Inbound Marketing During a Hurricane

Many of you are hunkering down, preparing for Hurricane Irene this weekend. Once you've prepared your escape plan, backup food and water and outdoor preparation (pick up loose items, board up your windows etc.), there's not much you can do except wait and watch the TV reporters get blasted by nature's fury. You can, however, work on inbound marketing even if you lose power and, of course, the Internet.

If you still have power

There's not much to do while the rain is going sideways and the wind sounds like it's about to tear the roof off. Chances are, those things won't happen, but it can be pretty scary. Let's get our minds on something else. What about writing a bunch of blog posts and queuing them up for next week? Statistics show (backed by our own accelerated blogging plan) that the more you post, the faster you can grow traffic and leads. So, instead of waiting until the last minute next week, have a backlog of great posts ready to go.

If you don't feel all that creative, why not read a great book on inbound marketing? You can pick up some great ideas and tips and put them to work for your inbound marketing strategy. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs, by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shaw and David Meerman Scott
• UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging, by Scott Stratten
• Engage, Revised and Updated: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, by Brian Solis
• Accelerate!: Move Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing, by Arnie Kuenn
• The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers, by David Meerman Scott

If you lose your power

Hey, people read books long before electricity came along. It's actually a nice experience reading by candlelight, but if that's too weird for you, try jotting down some ideas on paper (if you can find any) or have a real discussion with a live human being. Yes, it's possible without Twitter or Facebook! If you're a business owner, think about where you are and where you want to go. Chances are, you haven't had this much time to really think about things in a long time.

Mother nature occasionally forces us to back off our electronic world and act more like our forefathers, who knew how to deal with storms and never wasted time watching TV or Wii bowling. Consider Irene a forced timeout, a mental vacation you can use to your advantage. Me, I'm not in Irene's crosshairs, but I've been there quite a few times living on the Gulf Coast. I'll be thinking about you folks, and yes, I'll be working on inbound marketing too.

Photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

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