Would you Adam and Eve it. 'B and T' magazine, one of the premier marketing and advertising magazines in Australia, recently listed the Top 50 Australian Marketing Blogs as determined by Julian Cole at AdSpace Pioneers.
I was tipped off that CopyWrite was included by Duncan Macleod over at The Inspiration Room Daily, but was certainly not prepared for the result.
CopyWrite made it to #6 on a list populated by some incredibly notable blogs. Chuffed? I choked on my coffee! I am hugely honoured and amazed.
Winning a Slow Race
This might sound far too self-deprecating, but why the hell am I number 6? Surely, the Australian marketing blogosphere should be far more vibrant and effective. Comparing the results against an international ranking of marketing blogs - such as that found at AdAge - I would be lucky to appear anywhere in the top 200.
As 'B and T' reveals, "... the corporate blogging revolution in Australia seems to have ground to a halt. Apart from Telstra's 'Now we are talking' blog, few corporations have dived into the blogosphere."
I have observed for a while that Australian marketing seems to lag behind the US and Europe. We are slower to adopt new trends and are more conservative in our strategies. To many, blogging still carries the stigma of time-wasting silliness with little brand value. Yet the advantages of all those inbound links, extra traffic and masses of content for Google to index far outweigh any objections.
So why have many Aussie marketers not leveraged a stronger presence in the international blogosphere? Why has Australian blogging fallen so far behind? Why are all the wonderful Aussie marketing agencies not fulfilling their potential online? Why do I still come across Aussie professionals who don't understand Twitter or have never heard of StumbleUpon?
An International Blogosphere
Granted, this is not true of everyone. There are some highly effective Aussie bloggers, such as ProBlogger or Skellie. (Sadly, neither were considered eligible for this latest list as their blogs focus solely on blogging and not marketing). Twitter reveals some great Aussie creative people. What, I feel, separates these online social media practitioners from many others in Australia is an understanding of the international and universal reach. ProBlogger interacts with international bloggers just as much as Australian ones. Skellie guest posts on British blogs such as CopyBlogger to increase her profile. Aussie Twitter users represent the 'early adopters' who are searching the entire internet - not just Australian sites - for trends, applications and useful information.
Most of what I learned about blogging I gained from participating on US social networks such as Sphinn. My yardstick for success has never been the Australian blogosphere, but the international one. By interacting with as many and as varied blogs as possible, I have learned a huge number of lessons about the best ways to get noticed and attract traffic.
One argument against this point may be that Australian agencies are focussed on the local market, and therefore are less interested in international traffic. Their focus is solely on an Australian audience in order to acquire Australian clients. After all, businesses in Alabama won't be looking for a PR agency in Sydney.
I would argue that it amounts to the same thing. Whether the links to your site come from Alabama, Manchester or Turkmenistan, they can boost your presence in Google and still make it easier for Australian clients to find you. Reading and interacting with a marketing blog in London can be just as valuable - if not more so - than interacting with a small local blog. After all, the advice and ideas on the London blog will often be just as relevant and may well have a refreshingly different perspective that can inspire. Experiences in different international territories can provide insight that can then prepare you for similar trends when they occur within the Australian market.
There is very little difference in the essential issues of marketing, the world over. Search engine optimisation works wherever you are. StumbleUpon and social media are universal. Ideas don't have borders.
Many of the Top 50 Australian Marketing Blogs, I suspect, already know all this. In fact, some of these bloggers I first encountered on international, not local, sites. But if you are wondering why your own particular blog seems to be failing, consider whether your blog is best described as an Australian marketing blog, or simply as a marketing blog for everyone.
The Top 50 Australian Marketing Blogs
1. Banner Blog (Ashley Ringrose and Ashadi Hopper)2. Servant of Chaos (Gavin Heaton)
3. Young PR (Paul Young)
4. Laurel Papworth
5. Get Shouty (Katie Chatfield)
6. Copywrite (Jonathan Crossfield)
7. Corporate Engagement (Trevor Cook)
8. Better Communication Results (Lee Hopkins)
9. Ettf (Emerging Technologies Task Force)
10. Online Marketing Banter (James Duthie)
11. Brand DNA (Stan Lee)
12. Personalize Media (Gary Hayes)
13. Media Hunter (Craig Wilson)
14. The Marketer (Gordon Whitehead)
15. Marketing Magazine
16. Adspace-Pioneers (Julian Cole)
17. Business of Marketing and Branding (David Koopmans)
18. Australian SEO blog (Steve Arun)
19. Angus Whines
20. PR Disasters (Gerry McCusker)
21. Campaign Brief (Michael Lynch)
22. Preneur Marketing (Pete Wililams)
23. Marketing Easy (Lucio Dias Ribeiro)
24. Three Billion (Paul MacGregor)
25. In My Atmosphere
26. Amnesia Blog
27. Publicis Digital
28. Innovation Feeder (Jen Stumbles)
29. Pigs Don't Fly (Zac Martin)
30. Eico Lab (Zern Liew)
31. Mark Neely's Blog
32. Sticky Ads (Craig Wilson & Gordon Whitehead)
33. The Flasher (Naked)
34. The Digestif (Wisey)
35. Tim Longhurst
36. Creative is Not A Department (David Gillespie)
37. Peter Sheahan
38. FRANKthoughts
39. Filter Media (Mark Jones)
40. Josh Anstey
41. The Inspiration Room Daily (Duncan Macleod)
42. Publicity Queen (Sally Romano)
43. Online Marketing Sydney (Fred Schebesta)
44. Lexy Klain
45. Diffusion (Stephen Byrne)
46. Australian Small Business (Greg Chapman)
47. Uneven Distribution (Nic Hodges)
48. Zakazukhazoo (Matt Granfield)
49. A Perspective (Jye Smith)
50. A Blog about Digital Media (Ben Shepherd)
