Introductions: Hi from James Hills / marketinghelpnet.com

Hi, my name is James and I just started a new marketing company called marketinghelpnet.com ... I think this will be a valuable resource to many of you on this board as we'll be able to provide a very low cost service ($100 a month / $1,000 a year) and you'll be able to get unlimited press releases, live marketing and PR support and I'll be able to forward you PR and marketing opportunities that we dig up.

For the past 5-6 years, I have worked in-house for companies or as a contractor for 1-2 big clients and I have gotten tons of great results – including placements in Wall Street Journal, NBC, PlayBoy as well as various trade media, but I wanted a change of pace and to help out the little guys who are just starting out.

So, instead of targeting the big guys who need constant attention (and have the budgets to match), I would rather work with a bunch of small guys who might only need a couple hours each month to make a big difference in their bottom lines.

Also, feel free to contact me any time if you have questions or need some basic advice and guidance on how to reach out to the media or better position your company to attract paying customers.

Cheers,

Great to see you here James!

Hola James. It's great to have you as a part of YGG. You said you've worked in-house at times throughout the past 5-6 years. Were any of those spent at an ad agency, or just PR firms?

Nope, I haven't worked at an ad or PR agency, mostly in-house at different businesses. I sort of slipped by the "traditional" path that most people take - left college early because of an "awesome" job offer and when I went back switched from Media Studies to History and sort of self-taught most of my marketing and PR skills by trying and failing and succeeding enough of the time to continue :)

I also was on the other side of the fence as a reporter for Washington Post and various gaming media.

My experience is mostly with video games and consumer technology, though I have a solid background in b2b as well as the Marketing Director for an arcade game manufacturer. I also did a stint as the Public Affairs Officer for an NGO that is/was rebuilding schools in Iraq.

The nice thing is that I seem to be able to learn new industries fast :)

Currently I am also VP of Biz Dev for a home arcade company (working from home) :) - always nice to have a day job that lets me pay the bills while striking out and trying new stuff!

After my wife and I having been laid off twice each in the 4 years since we met, we are enjoying being our own bosses now (for the most part). Hopefully we don’t have any more layoffs in the near future!

Cheers,

Welcome!