New Media Marketing:

For far too long Apple has dominated the digital music space. As usual, when competition is limited in any space, the market leader falls out of touch with what the customer really wants. That has clearly happened with Apple’s iTunes store.

The New Media marketing structure of iTunes has been admirable. But what used to be a light, fast and flexible application has turned into an angry giant looking to keep you within its grasp. (The vast majority of audios and videos on iTunes are encoded to play ONLY on Apple products.) And until now there was no viable option.

Now that Napster has rolled out a 6 million-song library that’s open to play on any digital media player, things have changed.

A brilliant New Media Marketing position

I’ve been a Napster subscriber for nearly three years now for that very reason. That and the fact that I can stream unlimited songs every month. Plus, most important to me is that I can download as many songs as will fit on my 30Gig Creative Zen–all included in my monthly membership.

Even though Amazon and MySpace have attempted to hone in on iTunes territory, they lack the name recognition and “hip” rebel image that Napster still carries from the old file-sharing application of the same name.

With an equal number of songs available on an open platform along with “unlimited download and play” subscriptions, does Napster have a chance?

One thing is certain: We’ll all benefit from the free market competition.
Agree?

In my January column in Entrepreneur magazine, I promised to share the “Seven Characteristics of the Successful New Media Marketer” that women possess–giving them a significant advantage over men.

Here’s where you get to tell me whether I’m being sexist or if I’m right on.

Last month, we talked about the first quality that gives women the advantage over men when marketing with New Media. Now let’s explore the second quality women possess that gives them an edge in the Web 2.0 world.

2. Quality of the Successful New Media Marketer: Natural Rapport Builder
A woman knows when she’s being used like a cheap prom date. She instinctively knows when a man isn’t being genuine with her. Especially when that man is trying to sell her something. Her trust-radar goes on full alert the second she smells a rat.

Too often, men in sales try to manipulate a woman into buying something she’s not ready for. Usually she doesn’t feel ready because she hasn’t done enough research. And if she feels the salesperson is just trying to build rapport by talking about her children or family, she’ll be turned off to the entire transaction and go elsewhere.

This is why Web 2.0 is her preferred method of evaluating products and services. If she doesn’t like the “smell” of a site, she can click away and never be bothered by that salesperson again.

Influencing someone to make the right decision is NOT the same as manipulating someone
for your own personal gain.

Influence always comes from a place where both parties benefit from the interaction. Perhaps you’ve successfully influenced a child’s decision not to do drugs. Your efforts in influencing your child come from a genuine place, and you have your child’s best interests at heart.

When you’re building rapport with someone new, and you’re not coming from a place where you have the other person’s best interests at heart, you’re emitting an odor that can be detected as far away as someone else’s computer screen if you’re doing business online.

Good news!
When a woman truly feels she is being listened to and respected, she’ll not only buy from you–she’ll be a loyal, raving fan who buys from you again and again–and tells all her friends about you and your services! She’ll serve as an evangelist, spreading the gospel of your products and services.

But only if you first spend the time to build rapport with her so she feels comfortable taking the next step with you.

The funny thing is, a woman sales professional naturally has this advantage of building rapport with people. Her natural instinct is to make people feel welcome. And it comes from a place of genuine concern to get to know the other person.

A woman’s predisposition toward developing relationships with people comes in handy when it comes to sales. No one wants to be “sold.” But everyone enjoys being partnered with and being helped.

Finally a woman’s role playing “hostess” is coming in handy! Finally, what we got criticized for in the 1980s and ’90s, we are being rewarded generously for in the 21^st century. We are begin rewarded by new visitors’ business and loyalty.

Now it’s your turn to talk back.

I want to hear what you have to say about this quality being a natural quality women possess. Whether you agree or disagree, I welcome your feedback in the comment box below.

For more on this topic, see the column, “Move Over, Men” at WomenEntrepreneur.com.

NOTE: Stay tuned for part 3 in this series…

In my January column in Entrepreneur Magazine, I promised to share on this New Media Marketing blog the “Seven Characteristics of the Successful New Media Marketer” that women possess, so you can participate in the conversation and share your two cents’ worth on this controversial topic.

1.Quality of the Successful New Media Marketer: Trustworthiness
Like it or not, both men and women feel women are naturally more trustworthy than men. That’s not just in relationships, but in business as well.

Whether this is true or not, perception is reality. So when it comes to quickly and easily establishing trust in the sales relationship, women have an advantage in business.

Men often mistakenly think that sales is all about research and planning. While these are notable activities to engage in, in any business transaction, all the research in the world will not take the place of establishing trust in the relationship. Without trust, there is no use for all the research in the world. Therefore, planning must be set on the foundation of trust.

Historically, women have known just how important it is to trust their intuition. So when salespeople try to manipulate us, we have this sixth sense that tells us whether to move forward or move on.

Interestingly, society, spouses and the corporate world have tried to teach us that intuition is not as important as facts. They’ve tried to get us to rely less on our intuition and more on data. And it’s a sad day anytime corporate America succeeds in killing this natural instinct and gift women have been born with.

Fortunately, wise women know that ignoring their instincts would be a fatal mistake and therefore continue to trust their gut when making important decisions. Wise men have also come to rely on their female partner’s intuition. That’s why a spouse often will hold off on the decision-making process until he can run it by his wife.

Could this be where the phrase, “Behind every successful man there’s a woman,” came from? Perhaps it’s this intuition backing up his decisions that initiated this expression.

Trust is critical in any business relationship. And women know how to build trust, naturally. Therefore, this is the first advantage women have over men when marketing with new media.

What are your thoughts on all this?

I’d love to hear your opinion on this. Whether you agree or disagree, I welcome your feedback.

For more on this topic, see the column, “Move Over, Men” at WomenEntrepreneur.com.

In part two of this series I’ll share the second quality women have naturally that’s perfect for marketing with new media.

PS: I’ll repeat the hint shared in this month’s Entrepreneur column:

HINT: Get a male/female partnership in business and you’ll have an even greater advantage by applying each person’s natural skills to the appropriate task needed in the company.

Share your comments below.

Right after I overcame all my objections to joining MySpace, I quickly learned my way around and became a MySpace addict within the first month. And while I’ve been on and off the wagon over the past year, I’m still a MySpace addict.

After about a dozen business owners and internet marketers told me how I just HAD To join Facebook at last month’s WIMME Conference in San Francisco, (World Internet Marketing Main Event) I figured I should at least have a profile, being the New Media expert and all.

So I joined. Despite my busy schedule, between my coaching clients and my addition to MySpace, I somehow pulled myself away long enough to join Facebook this month.

Yep, this early adopter and New Media expert is a late-comer to Facebook, despite knowing about this online social network for years.

Now I just need to decide – which is better? MySpace or Facebook when it comes to networking online for business contacts, joint venture relationships and new clients.

Here’s where YOU come in. Since the jury will be out on MySpace vs. Facebook for at least another few months in order to give both a fair test drive, I thought I’d blog about this question in the beginning stages of my “research� and ask you and all Entrepreneur Magazine readers which network you prefer.

Which social networking community do you prefer spending your time?

MySpace or Facebook?

Oh – and if you haven’t joined either, please do yourself a favor and join both today. Trust me, despite my quest to choose which one I enjoy spending my time on better than the other, they’ve both already proven to be more than valuable when it comes to attracting new clients, furthering the relationship of business contacts and making genuine, forward-thinking new friends.

In the upcoming blog posts this month, we’ll talk about:

• the psychology of Facebook,
• the cult of MySpace
• and we’ll reveal how motivation and influence operate in these two popular online networking communities.

In the meantime… share your thoughts, opinions, expertise on which social network you prefer to spend your time on – MySpace or Facebook.

Tell me WHY you prefer one over the other in the comment link below.

Instead of having a New Media expert tell you all about how to attract clients online using New Media Marketing, I thought I’d share exactly what your market is saying by revealing what an actual client said about how she feels when companies try to market to her online.

Then – you can decide whether it’s time to change your marketing approach when marketing with people online to attract your ideal client. Discover if you’re turning her on, or turning her off.

Julie Perry resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida—the Yachting Capital of the World—yet calls the world her home. She has visited over 50 countries through a variety of different work abroad experiences, including working her way around the United Kingdom on a temporary visa and serving as a Tour Director for one of the nation’s largest private travel clubs.

Author of the book, The Insiders’ Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess: Confessions from My Years Afloat with the Rich and Famous,

which she primarily markets using Web 2.0 and New Media Marketing, Julie is both familiar with business ownership and catering to the wealthiest business owners in the world.

Here’s what Julie, a successful business woman says about how she feels about internet marketers who’ve flocked to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook over the past year.

“All these Internet marketers have flocked to MySpace and similar types of social networking sites in the last six months, but in my opinion, so many of them are going about it all WRONG. While I may not be a champion yet with Adsense, SEO, or in getting my digital and back-end product lines going, if there’s one thing I have mastered, it’s marketing via the social networking scene. It’s all about subtlety when interacting in these communities, and in that regard, I think many of these Internet marketers and small business owners do themselves more harm than good.

The whole in-your-face, impersonal, blatant product plug, link laden, comment post spamming trend has really led us all away from the initial purpose and intent (not to mention, the fun and personal vibe) of the MySpace and social networking phenomenon. Consequently, MY target market–the college-aged and young 20-somethings–have all fled MySpace and gone over to sites like Facebook and Bebo; they’ve been chased away by what’s become out-of-control marketing MADNESS that you see on MySpace. And that pisses me OFF!

Enough rant there. But while I was on the subject, I had to offer some “venting” opinion. Since you coach people on how to utilize web 2.0 sites effectively, I’d love it if you could help spread the word about MySpace, et al: SUBTLETY is KEY, people!”

6 Secrets to Turn Your Ideal Client ON or Off

1. Find ways to attract attention.
2. Hook people in with things that aren’t such obvious advertisements and tacky product plugs.
3. People like to think they discover things on these sites–not have crap shoved in their faces.
4. Intrigue people, or reel them onto you page with things associated or of interest to your niche, but that aren’t necessarily directly related to your product.
5. Use the profile as you would set up a group, bringing people together with common interests.
6. It can still be personal (and it should be), but just don’t have it all geared around a PRODUCT, with that thing shoved in our faces. What a turn off!

Well Julie, I couldn’t have put it better myself!

Thanks for sharing your opinion so entrepreneurs who pay attention will learn what their market really desires – subtlety. Afterall, we don’t mind being marketed WITH, we simply can’t stand being marketed TO. And while that’s a subtle difference, it sure makes all the difference in the world when it comes to our profitability in the online marketplace.

Afterall, that’s where we are in control as the consumer. And it’s just as easy to leave a page and turn someone OFF than it is to fast forward on our remote controls using TiVo.

Remember, if you want to captivate the minds of your prospects, you’ve first got to captivate their eyes and attention so they’ll listen to what you have to say.

Coaching Question of the Day:

Are you turning your ideal client on?
Or are they turning you off?

Some media pundits and mainstream prognosticators are worried about Web 2.0 being a bubble. And they’re trying to get you worried, too. Is there something to their claims that New Media in general, and companies in the Web 2.0 arena in particular are exhibiting “bubble-like behavior” similar to the internet bubble of the late ’90s early ’00s?

I say… who cares?! And if you’re a business owner, marketer, or sales professional — you can say the same thing.

While there are financing elements that are showing bubble-like characteristics, there are important fundamental differences between the first internet bubble and what is going on with some Web 2.0 companies today.

As a business owner, marketer, or sales professional there is no need to worry about Web 2.0 “bubbles.” The fact that New Media involves the average person with interaction and participation right from the start is what provides a solid foundation.

The bottom line is that the Web 1.0 bubble was a financial investment bubble. The popularity and rapid spread of Web 2.0 is due to the investment of attention, participation and intellectual capital. When you hear the mainstream media squawking like chicken little, there is no need to worry. If you are using Web 2.0 and New Media to market, there is no need to fear. The people will stay even if the venture capital firms don’t.

Watch this quick video highlighting the CEOs of some the top Web 2.0 companies and hear what they have to say about the likely hood of a Web 2.0 bubble. After you do, I’m sure you’ll agree with my assessment. If you don’t, let us know why you disagree. Either way - I’d like to hear your opinion.