William Bridges

The Corporate Royalty Board meets this Thursday to vote on a 66% sales increase for digital music; rising from $0.09 to $0.15 per track. The raises in rates have to be paid by someone, so who is it going to be? Recording Companies? Apple? Or us, the Consumers? According to Maggie Shiels, a reporter from the BBC, researched Apples financial standpoint on such an increase; and the results would be an overall financial loss. The VP of iTunes, Eddy Cue, states “Apple has repeatedly made clear that it is in this business to make money, and would most likely not continue to operate iTunes Store if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.” Now if Apple nor the Recording Companies don’t “face the music”, (pun intended), we could be looking at a Public Backlash of boycotts, protests and more…Thursdays outcome should be an interesting one.

UPDATE - Thursday 10.9.08: The Corporate Royalty Board met today and had voted against the raise digital download rates. Looks as if iTunes can once again breath a little bit easier.

 The following list below are reasons why companies should consider outsourcing their marketing plan.

 - Professional knowledge and skills that are not available internally
 - Collect an outsider’s perspective
 - Saves on Time Management (doesn’t tie up staff)
 - Results are delivered in a timely and efficient process

Q: What marketing functions should and should not be outsourced?

A: Companies stand to benefit considerably by outsourcing, for example, analytical functions to qualified suppliers if those skills are lacking in-house. But some aspects of marketing are less amenable to outsourcing—those that directly drive marketing strategy.

While computers are important, the CEO and top managers still need to meet regularly with customers. Companies need chief marketing officers to drive marketing strategy and make the most of the company’s customer relationships. And companies still need flesh-and-blood employees to win and service major accounts. (Lin, 2005)

Read More…

BizSense Solutions, a locally owned Sales Training and Coaching business, decided it was time to give it’s website a facelift. The site is built around the business’ energy; with sliding buttons, flash news bulletins, and eye catching designs. Feel free to visit my work at www.bizsensesolutions.com; and make sure to contact Mike for any of your business’ sales training needs.

If you or your business is interested in site revamp or even a start-up site; feel free to contact me for a quote. bill@rwbridges.com

It’s true, Anheuser Busch has been bought out by InBev, a global leading brewery based in Belgium. The sales ticket was roughly $52 billion U.S. Dollars, allowing shareholders to collect $70 per share. One may say, how can an American born company, that has been brewing and distributing beer for over decades, allow an international investor takeover?

With tradition aside, globalization is no new trend. Simply put, look at the worth of the U.S. Dollar…

So why should you keep track and keep up-to-date with your sites analytics? For one of many reasons, is to attract new unique visitors. The diagram to left is a screenshot of my personal blogs analytics; showcasing four different diagrams tracking new and returning visitors to my site. Google analytics offers free tracking information; ranging from geographical orgins to site click overlays. Some of the essential analytics to track are the search engine marketing tools and the sites advertising campaigns. (if applicable)

Search engine marketing will show in detail what key words and/or key phrases that are being searched for the site and locating what search engine is mostly commonly being used. Marketing campaigns are compiled of advertising and adwords being used to attract new visitors to the site. Google analytics contains many useful analytic tools and databases so that you can learn more about your sites traffic and ways to manage it towards successful marketing initiatives.

Feel free to watch a video tutorial on: Targeting Vistors thru Google Analytics by William Bridges.

As a daily Mobile Internet user, I find it quite difficult to load and navigate thru webpages if they are not properly configured for mobile devices; thus leading towards frustration and seeking alternative webpages for information. If you own a mobile device that can navigate throughout the web, I eager you to try a few of your favorite sites and test them on loading times and ease of navigation. Since I complained so much about the situation, I’ve decided to configure my site strictly to satisfy anyone who happens to visit my site on the go! So enjoy!

If you would like more information on how to configure your website for mobile internet leave a comment and I’ll try to help!  

Just recently I have entered a realm of total connectivity. From phone conversations to high priority emails; from excel worksheets to picture messaging; from mobile banking to GPS navigation…to find the nearest ATM of course….We are now in a world where anything imaginable can be brought to you in seconds. I am a person who thrives of utilization and turning questions into answers; what better way than investing in Blackberry.

For specifications and fuctionability… Read more

Recently, I have posted my Google Analytics short tutorial guide on a video site called MetaCafe. Videos placed here have the potential to earn money thru simple views of the video. Still curious? Check it out…My Video

Technorati is a real time time search source to view web blogs and more. What caught my attention is that they are currently tracking over 110 million blogs, and growing. So what better way to network with other blog enthusiast than signing up and creating a member profile. Technorati seems to create a bloggers dream community. I’ll keep you up-to-date on Technorati benefits; be sure to check back soon…

Not sure where your website vistors are viewing from? Want to pinpoint where they are, how long they are on your site, and what pages they are viewing? Well, Google Analytics can do all that and more. E-marketing tools like Google Analytics help you track your viewers when they are visiting your website. To help you better understand the process, I have created a video tutorial walking you thru step by step towards tracking that unique customer. I have become quite savvy with the analytic tools that Google have to offer and I would like to share these tools with you. Click on the display image and take a look at the short tutorial video. Please be patient as it may take a few seconds to load.

If you have any questions or would like to set up analytics thru your website, simply contact me at bill@rwbridges.com and I will promptly respond. Enjoy!

Recently Starbucks teamed up with iTunes bringing a free music promotion to their customers. For the past 37 days, Starbucks handed out free downloads with any purchase. The downloads were single tracks ranging from a vast genre of artists and were handed out daily to customers. This promotion led to many angles of opportunity. For Starbucks, customers were lured in to collect all the downloadable music while attracting them to the in-store “music atmosphere.” For iTunes, new and existing customers were led to iTunes Online Store to redeem the music and build awareness of other music available online. For the artists, what better way to promote your new album? And for the customers, the benefit of enjoying free music while sipping on your grande caramel macchiato (non-fat of course); a perfect example of efficeint promotional collaborations.

The “Song of the Day” pictured above is “Country Girl by Rissi Palmer. Simply click on the image and it will direct you to her personal site where you can easily listen to the track while browsing.

Also feel free to check periodically with Starbucks Entertainment, to see if they will release the tracks you missed out on.