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Cooking up your web marketing

Thanks to all who provided feedback on yesterday’s post on how “Web Marketing Is Like Cooking,” especially Jennifer Laycock’s nice post at Search Engine Guide. I noticed Seth Godin posted today on “Layering,” which is a nice name for experimental marketing.


Seth’s “Layering” sounds an awful lot like “Do It Wrong Quickly,” which is great, because we sure need a name for it. I know what I am trying to say when I say “do it wrong quickly,” but no name has really caught on.
Should it be “adaptive marketing”? How about “Marketing 2.0”? “Experimental marketing?” Geez, “layering” sounds as good as anything.
I guess more important than the name is whether people know what to do. Will they start to give things a try? I know that it goes against every fiber in your beings (some of you), but we need to start. We need to remember that those old neurons are firing because of where we’ve been, not where we’re going.
We’ve learned that marketing is hard to start, costs a lot, and carries huge risk. But the Internet changes it all. None of those things are still true, but we’re caught up in our impulses formed from years of old-style marketing. And most of us work in corporate cultures that vilify errors.
So, if thinking about marketing as cooking does it for you, great. If “fail fast” gets you moving, cool. If “layering” gives you the metaphor you need, excellent. It doesn’t really matter what you need to tell yourself. Just get started and don’t stop.

Mike Moran

Mike Moran is a Converseon, an AI powered consumer intelligence technology and consulting firm. He is also a senior strategist for SoloSegment, a marketing automation software solutions and services firm. Mike also served as a member of the Board of Directors of SEMPO. Mike spent 30 years at IBM, rising to Distinguished Engineer, an executive-level technical position. Mike held various roles in his IBM career, including eight years at IBM’s customer-facing website, ibm.com, most recently as the Manager of ibm.com Web Experience, where he led 65 information architects, web designers, webmasters, programmers, and technical architects around the world. Mike's newest book is Outside-In Marketing with world-renowned author James Mathewson. He is co-author of the best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc. (with fellow search marketing expert Bill Hunt), now in its Third Edition. Mike is also the author of the acclaimed internet marketing book, Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules, named one of best business books of 2007 by the Miami Herald. Mike founded and writes for Biznology® and writes regularly for other blogs. In addition to Mike’s broad technical background, he holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing and is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He also teaches at Rutgers Business School. He was a Senior Fellow at the Society for New Communications Research and is now a Senior Fellow of The Conference Board. A Certified Speaking Professional, Mike regularly makes speaking appearances. Mike’s previous appearances include keynote speaking appearances worldwide

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