More construction marketing blogs . . .

Two years ago, the Construction Marketing Ideas blog had this space virtually to itself. In the last few weeks, however, several new blogs relevant to the theme have appeared. Tomorrow, in my visit to Nashville, I'll meet Seth Holdren, who started the Construction Marketing Blog. Last night, I checked and found two potentially relevant new entries, Contractor City Construction Business and Marketing Blog and Contractorlibrary.com (Construction Contractor Business and Marketing Blog). Both of course are 'on topic' so rate a permalink in the sidebar.

Contractorlibrary.com says in its "about" reference:

Co­n­t­ra­ct­o­rLibra­ry.co­m f­o­cuses o­n­ t­he sp­ecia­l cha­llen­g­es f­a­cin­g­ t­he sma­ller co­n­st­ruct­io­n­ a­n­d buildin­g­ t­ra­des co­n­t­ra­ct­o­r.

Wi­th i­ncr­e­asi­ng com­­pe­ti­ti­on and a dam­­pe­ni­ng e­conom­­i­c cli­m­­ate­, the­ sm­­alle­r­ contr­actor­ m­­u­st b­e­ ale­r­t and ni­m­­b­le­, r­e­ady­ to pou­nce­ on oppor­tu­ni­ti­e­s to i­ncr­e­ase­ le­ads, job­s, and pr­ofi­ts.

Contr­actor­Li­b­r­ar­y­.com­­ ai­m­­s to pr­ovi­de­ b­u­si­ne­ss and m­­ar­k­e­ti­ng i­nfor­m­­ati­on and i­de­as to gi­ve­ those­ sm­­alle­r­ contr­actor­s an e­x­tr­a e­dge­.

Thr­i­ve­!

The blogs' ownership is somewhat disguised. No individual is associated with either blog, either directly on their sites, or on their whois pages. But something in common is readily apparent. Both sites share a common whois -- Artemishunt.com. Referencing the artermishunt.com (Artemus Hunt, Inc.) web page, you will find a simple image with the words "Product Management" with addresses in Oakland Park, FL, and Santa Cruz, CA.

My sixth sense is these sites are Search Engine Optimization initiatives. I'll contact the company referenced on the whois site for further information and will clarify when I receive additional information.

The PSMJ Resources blog

Tim Klabunde has discovered a fascinating and informative blog from PSMJ Resources, Inc. The blog entries, apparently signed by more than one representative of this Newton, MA consultancy, provides a link to http://mypsmj.com/ and a wealth of stored resources and materials.

When I signed up for mypsmj.com, Frank A. Stasiowski, President, PSMJ Resources, sent an auto-reply email with these remarks:

As a MyPSMJ.com member, you get dozens of free case studies, white papers, and tools documenting the best practices of the world's most successful design firms and advice on how to adopt these practices in your firm. You also get advance notice about PSMJ's popular seminars and best selling books and surveys as well as discounts on important events and subscription services.

The PSMJ blog is worthy of a permalink.

A (marketing) hole in one -- the quick blog

Hole 9 Yards, a landscape contractor in Ontario's Niagara region, wanted a website -- quickly. So Chase set up a blog for them. It is a work in progress, but it took just a couple of hours to get the site in place -- and it already has some useful link-backs to help in the search engine rankings.

Avid golfers may find the this blog's headline a little deceptive -- I'm sure without some extremely low probability events, this blog for landscaper Hole 9 Yards in Canada will not win any awards for immediate effectiveness. On the other hand, Chase created this marketing blog within a couple of hours and it will enjoy link backs from at least two other blogs, virtually ensuring a higher search engine ranking. And the work to replace the 'stock' Wikipedia text with some locally relevant news and images should only take a few moments (in fact, if you go to the blog via hyperlink some weeks from now on discovering this posting, you may find the placeholder copy has long been removed.)

Here is Chase's original email to me regarding this imitative:

Mark,

A friend of a friend saw my Facebook profile update which listed my blog. They checked it out and mentioned to their friend who has a landscaping business the idea of creating one to promote their business. I got a call this morning asking if I could create a blog for them to use for marketing purposes.

Here is the draft I was able to create using only a business card which is the only marketing material they had. You may want to consider offering a service of creating marketing blogs for other companies who do not have the resources to get a web based presence.

http://hole9yards.blogspot.com/

Thoughts?

Last night, Chase sent this follow up note:

Mark,

I agree more local and relevant content is needed. Al and his wife are actually working on pulling together some photos of jobs they have done and getting me some of their company vehicles etc.

I am hoping to get the stuff up by the middle of next week.

After Al saw what I had put together he called me about 8:30 tonight and offered to beat any quote I got for my new driveway and take $500 off of the price. My initial goal was to simply offer to help a friend’s friend, good karma I guess.

Chase.

You can set up your own simple blog/website within minutes by following the log in and set up instructions at one of theblog service providers. We use blogger.com. It has an advantage, in my opinion, in that it is owned by Google. You shouldn't expect people to begin calling you right away, and it is important to maintain and update the blog on a frequent regular schedule for the search engines to recognize it properly. But if you don't have a professional website, and lack a budget for marketing, this is something of a no-brainer. We'll be glad to help our advertising clients with more personalized free instruction on the best way to use these resources.

SMPS Georgia -- New Blog

The SMPS Georgia Chapter has just launched a blog for AEC Marketers. First entry is recorded from Friday, May 16. I will set up a permalink and am looking forward to seeing other chapter blogs -- if I can see two or three more, I'll create a special blogroll section for them.

SullivanKreis Building Design Executive Service Blog

This "Executive Search Blog for Building Design Professionals" qualifies for a permalink. See: http://www.sullivankreiss.com/building-design-executive-search/

Construction Netcast (Trauner Consulting)

Matt Handel posted on the SMPS Listserve an invitation to contribute technical articles to Construction Netcast, a blog/podcast from Trauner Consulting Services, with offices in Philadelphia, Orlando, and San Diego.
This is a well-designed blog, which makes effective use of podcast and video techniques. I have set a permalink to it.

Here is an explanation of the site's purpose:

The Industry’s Smartest Podcast/Videocast
Learn from experts with decades of experience who have taught thousands of construction professionals across the country. Each month, we will discuss the issues that affect your projects. Topics include project scheduling, claims avoidance, specification writing, alternative procurement methods, contracting best practices, and many others. You can enjoy these programs on your computer, pda, ipod, or other portable devices. You can also subscribe for free and receive these programs on a monthly basis. The result: training you need when it’s convenient for you. Both audio and video versions are available.

The General Contractor -- renovateyourmarketing.com

I've permalinked The General Contractor -- renovateyourmarketing.com from FootBridge Media because it clearly qualifies as a construction marketing blog.