A lot of guys would be P.O'd to be out of work this long. Lets face it folks, as far as work goes, I am a long lost memory. Added to the fact that there are NO JOBS IN MICHIGAN -- but I am actually pretty grateful.
In the grand scheme of things - I have actually profited from this. I predict in the next 10 years I will still be unemployed -- in fact I am counting on it. There are a number of top hitting companies on my resume that scare off potential bosses. You got the Big Six firms on there like EY, Arthur Andersen, and then Capital Records and WWF. This has got to send an HR person screaming at the top of their lungs.
They cannot afford me.
Detroit hasn't really been there for me once I crossed the line into super stardom. The companies are still kicking around low digits so I couldn't commit. The last advice a radio station gave me was that I was only worth a couple of grand a year.... I think it was around 15k total. He also advised that I should take the job.
But I had to agree to.. DISAGREE.
MOTOR CITY LIVING HAS TOUGHENED ME UP
I know when I wake up tomorrow the phone will be dead. My agents have long left me and there are no fires to put out in corporate america at the 6 figure level. But that doesn't meant that I am out of action. You see - by 9 am tomorrow morning I am going to be generating some serious numbers.... from my modest office.
I can do this because I am wired to the gills online. I got so many potential business leads out there that it is a little scary. I got press releases, people on command and on speed dial that will not only bring me money when I need it but also connect me to bigger deals when I need it.
I can thank the Internet for that.
And my dear friends, I am only beginning.
Posted By Ted Cantu, (He Still Doesn't Have A Job!) and has a killer studio in Farmington Hills, Michigan and is planning his next wave of online money making!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Its 2010 - Facing The Great Collapse
LIVING LARGE IN THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
Its amazing how times have changed. Its even more amazing how the rules of the game are changing at a rapid rate. Since I have turned against the traditional roads of marketing I got to tell you that I am enjoying the fruits of freedom.
I believe that in 2010 people are more impatient than ever.
In 2009 we lost two major newspapers - the Ann Arbor News and the Oakland Press. We also lost The Phenomenews paper that reported on all things related to mind, body and spirit. As troubling as these events were little has changed on the local front. Retail stores still struggle to get the word out about their businesses...... Without the support of the newspapers the other logical choice would be to run side by side with the Yellow Pages....
This is a grim proposition. It is tough to stand out against so many similar listings. This is true for just about every industry.
GOOGLE VS THE SEARCH ENGINES
Getting a thumbs up in the Kawsasaki ATV Parts market is tough these days. There are roughly 15,000,000 competing pages on the web. Getting noticed in the motor sports industry is getting tougher than ever. That is why a lot of them are doing pay per click to stay out there in the public eyes. For some companies this is an ideal choice.
Google PPC accounts have been reported to drop over the recent weeks. In fact, a lot of these accounts were reported to be "kicked out" of the system. This leaves the advertisers in search of greener pastures... literally. Keep in mind that a good 86% of the online public prefers to rely on organic searches on the web. The choice for these advertisers may be to start creating organic online marketing campaigns.
If you can't rely on the PPC system to take care of you whats left.... the Yellow Pages? Maybe. Over the last few months the Yellow Pages has been making strides to do a little "video" for the retail store owners. This is nothing compared to the magnitude of "Viral Marketing" where it is possible to create 40,000 online links in just a few months as opposed to.... 2-10 ... tops with the "other guys".
Kawasaki parts dealers are better off using organic SEO to help propel their companies on the web. It may be their only option. The newspapers are not coming back anytime soon. In a way its very depressing yet... at the same time, very uplifting.
Google is picking up in popularity -- and print.... in general, is dead. Thats what I am told constantly when I meet retail store owners. And seriously, on the street, (and that is where I spend 80% of my time) nobody is forking over money on stamps to do mailing campaigns.
ONLINE MARKETING IS CHANGING TOO
Whenever I hear the buzzwords for "Webinar" I get nervous. That is usually a red flag for the following.... It means that people who love meetings, (but rarely buy) will be stealing time from me before they make a commitment. I think that level of marketing is finished too to an extent.
It used to be like this....
1. Soft Launch - webinar, phone calls
2. Pre-Launch - webinar part 2, phone calls, teleseminar
3. Drip Campaign - Mail, and drive people to a "Squeeze Page"
Now I think you just need an idea, a sales letter, and maybe a power point and thats it. You don't need to wait weeks upon weeks to get your point across. I find that people who like structure and "meetings" are usually cash poor to begin with.
I don't have time to entertain these people. I need to find motivated individuals who want to become customers at some level... and they are out there.
So this level of online marketing has also collapsed. Sad but true.
2010 will be a year of great impatience, a year of speed, and a year of significance. You will need to know what you want. You will have to choose sides and pick your fights quickly.
And in 2010, you had better learn how to sell.
The job "scene" has greatly deteriorated.
There is too much opportunity out there. Opportunity is not the problem. The real issue is that many entrepreneurs out there have absolutely no clue how to build value and sell their goods.
Times up....
Ted Cantu posted this Dec 31, 2009 -
Its amazing how times have changed. Its even more amazing how the rules of the game are changing at a rapid rate. Since I have turned against the traditional roads of marketing I got to tell you that I am enjoying the fruits of freedom.
I believe that in 2010 people are more impatient than ever.
In 2009 we lost two major newspapers - the Ann Arbor News and the Oakland Press. We also lost The Phenomenews paper that reported on all things related to mind, body and spirit. As troubling as these events were little has changed on the local front. Retail stores still struggle to get the word out about their businesses...... Without the support of the newspapers the other logical choice would be to run side by side with the Yellow Pages....
This is a grim proposition. It is tough to stand out against so many similar listings. This is true for just about every industry.
GOOGLE VS THE SEARCH ENGINES
Getting a thumbs up in the Kawsasaki ATV Parts market is tough these days. There are roughly 15,000,000 competing pages on the web. Getting noticed in the motor sports industry is getting tougher than ever. That is why a lot of them are doing pay per click to stay out there in the public eyes. For some companies this is an ideal choice.
Google PPC accounts have been reported to drop over the recent weeks. In fact, a lot of these accounts were reported to be "kicked out" of the system. This leaves the advertisers in search of greener pastures... literally. Keep in mind that a good 86% of the online public prefers to rely on organic searches on the web. The choice for these advertisers may be to start creating organic online marketing campaigns.
If you can't rely on the PPC system to take care of you whats left.... the Yellow Pages? Maybe. Over the last few months the Yellow Pages has been making strides to do a little "video" for the retail store owners. This is nothing compared to the magnitude of "Viral Marketing" where it is possible to create 40,000 online links in just a few months as opposed to.... 2-10 ... tops with the "other guys".
Kawasaki parts dealers are better off using organic SEO to help propel their companies on the web. It may be their only option. The newspapers are not coming back anytime soon. In a way its very depressing yet... at the same time, very uplifting.
Google is picking up in popularity -- and print.... in general, is dead. Thats what I am told constantly when I meet retail store owners. And seriously, on the street, (and that is where I spend 80% of my time) nobody is forking over money on stamps to do mailing campaigns.
ONLINE MARKETING IS CHANGING TOO
Whenever I hear the buzzwords for "Webinar" I get nervous. That is usually a red flag for the following.... It means that people who love meetings, (but rarely buy) will be stealing time from me before they make a commitment. I think that level of marketing is finished too to an extent.
It used to be like this....
1. Soft Launch - webinar, phone calls
2. Pre-Launch - webinar part 2, phone calls, teleseminar
3. Drip Campaign - Mail, and drive people to a "Squeeze Page"
Now I think you just need an idea, a sales letter, and maybe a power point and thats it. You don't need to wait weeks upon weeks to get your point across. I find that people who like structure and "meetings" are usually cash poor to begin with.
I don't have time to entertain these people. I need to find motivated individuals who want to become customers at some level... and they are out there.
So this level of online marketing has also collapsed. Sad but true.
2010 will be a year of great impatience, a year of speed, and a year of significance. You will need to know what you want. You will have to choose sides and pick your fights quickly.
And in 2010, you had better learn how to sell.
The job "scene" has greatly deteriorated.
There is too much opportunity out there. Opportunity is not the problem. The real issue is that many entrepreneurs out there have absolutely no clue how to build value and sell their goods.
Times up....
Ted Cantu posted this Dec 31, 2009 -
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Cracks Are Showing on SEO
In recent months there has been a different view on SEO and what search engine optimization can ultimately mean for a company. The first thing that comes to mind is that no matter what -- getting to the top of the search engines is paramount.
But at what cost? Do you want to pay to be there or do you want to get there organically as possible. And if you want to get there organically do you want to actually do work or do you look at your overall campaign as someone elses problem?
I am often intrigued with how many times a company will look at their online marketing with distain and disgust. This is your responsibility overall. And this this is something I see companies wrestling with month after month. Its as if the success of their own company is looked upon as someone else's problem.
Look at what we did recently for Kawasaki OEM Parts - for a little company called, www.powersedge.com This is a very smart company who gets it. More importantly when we took on this campaign we employed our own techniques. We literally turned our back on many of our mentors and have developed our own keyword strategies and success formulas. This has outraged many of our colleagues --- You're not supposed to color outside the lines.....
Instead of getting hauled off to the H.R. department - we ousted ourselves from the sugary sweet comfort of our contemporaries and have hit the street. Since we are not in a corporate circle we are fine with that. I grew up with street fighting and this my friends is no different.
SEO IS FAILING
The last 60 days have revealed some rather disturbing news. Googles PR system is showing signs of old age. It is no longer important for a page to have a high page rank thanks to viral marketing. WORSE -- there are new signs ahead that tell us that it is no longer important to link your pages up to high PR pages for good SEO.
Good mercy.
That leaves the boys in India scratching their heads and looking deep inside their wallets. The Golden Age of off shore SEO is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Now you will have to really know what you are doing when it comes to search engine marketing. That means you will have to physically show some effort and some concern to get yourself noticed online.
This means you will have to actually do something instead of just submitting pages to a handful of directories to get some attention.
That has to bum some of you out.
Created by the King of Online Marketing - Ted Cantu - Look at his results at
http://www.tedcantu.com and check out what he did for Kawasaki
But at what cost? Do you want to pay to be there or do you want to get there organically as possible. And if you want to get there organically do you want to actually do work or do you look at your overall campaign as someone elses problem?
I am often intrigued with how many times a company will look at their online marketing with distain and disgust. This is your responsibility overall. And this this is something I see companies wrestling with month after month. Its as if the success of their own company is looked upon as someone else's problem.
Look at what we did recently for Kawasaki OEM Parts - for a little company called, www.powersedge.com This is a very smart company who gets it. More importantly when we took on this campaign we employed our own techniques. We literally turned our back on many of our mentors and have developed our own keyword strategies and success formulas. This has outraged many of our colleagues --- You're not supposed to color outside the lines.....
Instead of getting hauled off to the H.R. department - we ousted ourselves from the sugary sweet comfort of our contemporaries and have hit the street. Since we are not in a corporate circle we are fine with that. I grew up with street fighting and this my friends is no different.
SEO IS FAILING
The last 60 days have revealed some rather disturbing news. Googles PR system is showing signs of old age. It is no longer important for a page to have a high page rank thanks to viral marketing. WORSE -- there are new signs ahead that tell us that it is no longer important to link your pages up to high PR pages for good SEO.
Good mercy.
That leaves the boys in India scratching their heads and looking deep inside their wallets. The Golden Age of off shore SEO is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Now you will have to really know what you are doing when it comes to search engine marketing. That means you will have to physically show some effort and some concern to get yourself noticed online.
This means you will have to actually do something instead of just submitting pages to a handful of directories to get some attention.
That has to bum some of you out.
Created by the King of Online Marketing - Ted Cantu - Look at his results at
http://www.tedcantu.com and check out what he did for Kawasaki
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Ted Cantu - Lessons From Dan Kennedy - Is Cantu Ex-Kennedy?
THE BIG QUESTION:
"DID KENNEDY MARKETING REALLY HELP YOU AESTHETICALLY?"
The answer to that is YES. Studying Kennedy over the past 6 years has radically transformed my thinking and how I approach direct marketing. Short to the point it showed me how to do sales in a new and unique way. It was a significant moment in my life. I learned everything from SALES COPY, DIRECT RESPONSE and SALES TACTICS.
"ARE YOU REALLY AN - EX - KENNEDY MEMBER?"
I have addressed this position in past posts regarding my status with Dan Kennedy. In recent months I have cut loose from ALL OF MY MENTORS..... so I could create freely without any interference on their aesthetics.
Here is a complete list of marketing coaches I have recently let go of.....
* Brett McFall
* Dan Kennedy
* Derek Ghel
* Joe Vitale
I took the recent months to create new works online that did not lean too strongly in any one of these masterminds. I wanted to create new online records that did not borrow too heavily from any one of these Gurus.
Now, Kennedy - is changing his direction with the help of Bill Glazer in the areas of Online Marketing. This has also been under the advisement of Yanik Silver. I have taken bare principals and have laid out a different sort of attack plan.
I outline this briefly in my chapter in the, "30 Day Total Business Makeover".
THE NINE FAMILIES OF SEARCH ENGINES
In this chapter I outline 9 families of search engines including PODCASTING SEARCH ENGINES, TRADITIONAL SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SEARCH ENGINES, BLOG SEARCH ENGINES, ARTICLE SEARCH ENGINES, VIDEO SEARCH ENGINES and many more....
I created a special brand of "Buzz Marketing" using traditional Direct Response Marketing techniques learned by the masters and applied them in Web 2.0 environments.
CANTU IS EX-SEO
To a certain extent I am not a pure SEO marketer anymore either. I have expanded my view with search engine optimization and utilized emotional responses within my web pages, such as in the Description Tag.
I feel that the description tag is the highest selling point of a business online. This is the equivalent of a headline title. We want the online searcher to open the web page and read it just as they would direct mail.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS
I am in a state of transition of creating new online environments. I have been on the road re-introducing this very special brand of Web 2.0, Direct Response, SEO - Buzz Marketing to the masses. This means I have been on the road.
Interestingly enough I have been introducing it to companies who have been hit hardest with PPC, (pay per click) campaigns during the turbulent years of the POST COM WORLD.
I have also made a conscious effort to ignore many of my contemporaries so I would be influenced by them directly. I did not want my marketing to be a clone of someone else's. I have added a significant amount of articles, PR and Hubs to my marketing with the help of RSS feeds. This has definately gotten my name out there in front of a lot of new prospects and has resulted in business.
I have plans to return to my mentors at some point and reintroduce myself. This has been a creative hiatus and a time of personal growth.
I am also in the finalizing stages of a new book that will be released in the fall months of 2009.
Posted by Ted Cantu, aug. 21, 2009
"DID KENNEDY MARKETING REALLY HELP YOU AESTHETICALLY?"
The answer to that is YES. Studying Kennedy over the past 6 years has radically transformed my thinking and how I approach direct marketing. Short to the point it showed me how to do sales in a new and unique way. It was a significant moment in my life. I learned everything from SALES COPY, DIRECT RESPONSE and SALES TACTICS.
"ARE YOU REALLY AN - EX - KENNEDY MEMBER?"
I have addressed this position in past posts regarding my status with Dan Kennedy. In recent months I have cut loose from ALL OF MY MENTORS..... so I could create freely without any interference on their aesthetics.
Here is a complete list of marketing coaches I have recently let go of.....
* Brett McFall
* Dan Kennedy
* Derek Ghel
* Joe Vitale
I took the recent months to create new works online that did not lean too strongly in any one of these masterminds. I wanted to create new online records that did not borrow too heavily from any one of these Gurus.
Now, Kennedy - is changing his direction with the help of Bill Glazer in the areas of Online Marketing. This has also been under the advisement of Yanik Silver. I have taken bare principals and have laid out a different sort of attack plan.
I outline this briefly in my chapter in the, "30 Day Total Business Makeover".
THE NINE FAMILIES OF SEARCH ENGINES
In this chapter I outline 9 families of search engines including PODCASTING SEARCH ENGINES, TRADITIONAL SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SEARCH ENGINES, BLOG SEARCH ENGINES, ARTICLE SEARCH ENGINES, VIDEO SEARCH ENGINES and many more....
I created a special brand of "Buzz Marketing" using traditional Direct Response Marketing techniques learned by the masters and applied them in Web 2.0 environments.
CANTU IS EX-SEO
To a certain extent I am not a pure SEO marketer anymore either. I have expanded my view with search engine optimization and utilized emotional responses within my web pages, such as in the Description Tag.
I feel that the description tag is the highest selling point of a business online. This is the equivalent of a headline title. We want the online searcher to open the web page and read it just as they would direct mail.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS
I am in a state of transition of creating new online environments. I have been on the road re-introducing this very special brand of Web 2.0, Direct Response, SEO - Buzz Marketing to the masses. This means I have been on the road.
Interestingly enough I have been introducing it to companies who have been hit hardest with PPC, (pay per click) campaigns during the turbulent years of the POST COM WORLD.
I have also made a conscious effort to ignore many of my contemporaries so I would be influenced by them directly. I did not want my marketing to be a clone of someone else's. I have added a significant amount of articles, PR and Hubs to my marketing with the help of RSS feeds. This has definately gotten my name out there in front of a lot of new prospects and has resulted in business.
I have plans to return to my mentors at some point and reintroduce myself. This has been a creative hiatus and a time of personal growth.
I am also in the finalizing stages of a new book that will be released in the fall months of 2009.
Posted by Ted Cantu, aug. 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Web 2.0 PR: What If You Are On The RIP OFF REPORT?
There's always two sides to every story.
But sometimes a belligerent company can slander you all over the web. I have seen TV journalists do this as well as PR companies. There is usually very little you can do about this catastrophic event. You just have to sit back and be a victim. That was the way it was normally handled .... until recently.
If you find yourself on the RIP OFF REPORT or worse.... you can get those ugly, nasty headlines and articles blasted off the front pages of Google with Web 2.0 PR. It is a little known fact that good Web PR can actually make most of those problems a non issue. You can count on press releases going viral in most cases. Over time your negative press on the web will start to disappear.
It takes time to do this because each industry is different. You will have to also keep in mind that if your company is getting trashed in a forum this can take longer to erase... especially if there are a lot of posts on it.
Ted Cantu posted this in July 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Introduction to the Google Ad Auction VS Viral Video
Our Chief Economist, Hal Varian, explains the AdWords Ad Auction and how your max CPC bid and quality score determine how much you pay for a click on Google.com.
Viral Video
Is this real? Which one is more real to you? Is anything real anymore?
Posted by Ted Cantu, (he is real folks) and is in Detroit, the city of Wonders
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