From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

Ever ask yourself why you should blog? Ask no longer.

Here are 8 great reasons why you should be blogging:

1. Blogging gives you a rockstar voice. Use it!
2. Blogging can work wonders in creating, managing, and molding your brand.
3. Blogging provides a way to create meaningful conversations.
4. Blogging can, and at times be a primay tool to, help with reputation management.
5. Blogging can help you be fundamentally successful with inbound marketing, link building, and lead generation.
6. Your competitors are already there!
7. Your potential customers are there.
8. A few influential statistics:
   1. 73.6% of North Americans are on the Internet*.
   2. 83% on Internet users watch videos online**.
   3. 49% of Internet users use a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.) every day***.
   4. 73% of Internet users read blogs**.
   5. For companies that blog versus non-blogging companies****:
      1. 126% increase in monthly leads generated.
      2. 55% increase in visitors.
      3. 97% more inbound links.
      4. 434% more indexed pages in the search engines.

If these points, and especially the statistics, don’t convince you that you should be blogging, I give up. Let’s do it. Send me your blog address. If you do, I promise that I’ll put you in my Google Reader and keep up on your activities.

* source: Internet World Stats
** source: Universal McCann
*** source: Pew Research
**** source: Hubspot

Image credit: flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to In My Place by Coldplay.

I will be leading a class on the WordPress blogging platform next week. Feel free to join us if you have not yet begun blogging and don’t know where to start, or if you’re stalled near the starting line, or if you just want to know more about blogging with WordPress.

In the class, we will talk about many topics but a few of them are:

1. Why use WordPress as your blogging platform?
2. Where to host your WordPress blog.
3. How to setup your WordPress blog.
4. How to choose, install, and activate a WordPress theme.
5. How to choose, install, and activate a WordPress plugin.
6. How to configure your WordPress blog.
7. Creating content:
   1. Blog posts.
   2. Blog pages.
   3. Adding images.
   4. Adding video.
8. What are categories?
9. What are tags?
10. How and why to setup comment approval.
11. Fighting spam with Akismet.

Register for the Using WordPress as a Business Tool, How To Get Started on Blogging class here.

Photo credit: Eric M Martin

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Little Village by John Hiatt & Ry Cooder.

Below is the video from today’s video blogging talk with the team at Realty Executives. Thanks Wes and Chris for hosting a great lunch event. And many thanks to my sponsor, Melissa and Tidewater Mortgage.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix.

Below is the slidedeck from today’s video blogging talk with the team at Realty Executives. Thanks Wes and Chris for hosting a great lunch event. And many thanks to my sponsor, Melissa and Tidewater Mortgage.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix.

Below is the slidedeck from my presentation to the Williamsburg Internet Marketing group yesterday. We had a great couple of hours discussing blogging for business on many different levels.

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Caldonia by Albert Collins.

Are you wondering aloud where I’m going with that title? I know, this could go in a thousand different directions.

Truth is, the title is about ‘titles that catch your attention’. Specifically, blog article titles that catch your attention. In the wonderful world of inbound marketing, strategically crafted titles are invaluable for SEO (search engine optimization), which leads to great organic search results, which leads to website / blog traffic, which leads to (we hope) lead generation from your efforts.

While scanning the RSS feeds in my Google Reader this morning, I ran across an article that Chris wrote titled, “How Do You Stack Up“. He wrote about just this topic. He wondered how his blog article titles stacked up against the world for attraction by scanning eyeballs. Chris’ list of most recent titles are below -

• The Location Game – Over on OPENForum
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 Review
• How Social Media Can Power Your Business – Kitchen Table Talks
• Points of Contact
• The Social Media Pie – over on OPEN Forum
• How I Use Mindmapping to Write
• Cubicle Farming
• New Job New You – a Book Review
• The Writing Practice
• Switch- A Book Review
• The Beginning – Kitchen Table Talks
• How NOT to Help Haiti
• How Systems Thwart Service
• Your Farmer List
• Living In Google Wave
• What is Your Pop-Up Store
• Get Seen- Do It Now
• Represented by the APB Speaker’s Bureau
• More Fun Than Competition
• Business Stripped Bare – Book Review
• Do One Thing Very Well
• How Heartfelt Marketing Delivers
• The Future Is Evidently Blurry
• A Customer Aware World
• Experiment- 30 Days of Bing
• Deepen Your Networks
• New Sponsor – Search Engine Strategies NYC
• Are You Ready for Fun

What do you think? Did his blog article titles catch your eye?

Well, now I need to go look at my last few blog article titles. I wonder how mine stack up?

• February Schedule for Coffee with the CEO #cwtc
• Weather in Hampton Roads is so jacked!
• Our kids are connected - Are you?
• God will give Wisdom, just ask
• February IMG Session : Blogging for Business : You’re invited!
• I’ll help, we’ll do it together.
• Blogging gives you a Rockstar Voice. Use it!
• Top 10 Posts of 2009
• Social Media for Business comes to Norfolk
• Local #hrva Live Jams at Starbucks
• Agency’s Pitch requires the Right Brain and Left Brain
• Testing of Your Faith Develops Perseverance
• This is what I’m doing to you -
• NPR says the Phonebook’s Days are Numbered. Do you?
• What the heck is Inbound Marketing?
• Late Night Chillin
• Join Me at @gbvabeach at Town Center
• Can you remember Doody Calls?
• Prank Phone Call - Dublin School Demolition - Hilarious video!
• Why blogging will (still) change the world
• Twitter Updates for 2010-01-14

Hmm, I think I need work. Some are ideal for SEO. Some are ideal for eye-catching. But I need to get better. What about you? Do you stack up? Could you do better with your blog article titles?

Photo credit: Sister72

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Luck Be a Lady by Frank Sinatra.

Williamsburg/ Peninsula Internet Marketing Group

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 4:00 PM!

What: February IMG Session : Blogging for Business

When: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 4:00 PM

Who: 42 Yes / 1 Maybe

Where: Liz Moore & Associates Building in New Town, 5350 Discovery Park Blvd, Williamsburg VA 23188

Meetup Description
Keith Parnell, CEO of JASE Digital Media, CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions will be speaking at our next Meetup on Thursday Feb 3, 2010. Our Topic will be Blogging for Business - The How’s and Why’s.

Of the many topics we will cover, will be -

• Why you should blog.
• How and where to setup a new blog.
• How often to blog.
• When to blog - on a schedule?
• Who to blog to.
• Inbound marketing concepts.
• Lead generation.
• How to blog efficiently.
• How to tie your blog to other social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
• How to measure the results of blogging.
• How to encourage audience interaction on your blog.
• How to syndicate your blog.
• Is blogging all you need to do?

Please bring your laptops with you to enjoy the hands-on portion of the session.

About Keith Parnell
Keith is the Founder & CEO of JASE Digital Media, a marketing and new media agency based in Norfolk, VA.

Keith is Co-Founder & CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, an Internet start-up that specializes in local business services, local small business advertising, and providing the most comprehensive local search directories across the United States.

Keith is also Co-Founder and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions.

Keith is a speaker, writer and blogger at keithparnell.com. He frequently performs interactive talks and how-to sessions for companies, non-profit organizations, conferences and seminars. He is a knowledgeable and passionate speaker on a variety of topics including new media, online marketing, social media, inbound marketing strategies, brand management solutions, and successful advertising techniques.

Technology, marketing and social media are among Keith’s daily passions. He has a vast presence and personal network in the social media world with c. 25,000 followers and subscribers from his blogs, Twitter, JASEzone, Facebook, LinkedIn and FriendFeed networks.

Keith is a member of the Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads, the Hampton Roads Internet Marketing & Technology Group, the Williamsburg / Peninsula Internet Marketing Group, and the Virginia Opera Guild. Keith video blogs at CoffeeWithTheCEO.com.

On Twitter? Follow Keith at @parnellk63.

Kim Tahey with Atlantic Bay Mortgage has graciously offered to provide refreshments for afterwards.

Please RSVP here. If this gets much large we may have to change venues.

Share this with others you know who might benefit. There are powers in numbers. Our hope is to develop this into a learning/ sharing experience ,where all can learn/ share and become proficient!

It seems like each time I go out in public, I learn something new. Each time I attend a social networking event, I learn something new. Each time I speak at an event, I learn something new. Most times that I log into my online social media space, I learn something new.

Why does this happen? Because I listen. I want to listen. I want to be a sponge when I’m around smart people - you!

I think we must think that way to progress positively in our lives. I know we must think that way to progress in our business lives.

I tell you all this to get you to speak up. Blog about your thoughts. Blog about your business. Blog about mindmapping or brainstorming.

Technology has created this massive platform for you to be a rockstar. Use it. Let others see how freakin’ smart and innovative you are. Let me see how freakin’ smart and innovative you are. I want to read what you have to say.

photo credit: flickr.com/photos/phoebelina

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to One Headlight by The Wallflowers.

Okay, maybe blogging won’t change the world as in solving world peace. But blogging can play a major role in influencing the opinions of many people.

Blogging can work wonders in creating, managing, and molding your brand.
Blogging can provide a way to share your thoughts.
Blogging can provide a way to begin meaningful conversations.

Stowe believes that blogging provides a medium to change the world one mind at a time.

Euan believes blogging provides an outlet for your ideas.

What about you? Why do you blog?

image credit: flickr.com/photos/barnett

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Let It Grow by Eric Clapton.

I will be speaking to the Williamsburg / Peninsula Internet Marketing Group in February on Blogging for Business - The How’s and Why’s. Thanks John for the invite.

Of the many topics we will cover, will be -

• Why you should blog.
• How and where to setup a new blog.
• How often to blog.
• When to blog - on a schedule?
• Who to blog to.
• Inbound marketing concepts.
• Lead generation.
• How to blog efficiently.
• How to tie your blog to other social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
• How to measure the results of blogging.
• How to encourage audience interaction on your blog.
• How to syndicate your blog.
• Is blogging all you need to do?

Keep an eye out here for more information and registration details.

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to view and enter comments.

On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.

Our Coffee with the CEO session today covered quite a few topics with a focus on each of our businesses. I sat down with a few of Hampton Roads’ smart business minds and talked about privacy on the Internet, reputation management, WordPress, Moveable Type, blogging for business, brand management, link building, inbound marketing, making your business successful, lead generation, today’s economy, and social media tactics including video marketing.

Today’s attendees:
Bill Boyer, CEO Focus of Tidewater
Mike Key, the Entrepreneurial Ninja
Keith Parnell, JASE Group Marketing & New Media
Stephen Quick, Stephen Alexander Homes
Carolyn Sulcer, World Class Travel
Ruben Vera, Exit Realty Central

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to watch the video.

Related information:
http://carolynsulcer.com
http://ceofocustidewater.com
http://jasegroup.com
http://keithparnell.com
http://mikekey.com
http://needlocalhelp.com
http://only1ruben.com
http://stephenalexanderhomes.com

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Wheel in the Sky by Journey.

This week I sat down with several business professionals in Virginia Beach and talked social media, blogging, holiday shopping online, business strategies, marketing concepts, advertising traditions, SEO, return on investment (ROI) measurement methods and economic spending.

Coffee with the CEO attendees: Mike Key, Jeremy Bailey, Anne Bailey, Gerald Briscoe, Bill Boyer, Jaime Krapf, Chris Faircloth, Scott Janney, Cedrick Harris, Anthony Gartner, Rose Thornton, Alison Creamer, Naoma Doriguzzi, Sonya Schweitzer, Keith Parnell

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to watch the video.

Related information:
http://alisoncreamer.com
http://call1234.com
http://ceofocustidewater.com
http://chrisfaircloth.com
http://coffeewiththeceo.com
http://computer-netsolutions.com
http://gbriscoe.ordermygift.com
http://jasegroup.com
http://jsk-interiors.com
http://keithparnell.com
http://mikekey.com
http://needlocalhelp.com
http://skytelecom.acnrep.com
http://uglywomansguide.com
http://virginiamortgageinformation.com
http://wavemarketing.biz

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Sunday Morning by Maroon 5.

photo credit: flickr.com/photos/madebygirl

I agree with Chris. Don’t take the holidays off from creating content for your blog.

Many companies do scale back on a lot of tasks during the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas-to-New Year holiday period. This is our opportunity to shine.

I equate this time period to the efforts we have preached about during this tough economic downturn in our country. While advertising dollars are scarce, be creative, come up with cool inbound marketing tactics to generate leads. Be smart and build your online marketing presence while your competitors are doing nothing.

What do you think? Have you increased your internet marketing activities? Have you increased your blogging?

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Boys of Summer by Don Henley.

A couple of years ago our company, JASE Group, decided that we were going to commit wholeheartedly to inbound marketing. The marketing and advertising strategies we had previously used for our company just were not working as effectively as we hoped.

Our process began as a test project around our blog material and extended out to a few of the social communities we were actively involved in. We began creating a massive amount of content then instigated, created and encouraged as many links back to this content as possible.

Guess what? It worked. And it still works. Every day.

Here are a few ways our inbound marketing strategies have influenced our daily business life:

1. Lead generation from our company website and blog has easily tripled in the volume of quality leads. We have essentially hired an additional sales member (our website) without the payroll of an additional person.
2. With inbound marketing we apply less efforts to traditional time consuming advertising campaigns - no more phone book ads, no more (offline) television commercials, no more radio advertising, no more trade show exhibits.
3. Our internet marketing initiatives have made us more effective towards the goals of our sales team. The leads we generate from our online web entities are more qualified than previous offline initiatives’ leads.
4. We are more efficient. Period. Time spent is more directly attributable to results.
5. Our current online marketing initiatives are much less expensive than traditional campaigns. Couple this with the points made above, and we have a winner.
6. Since we spend much less time worrying every single detail of outbound marketing items such as media buys and almost-impossible-to-measure-ROI, we have more time to work on our clients’ initiatives.

Do you wonder how inbound marketing can work for your business? Our team would be glad to talk with you.

Basics of an Inbound Marketing Plan

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to I’ll Stand By You by Bonnie Rait.

photo credit: thundersquee.com

I’ve been working through several major topics the last few months with the goal of publishing them as eBooks on the web. A couple of the topics, including personal and corporate branding strategies, inbound marketing techniques, yes’s and no’s of blogging, and social media business strategies that work, have emerged at the forefront and should be published soon.

With the publication dates drawing near, I’m finding myself at another crossroads, or will be soon. Should I publish the eBooks as free downloads? I’m talking totally free - as in, don’t even collect email addresses prior to download.

I’m thinking in my minds eye that I should, if for no other reason than to increase the posibilities of viral distribution via email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, etc.

But being of a marketing frame of mind, I’m also hearing from the other shoulder that I should think lead generation and at least collect contact info at the time of download.

What do you think? Would a contact info gate before the eBook download prevent you from stepping further?

Research from the field:

• David Meerman Scott seems to say no to collecting info in this post and this post.
• Ann Handley lays out both points of view nicely in this post.
• Susan Gunelius agrees with removing the registration gate in this post.

Did any of these change your mind?

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