RE: Facebook Vanity URL’s

Did you sign-up yet for your Facebook Vanity URL? Just last week Facebook started allowing FB members to change their profile URL’s so they would be easy for others to remember.

CLICK HERE if you haven’t secured your FB vanity URL yet.

Well….I tried to get “pepperjam” and that was taken….I tried “krisjones,” “kristopherjones,” “kjones,” and several variations and they were all taken.

So………I decided to go with “pepperjamceo.” @pepperjamceo is my Twitter alias so I guess it makes sense.

Since we own the trademark “pepperjam” I’m confident we will be able to get the rights to that.

If you are on Facebook (that’s an oxymoron, isn’t it) friend me – http://twitter.com/pepperjamceo

Hat tip to Shoemoney who notified his readers the day before the event actually took place. Shame on me for waiting several days after that to secure my vanity URL.

We don’t typically blog about our affiliate network new advertiser launches on Pepperjam Blog, but it seemed important to let our Pepperjam agency followers know that today we launched the Search Marketing Expo (SMX) Affiliate Program on Pepperjam Network.

You will know SMX as the recently launched (about two years ago or so) search marketing conference led by industry veterans Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman.

Danny is one of the original thought shapers of search marketing and was the founder of the Search Engines Strategies (SES) Conference.

We are really proud to launch the SMX Affiliate Program and we are confident that the program will be a hit with our search and blog affiliates.

The program pays 6% of all ticket sales, which can equal hundreds of dollars in commission since ticket prices can be several thousand dollars a pop, especially if a company is purchasing multiple tickets at once.

If you are an affiliate or blogger you need to promote this one!

CLICK HERE to learn more about the SMX program. Joining Pepperjam Network and the SMX Affiliate Program is FREE!

Here are my tops five strategies for building your business with Twitter.

(5) Manage Your Brand. Use a service like EasyTweets.com to monitor people who mention your brand – Easy Tweets will send you an e-mail when someone on Twitter mentions your brand. Similarly, you can use the service to monitor any keywords that you’d like.

(4) Better Serve Your Customers. Twitter is real-time and so should your customer service – leverage Twitter to address customer concerns and answer questions in real-time.

(3) Develop Edge. Twitter is the hottest new social network in the world. Every one and their sister are talking about Twitter. Incorporate Twitter into your marketing and sales strategy; include a “Follow us on Twitter” icon on your homepage and your visitors will think your totally cool. Edgy / cool companies don’t have to spend as much money on advertising because others do it for them through word of mouth and viral buzz. Get it and excel.

(2) Follow People with Similar Interests. You are a business – you want to sell people your stuff. Leverage Twitter by following every one who has ever Tweeted about anything remotely similar to your line of products or services. Once you’ve built your following it’s up to you to keep things interesting and build credibility and interest. Leave your sales hat at the door, seriously.

(1) Join the conversation. Use Twitter Search (www.search.twitter.com) to find people talking about topics related to your business. For instance, if you sell gourmet foods you should use Twitter Search to find people Tweeting about different kinds of gourmet foods. Once you locate the conversations make sure to follow the people involved and add something of substance to the dialogue. Don’t be stiff; instead, be friendly.

Have fun!!!

Twitter is FREE. JOIN HERE. Follow me @pepperjamceo.

I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Denver, Colorado to keynote Affiliate Convention.

Affiliate Convention is a multi-day conference and networking event for the affiliate marketing industry.

This is the first time tha Affiliate Convention has been held “in the States,” but the conference has been going on for years to sold out audiences across the world.

I’m keynoting Day 1 of the conference.

Other than some opening remarks my keynote will be totally interactive…leveraging Twitter, Facebook, and other sources to take questions from people around the globe. In addition, Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker will be moderating the interactive Q & A part of the presentation, which is exciting (Shoemoney is an “old” friend and was a member of my wedding party a few years back).

I’m really excited about the format.

If you’d like to submit a question for me to answer during the presentation you can do so through Twitter using #affcon-kris , DM @affconvention or submit via Jeremy Schoemaker’s (Shoemoney) Web site HERE. I’m also told that people will be Tweeting LIVE (and taking additional questions) during the speech with the hash #affcon.

Hope to see you in Colorado!

If not, I’ll see you at Affiliate Summit in August or at another conference soon.

I am proud to announce that I will be the featured speaker at the University of Pittsburgh on June 9, 2009 (details below). The title of my presentation is “Get to the Forefront of the Customer Mind: Make the most of your Web site with Search Engine Marketing” and will focus on Search Engine Optimization, with a focus on leveraging social media tactics to generate buzz, Web site traffic, and links.

If you are from the Pittsburgh area I’d love to see you at the event. Tickets are $75, but you get a copy of my best-selling book and a Continental Breakfast.

Click here for a PDF detailing the event.

WHERE: Pittsburgh Athletic Association
WHEN: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
TIME: 7:30 Continental Breakfast / 8:00 Program / 10:30 Book Signing
COST: $75 (includes breakfast and book)

Register today by calling 412-648-1542 or e-mailing ieeregistration@katz.pitt.edu

This event is sponsored by The Institute of Entreprenuerial Excellence (IEE) and the Small Business Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh – the IEE is part of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.