Marketing

Thumbnail image for The Art of Writing for Brevity

The Art of Writing for Brevity

We are all guilty of it. Getting too wordy when writing. I see it all the time on marketing materials, magazines, catalogs and websites. Here are a few pointers that have helped me write more concisely.

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Thumbnail image for Thank You Advertisers, For a Glass-Half-Full Attitude

Thank You Advertisers, For a Glass-Half-Full Attitude

Like I said in my A Little Bit of Good News In a Bad News World post a couple of weeks back, I am SICK of hearing bad news everywhere. So that is why I was happy when, while researching this week’s article, I found that advertisers are infusing their ad campaigns with positive messages.

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Thumbnail image for How to Market in a Recession? Ask Laiola Owner Joe Hargrave

How to Market in a Recession? Ask Laiola Owner Joe Hargrave

If you’ve been laid off and are in San Francisco this weekend, you’re in for a treat… literally. Laïol restaurant has offered to comp the meal of anybody who has recently been laid off. I think this is a genius marketing promotion.

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Thumbnail image for How to Market Unpopular Products

How to Market Unpopular Products

My heart bleeds for those marketers trying to promote Hummers, high-rise condominiums, real estate in general, traditional music stores, shopping malls, or home design. In this economy, consumers are cutting back on luxury desires and going green as much as possible.

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Thumbnail image for Product Review: SalesView by InsideView

Product Review: SalesView by InsideView

This week I’m reviewing another tool that aims to help Sales and Marketing professionals get smart about their customers and prospects. By automating micro-level account research, SalesView by InsideView has taken some of the pressure and busywork off of CRM users.

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Thumbnail image for Video: Perfect Example of How to Interrupt the Elusive Millennial Generation

Video: Perfect Example of How to Interrupt the Elusive Millennial Generation

Marketers: I am immune to your tactics. I am smack in between the elusive X and Y Generations and I fast forward through TV commercials (I love DVR), I never listen to radio, I rarely read magazines and when I do I never notice the ads, and I don’t think I’ve ever clicked on an online banner ad in my life (well, maybe once in 1992.) I make my purchasing decisions based almost solely on brand loyalty, word-of-mouth reviews, and whim…

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Twitter: Still Deciding if I Should Join

I have yet to take the leap to Twitter; I’ve heard some great things but am skeptical about involving myself in one more thing to maintain – email, a blog, a day job, facebook. Every day, though, I hear something new about why I should take the leap. If you’re in the same boat as me and are still on the fence about whether or not to join, I suggest you give these articles a quick read, so that at least you can make an informed decision…

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The Downturn’s New Rules for Marketers (McKinsey Quarterly)

David Court at The McKinsey Quarterly published a great article on what its going to take to market your way through this recession. The strategies you used in past downturns aren’t going to cut it this time around; too much has changed in the last 10 years. To manage through the downturn you’re going to reassess and reprioritize your sales and marketing efforts.

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Why Social Media Marketing is Effective

Last month Brand Central Station posted a great article on why social media and word-of-mouth marketing are more effective than traditional medias. Alan See, writing a post in the Customer Think blog explains it this way… Research shows that we tend to remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see…

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SEO in 2009: Adapt! Google Modifies Ranking Algorithm

Adapt or Die: The Google ranking algorithm has been modified, and you need to adapt immediately. Ian Lurie at Conversation Marketing posted a thorough description of the changes to SEO and some great advice for how to adapt. Here are the major points, but

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The Professional Confessional: Confessions of a Marketer Moonlighting as a Sales Rep

Each week Mike offers up the biggest mistakes, oversights, blunders and bonehead moves he commits in the fast-paced world of software-as-a-service, where he’s a Marketing Manager moonlighting as a Sales Account Executive (at the same company.) Perhaps, in the process, we may learn a thing or two…

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Smarter Marketing in 2009: Predictions and Advice for Managing Through a Downturn

2009 brings smaller budgets, but that just means your marketing department must work harder to evaluate the marketing channels at hand. Make sure you choose the best one(s) for YOUR company and don’t fall into the trend of following what other companies are doing. The current state of the economy is a perfect excuse to reevaluate your media buy and explore other options…

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10 Tips for Better Email Marketing in 2009

If you’re an email marketer, Stefan Pollard at Clickz posted YOUR New Years resolutions in his post, Ten Resolutions to Make 2009 a Better Email Year. Here’s a quick overview of the Top 10 tips…

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Video: What if Marketers Were to Redesign the Stop Sign?

I saw this video way back in the summer of ’08, but completely forgot about it until Jay H. Heyman posted it as his favorite marketing video of 2008 on All You Need is a Good Idea.

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Company-Wide Brand Meetings Produce Fast and Great ROI

One of the smartest things any business can do is create and perform official marketing training for everyone in the business; everyone in a company has a marketing responsibility. A quarterly “all hands” brand meeting would cover a variety of topics including…

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An Introduction to SEO for CEOs (and everyone else)

If you’re like most other CEOs, the term “search engine optimization” will mean very little. Either that or it means expense! But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you feel like you’re standing in a dark room handing money to strangers to get you in the search engines, then this article is for you…

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The 13 Skills of the Public Relations Pro of the Future

Over the past few years at Ogilvy, we have unleashed one of the most intensive training regimens I know of for our staff. While our focus is on digital and “digital influence,” there are a lot of other skills that will help the next generation of communications experts. The next generation will need to get strong in the following. I have begun the process of drilling down into each to offer some practical “how-to’s” for each…

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If Twitter’s So Great, Why Don’t I Get it? – 10 Tips for Twitter Beginners

When I first checked Twitter out, I didn’t get it. Like you, I’m always too busy. But if you want your site to rank better in the search engines, you want more direct traffic, or you just want to engage better with customers and influencers, Twitter is a must…

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Thumbnail image for 44 Tools for the PR Consultant’s Toolbox

44 Tools for the PR Consultant’s Toolbox

Technology has made it easier than ever for small fries to provide big-league service. Here, in an attempt to help you wade through the options, I’ve assembled the tools I’ve personally found most helpful. Best of all, most are free or have free versions…

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Video: Awesome Screensaver by Intel Brazil

Last October, Intel Brazil created probably one of the the most original screensavers ever, take this video as an example of what is it about…

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