Image via Wikipedia
So continuing this stretch of Skype Sessions that I started last week I had the opportunity to spend a while talking with the
Marketing Genius of Eric Pratum.
So Eric and I had a blast talking and what started out to be a 20 minute conversation turned into an hour and a half. After we got done talking I even jumped on Skype with David Crandall and told him about Eric and how cool our conversation was. My goal here is to explain that out to you as well.
So Who is Eric Pray-Tum?
OK so it may not look like this. (source: gregory lee)
The details show Eric as a man who loves his new bride very much, met her in Seattle and now they live in the Atlanta area. He holds multiple degrees including an MBA, has experience working in marketing and investing, is bilingual, gets addicted to Ipod games, knows a ton about Twitter, and currently lives in a sweet place that has a loft. (I have always wanted a loft, I am a bit jealous.)
Early Adopter
Eric is a early-adopter. For those of you who need an explanation on this – Eric sees value in things and knows the in and outs of them before the rest of the world breaks the bandwagon. I think this is what makes him great at his job being a marketing guru for Grizzard Communications Group. His goal is to build up himself as a market thought leader. He is not only on his way but has arrived and it is only a matter of time for others to connect with him. That is where I come in. 
Blogging with a Guru
So here is how this has played out on his blog.
Eric is an early starter but with blogging he dabbled a lot with out a clear runway. This was not because he had no desire but the company he worked for until recently had a lot of legal stuff due to the nature of investing. Understandable. However, this new company, Grizzard, not only allows him to talk about work and stuff on his blog but encourages it. They want him to build up a person brand because of what it brings them, Credibility in its people. Novel Idea!!! Now his blog is a place to o to learn about marketing tips and ways to maximize your tools.
Eric has a great ability to translate marketing strategies to a new comer, like me. His knowledge and experience of his field is a resource that all of us need to pay attention to. I talked with him for a while about things that I could do to improve the marketing for my site and with in minutes he had given me simple steps that would actually help. For instance, he explained the value of a link back from a .edu site as opposed to a .com site. This is important to me because I speak at schools that have a .edu. If I get a link back from them it carries a lot more credibility. Good stuff. Okay simple to some – news to me. He also recommended a few sites to me that I have never heard of before – Slide Share and Sociaholic.
So how can Eric help you?
If you are looking to grow your marketing, whether that is small business, large business or individual, Eric can coach you through how to make that happen. But even simpler than that – all you need to do is hit him up with a question and he will answer you. If he knows the answer he will tell you – if he does not know the answer he will find it. Talk about a resource in your pocket. He is our own personal Cha-Cha.
If you want to contact Eric, the best way to do that is to send him a message on Twitter. Do it here.
If you want to contact him, follow him, like him, or love him (ok that one is too far – he is married) you can do it here.
Thanks a million, Tim. Much appreciated. I love your write up and hope that mine did it justice as well. I’m really impressed with the work you’re doing and am glad that I could play a small, little part in this project. All the best!
For everybody else, I always make time for questions. I might not have time to Skype, and it might be a while before I can respond to your email thoughtfully, but I’ll never leave you hanging. If I can help, I’ll tell you right away, and if I can find the answer, I will. If I can’t, I’ll also tell you upfront.
You are welcome Eric. I am glad to do this man. Have a great week man.
Hey Eric! Congratulations on your marriage and the loft. I just started reading your blog and already learned a thing or two about Twitter from your Promoting Yourself with Twitter post. Look forward to connecting with you at some point.
Thanks very much, Matt. Much appreciated. I’ve slacked on my blog, especially recently, since I’ve been focused on Grizzard.com and am going through a site redesign on EricPratum.com, but I hope to have everything back up and running smoothly soon.
Can not wait to see it all up and running. Make sure you let us all know.