The most amazing thing about the online world is that the marketing tactics used by a lot of websites and online marketing blogs is very silly. The general approach is generally ineffective and easily blocked by more tech-savvy users. I remember a few years back I used to visit websites that had this animated money that was begging for me to hit it with a hammer. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I very nearly put a hammer through what was then my CRT monitor just so I could avoid the eye-raping that was that series of ads. In fact, regular surfers literally become blind to these advertisements since it becomes such a regular part of the landscape.

Even if you talk about pay per click ads, which are less annoying than any flash based ad, it is used rather frivolously and foolishly. Yes, pay per click ads are the most incredible thing in the advertising world for pure Return on Investment but they too are poorly utilized. Think of all those high dollars clicks that find their way to poorly formed websites that seem like something my dog would have gnawed on and then regurgitated all over the carpet. These websites that some online marketing blogs link to are an unholy mess! They look worse than Lindsay Lohan on crack, there’s nothing special about them and they often have a message that varies on the theme of “we’re the bestest ever!!!” that tends to drive people away because its such a nauseating combination of cheese and sleaze.

The internet is arguably the single greatest direct marketing environment in the history of forever and yet there are so many dollars that are wasted because the websites they direct people to are annoying or the ads themselves are the creation of the devil and annoying as hell. That is why I say much of online marketing can be quite foolish. There are so many other forms of advertising that can be used, like so.

Content-Driven advertising

If your advertisement looks like content, it is quite likely that it will attract readers that are interested in it. Most ads seem as if they are promoting a product; these ads look as if they are promoting the content itself. It is a very good hook to lure in the fish, and since it is labeled clearly as an advertisement, there are no ethicality issues here. Thrown in a catchy headline, some interesting copy and make an authoritative reference to something and lo, presto! You’re in business!

The educational approach

By offering readers something knowledgeable they previously knew nothing about, you can lure in readers and visitors quite easily. First and foremost, don’t sell; educate. Information has been and always will be king. Clear, incisive analysis will always be in demand and it is something people will find valuable, perhaps some even worth paying for. And when people have been educated by you in one way or another, they learn to trust you and that is when they can do business with you more readily. One always leads to the other.

Rebellious, assertive, ambitious, enduring, bitchy. That’s Madonna for you, and that’s the person that once said, “I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.” Many people think of pure, unadulterated sin and pop extravagance when they think back on Madonna’s career, and not many realize that she’s now 52 years old. Many people see her madness, the chaos and the pop circus surrounding her every move and word. But what they don’t see most of the time is that she knows exactly what she’s doing and she knows exactly what she wants. She has a rare mastery over the aura surrounding her and the message she exudes. She is in complete control of brand Madonna.

Madonna’s career has spanned decades now and she has been the best female performer of all time even if you don’t like her music very much. She has been to the pop genre what Ali was to boxing, what Sampras is to Tennis; she is a living legend, and there is a lot to take away from the material girl when it comes to ruling your brand and your niche. Madonna has some powerful lessons to teach, and here we sum up 6 of those teachings that can be gleaned from the Material Girl.

Always believe in something

If you don’t believe in something, you’ll fall for just about anything. The simplest way to do this is to take a quick look at your about us page. What have you thrown on there? Is the message you are conveying very feel-good, but entirely forgettable? Is there a message at all in there? You have a powerful way of conveying what you believe in with your blog and you should best distill your message into something you fully believe. It’s your unique selling proposition and this is your raison d’être. Your customers should be able to say why you matter and why they turn to you.

Always come good with promises

Look around and you’ll see that the best of businesses will always look to deliver on their promises at all time. It requires putting in a lot of effort to make sure that they deliver quality again and again, without fail. Madonna claims she has “never canceled a show, ever” and you can translate this into something of meaning for your business. Make every customer interaction and make every product a promise that is fulfilled, and never rest until this is so.

Clarity of purpose

In the music industry, Madonna is famed for her ability to negotiate like a shark. Heck, she even wrangled $5 million out of Pepsi for an ad they never ran. They got the jitters, she didn’t care; she got her pound of flesh from them. There is a clarity of purpose for Madonna that is almost scary. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. Know your goals, and work relentlessly towards it. Setting a goal sets a tempo for your efforts, so get your goals and priorities right and you can deliver on something you want, and you can deliver it your way.

Trample on toes if you have to

Madonna has never been afraid to trample on toes and bloody a few noses if she had. Interest groups, professors, politicians, businesses, they all came the same to her. She doesn’t care if it’s the Vatican taking pot shots at her, and her fans love it. She never backed down from fighting things out and neither should you. Never apologize for who you are if you say something you feel is true. You can’t please everyone all the time. Take criticism on board so much as it makes sense and keep on moving towards achieving your goals relentlessly. If everyone does agree with you, maybe you’re saying something so innocuous that everyone can easily agree with.

Redefine the rules

The only rules that matter are the ones that you impose upon yourself. If and when Madonna does engage her fans, she doesn’t follow the regular rules and you can rest assured knowing that she comes up with unique ways to rip the rulebook to shreds. Rules are there for a reason, but to make the rules suited to your purpose marks out the successes from the failures and Lady Gaga might be the epitome of that today, but Madonna was the original.

I’ll make a candid admission; I’ve never enjoyed classic literature very much with a few exceptions. Hawthorne, Austen, Dickens; they all come the same to me and they all put me to sleep. Yes, there will be a few of you literati’s out there who shudder at the thought of someone not appreciating all that is holy to them but bear with me. I am barely low-brow, and my literary interests are not shallow. All I seek is a good story, something I can immerse myself in, and something that grabs my imagination and pulls it into its own world, making me wonder “what if?” And classic authors don’t do that; there is a round-about, almost archaic way of writing that means I shy away from such books. It is also probably why I like Hemingway.

Admittedly, everyone has different literary tastes. I look at Stephanie Myers’ Twilight series with scant regard, but there are several who swear by what I consider nothing more than drivel and that is the effect a good story has on you. It can draw you in and speak to you, and no matter how much someone says something to the contrary, you will always relate to it, hold it close to your heart. Relatable stories or stories we identify with then are the ones that sell the most and this is much the same for your clients and prospects. If your writing doesn’t pull them in, they won’t stay with you. Sales copy doesn’t need to evangelise you, or your product or its qualities; it needs to tell a story. Some of the best sales pitches I’ve seen have been memorable only because of the way in which their story was told.

A story is a great marketing device, it blurs the lines between reality and fiction but it is also all about trust; you have to be truthful in your pitch and not be a phony. That’s because these messages preach to your reader why they should buy something instead of telling them about the product and by doing so you can define not only your market but how your competitors respond. There are themes, plots and maybe even some symbolism in your sales pitch and copy. How does that make it much different from a story? When it comes to your business (no matter if its real or virtual), you need to come up with a protagonist that people want to know about, and that protagonist is you. Let’s get this much straight; this is not about fabricating stories, it’s about telling a story.

Trust is the key to it all and you shouldn’t be asking “how do I portray this?” Instead, ask “how do I bring this out and best represent it in my writing?” Yes, it’s good to have a USP, but don’t be one-dimensional; there are several SEO specialists and consultants out there. Don’t limit yourself to one facet, one USP, but don’t let that be the be-all and end-all of you. Whatever your story is, make sure you distil its essence well and pass it on to clients and prospects. Then, all you have to do is sit back and believe that it will do the work for you.

Nachomatees actually means ‘not your mama’ and on the Website, there is a punch line which says ’shirts not for your mama’. I came across this site while I was browsing through the Web. The collection of T-shirts that they have is quite impressive. The home page itself is interesting; you are greeted with lots of funny looking T-shirts.

These tees are really cool and I bet they will instantly make you popular across your neighborhood. The best part about these shirts is that they are quite affordable and hence anyone can buy these. I have purchased quite a lot from here and I can confidently say that you won’t regret the money spent on these garments.

There is a category called ‘cheap T-shirts’ which has lots of funny tees and they are priced low too. This section also contains the best vintage t-shirts. I have tried a couple of these; they fit very well and are quite unique too. Visit this section for the most hilarious tees ever! My favorite one is ‘Global warming isn’t cool’ shirt.

This nachomamatees.com has a big collection of movie t-shirts and these are the best movie theme based tees I have ever seen. There is a huge collection of shirts based on classic movie themes. They will surely bring back those old and fond memories. If you want to wear something out of the box to stand out amongst the crowd, you got to check out these.

There is also a section called halloween party costumes and these are some of the most creative garments I have ever seen. This section is dominated by women’s costumes and they have a really good collection which includes Bat Girl and Ghostbuster costumes.

Finally, I must mention about the layout of the Website; it is very well done. They have put all the best sellers on the home page in order to make a good first impression on the visitors. On the top, there are tons of shirts neatly categorized into sections like cheap T-shirts, vintage T-shirts, movie T-shirts, halloween costumes, Girls T-shirts, etc.

Visit this Website and remember, keep you mama away from these tees!