Bloggers R Us

Stop pushing your message out and start pulling your customers in

Traditional “outbound” marketing methods like cold-calling, email blasts, advertising, and direct mail are increasingly less effective. People are getting better at blocking these interruptions out using Caller ID, spam protection, TiVo, etc. People are now increasingly turning to Google, social media, and blogs to find products and services. Inbound Marketing helps you take advantage of this change by showing you how to get found by customers online.

Inbound Marketing is a how-to guide to getting found via Google, the blogosphere, and social media sites.

• Improve your rankings in Google to get more traffic
• Build and promote a blog for your business
• Grow and nurture a community in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
• Measure what matters and do more of what works online

The rules of marketing have changed, and your business can benefit from this change. Inbound Marketing shows you how to get found by more prospects already looking for what you have to sell.

Is it technology? Is it philosophy? Or is it simply marketing hype? Web 2.0 is a concept so fluid that even the experts in this book don’t agree on what it means. Some feel that no definition is even necessary. But most agree on one thing: Web 2.0 is a sweeping tide that’s changing the face of the Internet.

Web 2.0 is not about mass marketing. It’s about actually understanding the masses. And it’s not about controlling the message. It’s about engaging the audience and actually hearing what they have to say. It’s about enabling creativity, realizing a culture of contribution, and putting the user in control.

Here is a rich smorgasbord of unique viewpoints — from bloggers, social networking developers, corporate communicators, online strategists, distinguished engineers, and others. These are the people who are shaping today’s Web. What they have to say can help you shape your organization’s future.

The Impact Makers

• Max Mancini eBay
• Alan Meckler Internet.com
• Eric Engleman Bloglines
• Gina Bianchini Ning
• Dorion Carroll Technorati
• Raju Vegesna Zoho
• Richard MacManus Read/Write Web & Web 2.0 WorkGroup
• TJ Kang ThinkFree
• Patrick Crane LinkedIn
• Shaun Walker DotNetNuke
• Biz Stone Twitter
• Seth Steinberg Meebo
• Joshua Schachter Del.icio.us
• Ranjith Kumaran YouSendIt
• Garrett Camp StumbleUpon
• Rodrigo Madanes Skype
• Rod Smith IBM Corporation
• Tim Harris Microsoft Corporation
• Bob Brewin & Tim Bray Sun Microsystems
• Michele Turner Adobe Corporation