The 7 Most Fascinating Internet Marketers of 2011

Who were Barbara Walter’s Most Fascinating People of 2011?  Who cares when you can find out who The Most Fascinating Internet Marketers of 2011 are?

…and being Internet Marketing related, I HAD to go with the Top 7 instead of the Top 10.

These are the 7 people that I found the most interesting for various reasons these last 12 months.  I’m not specifically endorsing them or any of their products (but all I’ve seen them put out is quality stuff)…this list is just about who was the most interesting.

I provided each person’s Facebook page or profile, so you could follow these fascinating people too.  Make sure you follow me too!   Connect with me at Facebook.com/brian.horn.

Give the list a review, and let me know what you think…did I leave anyone off?

THE 7 MOST FASCINATING INTERNET MARKETERS OF 2011

.

The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.

Kate Buck Jr (facebook.com/katebuckjr):

Who is she?

Kate Buck (aka KBJ) is the Founder and CEO of KBJOnline, a social media management and consulting agency in Austin, Texas. Kate has worked with some of the top names in Internet Marketing as well as consulted with dozens of entrepreneurs, businesses and nonprofits both around the globe. She is the creator of the Let’s Get Social training program, in which more than 10,000 social media managers have participated.

Why is she fascinating?

Kate is the reality TV of IM’ers on Facebook.  She brilliantly makes the day-to-day minutia of life interesting.  You’ll know when KBJ wakes up (“Wake up in the morning…”), runs into tech issues, and is jammin’ to 90′s rap (“With my mind on my money and my money on my mind…”).

She does throw in tips and advice, but you gotta follow KBJ to keep track of all the fun nonsense that makes her life so interesting.

BRIAN: How do you decide what to share (or not share) on FB? Do you have a thought process to determine what is or isn’t interesting?”

KATE: I guess 2 things – really:

1) Is it interesting to me? I don’t share unless I would click on it if someone else shared it.

2) For my own stuff, especially with the new Timelines, I try to tell a story. If nothing else, how I’m feeling, what’s on my mind that day, or something that made me laugh or resonated with me in that moment. 

Roll with the punches, go in without a plan B (or even a plan A), and just improvise when things go badly.

Ori Bengal (facebook.com/ori.bengal):

Who is he?

Award winning photographer, a marketer, a videographer / video editor, a problem solver, and standup comedian…or…to shorten it  up -  an adventure that gets bored easily.

If you have a businesses or are a performer, he can make you a website that won’t require a techie to maintain.

Why is he fascinating?

1.) He’s a grown man that couch surfs.  2.)  He can pull off a fur coat, cowboy hat and goggles (see pic to the right).   Do you need any other reasons?

BRIAN: Ori, how has your couch surfing and IM experience prepared you for stand up?

“Couch surfing and IM have both DRASTICALLY altered my life… every aspect of it. They both have enabled me to pursue my dreams. At first by making me realize that they are there. Then by surrounding me with positive capable people that are already achieving their dreams, so I knew I could achieve mine. 

Both have given me a ridiculous amount of hilarious topics to be funny about (like playing Bull Poker, or getting stitches in my head at Yanik’s Underground (to my knowledge, I am the only marketer in history to get a head wound at a marketing conference). 

I spoke at Matt Bacak’s conference once because I “felt like doing public speaking” and Matt let me… people loved the presentation that I wrote on the 17 hour drive from Austin to Atlanta. Presentation… meh, not as smooth as today’s. However, because of my couchsurfing, I got more opportunities to speak. 

What does public speaking have to do with comedy? 

Everything… When you compare my very first stand-up, to the other people that were presenting that night for the first time…. night and day. No uhhhs and ummms, I didn’t pace, I didn’t need notes, I didn’t rock back and forth, I kept eye contact. 

People didn’t believe me that it was my first time. I’m already used to being up in front of larger – and rowdier crowds. 

Because of IM I now have income coming in to where I can sit on my ass and just write comedy all day if I want. 

Couch Surfing has taught me to roll with the punches, go in without a plan B (or even a plan A), and just improvise when things go badly… I know that it will always turn out great. 

Because of Couch Surfing, I’ve gotten to see what makes people tick – hopes, dreams, friendships, and more… I’ve gotten to be part of that…. and I wouldn’t trade it in for the world.”

Life should be lived passionately. Otherwise, we are all playing by another person’s game, and by rules we didn’t make ourselves.

Lewis Howes (facebook.com/lewishowes):

Who is he?

Two sport All-American (football and the decathlon), broke a world record for the most receiving yards in a single football game and went on to play professional football after college. He even happened to win his school’s ping pong tournament, and once upon a time was ranked in the Top 100 of the World in Air Hockey.

Now, Lewis teaches individuals how to generate success using LinkedIn. Also hosts LinkedIn networking events around the country, puts on seminars, and speaks on the subject professionally.

Recently, Lewis and his partner Sean (see below) started publishing other people products (most recent example is FB Influence)

Why is he fascinating?

You get to live vicariously through a ex-football player having fun globetrotting…and now playing on a handball team in NYC (and didn’t we all as kids fantasize about being on a handball team in the big apple).

Also, Lewis cuts through the BS and scammy info and only bring the best information to his followers.

BRIAN: So, Lewis…this year you seemed to move more to a publishing model. Was that a difficult transition?

LEWIS: “It wasn’t a difficult transition, but it did take some time to figure out how to do the publishing model and make it work for all parties involved.”

BRIAN: What do you look for in a product when deciding what to promote next?

LEWIS: “Next year we are looking for products that are in tuned with our audience, offer massive value and delivers results to their business.”

You are who you REALLY are when nobody is watching!

Seth Larrabee (facebook.com/sethlarrabee):

Who is he and why is he fascinating?

Seth has gone from virtual obscurity to hanging out and working with some top-tier IM’ers in a very short period of time…mainly through networking on Facebook. I see his comments and ‘Likes’ on just about every post from every one of my friends.  And good, relevant comments too.  

I had to include Seth in this list, as he can be a great lesson for others wanting to get on the inside through non-traditional methods.

BRIAN: What is your process for building relationships through Facebook? 

SETH: Networking on Facebook is quite different from networking on forums or other mediums and you really have to follow some “social media etiquette” in order to be successful at it.

Potential customers and partners always like to know that you are a real person and this gives them more of an opportunity to not only build stronger relationships with you, but relate with you more on different levels.

Here are a few things you should NOT do. Upon meeting a new friend, you should NOT tell them in an introduction message or by posting on their wall, that you have a successful business doing “whatever”, as most people find this to be a major turn off and will probably unfriend you right then and there and may go as so far to block, remove and report you to Facebook for spamming, because technically it is spamming.

One of the biggest intrusions on Facebook, aside from apps is, tag spam (as in posts or pictures that don’t have anything to do with the people tagged in them) and due to some of the tag spam containing viruses, marketers are quite leery of it and rightfully so when it can harm one of their prized possessions – their computers. Not to mention, you will not only annoy the heck out of people, you could be reported for spamming, end up losing your Facebook account altogether.

So, be smart and use common sense when hanging out on Facebook and you will find it an amazing place to not only chat with friends, family and old buddies BUT also to meet and network with some amazing and highly successful people. It is literally one of the few places that you can reach out to almost ANYBODY and have a great chance of them interacting back. Try doing that in the “real world” and see how close you can get to some of the famous people you can network freely with on Facebook when you do it right!

BRIAN: Gotta ask you Seth…how much time do you spend a day on Facebook?

I spend between 3 and 6 hours a day (sometimes more), off and on depending on my schedule, networking on Facebook. Now, you may say HOLY KAPOLY it’s insane to spend that much time on Facebook! Not if you make thousands of dollars by networking and doing deals because of it.

The reality is, sometimes it just takes one common thing, aside from business to get that connection built with you. ie: you may have children of the same age, have the same interests in music, share spiritual interests, travel to similar destinations etc.

Join a few key groups that relate to your interests and your industry (in my case it’s Internet marketing) and actively participate it the conversations. Give value when you can and ask and answer questions. Comment on people’s posts and be personable. I love making jokes and being humorous; keeps things light-hearted and makes people remember you.

Opportunity is everywhere - if you dont see it...get some new eyes.

Sean Malarkey (facebook.com/seanmalarkey)

Who is he?

Sean helps individuals, small companies, and big brands better understand the power of Twitter, and how to maximize it to generate leads, sales, clients, press, and traffic to their websites via group coaching or one-on-one training.

Recently, Sean and his partner Lewis (see above) started publishing other people products (most recent example is FB Influence).

Why is he fascinating?

Aside from the good marketing advice…Sean takes (and shares) the most interesting and artistic pics.  Just check this one out.

BRIAN: This year you seemed to move more to a publishing model. Was that a difficult transition?

SEAN: It was a very easy transition – we had an audience and an alliance of affiliates who liked promoting our genre or niche of products.

There were a few areas within that genre or niche that we lacked the credibility as an expert to put out a course. So we reached out to experts in that area that lacked the audience & affiliates that we had amassed and put a deal together that made sense for both parties.

BRIAN: What do you look for in a product when deciding what to promote next?

SEAN: It has to be a good fit for our audience and something that I believe in.

.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Mara Glazer (facebook.com/maraglazerfan)

Who is she?

Mara is a marketing and social media strategist, public speaker, and like many of her fans, followers, and friends, highly successful woman entrepreneur.

Mara started in her industry working alongside her father, Bill Glazer, at the company he founded, Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle (GKIC). During her 2-years at GKIC she had access to the top training and Offline & Online Marketing Experts in the world.

Why is she fascinating?

This year, Mara left her home at GKIC to start her own business, TheBizzyBuzz.com.  That transition has been very interesting to follow, and inspiring to see her immediate success with it.

BRIAN: What has it been like to venture out on your own after leaving GKIC?

MARA: Exciting and Scary! It’s a little scary leaving a comfortable position where you don’t have to worry about how you are going to get paid or where the next clients are going to come from, but the entrepreneurial lifestyle is a lot of fun, and I have been loving the FREEDOM!

It’s been very exciting for me to watch the business I built take off, and I am even more excited to see where we will go next.

BRIAN: What was the greatest lesson you learned from your time there that you applied in this new business?

MARA: IMPLEMENT! IMPLEMENT! IMPLEMENT! The work won’t get done on its own. The reason I was able to get my business up and running so fast when I decided it was now time to go on my own is because I am a fast implementor.

If you want success in your business and in your life, you have to roll up your sleeves and get the work done.

I am pretty sure I would have been a pirate, if I had grown up in the golden days of pirating

Michael Taggart (aka Michael X) (Facebook.com/michaeljtaggart)

Who is he and why is he facinating?

He’s cranked out some really good WSO’s this year, shares some wicked cool blackhat SEO techniques, and doesn’t hold back on sharing his political beliefs and thoughts on Facebook.

BRIAN: You mix a lot of politics in with your IM posts. Do you ever post something then realize its to controversial and delete it? 

MICHAEL: Throughout my years, I have always heard the phrase “Don’t mix business and politics” and that “politics are a taboo topic”. While I used to subscribe to this belief in the not so distant past, I have taken a different stance over the last few years.

I believe that there can be a sharing of personal beliefs while showing mutual respect for varying opinions. While not everyone can do that, it is not something to shy away from. If I can provoke someone to thought, to action, to change – whether I believe the exact thing they do – I would consider that a win.

If something is controversial, then I consider that a challenge…and I never shy away from a challenge. Sometimes there is a little blowback when people get fired up about their beliefs. I would rather they had strong conviction in what they believe, rather than complacency.