many clients from the early years have upgraded their sites to the new version of Mighty-Site, usually with a website redesign. The results are even better! As time advances, so does technology, and Orbit, for the sake of our clients, is right there with it.

By Barrett Lombardo

HubSpot’s Greatest Hits: Volume I

“Why Page 1 Matters”

100 Awesome Marketing Stats (slide 33) – In search engines, 60% of all organic clicks come from the top 3 search results, and 75% of users never go past the first page. It’s worth much more to be at the top of the charts (and search results).

“Ask For Less Info”

Science of Analytics (slide 37) – If a form has fewer fields, more visitors will fill it out, which means higher conversions. It makes perfect sense, right? Now we have the research to back it up.

“Tuesday’s Gone With The Visitor”

Science of Email Marketing (slide 14) – The one day of the week that gets more opt-outs and email unsubscribes than any other? Tuesday. Who knew?

“Publish Early, Share It Late”

Science of Blogging (slide 61) – Blogs are most likely to be read early in the day and on the weekends, but the Tweets and Facebook posts that promote those blog posts are more likely to get shared late in the day.

“Magic Raffle Rewards”

Science of Email Marketing (slide 32) – The words you use in email subject lines matter. Use of certain words, (i.e, “Magic”, “Raffle”, “Rewards”), will make your emails less likely to be delivered.

“Bloggers Get The Visitors”

100 Awesome Marketing Stats (slide 75) – Ready for some crazy stats? Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages, 55% more visitors, and generate 67% more leads than companies that do not.

“Twitter You Please”

Science of Blogging (slide 28) – The top 5 most re-tweetable words are “you”, “twitter”, “please”, “retweet”, and “post”. Hubspot recommends you keep it personal and stay away from industry jargon (it hurts the visitors’ ears).

“I Will Follow You“

Science of Analytics (slide 54) – Photography of people looking in a certain direction can improve conversions. Note: Technically this is a cover tune since Hubspot was referring to another study, but since I first heard it from Hubspot, it made the list. It was mentioned in this blog as well.

“Banner Blindness“

Optimizing Your Site for Maximum Lead Flow (slide 18) – Simply put, people ignore banner ads. You don’t want to be the clutter around the content, you want to be the content.

“You’re So Vain”

The Most Facebook-Shareable Words – It turns out that the most shareable word on Facebook is…..Facebook. Rounding out the top five included “why”, “most”, “world”, and “how”.

So, those are some of our favorites from a group that’s sure to produce more hard-rocking content marketing research and recommendations. We’ll be here listening. Someday you might even see a Hubspot’s Greatest Hits Volume Two…

If you’ve tested any of these tips, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

by Andy Crestodina

Chicago Cause is a philanthropic partnership between Orbit Media, Lightspan Digital, Flanigan Communications, and ShiftFocus Productions. Together as partners we committed to donate over $32,000 in marketing services to one deserving Chicago nonprofit. Each partner contributed their time and resources in their area of expertise for web design, video production, social media efforts and public relations.

The 2011 Chicago Cause Winner

We received over 30 applications from a variety of different nonprofit organizations located here in Chicago. Myself and 4 other judges then had to narrow down the applicants to 10 finalists, threw a party to meet them all, and then after much deliberation (it was a tough one!) we chose the 2011 Chicago Cause winner.

This year’s recipient is…dun dun dun dun…Inspiration Corporation (clap clap clap!).

If you’re not familiar with the Inspiration Corporation here is their mission statement:

• Inspiration Corporation helps people who are affected by homelessness and poverty to improve their lives and increase self-sufficiency through the provision of social services, employment training and placement, and housing.

After 21 years of service, Inspiration Corporation has grown to serve over 3,000 individuals every year and continues their mission to end homelessness and poverty in the Chicago area.

In my own words; they are extraordinary humans, doing incredible things. We recently went to the Inspiration Kitchen, which is a restaurant training skills program started by Inspiration Corporation, and had the pleasure of meeting some of the people that they’ve helped. Honestly, some of the best people, stories, and food (insert “I want to hug everyone around me right now emoticon”). I highly recommend you head there with some friends to see what I’m talking about!

A little more about the other 9 finalists…

We love all of the finalists so much and what they do for the Chicago community, so we decided we wanted to offer something to the rest of the 9 organizations. Here’s how we’re trying to help:

• Free web marketing consulting (Orbit)
• Free use of EventBrite for one year (thanks to our friends at EventBrite!)
• Free half day seminar on social media marketing, event planning, and promotion (Lightspan Digital and EventBrite)

We’re so proud to be able to help these super-humans that are making a difference around Chicago. If you’d like to learn more about the finalists and how you can help, we’ve included all of their information below.

• Book Worm Angels – Book Worm Angels is a literacy organization that promotes development of recreational reading habits among students pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
• Read/Write Library Chicago – Read/Write Library, formerly known as Chicago Underground Library, is an all-inclusive collection of Chicago-specific media, produced by and for the community whose current focus is on print. However, the RWL is planning to expand into audio, video, and performance documentation.
• Slow Food Chicago – Slow Food Chicago creates dramatic and lasting change in our local food system to ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.
• Support 1000 – Bra Donation – Support 1000′s mission is to affirm the dignity of women by collecting new and lightly used bras to donate to organizations that serve women and families.
• Growing Home, Inc. – Growing Home provides job training on its organic farms, creates green jobs, promotes healthy food and organic agriculture, and increases the availability of local, healthy produce in the City of Chicago.
• Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation – The PFF is an advocate for the pulmonary fibrosis community, promoting disease awareness and providing a compassionate environment for patients and their families.
• Snow City Arts – Snow City Arts is a pioneering program that provides arts, cultural, and educational programming to hospitalized children unable to attend school because of serious illness.
• Haymarket Center – Haymarket Center’s mission is to aid people with chemical dependency in their recovery by providing optional professional care that is responsive to the needs of the community.
• Illinois Science Council – The Illinois Science Council was created on the premise that having an understanding of the scientific method and of scientific discoveries is crucial to a well-rounded civic life.

What some of the finalists had to say about Chicago Cause….

Oz, Support 1000
“Gotta tell you. I found out about the contest right before the deadline and jumped on in. Glad I did! Congrats to Inspiration Corporation, they’re really a big contribution to the community. Good choice!”

Monica, Illinois Science Council
“Thanks so much for letting us know the decision for Chicago Cause.  I’m familiar with Inspiration Corporation; they do great work and are absolutely worthy of the award.  I really enjoyed meeting you and the others, and learning about the other finalist organizations through Chicago Cause.  Even writing the application was a worthwhile effort as part of this process for me.”

Mike, Book Worm Angels
“Amanda, our congratulations to Inspiration Corporation, and to you and your partners in Chicago Cause for the excellent initiative you all exhibited in putting this together.”

Polly, Growing Home, Inc
“Thanks Amanda. Was out of the office at the farms yesterday, so just getting this. I was inspired by Inspiration Corporation too – have signed up to volunteer with them! I know they’ll really benefit from the package! All the best and thanks again for involving us in this initiative”

We’d love to hear from you about your experience with the Chicago Cause or if you have any recommendations for the 2012 Chicago Cause, please feel free to leave comments below.

Keep it up do-gooders!!

By Amanda Gant

Gamification is the use of game mechanics in non-game settings in order to encourage specific desired behaviors. By taking advantage of our psychological predisposition to playing games, gamification encourages people to perform tasks that they might ordinarily consider boring.

Watch the Scoreboard

If you start tracking how you’re doing, you’ll start doing better. And since it’s the web, everything is trackable.  There are scoreboards everywhere—some of them even have pretty charts. Pretty charts are powerful motivators.

Here are some example scoreboards and tips on how to use them to drive behavior and results…

Note: These are separate from all the measurements in Google Analytics. This isn’t about traffic. This is about tracking activity that drives traffic.

Social Media

This channel was born to gamify.  Twitter has been game-like from the beginning, with followers as the main score, as in “Wilmer Valderrama has 136,479 followers!” Foursquare, with its hundreds of badges to win, is basically a game. Foursquare isn’t “used,” it’s “played.”

• Twitter Followers – TwitterCounter.com
  Follower growth is fun to track.  Twitter Counter is free. Sprout Social has super compelling charts.
• Facebook Likes – Facebook Insights
  Lovely charts, easy to read.  The green (up) and red (down) arrows are good motivators.
• Klout Score – Klout.com
  This is a general score of social media influence. Great badges (250+ unique Retweets!) and nice charts. This one is almost too compelling. Beware obsession.

Ready to play? Tweet, post, have conversations, follow, retweet, comment, like, share, connect.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This game has the ultimate scoreboard: rankings.  But measurement of SEO activity lacks the simple tools with pretty charts. Important, but harder to “play.” Requires skill and determination.  For ages 12 and older.

• Inbound Links – Open Site Explorer
  Go for volume.  Get lots of links from as many sites as possible, as long as they’re somewhat relevant to you.
• Domain Authority – Open Site Explorer
  Now go for quality.  Try to get inbound links from other sites with high domain authority.  Promote your site with popular and important sites. Consider PR.
• Google PageRank – Quirk SearchStatus
  Monitor Google’s 1 – 10 scale of authority with this browser plug-in.  But don’t expect it to change too often.  6 or 7 is the practical limit for many sites.

Ready to play? Write, submit, research, submit, update, submit.

Email Marketing

Adding subscribers gives a great feeling of progress, and watching the stats come in after clicking send is compulsive. …refresh! …refresh!  But be careful: this is a game with penalties. Getting a spam report is like a yellow flag on the field. It stings.

• Subscribers – Your database or CRM
  Use a database that lets you easily opt-in subscribers. This is an important score but hard to watch. There isn’t a chart that shows it as it grows.
• Open Rate – Your email provider or ESP
  Most email providers have nice charts that help you measure responses.  This one is affected by the timing of your email, your subject lines and the quality of your list.
• Click Through Rate – Your email provider or ESP
  This is a more important score, since it’s actual traffic. Focus on providing as much value as possible.  Build up your credibility.  Stay on a consistent schedule.

Ready to play? Invite, write, post, send, measure, repeat.

But, Seriously…

Yes, games are fun, but the real measure is leads and sales. These are the “goals” setup in Google Analytics. These are the real results.

So start watching the scoreboards, if you think of it as a game and start playing, you might be able to trick yourself into getting busy. Pick a few metrics and check them daily. Make it fun and tap into that part of your brain that just loves to play.

Obsess as if it was fantasy football, a stock portfolio, or your daughter’s 4-years-and-under soccer team. You might suddenly become a dedicated web marketer and get those real results.

You can’t win if you don’t play!

Bonus Round

There are loads of other ways to check your scores.  Here are a few:

• Hubspot Website Grader
• Alexa Traffic Rank
• YouTube Views
• Reviews – number of stars on Yelp, Google, etc.
• Comments on blog posts
• Follower-to-Following Ratio

Got your own favorite score card we didn’t mention here?  Feel free to tell us by commenting below…

By Andy Crestodina. You can also find Andy on Google+ and Twitter.

• If I hire Orbit to create something for me, I have the right to get a return on my investment, be it through:
  • Cost or time savings
  • Traffic  volume and quality increases
  • Sales opportunities through leads
  • Conversion of visitors to leads or sales
  • Exposure through visits and views
  • Education on products or services
  • Direct sales of products
  • Enhanced brand awareness and differentiation
• I have the right to expect that Orbit will understand my business and my overall marketing strategy and incorporate that knowledge into every decision so that I get the most out of my money
• If Orbit doesn’t have faith that there will be a return on investment, or if there are external factors or risks that may affect the return on my investment, Orbit will explain and advise.
• I have the right to understand the total cost (initial, maintenance, etc.) of my website so that I can adequately assess costs and bene

DO (Due) Process

• I have the right to a service level and attention to details from Orbit that is consistent with their best practices and processes.
• I have the right to never be surprised by always having my expectations set and managed appropriately relative to the scope, process, plan, deliverables, and the what is expected from me during the process
• I have the right for all projects to be delivered on-time and on-budget, provided I fulfill my own project responsibilities.
• I have the right to be unique and demand flexibility from Orbit rather than just being put through the motions or process.
• I have the right to mutual professional courtesy and respect in all communications with Orbit.
• I have the right for quality websites that function properly and are error free, as defined in proposals and during planning.

Right to Counsel & Advice

• I have the right to expect Orbit to demonstrate their expertise and consult me on what’s best for my site for the life of our relationship.
• If there are trends or changes to the Internet that affect my marketing, I have the right to be notified and advised.  Orbit will inform me of major trends that may affect my website and advise me of the implications and opportunities.
• If I contact Orbit to discuss a change I have in mind, I have the same rights of counsel and Orbit will provide me advice.
• If changes to my site are recommended or needed, I have a right to a fair and accurate estimate if costs are incurred.

Support for the People

• I have the right to prompt assistance if something goes wrong, even if it’s my fault.
• I have the right to get help solving my website problems and assistance with my ideas.
• I expect to get a quick response to my request and have it resolved in a reasonable time frame.

Technology

• I can expect Orbit to keep up with the latest technology trends and only recommend or use technologies that are proven and reliable
• If Orbit is hosting a website for me, I have the right to reliable, secure and up-to-date hosting with minimal downtime.

Usability & Design

• I have the right to a design that is consistent and complimentary to my brand
• I have the right to designs that are both visually appealing and usable
• I have the right to expect my users’ experience to be efficient and pleasant

Independence

• I have the right to update my website content without needing help from Orbit
• I have the right to adequate and accurate reporting tools that allow me to manage my site and support my business processes.
• I have the right to be educated on how Orbit tools work so that I can maintain my site.

Happiness

• I have the right work with Orbiteers who have an awesome attitude that includes a results focus, positive energy, balanced urgency, and genuine partnership.
• I have the right to expect that Orbit will make me happy about choosing to work with them!

Partner Rights

• If I am partnered with Orbit, I have the right to mutual respect, genuine dialog and a sincere advice on what is best for the end client.
• I have the right to my clients.  I am entitled protection from Orbit working directly with my clients without my permission.

1. Mobile Marketing

2011 will be the year when the majority of phones are smart phones. From this point on, most phones in the US will have access to the web… and advertisers will have access to most people through their phones. Considering that mobile phones outnumber television sets and computers (including desktops and laptops) by more than 3 to 1, there is a huge market that is mostly untapped. I think we’ll see a huge push in mobile advertising and more companies considering mobile web design to support their marketing initiatives.

2. Local Search

We’ve all heard about the importance of “user generated content” but now we can be much more specific: reviews submitted by customers will affect your search engine rankings.  Starting this year, companies will rise and fall (literally), based on their local listing.

3. Video

When selling a product or service online, video production will become an even more important tool in convincing visitors to take action. Video increases conversions rates on ecommerce websites and is a great way to build a rapport with your customers.

• Look for video on ecommerce sites alongside product photos.
• Look for video on more home pages.
• Look for video on landing pages, in email marketing, and pretty much everywhere else.

By 2012, you’ll be expecting it.  You’ll be disappointed when a site doesn’t have video.

4. Social Media

There are roughly 700 million users between Twitter, Facebook (which just surpassed Google as the #1 most visited website), and LinkedIn alone. The web will continue to become more social and shared content will become a more important source of traffic. Social platforms will integrate more with each other. As consumers, we’ll get a little tired of the “like” button.  As marketers, we’ll love it.

Fortunately, we can turn our personality flaws into assets as web marketers. Online marketing today encompasses a slew of technologies and activities, some of which are perfect matches for our various personal idiosyncrasies.

Here’s a quick list of “issues” and how they can be turned to your advantage if you do web marketing…

1. Obsessive/Compulsive – Twitter
2. Narcissistic “Know-it-All” – Email/Article Marketing
3. Insomnia – SEO
4. Social Anxiety – Usability Analyst
5. Antisocial – Spammer

1. Obsessive/Compulsive

Twitter

Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by repetitive behaviors or by a combination of such thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). The symptoms may include repetitive actions and nervous habits. “OCD” is often used to describe someone who is absorbed in an activity or otherwise fixated on something.

Do you love performing trivial actions repeatedly?  Great!  Twitter is the web marketing channel for you.

You’re obsessed with an endless quest for progress, so Twitter’s perfect: It provides a “score” – as in, number of followers.  Oh, look! You added another one! That little psychological reward is irresistible, isn’t it?  You’re also eager to increase your Klout score.  And who knows what that next connection brings?  Just one… more… tweet…

The rigid limits of Twitter don’t bother you.  You’re a bit inflexible anyway. And when you know the rules (such as character limits and Twitter syntax), you work within them better than most.

You may be afraid to throw things away, and that’s fine!  In Twitter, you’ll never need to click delete.

It doesn’t hurt if you have a have a touch of ADHD.  Right now you’re thinking of ways to summarize this article in 140 characters…

2. Narcissistic “Know-it-All”

Email and Article Marketing

Narcissism is the personality trait of egotism, denoting vanity, conceit or simple selfishness.  In social interaction, it sometimes denotes elitism. Narcissists tend to demand admiration from others and can be quite arrogant.

You’re the expert… Shouldn’t you tell the rest of us how it’s done?

Conversations can be irritating because others want to talk. These folks force you to wait before you can finish imparting your vast cache of wisdom.  So why don’t these people pipe down and absorb all the genius you have to offer?

With writing, this problem goes away. Write as much as you want, as often as you want without people interrupting you.

You’re actually well-suited to do an important job that many people don’t like: creating content.  Content is critical for web marketing, especially the content you write, since it covers the key topics and it’s so well written.  You need to show people the right way to do things.  Even if you’re never fully appreciated, it’s up to you to shine a light in their darkness.

Reveal the truth and click send.

Note: Narcissists are also right at home in social media, since everyone wants to know what they’re thinking.  They can post things quickly, showing people how smart they really are.

3. Insomniac

Search Engine Optimization

Insomnia is characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep and/or difficulty staying asleep. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake.

Can’t sleep?  Why not get up and check your analytics. Look at your link popularity.  Tweak some page content…and you’re sucked in. I’ve spent many late nights optimizing and time flies.

Search engine marketing is time-consuming work that requires little social interaction. So it’s great to do off-hours.  You usually don’t need help from others and you don’t get interrupted.

It’s never over.  You’re never done.  You can never have enough back links – Must submit to…one…more…site!  You can never rank for enough keyphrases – Shouldn’t you be targeting some eight-word phrases?

It’s uncertain.  You’re never completely sure which actions have the most impact so it’s best to pour some coffee and work for another hour. Or two.

And even if you rank well, there is always more to learn.  There’s always another SEO tool to test, an SEO blog to read, and SEO technique to try, another SEO keyphrase to add to a page (this sentence has four).

All things being equal, an insomniac will outrank the well-rested.

4. Social Anxiety

Usability Analyst

Social Anxiety is a state characterized by uneasiness, apprehension, worry or fear of negative public scrutiny or of public embarrassment or humiliation.  This anxiety is emotional state in which one is ready to cope with upcoming negative events.

You’ve always been concerned about making a good first impression. You’re acutely aware of how others view you. You have a deep-seated drive to please others.  But this works in your favor if your job is making websites easier to use. This sensitivity is your strength as a usability expert.  You care.  A lot.

Yes, as a usability analyst, you will have to interact with people.  You’ll sometimes perform focus group testing.  But you’re extreme concern for the group’s happiness will help you improve the site.

Remember, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.  Be sensitive to your visitors, but watch your results.  Avoid usability changes that make the site easier for a few, but more confusing or difficult for the rest.

5. Antisocial Personality Disorder

Spammer

Antisocial Personality Disorder is defined as a pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.  People whom you think of as “complete jerks” may have antisocial personality disorder.

Seriously, who cares what people think?  You’ve got to look after yourself and that might mean stepping on a few toes and stepping into a few million inboxes.

Irritating?  Why not irritate tens of thousands of people at a crack, if it means you get a response from a few.

Illegal?  No problem!  You’re only breaking the rules if you get caught.

Complaints?  Just promise you’ll never do it again and keep going.  They don’t understand the importance of your work.  Someone out there needs a pill and if you don’t help that poor soul, someone in Nigeria will.

Bottom Line

We all have our issues.  One trick to web marketing is this: Know thyself.   If you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can focus your time on activity that works well with your personality.  Turn your personal problems into online success!

Source: Descriptions of disorders are from Wikipedia, edited by the author.
Note: This article is in no way intended to demean the seriousness of personality disorders.

By Andy Crestodina. You can also find Andy on Google+ and Twitter.