Archive for September, 2008

Over at Copyblogger, Jim Estill recently boasted that he could write a 400-500 word article in 20 minutes.

Is this even physically possible? I’m not sure I can even type 400-500 words in 20 minutes. At least not without having to go back and spend 30 minutes fixing my typos.

Anyway, Jim offers eight tips for becoming a faster writer. His second tip suggests letting the idea incubate for a few days. I presume this also means doing a little research? Aren’t they both legitimate parts of the writing process?

Later on, Jim recommends getting away from writing by taking “a walk, cycle or run.” As every writer knows, this kind of procrastination is a critical part of the job. So is organizing your books by height, solving the cryptogram and contemplating how the Phillies lost a 6.5-game lead with 10 to play in 1964.

I subscribe to the Red Smith theory: “Writing is easy,” he once said. “You just open a vein and bleed.”

Sidebar: I had to Google Red Smith to get his exact quote. My search took me to Amazon.com, and a review of the book “Red Smith on Baseball.” I not only got the quote I was looking for, I bought the book.

Now that’s writing!

The point is writing is much more than what happens when fingers meet keyboard. Writing is an ongoing process, a lifestyle, a mindset. To boil it down to the 20 minutes spent in front of a computer screen is to demean the process.

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I keep a folder where I stash pieces of paper that contain information I think I might use at some time in the future. When the folder gets unmanageably thick, I go through it and figure out that most of what I kept was helplessly useless information.

But everyone once in a while, I come across something that has merit, giving me justification for continuing my pack rat mentality.

Such was the case today when I culled through my file and came across this gem by Jay Conrad Levinson from July 2006. Email has become so ubiquitous that we often don’t realize its enormous potential. Once in a while it helps to be reminded of some of the basic rules that are universally true.

Consider this a refresher mini-course, courtesy of the genius behind Guerrilla Marketing:

Ten Tips About Email

1. Don’t over mail your list but don’t under mail, either.
2. Create both text and html versions.
3. Include a URL two or three times in your email letter.
4. Remember that shorter is better.
5. Test several subject lines before mailing, knowing that lines that are vague or intriguing work best.
6. Send your email mid-week.
7. Know that personalized email gets up to 20 percent better response rate.
8. Include a PS with a URL link.
9. Send gift promotions to your cutomer list and introductory offers to outside lists.
10. Keep an eagle eye for opt-out rates and know that if they are over one percent, you are doing something wrong.

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I finally caught the new Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld. About the best thing I can say is that it’s not a ripoff of anything Apple has done, contrary to what Bill Gates and his henchman do with software.

I know Seinfeld made a fortune with his show about nothing in particular. That’s the sort of the feeling I get from this commercial. It’s 90 tortuous seconds about…nothing in particular. Two well-known but essentially boring guys put into artificially ridiculous situations.

At least Apple manages to interject some product benefits in its Mac vs. PC ads while being entertaining. I know nothing more about Vista — that’s what they are advertising, right? — than I did before I saw the ad.

What’s amazing is that the Microsoft brain trust probably reviewed a dozen concepts from Crispin Porter and Bogusky - the same creative team behind the creepy Burger King commercials - before deciding to sink $300 million into this campaign. Imagine how bad the others might have been.

You know it’s a dud when a Microsoft spokesman had to offer an explanation to the bewildered public about the strategy behind the weird campaign: “This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we’ll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I’ll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows - one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.

Yeah, I can just sense the anticipation as people wait for the next installment.

I’m not the only one panning Microsoft’s effort. It’s pretty much getting blasted all over the Internet. The folks over at Techdirt have compiled some of the best critiques.

Of course, Microsoft is probably happy with the amount of attention the ads are getting, negative or not. But I can’t imagine they sold one more copy of Vista today based on the ad. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

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I met with a potential client the other day to discuss developing a marketing and advertising plan. He was excited about some specific strategies and tactics he wanted to use. But when I asked him what he hoped to accomplish, he was less than specific.

“Increase our sales a bunch, I guess.” he said.

It was like he had some inherent desire to execute a marketing plan but no clue about what he wanted to see happen. If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s pretty likely you’ll make a few wrong turns along the way. And how will you know if and when you arrive at your destination?

When it comes to putting together a marketing plan, follow these five guidelines:

Identify Your Goals. Be specific and include milestones to assess your success. For example: “I want to increase sales by 10 percent in Pennsylvania over the next six months.” Have goals for the next six-months, 12-months and 18-months.

Set deadlines. Establish a drop-dead date for everything and stick to it. Don’t let other projects get in the way. Marketing is the lifeblood of growing a business. If you miss deadlines, it will throw off your ability to measure results against your stated goals.

Acquire the Tools You Will Need. Make a list of the resources you will need to execute your marketing plan. Budget is at the top of the list. Allocate enough dollars to do the job right. Skills are next — writing, graphic design, SEO, printing, etc. There are plenty of freelancers out there who can do those jobs. Unless you are proficient and can afford to spend substantial time on these tasks, consider outsourcing.

Develop an Action Plan. It should be specific enough to get the job done but flexible enough to adapt to rapidly changing markets. Allow enough lead time to create advertising campaigns, direct mail pieces, newsletters and such so they hit at just the right time. A calendar book devoted exclusively to your marketing plan is essential so you can see how various tactics will interact.

Just Do It. If you don’t see results right away, don’t give up. Marketing and public relations plans take time to take root. A well-crafted marketing plan is designed for the long haul, which is why knowing what you are trying to accomplish is so important.

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The recent media furor over news that the 17-year old daughter of GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant raises an interesting question: when making an important announcement, how much information should be released? If there’s a skeleton hanging in your closet, should you do the exposing?

As a former reporter, I would recommend full disclosure up front to my client in a similar situation. News coming from a source tends to be much less sensationalized than something that is dug up and reported by the media.

Here is how I would have handled it: during Palin’s acceptance speech, she would have noted the whirlwind that has been her life of late and slipped in, almost matter of factly, that her daughter is pregnant and that she is looking forward to being a grandmother, framing it as a positive development. That would be it.

Now, the media would certainly seize the story and run with it. But it would have none of the “gotcha” mentality that seems so pervasive and it would short-circuit those probing questions about whether McCain knew and if she was properly vetted.

Face it: the media will find out about such things, whether it’s a political candidate, a product launch, a merger or a new CEO. And when they do, it will be a field day, especially among some bloggers who don’t have to abide by the same rules as mainstream journalists.

My advise is to work with someone who knows the kinds of issues that will push the media’s buttons and get out in front so you can control the story line.

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