Seth Godin gives 9 Things about Sales that Marketers need to learn. (And then some lessons on Referrals as well).

I have clients that like me have a blog here, a website or 3 over there, a twitter account or 2,  a Facebook fan page and personal account, and some other online properties. Whatdo you do with all this online marketing?

Here are the Top 3 Online marketing Assignments

1. Have an overall plan for the entirety of your online marketing.

2. Have a plan of attack for each platform.

3. Execute by scheduling time.

In some ways, all of your online messages should be aimed at one theme. An editorial calendar to let you know that in January you will be talking about this one subject or charity or purpose all month in some way across the online world. In February or in the second quarter, it can be another theme or subject or case study. Or it can be the same one all year long.

Note: You want to be speaking about the same keywords across all platforms to tie you to that keyword. (Usually we call this SEO, search engine optimization).

When you have disparate internet properties – more than 1 domain name for example or you blog on wordpress – you have to find a way to tie the properties together. Maybe it’s a blog roll box, a contact page, an about us page, a where-to-connect box, etc.

Note: This is linking it all together. Your theme based on keyword(s) will tie it all together.

Many companies want to be everything to everybody. That’s fine if you are GM, Subway, Nike, Coke or McDonalds – and have their marketing budget. But you don’t. So the more finely tuned your message is, the better.

The more targeted your message is to a very specific audience, the cheaper and easier it is to market to that niche.

I’m going to Go Local for a couple of posts (like here). Small Business Trends has an article about “the top 5 ways people find local businesses according to Comscore“:

1. 31%  Visit a search engine – most research without a specific brand or business name in mind and a specific location (i.e. a plumber in Tampa, Florida).
2. 30% Look up a business in print in the Yellow Pages or White Pages.
3. 19% Use Internet directories – often to find a phone number.
4. 11% Look at local search sites like Google Maps or Yahoo Local (usually to get driving directions).
5. 3%   Get information from a newspaper or magazine.

What does this tell you? Search counts for 42%. You might want to have a strategy for that.  I find the YP number to be high until you consider that not everyone has a computer (with broadband and powered up all the time).  So you need to start measuring how folks find you. Seriously.