It’s normal for me to juggle at least 5 different creative projects at a time, all of which I’m passionate about. Recently, I’ve been thinking about focusing on key projects and ideas I could realistically manage in the next 12 months. The trouble is choosing which ones.

I keep coming across the book Making Things Happen, an internationational best seller by former Microsoft insider Scott Berkun. In his book he talks about how to make things happen, how to manage ideas, how to figure out what to do and what to do when things go wrong. Scott makes project management almost, well… sexy.

I haven't read all of it yet but I'm already loving the chapter that talks about what to do when things go wrong.

• Always stay calm
• Evaluate the problem
• Get the right people in the room
• Explore alternatives
• Make the plan really, really simple
• Make it happen

Nothing has gone wrong so far in any of my projects. But I won't wait until something does. So today, I'm culling my project list.

Still my problem remains, which ones?

I still need to read the chapter on how to manage ideas and figure out what to do.

Go ahead. Order your copy of Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun and tell us what you think.

Image by Kevin Dooley

I’ve been spending a lot of time researching the voluminous information products available  on the Internet sold as ebooks, podcasts, videos, webinars and newsletters.

From fat burning ebooks and videos, height improvement guides that help the vertically-challenged add  inches to their height regardless of age, dating advice that promise to deliver the man (or woman) of one’s dreams, to Internet money-making secrets that claim to turn one into a multi-millionaire overnight.

All for a no-brainer price that usually ends in 7  – $37, $47, $87, $97, $197, $497, $997, $4,997 (apparently because the number 7 tends to sell more).

While there are reputable operators around (if you look hard enough), there are ten times as many who deliver information products that often read like personal rants dominated by ambiguous and motivational style content lacking real practical information with depth and substance.

And then there are the “scammers” who promise fame and fortune. Guaranteed.

I don’t have tell you, it’s more than likely a false claim.

So, I’ve decided to start a project on a topic I know very well.

Over the next few months, I’ll be blogging about it and sharing my journey, warts and all, with you.

Stay tuned.

Image by deanmeyersnet via Flickr

A cool and funky online brand services company in the building, design and architectural industry is searching for an internet-savvy sales and marketing professional.

Does this sound like you?

• Impeccable presentation and communication
• Computer savvy & literate
• Effective multi-tasker
• Ambitious and sales driven, strive under pressure
• Work & think outside the box
• Superior work ethic, love closing the deal
• Prior online or advertising based sales highly advantageous but not essential
• Ability to generate leads & follow-up on sales targets.

Email your application to webadmin@specix.com.au.

Or get more information.

I have to be honest. Domain names bore the heck out of me. But the things is, though they may not be the sexiest things in the world if you’re lucky enough to find a good one, it will change your life. Literally. Just ask the guy who sold business.com in 1999. Oh that’s right, he’s out of range sailing somewhere in the Pacific on a multi-million dollar, fully-crewed yacht. But I digress…

I wrote a blog in 2007 about the importance of creating a good domain name that is both memorable and improves one’s chances of attracting qualified website traffic. Even in those days, good domains especially in .com were already scarce, snapped up by early internet adopters as well as savvy entrepreneurs who traded domain names at jaw-dropping price tags.

Then in June 2008, the highly regulated Australian domain space (com.au) loosened its rules on domain ownership, allowing businesses to onsell their domain names for a profit. That marked the start of the domain name drought in com.au.

It’s no wonder a business that is just now embracing the online space could be at some disadvantage. But not if you know how to name a good domain.

So when I saw my friend Kent’s Facebook status update that cried “the good ones are all taken”, I thought I’d help.

Here are some handy tips. These won’t turn you into a multi-millionaire overnight. But it could help boost your overall marketing efforts which helps you sell more, thereby earning you more profits, and hopefully make you rich.

1. Use keywords

Small businesses don’t have the budget to build a brand like Apple, Virgin or Dick Smith. However, a well-researched keyword domain name helps to capture a market that is actively searching online. And it may open up a completely different kind of market for your product or service.

While clever marketing folks and creative directors have a tendency to conjure up cool, funky domain names nobody can spell, it may be smarter to use keywords. Keyword-rich domains help to boost a website’s visibility on search engines as it tends to get ranked highly.

2. Get creative with variations

OK, so it’s pretty damn hard to find keyword domains (I know!).

My friend Kent wanted a domain name for his ebook design business. So I suggested he consider variations of domain names that contain the keywords “ebook” and “design”. Together, we came up with some good variations.

Variations might include:

• turning a verb (design) into a noun (designer),
• using a plural or singular form (index vs indices)
• using prefixes (a, the, your, my our, i, e, online and so on)
• using suffixes (store, shop, online, centre, company and so on)
• hyphenation of words (hyphen-domain.com)
• spelling variations (center vs centre, indexes vs indices)
• misspelt versions or common typos (manoeuvre vs manourvre, angel vs angle)

There are many possibilities. Consider what is relevant to your business and get creative.

3. Use adjectives or descriptive words

Words that describe your product or service could also come in handy. The range of adjectives you can use is abundant. All that’s needed is a bit of imagination.

• Colours – red, green
• Sizes – big, small
• Shapes – round, circular
• Qualities – light, fast, fresh, professional
• Time-related – weekly, monthly
• Age-related – new, used, second-hand
• Noise-related – loud, quiet, noisy
• Touch-related – soft, smooth
• Taste-related – yummy, sweet
• Origin / Location – European, European-made
• Superlatives – cheapest, newest and so on

If you were running a dressmaking business specialising in ballroom gowns, a good domain name might be  latinballroomgowns.com (it’s available as at 25 March 2011).

Some good examples: www.affordablewebdesigns.com.au, www.freshproducegroup.com

4. Claim your geographic market

It may sound like a bit of a repeat from above. But it’s important to understand that using this strategy is an effective means to reach a captive online audience in your target geographic markets. By adding a geographic description to your domain, you are actually be homing in on highly qualified website traffic. After all, you wouldn’t be interested in website visitors from Paris when your business capability is limited to Victoria or only within the Melbourne area.

A Melbourne-based construction business specialising in structural steel fabrication could, for example, consider the domains “melbournesteelfabricators” and “structuralsteelcompany”

Here are some good examples:

www.sydneydentist.com.au

www.melbourneplumbers.com.au – who said tradies are behind the eight ball when it comes to the internet?

www.adelaideoutdoors.com.au – this is an Adelaide-based landcape design business

5. Consider other domain spaces

Retail Goes Mobile by Robelen Bajar - Australian Retailer Magazine, Feb/Mar 2011

I wrote an article for this month’s edition of Australian Retailer Magazine on mobile commerce and the opportunities that await retailers.

So if you have a primarily bricks-and-mortar operations and have been thinking about dipping your toe and seeing what the online space opens up for you, this is a must read.

The article outlines the following topics in an easy-to-digest format:

• Statistics and trends in mobile shopping and mobile social networking in Australia
• The mobile commerce and mobile marketing landscape and how retailers can benefit
• Mobile websites or native apps -  Which one is for you?
• Practical advice and guidelines for mobilising your business

Pick up a copy of the Australian Retailer Magazine or download my article here.

Happy Reading!

Image by deanmeyersnet via Flickr

A very cool job indeed!

• Digitally obsessed fashionista
• Design creative content
• Drive online sales

This is an exciting time for one of Australia’s biggest and most respected fashion retailers as they embark on an eCommerce journey.

This newly created role will focus on creating compelling content and brand imagery for this fashion forward retailer, and alongside the marketing team, successfully deliver an online strategy that drives sales and increases brand profile. This will invole driving targeted communications campaigns and increasing conversion through analysis of customer behaviour and implementing onsite improvements.

You will be a digital native, ideally with web design skills at your core. You must be proficient in all Microsoft packages and have an excellent knowledge of Photoshop and Dreamweaver.  An understanding of the basics of HTML, CSS and Javascript will be a distinct advantage. This is a great opportunity to join a well known Australian retailer at an exciting time of online investment.

To be considered for this exciting role, send your CV to jayde@mitchelLake.com.  For further information call Jayde on (03) 9328 2770 (03) 9328 2770 .
Gosh! What are you waiting for?

Image by deanmeyersnet via Flickr

My friends over at S2M Digital are currently recruiting on behalf of a large technology company operating in the gaming industry. They are looking for somebody to come on board and own their customer acquistion channels (PPC/SEM, eDM, Display, Online Retail Mesaging)

They’re looking for someone with a background in ROI focused online marketing with particular emphasis on the aforementioned areas. Probably around 3-5 years experience. Paying 80k + super

For further info please drop an email to mchambers@s2m.com.au

Successful referalls will be rewarded with a $500 voucher or donation to a charity of your choice.

Doesn’t that sound cool!

Image by deanmeyersnet via Flickr

Very cool social media / writing gig over at Dynamic Business

“When we say social we mean in both senses of the word: social media savvy and a sociable person happy to be the friendly face of our website in the community, maintaining our strong relationships with PRs, contributors and advertisers.

Can you write compelling headlines, use social media in your sleep and manage online forums? Do you have a genuine interest in entrepreneurs and small business? This could be the job for you.”

Get that job here!

Winners are grinners: Robelen Bajar and Sean Lawrence at the 2010 Australian Dancesport Championships

It’s been a heck of a long time since my last entry. So I thought I’d start this year’s blog with reflections of the past 12 months as it has indeed been a year of massive changes personally and professionally – new directions, new goals, new life and a new boss… we’ll get to that later.

After a few high-heel wearing and power-dressing years in corporate (I would have easily won best-dressed if there had been one), attending meetings that eat up my day, managing the never-ending churn of marketing campaigns, playing politics and fighting with and alongside the boys (it was a male-dominated industry) – experiences that I thrived upon once upon a time, suddenly lost its appeal.

I no longer wanted to play.

So I carefully packed my little trinkets, keepsakes and pieces of inspiration I kept on my desk during the many highs of my marketing career inside my LV suitcase (I could afford it back then), bid my colleagues goodbye and started on a new journey. A journey which, in those times of self-doubt, brought me to a few detours and rotundas. But with an otherwise clear head, the road before me was smooth, the energy vibrant and the air filled with the taste of opportunity – exciting and scary at the same time.

I know what I am after in this journey – to live a life that gives me the freedom to

All while having the financial capacity to live a comfortable life.

So now I spend my days doing the things I love. And I can tell you I have never worked this hard. Ever. Because you see while I am the boss now, I also do every single thing. And loving it!

And the only time I spend hours on sky-high stilettos is the place I call home: the dance floor.

I ended last year with a huge bang winning a title at the Australian Dancesport Championships – 3 inch heels, glitter, glam, sequins and all! This year I want to bag an even bigger title. And it may not have anything to do with dance or high heels at all.

How about you? What is driving you this year? And I don’t mean a car.

The race to the top of Google is an ever changing game.

We kinda know what to do to stay in it - build a good linking strategy, provide relevant & fresh content, create a user-centred website, participate in the online community via social media. These are just some of the things that keep us in the game.

And in the frantic race to the coveted #1 spot – some people cheat. And more often than not, they get the red flag and booted out of the game – a situation no business would want to be in. Black hat tactics such as link farming, irrelevant linking, keyword stuffing and gateway pages are just some of the ways unscrupulous operators try to manipulate their search engine ranking for short-term gains. But it ain’t worth it. 

OK, so you kinda know what to do and what not to do to stay on Google’s good books. Then as soon as you think you’ve figured it all out, Google changes the game. Quite often actually. One day you’re riding high in the top 3, the next day you’re in the abyss. Well, perhaps not as dramatic as that but if you have experienced the effects a small change in Google’s search algorithms can make on your website, it kinda feels like that.

Nobody really knows the secrets to Google’s algorithms. And I suspect it’s something they wouldn’t air on Youtube either. So when I stumbled upon an infographic that explains how Google works (as far as we know), I got very excited. I couldn’t wait to share it here.

Unfortunately, no secrets are revealed but it is a great visual explanation of what, when, where, how and why Google does what it does with your website, blog, tweet or pay-per-click ads.

The infographic below was developed by my friends at www.ppcblog.com and it’s the sexiest thing (yes, it is) I’ve ever come across in the world of SEO.

Enjoy!

Hint: To view a larger size, just click on the image.

Infographic by the Pay Per Click Blog