Innovate don’t invent. So says my friend Alex Mandossian.

What I am talking about in this instance is the notion of leveraging other peoples content. I am not talking about stealing it, simply using something that already has some notoriety and leveraging it.

Check it out… Remember Siskel & Ebert’s “At the Movies”? They leveraged other people’s movies and became commentators and before long very trusted commentators. Without other people’s movies, they would have had nothing to talk about. How about TMZ or Perez Hilton… With Celebrities doing questionable things… Get my drift.

We can do the same things with our blogs. Become reporters/commentators. Just make sure that your commentary isn’t frivolous and adds value to your leverages content (and to your visitors).

The video below works as a two-fold example. Firstly, I am leveraging the power of a video that has been viewed over 700,000 times (and it’s really good too!).  I am giving my visitors something fun and something of value. (If you find this post valuable, please add a comment below).

I use use the video as a foundation for my blog post. Then I discuss it or some thoughts/ideas that the video provokes. Get it?

Secondly, the video itself is a great example of leveraging someone else’s content. DJ/Director Mike Relm, remixed some of those brilliant Old Spice response videos, added some music and voila! Now like I said before, you better back up your content with value. Mike’s remix is really excellent – if it sucked… probably not the same result. Get it?

Enjoy the video. And when you’re done, give some thought as to how you can leverage OPC (Other People’s Content) to give your readers, viewers, listeners, customers, clients added value.

Please comment and discuss below. Also if you have an AWESOME examples of this process at work, post those here to so we can all learn.

Rock On!!!

Web design plays an important role in marketing success. With an attractive web site, the success is guaranteed (as long as you have compelling content). Internet marketing is not all about getting as many visitors as possible but also to capture the interest of the visitor once he’s on that specific web site, so what better way to do this if not by web design?

Well, one way is to have compelling content, an authentic message and a strong, congruent marketing message!

This is where the 2 roads meet – Form & Function.

For any website to have success, it must capture a few key components:

1. Nice visual styling – The big boys (Yahoo, Google, Youtube) can get away with plain styles because the offer so much content. You and I, on the other hand, need clean, smart, even elegant design as a frame to display our compelling, rich content.
2. Easy, Intuitive Navigation – Don’t make your visitors guess how to navigate your site. Make it easy. ‘Nuff said…
3. Compelling Content – This would be informative content for site visitors. It should be keyword rich for the search engines too. Remember, stay on topic. Don’t add backpacking content to a site about hamsters…
4. Marketing Message – It doesn’t matter if your site is a personal site or business site… You are always marketing. Whether it’s to friends, family, spouses, business associates, future customers or clients, keep your message clear!
5. New Content – Visitors won’t come back to your site if nothing ever changes. Dammit get yourself a blog. It’s easy to update, there are tons of pre-designed templates (and it you want a custom designed one, we can do that for you) and did I mention that it’s easy to update? The best blog out there? WORDPRESS!
6. Truth – Nobody likes a liar… Stay true, authentic and connected to your message. People are attracted to messages that a consistent with the messenger!

A strong visual presence coupled with a strong message and compelling content will always increase you chance for online success!

Well, let me spell it out for you. Linkbaiting is a method to get other sites to link to your site. There are a lot of ways to do this including, giving away tools, having contests, being a really compelling blooger among others.

Darren Rowse gives us a pretty good list of linkbaiting techniques on Problogger.com.

In his list he includes some things like controversy and attack (to create controversy). Controversy maybe, but  if you are running a business site, the attack method may not be the best plan.