PowerBlog Review: New Millenium Minds

Editor's note: We are pleased to bring you the seventy-first in our regular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of business weblogs. This week's review is being guest-blogged by Lynne Meyer. Lynne Meyer, APR, is president of A Way with Words.

By Lynne Meyer


It's said that you have 30 seconds to make a good impression. The same is true with the name of your blog.

A case in point is the name of Rob Thrasher's blog -- New Millennium Minds. What in the world is New Millennium Minds? The name is creative, intriguing and compelling, and I looked forward to seeing what it was all about.

Rob is Chief E-mail Marketing Officer of ActivSoftware in New Hartford, New York, where he and his partner develop business email communications software for small businesses, law firms, government agencies and Fortune 500-level companies. Rob started his weekly blog in June 2004. There's lots of information here about search engines and marketing via email. He says,

"My main goal with the blog is to gain key phrases and report to e-marketeters how I did it. I decided to start a blog to research how blogs are spidered and catalogued by search engines."

For the most part, many people start blogging because they have expertise to share. Rob employs a technique that can be incorporated into any blog for added value. In his April 27 posting, "Choosing a Search Engine Marketing Specialist," Rob provides a comprehensive checklist readers can use when they decide it's time to seek a web-marketing professional. Regardless of your area of expertise, blog readers appreciate this kind of information. And who knows? A checklist like this just might make readers turn to the blogger for the services they're seeking.

Another interesting technique involves being ahead of the curve publishing a prediction on a topic relating to your field. In his April 12 post -- "New Millennium Minds Prediction Department" -- Rob notes that a master email marketing case study his company published the previous year is now being referred to in a positive light by some of the top research firms in the industry. A blog provides an easy way to highlight positive press coverage or analyst coverage. It's yet one more way to showcase the blogger's expertise, and establish thought leadership.

In addition to sharing good news, blogs can be used to review products and services, and pass along caveats about frustrating or negative experiences. It's exactly the kind of word of mouth that some brand owners fear, as companies like Kryptonite have found to their detriment. In his January 24, 2005 post -- "My Best Posts & Zealous.Org" -- Rob relates one such experience with a site called Zealous.org:

"As an experiment, I submitted my posts to a place called 'My Best Posts' through a web site at Zealous.org. I spent a good chunk of time submitting my posts to drive extra traffic to the blog. I subsequently logged in to add another post. Much to my dismay, my posts were all gone! They deleted all my posts and would only say that my posts -- all of a sudden -- didn't fit in with their goals. So now, rather than reporting that this site is a good resource to help you get the word out about your blog, I'm recommending you stay from using them because there's no guarantee your own hard work won't suddenly disappear with no notice, just as mine did!"

Saving readers from an unpleasant situation can engender increased loyalty, and incline them to read the blog regularly.

One of the most helpful features about this blog is its focus on email marketing. Although it covers other online topics, such as search engine optimization, it provides a helpful source of surveys, white papers and other resources about email marketing.

Check out the New Millennium Minds.