Arcade Digital is proud to launch WWW.CFDBLAZE.COM

Posted on March 5th, 2010 by John Sostak

The CFD Blaze

The CFD Blaze are the Chicago Firefighter and Paramedics Football Team.  They play in the NPSFL, which is the National Public Safety Football League.  Arcade Digital is very happy to take their new site live.  Click here to experience the CFD Blaze.

Arcade focused on the user interface, and back-end functionality developing a very sophisticated content management system (CMS) and Wordpress blogging platform.  The site is an Arcade custom web design and user interface built open source with WP 2.9.  Although not completely populated, is still a fun site to visit.  Like the team, the website has a strong blue-color feel, and an intuitive navigation and user interface.

This site will be rich in media,  These guys are not only football players, but firefighters, so they have great media content and a fabulous story.   We wanted to make compelling galleries and video as accessible and easy to share as possible.

Marketing needs demand social media integration, and with compelling media, we can use social media websites and Internet sharing as a low cost marketing solution.  By using YouTube and Flickr, we have social media partners that also contribute to the reach of this first year football team.

The 2010 season will be the first year the Chicago Fire Department fields a team in the 14 year old NPSFL.  A 1st year not-for-profit is as; or more, challenging then a young entrepreneurial for-profit start up.  Arcade wants to make sure that the compelling message of the firefighters and paramedics that compete in the NPSFL is well spread online.

Each of the players, coaches and administrators in the NPSFL, and the CFD Blaze are volunteers.  No one involved in NPSFL Football receives a salary, and they play for charities.  The Chicago Fire Department charities include The Burn Camp, which is operated by the IFSA and has been renamed Camp I Am Me.  It is a summer camp for Illinois children that have been scarred, and is a place where these children can interact without feeling uncomfortable because of the injuries and scars they have sustained.

The CFD Blaze are also playing for the Gold Badge Society, and Ignite the Spirit.  Ignite the Spirit is a very high profile organization, responsible for the annual Chicago Firefighter Calendar as well as the annual Chicago Firefighter-Paramedic Ball.

The Blaze are playing their first official NPSFL Football game on April 10th in Chicago.  They CFD Blaze will be playing the seasoned CPD Enforcers.  The CPD Enforcers are the Chicago Police Department’s NPSFL team.  I am certain that from game one, this will be a fun rivalry.  They play each other in baseball every year, and it is a great game, held at Comiskey Park (US Cellular Field).  Keep track of the Blaze on their site.

Some modules that will be introduced on the Blaze site very soon will be the Blaze store, which will make posters and t-shirts available.  The current store link on the site is merely a redirect to the Ignite the Spirit website and store, which has a few Chicago Firefighter calenders remaining.

The Blaze site will also offer ticket sales.  They will play 2-4 Chicagoland area games annually, as well 2-3 road games.  Our online ticket process will make it easier to lock in game tickets.  The men are playing stadiums that will be crowded, so as family, friends and fans, we want to insure we are in the arena.  Online ticket sales also allows for more efficient Internet marketing, with clear conversion statistics, which benefits the club, and the charity.  To be able to clearly predict what a game or fundraiser will generate allows the CFD Blaze to more accurately sponsor charities in need of benefactors.

Arcade Digital is looking forward the CFD Blaze season, and I hope everyone who reads our blog commits to helping the newest team in the NPSFL and the Chicago Fire Department Charities.

Tags: CFD BLAZE, CPD Enforcers, flickr, football, Internet Marketing, NPSFL, social media, youtube

Do most businesses really need “exclusive, custom” websites?

Posted on March 5th, 2010 by John Sostak

ReWork, the new book about business by 37Signals.

Do most businesses still need websites?  Would we be better served to operate our Internet hub from a business appropriate social media site?

Are we being fair to our clients when we sell them expensive websites?  In this day and age, with the big social media outlets, does EVERYONE need a website?

Think about being an online retailer, maybe you sell through Amazon?

Many of us on LinkedIn are consultants.

Facebook is a wonderful outlet for traditional retailers, clubs, celebrities and individuals.  You are able to interact in a place people spend a lot of time in.

You Tube may be one of the single most influential guerilla marketing resources ever made.  I can’t imagine Reuters or AP being able to push traffic online the way a viral video on You Tube does.

Can anyone deny that Blogger, and Wordpress are great?  Matt Mullenweg has taken a blogging platform and turned it into a sophisticated Internet marketing and software development vehicle, through the wordpress.org open source community.

The rules are changing again, and with a renaissance mentality, perhaps, as Internet marketers and consultants, we can do more for our clients.

My professional thoughts are that a website that acknowledges mobile, and has appropriate social media share functionality can be well built, on a very modest budget.  This approach should work for 90% of businesses.  These same businesses still need Internet budget.  It should be invested in social media, email marketing, mobile web strategy, image and branding, search and ppc.  In that order.

I think ALL companies need a thorough Internet business strategy, and it rarely requires a complex personal website.  Resources could be used more efficiently if you commit them to the sites that could yield a return based on carefully targeting your business goals and needs.

I would love feedback on this philosophy.  I have been applying it to two clients, and it is in it’s early stages.  I know there far savvier Internet marketers that could contribute to our new direction.  Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, Matt Mullenweg, Jason Fried, any thoughts you care to share?  And yes, I already bought Getting Real, and have ordered Rework (can’t wait to read it), thank you 37Signals.

Tags: 37Signals, email marketing, Internet Consulting, Internet Marketing, Jason Fried, LinkedIn, Matt Mullenweg, Seth Godin, social marketing, social media, website

Arcade Introduces FF911.ORG, Social Media Network for Emergency Responders

Posted on February 21st, 2010 by John Sostak

People who know me, also know I’m a firefighter.  I like to think of myself as a taller version of Guy Kawasaki, an Internet marketing guru.  It sometimes is forgotten that the fire department is an important part of my life.

My wife is also a member of emergency services, she’s a pediatric nurse practitioner, and she works at Children’s.  Between our circles of friends and colleagues, we are emergency responder heavy.  So, we decided to launch a social network for emergency responders, FF911.ORG.

FF911 is in beta, and many more features will be added.  In the meantime, this is a great time to grab a screen name, and set up your account.  Please share your knowledge with our FF911 members.

The need for this network is to try and form a connection between emergency responders that work in the field together, but rarely communicate outside of the accident scene, or the emergency room.  FF911 is for police, fire, military, nurses, doctors, dispatchers, and anyone involved in emergency services.

FF911 is a way for us to share information, as well as influence public opinion.  Socially, we see a lot of people at their most vulnerable, on their worst day.  This comes with a responsibility, which we can expand online.  If we see a way to improve something, collectively, we can make it happen.  I am certain as the community grows, and evolves, forums will help us discover what we can do to improve our professions, and our patients needs.

FF911 is also a social media hub which we can exchange video and pictures, as well as department specific news.  Post events, like retirement parties and fundraisers.  If you have a chance, click here, and create a profile on FF911. Our goal is to become a social network and community that emergency responders can be proud of, as well as a source of information for all of us working in emergency services.

Tags: Emergency Responders, FF911.ORG, Internet Marketing, social media

Google Adsense is User Friendly, & a Lot of Work.

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by John Sostak

I started furlough on Monday.  Furlough is a Fire Department word for vacation, or holiday.  I have 5 shift days off, which equals 17 days without having to show up at the firehouse.  Great gig.

When I have a vacation, I like to figure out how to pack more work into this valuable “time off.”  My mission began with the successful roll out of FF911.  But there is a lingering issue I needed to address.  Domain name management, and affiliate traffic.  Doesn’t seem like there is heavy lifting in this mission.  There was, and I am sooo glad it is over.

I own about 150 domains, and manage about 300, for clients.  I am very aware that everything depreciates, and have been trying to find time to address the domains, what is parked at each domain.  This also means I need to go through the affiliates analytics. Commission Junction and Google Adsense are the big ones, and we have about 20 small ones.  This is a painful process.

The days of spamming lists are gone.  I hate to be the guy to reveal this to the countless spammers trying to sling me dick pills every day, but it doesn’t work.  We are being delivered the same bullshit messages way to many times for any online pharmacy, dating site, Nigerian lottery, to work.

I am curious what the conversion on this crap is.  I wish I knew a spammer (I know a couple) that is honest enough to tell me the truth.  I suspect it isn’t working.  We have everyone in the US online, so the first fools are no longer as fresh as they were when they first plugged in their PC and jumped online, through AOL.

I am always thinking about our traffic, where it came from, where it is going, and why.  If you are careful, there is an enormous amount of information in every visitor, and each click.  This information is potential revenue.  Google and Go Daddy are huge, because they protect the pennies.  They spend money, but these small revenue streams that are all service and advertising related are never overlooked by the big Internet pioneers.  Google has turned pay per click into billions in revenue.

So much of our world is automated, I forget how to plant myself in front of reports, and make the small changes, that require a little thinking, and a lot of mouse clicking.  Adjustments and tweaking are needed, but it is painfully slow.  It isn’t exactly grunt work either.  It doesn’t take skill, or talent, but you have to address the research and care enough to make changes that help the conversion of your traffic.

The past three days I have been dialing in these small elements that affect affiliate traffic, SEO, PPC, and advertising revenue.  It is the kind of thing that can go on forever.  When you are working inside of Google Adsense, and then tweaking banners, links, keywords, you lose track of how much time passes.  Each action requires multiple changes and corrections.

I have been working in Go Daddy for redirects.  Google for Adsense, and Analytics.  Create smart zones and populate some with PPC advertising through Google, others will carry Banners that pay through affiliate sales.  Contacting affiliates, like CJ, HostGator, Go Daddy, 37 Signals, etc. to get better landing pages.  Each web page (which equals 1,000’s) must be considered, so, I need to update XML site maps.  While checking site maps, might as well address broken links.  Broken links mean 404 redirects….  This is not fun.

I was just reminded that marketing 101 is relevant, and hard work.  May not be the same as fighting a fire, or pouring contract, but hard.  I think what really makes it painful, is you never feel like you are done.  If you walk away, you know there are things that still need to be done, and you have to be back on it, or your marketing campaign is less effective.

The fun activity in marketing has NOTHING to do with PPC, SEO, or affiliate marketing.  Yet, PPC, SEO and affiliate marketing are the tools that monetize the fun stuff we do in business, and online.  Luckily I can drink beer while doing the tweaking of our domains, PPC, SEO and affiliate accounts.

Tags: Go Daddy, Google, social media

Will We See a Backlash Against Social Media, & a Renaissance of Old Media?

Posted on February 16th, 2010 by John Sostak

Don’t bet on it.  Arcade Digital is firmly planted on the side of new media, and social media marketing.  Micro blogging and niche communities offer a perfect fit to advertisers trying to target a demographic for clients with ever shrinking advertising budgets.

I am responding to a very interesting blogpost by Greg Satell.  His take on social media marketing.  It is called 5 Social Media Myths, and I think he could not be more off on his theory.  His belief that there will be a backlash against social media, and a renaissance for old media is a 180 from my beliefs, and it is trending toward my beliefs.

I replied below.  Hope you enjoy.  Please let me know your thoughts.

You’re way off on this blogpost Tonto. I, and millions like me use social media each day for buying. Not to mention this is what is working for our businesses and our clients businesses. Amazon has never advertised anywhere but online, and they are the Wal Mart of the web, because of their community.

Yelp is more important to a business then all 4 major networks…put together. That may seem a bold statement. I will stand behind it in 5 years if you throw it in my face because they close shop, and their is a 5th major network.

Brand is becoming less important everyday, which is why every retailer has a private label option (not generic). I buy the Kirkland brand at Costco, and we haven’t seen them advertise. 7-11 is a client of my companies, and they have rolled out a private label, and it works! A private label selling well in a c-store!

TV is providing pay per inquiry airtime, because they and their agencies cannot fill all the open slots.

I think the social media promotional strategy is the only innovative advertising strategy for a big brand. See a post I did on Tempur-Pedic and their Twitter approach, http://arcadedigital.com/johnsblog/archives/369 It features a CNBC interview with their CEO Mark Savary.

I believe the backlash will be the opposite of what you predict. I believe unsolicited advertising will become a brand killer. As we become busier and busier, our time becomes more valuable. Brands that interrupt our lives, will be blacklisted. The big brands that build great social media buzz, will be viewed positively, and will be embraced.

Good post, but you are missing the bullseye…unless you are trying to build online buzzzzzzz…

Tags: social media