Email is a great way to build relationships. It’s cost effective and, done well, can result in lots of sales inquiry.

Here, then, are 25 ways to build a database of people keen to hear what you have to say.

1. Add an invitation to subscribe to your e-newsletter on your business cards.
2. And your open home brochures.
3. And your other personal promotion handouts.
4. Invite home open visitors to leave their email address…read the full story.

A recent article from Mari Smith highlights the dangers of putting all of your marketing eggs in the Facebook basket. Imagine for a moment that you’ve started a Facebook Page, added an attractive landing tab and started building a fan base. You decide to run a competition offering a prize for the best photo uploaded to your Page or profile wall… read full story on The Real Estate Marketing Maven.

As I write, Jay – Z is a trending topic on Twitter. Every few seconds a flurry of tweets arrive containing links and comments about the release of his new music video, Run This Town. A similar thing is happening on Facebook.

On Facebook the search term “Jay – Z” results in a long list of status updates sharing the artist’s YouTube video with their friends. It’s a fascinating realtime snapshot of what’s catching mainstream attention on the net.

There are a number of filters in the new search area. The two of most interest are Posts by Friends and Posts by Everyone. At the moment extended trading hours is the hot political issue here in Western Australia. By clicking on the Posts by Friends filter I’m quickly able to gauge the reaction of my friends to the governments decision not to extend trading hours. They’re not happy.

The Posts by Everyone filter displays status updates  from users who have their status updates privacy setting as Everyone. There are a number of sub-filters that can be applied to a search that produce results that are more relevant.

Many Facebook users are unaware that their status updates are searchable. After all the privacy settings on Facebook are complex and, at times, difficult to understand. It’s therefore important that individuals take responsibility for creating privacy settings that reflect what they want the public to know.

Photo credit:

I’m seriously considering continuing my academic studies. A PhD beckons. I spoke with my supervisor this morning and the topic that appears the best fit at this stage is “What is a blog?”. It’s such an easy question to answer. After all the answer is right here on Wikipedia:

A blog (a contraction of the term “weblog“) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

The Wikipedia answer is too simplistic. It’s not simple, as in elegantly simple, rather it’s unreflective. It fails to capture the light and shade and the nuances of the term. To understand a blog as simply a type of website is to consign it a place within the broader category of technology. However, such an understanding fails to convey the many alternative and creative possibilities of a blog. Indeed defining a blog as a website alone misses the chance to understand a blog as confession, as a project of self-creation, as a technology of the self, as reflective practice or as communication to name but a few.

Such an inquiry might raise some interesting questions. Is tweeting really blogging? Is a status update a blog? Where does life-streaming fit? How do comments change the nature of a blog, if at all?

Smart businesses know that forming close bonds with their community is smart strategy. They know it pays to build relationships and connections and they know that social media provides a way for these connections to form.

Facebook Pages provide marketers with a new way to build communities, but they also demand new skills and new thinking. How to build a vibrant business community with Facebook Pages is a free e-book that explains how to start a Page, ways to grow a community, and how to measure and manage the effectiveness of a Page. It can be downloaded by clicking the link above or viewed in a reader on Slideshare.

If you find this e-book valuable, please share this post with your friends by clicking the Share/Save button below.

I love a marketer who walks the talk, and here Chris Anderson is doing just that. Stay tuned to see how his bold experiment works out. Oh, and read the book. It’s thought provoking.

FREE (full book) by Chris Anderson

I write this from an Internet cafe in Kerobokan, Bali.  It’s just around the corner from Chapelle Corby’s prison home, but that’s a story for another day.

I was reminded yesterday about building trust. We came to Bali primarily to buy for Rita’s giftware store. There’s lots of beautiful, hand-crafted jewellery to chose from over here and the people are always friendly and helpful.

We’re lucky to have two wonderful local “agents” who help us source the best product. Dedi and Yasi a young beautiful young couple with a young family. They fall over themselves to help us and we have come to trust and rely heavily on their advice.

At one point they took us to a place in Denpasar we wouldn’t find in a million years. It was tucked away behind a bunch of dishevelled Balinese houses and we sat on the floor looking at rings and gemstones and pendants while chickens, ducks and children wandered happily around the yard. There was no security guards, no lurking sales attendant, no hint at all that there was many tens of thousands of dollars of jewellery sitting out in the open.

And Dedi and Yasi had the full run of the place. They were in and out of the house with trays and trays of product. Noone showed any concern that we might pocket some of the jewellery and it was an observation that Rita made out loud.

It was Dedi’s response that I thought was both insightful and profound. “He trusts me. And I will never abuse that trust”, he stated.  Sure he could make a few bucks on the side by stealing a ring or a pendant here and there. But in the long run he knows that, at a whole bunch of levels, he’s far better off nurturing that trust and building on the relationship.

For me it’s a great lesson for business. Honouring someone’s trust is a long term project with long-term dividends. It takes a long time to develop and can be destroyed in an instant.

I’m up for building a business based on trust and reputation just like Dedi is doing. How about you?

Photo credit mahayani1 on Flickr

After yesterday’s Facebook vanity URL excitement I thought it was time for some renovations to the blog. I’ve added a banner and a background. At the moment the background image repeats down the page, but I’m sure there’s some CSS that will sort that out. If you know what that is feel free to leave a comment.

My next project is a link roll. I’m going to add Disqus soon too.

And in unrelated news I thought it was kind of funny that Chris Brogan has snubbed common sense with his Facebook username. It’s a curious way of making a point. If he really believed that the URL is not the gold then why include his real name at all? But Chris is a smart man. Who am I to question his wisdom?

And someone pinched /problogger off Darren Rouse. Ouch. Darren’s lodging an IP claim with Facebook.

The goldrush for vanity URL’s on Facebook is set to start in under an hour. I’m hoping to pick up peterfletcher but I’ve got other options up my sleeve. Let me know how you fair.

Update: I managed to pick up facebook.com/peterfletcher. That’s the best bit of online real estate I’ll pick up today. I can’t stop smiling.

Photo credit: cc NeilsPhotography on Flickr

Facebook business pages aren’t essential. Chris Brogan just deleted his.

He’s not God, but then again he does know a thing or two about social media.

The message? If a Facebook business page doesn’t add value to you and your community then don’t have one.

Go with what works for you.

Photo credit: Qfamily on Flickr