Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.). It means avoiding drinking too much at cocktail parties with other tech people and bragging about your plans.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 107

Marketing Invest SEM Startup 107

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

companies should… focus on building amazing products. If you have amazing products, the marketing of those products is trivial. If you have $hitty products, the marketing is impossible. Instead of focusing on marketing as an activity… integrate it into (your) products.”. Brad Feld, Managing Director, Foundry Group.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Probably every one of you who has a business and a website have been approached through email or personal contact, and asked to spend money on Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Their computers then cleverly merge your ads with search results only when users search words imply an interest in your products.

SEM 90

SEM Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2014

For new product startups, search engine marketing (SEM) is still one of the most cost-effective and scalable lead-generation approaches. It’s also one of the most accountable, with in-depth data provided by search engines about performance. You can start an SEM campaign with as little as $50 today and get results very quickly.

Startup 99

Startup Social Media SEM Advertising 99

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. Here are some measurements I think about. How many through SEM? If you have multiple versions of your product, how many are web vs. mobile?

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 14, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post about top-down versus bottom-up thinking. They are tasked with “getting deals done&# so they race around talking to tons of potential partners inking anything from channel sale deals , product integration, international distribution agreements, co-marketing arrangements, M&A discussions, etc.

Startup 323

Startup Press Development Team Review SEM 323

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2018

For new product startups, search engine marketing (SEM) is still one of the most cost-effective and scalable lead-generation approaches. It’s also one of the most accountable, with in-depth data provided by search engines about performance. You can start an SEM campaign with as little as $50 today and get results very quickly.

Social Media 55

Social Media SEM Startup Advertising 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

For new product startups, search engine marketing (SEM) is still one of the most cost-effective and scalable lead-generation approaches. It’s also one of the most accountable, with in-depth data provided by search engines about performance. You can start an SEM campaign with as little as $50 today and get results very quickly.

Customer 60

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 60

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. If you can’t raise — you’re dead. End of story.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 67

Marketing SEM Startup Blogging 67

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 24, 2013

For about 50 years, (…cough M) Ad Men, or marketing and sales individuals, have been the kings of organizational hierarchy … and then came the Internet of things and engineers took over the throne. If you build it, they may not come : So, you’ve launched your product, and people use it and seem to like it.

Hulu 111

Hulu Startup Social Media Organization 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2013

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 99

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup SEM 99

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

So when Sam Rosen came to me with the idea of disrupting storage with a product that is priced cheaper than existing incumbents and he could build a product that is a better service I was intrigued. If you’re not even spending any time thinking about what your market could be you’re simply being lazy and unprepared.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

You are now reading one of about 50 million out there already. Search engine marketing (SEM). No SEM plan means you are missing a huge marketing opportunity. Wikipedia started this, but it is also used for technical support, software, and product reviews. Blogs composed of video clips are called “vlogs.” Viral marketing.

SEM 95

SEM Search Engine Optimization Blogging PPC 95

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2013

Scott Morrow is an Internet and startup veteran, having run such companies as Oversee.net and ThisNext, and headed up product marketing for IAC/Citysearch. Talk about Luxury Link? We grew our SEM and improved our ROI. I would use this product even if I wasn''t working here. Talk a bit about the history of the company?

Pricing 256

Pricing Sites Marketing SEM 256

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

One recession later and the US advertising market is about $245 billion – but still only 10-12% is online and measurable. We have an analytics platform that helps advertisers discover information about the demographics of the follower base and the effectiveness of their campaigns. These purchases are more complex in nature.

Advertising 284

Advertising Invest RSS CPC 284

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2012

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 95

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Remember when you had to build a $1M factory to roll-out a new product?

Startup 102

Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM Social Network 102

socalTECH

MAY 5, 2009

We had the chance to talk with co-founder John Tomich about the funding and the firm, which operates e-commerce sites for fashion brands and others. The second, is we provide fulfillment services, such as product shipments. We sign multi-year terms with brands, and have about 30 different companies we're working with.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital SEM Commerce Email 113

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2009

Understandably, the pricing has to be excessive to provide sufficient margin for the product’s producer and an adequate incentive for the non-profit organization. Yet when a child attempts to sell such mis-priced items, the experience is often discouraging, due to the poor cost / value equation associated with such fundraising products.

Web 2.0 222

Web 2.0 Web Sales Outsource Development 222

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2011

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 90

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 90

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

No one wakes up and says to themselves, “I need to buy that product I have never heard of before.” However, Search Engine Management (SEM) is not a “set and forget” exercise. Instead of billboards, affiliates own websites, many of which contain meaningful content associated with the products they advertise. It does not happen.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Remember when you had to build a $1M factory to roll-out a new product?

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM 94

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

Not because they didn’t want to do Pay-per-click (they are huge buyers of SEM) but because they didn’t want other people to know what they paid for clicks! He wanted to build direct customer relationships to get product feedback but only 2% of customers would ever return their registration cards. I totally agree.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2010

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 56

Marketing SEM Blogging Design 56

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

If you are just hearing about this event, or if you already heard about it but just wanted to know exactly what is going to be happening this week, then this is for you. Where can I find out about events happening during SMW? StartupDemo is an opportunity for early stage startups to showcase their new products and/or services.

Social Media 65

Social Media Media Tech Coast Angels Orange County 65

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

We talked with Billy last week about the firm, and what it's trying to do: What's the whole idea behind Kijubi? About eight years ago, I founded a recreation company, which, oddly enough, is now one of my own suppliers. The automated part, is a customer fills out a form and buys the product through their shopping cart.

Activity 164

Activity Startup Sites Web 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2010

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Remember when you had to build a $1M factory to roll-out a new product?

Startup 50

Startup High Tech Search Engine Optimization SEM 50

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2013

Their computers then cleverly merge your ads with search results when users search words imply an interest in your products. It pays only if a customer clicks through AND takes a further action (conversion), such as buying a product or filling out a web form. Advertising is all about getting the most results for the least cost.

Paid Search 90

Paid Search PPC Organization SEO 90

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

And it was a great lesson to talk about with my son afterward. For the same reason I loved the much more flawed story of Anvil , who interestingly came from Toronto, about 100 miles away from where Justin Bieber grew up. With my son we were able to talk afterward about how hard Justin worked to achieve his dream.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Blogging 398

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

But if you want to be able to repeat your success on your next campaign you need to know more about how you drove those clicks: Which social platform were they published on? I’ve tried every product on the market and hadn’t found any other tool that met my needs so to have a chance to ask for what would make me more effective?

Marketing 307

Marketing Technical Review Startup Tool 307

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. They are not the generalists required for new product startups. As your business starts up, you need marketing programs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), a modern “pull” strategy based on social networks, and lead generation.

Entrepreneur 89

Entrepreneur Services Product Search Engine Optimization 89

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. They are not the generalists required for new product startups. As your business starts up, you need marketing programs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), a modern “pull” strategy based on social networks, and lead generation.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Services Search Engine Optimization Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

As your business starts up, you need marketing programs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), a modern “pull” strategy based on social networks, and lead generation. If you think about it, the best employees have always done this. Here are a few examples: Marketing specialists. Administrative specialists.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Startup SEM 48