Blogs, Branding and The Blogroll Philosphy

Last week we talked with Toby Bloomberg from Diva Marketing Blog.
You can download the audio here: (also available by podcast)
Easy Bake Weblogs Interview w/Toby Bloomberg (mp3 format, 22.5 MB, 49 minutes)
Outline of the notes:
00:00 Introductions
03:58 Obligatory ‘What’s a blog?’ coverage. References my definition.
05:30 The ‘Grocery Store Relationship.’ Blogs allow us to connect to customers – creating a dialogue that others can join in. It’s not television. Toby’s post on this.
09:30 RSS Makes blogs powerful. Reclaims your inbox from spam and ezine deluge.
11:45 Finding your target audience (just like traditional marketing): newsletters, business cards, website, collateral, etc.
15:10 The Blogroll Philosophy: Open linking (even to competitors) is a shift in attitude from traditional ‘me-only’ marketing. This open-ness also propels the connected-ness of blogs and helps build your network.
17:30 Search Engine Tips: Take a mass media event and filter it through your/your business’s pespective. Andy’s example: 2nd page of Google results for tsunami images for this post on his personal blog.
20:43 Blogging Tip: Use a different email address for commenting on blogs to prevent your ‘real’ email address from being spammed.
22:00 Comments present a unique opportunity to get instant and total feedback on a topic or experience. Toby’s experience with BlogAds. Usefulness of comments: I always reference the Six Apart MT Licensing debacle (I’m a big hyperbolin’ dork: they didn’t get 3,000 comments – ‘only’ 845).
28:00 Branding isn’t dead – it’s different. Bloggers are a liaison between a business and it’s customers. Obligatory Robert Scoble reference.
34:15 Fake blogs: using fictional blogs to promote a product or service. Vote Carrie to promote Sex in the City on TBS (reminded me of Laura Palmer’s Diary (from Twin Peaks) presented in blog format).
39:40 Blogs versus ezine. Do both – it gets you indexed in search engines and makes your archives easier to manage.
41:43 Common Marketer’s Complalint: Blogs are a sieve that doesn’t get a prospect’s email address. Maryam’s fantastic example of white truffle oil and epileptic cats and Wayne Dyer. You never know where traffic is going to come from. Write what you love – people will connect to you.
47:00 The lesson of online porn. Plus, a request for more pictures of Andy’s cat.
And we’ll have a call coming up next week – to stay in the loop on these blogging conversations – sign up for my blogging tips newsletter.