If you use Gmail you would have noticed the addition of a new feature last week: video and voice chat. Hmmm, looks like Google plans to take on Skype!

To activate the new feature, you need to install a small browser plugin. The feature will work on PCs with Windows XP or Vista, as well as on Macs with OS X 10.4 or later. The plugin will work with all the major browsers, including Google’s own Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

Source: Justin Uberti, “Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat”, Gmail Blog, November 11, 2008

While publishers watch, horrified and largely powerless, as torrent sites become more and more popular, and continue to facilitate large scale copyright infringement, one author and academic, Dan Morrill, decided to conduct a little test.

Morrill offered his latest ebook, ‘Selling Books On Amazon, Tips and Secrets’ on popular BitTorrent tracker Mininova. Within the first 24 hours, Morrill’s eBook was downloaded close to 700 times.

Morrill’s conclusion? BitTorrent is a great content distribution channel!

Corvida of ReadWriteWeb believes that usage of the BitTorrent network will only increase in the next few years. Eventually, publishers will realize that it’s actually a marketing tool. Corvida observes:

“It’s undeniable that BitTorrent can prove to be an effective marketing tool for a cheap price when used correctly. Nine Inch Nails concluded the same in March of this year when they uploaded part 1 of their 4 part album Ghosts I-IV to numerous BitTorrent sites. It became the #1 most downloaded album on The Pirate Bay, which helped to increase their sales tremendously for the rest of the album.”

Hmmm… is BitTorrent a tool more Internet marketers should be using?

Source: Corvida, “University Program Director Asks Readers to Pirate His eBook”, ReadWriteWeb, October 18, 2008

GoldMail has built a platform that allows you to send media-rich messages.

Basically, you can use GoldMail’s client to create a Flash slideshow that can include images, Powerpoint slides, and text, all accompanied by your voiceover. The slideshow is uploaded to, and hosted on, GoldMail’s servers. Then an email is sent containing a text introduction and a link to the full multimedia presentation.

Hmmm… sounds a bit like sending an email with a link to a video.

Then again the service may make it easier for you to create and send multimedia presentations if you can’t whip up a video or slide show yourself in 10-15 minutes (the average time it takes to create a GoldMail presentation and email).

And the cost? Until recently it was a hefty $5,000 for an initial license and $500 per user. Recently GoldMail dropped the price to around $100 per user, per year, with no initial license fee.

Source: Jason Kincaid, “GoldMail Brings Media-Rich Presentations To Email”, TechCrunch, October 4, 2008

…how to sell, for one thing. Hey, I know - I worked in a big agency, and was the “client” for a few others!

Don’t get me wrong - I loved my experience as a copywriter working for one of the big, multinational agencies.

And I certainly learned a LOT.

But I can’t help but question some of the ideas that were drummed into me as a “big agency copywriter”… which I had to rapidly unlearn when I went into business for myself… and which are just plain DANGEROUS for YOU if you’re trying to make a buck online.

As I mentioned, they didn’t teach me how to sell - i.e. to write advertising copy that actually compels someone to rip open their wallet and buy the product or service.

They didn’t teach me that… and they won’t tell you that. Instead, they’ll probably tell you that if you want to build your online business, you must:

1. Be creative
2. Build your brand.

Hmmm… that doesn’t seem too bad does it? Well, it is. Because it conveys the WRONG set of priorities.

If you sell online - i.e. you sell products and services on your website - then the no. 1 job of YOUR advertising is to generate qualified leads (or, as we say, “traffic”) to your website.

It’s not to be “creative”. And it’s not to “build you brand”.

Sure, be creative - if it generates more TRAFFIC.

And please DO build your brand - as a RESULT of developing a reputation for satisfying customers with great products and services.

But don’t make either of these the PRIORITY in your advertising… because the result will probably be a creative, entertaining ad, with a big, fat graphic of your logo… that does NOT generate enough (or any) qualified traffic to your website!

So…

If you’re considering hiring an ad agency to prepare an ad campaign to generate traffic to your website - and for some, strange, illogical reason you don’t immediately call me (!) - take heed:

If they yabber on about how:

• creative they are…
• the purpose of advertising is to build your brand…
• every ad has to have a “big idea”…
• they’ve won lots of awards,

… jump out of your chair immediately, pick up your briefcase and RUN!

And in case you’re wondering what they DID teach me that could help YOUR online marketing… be sure to read the next issue of Kikabink News!