A few years ago, I took some marketing courses at a local University, in an attempt to complement my Web skills with some advertising knowledge. One of the things I learned since then is that every business has its own marketing and strategies about how to promote their products but they all share the same goal: get their products knwon and most importantly, sold. I also learned that one of the best things to accomplish the aforementioned goals is to focus the advertising efforts on a target market, for instance, college students or computer nerds. 

Since most of us do not have the skills or the time to advertise our products, we can do it through an Advertising Agency, who are best suited for the task and may bring some insights into the markets you’re targetting and how to best reach there.

No matter what our product is, an advertising agency can help us build not only a market pull but also create a business identity that will make us stand out and make our products be recognized by even just looking at a logo or the company name. That’s exactly what brand identity is all about. 

Hiring an advertiser was very expensive at a time and few could afford a really good advertising campaign. Things have changed a lot and if you consider the benefits of getting your productkknow, pushing an advertising campaign is no longer a luxury, when compared with the prices of a couple of years ago, not to mention the huge benefits on an online campaign. To that end, you may want to visit a website called Brand Identity Guru because you can find a lot of information there and it might give you some pointers about how to start a campaign, what are the basic things to take into consideration, etc.

Local event promotion and discovery on the Web has for a good while been the near exclusive domain of companies like Eventful and the Yahoo-owned Upcoming. So it is likely very difficult for anyone other than the largest chunk of the market to make a lasting impression on the social set.

That hasn’t stopped CultureMob from working its way into the fold. For those unfamiliar with CultureMob, it is a new website focused on local events discovery where users can find events, artists can promote themselves, and everyone can share them with friends.

Having had a “quiet launch” in late 2007, the efforts of CultureMob have been driven by a focus on individual markets, gradually building its presence in various locations around the US, one city at a time. The company in its earliest days looked first to blanket Seattle with its services, and has since laid some claim to Portland, Oregon, and Denver, Colorado.

If you browse the site’s offerings, you will find little but nice refinements, like easily-expandable event listings, quick access to RSS subscriptions, a convenient connection to Apple’s iCal day planner and GoogleMaps integration, as well as widgets for displaying content in many CMS and Social network sites, from MySpace to Facebook to WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, iGoogle, Netvibes, Hi5 and several others.

There’s also a  CultureMob blog, where they post their latest news, and try to build a community around the site. This shows that the guys behind this cool website are Web 2.0 conscious and this really pays off.

Altogether, CultureMob is a pleasant alternative to the biggest hitters of the event promotion and search arena. It certainly has its limits, given its city-by-city growth plan. But perhaps such a strategy will serve the startup well. Their “better to serve users with more event choices in fewer cities than more cities with sparse selections” strategy is more than adequate. So if you’re in Seattle, Portland, or Denver, or plan to venture out to those areas in the near future, give CultureMob a try. You may be pleasantly surprised with what it presents.

What would my favorite pants say if they could talk? Good question, isn’t it? They’d probably say something like:

“If I’m your favorite pair of jeans why don’t you wear me more often? Why don’t you take me out more often? Why am I not allowed to come to the office with you every day?

Friday is not enough, man. I mean, I’m obviously cool enough to be worn to the office every day of the week! How can the corporate suits not see this? Did you tell them how soft and blue I am? I bet you didn’t. I bet you haven’t told them about me at all!

Are you ashamed of me and our relationship? There’s nothing wrong with being in love with a pair of perfectly nice, soft jeans like me. Lots of people do it. Stop hiding your feeling for me; let the world know about our love!!”

I guess I’m picturing my Dockers jeans a bit too dramatic, with a girly touch but it’d probably make a very funny jeans commercial, wouldn’t it?? Why am I even talking about this? Basically, I’m trying to create my own commercial and enter the Dockers contest.

They have a contest where you can submit your own video commercial about your favorite pair of pants. You can enter the Dockers contest by submitting your own story as a video at Dockers TV Commercial Contest . If your video is the grand prize winner it will be aired during The Tonight Show. You can find more information about the Dockers TV Contest here. Yes, with Jay Leno! What do your pants have to say?

If you’ve been reading my blogs lately, you’ll notice I’ve been working on a few posts that are sponsored by SocialSpark.com. In many ways it is a revolutionary approach to social media marketing and paid blogging. There is so much potential for bloggers and advertisers alike to get the most out of this stunning new platform. And already there are some great advertisers and brands making their way to SocialSpark for their advertising campaigns. Brands like “I sold it”, “Dockers” are joining the SocialSpark phenomenon.

Also, I have always liked Levi jeans. I think they are just the coolest denims/jeans around. So stylish and laid-back, it is just a great style. And the bloggers at SocialSpark could do great things for them if given the chance. My favourite car make is Ford and I would happily write a few posts to boost their campaigns as well, why not? Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing some of my favourite brands up there as well. I am sure they would be interested to spread their brand familiarity in this bold new way.

But what’s in for the advertisers who decide to join the SocialSpark wave? This kind of ‘word of mouth’ advertising, the kind that happens every day between people who share common interests and in a way that directly benefits both advertisers and bloggers.” is known to have a multiplicative effect on any advertising campaign. So advertisers can optimize their campaigns to reach a larger audience or, if they wish to, a more focused reader group.

When logged on SocialSpark, advertisers can access traffic and demographic data previously unavailable to them. Blogs are read by millions of readers who share common interests and brand passions and empowering bloggers represents a huge value proposition to advertisers. SocialSpark is the first network where these groups can quickly, easily and cost-effectively find each other and create value while simultaneously protecting the integrity of blog content, thanks to their disclosure and strict “no-follow” links policies. Advertisers can see the actual traffic and demographics of blogs they sponsor or a vertical network of blogs they sponsor.

Last but not least is free. Advertisers and bloggers can register for free at SocialSpark.com to create online, searchable public profiles. Advertisers are encouraged to provide information about their product or service, and bloggers can share information about themselves, their readers and their blog content. Registered users can search for complimentary matches, interact with each other, create networks, issue ratings, send messages, and ultimately capitalize on shared interests.

Bloggers and advertisers can assess blog “influence” by tracking visits, page views, and demographic information about their readership. Advertisers can monitor the buzz surrounding their brands across the blogosphere. In short, SocialSpark.com is not just another paid ad company, it’s a whole new concept about blog advertising, with great community tools, and it’s set to become one of the largest trends ever.

Thinking of getting into affiliate marketing? Good idea! There is a lot of money to be made - if you go about things the right way. Too many people get into affiliate marketing without any kind of web marketing plan and fail to make money as a result.

This is marketing and as such, a marketing strategy must be figured out before you begin if you intend to make a successful goal of this or any other business. One of the cornerstones of any affiliate marketing project is a solid email marketing solution, from where you can contact all your subscribers at once.

If you are looking for an email marketing hosting solutions, and affordable price, fatjackhosting.com would be one of the places on my short list. They managed and watch your email deliverability. Fatjackhosting.com can help you protect your email.

At this website, you can buy domain names for only $9.97 a year and you can choose plans and what domain name you may like. Hosting is one of a kind, specialized in email marketing hosting solutions. Fat Jack Hosting specializes in web hosting solutions for small businesses, entrepreneurs and Internet marketers. You get the usual benefits of professional hosting, without having to manage all the details yourself.

A final word for beginning affiliate marketers: Stay away from the biggest, most popular affiliate programs when you start. You can do much better in a niche market as a beginning marketer.