Beer Hobby Website Launches to Build Community and the US Economy

I launched a new website with my buddy Damian Raffele. I enjoy craft beers and decided to mix business with pleasure. Here's the story as told on the Beer Hobby site:

Beer Hobby was started by Damian Raffele and Michael Daehn. Raffele and Daehn met in college and hit it off right away talking about hard core Christian bands like Mortal, Deitiphobia and The Prayer Chain. When they weren’t moshing they worked on some interesting projects together.

Today Beer Hobby is a website devoted to sharing stories about beer and getting people together to learn how to make their own. Stay tuned as we continue to ferment this idea and create some killer batches of fun stuff to do with brewing.

One day they decided to start something new. While talking over beers they developed the idea of Beer Hobby. Beer Hobby is a place to share their love of beer and get together with friends. Maybe even make a business out of it. At worst, they would have fun a few good beers in the process.

I have written several posts over there, including:

I Drank a Pilsner and I liked it Since I’m a big IPA guy you probably think I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking a measly Pilsner. Well that’s what I thought anyway. Last Spring I was talking to the very cool beer guy at Whole Foods in Town & Country, MO. We chatted often and I would always ask him what to try. [...]

American Craft Beer Week 2012 – Get the Memo? I admit I am knew to the craft beer universe, at least beyond drinking. I found out yesterday that this is American Craft Beer Week, there’s even a website. Sounds like something I would be interested in, right? I was oblivious. Either they need to do a better job of marketing or I am lame. [...]

Bottles or Cans? Just Clap Your Hands The more I learn about beer the more I think canned beer is a good idea: It protects the beer from light and air It’s easier to transport You need to pour your beer into a glass, even if it comes in a bottle, to open up carbonation and flavors Cans are cheaper Cans are [...]

San Diego Brewery Trip April 2012: Stone, Lost Abbey, Port Brewing and Pizza Port   I got to take a nice trip down to San Diego to visit some of my favorite breweries. Speaking of San Diego, my friend Diego was a saint and did the driving – what a guy! View Larger Map First stop was Stone Brewery. Stone is the nicest brewery I’ve ever seen. The environment [...]

Calling All Beer Lovers: Write for the Beer Hobby Blog   I would like to invite you to add something to the Beer Hobby blog. It could be: Pictures Reviews How to shop for beer How to make beer A brewery tour How you became a beer snob Anything fun and beer related You can send your ideas to michael(at)beerhobby.com or damian(at)beerhobby.com. Here’s to brew!

Bottling Our First Beer Damian and I were able to bottle our first batch of beer this week. Much to my surprise, it didn’t taste terrible. I know it takes some time to get good at brewing, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong and spoil your brew, but it tasted good. It’s the Mr. [...]

Beer Hobby Logo Ideas OK, these are rough and I made them myself. I’m not a full fledged designer. What do you think of what we have so far? Any recommendations?

How I Went From Beer Slob to Beer Snob Growing Up In An AB Town I grew up in the beer capital of the world, Saint Louis, MO. Home of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch. I started drinking beer when I was in High School (don’t do it kids). When we had money, we bought the good stuff like Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Dry. [...]

Take a look and let me know what you think - especially if you like beer.

Michael Daehn Selected to Speak at eMarketing Conference

I was selected to speak at the eMarketing Conference in San Francisco this April. I will be on two panels:

• Integrating your social and email programs Day 1 - 11 AM
• Accelerating results with Facebook Pages Day 1 - 4:30 PM

I've handled the email marketing and Facebook strategies for several high profile companies. Some with email subscriber lists over 500K and others with over 1.7 Million Facebook Likes. I've helped large and small companies launch many successful email and Facebook campaigns. I've learned many lessons, some the hard way, and I hope to share those with attendees.

 

If you are attending the conference, please be sure to stop by to say hi. If you can't make it, I'll try to get a video to post here on the site afterwards.

It Never Rains in Southern California

It Never Rains in Southern California was a hit song by Albert Hammond in the early 70's.

 

Yesterday was the first real rainfall we've had since I moved back to SoCal. It was as crazy as I remembered.

 

When I moved out here for school in the mid 90's I remember the news interviewing people on the street about the "weather". It was drizzling and some people had their umbrellas up. I had just come from a frozen tundra with 2 weeks of below zero temperatures in Saint Louis. Culture shock.

 

So yesterday morning it was drizzling. Yes the roads get slick because it rarely rains and you should use caution. But the people here really freak out. They drive like it's a snow storm.

 

When I dropped my daughter off at school, I heard one of the kids say "look it's raining!" All of the kids ran to the window to look outside. We used to do that when it was snowing. I'm sure some Canadians would think that was funny.

 

The traffic on the way to work was pretty bad, as expected. After all, it was misting. I was only 5 minutes late, but some of my co-workers were 1 1/2 hours late due to freeway accidents.

 

I thought the fun was over, but we had several power outages in my office building. Apparently a power line pole was down in the area. Probably from a careening vehicle.

 

So if you have read this far, you'll realize this post is more of a journal entry than a profound statement. If you think I am complaining, I'm not. I like living in a place where 1/16th of an inch of rain is considered major weather news.

 

Now please enjoy the soulful singing of the great Albert Hammond:

I'm Moving to California to Work for Anymeeting.com

I'm excited to announce that I have accepted the position of Online Marketing Manager with Anymeeting.com.

 

I will be working with a good friend from college, Damian Raffele. Believe me, I am not working with him because he is a friend. I have plenty of friends and I know better than to work with them. Have a beer, yes. Work, No.

 

But Damian is different. Besides having the same business training (an MBA from the same school), I think we see online marketing the same way. We also have a similiar approach to management, so I'm happy for him to be my "boss".

 

Anymeeting.com is a completely free webinar service. They have the same features as Webex and GoToMeeting (well, actually, slightly better). The difference is, it's free. Whoa, I know, that's crazy. The truth is, Anymeeting runs ads on the side of the webinar to create revenue. It's kind of like Gmail. The best product on the market, supported by Ads.

 

 

So on the personal side, here's the 411.

 

The job is in beautiful Huntington Beach, CA. I will be moving in a a couple of weeks.

We will be staying with my wife's, Silvana, parents home until we find a place of our own.

Silvana is keeping her great job at Maritz in Fenton. They will let her work remotely.

I will be heading out in the next couple of weeks to get started at the new job.

 

I'm grateful for all of the great friends and connections I have made in Saint Louis. I will miss you and my dear family. I would like to stay in touch and remain friends on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.

Slides for Quick Guide to Internet Marketing: 9 Tips for Success on the Net

I will be doing a webinar using Anymeeting tomorrow called Quick Guide to Internet Marketing: 9 Tips for Success on the Net. Here are the slides for the presentation. If you are interested in joining the webinar, make sure you sign in early as there are only 200 spots and we've had several hundred people respond.

Quick Guide to Internet Marketing: 9 Tips for Success on the Net

Slides from My Word Camp STL Blogging for Brands Presentation

I gave this presentation at Word Camp Saint Louis this weekend. I'm posting the slides here as promised. If you have questions, or would be interested in seeing this presentation for your organization, let me know.

Blogging for Brands: How to Make Blogs are Core Part of Your Marketing Strategy

Michael Daehn Selected to Speak at Word Camp Saint Louis

I am honored to be one of the speakers at Word Camp Saint Louis on August 6th at Maryville University. Get all the details and sign up early. Tickets are going fast. 

This event is for both beginners and advanced users of the WordPress blogging platform. The title of my presentation is Blogging for Brands : How to Make Blogs a Core Part of Your Marketing Strategy.

Here's the summary:

Learn how to make Blogs an integral part of your marketing mix. Blogging establishes you as an expert, builds your SEO, ends cold calling, and creates community. This session will cover strategy and best practices to create a powerful brand.

 

Get updates by following @wordcampstl on Twitter and be sure to share the love by using the hashtag #WCSTL.

Hope to see you there!

Set Up Custom Twitter Landing Pages with Twylah

I recently set up Twylah, a way to create custom pages based on my tweets. Twylah helps you:

• Own Your Brand by showcasing your trending topics for maximum engagement and value
• Get Discovered Beyond Twitter with built-in search engine optimization (SEO)
• Give Your Audience What They Want with your very own "tweet landing pages"

They just added another feature called "Power Tweets" that let create a custom landing page. When someone clicks through to the page, it sits along side your other Twitter posts. A great way to drive engagement and traffic to your content.

On the traffic side, I have seen some referrals coming from my Twylah page at Tweets.MichaelDaehn.com.

Anything that builds traffic and helps SEO is a keeper. I look forward to seeing what else I can do with this cool tool.

Thanks to @twylah for getting me set up in the Beta. 

Is Anybody Home? Managing Your Social Media Accounts

I talk with businesses all the time about setting up social media accounts. The truth is, setting up accounts is easy. Doing something with them is the hard part.

 

If you want to jump in to the social media mix be prepared to listen. Don't just broadcast your message. Social Media is two way communication.

 

If you have a presence on Twitter and/or Facebook you are inviting people to contact you via those platforms.

 

Having a social media account and not listening to people is like having an 800 number and no one to answer the phone.

 

When I create proposals the bulk of the work is in managing accounts. Not in setting them up. To get the most out of social media, you need a community manager. Either you do it, or you hire someone to do it.

 

If you don't know how to manage them get training. If you don't have time, hire someone who knows what they are doing. If you need help, give me a call. I'll take care of you, or find someone who can.

Social Media is Like Email - a Metaphor for Understanding

What is social media? That can be a tough question to answer. Lately I have been using the metaphor of email to describe it.

Not all email is the same. Some examples:

• Messages from friends
• SPAM/Unsolicited
• Newsletters
• Professional 

In each context the tone, subject and your willingness to read and interact depend on the type of email it is.

The same is true for social media:

• Tweets about lunch
• Check-in by your friend at the bar you are sitting in
• Invitations to Farmville
• @reply from a spammer
• Killer cat blog post

Social media is a communication tool. As in email, think about your audience and the best way to communicate with them. 

If you are not sure what to do, then sign up and listen for a while. When you feel comfortable start talking. 

Be sincere. Care about your audience. Be passionate about what you are sharing. 

When email started it was hard to explain. Now it is so common that I use it to explain other technologies. One day social media will be as common as email.

But then you will need to explain the purpose of augmented reality toasters.