Back when I was living in Kenora, Ontario in the spring of 2007, I was looking for new ways to make money online, and I explored writing articles on spec. When I changed hats and became a ‘web writer’ that spring, I dumped a lot of old TV proposals and strange pieces of original content into different article directories on the web. The content was already created, it was what was left over from a career as a screenwriter, documentary TV researcher. Because I could see the potential online, I was incentivized by very small returns at first… So I repurposed word files on an old writing computer and dumped them on the net under the user name ‘Roberrific’. If you do a search on that name today, you can see a massive database of content, a legacy of Grandpa’s secrets, Dumpdiggers, and ethanol and foam footware articles. There are… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, article marketing, Interactive, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Web Marketing
Taged with: article directories, beekeeper, Campbell's Honey, creating social relevance, freelance writer, Is Honey Good For You?, marketing with original articles, roberrific, son of a beekeeper, Triond
Business people with bottom lines are tired of web marketing mantras, brand-building baloney, and self congratulatory praise for a fledgling industry by its most unqualified evangelists. Smojoe’s message to new clients is clean and simple; we use innovative social media marketing to improve search engine rankings for the keywords most commonly associated with your goods or services. Smojoe writes intelligent articles, blogs and discussion forum posts that get added to Facebook and tweeted to other humans who find compelling story hooks that lead to informative text. Its precisely because of its high usability among humans that my content gets promoted by search engine robots. On the internet today, there’s a return to family honour that lets small business compete with big brands. In community blog websites, mom bloggers write better copy than ad firms not due to spelling but because their stories and conversations are real. Are you for real?… Read more »
Posted in: article marketing, online business, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Toronto, Web Marketing
Taged with: being first in search engines, freelance web consultant, honeybee propolis, social media marketing, social relevance producer, web guru in Toronto
On July 1st 2010 the Lenzr serial photo contest website was officially one year old. Today it’s stronger and more popular than ever before as each session helps mature the site into a more effective web marketing tool. In the last year there were seventeen successful contests that collected just over five hundred pictures with headlines, tags and comments from about three hundred and seventy registered members. You can see all seventeen challenges in the Lenzr category on Toronto-Forums. Each sixty day contest period attracts about 4000 visits to Lenzr, with just over half of them unique. The average visit to Lenzr spans seven pages, and lasts over three minutes. Usability of Lenzr is continuously being improved On August 1st 2010 four new photography challenges were launched inside newly fashioned countdown-mechanism-equipped contest pages . Four Lenzr photo contests end Oct1st, 2010 and there’s more good information about all four August… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, Analytics Software, Friends of Smojoe, Lenzr, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Toronto, Web Marketing
Taged with: conflict photo contest, Lenzr, Rob Campbell, social media marketing Toronto, social relevance producer, upgrade
Lenzr is a social media marketing masterpiece that’s tragically flawed, and that’s what makes it so interesting. The serial photo contest website is basic and clunky, and the rules and voting mechanisms are easily bent by human avarice, but at the end of each session, it works. With very few exceptions, every business that sponsors an imaginative photo contest on Lenzr enjoys an inexpensive boost in their business URL’s search engine findability. The last session received over 4000 visitors, over half of them unique. The average visitor reviews seven pages and spends four minutes on the website. On July 1st 2010 the May June Lenzr photo contests came to an extraordinarily dramatic conclusion, resulting in scandal. In the Portable Luxury photo contest, the winning picture was removed by admin (because of ‘voting irregularities’) a mere 15 minutes before the contest was scheduled to end. Debbie Watson felt like she had… Read more »
Posted in: article marketing, corporate social responsibility, Interactive, Lenzr, Search Engine Marketing, Social innovation, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing
Taged with: aerial photography, Bill Watson, Debbie watson, Lenzr, Mommakoala, photo contest, portable toilet rentals, Rockton Worlds Fair, Ve3bnw
One of the brightest stars graduating from HumberPR this year is Zack Sandor Kerr. He’s tied with Kyle the Keener in awesomeness, which is a wholesome combination of attitude and aptitude. Because of his unique skill set, Zack got a cool new job blogging for Gio Bikes about how he’s spending his summer having nomadic adventures on their latest model electric scooter, or ebike as they hope to be called. Zack tweets his experience @GioinTO Gio in To is about a guy and his electric bike in Toronto and that sets the stage for many countless stories in hundreds of local niches; he could tackle Toronto pedestrian affairs or municipal bike path issues, or chronicle cultural events, ie document Portuguese parades in the Toronto’s west end. He could report on World Cup street scenes and G20 protests – all from atop his ebike. Zack is a good storyteller who really… Read more »
Posted in: Friends of Smojoe, Interactive, Search Engine Marketing, Social innovation, Social Media, Web Marketing
Taged with: electric bike, Faith Seekings, full service marketing, Gio in To, Kyle the Keener, Ontario, Rapport, scooter blog, Toronto, Zack Sandor Kerr
Thank you Jane Reeves wherever you are… It’s an honour to know Jane. Not only did she write a very flattering feature article about Smojoe at IABC PIC presents on May 12th for the IABC website, but she also truncated the bytes and put more pictures and links on her own blog. She fragmented her message and put another relevant segment of the story about Smojoe on the Jane Reeves Writes blog. Now add some discussion forum posts and a bookmarking service or two, and she will have assembled a powerful Story Funnel (with this Smojoe blog as the buckstop). Judy Lewis is another IABC member that Smojoe follows Smojoe will be attending attending Judy Lewis’s panel on Tuesday June 8th in the morning, at the IABC 2010 World Conference between June 6th and 9th. The event showcases the best of the best business communicators from around the globe right… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, article marketing, Friends of Smojoe, Interactive, Lenzr, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Clients, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, Social Media, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: article, IABC, Jane Reeves, Ontario, portable toilet rentals, pr agency, seminar, Toronto
The 2010 Innovators Ball at the Ontario Science Center was a very exciting evening. I went hogwarts in there. There were young beautiful people in costumes playing characters from all the different Harry Potter movies. I love this picture of me and some girl I’m not even sure who she is no kidding I lifted this from a Deb Lewis Facebook photo album wherein I received notice I was tagged. Wow. Thanks. This is actually not what I look like, which is why I like it so much. May 6th 2010 was a mild evening outside, and a steamy hot night inside the cavernous spaces of the Ontario Science Centre at Eglinton and Don Mills. The event timeline started soft with quiet music, brighter lights and there was a commercial facet to the experience as several companies dispensed free fantasy genre products. Innovative ideas like a plant bi-product that removes… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, Charity Event, Interactive, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, Social Media, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: 2010 Innovators Ball, Alan Mckenzie, Deb Lewis, exempt market dealer, Gary Schlee, Harry Potter, Innovators Ball, Lisa Charleyboy, Matthew White, Smojoe, Story Funnels to Buckstops, web developer Toronto, White Capital
‘Anyone that watched Smojoe present Story Funnels to Buckstops came away with too much new information. Rob’s scatter gun approach gives audiences a glimpse into the mind of a madman.’ Anonymous attendant. That review is from a friend of mine who said he would publish it on his blog, if he had one. I laughed and copied it and now that document has evolved into this blog post. I’m publishing it on my blog because I’m my own worst critic, and clearly there’s a lesson to be learned. I’ve just got to get better at presenting thoughts and ideas in a linear progression. Perhaps I do need to lay it out on a boring old power point, and practice it alone at home in front of my pals? Rehearse the material, going slow and steady and explaining everything in great detail… Smojoe sprang in action this week at the Spoke… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: Bill Tibbles, Denise Breen, Faith Seekings, Keyword Sandwiches, National Yacht Club, Rapport, Smojoe, Story Funnels to Buckstops, what are buckstops, Will Webb
There really is no proper update on my Jan 20th presentation at the Centre for Social Innovation. Nobody took any pictures! All parties, including Deb Lewis of City Events totally forgot to get any images of Smojoe presenting ‘story funnels to buckstops’, and I blame Billie Mintz as he distracted me by pointing a video camera at me. When I asked Billie for screen grabs he politely postponed me, and so I guess he’s really busy too. Smojoe Speaks Again Feb 4th, 2010 On Feb 4th, Smojoe will be appearing alongside Faith Seekings in an event co-produced by Bill Tibbles and Terri Carson at the National Yacht Club. There’s details on Rapport Communications website, and the Rapport blog, and why not follow @FaithSeekings on Twitter. A blog is the cornerstone of good social media marketing because it’s the cheapest and best place to tell the whole story. Business bloggers, event… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, Interactive, Lenzr, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Clients, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: Dr Natalie Archer, Faith Seekings, NiteWhite, Rapport Inc, teeth whitening, Toronto, Toronto dentist
Lots to talk about, here in January 2010. Three photo contests ended on Lenzr on January 1st, and are slowly being replaced. The matches were not as dramatic as previous finishes, as the winners established an early lead and maintained it over the entire course of the contest. You can read all the developments on the Lenzr blog including our endeavours to make a better scoring algorithm. In the next session, the voting results should more accurately reflect each photographer’s skill, as decided by the people, and be less about his or her ability to promote the page to friends. We are rewarding comments now, and reducing earlier metrics that were set too high. Congratulations to members seguini and ve3bnw Macro Photos of Life winner (right) was submitted by a prolific member named ve3bnw which sounds like a license plate # and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, considering… Read more »
Posted in: Actually sharing secrets, article marketing, Canada Blog Friends, Interactive, Lenzr, Photography, Search Engine Marketing, Smojoe Events, Social innovation, Toronto, User Submitted Content, Web Marketing, workshop
Taged with: Abel DaSilva, antiques, business phone systems, Dumpdiggers, Lisa Charleyboy, Locaboire, Ruth Wilgress, Sunday Market