The Company Newsletter Sent Multiple Times - AKA Email Chinese Water Torture

A little tip.

If you’re a company providing turnkey email newsletter services, don’t solicit me with three identical emails in four minutes that annoy me and motivate me against you so much that I feel compelled to blog how much of an error you’ve made.

Obviously, the folks at Proven Systems have made an error already - they haven’t de-duped (removed the duplicate entries) of their email list they must of bought from someone. Anyone who does a pro communications campaign knows you need to take out all the duplicates so you don’t annoy people.

Secondly, they bought a list. I don’t remember signing up for this - it’s not Bac’n (company newsletters and things that you want from sellers) but it’s spam. Buying a list is useless in email marketing, unless you’re selling something where you’re trying to con people into clicking to buy on the spot. I consider pretty much any email list that is not organically grown from direct-opt in spam.

So there. I was motivated enough to say something about it. Most people won’t be, and they’ll never do business with you and just say nothing.

Reminds me of when I was talking with a prospect who thought that since no one was complaining about their site, nothing was wrong - even though they were literally selling less than $100 in product to 10,000 visitors.

The reality is people, if they don’t like a site, just leave. They won’t tell you why as you’ve already wasted their time, they just won’t buy.

p.s.- I just got FIVE more indentical emails from these folks today (1/23).  They’ve got them multiplying now.

Technorati Tags:
Email marketing, Proven Systems

Podcasting helps NPR ad revenue go up 2.5x and Rises as Growing Business

A quicky but goodie, sent to me from my good friend Shawn (get a blog, a Twitter, or something already!!!)

It highlights a few things - first, that NPR has leveraged podcasting to increase their ad revenue from $18m in 2002 to $46m in 2007.

Not to mention, there is room for independents, too. Wizzard says their network of 30+ podcasts is work $100m - and $300m if you include the streaming content.

In short, no one can say this is a record-in-your basement game anymore. It’s serious business. Multi-million dollar business, with access open to smaller publishers.

This AdAge piece brings up great points - that there is a large market for podcast advertising, and that in fact, podcasting your content can increase it’s audience.

As the TV networks have seen with video on demand and streaming video, they risk decreasing the size of a live audience that can be sold to an advertiser at a higher premium for the sake of making content available to consumers whenever they want it.

But the experience of ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” may change some minds. Traug Keller, senior VP, ESPN Radio, said the popular talk duo’s ratings on the 350 ESPN Radio stations actually increased after their show was made available on iTunes, XM and Sirius satellite radio.

Technorati Tags:
Advertising, Monetization Strategy, Wizzard, NPR, AdAge, Podcasting

NYT: Facebooks’ Childish, and people want work for free

Saw a great post in the NYT today with lots of links, and thought I should share it with you for the weekend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/technology/19online.html?ref=technology

Interestingly, it covers the whole “Scrabulous” thing on Facebook. IP (Intellectual Property) online is a sticky subject - but to think that someone created something that’s basically a copy of what someone else has done “without thinking through the legal aspect” is weak, lying, or patently stupid.

I personally enjoy this link from the article, “Facebook Apps Are For Toddlers.” Following the rathole, I stumbled upon this blog which shows another interesting truth - that even in this world of democratized media that “everyone can participate,” it’s still only the cream of the crop that make money, just like before this revolution. New opportunities, absolutely. New frontiers - but some of the rules don’t change.

Also, it links to this ad for someone to anchor a promotional video for a company - for free.

The ironic thing - it’s for a labor organization (probably a jobfinder). If you’re going to use outside talent, pay them. You’ll get much, much better results - and I almost guarantee you, it won’t be 30 minutes with an amateur.

Technorati Tags:
Facebook, Scrabulous, New York Times

How To Get Inspiration

A common question in today’s world of 9-5, M-F, and sometimes, constant 24-7 work. It’s either creatives having a block, or managers looking to get more productivity out of a creative department (or IT department - I’d make the argument that programming, is in fact, creative, just a different kind).

Here’s the secret - honor thy energy.

If you’re a creative, your “life energy” is a little different than most folks. And, if you’re trying to tap into previously undiscovered creativity, you need to realize it just doesn’t appear. You need to give it space to do so.

What does that mean?

It means it’s going to show up when you expose yourself to creative situations, and when you work comfortably.

That means that although a suit-and-tie atmosphere devalues you for working at 7:30p and not at 7:30a, it’s OK. Some of my greatest creative inspiration has come after Thanksgiving dinners, or in the middle of a conversation. That’s tough for others to live with, but it’s how it goes. You can’t just “produce” art at a time that your body and mind don’t want to.

I also strongly advocate folks take a good look at David Allen’s GTD system and 43Folders on productivity. I’m not saying you need to join the cult, but there are really good ideas. A key to being productive is not having stress… and having a “mind like water” attitude. Not to mention, avoid timesinks… a great synopsis on avoiding timesinks is here.

But backing up a moment, what is “mind like water?”

Let’s draw a metaphor. The water is your brain, your soul, your you - the rock is the stuff you have to deal with. What happens when you throw the rock in the water? It creates waves and distorts for awhile, but eventually returns back to a serene state.

I’m guilty of this too - where something happens and it just discombobulates you to no end. But, if you keep in mind to keep your mind like water, you’ll be more creative, come up with better ideas, and be much, much more productive.

Technorati Tags:
Mind Like Water, How To Get Water, GTD, Merlin Mann

Interactive Media Job Board Now Live!

People like to talk about the problems they have. And one of those problems, many times, is that they don’t have a job.

Well, now, we’ve set up a job board specifically for those looking to get employment in the interactive media field.

This board is national, because our blog here has a national audience. However, you can easily narrow it down to a city, and search by radius.

For instance, if you’d like to see who’s hiring interactive folks in Detroit, just follow this link.

That said - let’s say you’re a fellow interactive firm or a company looking for interactive workers. Our readership is very astute and smart - and you can offer them jobs for a measly $25 for a 30-day listing as an introductory offer. The great thing about our partner is you’ll also have the ability to list nationally for talent, as well as near where we’re at.

We’re looking to be a resource to all of you in the interactive community on both sides of the coin, and look forward to your feedback and your future employment.

Technorati Tags:
ad agency, Web 2.0, Interactive Media Jobs, Job Board, Get a Job, Web Design

Advertisers Move Away From The TV

With the TV writers’ strike looking like it won’t end any time soon, the big content networks are moving their focuses to “out of home media” as a separate market with an example being the “NBC Everywhere” division.

Their current focus is screens in supermarkets, retailers, and other point of purchase areas. Their thought is to lure shoppers with quality, known content - and then up-sell.

Many advertisers are hesitant on this - due to the lack of metrics (more another day on the obsession with metrics) and the fact that it isn’t a fit for every type of business.

But, of course, not every media has been a great fit for every advertiser. Even though things like TV ads are sexy, or doing a radio show on some station with a tiny market share (a trend that boggles my mind due to it’s limited reach and lack of time-shifting), these mainstream routes of delivery effectiveness is questionable for many applications.

It does amaze me - so many advertisers and agencies are hesitant on this POS marketing because of lack of metrics, yet, they’re hesitant on things like new media and the web, even though it has metrics upon metrics.

Methinks it goes back to the old saying - agencies in general do the dance Jim Cramer described on his “Mad Money” show… TV, Print, Radio, Billboards - and don’t innovate as much as they need to.

Hat tip to Marketplace on American Public Media for story inspiration.

Technorati Tags:
ad agency, Advertising, Smart marketing, NBC Everywhere, Out of Home Marketing, POS Marketing

Blogs Help Search and Content, If You Use Them Right

Interesting article I stumbled over at George Dearing’s Blog… and reinforces what we’ve been saying for awhile. That blogs, can in fact, be ranked highly.

Now, I think there is a caveat to this, and was brought up in a discussion I happened to have with some other geeks. The problem is that most companies want to look at these items as checklists, and not part of an ongoing strategy.

One of the things that separate quality, long-lasting companies that are flash-in-the-pans or single-service entities is their persistence in marketing. The realization that when things get tough, the last thing you cut is advertising and marketing, because that is what will pull you through the down time. And blogging, as well as podcasting, should be part of what can be a low-cost alternative (or, frankly, main) strategy.

More and more, people are turning away from TV and onto their laptops and computers for knowledge and recommendations. The days of not needing a website (which I actually had someone tell me the other day) are over - it’s required to stay alive and competitive. That, and you need to prove your value in many markets where the product or service has been commoditized.

Podcasting and blogging help make that case in the minds of consumers, I believe.

Technorati Tags:
Interactive, Lessons to be learned, SEO, Web 2.0, Blogging, Marketing Strategy

Some Companies Eliminate Print Marketing Completely

So I’ll share the story of Cheetah Learning (sourced from WebWorkerDaily) to illustrate an interesting change.

As someone who usually believes interactive is part of a complete solution, not the whole solution, this shift perked my ears up.

Cheetah has eliminated printed marketing materials totally. That philosophy was confirmed recently in a decision about how to thank its 2007 customers for their business. “A couple of years ago, we sent out cards to 9,000 students,” says LaBrosse. “That cost me $18,000 — ridiculous.” Along with the card was an invitation to take a free course, which 900 people took advantage of. This year, LaBrosse decided to send out an email holiday greeting — and included free access to video cooking lessons online.” That emailer had a 25% open rate — higher than the cards, as far as LaBrosse calculates it. “I didn’t print out any materials. They got a better product.” Total cost: $5,000 to sponsor the site providing the cooking lessons.

I wonder - is print losing efficacy, or is online just plain more effective than print and few want to talk about it? After all, the high costs of printing (good design, as well as writing to entice will be a wash or a little less with a good email) vs. the cheap if not free of distribution make it a lot less expensive as a communication medium. This, however, takes money out of agency pockets, which usually make a percentage above the costs.

One of the reasons many marketing people may not want to talk about online is that it’s not as lucrative to recommend an online campaign for $5,000 vs. $18,000. Using standard percentage rates (and no, not a perfect price comparison) that would reduce the cut to a marketing professional on the “buy” portion of the bill from $3150 to $875.

No wonder so many traditional ad houses are worried about this stuff.

Technorati Tags:
Advertising, Lessons to be learned, Smart marketing, Web, Email marketing, print marketing, ad agency