Preparing for tomorrow's live feed

I'll be live at 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST) tomorrow morning with the free Construction Marketing Ideas:  Year in Review video feed.  


You can register here.

If you are around your computer at 2 p.m. this afternoon, feel free to join us for a technical test and dress rehearsal.  You can go directly to the live feed site at http://www.livestream.com/constructionmarketingideas.

How many can attend the December 31 live video feed?

I had hoped not to need to restrict attendance, but may have technical limitations and be able to present the special Dec. 31, 11 a.m. New Years Eve Year In Review video presentation to the first 50 people who register for this free event.  So I've set the cap on registration at 50.  At the rate things are going, the event may "sell out" today.  If you are too late, you will still hopefully be able to register on a waiting list and if I can, I'll find a way to remove the technical limits on attendance (it is a free event, after all.)

Resetting the Best Construction Blog framework

Within the next couple of days, I will reset the pages on new Construction Marketing Ideas blog to enhance the value and quality of related blog hyperlinks.  ("New" is a relative term -- this blog has been published since 2007; we started the blog on our own server at constructionmarketingideas.com this time last year and have posted every day there since then.)

When the resetting is complete, readers will have access to the most comprehensive and organized construction blog service on the Internet.  If your blog qualifies, you'll receive some really useful free publicity and the chance to be a finalist in the Best Construction Blog competition. 

You can nominate your blog now at this link.

To qualify, your blog will need to contain relevant, useful content, be updated at least weekly or on a reasonable schedule for at least three months, and not primarily appear to be a device to trick the search engines. 

Preparing for the new construction marketing era

Registrations are continuing to arrive in surprising numbers (considering it is, after all, Christmas), for the upcoming live Construction Marketing Ideas video broadcast on New Years Eve at 11:00 a.m.

Of course, it helps that the event is totally free. If you are in Ottawa, you are welcome to be in our live, ahem, "studio" audience.  (Actually, we'll give you a chair, some Timbits and a cup of coffee in our tiny, less-than-opulent offices if you register ahead of time and tell us you are coming.) 

Yeah, I hope some visitors to the broadcast decide to purchase my Construction Marketing Ideas book, but this session most definitely is not intended as a sales thing.  It is more an exercise in learning how to apply new video and broadcasting technologies to develop effective marketing strategies.  In other words, we'll be learning some useful stuff even as we conduct the real broadcast.

You can register for the program here.  Again, it is free.

Watch live streaming video from constructionmarketingideas at livestream.com

Christmas Day and Construction Marketing

Reprinted from the Construction Marketing Ideas blog, Dec. 25, 2009.

How will you remember 2010? For some, it has been a year of genuine turmoil and struggle, as formerly thriving businesses faced painful retrenchments and struggled to survive. Some readers lost their jobs, some their businesses. Conditions in Canada were better in 2010 but the U.S. economy remains in difficult shape -- and there are warning signs ahead here, as well. However, we discovered some bright beacons for the future. We have started to make the transition to electronic-based rather than print publishing, a trend I believe will escalate in the next few years, with our business earning most of its revenue through non-print media within about three years. We also discovered how timeless business principals distilled by our consultant Bill Caswell of Caswell Corporate Coaching Company could help our (and your) business both weather the storm and restore its capacity to thrive. Most importantly, we realized how important traditional values and relationships are in the electronic age. Architectural, engineering and construction businesses thrive by delivering top quality services -- built on relationships founded in respect and integrity. Best wishes for the Holiday Season and Happy New Year! Mark Buckshon President Construction News and Report Group of Companies P.S., as a year-end thank you -- and to continue my learning process about new media, you are welcome to attend the year-end live video broadcast at 11 a.m. on Dec. 31.  For free registration information, please visit this site.

Preparing for the Dec. 31 (free) live video feed

Yesterday evening, I set up some of the frameworks for the upcoming free live Construction Marketing Ideas video presentation scheduled for December 31 at 11 a.m. You can register here.

Watch live streaming video from constructionmarketingideas at livestream.com

The best construction blog competition: Choosing the judges

Yesterday morning, I sent invitations to five individuals to invite them to participate as judges for the Best Construction Blog competition.  Most have accepted the invitation.  I also set out a preliminary framework for evaluating the blogs, which allows for the assessment of popular vote, among other elements.

I expect we will be ready to fully promote the competition at the beginning of 2011 with a month (January) to invite nominations and a second month (February) for judging and popular voting.

You can get a head start on the nomination process if you wish by nominating your own blog or the one you like the best using this form.

There is no fee to enter nor receive recognition as a contestant or finalist in this competition.

A free year-end event

You are invited to a special online live feed Construction Marketing Ideas year-end review at 11 a.m. EST on Dec. 31.

In this event, I'll review some of the best marketing ideas from the past year and look forward to 2011.  You can suggest issues of concern to you.  If you are in Ottawa, you are welcome to visit our (modest) offices to join in the event -- we'll order some Tim Hortons donuts and coffee for you.
 
The event is free.  For more information, just click on the button below.

Construction Marketing: Developing the best Construction blog judging criteria

I spent some time yesterday devising possible criteria for judging the Best Construction Blog judging criteria, as I considered who to invite as independent judges.  Obviously, the judges should have a say in the criteria -- but my goal is to make the judging process as easy as possible, so I'll provide prospective judges with a model which they can revise (by consensus) in setting out the competition rules.

Today, I also set the close for nominations at January 31, 2011, with voting through February.  Popular vote will count for the "readers' choice" category and will be one element to consider in evaluating the overall best construction blog.

If you wish to nominate either your blog or someone else's, you can now share your recommendation with the official nomination form.

Construction marketing: The best blog judging process

Last year, we set up an open popularity contest for the Best Construction Blog.   The result, a few participants put out incredible effort to get out the vote and our email account filled with votes.  I don't see anything wrong with that sort of competition, but equally sense that the best "best blog" could be assessed by other methods.

This year, we'll recruit a judging panel, and invite the judges to assess the blogs on criteria which truly assess their quality.  We'll combine this judging with a popular vote competition and the grand winner will need to achieve voting success both from the independent judges and popular vote (but popular vote and judged entries will also receive recognition.)

If you would like to participate as a judge, please feel free to email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com.

Construction Marketing blogs: Blogger, Wordpress or both?

The North Carolina Construction News website is hosted on our server with Wordpress software.

Which vehicle is best for your construction marketing blog, Wordpress or Blogger?  As time has passed, I think both have their strengths -- and in fact the ideal model may be a hybrid.

We effectively use both systems for our North Carolina publications, including Triangle/Triad Construction News and Charlotte Construction News.  The websites' home pages and substantial content are hosted on the Wordpress framework on our own server, but the North Carolina Construction News blog is published with Blogger.

This approach allows us to develop a customized, relatively easy-to-maintain site design hosted on our own internet service provider's server, while the blog is extremely simple to maintain and update and (appropriately) is clearly distinguishable as a blog.

Last year at this time, I decided to "move" my main Construction Marketing Ideas blog from Blogger to Wordpress, gradually fading away from daily updates on the Blogger site.  Certainly, Wordpress allows me much functionality, especially in the incredible selection of plug-ins to add features and special extras to the site.  However, Blogger has also evolved with some really nifty tools to make it easier to use and expand.

I think, in practice, if you are just starting out with a blog and lack much experience, or you wish a blog to look, feel, and behave exactly like a blog (in other words, readers to perceive it entirely as a blog and not a website) Blogger is a good idea.  If you wish to control your site and build in many extra features, then go with Wordpress hosted on your own server.  (That is, a Wordpress site where you build it from Wordpress.org rather than Wordpress.com.)  Finally, as I've described here, you can certainly use both systems effectively in combination.

In the next week, I'll set a plug-in on the Wordpress-formatted Construction Marketing Ideas blog to allow you to post your blog listing directly on the system, with additional graphics and description opportunities. (Obviously, I'll set a moderation and review system to prevent anyone from spamming the system.)  Meanwhile, I'll use this Blogger blog to highlight the project and share with you the details of the nomination and voting process for the Best Construction Blog competition.  Watch for more daily updates.

Best Construction Blog competition 2011

We're preparing for the Best Construction Blog Competition, 2011 edition.  Watch for daily updates here as the competition is organized.  This site, along with the new Construction Marketing Ideas blog at http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com will be the host sites -- we will recruit an independent judging panel to go along with a popular vote competition.

I will set up the nomination forms within the next few days and outline the nomination/voting schedule.

The successful blog will receive special recognition in the Design and Construction Report with other media announcements and publicity.

As I prepare the campaign, please feel free to email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com with your suggestions and observations.

The Construction Marketing Ideas book: Print or electronic format

Construction Marketing Ideas: Practical strategies and resources to attract and retain clients for your architectural, engineering or construction business
You can now obtain the Construction Marketing Ideas book in either printed or electronic formats.  Options include purchasing through Amazon.com or other online retailers, the Construction Marketing Ideas website or the IStore (for Ipads and Macs).

While the book is available in these formats, in practice, virtually everyone purchases it in its printed format -- and a few each month elect to purchase a PDF file copy of the book electronically from the Construction Marketing Ideas website.