Greetings, readers! Welcome to the September issue of ZooNews, from professional Web site design company Zoonini Web Services.

If you've seen the reports on CNN, CTV or a myriad of other media sources in the last couple of weeks, you may have already heard about the group of Montreal university students who put together their own video version of the Black-Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling." The single-shot, two-take "lip dub" was produced in part to promote the Communications department at the University of Québec at Montréal, and involved coordinating 172 students who had barely just arrived for the new school year. A couple of short weeks later, the video has attracted incredible amounts of publicity and has officially "gone viral."

What are some lessons businesses can take from this no-budget phenomenon?

• viral marketing is sometimes most effective when it's unplanned (and international publicity often comes when it's most unexpected)
• passion and authenticity occasionally win out over irony and cynicism, even among an audience of supposedly jaded young people
• a sense of humour often trumps sexist stereotypes (many people, myself included, much prefer the students' lighthearted version over the original)
• a hefty marketing budget isn't necessarily needed to attract attention
• technology has made it possible to create media pieces that rival – or even surpass – those that are professionally done. Don't be afraid to experiment and put your stuff out there.
• in the end, it's all about the basics: get publicity by having a good idea, executing it well, and being genuine

The term "freemium" has been gaining momentum lately. The combination of "free" and "premium" refers to a business model – often for a Web-based service – where basic services are offered for free, with expanded features available on a paying basis.

A good example of a "freemium" pricing structure is the Flickr photo/video-sharing service, which offers anyone a free basic account, but charges $24.95 a year for a "Pro" account offering unlimited uploads and storage, ad-free browsing, account statistics, and other goodies.

Got a technology term you'd like demystified in ZooNews? Send it to questions@zoonini.com.

New York City-based film and video editor Jeremy Presner (who happens to be my brother) needed a site that was simple to update with new video clips, and which displayed his work in an easy-to-view way. We remade his site using a WordPress theme specifically designed for video, and tweaked it to reflect Jeremy's design sense. Optimized content by A.C. Riley Communications included text, browser titles, and headings that aim to bring targetted traffic to the site from folks looking for video editors in his market.

On October 7 at noon ET, copywriter and search-engine optimization specialist Charlotte Riley and I will be presenting a 45-minute Webinar called "Deadly Web Site Sins that Can Kill Your Business... And How to Avoid Them." Organized by the Women's Executive Network, the Webinar is completely FREE, but you do need to register in advance. Unicorns, mystery meat, and sock puppets will all make appearances during the presentation. We hope to see you there – bring your questions, there will be time for Q&A! Sign up here.

Are you thinking about becoming an entrepreneur but need to learn more about the ins and outs of starting your own business? Instructor Donna Morris, who has invited me several times to speak to her groups of budding entrepreneurs, will be running a new session of the "Start Your Own Successful Business" program in October. For more information about this bilingual English/French program, contact Lyse Mailhot at 514-521-3137 ext. 123.

À la prochaine,

kp
aka Kathryn Presner