Cracking the Code of Internet Marketing Strategies

Information is Marketing

Welcome to Designdamage – Cracking The Code of Internet Marketing strategies blog, helping you change the world via marketing.

Do you want more traffic, subscribers, back links and a profitable online business?

You need marketing, specifically information marketing.

Why information marketing?

Because people look for information to help them solve problems and make decisions, so valuable information is your marketing.

So how do you make information valuable?

First, you need persuasive content that connects with people. Second your content needs to be found and read.

Information Marketing, Social Media & SEO

Before the Internet came along, successful businesses use an effective technique called direct response marketing by using a combination of words and images designed to grab attention and convert it into sales.

And to get people to buy, you need relationships because we want to work with people we like and give money to businesses we trust.

That’s what great marketing is all about – building meaningful relationship that commands influence.

Today, you can basically use direct response marketing on the Internet by creating persuasive content that ranks high in search engines. This is where I can help you.

By using direct response marketing concepts (psychology and copywriting) in social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and email marketing, you can get traffic, gain subscribers and attract sales.

Simply put, it’s all about delivering value.

I like to use the metaphor of “doing well by doing good” (making money while helping people) to highlight the essence of remarkable marketing when we choose to create value for others.

You can learn more about this in the Profitable Knowledge Course to help you turn your knowledge into products and do work that matters.

You can summarize my philosophy on marketing this way:

1. It’s about building trust and delivering value
2. Everything is a test in marketing
3. Make progress not perfection
4. Focus on psychology not technology
5. It needs to generate insights about your target via tracking and measuring

The idea that links each of these topics is that marketing is not about manipulation or pushing people to do what’s not in their best interests.

This is what Designdamage focuses on, ideas to help you gain knowledge, take actions and transform your vision into reality.

I hope you will enjoy your visit and look forward to having your feedback regularly.

I welcome suggestions and comments so feel free to dig through my old posts and let me know your thoughts or complaints. Agree or disagree, this is a public forum to share your opinion.

Who is Eric Tsai?

I am a design thinker, strategist, entrepreneur, and student of life.

My mission is to help people grow their passion whether it’s their businesses or their personal lives so they can make better informed decisions to change the world.

My ideas are for motivated individuals to do extraordinary things.

I believe the road to success is paved with incremental actions from knowledge. And knowledge without actions is just potential power.

I help smart companies stay on top of marketing trends, advising them on how to create and implement robust web strategies that complement and support business objectives.

In addition, I provide thought leadership, research and advisory on media strategies to create engaging brand experiences that drive real-world results, not just aesthetics.

I’m a regular contributor to Social Media Today, B2C Marketing Insider, My Venture Pad and The Customer Collective sharing my thoughts and ideas with like-minded people.

Follow me on Googe+ for updates.

DISCLOSURE

The views, opinions, postings on this blog are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of my employers or clients.  I strive to give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on topics, products, services, and companies.

Designdamage and its employees will not accept direct payment for endorsements of products, services, or companies — any endorsement that I make will be because I believe in the merit of the product or service.

ART & DESIGN

I make art to communicate my perspective on culture, people and ideas. Specifically I like to use digital media and photography as my weapons of choice. Here are the damages done while batting the world:

Brands, Spaces, Interactions
Public Exhibition

Empathy Photography Series
Font Shop International

Designdamage V3
Unconventional Design Archives

Legacy Art Exhibition
Seven Degrees Gallery

Personal Bio

I’m a first generation Chinese-American, I was born in Taiwan and then came to the United States when I was 12.  I lived in a completely different social environment until I came here and was quickly fascinated by marketing and the concept of brands.

I grew up mostly near the heart of Silicon Valley, Cupertino, where the Apple headquarter was 2 minutes away from my house.  Ironically, I never owned a Mac but I do have an iPhone now and am looking to find a reason to own the iPad.

Since I was a kid, I started drawing characters to tell stories, even on exam papers I would leave my marks on them. Of course it didn’t sit well with teachers but that didn’t stop me from doing it.

I was always drawn to Japanese animations and cartoons, and would always dream up my own stories, so I decided to publish my own comic book when I was 9. My friends would ask to borrow my comics to read and I would continue to draw after I came to the US.

I fell in love with photography ever since I took my first photography class in college.  I became obsessed with images, I got my hands on medium and large format cameras and experimented with different printing techniques.

This was just when digital cameras started to get popular but I still insisted on using film.  I would take rolls and rolls of analog film, develop them as soon as I got a chance and then print them myself in the darkroom.

I will stop and take pictures regardless of where I’m at or what I should be doing (not taking any drive-by photos anymore after I was pulled over by the cops once).

I soon realized that photography, just like knowing how to use Photoshop or Illustrator, is simply a tool, what’s in your head is what really counts.

In the latter part of my college years at UCI, I picked up graphic design and soon was working part time as a web designer.  That’s when I launched designdamage.com as my personal digital playground while posting industry news and showcasing my work.

At 25, I was lucky enough to lead a 30 year old company that sells products I’ve never used (still today) to record sales while working with amazing people around the world from Europe to Asia.

After learning the marketing dynamics in the action sports and motorsports industry, I realized that marketing starts with product ideas and should be implemented throughout the product development process.

I then had the entrepreneurial opportunity to work for a start-up that went public in the health care sector.

Over the years I managed to successfully bridge the gap between design and user experience from consumer products to marketing communication.

I’m a social media addict and can’t stay away from the internet.

I used to watch a lot of History channel but now I just surf the internet.  I love to eat and wish I could try some of those dishes on Food Network especially the Iron Chef stuff!

Just like most boys, I love cars, sports and gadgets. If you know cars, these were my previous rides: Nissan 240sx, 300zx tt, VW Mk4 Jetta, Audi B5 S4, VW MK5 GTI, VW MK5 Jetta.  As you can see I tend to pick turbo-charged vehicles and no, I don’t drive fast

In my free time you will find me playing basketball at a local gym or anywhere with a basket.  I play a lot of pickup games and make no mistake, I’m a career 40% 3 point shooter but can take anyone to the hole if you dare to guard me close.

I enjoy watching the NBA and NFL most but my teams totally suck these days! I am a hopeful Golden States Warriors fan and a loyal San Francisco 49ers follower (the good’o days of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young).

I kind of got away from baseball for awhile but the emerging San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum got me watching the Giants again, yeah The Beast!

Feel free to drop me a line, I read every comment and value every opinion even if you just want to tell me something about you, let me know.