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How to Abuse your Audience

Email newsletters seem so easy, but they are actually the easiest way to abuse your customer relationships. If they aren't thoughtful, relevant, and consistently packaged, you'll be exploiting your customers' time and attention. Good newsletters require a dedicated team of people who know what else is going on around the company, as well as best practices for email. Cheap is deadly. If you are sending email newsletters, you should read the entire article.

MonkeyBrains, the MailChimp Blog:
95% of problems come from newsletters, not promotions, 2008-May-8

Promotional campaigns are hard. Usually, it’s the experienced email marketers who do promotional campaigns. People who run e-commerce websites. People who generate promo codes, and build landing pages. ... The skill level and experience is higher, so they’re more likely to be aware of email marketing etiquette and spam laws and ISP feedback loops. Newbies don’t do promotional campaigns so much. They just do newsletters. Newsletters are easy. Newsletters are fast. And newbies are more likely to make these mistakes (I see it over and over and over again)...

How to Digest a Newsletter

Most companies which would like to have a newsletter promptly bite off more than they can chew. They have a preconception that a newsletter should be original, substantial and exclusive to customers. Then the newsletter ends up being infrequent, long and painful to produce. Roger Parker has the right idea.

Squidoo: Using newsletters to market your business. by Roger Parker

Consistency is the key to newsletter success. The best way to achieve consistency is to the number of pages in each newsletter. A single-page, two-sided newsletter that appears every month is preferable to a four-page newsletter that appears every other month or an eight-page newsletter that appears quarterly. Your goal is to build awareness and maintain mindshare among clients and prospects. The shorter your newsletter, the more frequently you can mail it and the greater the number of prospects you can send it to.

How to Touch the Imagination

First I have to eat one of my words. A couple of years ago I was sitting in a meeting, talking about an email newsletter, and the owner expressed a desire to include video clips. I'm ashamed to say I didn't just roll my eyes, I also said "never."

Although it's still not technologically feasible to include a video clip in a newsletter, a strong, inviting link to a fun clip may be just the way to touch your audience and get them to take action, as the florist is this story from Marketing Sherpa found.

MarketingSherpa: How to Add Video to Email on a Shoestring Budget & Double Conversions: 6 Steps + 6 Lessons Learned, 2007-Nov-13 (Case Study #CS809) Showing a video lessens the copywriting burden. Instead, work on the quality of the video, converting the format if need be. This MarketingSherpa story will be for subscibers only after Nov. 20, 2007, but it contains a large number of good technical details on how to make video clips a part of your regular email campaigns.

How to Lure a Better Audience

As the pace of change accelerates, we don't always get a chance to consider some opportunities thoughtfully. If you haven't looked at Google Adwords recently, check out their new site-targeting capabilities. Now you can specify exactly which online publication will carry your ad. You don't have to let Google pick the sites (although it's a good way to discover sites you might not have considered.) For those of us who aren't working for a "quick sale," attracting an audience from somebody else's content to our content makes a lot more sense.

It used to be prohibitively expensive to test an ad in something like Business Week and nearly impossible to draw readers of that publication over to try your publication or to read more about your offering. Now you can limit your exposure with Google's budget management tools, test different headlines and compare how your ads are performing across publications. Who says advertising is getting harder?

I caught up on these possibilities in a subscription-required MarketingSherpa article: How to Get the Most Out of Google AdWords - 8 Strategies to Maximize ROI, 2007-Oct-23. One of the most popular presentations at their recent Demand Generation Summit was by David Szetela of Clix Marketing. He presented this system for finding the best sites for your advertisements by using Google's Placement Performance Report. I will not "re-publish" the system here but was pleased to see that he recommends finding a few strong keywords and sites to attract your audience rather than use lots of keywords running all over the place.

If you want to take advantage of some of the best marketing research being done, you should visit MarketingSherpa's home page every day to see what's being shared "open access for 7 days." That would be doing your marketing calisthenics!

How to Wear Out your Target Audience

I have finally figured out why I have to look at those ugly "fix your face" adds for Botox and Botox alternatives at my Yahoo mail account (which I have to check six times a day). I told Yahoo how old I am. So because they have limited inventory of ads, they keep serving these ugly pictures over and over. If you use any of these wonderful new forms of online ad targeting, you better make sure that you cap the average frequency before 10 exposures. (Photo by Gonzalo Haro.) Otherwise your audience will start to feel aged!

WSJ: Firm Mines Offline Data To Target Online Ads. 2007-Oct-17, by Kevin J. Delaney and Emily Steel:

Acxiom can read cluster codes embedded in the cookies and use them to pick which ads to show. The company doesn't disclose the sites that carry such targeted ads, but says they reach 60% of U.S. Internet users. That allows a company selling an expensive antiwrinkle cream, for example, to contract with Acxiom to display its ads to affluent women 40 years or older in the "Skyboxes and Suburbans" or "Summit Estates" clusters.

How to Use Newspapers

A local newspaper is not just a place to put ads. It's a networking vehicle. If you have potential customers reading a newspaper, then you should sit down with that newspaper and think about the information those people are taking from it. How can you become part of that newspaper's information flow? Dropping in the occasional ad will make little difference. Consider the point-of-view of media consultant Jeff Jarvis. He used to be a journalist, then an editor, and now he's trying to talk the newspaper industry into healing itself. How can your business be part of the solution? (Photo by Sanja Gjenero, from StockXchng)

BuzzMachine: Towns are hyperlocal social networks with data (people that is), 2007-Jul-11, by Jeff Jarvis: Local is people. Our job [as journalists] is not to deliver content or a product. Our job is to help them make connections with information and each other. In truth, that was, long ago, the job newspapers saw for themselves. That’s why they lived to get as many names in the paper as possible. They knew: Local is people. Newspapers gave us news that mattered to us and would be trivial to anyone else. Newspapers were small and local and served their communities — and their advertisers — better.

The Good 5 Minutes

Repackaging content is getting to be big business. If you've ever decided to take a nostalgia trip back to some old TV show and been disappointed to realize it's not nearly as funny or spine-tingling as you remembered, slicing-and-dicing old TV shows will make a lot of sense to you. We only remember certain moments, and if Sony and Honda can dig out those moments for us, they will probably do very well.

NY Times: MySpace Mini-Episodes, Courtesy of Honda. 2007-Jun-15, by Stuart Elliott

Honda will be the sole sponsor of what Sony Pictures Television is calling the Minisode Network, which is scheduled to begin next week. Visitors to the MySpace Web site (my space.com) will be able to watch episodes of 15 vintage Sony series like “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Facts of Life,” “Fantasy Island” and “Who’s the Boss,” edited from their original lengths of 30 or 60 minutes each to an Internet-friendly 4 to 6 minutes.

Tempting Phone Offers

Advertising via cell phone text messages is emerging rapidly in the U.S. (It's well established in Europe and Asia.) Cell phone users rightly see this as a great opportunity to get marketers to "pay up" for their attention. Although we will see some differences between what these people say they will do and what they actually do, the first important hurdle is to get them to sign up to receive text message advertisements. We need to begin testing offers to purchase their attention through free cell phone services and discounts on the products being advertised.

Center for Media Research: Daily Brief, 2007-Mar-07

According to a new study by Harris Interactive, presented by Joe Porus and Judy Ricker at the Mobile Advertising and Marketing USA Conference in New York City, 35 percent of adult cell phone users are willing to accept incentive-based advertisements. Of these adults: 78% say the best incentive would be cash 63% say by free minutes (63%), 40% want free entertainment (ring tones, games) 40% prefer discount coupons Judith Ricker, President of the Marketing Communications Research Practice at Harris Interactive, says that cell phone users are most interested in advertisements that have a clear value proposition, are relevant, and allow recipients to control how they are profiled. The survey further reveals that: 56% of those respondents who are at least somewhat interested in receiving ads on their cell phone say they would prefer to receive them via text message

Kraft Takes People into New Territory

Kraft has been sponsoring a special holiday edition of People magazine for a few years but this year they are deepening the experience by adding scent-filled food ads, as well as scent to one of the editorial stories. This special edition will go out to about a million family-cooking oriented subscribers, and the People web site doesn't have anything about it so far. They promise the technology is much better than what's been used for perfume ads so far, with less unintended bleeding of the scent. Whether or not the technology takes off, the level of engagement with this issue of the magazine should still be powerful.

WSJ: Kraft Vies for Eyes -- and Noses, 2006-Nov-13, by Brian Steinberg

...Kraft believes the more a reader can play with the ad, the better the recall of its message, says Gary Gruneberg, director of media buying for Kraft Foods. The company is "challenging ourselves, our brands, our agencies to come up with creative ways to interact with consumers," he says....

Attract Attention with News Feed

Publishers have long been able to advertise on other sites by feeding latest headlines into a branded box on the web page. Of course, they offer this as a "service" and don't pay for the exposure. Now Federated Media is offering other companies the opportunity to have dynamic ads based on news feeds that can cover new job listings, inventory updates, or software patches and updates.

Chasnote: Turn Ads Into Content & They Work Better at ChasNote. 2006-Nov-2 by Chas Edwards of Federated Media

...Despite the fact that Symantec’s ad was clearly marked as a Symantec sponsorship unit, and despite the fact that it ran in areas of both sites that are reserved for advertising, readers didn’t let their eyes experience the “fatigue” that makes them blind to ads over time. They viewed it as a content feature, albeit content from a paid sponsor, but content that was worth perusing. If I’m wrong, how else to explain that 300% more readers interacted with the ad, all of a sudden, two weeks into the campaign?...

Going Where Your Audience Is

People judge you by your associates, and the new social media are making that a very big marketing issue. Marketers now have to figure out where their customers are congregating, go there, and act like they belong.

ChiefMarketer.com: No Escaping Online PR. By Sherry Chiger 2006-Oct-31

... The tools of Web 2.0 can [give] companies more control in their ability to talk directly to consumers. For instance, (Product) Red, a not-for-profit brand founded by Bono to raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa, has a Website (JoinRed.com) and has been promoted heavily in ads from commercial partners such as the Gap. But within a week of adding a MySpace page, visits to JoinRed.com rose nearly 80%.

Socializing with Newspapers

Newspapers would seem to be an ideal place for social media to develop, as John Ellis says below. We do already have some papers that focus on personal ads. My own hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, is leading-edge in its support of bloggers. However, the ability to developing "followings" for local organizations and companies at newspaper sites would seem to be an unhatched opportunity.

WSJ: Squeeze Play,2006-Oct-31 by John Ellis

...The transition from newsprint to pixels has been a painful one for newspaper companies everywhere. Print advertising revenues have hemorrhaged. But Web 2.0 is just around the corner and social networks have emerged as the engine of growth on the Internet. Combine shared interests (social networks) with publishers (content aimed at those interests) with targeted advertising (specific to those interests) and you have the makings of a money machine....

New Retail Communications Channel

We're only beginning to understand the power of aggregating product reviews. This trend started on independent web sites, and I did not expect retailers to embrace it the way Amazon has, but they certainly do now. Apparently, it is just a natural outgrowth of standing next to someone in a check-out line, seeing her holding a product, and asking her if it works.

DM News: Petco, P&G and Shaw use digital to open doors. 2006-Oct-30, by Chantal Tode

...[Brett Hurt of Bazaarvoice] said enabling customers to create product ratings and reviews online not only engages the consumer, but can become a digital asset that can be leveraged with analytics and by merchandising. Ratings and reviews "give people a more tactile experience online and allow people to touch and feel product online through other people"...

Is that a Live Salesperson in my IBM Ad?

This IBM banner ad has to be seen to be really understood, but it creates an effect like a "window" into the contact center where a live rep is hanging out and ready to talk to someone (in Danish). I don't think it's actually real-time video, but the voice and text messaging absolutely are. I just hope they always remember to match the gender of the real salesperson with the gender of the person in the video clip.

ClickZ: IBM Campaign Uses In-Banner Video Chat. Zachary Rodgers, 2006-Oct 23

The newfangled ads are the invention of Avivocom, which uses a combination of video, VoIP and text chat to let its enterprise clients converse with online prospects....IBM believes the ad unit helps it be accessible to the SMB community, which tends to think of the company as monolithic and aloof. "We put a face to the marketplace," said Ed Abrams, VP of integrated marketing communications for IBM Americas.

Print and Email Symbiosis

I just got a glimpse of the future. 1to1 Media sent me an email "preview" about their print magazine which is supposed to arrive in my mail box in a few days. Now, I'm sure they are not the first magazine to do this, but this is the first time I've noticed. The cover story was available for me to read immediately, but there were few other live links in the email, except the ones from their advertisers. I expect that the preview email will be a commonplace tactic for magazines who want to keep their audience engaged. By the way, 1to1 Media also sends as email version of the monthly magazine as well.

About Us - 1to1 Media.

1to1 Media is dedicated to helping organizations realize the greatest value from their customer base. We provide resources that deliver current and relevant information on the latest thought leadership regarding customer strategy and marketplace trends. Our goal is to serve as the catalyst that will inspire senior executives to drive change within their organizations, making customer-based initiatives the centerpiece of their growth strategy and competitive advantage.

Customer Advisory Boards Work

Companies often drag their heels when they know they need to establish a customer advisory board or brand community. Here's some statistics that can help the medicine go down.

Inside 1to1: Pfizer, British Airways Personalize Loyalty, 2006-Jul-17, by Christoper Helm

Some companies are starting to make inroads to a deeper customer connection. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, for example, built up a 50,000-member community of "Advocates" and "Super Advocates" to engage influencers and generate customer dialog. Members take part in interactive online insight/discovery sessions and they receive early product announcements, newsletters, and coupons tailored to their preferences. Pfizer found that consumers in the Advocate community purchase 20 percent more products and recommend Pfizer three times more than general consumers.

Fun and Useful Marketing

In addition to one of the most beautiful corporate sites I've seen recently, Ann Arbor-based Enlighten web agency has a charming viral marketing web site for creating excuses for not attending Xmas parties.

In my opinion, the essence of viral marketing is not about promoting the brand, but promoting fun. If the brand is conveyed, it must not get in the way. Viral success achieved here! (via Out to Launch)

Make Up your Mind: Do you want them loyal or not?

I highly recommend you enjoy this entire column by scriptwriter Rob Long who's trying to get another tv series on air. Most of the article is not about marketing, but about dealing with Hollywood, but somehow it all comes back to figuring out how to separate people from their money. Marketers who are trying to build relationships with their audience will just sigh.

Telegraph | Opinion: "So 40 is the new 30, I say to the network executive. No, he explains, 40 is 30 with money" by Rob Long

According to market research, at a certain age - they peg it, I think, at 35 - a person just suddenly knows who he is. What he likes to eat. Which beer he prefers to drink. What car he wants to drive, which paste he wants to brush his teeth with, and how he wants his underarms to smell. So after about 35, the average consumer is unreachable. No matter how much money a company spends trying to convince him to smell spicier or sexier, he's unlikely to change. But the 18 to 34 crowd, apparently, are disloyal brand sluts. They hop and whore around the place, trying this new beer or that new car or body sprays and tooth whiteners: they can be bought, in other words. And that makes them desirable.

Luck Your Way into Print

I read this article in the NY Times about novelist Warren Adler because I'm interested in the self-publishing revolution enable by the internet, but I recommend this joyous interview to everyone. It provides a wonderful perspective on 'breaking through' the publishing industry.

NY Times: Steal This Book. Or At Least Download It Free. by Claudia H. Deutsch

Don't think you are a lousy writer because publishers reject you. As Mr. Adler put it, "In the end, as in all things, luck trumps talent."

Saab Finds my Weaknesses

Okay, I feel like I'm falling for a silly ploy, but I have to point you to the new Saab web site, www.MaintainYourIdentity.net. They bought advertising space at Daily Candy, and it's all very savvy marketing. So now, let's all maintain our identity and buy Saabs together! My favorite photo so far is of the little ceramic elephant with green polka dots. Be sure and read the caption.

My mechanic says I can't have a Saab because it's too hard to get parts.

Fresh Perspectives from Millennium Park

Can't travel to Chicago to see the new Millenium Park? Plenty of cool pictures on the web site, plus you can download the audio tour. But where's the 360-degree panoramic view?

This picture isn't from the web site. I found it on Flickr. It's by Steve Rish.

Web site: Millennium Park, Chicago

Analysis of Happiness and Desire

Over at the NY Sun, Nick Gillespie reviews two recent books about happiness and has these quotes and comments for Daniel Nettle's Happiness: The Science Behind your Smile. Separating the desire sytem and the happiness system seems like good common sense.

The Happiness Scam - July 6, 2005 - The New York Sun

"Evolution has given us a strong implicit theory of happiness," writes Mr. Nettle. "We come to the world believing that there is such a thing as achievable happiness, that it is desirable and important, and that the things that we desire will bring it about." Alas, he notes, "It is not self-evident that any of these are true." Indeed, that's an understatement. It turns out that our "pleasure system" and our "system of desire" often work at cross-purposes, either leading us to pursue the wrong things or leaving us unsatisfied if we attain them.

Next Time I Start Ranting about Something No One Else Cares About...

One of my favorite writers is Patrick Smith, who writes the Ask The Pilot column at www.Salon.com. I'm not nearly as interested in planes as he is, in fact, no one is as fascinated as he is, but reading his writing about his obsession is very entertaining. It's all about caring about something whether it's good for you or not!

Link: Salon.com Technology | Ask the pilot.

Honest to god, I'm not half the neurotic crank I might seem, ...

Somehow I suspect the opposite, but in a good way.

Houston gets Recognized for Technology, Some

Popular Science magazine has developed a totally new scale for measuring how "high-tech" a city is, and Houston did better than it usually does...

Houston Business Journal: Popular Science ranks Houston a top 10 tech metro - 2005-03-09.

Popular Science ranked cities in six categories. Houston placed:

• 2nd in use of technology in education including research and development spending by local universities and the number of students using computers in school;
• 2nd in transportation innovation, including the efficient use of mass transit and the prevalence of alternative fueling stations;
• 17th in the smart use of energy;
• 23rd in hospitals and in emergency response, including the number of clinical trials and the use of GPS by emergency-medical personnel;
• 68th in high-tech job opportunities per capita;
• 86th in connected citizenry, including the use of high-tech gadgets such as cell phones, HDTVs, computers and satellite cable.

Ouch! on high-tech job opps. Read the original Popular Science story here.