In Email, Timing is Everything

November 18, 2011

I spent much of today hurrying to get out an email campaign for a client that wouldn’t take no for an answer. no you shouldn’t mail on Friday. No you shouldn’t mail after 2PM. No you shouldn’t mail preceeding a holiday weekend. It didn’t listen and the mail went out. We’ll see what happens next.  In the meantime, I rec’d this EM from the sandwich shop down the street. Mail arrived here at 5:58PM on a cold, dark, windy Friday night.…  (Read on)

Another Example of When Advertising Really Isn’t the Same as PR

August 1, 2011

With the increasing fragmentation of media and the ever shrinking budget for journalists comes a great opportunity for media coverage for those businesses who take the time to explore it. Online and offline publications looking to fill their growing pages are more interested in bylined articles.  Bylined article submission should play a  part of every PR strategy but requires an extra layer of effort past drafting and pitching news releases. Bylined articles are simply articles written by the business on…  (Read on)

Porsche Boxster Video and Other Subject Lines That Work

October 27, 2010

Yesterday’s inbox presented me with a message with the title “SmartStream: 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder Video.” Never mind that it was from an unknown source. The subject line got my attention and I’m not even a sports car enthusiast. It is probably because I’m not an enthusiast that made this work so well. Wondering would someone would send me email about a Porsche was all it took to trigger an open. Now, the real trick would have been to populate…  (Read on)

Listening Should Be Your First Social Media Strategy

October 25, 2010

Yesterday while participating in a panel discussion at the SBDC FastTrack session at GSU, one of the attendees asked whether her firm needed a social media strategy. I shared with her the same explanation we’ve been using for several months: you don’t need a social media strategy; you need a marketing strategy. If a social media application is the right tool to help you achieve your marketing objectives, then use it. But remember, the tool you select today may not…  (Read on)

Invest in a Change of Scenery

July 27, 2010

Albert Einstein is credited with describing insanity as doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result and while you don’t often see him mentioned in marketing arenas, the application is equally valid here. How often have you poured good money after bad on a marketing program or message that wasn’t working just because you didn’t have the time to come up with a better idea? Make today the day you find the time to stop wasting money…  (Read on)