Ranking well for Guerrilla Marketing and Selling Plenty of Books

I always knew the whole Marketing Gorilla, Guerrilla Marketing mix would pay off. But it's been a while since I checked my Amazon.com Associates Central dashboard. I had no idea I had sold so many of Jay Conrad Levinson's books, particularly Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days. See, it's days like this that I really am glad I don't pay attention to people like Jason Calacanis. Affiliate Marketing Pays!

Check out all of Levinson's titles at Amazon, Startup Guide to Guerrilla Marketing, Guerrilla Selling and Guerrilla Marketing 4th Edition.

Gorilla Greg Shops his Resume

It's time to put on the Gorilla suit and tape another resume to a Krispy Kreme box. Just kidding. The last time I did that, I made some waves in the affiliate industry and was quite pleased with the publicity. Even if I was blacklisted on ABestWeb.com because of my self promotion... I was quite proud of myself.

I'm looking for a Marketing / Public Relations position in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area. But working virtual is a definite possibility with frequent travel. My resume is quite thorough ranging from my PR experience to my affiliate marketing life.

Let me know if you can think of any open outsourced manager positions or project work I can pick up. It looks like I'll be giving up lots of things for Lent if I don't find what I need. :-)

Guerrilla Marketing - What is it?

It's always fun to look at your web analytics and find out where your visitors are coming from. Chances are, you went to Google and typed in "Gorilla Marketing", instead of "Guerrilla Marketing". Here's what you need to know.

My definition of guerrilla marketing obviously morphed into my online identification as the Marketing Gorilla - A Guy who works 18 hours a day planning and executing strategy. Finding ways to attract customers my competition hasn't thought of yet. Engaging my audience to want more. Believing in the product. But most importantly, protecting the brands.

After learning the ropes of Public Relations and Marketing Communications from a small agency in Atlanta, I started my own company, The Tarpon Agency. My clients didn't have six figure budgets, so I had to learn guerrilla tactics to get them the publicity and sales leads they deserved. To this day, I still incorporate that philosophy, even if my corporate budget is enviable.

The most trusted source for guerrilla marketing information is Jay Conrad Levinson. If his books aren't on your shelf, then that's where you need to start.

Wikipedia sums up guerrilla marketing as the following:

It is argued that if one uses guerrilla tactics, one will find one's small size an advantage. One will be able to obtain publicity more easily than a large company. One will be closer to one's customers and more agile.

Using guerrilla marketing in competive warfare also has its advantages. No matter how large the company's are, the one who stays two steps ahead will take the market share. It is fun to be in that situation, though. Some day I'll blog about it.

I lost #1 on Google for my own Name - Greg Hoffman

How embarassing this is. I fought for years to be number one in Google for my own name and now that I've neglected my blog in 2006, I lost the battle.

The late Saw Producer, Gregg Hoffman, finally took over the position.

Well, I want it back and I'm here to fight a dead guy over a Google slot. I hereby proclaim that I, Greg Hoffman the Marketing Gorilla, will be number one in Google in 2007 for my own name - AGAIN.

Fantasy Sports - Baseball

I haven't had a fantasy baseball team in about two years so I think it's time. I'll be entering the CDM Fantasy Sports Diamond Challenge this week.

Anyone care to join me?

Internet Marketing Super Group Expands

We have taken the membership of the Internet Marketing Super Forum through Yahoo Groups to almost 300 members. We have just a few more slots open before we really start monitoring who joins.

The Internet Marketing Super Group is intended for anyone involved in Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Shopping Engine Placement, Online Public Relations, Banner/Text-Link Ads, Email Marketing and most importantly, new channels such as Business Blogs and social networking.

Join today and participate in the Q&A.

Blogger 2 still sucks

Someone from my Google Adwords team graciously fixed my CigarBlog101 problems, no thanks to Blogger help. I tried to resist converting again to the new version but Blogger was determined to bring me to the dark side. They gave me the option of using my login once, then forced me to convert.

Luckily, all of my blogs have converted successfully and there are no more problems. But man was that a hassle. It couldn't have been just me.

Who is Greg Hoffman, Internet Marketing Gorilla?

Overview
Internet Marketing and Public Relations consultant with goals of maximizing corporate image and sales online. Seeking growing merchants to implement and manage programs that directly impact revenue, profitability and reputation.

Experience
Greg Hoffman Consulting    January 2008 – Present

• Outsourced Program Manager – Various projects

• Managing multiple accounts for online marketing agencies

• Communicating with super affiliates daily by phone, email or IM

• Weekly affiliate reports for clients showing program growth

• Recruiting super affiliates and niche affiliates based on their business models

• Running paid search campaigns in Google

• Writing and distributing press releases and ezine articles to build web traffic and sales

• Bi-weekly email campaigns for each client to thousands of affiliates highlighting monthly promotions, coupons and tips for increasing commissions

• Creating blog content for agencies, merchants and affiliates

Kowabunga/Think Partnership, Clearwater, Fla. April 2007 - January 2008
Affiliate Network Director/Senior Affiliate Manager -Served as Director for two international affiliate networks, Primary Ads and Kowabunga, both under the Think Partnership umbrella. Built team of seven direct reports and created strategy to rebuild reputation and profitability of both subsidiaries. Responsible for new affiliate acquisition, customer service and affiliate commission growth.

Thompson & Co. Tampa, Fla. October 2005 – April 2007
Internet Marketing Manager – Retail companies include Thompson Cigar, LinenSource, Casual Living USA and Café Belmondo. Thompson & Co. was rated #123 in the 2006 Internet Retailer Magazine Top 500, based on gross overall sales. Daily duties for all four companies included vendor management and direct work with the following programs: Affiliate Marketing; Email Marketing; Comparison Shopping Engine Oversight; Paid Search on Google, Yahoo, MSN, LookSmart and Ask; Natural Search Optimization; and Business Blog. Weekly and monthly reports showed profit/loss per new customer, return on ad spend, retention of existing customers and recommendations for growth of incremental sales.

Interpact, Inc. Seminole, Fla. August 2003 – October 2005
Marketing Manager – Responsible for all Online and Offline Marketing for The Security Awareness Company, a web-based education portal. Marketing strategy included: natural search optimization, email newsletters; web and print media buying; website content; award-winning business blog; trade show coordination; news release writing and distribution; collateral material and print ad management; contests; surveys and competitive research.

The Tarpon Agency Seminole, Fla. August 1999 – August 2003
Owner – Internet Marketing and Public Relations campaign management for accounts in multiple industries, both local and national. Programs designed and implemented included: email, fax and postal mailed newsletters; online banner ads; print ads; website design; natural search optimization; local and national Public Relations efforts; trade show promotions; government affairs consulting; collateral material design and printing; and executive image coaching.

PR Prose, Atlanta, GA April 1997 - August 1999
Public Relations Specialist – Client management included: news release and case study writing; trade show promotions; website content, newsletters; and legislative affairs consulting.

Newspaper Reporter, Florida and Georgia September 1994 - April 1997
Staff Writer The Tampa Tribune, Rome News-Tribune, Marietta Daily Journal, Atlanta Journal & Constitution - Newspaper reporting with emphasis on in-depth feature and investigative stories. Highlights include coverage of congressional races in Georgia and reporting as an accredited journalist at the 1996 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.



Greg W. Hoffman

Gregory Warren Hoffman

Tampa Catholic Class of 1988
University of South Florida 1993