Hi, the following is a response from one of my readers. For some reason, it wasn’t showing up in the comments section. But I feel it is very, very good and worthy of its own post. -Debra

All of the email addresses posted below are publicly available online, so I don’t think it hurts for me to post them here.  This is a list of the Colorado General Assembly’s email addresses, and the email I just sent them.

suzanne.williams.senate@state.co.us, bruce.whitehead.senate@state.co.us, al.white.senate@state.co.us, reppaul@aol.com, mark.waller.house@state.co.us, edvigil1@gmail.com, glenn.vaad.house@state.co.us, lotochtrop@aol.com, abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us, max@maxtyler.us, nancy.todd.house@state.co.us, cohd58@yahoo.com, pat.steadman.senate@state.co.us, nancyspence@qwest.net, brandon@brandonshaffer.com, gail.schwartz.senate@gmail.com, senatorschultheis@gmail.com, mark.scheffel.senate@state.co.us, nwden34@yahoo.com, spencer.swalm.house@state.co.us, ken.summers.house@state.co.us, amy.stephens.house@state.co.us, john.soper.house@state.co.us, jerry@repsonnenberg.com, judy.solano.house@state.co.us, sue.schafer.house@state.co.us, christine.scanlan.house@state.co.us, chris.romer.senate@state.co.us, senatorrenfroe@gmail.com, su.ryden.house@state.co.us, jim.riesberg.house@state.co.us, ellen.roberts.house@state.co.us, joshpenry@gmail.com, joe.rice.house@state.co.us, kpriola@gmail.com,dianne.primavera.house@state.co.us, jack.pommer.house@state.co.us, cherylin.peniston.house@state.co.us, sal.pace.house@state.co.us, linda.newell.senate@gmail.com, rep.nikkel@gmail.com, john.morse.senate@state.co.us, murrayhouse45@gmail.com, shawnmitch@aol.com, joe@joemiklosi.com, repmiddleton@gmail.com, michael.merrifield.house@state.co.us, wes.mckinley.house@state.co.us, mcfadyen2002@hotmail.com, beth.mccann.house@state.co.us, mike.may.house@state.co.us, tom.massey.house@state.co.us, marshalooper@gmail.com, kevin@kevinlundberg.com, larry.liston.house@state.co.us, replabuda@yahoo.com, rep.kent.lambert@comcast.net, claire.levy.house@state.co.us, mike.kopp.senate@state.co.us, steve.king.house@state.co.us, james.kerr.house@state.co.us, andy.kerr.house@state.co.us, mike.johnston.senate@state.co.us, repkagan@gmail.com, john.kefalas.house@state.co.us, moe.keller.senate@state.co.us, repjoeljudd@joeljudd.com, electkenkester@hotmail.com, senatorhudak@gmail.com, mary.hodge.senate@state.co.us, dl.hullinghorst.house@state.co.us, ted.harvey.senate@state.co.us, rollie.heath.senate@state.co.us, cheri.gerou@gmail.com, jerryfrangas@earthlink.net, joyce.foster.senate@state.co.us, sara.gagliardi.house@state.co.us,bob.gardner.house@state.co.us, gardner@plains.net, cindy.acree.house@state.co.us,repdennisapuan@gmail.com, david.balmer.house@state.co.us, randy.baumgardner.house@state.co.us, debbie@debbiebenefield.org,laurabradford55@gmail.com, bob.bacon.senate@state.co.us, betty.boyd.senate@state.co.us, greg@gregbrophy.net, terrance.carroll.house@state.co.us, edward.casso.house@state.co.us, loiscourt@msn.com, repcurry@gmail.com, bill.cadman.senate@state.co.us, brian@briandelgrosso.com, mferrandino@yahoo.com, randyfischer@frii.com, dan.gibbs.senate@state.co.us

To Whom It May Concern,

I’m not a big business… I’m a former teacher (Greeley), turned massage therapist (Aurora), turned business owner (Denver and Parker).

I’m a regular 30 year old married guy with a small online presence.

Since my voice hasn’t been heard in the past, I’m emailing everyone who’s email address I can find.

The passage of HB 10-1193, and the Governor’s signing of the bill, has resulted in my termination from the Amazon Associates program.

Other affiliate programs and businesses are sure to follow suit with their contractors in Colorado.

In case you’re not aware, Amazon’s Associate program is a program in which people can get paid referral fees for selling products on Amazon.com.

I WAS earning referral fees from marketing those products to people all over the world.

Those referral fees were then taken and spent in Colorado, at COLORADO businesses, hiring contractors (writers, email support, bookkeeping services, etc.) IN COLORADO, and helping to build the economy of our state.

I have SEVERAL friends who have also found their accounts terminated today, everyone I know (myself included) paid taxes on this income last year, and everyone I know who is part of this program in Colorado spends this money in Colorado.

I won’t be able to earn income anymore through Amazon.com, at least not in Colorado, thanks to the passage of this poorly enacted piece of legislation.

Why is it a poor piece of legislation?

It was created to influence retailers into paying Colorado sales tax.

Amazon.com has no business presence in Colorado.

But they have me as an affiliate, a contractor, a person who has no say or control over what direction Amazon will take their business Neither do 99.999% of all affiliates through Amazon.

However, because you designated, through this law, that affiliates constitute a business presence for Amazon.com in our state, Amazon terminated ALL affiliates in Colorado, even those earning less than $10,000 annually (which is most of us).

Again, affiliates are not employees.  Affiliates have no real say in the direction of Amazon’s business.

Just so you’re aware, here’s what will happen with the passage of this law.

The big players who can afford to will simply move their businesses out of Colorado, so you will no longer benefit from their spending or through being able to tax their businesses.

You will not be able to collect taxes from Amazon.com, and other companies will simply choose not to associate themselves with affiliate marketers based out of Colorado.

Current companies with larger operations in Colorado as contractors will either relocate their contractors or simply terminate their relationship.

In the online world, all this law has done is penalize smaller affiliates.  In the “real” world, what taxes are you going to be able to collect?  And how will this law be enforced?

HB 10-1193 is quite possibly the worst way to deal with legislation surrounding collecting Colorado sales tax.

I agree that sales tax in our state is a good thing.

- But what about the income collected in the form of income tax from 1099 contractors?
- What about those who choose Colorado as a place to operate their businesses and spend money hiring employees, (people who buy groceries and gas at local stores), buying foreclosed property and fixing it up, in our state?

I’m pretty sure this bill was passed with good intentions, but I’m completely lost as to the thinking behind how passage of this law would increase revenues or spending or the overall wellbeing in our state.  This law has been passed with no positive result I can see now, or in the future.

You were hoping this law would help to alleviate the state’s budget deficit.  Instead, it takes money, employment, and investment opportunities out of Colorado.

Since Amazon has terminated it’s affiliates, other online retailers will follow suit.

As for me, I don’t know what I will be doing, but will be figuring it out this afternoon.

I don’t know if my small voice really makes any real difference, especially since this legislation was passed anyway.

However, I thought it important for you to know how this legislation has affected my ability to spend money in our state, and the state’s ability to collect taxes on my income.

In case it’s not clear from this email, a vote in favor of this bill has affected my life and my ability to help our state in a very negative way.

Regrettably,

Jonathan Kraft

Amazon Affiliates Screwed: Colorado Law HB 10-1193

Amazon Affiliate Marketers and all who use affiliate marketing worldwide took a major blow to their income today. Why is Colorado Law HB 10-1193 a major setback for small business and entrepreneurship not only in the state of Colorado but worldwide? Let me explain some really basic business principals.

Here’s the basics.

The problem:

Colorado has a huge budget deficit. They desperately need to increase their income. Someone suggest that if they could collect sales tax on sales made to Colorado residents by internet companies such as Amazon, they could generate revenues to help their budget problem.

The Obstacle:

Internet companies like Amazon don’t have a business presence in the state of Colorado and therefore are not subject to collecting and paying Colorado sales tax.

The Solution:

Colorado declares law HB 10-1193 which states any company who has an affiliate marketer that generates over $10,000 of income for that company is a legal agent of that company and thus the company has a presence in the state and must collect and pay sales tax. An affiliate marketer is a person who gets paid a fee for referring business to another company. For example, if I am an Amazon affiliate and I recommend a book and refer you to Amazon to buy it, I could get a referral fee for that sale.

The Result:

Amazon fires all its affiliate marketers who reside in Colorado. They continue to sell to Colorado residents directly and through affiliate marketers who reside in other states. The group who is hurt the most is the small business owner who was putting food on the table and a roof over their family’s head via affiliate marketing. The other one hurting is the State of Colorado because they now loses the personal and business income tax they would have derived from the resident affiliate marketers. The state also forgoes the income from sales tax. Everyone loses, even Amazon.

There are a number of reasons that HB 10-1193 was a stupid law. That’s right it was downright ignorant of the lawmakers to pass HB 10-1193.

First, an affiliate has no control or say in the company’s business. They get paid as a 1099 relationship. They simply refer customers to another company. It’s a form of marketing and advertising.

Second, HB 10-1193 forces an undue burden on the producer of the good and services. As a small business owner and the only employee, I have used affiliate programs to promote my goods and services. It is an effective means of generating awareness for many reasons. According to the new law, if my company is based outside Colorado, but one of my affiliates is based inside Colorado and happens to have referred 10 people who bought my $1000  widget, I now have to figure out how to collect and file sales tax in the state of Colorado. Yoohoo Colorado, it’s not worth my time. I too would do what Amazon is doing and simply ban all affiliates in the state of Colorado. I’ll have my out of state affiliates refer that business to me or simply forgo income from Colorado. Hate to tell you, but Colorado adds a small amount of revenue to an internet company’s bottom line compared to other states.

The third reason HB 10-1193 kills small business in Colorado is that if I am now the affiliate marketer residing in Colorado, not only have I lost my income from Amazon, but I have now lost it from all the other companies with which I have an affiliate relationship. So, not only have I lost my income, but Colorado has lost the revenues from my income tax.

Fourth, How the heck are they going to enforce HB 10-1193? It’s going to take a lot of resources to identify who is an affiliate that generated over $10,000 of income and for what companies did they achieve this and did that company collect sales tax for those particular sales?

Obviously, no one really took the time to think HB 10-1193 through. Either that or there’s a lot of stupid idiots voting for this bill.

The can of worms:

I’m not sure but I would think that anyone who participates in a traditional  MLM business would also be subject to this new law. What if those companies also ceased to operate in Colorado? What then?

What you can do to help:

If you are an affiliate marketer in Colorado or know someone who is, you may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill HB 10-1193. If you are a company that uses affiliates that may be based in Colorado, please let them know what has transpired and direct them to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter.

Here’s Amazon’s announcement to affiliates…

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

Imagine growing up in our house. You are 6 years old. You are just finishing up breakfast. You are just learning to read.  You start practicing your reading on the box of cereal in front of you. You are so excited you have to share your excitement with your mom.

Mom, so this cereal makes you lower your cholesterol.

(Of course, I have to help with the word ko-les-ter-ole.)

Well, not quite honey. You see, they are using an implied benefit in their advertising copy. I know it says that it helps lower your cholesterol, but if you read the fine print, at the bottom of the box, you will see that studies show that any food that has X amount of Y ingredient will lower your cholesterol. And since this product happens to have that amount, they are implying that this product will also reap you this benefit. They are hoping that no one reads that fine print and that they assume that it is only this product that provides you this great benefit.

See here it is. It says “* Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal has 0.75g per serving.” So, Any food that has soluble fiber from whole grain oats can make the same claim being made by this cereal.

And as a child, you don’t need to care about your cholesterol anyway. It’s only something to be concerned about when you get older. So that statement doesn’t even apply to you.

“oh.”

Way to go mom! Way to pop that bubble! They’ll be no uneducated consumers in this household!

Where in your daily life to  do you stumble across a marketer using an implied benefit in their messages? Have you ever sat up and taken notice? Please share some of your observances with us. I might even share them with my kids

List of 300+ Marketing Ideas & Tactics

Here’s the laundry list of over 300 Marketing Tactics and Marketing Ideas to use to market your small business. The list is organized alphabetically. In The Millionaire Marketing Machine, I have organized this list of Marketing Ideas by how each is used in the marketing process to power your marketing machine. Each marketing idea in this list marketing tactics has a purpose that is intertwined with the others and when used together and in sequence they create a powerful engine to propel your business forward.

404 Errors

800 number and PO Box

800 Phone Number

900 Phone Number

A letter of introduction to the company

A sample news story

Ad Sense by Google

Ad Tracking

Ad Words by Google

adopt-a-highway

Ads in videos

Advergames

Advertising

Advertorial

Affiliate Marketing

after-hours gathering

Airplane Chauffeur

Animation

annual award

answering machine message

Articles

Auctions

Audio Marketing

audio message on website

Audio or video files of interviews, speeches and performances

Autoresponders

Avatars

award

Award Recognition

Backend Marketing

Banner Ads

Bartering

be interviewed

Birthday Reminders

Blog Advertising

blog comments on other blogs

blog RSS and syndication

Blogger relations

Blogging

blogging communities

Bonus Offers

book a celebrity guest

bookmark this page script

Bookmarking

Borrow a wall/building

Branded microsites

Branding

brochure

Build trade show booths and exhibits

building signage

Bumper Stickers -

bundle products

Business Cards

Case Studies

chamber of commerce

Charity Donations -

Circulars -

Client Appreciation BBQ -

Clubs

co-branded product

Color schemes

Commenting on related blogs

Comparison shopping

Conference Calls

Consulting

Contests

contextual advertising

Copywriting

Coregistration

Corporate Web Site

Coupon

Courses

Create an XML sitemap

Credibility

Cross Promotion

customer loyalty program

customer of the month

Demonstrations -

direct mail campaign – 3-6 postcards post 7-10 days apart

Direct Response

Discussion Groups

Doctors Office Magazines

Domain Names

Download Page

drawing

Ebay

E-book -

Ebooks

Eclass

editorial calendar

Email

Endorsements

examples

Exclusives

expo booth

extranet

Ezine

Fake publicity stunt -

Favicons

Feedback forms

Fish Bowl Business Cards -

Flash

Forums & Newsgroups

free content

free ebook

free gift with $X purchase

free shipping

Freebies

Freelancing

fund-raising

Get listed in a paid directory like BOTW or Yahoo Directory.

grand opening

Gratitude

Guarantees

Guest blogging

guest presenters

guest speakers

Hair Salon’s and Barber Shops -

Hang up fliers, posters or business cards at community halls, libraries, or other local businesses,

Headlines

Hold a Contest -

Holiday Greetings -

Holidays

How-to clinic

Image

image communities

Industry Events

Info Products

instant messaging

internet TV

Interviews

intranet

Joint Ventures

Keywords

language translated content

Leads

Let Others Talk You Up

limited-time offer

Link Bait

Link Cloaking

Link Strategies

Listbuilding

List in related quality directories

List of frequently asked questions

live customer service

live streaming

loan your facilities as a meeting place

Local Events

Logos

Magazines -

Mailing lists signup

Mastermind Groups

Media Events

Media Kit

Membership sites

merchant account – accept more payment options

microblogging

Mini Courses

Mini Ebooks

Mini Sites, microsites

Mobile Ads

Mobile content

Money Stamping -

Movie Theater Ads

Multimedia

Music

Network Marketing

Networking Organizations

News feeds

News related to the industry or investor news

Newsletters

Newspaper advertising

Offer all the extras

online chat

online games

Online radio show

open house

order form

organize a conference

Outdoor Signs -

Own the bus stop

own TV show

Paid Reviews

participate in forums with Signature

participate in wikis

partnerships

Pay it forward

Pay per click

Pay per whatever

Peer to Peer relationships

Phone consulting

photos

podcast

Pop-overs

Pop-unders

Pop-ups

Postcards

Posting in related forums

PPC – Pay per Click

Preselling

presentation

Press Release

Press tour

Price Reduction

Pricing

primary call-to-action above the fold

Print Calendars -

Private Label

Private Sites

Product and service information and brochures

prospecting

Public Relations

Public Speaking

Publicity

Publishing

Put it on a bus

Questions

Radio_internet

ratings sites

Recent reviews, publications and articles

refer-a-friend link

referral fees

Referral Marketing

regional content

Reports

Reprint or Resell rights

Return address label

Reviews

Reward Programs

RSS Advertising

sales event

Sales Letter web Page

Sales letters

samples

Scarcity

schedule of promotions and events

Screensavers

Search engine optimization

search marketing

sell ad space on your properties

SEM – Search Engine Marketing

Seminars

Sex Sells

Shopping carts

signage

signature

Signs

social advertisements like Facebook

Social bookmarking your site

social media advertising

social networking

social networking, forums, wikis, collaboration

special interest groups

split-test

Sponsor an event

Sponsor the homeless

sponsorship

Squidoo

Sticky Notes

Sticky pages

Submit your site to the DMOZ directory

Submitting articles to directories

Surveys

Sweepstakes

syndicated content

Syndication

tagging

tagline

Talk Shows

Target Market

teach a class

Teleconferencing

telephone hotline

Teleseminars

Testimonials

Testing and Tracking

Thank You pages

The company profile, history, and management

Tips

Toolbars

Top 10 reasons to choose YOU

Trade Associations

trade shows

Trade Shows

Training

Translation

Troubleshooting

T-Shirts

Tutorials

TV

Unsubscribe message

Upselling

Url

user generated content

USP

vendor relationship management

video communities

Videos

Viral Marketing

Virtual Tradeshows

virtual worlds

Voicemail

voting features

Web Pages

Web Site Design

webinars

Welcome or confirmation message

white papers

widget advertisements

widgets

Window decals

window displays

Word of Mouth

workshop

Writing guest articles

Yellow Pages

I’d like to thank some of the blogs that I used to compile this list of 300 Marketing Ideas and Tactics:

Over 150 Marketing Tactics and Growing,  By Kevin Wirth

50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using, By Bootstrapping Blog

If you have any other marketing ideas or tactics  that you would like to add to the list, please add a comment below.

Ever wonder why people pay for a PR firm? What kind of publicity do they get for their money? Here are some of the things a Public Relations agency should be doing for you. Or, if you choose to write your own plan, here’s what you should include.

1. Messaging
2. Media Training
3. Construct Story
4. Media or Press Kit
5. Generate Media Opportunities
6. Build Strategic News Pipeline
7. Editorial Calendar Outreach
8. Leverage Events
9. Media tour
10. Media Events

Let’s look at that a little bit further. What does it mean? What do you really get?

PR Messaging

If your company has not already come up with its positioning and a clear set of messages, your PR firm can craft those for you. They should be reinforcing your brand, positioning and messages throughout everything they do. This is key and fundamental to the success of every marketing program.

Media Training

Everyone in your company who will be interviewed by the media should trained on how to communicate effectively with them. You need to learn how to answer questions in a way that supports your messaging. You should be prepared to expect certain questions and the best ways to get your message across.

Construct Story

Your PR Agency should be able to take your messages and translate them into multiple stories that appeal to a variety of media that target your ideal customer. They will also create and pitch each story to the media.

Media or Press Kit

A media kit (sometimes called press kit) is like a resume for your company. It includes:

1. A letter of introduction to the company
2. The company profile, history, and management
3. Product and service information and brochures
4. Recent reviews, publications and articles
5. Press releases
6. Audio or video files of interviews, speeches and performances
7. A sample news story
8. News related to the industry or investor news
9. List of frequently asked questions
10. Other information such as awards, photos, white papers, schedule of promotions and events, statistics, samples or examples, logo and image art, an order form.

Generate Media Opportunities

Create a targeted list of media and analyst contacts. Start contacting them locally then build nationally and internationally.  Pitch stories. Position your company as the go-to source of information on your subject.

Build Strategic News Pipeline

Develop a scheduled series of news releases (press releases) and draft the announcements that strategically roll out different aspects of the story.

Editorial Calendar Outreach

Identify publications that target your ideal customer and make a list of the planned stories or editorial opportunities that exist within their annual calendar.  Pitch you product/service where appropriate.

Leverage Events

Develop a PR strategy to leverage events that your company hosts or participates in. Recruit press to cover the stories.

Media tour

A media tour is when you meet with editors and reporters to introduce your company, product or service. The end goal is to build the relationship so that they print an article about your product, service or company, or that they come to you for quotes.

Media Events

Just as  you need to build community among your customers, you need to build community among the press. You want to build your brand or image in their mind and then stay top of mind with them. An event is a perfect way to do this. It may be as simple as a sneak-preview party or a press appreciation party. Free food and drink is always appealing.

With the exception of the media kit and the media events, most of these activities do not cost much money in terms of materials. But they do take time. If you want to write a plan for yourself, you should include most of these tactics. Typically a company will outsource these functions because they don’t have the time and the existing relationships with the press. if you choose this route, look for a firm that already has established relationships with the media outlets that reach your target customer.

Have you seen the latest blockbuster movie Avatar? You know, the movie that is breaking all the sales records at the theater box-office? I saw it last weekend. It’s a prime example of the pillar of influence called social validation. This simply means that the more people that see the movie, the more we think that it is proof that the movie is good.

One form of social validation used in marketing is called “social proof”. You will see this in the form testimonials and case studies. When we see that someone else like us is using the product or service and is happy with it, we have a strong desire to join them. The more people participating, the stronger the desire to participate.

You will see marketers using social validation when they broadcast that an event has sold out (or is about to), or that they have surpassed their goals. You see, that means that more people liked what they are offering than even they expected and the implication is that you will like it too.

When you add in some validation from authority, you up the ante. You see, when people perceive someone as an authority figure, they have a higher tendency to do what that person says. Think “4 out of 5 doctors prefer”. That is an example of a marketer using the perception of authority to promote their product.

So, when you go to the movies this weekend to see Avatar, let me know if you liked it. Then let me know WHY you liked it. did you like it because it was a great story line? Did you like it because the graphics were amazing? Did you like it becauase everyone else did (social validation)? Or, did you like it because it got good reviews (authority)?

Want to know how to build community for your business? Here’s a great example. Check out the website for the movie Extraordinary Measures. And go to their “Quilt” page. Here you will see all kinds of submissions of home movies about charitable causes. I was directed here from a link posted to a friend’s Facebook status. A friend of that friend has a son with a deadly genetic disorder and posted a video in the contest. The video with the most votes wins $10,000 for their cause.

Why do I think this is great?

First, I had no knowledge of the movie before being directed here. Even after landing here, I simply watched a couple of videos and could pretty much guess that the movie was about a family fighting to save their kids. The nature of the contest was inline with the theme of the movie. It completely supported the plot. And, even better, it attracted the kind of people who are likely to want to watch the movie; people who know people who are living under extraordinary circumstances.

Can you see the viral effect? All you have to do is notify a couple of charities about the contest and it spreads like wildfire. They notify everyone in their organization, who notify all their friends and family, who notify theirs. Who wouldn’t want to win some money for the cause they are championing? Who wouldn’t want to support their friends in contributing to their cause? Of course we are going to spread the word.

It also helps that the site makes it easy to spread the word. They integrate Twitter, Facebook and other social networking tools right into the site to make it easy for people to spread the word.

This is a great way to build community because it engages your customers, gets them involved in a way that supports the product. It attracts their ideal customer to them and creates awareness virally. People are committed to the movie because they are committed to their cause (or that of their friends). If they make a video or vote for a video there is a part of them that wants to act consistently with that choice and actually see the movie. The movie is supporting them, why shouldn’t they support the movie?

There is a lot of goodwill generated with this contest. You get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the movie because they are supporting their customers. Here is where the psychological trigger of reciprocity kicks in. They do something to help us, so we want to do something to help them.

So, take a look at the Extraordinary Matters Quilt and let me know what you think. What do you like or dislike about it as a method of building community? What other examples of great community building would you like to share?

Did you see the Hope for Haiti Now Benefit on TV Friday night? If you were watching TV, you couldn’t help but see it. It was on every major network, and then some. It must have been on at least 6 channels. The truth be told, I don’t pay for cable or satellite so I only get the free stations. The only stations it wasn’t on were the spanish channels. Why is that?

Anyway, that was a prime example of someone dominating their distribution channel. I’m very impressed with them for negotiating that distribution. But then again, if you were a network and word got out to the public that you refused to air the benefit, people would be up in arms. You would have a major PR debacle on your hands.

Lesson learned from Hope for Haiti Now. When you got the leverage, use it to gain full market domination.

Oh, by the way, if you have a social life and were out on friday night and happened to miss the benefit, You can order songs and videos here to support the charitable effort.

Over the weekend I was reading an article on MSNBC about a Muslim TV Executive who was charged for murder for beheading his wife. He pleaded guilty by reason of insanity due to spousal abuse.

The reason I felt compelled to even mentioned it here is that the article states that,

Hassan, 45, is charged with one count of second-degree murder in the Feb. 12 death of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan at the offices of Bridges TV, the station the Pakistan-born couple established in 2004 to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims.

Does anyone else see the irony?

Hassan establishes a TV station in NY to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims and then proceeds to chop off the head of his wife. Hello? What are you thinking Hassan? If you weren’t going to jail for the rest of your life I’d say you need a new PR strategy!

You can read more about the situation at MSNBC.

What marketing expert should you be working with for each marketing tactic that you want to implement? This is a short list to help you figure out who you need to call. In a larger business, it is typically the brand or product manager that writes the marketing strategy and plan and then oversees all the specialized experts who make it happen.  Here is a brief list of who to work with…

• Marketing Communications: could be an AD agency or just a graphic artist, copywriter and web designer. The Ad agency would also have a creative director that oversees the other 3 specialists. They create your identity, logo, brochures, website, packaging, ads (both online and off) and most materials. Can also create email newsletters. A direct marketing specialist would also fall into this category.
• Web site: web designer works on the visual representation, web developer handles ecommerce, community forums and other functionality, SEO expert gets your chosen keywords emphasized,
• Social Media: blog/community manager oversees blog content and responds to community members (blogger could also be in a different dept. like PR). Twitter and forum communicator.
• PR: gets feature articles written, product placements, press tours, press kits, press releases, speaker placement, quotes,and more.
• Event Marketing: identifies, schedules and prioritizes marketing events, creates booths, demos, etc.
• Channel Marketing: work with resellers, OEM, Affiliate managers and Evangelists: who get 3^rd parties to sell your products or services or use them in their own products
• Business Development & Sales – works directly with key customer accounts to close a sale.

This is most of the major categories of specialists. The ones you need to work with can vary depending on your type of business.

What other marketing specialists have you used?