But there was one unique difference…

In addition to your tickets, you also got a token.  The token could only be given to one vendor – presumably whoever’s chili you liked best.  The vendors with the most tokens would then proceed to a judging round.

The Devil’s Ice Cream

In addition to the green-themed chili, there was the obligatory green beer.  With chili names like “The Devil’s Ice Cream”, even warm green beer was refreshing.  But I noticed that, out of the dozens of cook-off participants, one particular table was getting a surprising amount of attention.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t the chili with the most “creative” name (that would have to go to “Runs for Your Life” which I steered clear of), and it wasn’t the most outlandish St. Paddy’s costume hawking their samples louder than everyone else.

More Cowbell

This particular table had a sizeable amount of tokens, and the crowd was milling around enthusiastically cheering.  Two little old ladies were stealing the show with, not just good chili, but a lot of surprise extras too, like:

• Lots of chili toppings – From guacamole to cheese to corn chips. Garnishes were, surprisingly, something very few other competitors thought to do.  It made everyone else’s contribution pale in comparison.

• Dessert – After awhile, lots of chili tastes the same.  These ladies took the time to bake little green cake bon-bons to give away something extra to their patrons.

• Cowbell – Yes, more cowbell.  Every time they got a token, these little old ladies would ring that cowbell so loud that it would drown out whatever music was playing.  Naturally, people who had just come to the event would quickly make their way over and see what all the fuss was about…which led to an endless cycle of more tokens and more cowbell.

Lessons Learned

The crowd psychology and the social spread of the whole thing was almost surreal, but interesting to watch too, since there were a few important takeaways from this lesson –

1)  Make Your Product Irresistible – That means going the extra mile, whether it’s doing the research, gathering the case studies, or getting help to design the graphics.  Whatever you’re selling, always stop to ask yourself “How can I make this even better?”  Once you’ve done that, ask it again — until you completely run out of ways to improve upon what you’ve started.

2) Differentiate Yourself – Despite all the loud, colorful and festive costumes, these folks were more quiet, unassuming and friendly.  They didn’t have to yell over the music; a great big, welcoming “grandma smile” was all it took to draw people in closer.  The cowbell got people’s attention and motivated them before they ever saw what was causing all the commotion.

3) Walk the Walk – Of course, all that noise would’ve been for nothing if they didn’t have amazing chili to back it up.  And then, the whole “reciprocity” urge kicked in when you got a little something extra beyond that.  Socially, it almost seemed selfish not to give them your vote.  And that’s exactly what people did – time and time again.

Share Your Stories

Have you ever had a moment where something that seemed to have nothing at all to do with your business actually taught you a lesson about it? Share your story below in the comments!

Let’s take a closer look at the most popular comment management programs — Disqus, IntenseDebate and Livefyre, and their built-in SEO benefits for your site.

Disqus and SEO

Disqus – By default, Disqus shows comments using Javascript, which search engines can’t read or index. There is a plugin available for WordPress that will convert comments into HTML that can be indexed by the search engines.  In addition, it also backs up your comments and includes social mentions such as posts from Twitter and Facebook.

SEO Rating: 

Having to go through an extra step to make your comments indexed by search engines is just one strike against what many bloggers consider a clunky comment management system

IntenseDebate and SEO

IntenseDebate – Made by the same people behind WordPress, IntenseDebate (ID) works flawlessly with WordPress’ built-in commenting system. This means your comments can still be indexed and even users who have Javscript disabled can leave comments which you can then import into the ID system for easier management.  One added feature that sets IntenseDebate apart from the competition is its “Reply by Email” which lets you respond to comments and moderate them directly through your email.

SEO Rating:

Working seamlessly with WordPress is a big plus, as is comment management by email. The more convenient and easy it is to moderate comments, the better.

LiveFyre and SEO

LiveFyre – Livefyre was built for the social community. Lightweight and easy to install, you can pull comments from Twitter, Facebook and let users login with a variety of popular services to move comment activity from the social sphere to your blog.  Naturally, they also have a WordPress plugin which replaces the default comments.  All comments, even those from Facebook, can be indexed from your blog by search engines.

SEO Rating: 

Livefyre’s social capabilities and flexibility (you can moderate comments from your smartphone) are second to none, and so far, its performance and scalability are holding strong.  But if you get a lot of comments, you’ll quickly find that LiveFyre turns it into more of a conversation.  If that sounds good to you, go for it – but if not, you might want to try an alternative.

An alternative to Feedburner can help you manage blog and newsletter subscriptions more efficiently

Since Feedburner has been bought up by Google, many bloggers and coders wonder if it’s even worth the effort to try and create an alternative.  Fortunately, that hasn’t kept them from trying to create some unique plugins and services that do what Feedburner can’t (or isn’t any good at). If you’re tired of Feedburner’s limitations and would like to look into other solutions, check out these Feedburner alternatives.

FeedBlitz – The closest thing you’ll find to a true Feedburner alternative, FeedBlitz brings together RSS feeds and email marketing into one fast-loading, lean system.  Setting up your feed and email is a simple, step by step process.  Feedblitz also works seamlessly with WordPress, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and many more popular networks.  There’s a 30-day free trial.  After that, the pricing depends on how many subscribers you have.

FeedMyInbox - I personally love this site as a unique alternative to Feedburner.  Rather than charge you based on how many subscribers you have, FeedMyInbox charges subscribers based on how many FeedMyInbox-powered feeds they subscribe to. The first five are free, and unlimited subscriptions costs $19 per month.

RapidFeeds – Includes lots of in-demand features, including branded RSS feeds, auto-Twitter update, RSS feed scheduling and subscriber statistics.  Also integrates nicely with podcasts. Price varies on the number of feeds you want to manage and the features you want.  Enterprise-level feed management is $13.95 per month

Nouri.sh – Nourish is an RSS to email service and a reliable Feedburner alternative for those sites whose visitors don’t really grasp (or don’t use) RSS much.  The free version lets you send up to 1,000 emails per month. Also includes customizable newsletter templates.

Related: RSS to Email for Your Existing Autoresponder or Newsletter Service

Need an alternative to Feedburner, but you’re already subscribed to AWeber or Mailchimp?  Fortunately, those services have ways to help you convert a blog RSS feed to email. Just click on their respective links above to learn how.

Why Didn’t You Include (Insert Name of RSS Feed Service Here)?

Occasionally I’ll get questions about why I didn’t include certain RSS to email services in this list.  I’m a big believer in quality over quantity, and would rather give you links to services that:

• Consistently perform well even when managing tens of thousands of feeds
• Have a user-friendly interface that’s easy to use
• Provide detailed stats and analytics so you can better understand your subscribers’ behavior.

If it doesn’t meet those criteria, it isn’t listed here. Simple as that!

Got a great RSS to email service I missed? Tell me about it below in the comments.

Time passed and YouTube became a star, then everyone was talking about putting online video on their sites (whether it was any good or not).  Now, you can’t even watch TV without media networks and commercials throwing out their Twitter and Facebook URLs, begging you to become a follower or friend.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with using these services.  I do so myself!  The problem I’m seeing with all these new creative and promotional outlets is that adding them to your site without a clear plan of action is a surefire sign of SOS – Shiny Object Syndrome. 

Sufferers of SOS generally come down with the following symptoms immediately after learning about some new technology or web service:

• An intense desire to immediately put said technology on their website to keep up the appearance that they’re “cool” and “with the times”.
• A sudden increase in energy, enthusiasm and drive – particularly when it comes to marketing ideas for these new outlets
• An inexplicable need to pour countless hours of time into learning the new technology or service – to the exclusion of everything else.

Shiny Object Syndrome is Not Life-Threatening

When properly managed, Shiny Object Syndrome can be beneficial to your business – as long as you make the object of your attention integrated into both your short-term and long-term business and marketing plans.

After all, what’s the use of a Twitter account that never tweets, or a Facebook Fan page without any fans or interaction?  What good is having a blog if it’s never updated, or an online video that looks grainy and distorted?

 Are You Suffering from SOS? Here’s How to Find Relief:

 Do You Have the Time? First, realize that whatever new technology, service or program you’re adopting into your business WILL take time to learn – and there are only so many hours in a day.  Ask yourself what you’ll need to give up or put on the back burner in order to make this work.  Is it worth giving that up?

Has This Happened Before? Shiny Object Syndrome has a way of recurring when you least expect it. Have you put projects on the back burner before because something new became all the rage?  How many projects are in your “to do” list because of it?

Will You Be Able to Manage It?  Many new technologies require a great deal of time and effort to use and maintain effectively. Do you have time to post regularly to a Twitter or Facebook account? Do you have something interesting or new to share often?  Social sites in particular have a particularly addictive way of increasing to fill whatever time you give them – so be on the lookout for warning signs!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pressure in your department or industry to simply go for it – and sort it out later, it pays to really consider the pros and cons after you’ve had some time, even a day or so, to really think about it.

When the enthusiasm is running high and the impulsiveness is too much to bear – be the objective one in the group and be real about what you have to change to make this “shiny object” a solid part of your website marketing plan.

(And if you need help – I do know of a skilled consultant who can help you make the most of your new plan, or where to trim the clutter!)

But just having a Twitter or Facebook account won’t do you any good if you don’t keep it updated.  Likewise if you send out text message alerts to your mobile and smartphone customers. And if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of time and work it takes to keep posting regularly, you’re in luck – Sendible can help.

How Sendible Works

Sendible is an incredibly helpful web service that allows you to schedule Facebook posts (to your wall and to groups that you’ve joined), as well as schedule posts and uploads on Twitter, WordPress, LinkedIn, Blogger, Flickr, SMS mobile phone (extra charges apply) and Google Buzz, just to name a few.

Sendible supports all major social networking services, and its scheduling calendar lets you schedule any type of post for any time of day or night.  You can also send recurring messages – all from a streamlined web-based interface.

Additional Features

Sendible also lets you create a basic blog and send newsletters to your contacts using one of their built-in templates.  While not as robust and not packing nearly the features of a full-fledged autoresponder (or a self hosted blog like WordPress), these additional features could come in handy if you don’t have a segmented subscriber list or use a lot of plugins on your blog.

Message Tracking and Analytics

Where Sendible really shines is the addition of message tracking and social analytics. You can track message statistics directly from the Sendible dashboard and monitor the number of mentions, likes, clicks, views and comments your posts get.

A free 30-day trial account lets you send 100 messages per month and bulk pricing is also available.  With SMS messaging, Sendible uses a token system and depending on the country you live in, you can also reply to your SMS messages through Sendible’s interface.

All in all, Sendible is a fantastic resource that definitely belongs in any serious online business owner’s social media toolbox. It’s by far one of the most user-friendly, intuitive ways to manage and monitor all your social media outlets.